Finishing off some introductory material which includes a (brief) survey of ways technology is viewed or defined. One thing that has struck me in this process is the number of books written about technology and technological issues that never explicitly say what the author thinks technology is. Even a footnote would be useful.
For example, I was sure I was clearly missing the section where Neil Postman explicitly defined technology in his book “Technopoly : The Surrender of Culture to Technology” It was something of a relief to discover I was not the only one (see here and scroll down). (Of course, if there is such a section and I have missed it then please leave a comment below.)
Anyway it’s been serving as a useful reminder in my own writing. Always state clearly somewhere (and hopefully early on) what your own assumptions and definitions are before launching into the discussion.
It was also a relief to discover that John Macquarrie in his book “Heidegger and Christianity: The Hensley Henson Lectures 1993-94” comments that Heidegger’s ideas about technology were somewhat obscure and ambiguous, and that that confusion had spread to his commentators too. Certainly my own notes on his understanding were confusing when I came back to them.
