Ezra's Bookshelf

Technology and the Character of Contemporary Life

by Albert Borgmann · 310 pages · ~5.5 hrs

PhilosophyScience & Technology

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Albert Borgmann's philosophy of technology offers an alternative to both technophobia and uncritical enthusiasm, examining how the character of contemporary life has been shaped by what he calls the device paradigm. A device, in Borgmann's usage, is a technology that delivers a commodity while concealing its machinery. A central heating system delivers warmth without fire, wood, or the practices of gathering and tending. The commodity is available instantly, without effort or skill. Borgmann, a professor of philosophy at the University of Montana, argues that this pattern dominates modern life and impoverishes it. When commodities are easily available, the practices that once surrounded them wither. We gain convenience but lose engagement. The alternative is what Borgmann calls focal things and practices: activities that require skill and attention, that gather people together, that connect us to nature and tradition. A hearth that must be tended is focal; a thermostat is not. A meal prepared together is focal; fast food consumed alone is not. Borgmann does not advocate abandoning technology but recentering life around focal practices while using devices in their service. The book engages with Heidegger's philosophy of technology while remaining accessible to general readers. Those seeking a framework for thinking critically about technology's role in contemporary life will find Borgmann's distinctions useful for evaluating particular technologies and life choices.

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