Technologization of human of the postmodern age as a challenge to the natural reality of the earth

Object of research: technology as a component of human social life in the context of the postmodern era. Investigated problem: determination of the features of the influence of technological processes on a person of the postmodern era, as a result of which the natural is replaced by an artificial one and the images of both man and the Earth change. Main scientific results: the study of the contradictions of the process of technologization in the postmodern era made it possible to determine the transformation processes taking place in the life of a person and society. This defines social reality, represented by various markers, among which technology is gaining in importance. The latter act as a composite, which provides new opportunities for determining the relationship between the elements of the "world - man - culture" system. It is not only about the emergence of new human figures, among which the technological man (Homo Technologicus) occupies a prominent place, but also the emergence of a new image of the Earth, where the natural is replaced by the technological. The scope of practical use of the research results: the research results can be used in teaching normative courses "Philosophical Anthropology", "Ethics", "Sociology" for students and undergraduates, graduate students of humanitarian and natural faculties. Innovative technological product: the plurality of existing technologies (economic, medical, educational, humanitarian, etc.) destroys the new European concept of culture and man, which were provided within the framework of the monoparadigm. The anthropological dimension of technology testifies that the latter are beginning to act as a condition for human expansion. This situation has a significant impact on the existentials of human existence. The scope of using the innovative technological product: the intensive technologization of the last decades not only provokes environmental risks and changes the state of the Earth, the natural reality of the Earth is replaced by an artificial one, which allows to conclude that the Earth is formed by a technological one

Homo technologicus and the Recovery of a Universal Ethic: Maximus the Confessor and Romano Guardini

On September 1st 2017, Pope Francis and the Ecumenical Patriarch Bar¬tholomew issued a Joint Message for the World Day of Prayer for Creation. The gesture reveals the church’s efforts “to breathe with two lungs” on the urgent matter of climate change and ecological sustainability. But, the church leaders have also insisted on a philosophical and religious reflection on technology if humanity is to take respon¬sibility for the environment. In particular, they have sought to correct the wrong inter¬pretation of the biblical imperative to “have dominion over” (Gen 1:26) the creatures of the Earth and to “subdue it” (Gen 1:28) that for centuries has condoned ecological abuse, in particular in the name of technological progress. In this paper, I propose a theological reflection on Homo technologicus through the writings of the seventh century monk Maximus the Confessor and the twentieth cen¬tury Catholic priest Romano Guardini. Maximus offers a systematic account of human techne as reflecting the mark of sin, while being God’s gift to assist us in stewarding creation. Guardini offers a challenging argument for the moral nature of technology in our times. In an age where technology extends human power, even as it seemingly takes on a life of its own, Maximus’ and Guardini’s insights on the “technological human” offer a renewed Christian anthropology that, in the tradition of natural law reasoning, can ground a global ethic for a “sustainable and integral development.” (Joint Message, 2017

Communication, Technology, and the Planetary Creature

Man and technology are inseparable: man produces technology, but the latter contributes to the continuous transformation of man. Today biological evolution based on random genetic mutations is largely exceeded by cultural (more specifically, technological) evolution, which is much faster due to the presence of Lamarckian inheritance mechanisms (imitation, learning and the like). This has two important consequences: 1) the formation of Homo technologicus, a symbiotic creature where biology meets technology intimately and is subject to a continuous transformation; and 2) the formation of a sort of Planetary Creature that originates from the interconnection of the individual man-machine symbionts and is heralded by the Internet and by the communication activities occurring in the Internet, in particular those taking place in the so-called social networks. The Planetary Creature is a single world-wide structure where important communication and cognitive processes occur, developing into a sort of connective intelligence that tends to absorb individual intelligences. This encroaching process can produce resistance and dissent as well as suffering, but can also enhance individual abilities. Actually, the growing efficiency and the decreasing costs of the communication mediated by technology offer unprecedented opportunities for augmenting knowledge and creativity and for eliciting novel forms of intellectual activity. On the other hand there might be negative consequences such as addiction to computers and virtuality, delegation of activities and abilities to machines, vulnerability of complex systems, undue control on individuals and economic exploitation. Some important consequences of these developments are examined concerning the body, the time and space categories, and in particular the identity concept. This text is the keynote address of Guiseppe O. Longo at the 9th International Conference on Sociocybernetics, organised by the Research Committee 51 of the International Sociological Association (ISA) in Urbino, 29 June - 5 July 2009. The theme of the conference was: `Modernity 2.0 - Emerging Social Media Technologies and Their Impacts´. Longo presents here the perspective of engineering science towards sociological issues. He has published several books on that topic, so far in Italian language only. Though some of his statements in the text don't seem well-founded to sociological readers or may be deemed highly speculative, we decided to make his ideas accessible to the non- Italian world. We think they are worth discussing. Wolfgang Hofkirchne

Towards a Critique of Globalization

Globalization heralds a great epoch in human history. Yet, despite certain advantages of globalization, its disadvantages cannot be overlooked. It is necessary to ask certain questions. Is globalization a form of neocolonialism? What is its impact on the southern hemisphere? Is it necessarily linked to violence, militarism and eco-unfriendly technologies? And are these problems essentially moral rather than merely economic and ecological

La educación en Ciberciudadanía Responsable

Resumen: Ante el fortalecimiento del papel de la tecnología en la sociedad actual, se hace necesario pensar el rol de aquella desde un punto de vista más radical, examinando el fenómeno mismo y sus consecuencias. La Filosofía tiene un papel fundamental a la hora de examinar y proponer alternativas educativas que contemplen las particularidades del proceso formativo del individuo y su papel como ciudadano en una sociedad profundamente mediada por la tecnología. Partiendo de las afirmaciones de algunos autores como Chomsky, Benkler, Prensky, Ortega y Gasset, Habermas y, especialmente, Hans Jonas, propongo el concepto de “Ciberciudananía Responsable” como marco crítico del Homo Tecnologicus, centrado en el pensar más que en el hacer y que pivota sobre tres temas fundamentales: alfabetización digital, fomento de la participación en red y uso de tecnologías libres.Abstract: Given the strengthening of the role of technology in today’s society, it is necessary to think about the role of technology from a more radical point of view, examining the phenomenon itself and its consequences. Philosophy has a fundamental role in examining and proposing educational alternatives that contemplate the particularities of the individual’s formative process and his role as a citizen in a society deeply mediated by technology. Relying on the views of authors such as Chomsky, Benkler, Prensky, Ortega y Gasset, Habermas and especially Hans Jonas, I propose the concept of “Responsible Cybercitizenship” as a critical framework of Homo Technologicus, which focuses on thinking rather than doing and hinges on three fundamental themes: digital literacy, promotion of online participation, and use of open source technologies

Human Enhancement Technologies and Our Merger with Machines

A cross-disciplinary approach is offered to consider the challenge of emerging technologies designed to enhance human bodies and minds. Perspectives from philosophy, ethics, law, and policy are applied to a wide variety of enhancements, including integration of technology within human bodies, as well as genetic, biological, and pharmacological modifications. Humans may be permanently or temporarily enhanced with artificial parts by manipulating (or reprogramming) human DNA and through other enhancement techniques (and combinations thereof). We are on the cusp of significantly modifying (and perhaps improving) the human ecosystem. This evolution necessitates a continuing effort to re-evaluate current laws and, if appropriate, to modify such laws or develop new laws that address enhancement technology. A legal, ethical, and policy response to current and future human enhancements should strive to protect the rights of all involved and to recognize the responsibilities of humans to other conscious and living beings, regardless of what they look like or what abilities they have (or lack). A potential ethical approach is outlined in which rights and responsibilities should be respected even if enhanced humans are perceived by non-enhanced (or less-enhanced) humans as “no longer human” at all

Pandemicity and Subjectivity: the posthumanist vulnerability of the zoe/geo/techno framed subject

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented global disruptions, including a fundamental alteration to how humans exist. In this paper, we argue that the disruptions brought forth by the pandemic have provided us with a new perspective that allows us to better understand the various entanglements that are constitutive of the beings we are, but that also render us fundamentally vulnerable. Grounded in a posthumanist material feminist position, we adopt a view of matter as entangled and embrace the notion of agentic capacity while elaborating a definition of posthumanist subjectivity and its peculiar vulnerability. Building our analysis on Rosi Braidotti’s formulation of the zoe/geo/techno assemblage, we further develop this frame navigating through the different entanglements that constitute the posthumanist subjectivity we scrutinize, considering each type from the perspective of the pandemic. As we argue, the increase in one type of entanglement at the expense of others may be generative of new possibilities but can also limit our thriving. What defines us as humans is the fact that we are constituted via the threefold entanglement of zoe, geo, and techno, radically boosting one and diminishing the others—purposefully or not—is bound to have significant impacts. Further, we claim that we cannot in fact isolate one type of entanglement from the others: each impacts the other as they themselves are also entangled

Il valore della conoscenza e la creazione del valore

Conoscenza e valore nel passaggio al postfordism

Freedom at the Edge of New Media

Nove tehnologije vode nas u umjetnu dimenziju stvarnosti u kojoj se svakodnevna objektivna i opipljiva realnost pretvara u nematerijalne entitete, u digitalne informacije. Medijska hipnoza favorizira tromost kritičke svijesti i etičke savjesti, dok prikazane slike pridonose strukturiranju takozvane “patologije normalnosti” koja, upravo zato što je široko rasprostranjena, ostaje nezapažena. Treba pojasniti da se ne radi samo o novim tehnologijama, već o novom modelu društva koji se uspostavlja i koji uključuje različite aspekte mišljenja, osjećaja i djelovanja čovjeka, preoblikovane djelatnošću novih medija. Pokušat će se stoga preispitati, za njihovu egzistencijalnu, društvenu i političku vrijednost neka posebno značajna područja ovdje obrađene poveznice (linka) jedne jedinstvene tematike: čovjeka.New technologies are taking us into an artificial dimension in which everyday reality is translated into immaterial entities, into digital information. Media hypnosis favors the torpor of critical and ethical conscience, while model images contribute to structuring the so - called “pathology of normality”, which, precisely because it is widely diffused, goes unnoticed. To clarify that it is not just about new technologies, but a new model of society, which is being established and that involves different aspects of thinking, feeling and acting human, transformed by the action of the new media. We will therefore try to examine some particularly significant areas for their existential, social and political value, treated here as many links of a single topic: man