Taking Care of the Symbolic Order. How Converging Technologies Challenge our Concepts

Springer Science and Business Media LLC - Tập 3 - Trang 269-280 - 2009
Tsjalling Swierstra1, Rinie van Est2, Marianne Boenink1
1Faculty of Behavioural Sciences, Department of Philosophy, University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands
2Rathenau Institute, Den Haag, The Netherlands

Tóm tắt

In this article we briefly summarize how converging technologies challenge elements of the existing symbolic order, as shown in the contributions to this special issue. We then identify the vision of ‘life as a do it yourself kit’ as a common denominator in the various forms of convergence and proceed to show how this vision provokes unrest and debate about existing moral frameworks and taboos. We conclude that, just as the problems of the industrial revolution sparked off the now broadly established ideal of sustainability the converging technologies should be governed by the ideal of ‘human sustainability’. The essence of this ideal is formed by the ongoing discussion about the extent to which we may, or should want to, ‘make’ our environment and ourselves, and when it is better to simply accept what is given and what happens to us.

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