A Technorealism and the Social Consequences of Technology

Abstract

In the article, I review and analyze the axiological reflection on the role of technology in social life, represented by philosophers whom I classify as techno-realists. Techno-realism is the intermediate position in the axiology of technology, between techno-pessimism and techno-optimism. I briefly present the history of this way of philosophizing. I cover the history of the thinking of techno-realists belonging to philosophy of culture and philosophy of technology, including Lewis Mumford, Martin Heidegger, Leszek Kołakowski, Langdon Winner, Shoshana Zuboff and Juval noi Hararri. Next, I discuss new ideas of techno-realists from the group of philosophers of engineering (including Carl Mitcham), as well as the views of practitioners/engineers. Techno-realism formulates balanced assessments of technological artifacts and thus can provide people with arguments in their problematic encounters with the latest technological products, as well as encourage specific actions in social life in the era of the third modernity, especially in the education of children and youth.