Resistance Is Futile

2013 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 72-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter-Paul Verbeek ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Power Relations ◽  
Philosophy Of Technology ◽  
External Threats ◽  
Hermeneutic Approach ◽  
Technological Developments ◽  
Marxist Tradition

Andrew Feenberg’s political philosophy of technology uniquely connects the neo-Marxist tradition with phenomenological approaches to technology. This paper investigates how this connection shapes Feenberg’s analysis of power. Influenced by De Certeau and by classical positions in philosophy of technology, Feenberg focuses on a dialectical model of oppression versus liberation. A hermeneutic reading of power, though, inspired by the late Foucault, does not conceptualize power relations as external threats, but rather as the networks of relations in which subjects are constituted. Such a hermeneutic approach replaces De Certeau’s tactics of resistance with a critical and creative accompaniment of technological developments.

Discovering Subjectivity in the Technosystem

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 62-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bas de Boer ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Philosophy Of Technology ◽  
Critical Constructivism ◽  
Technological Developments ◽  
The Way

Two of the main approaches of what is often referred to as the ‘empirical philosophy of technology’ are postphenomenology and critical constructivism. Critical constructivists charge postphenomenologists for paying too little attention to the fact that our society is co-constituted not only by technologies, but also by forms of rationality exercised on a political level. Postphenomenologists, then, charge critical constructivism for insufficiently recognizing that the way technologies are appropriated in the lifeworld often evades forms of institutionalized rationality. The goal of this paper is to show how these different approaches should not be juxtaposed, but can better be seen as complementary in the development of a political philosophy of technology. This will be made clear through a discussion of the role of STS in the work of Peter-Paul Verbeek, and in the work of Andrew Feenberg. I suggest that developing an ‘empirically informed’ political philosophy of technology requires to both recognize how technologies constitute particular forms of subjectivity and to understand the rational processes through which particular technologies are designed. When combining both of these insights, it becomes possible to articulate a normative position with regard to technological developments.

scholarly journals Gadamer, Levinas, and the Hermeneutic Ontology of Ethics

Philosophies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 48
Author(s):  
Christopher King
Keyword(s):  
Power Relations ◽  
The Other ◽  
Self And Other ◽  
Hermeneutic Approach ◽  
Asymmetrical Power ◽  
The Right ◽  
First Philosophy

Much debate has been held over the question of whether Hans-Georg Gadamer’s hermeneutic approach to ethics and the other can do justice to the alterity of the other, as exemplified in Emmanuel Levinas’s approach to ethics as first philosophy. The challenge to Gadamer and to hermeneutics more generally, comes obliquely from Levinas and more directly, from Robert Bernasconi, who argues that Gadamer cannot account for an otherness that ends in incomprehensibility as one finds in encounters between persons of asymmetrical power relations—oppressed and oppressor, privileged and marginalized. Bernasconi’s critique has resulted in a flurry of hermeneutic responses that insist that Gadamer’s hermeneutics can, if understood in the right way, accommodate the other and serve as the foundation for robust ethical treatment of the other. I argue in this paper that participants in this debate have been insufficiently attentive to the ontologies that underlie the accounts of self and other in Gadamer and in Levinas. Because Gadamer and Levinas begin from different ontologies, their accounts of ethics and of the ground of ethics differ.

scholarly journals Μαρτυρια [witness] in John 1�4: Towards an emerging, missional ecclesiology

2011 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Guillaume H. Smit
Keyword(s):  
New Technology ◽  
Faith Community ◽  
New Paradigm ◽  
John 1 ◽  
Missional Ecclesiology ◽  
The Past ◽  
Cultural Paradigm ◽  
Hermeneutic Approach ◽  
Technological Developments ◽  
The Church

Theological investigation of the μαρτυρια[witness] lexeme in John 1�4 contributes significantly towards an understanding of an emerging, missional ecclesiology. This hypothesis is precipitated by the accelerated pace of change that our society is currently experiencing. The technological developments of the past 50 years have created a society that is dependent on this new technology, leading to the developing of a new cultural paradigm, in which the church is ill at home. The question of an emerging, missional ecclesiology is therefore building on the need for theological research from the perspective of this developing new paradigm. It was proposed that a hermeneutic approach should be taken. It was also argued that ecclesiology serves as the integration point for reflection and practical missional ministry. As such, the church as object of investigation is the ultimate technological praxis, as the faith community serves as the show-case of God�s presence in this world.

scholarly journals The Struggle for Technology: Towards a Realistic Political Theory of Technology

2015 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 301-304 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter-Paul Verbeek
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Social Organization ◽  
Political Theory ◽  
Philosophy Of Technology ◽  
Social Awareness ◽  
The Political ◽  
Level Of Abstraction ◽  
Marxist Approach ◽  
Micro Level ◽  
High Level

Abstract Pieter Lemmens’ neo-Marxist approach to technology urges us to rethink how to do political philosophy of technology. First, Lemmens’ high level of abstraction raises the question of how empirically informed a political theory of technology needs to be. Second, his dialectical focus on a “struggle” between humans and technologies reveals the limits of neo-Marxism. Political philosophy of technology needs to return “to the things themselves”. The political significance of technologies cannot be reduced to its origins in systems of production or social organization, but requires study at the micro-level, where technologies help to shape engagement, interaction, power, and social awareness.

scholarly journals Representing the Zeitgeist: A Foucauldian Reading of Jack Kerouac’s The Subterraneans

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (10) ◽  
pp. 148-154
Author(s):  
Fazel Asadi Amjad ◽  
Kamran Ahmadgoli ◽  
Saman Sadr
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Michel Foucault ◽  
Power Relations ◽  
Beat Generation ◽  
Jack Kerouac ◽  
The Political ◽  
The Government ◽  
Alter Ego ◽  
Shed Light

This study is an attempt at reading Jack Kerouac’s “The Subterraneans” in the light of the theory of Michel Foucault. “The Subterraneans”, written in 1958, grapples with the life of Leo, the alter ego of Jack Kerouac himself. The actions and interactions of its main characters, Leo Percepied and Mardou Fox, are observed and analyzed, focusing on the political philosophy of Foucault, specifically his conceptions of power, power relations, institutions, and surveillance to shed light on the ideas of Kerouac, the spokesperson of the Beat Generation. Kerouac’s novel represents the spirit of the age of a people who sought change, difference, and disobedience; the main characters are antiheroes who challenge their prisonlike structure of the society. In contrast, the government has the upper hand by means of its distinct and overlapping institutions that not only neutralize such acts or resistances but make normal and ordinary those individuals who were themselves the promoters and examples of abnormality. Jack Kerouac’s “The Subterraneans” is characterized by unfreedom, obedience, unthinking men, individuals without individuality, and disillusionment.

scholarly journals Materiality of body, materiality of world — remarks on emancipatory education: Illich, Freire and contemporary political philosophy

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 237-251
Author(s):  
Urszula Zbrzeźniak
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
Political Thought ◽  
Economic Conditions ◽  
Emancipatory Education ◽  
Education Project ◽  
Marxist Tradition ◽  
Bodily Condition

The paper addresses the issue of the corporeal dimension of the learning process. The problem of the material side of education has emerged within the emancipatory education project, but, as will be argued, this was limited to a critique inspired by Marxist tradition. The perspective on the materiality of education offered by Freire’s and Illich’s works can be significantly enriched by contemporary political thought. The latter perceives materiality in its complexity, that is, as economic conditions but also as the inherent needs stemming from our bodily condition. As will be demonstrated, the contemporary reflection could serve as a critique, one on the limited character of Freire’s and Illich’s emancipatory education, as well as providing ideas which might expand their project.

scholarly journals Hegemonic Formation in Post-Javanese Indonesian Society

2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 212
Author(s):  
Aprinus Salam
Keyword(s):  
Significant Role ◽  
Power Relations ◽  
Marxist Theory ◽  
Intersection Area ◽  
Important Notion ◽  
Strong Order ◽  
Marxist Tradition

In society, there are various structured power relations that connect individuals who share certain interests and objectives. In these power relations, hegemony plays a significant role. Hegemony is the most important notion in the Marxist tradition, especially as it is conceptualized by Gramsci. This paper tries to re-read the issue of hegemony in the context of ideological contestation in Javanese society in Indonesia. The problem will be examined based on post-Marxist theory, especially as it relates to the demolition of the strong order of capitalism. Based on the results of the study, it can be concluded that hegemony forms itself in layers. The layers influence each other so that there is one area of hegemonic intersection. In Javanese society these days, there is a “competition,” especially in Yogyakarta, to return, feel, and become more Javanese than others. The implication is that there are parties who feel more Javanese than others. This case in this study is referred to as the post-Javanese society. However, in the intersection area, there are all-powerful puppeteers.

XIII. Passion and Politics

2003 ◽  
Vol 52 ◽  
pp. 221-234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan James
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Power Relations ◽  
Mental States ◽  
Analytical Philosophy ◽  
Emotional Suffering ◽  
Theories Of Action ◽  
State Of Affairs ◽  
The Mind

The sudden resurgence of interest in the emotions that has recently overtaken analytical philosophy has raised a range of questions about the place of the passions in established explanatory schemes. How, for example, do the emotions fit into theories of action organized around beliefs and desires? How can they be included in analyses of the mind developed to account for other mental states and capacities? Questions of this general form also arise within political philosophy, and the wish to acknowledge their importance and find a space for them has led to some fruitful developments. Among these are a new sensitivity to ways in which attributions of emotion can create and sustain unequal power relations, an interest in the underlying emotional capacities that make politics possible, a concern with the kinds of emotional suffering that politics should aim to abolish, and analyses of the emotional traits it should foster. While these and comparable explorations have enormously enriched contemporary political philosophy, a great deal of mainstream work continues to ignore or marginalize the emotions, so that their place remains uncertain and obscure. There is no consensus as to what kind of attention should be paid to them, or indeed whether they deserve any systematic attention at all. This is a curious state of affairs, because it was until quite recently taken for granted that political philosophy and psychology are intimately connected, and that political philosophy needs to be grounded on an understanding of human passion. In this essay I shall first consider why political philosophers ever rejected this set of assumptions. I shall then return to the pressing issue of how we might take account of the emotions in our own political theorizing.

Introduction

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allyn Fives
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Power Relations

This is a book about parents, power, and children and, in particular, the legitimacy of parents’ power over their children. It is also a book about political philosophy itself, as it examines the role of this discipline when we evaluate the legitimacy of parents’ power. If parents have power, and if they exercise power over their children, what makes some power relations legitimate and others illegitimate, and how do we justify these conclusions?

“Technological Object” in Gilbert Simondon’s Philosophy

2019 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
pp. 705-716
Author(s):  
Xavier Guchet ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Science And Technology Studies ◽  
Philosophy Of Technology ◽  
Rational Analysis ◽  
The Social ◽  
Major Interest ◽  
Technological Developments ◽  
Technological Object ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Times ◽  
Empirical Turn

For the last twenty years, the philosophy of technology has firmly taken an “empirical turn” and has been strongly pervaded with Science and Technology Studies (STS) lessons, focusing on the social consistency of technical beings. In this context, Simondon’s approach to technology may appear a bit dated. A major issue of On the Mode of Existence of Technical Objects (MEOT) is indeed to theorize technology beyond any reference to social commitments: Simondon distinguishes “pure technicity,” amenable to rational analysis, from “psychosocial overdeterminations” that contaminate technical objects with exogenous concerns. Thus, Simondon may prove behind the times when he claims to analyze technology as a non-social realm. This article intends to demonstrate that Simondon can nevertheless fruitfully feed current debates related to technological developments. More precisely, the difference between several concepts of technological objects in MEOT proves to be of major interest for clarifying current issues related, in particular, to ethics.

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