Whats Critical Theory Critical Of?
One result of the Enlightenment is the idea that of technological utopianism. Think Star Trek – there’s a gadget or technological fix for everything. Technology is seen as ethically neutral by modern people, and it takes on its ethical character from the person using it. Critical theorists want to challenge this technological utopism, and also the idea of technology as ethically neutral. As a product of human society, technology has built in the ideals, goals, and character of that society. It is not neutral. Nor does it necessarily bring a better world. The ultimate triumph of technology over humanity comes when we take the technological model as the model for all human society. Our governments become technologies, concerned about “efficiencies” and “outputs”, rather than civil discourse and the common good. Education systems become technologies, again concerned solely with efficiency. What’s the problem? There are several. First, believing this allows ethical decision-making to be gi
