Technology

["Lluerna Cultural" <lluerna@oninet.es>]

Reading this weekend " La nova innocència" by Raimon Panikkar. Panikkar is
an old spanish - hindu philosopher who has lived more than 30 years in
India and taught at Harvard for more than 20 years. Has published dozens of
books dealing with intercultural dialogue and the " interregnum" we are
living now.In this book an article that sure will interest the Jünguerites
is " El tecnocentrisme" that deals with technology. His thesis is
Technology is the fruit of a determinate culture, the western culture.
Technology is not neutral, therefore the universalization of technology
will suppose the destruction of the other cultures. If these countries want
to have western technology, they will have to lose their own culture, their
own cosmovision. The technology also means an important change of our own
world, it requires the retreat of Gods, and the change of the Universe -
Technology has only sense in a quantitative Universe, but not in a
qualitative Universe ( Heidegger said : Science don´t think). Technology
makes calculations, and requires acceleration. Time is only another
cuantitative fact for Tech. Panikkar says " The baconian affirmation "
Knowledge is power" means " technological knowledge is power". We are in a
cartesian world where knowledge is power, power to dominate. Technology
offers this power, tech offers muscles, money, armies, knowledge,..." The
article is much longer and deal with the role of the worker, the human
freedom, the idea that " Technology is violence against nature", and I ´m
sure those who are interested in the technological civilization will enjoy
it, and, specially, because is a view that it come from India, from a
different world( and how are related to EJ own toughts). You can read this
article in english " Some theses on technology" : in LOGOS Nº VII( Santa
Clara, CA.1986), and find a related one in " Cultural disarment"
:INTERCULTURE 89 (1985), pages 14 - 33, and a first version of the article
in french  " Quelques thèses supplémentaires sur la technologie" in
Philosophie et technique( pages 61-72), published by André Mercier, Bern -
Paris, Institut International de Philosophie, 1984.

Greetings,
Daniel Capó Laisfeldt