PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION is the philosophical study of education and its problems.
As you begin reading this book and annotating the statements and ideas in it, think about your own educational progress. See how any of your experiences resonate or contrast with what is put forth in this book.
s relations among facts, has never satisfied the consciences of historians. We are dr
This is a test
as a discussion too as well.
bad grammar!
My name is Selena Moore and I am a 4th year from Williamsburg, Virginia. I am majoring in Global Public Health and minoring in Bioethics. Besides being an ePPC, I am involved with Greek Life and the Madison House. Through Madison House, I am able to volunteer at the Charlottesville Free Clinic once a week. When I am not volunteering, working, or participating in Greek Life, I like to watch Netflix and go on adventures with my friends around Charlottesville.
The box for this text is too small. Bottom of last line is cut.
This would be a good page to have images of students in the background. We might have some interesting images of the Language Commons...
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nington and this is has now been my 4th consecutive semester in UVA's BIS program. I am curre
Good job
Welcome.
test
Such is life on the infinite bridge
nice sound bite
-- How does awareness of the history and philosophy of technology fram our relationship to technology? -- Where do you think you will be with regard to this issue 3-5 (maybe 10) years from now ? -- What else?
The pervasive "technosphere" with which this book began
This chapter is taken from a book by Frederick Ferre entitled Philosophy of Technology. There will, therefore, be references here to concepts discussed earlier in the book. Two other terms that come from elsewhere in the book at "the Reason of Ulysses" and "the Reason of Plato" which are explained below where they appear. Parallel to those two concepts are two other concepts "practical reasoning" and "theoretical reasoning".
The literature doesn’t discuss e-portfolio use to meet student needs and concerns but to support administrative efforts to solve long-term curricular issues
This is a provocative statement. But it is also all true. Sometimes without even knowing it, our ePortfolio programs end up serving administrative purposes only. But it doesn't have to be that way.
Spencer and the so-called social Darwinists turned the concept of natural selection into theconcept of survivalof the fittest
Why is this a misinterpretation?
Charles Darwin's publication of Onthe Origin ofSpecies in 1859
How was Darwin's theory misinterpreted?
if society was misbehaving, then it could only be due to the fact that it was not adhering to the natural laws that governthe universe
Blame humans themselves for the messiness of their world. The universe itself was highly ordered...
T h e m ech an i cal p a r a d i gm p r o v ed t o b e i r r es i s t i b l e. It w as simple, it was predictable,and above all it worked.
In what sense did it work and what were the limits within which it worked?
universal mathematics. Such a science should contain the primary rudiments of human reason, and its province ought to extend to the eliciting of true results in every subject
What does he mean by "true results"?
rder and measurement
Is this what he meant by "mathematics"?
The key to understanding the world, to deciphering-its hidden secrets, to controlling it for human purposes wasto be found in one word: mathematics
How can this be?
Bacon is the original no-nonsense pragmatist of the modern age.
What is "pragmatism"?
savage attack on the world view of the ancient Greeks
Why would he want to do this?
Adam Smith
Who was he?
John Locke
Who was he?
d Isaac Newto
Who was he?
Rene Descarte
Who was he?
Francis Bacon
Who was he?
Entropy: A new world view
See here for description of the book...
the Mary-Martha episode
This is a tough one to follow, but shows interesting shifts in perspective between East and West.
art of the reason for this differential development between Latin and Greek mon astic is m lie s in the fact th at in the B yzantine wo rld a lite rate laity continued to preserve the worldly aspects of high culture, with the result that Greek monks felt able to devote themselves more exclusively to sacred studies. In the W
This paragraph lays out White's argument succinctly.
Lynn White, Jr
Lynn White was a well known and controversial American social historian.
CULTURAL CLIMATES AND TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES
This map sets the stage:
This difference, largely subliminal, emerges clearly in theiconography of the Creator God
White is using the iconography (art) of that time to prove his point. See here...
f, as Benz believes, the vigor of Western medieval technology is an expression of religion, the sources of that dynamism must be found less in the broader aspects of Christianity than in the distinctive qualities and moods that differentiate Occidental from Byzantine Christian piety
We get a succinct definition of Benz's thesis here. We also get it's refutation. What's wrong with Benz's thesis?
His hypothesis, however, is defective
Why?
Benz's thesis
What is Benz's thesis?
Ernst Benz of the University of Marburg
A German theologian (1929-1978) See here...
in the Middle Ages, in Europe alone, invention became a total and coherent project
This is a significant break from the way things were "invented" in the past. Notice the distinction between "inventing" and "making"
Its implementation, and that of the Imperialist Age, 1500-1950, was provided largely by the Middle Ages
So, the Middle Ages have been responsible for the world all the way up to the 1950s -- when the African and Asian colonies began to gain their independence.
eighth century the Franks revolutionized their methods of warfare,
Then the Franks perfect their warfare...
The technological creativity of medieval Europe is one of the resonant facts of history
This is not questioned. That period went through an incredible revolution of technology that we still feel today.
Iwas painfully aware of its greatest defect
Remember the criticism of White we saw in Marquit? Other scholars have been critical of some of White's statements. Do you remember what Marquit pointed to as a problem in White?
To establish facts, and the more obvious relations among facts, has never satisfied the consciences of historians. We are driven to ask not only what happened but also why it happened. Historical explanation, of course, is seldom a matter of one billiard ball striking another, of "causes" in the narrow sense. It is much more often a process of gradual illumination of the fact to be explained by gathering around it other facts that, like lamps, seem to throw light on it. At last the historian arrives at a sense that the central fact on which he is focusing has become intelligible.
White sets the objectives of his essay here. He does not just want to provide us with facts about the Medieval era, but explanations, too. He admits that it's not easy, that one has to build up to one's conclusions through careful interpretation. But he is confident that there will be "gradual illumination." So now we know what to expect to be in this essay... or do we?
Here is Paula Freebird's Summary and Response to David Nye's essay, "Can we Define Technology"
. . .
Paula Freebird “Can We Define Technology?” by David Nye February 4, 2018
Summary
For this week's summary and response I have chosen to write about three themes in David Nye's essay: 1) tools and stories/language, 2) evolution of the word "technology'', and 3) technology and gender. Ney develops a unique theory about technology when he discusses how stories are almost "built in" tools. What does he mean by that? First, he compares the structure of stories — a situation, an encountered problem, a solution — to the structure in the invention of a tool. Whether by accident, or through planning, a tool comes into being when a problem is recognized within a situation, the solution is visualized, and then the tool is used. For Nye, thought process we go through when we invent, encounter, or use a tool involves the same thought process we go when we create stories. However, even if the structures are that same, Nye does not want us to think that we 'read" stories and tools in the same way. When we 'read' a tool we are in it and with it, using it in a practical way. Textual stories, on the other hand, are abstract, removed, and theoretical.
The evolution of the word "technology'', according to Nye, begins with the Greek word "techne". While the Greeks did not appreciate the manual work implied in the activity of "techne" (in other words, using tools for work) they nevertheless had a word for activity itself. The word seems to have disappeared for many centuries after the Greeks and only appears in the early 1800s (in the very early Industrial period) to refer, much like the Greeks, to specific skills (like "glassmaking" etc.) — or even more specifically to books (—logy) written about specific arts. In other words, the "technology of glassmaking" would refer to a book written about glassmaking.) As the Industrial period develops, Nye goes on to say, the word "only gradually came into circulation to the point where in the nineteenth century, institutions (like the Massachusetts institute of Technology) began to adopt the term. Broader use of the terms technologie and iechnikl in Germany led to their translation into the English technics in the twentieth century. Technology then becomes part of the professional definition of engineers. In a digression of the definition of the term, Lewis Mumford used the terms eotechnic, paleotechnic, and neotechnic to describe a chronology of technological development. While these terms are not used anymore, the word technology goes through several transformations in the twentieth century leading Nye to complain that "the meaning of "technology" remained unstable in the second half of the twentieth century, when it evolved into an annoyingly vague abstraction." Nye finally concludes that the word has finally stabilized to become "a comprehensive term for complex systems of machines and techniques."
Nye only touches on the relationship between technology and gender towards the end of the essay. He acknowledges that, while Mumford contributed a lot to our thinking about technology, he (and presumably all other thinkers about technology at that time) "missed ... how thoroughly "technology" was shaped by gender." Nye backtracks to the medieval era to point out how deeply women were involved with trade and gives us examples, such as the making of ale, as being thoroughly controlled by women. It is only in the modern period that our perception of technology changes. Nye cites Ruth Oldenziel argument that Western society only relatively recently defined the word "technology" as masculine."
Response
Since the guiding question of this course is: “How does awareness of the history and philosophy of technology frame our relationship to technology?" I will focus my response to answering this question in relation to how I see my own thinking changing. It's only the beginning of the course, and this is only the first essay; still, i think the changing of my thinking might have already begun.
Regarding tools and stories, I am not sure whether I believe it or not. It seems to me to be a hit far¬fetched. I think Nye wants to somehow connect “language" with "tool making" — perhaps because he wants to show both as being deeply human traits. But I can't see any "story" in a tool. Even at the end of his argument, he says we don't read textual stories and tools in the same way. Of course. That's exactly what I mean. Maybe I can say I "use" stories (like to put my kids to sleep) the way I "use' a tool. Still, it is curious to me that this kind of far-fetched thinking can come up in the course of discussing technology. In that sense, my thinking about how technology “frames[s] our}my] relationship to technology" is being affected. While I do not have to accept everything I read, I have to think about it and try to say as clearly as I can "why” I do not accept it.
The historical evolution of the word "technology" brings to my mind a connection between "practice" and "theory". Practice is, well, practical. I don't need to know the name of the tool I am using to be able to use it. So, the fact that people (except for the Greeks who were —there is no other way, to say it — lazy because they had slaves) would not care about coming up with word like techne does not surprise me. They were busy using the tools. This makes me think the modern return to developing the word (technologie, technik, technique, technology, tech, etc.) may be part of a theorizing process we are in (lazy like the Greeks, I don't know...). Anyway, this relationship between practice and theory is probably a very important thing for me to think about in relation to my relationship to technology.
The topic of gender and technology, however, is really changing the way I think about technology. I don't have much to say about it right now (Nye does not give us much). But, hard as it may seem to believe, it seems to me to be critical to our understanding of technology. I’ll say this, until we figure out this relationship, we may never be able to get out of the technological quagmire we find ourselves in. There, I said it. It's a stab in the dark, but I think I will have more to say on this as I continue reading.
Technology is more closely related to art than t science
Interesting to note that Smith in the modern world is connecting technology to art the way the Greeks did in teh word "techne".
This is ironic.
Why?
he Greeks interpret being as such through the concept of technical making
What does this mean? Understanding Feenberg means being able to explain this point.
Greek ontology.
There's the word again (relating to the question of existence).
Existence answers the question whether something is or is not
Why is there something rather than nothing? Why does any thing exist? Another word for the philosophy that deals with this question is ontology.
Plato’s theory of ideas, the foundation of the tradition.
VIP This is the foundation of Western philosophy: Plato's Allegory of the Cave
On the other hand, the distinction between existence and essence is not obvious for natural things.
...so, this distinction is harder (less obvious) than the previous one.
he relation between the two basic distinctions that I've introduced, physis and poiêsis, and existence and essence
VIP OK. Here is where the two pairs of words (the two basic distinctions) come into relation with each other. It gets complicated, but not difficult. This is what you have to grasp in this article.
they conceived nature on the model of the artifacts produced by their own technical activity.
VIP This is what he explains and what you need to understand carefully.
traditional Asian thought as well.
He is acknowledging his Japance audience here...
These distinctions are self-evident. They form the basisof all philosophical thought in the West.
VIP What does this mean? It's a pretty big claim.
The second fundamental distinction is that between existence and essence.
VIP You need to also be able to explain this distinction.
distinction between what the Greeks called physis and poiêsis
VIP You need to be able to explain this distinction.
he question of technology
Yes, technology is a big question. Remember Nye's attempt to define it. Martin Heidegger's famous book is also entitled The Question Concerning Technology.
let me turn now to the historical perspective on its origins.
Feenberg begins the speech with a discussion of contemporary philosophy of technology. We are skipping that here to look at what he says about the philosophy of Ancient Greece. Later, we will come back to the beginning of the speech as well as to the end where he comes back to modern philosophy of technology.
(from a lecture for the Komaba undergraduates
Andrew Feenberg gave this lecture to undergraduate students in Komaba, Japan. That is why there are references to Japan and Asia in the essay
Andrew Feenberg
Andrew Feenberg is a philosopher of technology at the Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada.
12,000 to 10,000
Date to notice...
Euclid's hypothetico-deductive system of geometry
Why is this important? See definition...
The tokens, khipus, and the types of calculations represented on the tablets seem to indicate that mathematics did not arise as an aesthetic intellectual pastime, but was an integral part of the application of technology to the economy. Subsequently,the Greek philosophers of the fourth to first centuries B.C.separated mathematics from technology and integrated it with logic, a process that culminated with Euclid's hypothetico-deductive system of geometry
This is an important difference, and perhaps a significant evolution in civilization. What is the significance in the difference between practical and theoretical intellectual activity?
Ancient Egyptian mathematics was more geometrically oriented than was Babylonian, its greater sophistication attributable to greater economic complexity and more diverse technological activity. The availability of mathematical methods coordinating elaborate economic projects made it possible to undertake construction projects of increasing complexity (pp. 790–92)
This is the height of practical mathematics in the world of ancient civilization. (Note: it is practical, not theoretical mathematics.)
ablets written between 1800 and 1500
Date to notice...
Peruvian Andes in the eighth or ninth century
Date to notice...
about 8000 B.C
Date to notice...
second millennium B.C
Date to notice...
3300 B.C.
Date to notice...
some 100,000 years ag
Date to notice...
some 2.5 million years ago
Date to notice...
five million years ago
Date to notice...
The egalitarian character of Mbuti society is characteristic of most hunting and foraging societies, generally marked by the absence of hierarchical structures.
What are the implications of this? How believable is is? And if it is true, how is this characteristic reflected in our modern society -- if at all?
Apart from structural changes favoring bipedal locomotion, the fossil trail from the australopithecines to Homo sapiensis marked by significant increases in brain size (Falk, 1993, p. 64); changes in the bone structure of the hand (Napier, 1993); a lowering of the larynx so as to increase the space between the larynx and the back of the nasal cavity, thereby enhancing the possibility for articulate speech (Laitman, 1993); and a decrease in the size of the canine teeth (Skelton et al., 1993).
The biological components that may have led to tool making may be questionable. Still, there is evidence to back it up. Can you think of any aspect of technology use today that is tied to biological development -- for example, diseases that we are more prone to contract because of our technology? Any others?
TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETAL DEVELOPMENTA principal concern of philosophy of technology is how technological development influences the course of societal interrelationships at different stages of societal organization, as well as how specific stages of societal organization and culture affect technological development. Among philosophical approaches, technological determinism sees technological development as a spontaneous evolutionary process requiring a given society to organize itself so as to make efficient use of the technologies becoming available. It also seizes upon individual technological innovations as immediate and direct causes for fundamental social change. A second approach views technological advance as a consequence of the development of human spirit and culture. The most generally held view is that technological change is the cause of profound societal change at certain points in human history, while at other times societal change stimulates technological development. Followers of this third approach attach widely varying weights to the two sides of this interaction
Right off the bat, Marquit lays out the three ways of looking at the relationship between technological and societal development. Philosophy of technology discussions seem to always oscillate between these three views -- typically the third. Later, we will see other ways of viewing the arguments.
Erwin Marquit,
It might surprise you to know that, along with being a physicist, Marquit also belonged to the Communist Party USA. Check out his bio on Wikipedia.
Nye, D. E.
Here is a link to some information about the author and his publications. David E. Nye
Herman Melville's
Herman Melville's dates area 1819 - 1891 Herman Melville Foundation
cience has arisen from problems posed for intellectual solution by the technician's more intimate experience of the behavior of matter and mechanisms.""
So, if there is a relationship between science and technology, it is more likely that technology creates something first, and science explains it later.
Of course, as Nye says further down, "...science has played a similar role in the refinement of many technologies..." so, there is a relationship, but it is more complex than just saying technology is the handmaid of science.
In fact, one sociologist of science has concluded that, although we cannot turn back the clock and "unlearn" the science that lies behind nuclear weapons, it is conceivable that we will manage to lose or forget the practical skills needed to make them
What do you think about this statement? Do you agree with it? Explain.
the technologist, like the artist, must work with unanalyzable complexities.
Interesting comparison between technologists and artists...
the term "technology"
Terminology is very important. What is the evolution of teh word "technology" from the Greeks to the present? you might also think about what the word means to you today. One student a few years ago argued that technology refers only to "computers" and computer like things like "smart-phones". That's a very narrow view.
Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin: 1706 - 1790 Here is a documentary about Franklin.
Please add the dates of any notable names and events in the article -- if it has not be added already, or if you think what has been added is not correct.
The Romans valued what we now call technology more highly than the Greeks. In De Natura Deorum Cicero praised the human ability to transform the environment and create a "second nature." Other Roman poets praised the construction of roads and the pleasures of a well-built villa. Statius devoted an entire poem to praising technological progress, and Pliny authored prose works with a similar theme '9Saint Augustine synthesized Plato and Aristotle with Cicero's appreciation of skilled labor: ". .. there have been discovered and perfected, by the natural genius of man, innumerable arts and skills which minister not only to the necessities of life but also to human enjoyment. And even in those arts where the purposes may seem superfluous, perilous and pernicious, there is exercised an acuteness of intelligence of so high an order that it reveals how richly endowed our human nature is." In contrast, Thomas Aquinas characterized the mechanical arts as merely servilen Some medieval thinkers, notably Albertus Magnus, appreciated iron smelting, the construction of drainage ditches, and the new plowing techniques that minimized erosion. A few drew upon Arabic thought, which presented the crafts as practical science and applied mathematics. Roger Bacon, in his Communia Mathematica, imagined flying machines, self-propelled vehicles, submarines, and other conquests of nature. Bacon put so much emphasis on the practical advantages of experiment and construction of useful objects that he "came close to reversing the usual hierarchy of the speculative and useful in medieval thought.
Can someone give the dates for each of the names referenced in this paragraph? I think Nye jumps around a lot and it would be good to track what he's saying by looking at the dates. (It's a good idea to give dates for any names or events that you see in this article -- if someone has not done so already.)
It is easy to imagine human beings as pre-literate, but it is difficult to imagine them as pre-technological.
This looks like a "which came first" statement. What do you imagine when you think "pre-literate"? What do you imagine when you think "pre-technological"?
Consider the similarity between what is involved in creating and using a tool and the sequence of a narrative
Tools as stories! That's an exciting idea. What does this mean, and what more can be said about this
This is a page level comment. In other words, the comment refers to the whole document and not a specifically highlighted area. I just wanted to say that this chapter is from Nye's book Technology matters: Questions to live with (MIT Press, 2007). This introductory chapter gives us an overview of the subject of technology from both a historical and philosophical perspective. As you read the article and annotate it, please think of your own perspective on technology and how it changes throughout the course.
I will also annotate the text pointing to specific areas of interest. Some of my annotations will be questions, or pointers to other areas.
Before I annotated this article I printed it out and marked it up to get me started. I find it easier to read on paper than on the screen. But that may be just me. You need to find the best way you work. 
Jane Gooda
1934 - Also, here is video of a chimp using a tool it created.
Homo sapiens
noun 1. (italics) the species of bipedal primates to which modern humans belong, characterized by a brain capacity averaging 1400 cc (85 cubic in.) and by dependence upon language and the creation and utilization of complex tools. Dictionary.com
oseOrtega y Gasse
Jose Ortega y Gasset: 1893 - 1955
The central purpose of technologies has not been to provide necessities, such as food and shelter, for humans had achieved these goals very early in their existence.
In other words, we can't say that a technology was created for doing this or that only. Most of what our technological artifacts are used for is discovered after the tool has been created. What does this mean?
Beavers cut down trees and build dams. Ants and bees build complex communities that include a division of labor and food storage. But only a few species have made tools. Notable is a hand axe widely used by Homo erectus 1.6 million years ago.
Many, if not all, animals construct things. but only humans, and intelligent apes, construct "tools". What do we mean by "tools."
This document cannot be annotated because it is a an image-b ased .pdf file. You can, however, comment on the whole document using the New Page Note tool.
This document cannot be annotated because it is a an image-b ased .pdf file. You can, however, comment on the whole document using the New Page Note tool.
distinction between science and technology
It is common for people to think that technology is merely "applied science." When examined closely, however, we see that the relationship is not that simple.
d simple highlighting as verbatim
We do see a lot of this. In Marginalia Jackson draws the contrast between what he refers to as "book use" and "book abuse"... In other words, simple highlighting is a more rudimentary annotation skill, whereas the ability to extend the highlighted idea into other areas indicates critical inquiry.
t: critical inquiry as skillf
What is the relationship between critical inquiry and annotations skill?
This is a video and it cannot be annotated by Hypothesis the way text can. But it is not hard to just put page level comments.
These are some of the most recent projects I have beenn working on.
...actually, a while back several years.
This is an older version of my ePortfolio. I do like the muted colors.
Chrome browserfor ease of use
With the Chrome browser, you can add the annotator as a plug in. This allows it to come up anytime an annotated page appears in your Chrome browser. In effect, you have to install it once and that's it.
Open Annotations Tool (OAT
This is just a prototype for OAT. The Hypothes.is tool is not completely integrated yet. Once it is, it will be connected by default to assignments that need to be annotate. Other material, such as instructional documents will not trigger the annotation tool. We hope to get there in the second round of product development.
How would you introduce yourself to the class?
My name is Yitna Firdyiwek. I am the instructor of this course. Click here to find out more about me.
What is generally termed "technology" has a ubiquitous presence in contemporary society. Its existence has been justified with great promises for such things as the efficiency of industry, the effectiveness of government, and a marked “improvement” in the way humans learn. And in fact, the gains made in health care, transportation, construction, and other sectors of society have been remarkable. But all this has not come without associated costs.Therearequestionsconcerningtherelentlessquestforefficiency,thedestructivepowerofourweapons,andtheproper role of communication technology in an open and democratic society. Justifications for modes of control and operation in the name of “progress” have also come into seriousquestion
What do you think of this opening statement? Do you agree with it? If not, why not? What parts do you not agree with? If you do agree with it, what would you add to it?
what if we imagine technology conceived with mindfulness in mind?
Mindfulness and technology is a very interesting topic. What would it mean to be mindful in relation to technology? Also, how does it apply to the one creating the technology vs the one using it? These are some of the questions we will discuss as we annotate the article.
I am thinking of using this article in a course on the history and philosophy of technology.
lkjlkj;l
centrality to the white population of the whole state
Why this reference to white population? Was there any other assumption possible?
The Commissioners for the University of Virginia having met, as by law required at the tavern in Rockfish gap on the blue ridge, on the 1st. day of August of this present year 1818, and having formed a board, proceeded on that day to the discharge of the duties assigned to them by the act of the legislature intituled an “act appropriating part of the revenue of the literary fund and for other purposes” and having continued their proceedings by adjournment from day to day to Tuesday the 4th: day of August, have agreed to a report on the several matters with which they were charged, which report they now respectfully address and submit to the legislature of the state.
Very interesting ...
Language Commons Wilson M&M Studios Connect2 (reservations) UVaBox Google Docs Qualtrix Zotero Sites The Infinite Bridge FLLeP Grant FLLep Teacher Resources FLLep Student Resources Master Your Tones
test annotation...
Course Description:
The course description was created after analysis through the "intentionality" lens of our Design Collaborative in which I reviewed the larger curricular context of the course as well as the specific pedagogy I decided to choose..