Technology and Anarchy: A Reading of Our Era (Postphenomenology and the Philosophy of Technology)

In Technology and Anarchy: A Reading of Our Era, Simona Chiodo argues that our technological era can be read as the most radical form of anarchism ever experienced. People are not only removing the role of the expert as a mediator, but also trying, for the first time in history, to replace the role of a transcendent god itself by creating, especially through information technology, a totally immanent technological entity characterized by the typical ontological prerogatives of the divine: omnipresence (by being everywhere), omniscience (by knowing everything, especially about us), omnipotence (by having power, especially over us), and inscrutability. Chiodo proposes a novel view of our technological era by reading it as the last step of a precise trajectory of Western thought, i.e. as the most radical form of anarchism we have ever experienced, due to the crisis of the founding epistemological relationship between ideality and reality. By doing this, Chiodo helps fill the gap between technological innovation and the humanities, which is becoming an emerging research goal that is more and more urgent in order to face the greatest challenges of our present and future. In Technology and Anarchy: A Reading of Our Era, Simona Chiodo argues that the technological era can be read as the most radical form of anarchism ever experienced. People are not only removing the role of the expert as a mediator, but also trying, for the first time in history, to replace the role of a transcendent god itself by creating, especially through computer engineering, a totally immanent technological entity characterized by the typical ontological prerogatives of the divine: omnipresence (by being everywhere), omniscience (by knowing everything, especially about us) and omnipotence (by having power, especially over us), as well as inscrutability. Chiodo proposes a novel view of our technological era by reading it as the last step of a precise trajectory of Western thought, i.e. as the most radical form of anarchism we have ever experienced, due to the crisis of the founding epistemological relationship between ideality and reality. By doing this, Chiodo helps fill the gap between technological innovation and the humanities, which is becoming an emerging research goal that is more and more urgent in order to face the greatest challenges of our present and future Cover Technology and Anarchy Series Page Technology and Anarchy: A Reading of Our Era Copyright Page Contents Introduction Chapter 1 The Evolution of Prometheus, from Past to Present to Future THE ANCIENT PROMETHEUS The Modern Prometheus A Possible Contemporary Prometheus Notes Chapter 2 Homo anarchicus THE ANCIENT INVENTION OF IDEALITY AND ITS TECHNOLOGICAL MEANING The Modern Crisis of Ideality and Its Technological Meaning Contemporary Technology as a Creation of an Immanent Divine Notes Chapter 3 Reading Our Technological Era A FIRST CASE IN POINT: ALGORITHM AND HEALTH A Second Case in Point: The Web, Money, and Politics Notes Chapter 4 Radical Externalization THE MOST RADICAL EPISTEMOLOGICAL EXTERNALIZATION AND META-EXTERNALIZATION The Most Radical Hypertrophization of Logos Notes Chapter 5 Farewell to Humans? A POSSIBLE SCENARIO A Possible Reflection upon the Possible Scenario Notes Chapter 6 The Most Radical Form of Anarchism We Have Ever Experienced PAST AND PRESENT FORMS OF ANARCHISM Radical Anarchism and a Technological God as the Greatest Automaton Materiale Notes Conclusion Notes References Index About the Author In Technology and Anarchy: A Reading of Our Era, Simona Chiodo argues that our technological era can be read as the most radical form of anarchism ever experienced. People are not only removing the role of the expert as a mediator, but also trying, for the first time in history, to replace the role of a transcendent god itselft by creating, especially through information technology, a totally immanent technological entity characterized by the typical ontological prerogatives of the divine: omnipresence (by being everywhere), omniscience (by knowing everthing, especially about us), omnipotence (by having power, especially over us), and inscrutability--back cover This book argues that our technological era is the most radical form of anarchism we have ever experienced. People are not only removing the role of the expert as a mediator, but also replacing the role of a transcendent god with an omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent technological entity that is totally immanent.