A Theory of Technology

The course deals with social role and meaning of technology on various levels and from various perspectives. On the most general level it explains the relation between technology and human species, ie., how and why technological development starts at all, how is it related to basic biological and evolutionary characteristics of the human species, such as upright posture and free hands, why human species can not avoid technology and what is a basic structure of its development.
On a more concrete level it explains historical characteristics of technological development in its various stages, ie. how it firstly continues biological evolution (early humans use primitive tools in the same way as horses their hoofs or turtles its shells), but how it later (with sails and windmills) transcends its erstwhile biological structure and begins to develop on its own. The middle part of the semester is thus dedicated to this specific, independent technological development and to the question of its role in human societies.
The last part of the semester is dedicated to the more contemporary topic of technological development in capitalism. Since technological advances mean a competitive advantage for individual enterprises, technological development in capitalism is faster and more systematic than ever before. Furthermore, what changes in capitalism is not only speed of technological development, but also its form, since technologies begin to displace some economic social relations (real subsumption).

• Leroi-Gourhan, Andre. Gib in beseda I. Ljubljana: Studia humanitatis, 1988. COBISS.SI-ID – 6802688
• Leroi-Gourhan, Andre. Gib in beseda II. Ljubljana: Studia humanitatis, 1990. COBISS.SI-ID – 6802688
• Butler, Samuel. 1999. Erewhon: or, over the range. London : Perlego. https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1906
• Marx, Karl. Kapital I. Ljubljana: Sophia, 2012. COBISS.SI-ID – 265793792
• Bratton, Benjamin. The stack. Cambridge: The MIT press, 2015 https://web.s.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?vid=0&sid=f061c1c6-c757…

The reading list will be updated yearly and published in the faculty’s information system.