Inside the politics of technology : agency and normativity in the co-production of technology and society / Hans Harbers, ed.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Harbers, Hans.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Technology--Social aspects.

Technology.

Technology and civilization.

Science--Social aspects.

Science.

Physical Description:

308 pages ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

Amsterdam : Amsterdam University Press, [2005]

Summary:

Though the old saying claims that man is the measure of all things, the authors of" Inside the Politics of Technology "argue that the distinction implied between autonomous humans and neutral instruments of technology is an illusion. On the contrary, the technologies humans create simultaneously shape humans themselves. By means of case studies of technologies as diverse as video cameras, electric cars, pregnancy tests, and genetic screenings, this volume considers the implications of this "co-production" of technology and society for our philosophical and political ideas. Are only humans endowed with social, political, and moral agency, or does our technology share those qualities? And if so, how should we understand--or practice--a politics of technology?

Contents:

Introduction : co-production, agency, and normativity / Hans Harbers

Back to the drawing board : inventing a sociology of technology / Cornelis Disco

Artifacts as social agents / Philip Brey

Diversity and distributed agency in the design and use of medical video-communication technologies / Nelly Oudshoorn, Margo Brouns, & Ellen van Oost

Choices and choosing in cancer genetics / Dirk Stemerding & Annemiek Nelis

Artifacts and attachment : a post-script philosophy of mediation / Peter-Paul Verbeek

Art and technology playing leapfrog : a history and philosophy of technoèsis / Petran Kockelkoren

Taking the socio-technical seriously : exploring the margins for change in the traffic and transport domain / Boelie Elzen

Trapped in the duality of structure : an STS approach to engineering ethics / Tsjalling Swierstra & Jaap Jelsma

The cultural politics of prenatal screening / Marcus Popkema & Hans Harbers

Epilogue : political materials, material politics / Hans Harbers.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 269-291) and index.

ISBN:

9053567569

OCLC:

63473366