5369/ Jonas/ Ch 18 Reading Response

Gregory Zobel
Chapter 18
Hans Jonas: Toward a Philosophy of Technology


Hans Jonas works towards defining terms and identifying key themes surrounding the philosophy of technology. Jonas identifies two other major themes in the philosophy of technology: form and matter. Jonas labels them formal dynamics and substantive content. Formal dynamics represents technology as a "continuing collective enterprise" which is apparently self-propelled; substantive content of technology is "[T]he things it puts into human use, the powers it confers, the novel objectives it opens up or dictates, and the altered manner of human action by which these objectives are realized" (191). As Jonas states, the first is abstract and the second is concrete. To this he adds the third theme of morals or ethics.


Jonas spends five pages developing the formal dynamics of technology. The first key points he establishes is that while earlier technology was centered around possession of tools, modern technology is focused on being a process (192). A key aspects of this process is the notion of constant progress (192-3). Other traits Jonas identifies technology as having spur the feedbackish ideological loop of infinite progress: restlessness; competition; population growth; quasi-utopian visions; need for social control; and the premise that eternal progress is possible (193-4). This last element, Jonas states, is key: "Unless we understand this ontologic-epistemological premise, we have not understood the inmost agent of technological dynamics" (194). Jonas then goes on to identify how science and technology feed each other's restlessness, motivate each other, and urge each other forward to perpetual research and development (195).

Next Jonas explores the materiality of technology and several facets of its expression. First, technology exerts demands on the social and natural worlds. However, technology often generates other technology with even greater demands; he cites the steam engine's need for coal as an example (197). This new technology, often designed for production of goods, regularly shifts into the private homes and lives of people, such as audio and visual production (198). Another result of technological development is that entirely new things are discovered, like electricity, or media are created, such as communication engineering. Thus, while science may generate knowledge that technology can use, technology generates tools that facilitates scientific discovery of yet more things which technology can then apply. The final frontier of this discovery/application, Jonas asserts, is biology and the human body.

Finally, Jonas explores the ethics of technology. As he states, given the overwhelming power and impact of technology on life, the future of human life is at stake, so ethics are going to be involved (200). He claims that even though technology appears to offer people a greater sense of freedom, technology simultaneously creates a greater state of determinism. The very artifact that we have now implies that there is something better, something as yet undiscovered, and since we hold one object today, that very object drives us to desire and create something for tomorrow (201). Rather than simply participating in this process, Jonas pushes for an awareness of the process and an awareness of the dangers of certain technologies and technological systems (201-2). For Jonas, the real issue in maintaining proper balance and control of technology is to make sure that the proper people into positions of responsibility and power (202).