Archive for the ‘underdetermined’ tag
R&L 5: What is Technology?
Respond to this thread by Tuesday’s class for participation credit this week. Also, I am knee deep in grading online material; I should be done before you turn in your midterm (Due next Thursday!!!)
- Is Kline’s four part definition of technology complete? Is it comprehensive? Are the distinctions between the four parts clear? If not, can you give counterexamples that don’t fit his definition?
- Is technology a uniquely human activity? Is it a central pattern of human behavior? Are the results of human technological activity ‘non-natural’?
- Can animals use technology, in any sense of Kline’s definition? Can animals innovate?
- Are animals ‘world-closed’? Are humans ‘world-open’?
- Nietzsche says “Man is the underdetermined creature.” Is man underdetermined by nature, and does this make man unique among the animals?
- Plessner identifies Laughing and Crying as unique features of human beings, as a result of our ex-centric relationship to our bodies. Is Plessner right about this relationship, and are there any other behaviors that reveal this unique position?
Also, I was right about Arendt, and here’s more info on stigmergy.