The concept of nature in Lukács’s History and Class Consciousness is ambiguous. In some contexts, “nature” refers to a scientifc representation, while in other contexts it refers to the lived object of labor practice. The distinction is complicated by the role of the concept of reification in Lukács’s discussion of nature in both these senses. This paper endeavors to sort out the complexities and to show the relevance of Lukács’s concepts of nature to contemporary technical politics.

As we rapidly approach the 50th year of the much‐celebrated ‘cognitive revolution’, it is worth reflecting on its widespread impact on individual disciplines and areas of multidisciplinary endeavour. Of specific concern in this paper is the example of the influence of cognitivism's equation of mind and computer in education. Within education, this paper focuses on a particular area of concern to which both mind and computer are simultaneously central: educational technology. It examines the profound and lasting effect of cognitive science (...) on our understandings of the educational potential of information and communication technologies, and further argues that recent and multiple ‘signs of discontent’, ‘crises’ and even ‘failures’ in cognitive science and psychology should result in changes in these understandings. It concludes by suggesting new directions that educational technology research might take in the light of this crisis of cognitivsm. (shrink)

As users of computer networks have become more active in producing their own electronic records, in the form of transcripts of onlinediscussions, ethicists have attempted to interpret this new situation interms of earlier models of personal data protection. But thistransference results in unprecedented problems for researchers. Thispaper examines some of the central dichotomies and paradoxes in thedebate on research ethics online in the context of the concrete study ofa virtual community that we carried out. We argue that alienation, notprivacy, is (...) the actual core of the ethical problems of virtual communityresearch. While practically everybody is allowed and often welcome tojoin online communities (which undermines the claim to privacy), mostparticipants would agree that members and visitors are not authorized touse, or `harvest,'' or sell the product of the group communication. To dothat, they would be expected to ask for permission preferably before thecontent has been produced, thus granting participants'' right to controltheir own product. This `non-alienation principle'' should be the basisof emergent social conventions in cyberspace. It would apply toresearchers as to anyone else. With certain types of research, wesuggest, cyberspace provides unique opportunities for empoweringsubjects by involving them as contributors in the research project. (shrink)

Herbert Marcuse examined the subjective and material conditions of radical social change and developed the "Great Refusal," a radical concept of "the protest against that which is." The editors and contributors to the exciting new volume The Great Refusal provide an analysis of contemporary social movements around the world with particular reference to Marcuse's revolutionary concept. The book also engages-and puts Marcuse in critical dialogue with-major theorists including Slavoj Žižek and Michel Foucault, among others. The chapters in this book analyze (...) different elements and locations of the contemporary wave of struggle, drawing on the work and vision of Marcuse in order to reveal, with a historical perspective, the present moment of resistance. Essays seek to understand recent uprisings-such as the Zapatistas in Mexico, the Arab Spring, and the Occupy movement-in the context of Marcuse's powerful conceptual apparatus. The Great Refusal also charts contemporary social movements against global warming, mass incarceration, police brutality, white supremacy, militarization, technological development, and more, to provide insights that advance our understanding of resistance today. Contributors include: Kevin B. Anderson, Stanley Aronowitz, Joan Braune, Jenny Chan, Angela Y. Davis, Arnold L. Farr, Andrew Feenberg, Michael Forman, Christian Fuchs, Stefan Gandler, Christian Garland, Toorjo Ghose, Imaculada Kangussu, George Katsiaficas, Douglas Kellner, Sarah Lynn Kleeb, Filip Kovacevic, Lauren Langman, Heather Love, Peter Marcuse, Martin J. Beck Matuštík, Russell Rockwell, AK Thompson, Marcelo Vieta, and the editors. (shrink)

American Philosophy of Technology: The Empirical Turn is an introduction to the thought about technology by Albert Borgmann, Hubert Dreyfuss, Andrew Feenberg, Donna Haraway, Don Ihde, and Langdon Winner. Each position is presented in a medium-length essay, along with a little biographical information and some criticism. Each essay is written by a different Dutch philosopher. The book is largely a translation of a 1997 Dutch publication. However, the essays on Borgmann, Feenberg, and Ihde have been updated to include material (...) written after 1997. The philosophical stance of the book is broadly Continental, most notably post-Heideggerian, given that the topic is technology. It is, however, easily accessible to readers better versed in other traditions. Given the age and accessibility of the material, this is a very useful introduction to contemporary thought about technology. Graduate students and advanced undergraduates should be able to make good use of this book. (shrink)

RESUMOAs muitas definições de tecnociência são oferecidas como corretivas para um ideal de ciência pura, completamente separada da sociedade. A crítica da pureza nos estudos de ciência e de tecnologia foi precedida por críticas fenomenológicas em Heidegger e em Marcuse. A ideia de pureza não é mais crível. No entanto, o conceito de ciência pura tem desempenhado historicamente um papel na defesa da ciência contra interferências políticas. O conceito de tecnociência corre o risco de abrir a ciência a essa interferência (...) e tem provocado uma defesa renovada e, de certa forma, fútil da sua pureza. O consenso nos Estudos de Ciência e Tecnologia (ECT) de que a ciência é fundamentalmente social parece tornar óbvia a necessidade de um termo como tecnociência. Este artigo sugere uma definição restritiva de tecnociência com base na multiplicação de testes independentes de validade. Esse é um caso extremo da sociabilidade da ciência, porque aqui a ciência e a tecnologia emergem juntas, em vez de a teoria preceder a aplicação. A tecnociência sob essa definição descreveria o trabalho científico, validado cientificamente, que serve simultaneamente em processos comerciais e públicos que têm sua própria lógica e seus testes de validade independentes. De acordo com essa definição, a existência de interações complexas entre ciência e sociedade não obscurece as fronteiras entre esses testes. A tecnociência está inserida na sociedade, como toda ciência, mas é única ao se situar em um “garfo” [ataque duplo no xadrez] entre linguagens e critérios de sucesso distintos. Palavras-chave: Tecnociência. Estudos de Ciência e Tecnologia. Heidegger. Marcuse. Ciência/Sociedade. (shrink)

Andrew Feenberg est un philosophe américain dont l’œuvre est essentiellement consacrée à une réflexion sur la technique. Ancien élève de Herbert Marcuse, il a par ailleurs étudié à de nombreuses reprises les différentes pensées que l’on regroupe sous l’appellation d’« École de Francfort ». Dans Philosophie de la praxis, troisième de ses livres faisant l’objet d’une traduction française, Feenberg articule en neuf chapitres une reconstruction historique et critique de ce qu’il nomme « philosoph...

Andrew Feenberg's Questioning Technology (1999) is his third book in a series of studies which undertake to provide critical theoretical and democratic political perspectives to engage technology in the contemporary era. In Critical Theory of Technology (1991), Feenberg draws on neo-Marxian and other critical theories of technology, especially the Frankfurt School, to criticize determinist and essentialist theories. In this ground-breaking work (which will go into its second edition in 2001), he discusses both how the labor process, science, and technology (...) are constituted as forms of domination of nature and human beings, and how they could be democratically transformed as part of a program of radical social transformation. In Alternative Modernity (1995), Feenberg turns to focus on constructivist theories and the ways in which individuals and groups can reconstruct technology to make it serve more humane and democratic goals. His most recent book draws on his earlier work while polemically developing his own positions within contemporary debates over technology. (shrink)

In his new book, The Ruthless Critique of Everything Existing: Nature and Revolution in Marcuse’s Philosophy of Praxis (2023), Andrew Feenberg offers a critical reconstruction of the latter’s oeuvre that brings into focus the topicality and poignancy of his thinking. To this end, he examines significant aspects of Marcuse’s writings in an effort to determine the philosophical foundations and pioneering perspectives of his thought. He contends that Marcuse’s philosophy is now more relevant than ever because it profoundly critiques science (...) and technology and urgently advocates the protection of nature from their destructive consequences. It calls into question the operationality and efficiency of control and monitoring, which are becoming more and more prevalent today. In this regard, as Feenberg argues, Marcuse’s approach is largely predicated on a rehabilitation of the everyday experience inspired by phenomenology, on the principle of potentiality highlighted by Aristotle and Hegel, and on Freud’s conceptions of Eros and the death drive, as well as his theory of the imagination. Marcuse endeavored to ascertain more precisely how existence is historically and socially situated and how a transformative practice may emerge. (shrink)

resumo: O objetivo do artigo é explicitar o projeto de transformação da tecnologia de Andrew Feenberg a partir do conceito de design e da noção de tecnoestética de Gilbert Simondon. Queremos entender qual seria o papel da tecnoestética na transformação do design da tecnologia. O uso das categorias tecnoestéticas, como prazer no uso dos objetos técnicos e a incorporação deste uso ao sentido do eu, pode fornecer um critério para a intervenção democrática na constituição do design dos objetos técnicos? (...) abstract: The article explains Andrew Feenberg’s project of transforming technology through Gilbert Simondon’s concept of design and his notion of the techno-aesthetic. We want to understand what role the techno-aesthetic would play in the transformation of technological design. Can the use of techno-aesthetic categories and the incorporation of this use in the self’s sense provide a criterion for democratic intervention in the constitution of technical objects’ design? (shrink)

This paper examines Andrew Feenberg’s radical democratic politics of technology in relation to the context of Ecuador’s free and open software movement. It considers the articulation of this movement via the government sponsored activist project FLOK Society. Based on an ethnographic study, which included interviews with FLOK Society coordinators, the paper discusses how such government-activist collaborations, may be useful in expanding Feenberg’s notion of technical politics and the nature of representation in the technical sphere. More specifically, the paper looks (...) at the political shaping of technology, in relation to concepts about ‘the Good Life’, or ‘Buen Vivir’ in the case of Ecuador, and its drive toward a knowledge economy, based on the concepts of ‘Buen Conocer’ and ‘Bioconocimiento’. The paper argues that certain premises held by Feenberg concerning technical politics, democracy and populism in particular may need to be reconsidered in light of developments in Ecuador. (shrink)

O presente artigo propõe analisar as concepções de Andrew Feenberg e de Richard Rorty em suas críticas antiessencialistas. Feenberg tem seu foco numa crítica às posições substantivistas e deterministas das tecnologias. Para ele, as tecnologias não são pré-determinadas por alguma natureza ou essência própria. Sua crítica coloca o modelo atual de produção e desenvolvimento tecnológico enquanto limitado pelos valores exaltados por grupos dominantes e que excluem a multiplicidade de valores em jogo numa sociedade. Já Rorty parte do pragmatismo para (...) realizar uma crítica às teorias de correspondência da verdade e das tentativas de fundamentar representações precisas da realidade. Ele aponta a imaginação, na concepção romântica, como a capacidade humana responsável pelo progresso social e como círculo dentro do qual a razão pode trabalhar. Essa noção de imaginação é, desse modo, o ponto de partida para novos modos do fazer e do desenvolvimento de potencialidades humanas. Este artigo buscou identificar um caminho de aproximação entre esses dois autores. Eles concordam quanto à necessidade de ampliação das possibilidades do fazer humano e de que concepções essencialistas limitam nossas potencialidades. A noção de imaginação, como apontada por Rorty, vai ao encontro da defesa de Feenberg pela ampliação do modelo de racionalidade que encaminha o desenvolvimento tecnológico, permitindo a democratização e ampliação das possibilidades humanas. (shrink)

O presente artigo empreende uma reflexão sobre a ressonância política e ética da teoria crítica da tecnologia de Andrew Feenberg, especialmente na prática tecnocientífica biomédica. Referida ressonância ganha destaque no papel exercido pela ativa cidadania técnica no âmbito biomédico. Partindo de uma crítica ao projeto tecnocrático de intervenção paternalista, demonstra-se que abordagem democrática pensada pelo construtivismo crítico da tecnologia de Feenberg orienta criticamente a tradução e a implementação tecnológica de projetos biomédicos socialmente engajados ou enviesados. Para cumprir o exposto (...) serão desenvolvidos dois momentos: No primeiro apresenta a abordagem democrática do construtivismo crítico, dando destaque a teoria da cidadania tecnológica organizada em forma de redes pelas agências e interesses participantes capazes de redefinir, em torno de seus interesses e necessidade sociais, morais e culturais o design técnico. No segundo momento, expõe o exercício da política técnica, fundamentada pelo interesse participante, no âmbito da prática e da tecnologia biomédica, com ênfase na atenção à saúde. Assinala, como destaque nesse ponto da discussão, o conceito de Medicina ciborgue pela qual a noção de sujeito é ressignificada ou desconstruída a partir da relação simbiótica e fluida entre tecnologia, corpo e sociocultural. Desse modo, afastando a concepção de cidadania moderna, situa-se contemporaneamente a indispensável inclusão do exercício da cidadania pelos pacientes na fundamentação dos empreendimentos biomédicos. Conclui-se que a teoria da cidadania tecnológica pensada por Feenberg possibilita uma reflexão ampla e prolífica sobre a implementação de uma política médica que pressupõe a participação ativa da comunidade e um engajamento sócio-ético-político dos profissionais da saúde. (shrink)

Essay review of Andrew Feenberg, Heidegger and Marcuse: The Catastrophe and Redemption of History (Routledge, 2005).

This article deals with the topics of nihilism and technology within the horizon of Western societies. More precisely, we research what is the most determining element in the relationship between nihilism and technology. To develop this research, we seek a concept of nihilism that is integrated into the scenario that emerged after the modern era, therefore integrating not only the 20th century, but also the 21st century. This concept is achieved through consideration of the effects of historicism according to Leo (...) Strauss' analysis in his work Natural Right and History. Next, the issues relating to the control of technology are analyzed and answered through Feenberg's position, which shows different conceptions of what would be considered the philosophy of technology. Finally, the conclusion is that, in the relationship between nihilism and technology, nihilism remains the most determining, because the dimensions specific to historicism still remain integrated and active in the institutions of democratic societies in the 21st century, despite the proposal to invent new institutions made by Feenberg. (shrink)

Feenberg’s new book, Technosystem: the social life of reason, makes an important intervention in the study of technological systems by showing that instrumental reason requires value judgement at the moment of its realization in this world. It fosters hope that technological development can be redirected towards the fulfilment of human needs through public interventions of nonexperts. However, Feenberg does not sufficiently engage with the political dilemmas that inevitably accompany these interventions as a result of the formal capitalist bias of the (...) technosystem. The books by Bridle and Bucher underline the importance of confronting these dilemmas as they encounter them in various domains and provide possible ways for dealing with them. (shrink)