Cover of Proceedings of the XXII World Congress of Philosophy
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articles in english
1. Proceedings of the XXII World Congress of Philosophy: Volume > 48
Vladimir Davchev Technological Civilization: Civilization of Existential Absurdity
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One of the 20th century's most popular non-realistic genre is absurd. The root "absurd," connotes something that does not follow the roots of logic. Existence is fragmented, pointless. There is no truth so the search for truth is abandoned in Absurdist works. Language is reduced to a bantering game where words obfuscate rather elucidate the truth. Action moves outside of the realm of causality to chaos. Absurdists minimalize the sense of place. Characters are forced to move in an incomprehensible, void-like realm. Danish philosopher Sїren Kierkegaard was the first to use the term "absurd" in its modern context. His application of the term related it to, what he considered, the incomprehensibility and unjustifiability of Christianity. Existentialist philosophers such as the Frenchman, Jean-Paul Sartre and the German, Martin Heidegger propagated use of the terms in their work. In the philosophical world of the novel, Albert Camus employed absurdism to portray the difference between man's intent and the resultant chaos he encounters. In modern civilization man is posited as the subject of knowledge in science and technology, animating the utopian projects of industrial civilization, and culminating in great urban conglomerates, as in the sealed universe of commodities which constitutes the omnipresent mall. Technique, defined as the ensemble of means, is the driving force of social development, moreimportant than the ends it is supposed to serve. Unfortunately, technique became an end in itself and the society is organized around it. Of course, we are all aware that we need a certain changes to subdue technique, but I think it is now too late to change the course of technique. However, technique is frequently pictured as the only hope for a better future and the only means of making the world more humane. And that is the sort of statement that French philosopher Jacques Ellul calls the technological bluff. Technology is a discourse on techniques: therefore, the bluff lies not in the failure of techniques as such but in presenting them in a falsely optimistic light. The author formulated in 1954 two laws of technical progress: first, it is irreversible: second, it advances by a geometric progression. Thus, a computer revolution changes nothing in the nature of technical progress, although products are new. This progress is hamperednot by internal mechanisms, but by maladaptation of the social body to it, since society is rooted in the past and constantly refers to it. On the other hand, technique is future oriented and discards as valueless everything that cannot be incorporated into the web of techniques.
2. Proceedings of the XXII World Congress of Philosophy: Volume > 48
Vitaly G. Gorokhov A New Understanding of the Technological Progress in the Modern Philosophy of Technology
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In the 17th-19th centuries human society formed the understanding of scientific and technological progress as continuous improvement of society and nature on the basis of the growing capacity of scientific knowledge of the world. This belief in continuous scientific and technological progress, absolutisation of a value-free scientific research, illusion of actual «creatability» of the world on the basis of the obtained knowledge resulted in emergence of a scientific religion, based mostly on the belief in the power of scientific knowledge and the progressive character of technological activity, grounded on this knowledge. There appeared an illusion that if technology has made the Man of an animal, then, combined with science, it could make God of the Man, the Creator of not only artefacts but of the matter, nature and life as well. There is no insuperable barrier, neither in experimental physical science nor in engineering, between the Natural and the Artificial (the "second nature" created by human activity). From the Natural point of view, any natural or technical system is regarded as a self-contained object, an organismdeveloping in accordance with its own internal laws, whereas the Artificial point of view considers it a mechanism designed as a result of human activity. The task of philosophy is to open new possible worlds, new understanding of the world, to make them the people’s outlook and then embody them in reality. This fact inevitably influences philosophy of technology that is due to become not only a philosophic study of scientific and technological progress but also a new philosophy of technological sustainable development in the global world.
3. Proceedings of the XXII World Congress of Philosophy: Volume > 48
Emanuel Gruengard The Route from the Tree of Knowledge to the Tree of Life
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The computer is more then a mere machine. Starting with questions of Intelligence, Artificial Intelligence and Neural Network we proceeded to Artificial Life. This new science raises fear and doubts which are similar to other historical intolerances and fears, mainly concerned with the progression of science and technology that littered our history. Yet Artificial Life is different as it addresses directly the fate of our race. Some consider it as its salvation, while others see it as its annihilator. The promises could be great but so are the risks. Following a historical route of promises and fears we would like to analyze the place of Artificial Life in our life.
4. Proceedings of the XXII World Congress of Philosophy: Volume > 48
Setargew Kenaw Fantaw Post-phenomenology and Cross-cultural Technology Transfer
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Don Ihde tries to conceptualize cross-cultural technology transfer within the post-phenomenological perspective. Using his concept of the multistability of technological artifacts, Ihde discusses how technologies could have a variety of uses in different contexts. When taken at the level of international technology transfer, i.e. the level where technologies move from one cultural geography to another, there will be two contexts: (i) the context where the artifact is being produced and (ii) the context into which it is moving to. Ihde’s problem lies in emphasizing the first and almost concluding with certainty that technologization is Westernization. Consequently, his theory of technology transfer, in addition to being culturalist, gives priority to the cultural context from which it was physically separated to the culture in which it has started functioning. The author of this paper critically engages this tendentiously culturalist point of view.
5. Proceedings of the XXII World Congress of Philosophy: Volume > 48
Hans Poser Technology and Modality: A somewhat differing view at possibility
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Modal concepts as possibility, necessity, contingency and reality belong to the most important means of reflection. They constitute philosophical systems - but they are not used in a systematic way to characterize technology. The central ontological problem consists in the fact that technology is based on new ideas, which at the beginning are a mere possibility, because the intended artifacts and processes never existed up to that moment. Even the blueprint expresses a possibility. But these possibilities must be realizable, since technological artifacts or processes have to work properly in the world following physical andcausal necessity. Moreover, boundary conditions, sometimes seen as feasibility (a very special kind of conditioned possibility), have to take into account conditions of the real world (as material, energy, local conditions), cognitive conditions (theoretical knowledge, know how – i.e. dispositions, which are possibilities, too), social and cultural conditions (norm, values i.e. deontic possibilities). They all constitute the realm of technological possibility. Within this region the development of technology takes place. But at the same time they have influenced our thinking and our culture from the very beginning.
6. Proceedings of the XXII World Congress of Philosophy: Volume > 48
Donghyun Son On Biological Precariousness of Human Being Seized by Digital Technology
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The cultural activities of human being are to be mediated by physical elements. These are, as a matter of fact, the natural things. There is allowed no other way for human being to realize his mental work but than in and through the nature. So, generally speaking, culture in ordinary sense consists in the human mind "objectified" in the natural reality. It remains within the boundary of human activities, which themselves cannot transcend the nature.
7. Proceedings of the XXII World Congress of Philosophy: Volume > 48
Whachul Son What are We Experiencing?: Challenges of Globalization to the Empirical Turn Approach In Philosophy of Technology
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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the implications of globalization for philosophy of technology. Various themes in philosophy of technology can be seen under a different light when globalization is understood in terms of modern technology. Among them is the conflict between methodologies of the classical philosophy of technology and the empirical turn. It is argued that once the phenomenon of globalization challenges the empirical turn approach in terms of (i) its focus on individual technologies; (ii) the importance of normative aspect of philosophy of technology, and; (iii) theories of democratizing technology. This is followed by five suggestions concerning how the insights of the classical philosophy of technology can benefit current discourses on globalization and technology.
8. Proceedings of the XXII World Congress of Philosophy: Volume > 48
Robrecht Vanderbeeken From Technotopia to Cybertribes
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The recent developments in new media tools promise to improve our personal access to information management and our personalized abilities concerning i-communication. Rather than focusing on the practical implications of this evolution, I take a step back and address two underlying cultural phenomena in order to get a grip on the contemporary significance of ‘new media’. The first phenomenon (technotopia) concerns the place technology occupies in our psychological perception. ‘Technology’ is a concept on the move. In post-war culture, technology stands for industrialization and mechanization. It is often associated withan external power, like capitalism (consumerism), military force (WW II, Cold War warfare) or ideology (the race for space travel, biotechnoscience). In post-wall culture, technology increasingly stands for new media and digital user-oriented innovations. The threat or fascination with respect to an external authority is replaced by a democratization of technology. New media constantly remediates our relation to the world, hence becoming immanent and ubiquitous. The second phenomenon (Cybertribes) concerns the function of new media in our society. From an anthropological point of view, it is worthwhile to conceive new media as acontemporary ‘totem’ that structures communities. Unlike ‘myths’ or ‘gods’, ‘totems’ are ideological organization principles that are conceptually ambiguous, heterogeneous, open and incomplete. Hence, it can fulfill plurality of functions. For instance, it intensively shapes our daily interaction, it allows for aspiration and identification (cf. Cyborg-mania, avatars in Second Life). Moreover, it is a device to express and revolt (cf. Hacktivism, Etoy‐war, Marx 2.0).
articles in russian
9. Proceedings of the XXII World Congress of Philosophy: Volume > 48
Dmitriy Alexeev Услуги С Добавленной Стоимостью Как Новая Техносоциальная Реальность
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The information received during work has led to set of the interesting, given reason and coherent remarks which are clearing up how cellular communication, long time existed separately from the Global Network, in a technological reality parallel to it, has turned to " the mobile Internet " on advantage, and became quintessence of human mobility as those in technological aspect. Important point of understanding of an event was the output from concrete market realities on a level of a philosophical problematics, even the instruction of such output. Here again new formats of the communications brightly designate themselves as species of authority. First of all, the added value of services, additional to usual services of communication, proves in the form of special regulation of the social space, gravitating to various forms of the continuous control, over Z. Delez, alternative to disciplinary practice and the forms described by M. Fuko. Are also distinctly enough appreciable «dromocratical» aspects of wireless communications in P. Virilo's sense. All these aspects of management and compulsion are perfectly expressed in the form of extremely concrete technology, which is far not comprehended and not understood in it’s consequences.
10. Proceedings of the XXII World Congress of Philosophy: Volume > 48
Marina Dedyulina The Computer Ethics Dilemma
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New technology develops with little attention to its impact upon human values. In particular, let us do what we can in this era of “the computer revolution” to see that computer technology advances human values. True enough, we could argue endlessly over the meanings of terms like “privacy,” “health,” “security,” “fairness,” or “ownership.” Philosophers do it all the time – and ought to. But people understand such values well enough to desire and even to treasure them. We do not need absolute clarity or unattainable unanimity before we do anything to advance them. Professional groups are both technical and moral communities because in order to be self-regulatory the members must set shared goals and specify appropriate ways to achieve them. In order to specify these appropriatestandards it is necessary to detail what types of behavior are ethically acceptable or not. The three most important functions of a code, he notes, identify different types of codes. Codes are either primarily (1) aspirational, giving ideals to strive for, (2) educational, intending to educate or socialize some constituency, or (3) regulatory, hoping to sanction violations of the standards. Most codes are intended to achieve all three aims to some degree, but a careful examination may reveal a concentration upon one of these. Advancements in computer technology over the past twenty years have created ethical dilemmas, some similar toother professions and some unique to the computer field. Because of the questions that have been raised, and in some instances sensational news accounts of computer irregularities, including fraud, there is a growing perception that self-regulation may be the only means by which the computer professional associations will prevent governments from intervening to regulate the computer profession.
11. Proceedings of the XXII World Congress of Philosophy: Volume > 48
С. Ф. Денисов Материальное производство и конечные цели научной деятельности
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The article reveals the results of the survey of interdependence between manufacturing process and scientific ideas. Two types of interdependence are put forward: parallelism and integration. The first regulation observed in the paper is parallelism, presented in its traditional form. It presupposes the idea of manufacturing and handicraft independence form meditative science. Thus, prescribed interaction is conventional and no reciprocal influence is noticeable between them. This state of things is typical for the Ancient World and the Middle Age periods. As a result of experimental science development, the epoch of New Age was marked by establishing a new type of parallelism, falling out of tradition. Truth was believed to be the outcome of science in this epoch. The second regulation is described as integration of science and machinery. At the first phase (preliminary integration) utility serves as the ultimate aim of the science-manufacturing correlation. At the second phase (integration itself) science performs the part of economical force and its ultimate aim changes to economical profit.
12. Proceedings of the XXII World Congress of Philosophy: Volume > 48
Boris Ivanovich Kudrin Ontology of Epistemology of the Technical Reality
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Technical reality is represented by the components of technetics (technique, technology, materials, products and wastes), which form the original community – cenosis – with a structure being described by a postnonclassical third scientific picture of the world.
13. Proceedings of the XXII World Congress of Philosophy: Volume > 48
Nadezhda Prokhorova Synthesis of Multivariate Postnonclassical Knowledge
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The program of the evolution of the base of knowledge in machines' mechanisms on the example of technical systems of arbitrary purpose and structure with the aim of formalization and structurization of knowledge for creation of new techniques of automatized projecting in suggested. The program is declared as the process of transference of the base of knowledge from its initial state into final one, at the permissible restrictions in quality and resources in real time. The program's concept is based on the introduction of N-measured structural space. Discrete coordinates of the multi-measured vector of this space are: flathierarchical sets of languages, objects, problems, estimations, resources, restrictions, types of working areas, etc. The vectors' co-ordinates define the set of the program projects. The possibility of choice of the optimal program strategies' realization is discussed. The concept can be applied to objects of arbitrary purpose.
articles in chinese
14. Proceedings of the XXII World Congress of Philosophy: Volume > 48
Fan Chen, Huiduan Ma “技术思考”的哲学反思 —J•C•皮特技术哲学思想评析及启示
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This paper takes the book named “ Thinking About Technology: the Foundations of the Philosophy of Technology” as the starting point of analysis. This book was published in 2000. we will summarize the primary idea of Joseph Pitt about Philosophy of Technology, and the debate about this book, analyze the “Phenomenon of Pitt”, that is the echo to the thought of Joseph Pitt on Philosophy of Technology. We point out at last, we should pay attention to the study on the foundation of Philosophy of Technology and the institutional development of philosophy of technology.
15. Proceedings of the XXII World Congress of Philosophy: Volume > 48
Quanshi Li 後現代技術觀與和諧社會的建構
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In the course of modernization, the technical rationality still was the leading part of mainstream rational view in China. Modern technology brings us not only the acceleration of the modernization, but also increasingly serious condition, including of ecological crisis, environment deterioration, resource shortage, polarization of the rich and the poor, morality degradation and labor alienation. The potential phenomenon in the course of western modernization also appears in china. Maybe we can’t charged the whole fault to modern technology, but it as the essential phenomenon and leading power of our Times, avoidance plays that blaming part in the result of development. Nowadays western developed countries have realized modernization and begin to step into the Time which we call as post-industrial, post-informatization, and post-knowledgeable society. In starting from the theory paradigm of postmodernism philosophy, searching for essential survey of technology’s philosophical meanings, discussing a Postmodernism view on Technology which re-unscramble transformation relationship between in human and nature, This paper presents a pattern of interpretation and construction of technology which has the meanings of sustainable development. Postmodernism View of Technology, which is the total attitude and ultimate standpoint about the essence of technology, the constitutes oftechnology, the drive of technology, the development of technology, the function of technology, the value of technology and the relation between technology and society in the postmodern context. This paper introduces and analyzes the postmodern theory system on philosophy of technology. This system is based on a kind of postmodernism worldview, through distinguishing pre-modern, modern and postmodern, the author deeply criticizes the alienation of modern technology, and tries to build up a postmodern Society which “needs take good care of and waits for being harvested” by “returning value to technology” and “transcendingmodernity”. It has the important academic value for theory innovation of technology philosophy, and important directive significance for building a harmonious society on the basis of human.
16. Proceedings of the XXII World Congress of Philosophy: Volume > 48
Lingling Luo 浅议工程技术活动中的设计哲学
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First of all, this paper defines design relation to engineering technology, in terms of philosophy, as the process of externalizing the subject’s consciousness as a medium replacement for a practical technical substance. The essence of design is to exhibit the careful foresight of practical possibility of technical principle and hominisation of technology. Practical possibility means a coincidence between technical principle and social need,technical production is shaped by social restriction. The hominisation of technology means a linkage of human properties with natural attributes. For that reason, technical principle demands personifying so as to be used by man. Secondly, this paper also discusses functions and characteristics of design. The appearance of design gives to knowledge of technology a unique form—a medium replacement or called correct ideology of technology; the appearance of modern design promotes occupation of designer, so individual of technological system is replaced in principle; the appearance of design also separates technical subject into mental subject and manual subject, strengthening the dominant position of mental subject. The separation of technical subject, hence, gives rise to the correct ideology of technical subject at different stages. Compared with science and arts, design has it as its characteristics to solve problems having no definite answers, which are limited undermany conditions. Design is a kind of careful prevision without doing on the-spot making of objects. Design is an art to satisfy practical function andmass-production. The medium-tool plays an important role in design. Key words: Activity of Engineering Technology; Designing philosophy; the essence of design; a medium replacement; correct ideology of technical subject.