Thesis: While technology can lead to great practical advances, it does almost nothing to advance our spiritual, existential or humanistic sense of self or the world. In fact, it may harm and/or detract from their development.
In Matthew Crawford’s groundbreaking books, both Shopcraft as Soulcraft and The World Beyond Your Head, the philosopher and motorcycle mechanic makes a convincing argument that as modern technology has gained ground in society our attention to the world around us, to our engagement with the world and to our sense of who we are has deteriorated and in some cases actually been replaced by the technology. The consequences are not pretty: we are becoming robotic, dehumanized automatons with little individuality and almost no distinct sense of self. Harsh sounding indictment, certainly, and some may find it hyperbole. But Crawford’s personal and data driven support leave little doubt. As Crawford states, only through shared attention to the world of real things, can minds “become powerful and achieve genuine independence (World Beyond Your Head, 23). So while that computer on our desk, that phone in our pocket (or more likely in our hand) and that perpetual drain on our attention and energy is not just a distraction issue that we can easily overcome but a threat to our very humanness. While technology can lead to great practical advances, it does almost nothing to advance our spiritual, existential or humanistic sense of self or the world. In fact, it may harm and/or detract from their development.
Source use: to build ethos and contribute ideas
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