The First Chime of Technology in Modern Human Civilization - Essay Example

?Summary of Readings The First Chime of Technology in Modern Human Civilization In his book “Technics and Civilization”, Lewis Mumford 1934, argues that the development of time keeping technologies in the Benedictine monasteries was the first expression of technology converting human civilization into a mechanical civilization that sharply contrasts with to the then prevailing ideas and culture of human civilization (1). While technology of the ancient world may have advanced in science and medicine essentially attempting the domination of human civilization through the military means, it was from inside the walls of the order and power sought to be achieved by making use of time keeping technology. Regular prayers and devotions were part of the Christian religious processes for the welfare of the faithful and it was this formed the basis of the development of timekeeping technology and its dominance of our current capitalistic societies. It was not that time keeping was not there earlier, but the development of the clock as an expression of new timekeeping technologies removed the vagaries of nature that inhibit regulatory and order in the pervious time keeping technologies. Starting from the fourteenth centuries clock towers emerged in cities and towns to dominate life the life of their citizens (1). Other technologies may have come and may also lay claim to be all pervasive in human civilization, but there is no technology that has pervaded every niche of human presence and dominated the activities of humankind. The orderly punctual existence brought on by the mechanical clock is not in keeping with basic nature of humankind and yet, modern civilization remains a slave to the chimes of the mechanical clock. The regular chimes of mechanical time in seconds and minutes are in disharmony with the irregular nature of the human body, yet in modern civilization, basic human organic functions are controlled by this mechanical time. Humankind lives, works, and exists now in keeping with tunes of the tool of time keeping technology in the form of the time keeping clock (1). Biology in the Evolution of Technology In Chapter 3, History of the Seventh Kingdom in his book “What Technology Wants”, Kevin Kelly 2011, opines that the seventh kingdom of technology is not merely an invention of humankind, but has its origins in life itself, and continues to evolve as living organisms have done so from the time life dawned on planet Earth. The six kingdoms of living organisms have evolved and adapted over several hundred millions of generations in an unbroken link, and also learnt to build and evolve external structures. Structures to live in are the most common of these external structures. Such shelters of an animal are extension of the animal itself, and in this manner technology is the extension of humankind. This is visible in all the technologies developed and used by humankind, such as even the clothes that we wear. Technology in essence represents an external repository for human ideas (2). An evaluation of the evolution of human technology demonstrates a number of similarities with the evolution of genetic organisms. The manner in which a particular species of technology evolves over time is very similar to that of genealogical blueprint of species evolution, with the difference that in technology it is the expression of ideas and not the work of genes. Different branches of technology combine to create new products, just as evolution in organisms evolves through mating. Evolution in technology is parallel to evolution of nature. An example of this lies in the transformation of simple alphabets into books, which are the storehouses of human knowledge. This is similar to the transformation of DNA into cells and organisms (2). Yet there are differences too in the manner in which technology differs from living organisms. Organisms can be long-living while many technologies are short-lived. Innovations in organisms are passed down from parent down to the offspring vertically, while innovations in technology more often laterally through a blending of technologies. In organisms evolution is through incremental transformation, but evolution in technology can occur in leaps and bounds skipping steps. Finally, through evolution many organisms cease to exist, whereas technology seldom goes extinct. Old technology still remains in use in some nook and corner in the world. In other words In Chapter 7, Convergence, in his book “What Technology Wants”, Kevin Kelly 2011, expands on the lateral development of innovation in technology and the inevitable conundrum in this development similar to evolution in organisms (3). Charles Darwin is credited with the theory of evolution, though Alfred Russell Wallace, who came up with a similar theory is hardly remembered for it. Should Darwin have failed to produce the theory for some reason or the other, then Wallace would have, and if both had not someone else would have come up with it. An evaluation of the various inventions and discoveries have shown that the parallel development and the inevitability in these inventions and discoveries. The inevitable aspect of technological development suggests that the evolution of technology converges just as in the case of biological evolution, with the inventors acting merely as conduits for the occurrence of the event. Parallel discoveries and inventions are now more the norm, and with only the initial discoverer or inventor being giving the honor and patent for it, the rush is to be the first in this plethora of parallel technology developments. The inevitability in simultaneous inventions or discoveries is present because once the supportive base is present, the adjacent technological step will occur, with only the individual or individuals being credited for it remaining to be answered (3). Having established the inevitability of technologies advancing then the sole remedy would lie in the destruction of technologies to be rid of the inevitable spell. However, this is not the case, as humankind presses on hurriedly in generating ideas for new technologies. There are two aspects that standout in this inevitable concept of advance in technologies. Ideas originate in the abstract and then develop specificity over time. The transit of universal ideas to greater specificity inculcates in it the essence of lesser inevitability, greater conditionality, and higher response to human intervention. Thus it is only the conceptual essence of an invention or discovery that can be credited with inevitability. The manifestation of this conceptual essence however, lies in the hands of the resources available and the type of human intervention. This brings into play the second aspect, which is that every invention or discovery is stamped with the individuality of the human involved in manifesting the conceptual essence into the actual invention or discovery. Three core themes are present in the inevitable development of technology, which are a major portion of all inventions and discoveries have occurred independently through more than one individual; in the ancient history of human development there were independent timelines for technologies in different continents that converged with a set order; and inevitability essence of developments in technology is a feature of modern times (3). The Pitfalls in the Rush towards a Technology Society In Chapter 1 The Judgement of Thamus, in his book “Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology” Neil Postman, 1992, begins with the interaction between King Thamus and Theuth the God of interventions as a parallel to his warnings of the intrusion of technology on society (4) There is no denying that there have been some benefits received by humankind through advances in technology, but the current problem is that the protagonists of technology can see these benefits and not the perils that too much of technology pose to society. It is an inescapable reality that all cultures do have to negotiate with technology, in which a bargain is struck between what benefits are received from technology and at what cost to society. It is a wise society that is not carried away by what technology can give ignoring what it can take away. Advances in technology have made it possible for transcontinental travel, communication with near and dear far away, reduction in infant mortality and complications for women during childbirth and increasing the span of life. These are benefits. Freud reminds society that it pays a price for these benefits. In the absence of these technological advances children would not travel far away from their parents, reducing the need for communication devices. The reduction in child mortality has only led to reduced begetting of children and sexual tensions in married life and what is the use of increase in life span, if the quality of life is reduced (4) There is no neutral technology. The good or the harm coming out of it is determined by the uses it is put to. A technology once it enters a society will do what it is supposed to do, on the basis of its design. It is the duty of society to understand this design before it is allowed into the culture of the society. Advance in technology brings changes in the culture of society through changing the meaning and ethos that existed prior to its entry. The way society acquires knowledge and the kind of knowledge. The very meanings of knowledge and truth can get distorted. There will be winners and losers in society due to the advent of new technology, but the losers would be blinded to this fact. Unfortunately the tools for these advancements in the form of individuals are blind to the pitfalls of blind rush into technology. Even when they can see it may not be possible for them to foresee the true implications on society of the technology that they promote, which comes from a bias for their inventions. Computers have pervaded the classrooms of our educational systems. The moot point is whether they will defeat group learning, cooperation, and social responsibility, which were the essence of classrooms, and instead foster egocentrism. The key aspect of technology is that it does not add or subtract to what already exists. Instead it changes everything, and in that can alter the very nature of the communities that we live in (4). In the prologue of the book “The Human Condition”, Hannah Arendt, 1998, attempts to put in perspective the lack of thought in the use of technical know how could lead to humankind becoming slaves to this very know how (5). In 1957 a pinnacle of technical know how was demonstrated when the first rocket was hurtled into space, a step to fulfilling human dreams of not being tied to earth or a path for escape from imprisonment on earth. Modern humanity sees less meaning in God, the Father who rules the Heavens and is now turning away from Mother Earth too. Planet earth may be unique in that it provides a habitat where humankind can live without artificial life support, in fact the very essence of human condition and earthly nature. Yet, this desire to escape from this bondage with earth is being extended to the creation of artificial life to remove the link with Mother Nature. The technology is available and in a hundred years artificial life is likely to become a reality. The only question left is whether we wish to move in this direction or not. Proceeding in this direction is fraught with the danger of the sequel of artificial machines becoming responsible for thinking and speaking for us. In other words we become the slaves of our technical know how (5). To allow us to be guided by the political judgement of scientists would be unwise. Not that they lack the character, but that they have failed to see the potential misuse of the technology that they develop, as was the splitting of the atom, and furthermore in the world that they live in, they have lost the ability to articulate in a manner that they could be heard. Another looming threat is the advent of automation through scientific progress, with the promise of freedom from labor. This gives rise to the prospect of a society of laborers, which humanity is, becoming bereft of the only activity of labor available to them. There could be no worse situation than this for humanity (5). A Perspective Understanding the Interaction of Technology and Society In his article “Technology and History: Kranzberg’s Laws, Melvin Kranzberg, 1986, attempts to provide a series of truisms that deal with technology ad its interaction with society (6) The first such truism is that technology is neither good, nor bad, nor is it neutral. Through this it is meant that in the interaction between a technology and society, quite often, the environmental, social and human consequences extend far beyond the immediate scope and practices in the use of the technology, with the same technology demonstrating disparate results in different contexts under different circumstances (6). The second truism is that invention is the mother of necessity. This truism is based on the observation that any technical innovation places demands for additional technological advances. The third truism is that technology develops in packages that are big and small. Many of the modern technological advances consist of complex set of components and processes. Technological advances thus consist if a big complex technology in which are present several smaller technologies and processes (6). The fourth truism is that though technology may be the prime focus in several of the public issues, it is the non-technological factors that hold the priority in policy making decisions. In considering the application of technological advances non-technical socio-cultural factors, with particular emphasis on the human factor play an important role, even when the considerations are purely in the technology realm. The fifth truism is that while all history has relevance, it is the history of technology that is most relevant. An evaluation of the teaching of history in schools shows that there is a decline in the teaching of history, which can be attributed to the lack of technology elements in the teaching of history. The final truism is that technology is essentially a human activity, and so too is the history of technology. This truism is founded on the basis of anthropologic and archaeological studies that tell us that the physical development seen in the human species is clearly linked the cultural developments in such a manner as to make technology the earliest and most basic of human cultural characteristics (6). Works Cited 1. Mumford Lewis. Technics and Civilization. New York: Harbinger, Brace & World, Inc. 1934, p.12-19. 2. Kelly Kevin. History of the Seventh Kingdom: What Technology Wants. London: Penguin Group. 2011, p.43-56. 3. Kelly Kevin. Convergence: What Technology Wants. London: Penguin Group. 2011, p.131-155 4. Postman Neil. Judgement of Thamus: Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology. New York: Alfred A Knopf, Inc. 1992, p.3-20. 5. Arendt Hannah. The Human Condition. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press. 1998, p.1-5. 6. Kranzberg Melvin. “Technology and History: Kranzberg’s Laws”. Technology and Culture. 27.3 (1986): 544-560. Read More