Autonomous Technology: Technics-out-of-Control as a Theme in Political Thought

By Langdon Winner

Book Overview

UK

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0262730499
• ISBN13: 9780262730495
• Release Date: August 1978
• Publisher: MIT Press
• Length: 396 Pages
• Weight: 1.09 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.2" x 8.0"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Superb intro to politics of technology

This book is simply the best introduction to the philosophy and politics of technology. No competition. Winner discusses a wide range of literature on the subject, from authors such as Jacques Ellul, Marx, Heidegger, and others. He uses these ideas as a springboard to cover many of the ideas they brought up with much more depth and clarity. Some of the most interesting ideas discussed include (amongst others): * "Reverse adaptation" -- when technologies force us to modify our ends/goals/purposes in order to meet the needs of our means/tools/techniques * "Technological imperative" -- how technology changes the structure of human societies, even before they have been put into use (e.g. in order to create an environment conducive to their use) * "Neutrality" -- Winner smashes the myth of tools being "neutral" (the idea that tools can't be inherently good or bad, and that only the way they are *used* can be good/bad) Don't be put off by the fact that the book was originally published back in the 1970s -- the ideas are every bit as applicable (much more so actually...) today as they were then. Highly recommended.