Work, Technology, and Society: Evolution, Impact, and Ethics
The Concept of Work
The idea of work is commonplace, yet its interpretation varies widely. It can be seen as a burden or as a means of self-improvement. Work is a productive activity involving deliberate manipulation and modification of nature for subsistence. It is a constitutive and specific activity of the human condition. We often equate work with a job, which is done in exchange for a salary. However, these concepts differ. A job may or may not be productive, but it indirectly results in monetary compensation.
Property and Ownership
Property is linked to legitimate ownership. Locke argued that everyone has the right to private property, and the outcome of our actions belongs to us. This notion suggests that work grants us rights and duties over what we produce.
Technical Activity
Concept
Technical activity is the ability to modify the environment to our advantage and to design, build, and use tools. Animals lack technical skills as they merely follow behavior patterns and cannot improve their creations.
Features
Technical activity involves:
- Subject adaptation to the environment: Early hominids used technique to meet their needs.
- Environment adaptation to the subject: Technique allows us to change the environment to make it more favorable, creating an artificial world.
Stages
Technique of Chance
(Until 7th Century A.C.)
Characterized by limited technical resources, widespread technical skills, chance discoveries, and a lack of distinction between art and nature. It occurs in less developed societies.
Technical Artisan
(Antiquity to Middle Ages)
Marked by a growth in technical activities, spatial segmentation, the emergence of art as a distinct concept, and a reliance on learning and tradition. Technique is limited to the use of tools and instruments.
Technician Technique
(Renaissance to Present)
Technique extends to all areas of life, with deep specialization, constant invention and innovation, and the development of machines. This era differentiates technical knowledge. Technology is defined as the set of complex and sophisticated procedures and remedies that characterize art from the 18th century onwards. Science and technique were once separate, but they converged with modern science (e.g., Galileo), leading to a close relationship between technology and science.
Impact of Technology
Advantages
- Effectiveness and Productivity: Increased efficiency and productivity allow for faster and better production.
- Humanization of Work Conditions: Machinery can free workers from grueling tasks, reserving more rewarding ones for them.
- Free Time: Increased productivity has led to reduced working hours, increasing leisure time and quality of life.
Disadvantages
- Overproduction and Consumerism: Producing more than needed can lead to overproduction and waste.
- Dehumanization and Alienation: The introduction of machines can reduce people to auxiliary roles, leading to repetitive work and a loss of human dimension, as Marx described.
- The Fraud of Free Time: Some argue that leisure serves production interests, as rested workers are more productive and also become consumers.
- Unemployment: Machinery can replace workers, leading to increased unemployment.
Social Implications
The Social Implications
The Return to Nature: If societal ills are linked to technological development, one solution might be a return to a pre-technological life, living in harmony with nature, as Rousseau suggested. However, this is not feasible for many, as it would mean forgoing the benefits of technology.
Technoethics: Science is neutral, but technology can be good or bad depending on its aims and uses. We should advocate for technoethics, an ethics of technique, where technicians are responsible for the consequences of their work. Mario Bunge argued that technicians should feel responsible for their projects, even if the ends are set by others. Orders should not violate moral principles. The solution to current problems lies in making technicians aware of their responsibility for the proper use of their knowledge.