Jacques Ellul- Prophetic or Apocalyptic Theologian of Technology?*

More documents

Recommendations

Info

232 THE POLITICAL SCIENCE REVIEWER The study of the impact of technology, however, must be carefully based upon the differences among the societies: that is, the " universal solvent" affects advanced and developing societies differently and these differences are lost if the focus of analysis remains on emergent rather than visible dimensions. It is true, as Wiesner points out, that transition through previous eras of technologies is not required for use of new means, and the common base of science sug - gested technology works to help a country to "join the parade . . well along the line of march." 42 Nonetheless, we must also recognize that, because science and technology are separable with the latter's being exportable, "technology," in the words of Kalman H. Silvert, " is a human universal to be found under any social conditions. "43 The importance of dividing in order to conquer the study of `technology' is evidenced by what is known about political, social and economic development. Rationalistic, efficiency-oriented technological sub-communities may exist side-by-side with older modes of technology, and even traditional means for controlling nature side-by-side with the use of magic. The problems entailed in a society of this sort are different from, though no less important in studying `technology' than, those of an advanced industrial society being transformed technically by the computer chip. There is an analogy between advanced scientific-based technology and even rudimentary social practices that is obvious in Sigmund Freud's statement: The technique of animism, magic, reveals in the clearest and most unmistakable way an intention to impose the laws governing mental life upon real things." 44 The contexts within which technologies advance, and the theories to explain them, require care in distinguishing folk and science-based technologies and how these interrelate in societies that are at different levels of economic development. An interesting subfield is emerging that deals with the valuechange consequences of technological growth. At one level, on 42. Where Science and Politics Meet, 142. 43, "Conclusions," The. Social Reality of Scientific Myth: Science and Social Change, ed. Kalman H. Silvert (New York: American University's Field Staff, Inc., 1969), 228. 44. Totem and Taboo (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul), 91. See Fred W. Riggs, "'Technology', A Developmental Perspective," 1982 I.P.S.A. Congress, Rio de Janeiro, on the side-by-side technologies. For a contrast with Ellul on the threat to religion, etc., see Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Science and Christ, trans. Rene Hague (New York: Harper and Row, 1985), 205.
ELLUL-THEOLOGIAN OF TECHNOLOGY 233 Ellul's level of analysis, theorists such as Herbert Marcuse see the norms of efficiency, rationalism, and material success cutting off human concern about other types of values. 45 The same problem is articulated by E. F. Schumacher, but with the desire to turn our human interests toward non-Cartesian thinking. 46 The problem can be articulated by many metaphors, and Loren C. Eiseley is articulate: The human form, originally so variable, has been narrowed into one new channel whose primary emphasis involves the rise and development of the human cortex. An enormous spectrum of possible behavior, or possible adaptation, a spectrum so broad that it clashes and contradicts, is the product of that brain.... One of the things that troubles us now is that in this great whirlpool of modern civilization, the centrifugal power, represented by modern science and technology, Western man is sweeping away all other societies." All of these kinds of statements, though important warnings about what to study and what unanticipated consequences might arise, provide little in the way of improving theoretical knowledge about technology and society. Just as Victor C. Ferkiss can warn of linkages of liberal society serving technology and economic power relations,4 8 or Richard J. Bernstein can warn us against missing the distinction of Marx between technology and class control over technology as the source of alienation, 4B these works point to problems that require the development of less sweeping pronouncements and more research designs to answer the underlying questions. To move from the lofty sphere of general interpretations to the political problem of technology assessment, the need to forecast requires a framework for projection that incorporates both the autonomy and the control possibilities of technology. The questions to be answered concern the limits on human autonomy by context 45. One-Dimensional Man (Boston: Beacon Press, 1964). 46. Theoretically, A Guide for the Perplexed (New York: Harper and Row, 1977) is superior to either Small is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered (New York: Harper and Row, 1977) or Good Work (New York: Harper and Row, 1979). 47. "Alternatives to Technology," The Environment of Change, eds, Aaron W. Warner, Dean Morse, and Thomas E. Cooney (New York: Columbia University Press, 1969), 171. 48. Victor Ferkiss, The Future of Technological Civilization (New York: George Braziller, 1974), 29. See also his Technological Man: The Myth and the Reality (New York: George Braziller, 1969). 49. Praxis and Action: Contemporary Philosophies of Human Activity (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1971), 49.
Page 1 and 2: Jacques Ellul- Prophetic or Apocaly
Page 3 and 4: ELLUL-THEOLOGIAN OF TECHNOLOGY 215
Page 13 and 14: ELLUL-THEOLOGIAN OF TECHNOLOGY defe
Page 17 and 18: ELLUL-THEOLOGIAN OF TECHNOLOGY reco
Page 19: ELLUL-THEOLOGIAN OF TECHNOLOGY 231
Page 25 and 26: ELLUL-THEOLOGIAN OF TECHNOLOGY deat
Page 27: ELLUL-THEOLOGIAN OF TECHNOLOGY that

Jacques Ellul- Prophetic or Apocalyptic Theologian of Technology?*

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?