Techne Beyond Monoculture III

Instructor: Cécile Malaspina Date & Time: September 24, October 8th, 15th, 22nd 09:00-11:30 ET

DESCRIPTION: This Seminar consists of a series of discussions with guests from the fields of philosophy, art, media theory and digital humanities, taking aim at the idea that capitalist techno-rationality is the only available paradigm for technology. The use of the Ancient Greek term tékhnē, in the title of this seminar, signals a broader perspective on technology, situating today’s concerns, notably about the simulation of intelligence and the challenge of deep-fakes, in the context of the ancient distrust of tékhnē as a form of trickery or mere mimesis. This ambivalence toward technology, as something that is historically revered and feared as both remedy and poison (pharmakon), is in fact indissociable from the technical mediation of culture. This calls for a broader understanding of technology, encompassing the artful and skilful mediation of nature, as well as the invention of objects unknown in nature. While our understanding of nature has changed beyond recognition from that of the Ancient Greek, it is now more urgent than ever to discern the critical role that our attitude to technology plays, both as a catalyst of the climate crisis and as key factor of its (still) possible mitigation.

The Seminar will engage with the critical contemporary relevance of issues such as:

– The relation between Knowing and Doing (Episteme and Techne).
– The relation between Intelligence (Nous), Wisdom (Sophia)and Practical Wisdom (Phronesis/Prudence).
– The challenge of Epistemological Noise (Malaspina) in the relation between the Human Sciences and STEM subjects.
– The formulation of transdisciplinary problems.
– The Criteria and Virtues necessary for a Synergy of Cultural, Ecosystemic and Biodiversity.
– The role of Technodiversity (Hui) in addressing Climate Change.
– The emancipation of technology from Capitalist monoculture.

IMAGE: Nicole Eisenman, Selfie, detail, 2014

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