Philosophy and the concept of technology

on the anthropological significance of technology

Armin Grünwald

pp. 179-194

in: Armin Grünwald, Mathias Gutmann, Eva Neumann-Held (eds), On human nature, Berlin, Springer, 2002

Abstract

The philosophy of technology has always (explicitly or implicitly) been interested in the anthropological dimension of man's relationship to technology. The philosophical question of our concept of technology can't be treated separately from that of our concept of humanity. The philosophy of technology, therefore, always has a more or less strongly pronounced anthropological component.¹ This can, on the one hand, be individualistically oriented, seen in relation to individual humans and individual technologies (in the "technicalized" formulation, often known as the "human-machine-interface"). On the other hand, the cultural and social aspects of the relationship between society and technology can be emphasized, as is usually the case in the sociology of technological systems (Halfmann 1996). The first explicit attempt at a philosophy of technology (Kapp 1877) is primarily an interpretation of cultural history with special reference to technology, and sees technology (individualistic viewpoint) above all as an amplification and extension of man's organic capabilities. Technology is perceived as a projection and a strengthening of human organs, in particular, of the hand's abilities.²