Filozofia techniki w dobie nowych mediów
Philosophy of Technology in the Age of New Media

Author(s): Andrzej Kiepas
Subject(s): Philosophy, Social Sciences, Media studies, Social Philosophy, Communication studies, Theory of Communication
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego
Keywords: philosophy of technology; philosophy; Media; New Media
Summary/Abstract: The development and growing popularity of the new media on the one hand becomes the source of significant cultural and social change, but on the other hand, it constitutes a challenge for the humanities, including the philosophy of technology. Thus, digitalization leads to universalization, which, in turn, allows for a more varied use of new media, including the results of their popularization. The challenges posed to the philosophy of technology manifest, among other things, in the fact that while the discipline returns to the traditionally debated issues but concretizes them through the prism of the new circumstances arising from the development of new media. One of such issues is the relationship between technology and culture, which, in turn, poses fundamental for the philosophy of technology questions regarding technology and its place in the cultural and social order. In this respect, the monograph refers primarily to the stance of the modern German school of the philosophy of technology and engages in a discussion of the so-called reflective perspective on technology as well as the issues of digital ontology. Other debated issues include the question of the status of virtuality and the functioning of technology in the context of transcultural exchange. Moreover, the monograph touches upon various specific problems concerning the development of technology, including: – the processes of globalization and the idea of sustainable development, in which technology constitutes one of the crucial factors facilitating change;– the processes of the so-called reflective modernization, where technology becomes a factor in various risk situations;– the changes in the relationship between science and technology and their influence on the social sphere—the idea of technoscience as well as RRI (responsible research and innovations);– the perspective of the fourth industrial revolution, the so-called industry 4.0, as well as the questions concerning the liminal character of the development of the contemporary civilization, on the example of bioetics and ecophilosophy;– the necessary changes concerning science education, which should also engage in a discussion concerning STS (science, technology and society).What connects all of the abovementioned issues are the ethical questions with which they engage, in particular, the notion of responsibility, around which the author centers the main argument.Contemporary culture, as a culture of communication, poses an additional challenge to the individual, their subjectivity and identity, as well as their wisdom and rationality. As a result, the questions regarding the human nature become particularly topical alongside the popularization of the ideas of transand posthumanism. This, in turn, constitutes an additional angle for reflection on the nature and development of technology, as well as its ethical challenges, which ultimately focuses on the role of collective responsibility as an importantfactor in regulating the development of the modern civilization.

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