Günther Anders was speaking for the age of nuclear weapons when he noted that technological capabilities exceed human comprehension. Genetically modified organisms, pervasive computing in smart environments, and envisioned nanotechnological applications pose a similar challenge; powerful technological interventions elude comprehension if only by being too small, or too big, to register in human perception and experience. The most advanced technological research programs are thus bringing about a curiously regressive inversion of the relation between humans, technology, and nature. No longer a means of controlling nature in order to protect, shield, or empower humans, technology dissolves into nature and becomes uncanny, incomprehensible, beyond perceptual and conceptual control. Technology might thus end up being as enchanted and perhaps frightening as nature used to be when humanity started the technological process of disenchantment and rationalization. Good design might counteract this inversion, for example, by creating human interfaces even with technologies that are meant to be too small to be experienced.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Amato, I., 1999, Nanotechnology ‐ Shaping the World Atom by Atom, National Science and Technology Council, Interagency Working Group on Nanoscience, Engineering and Technology, Washington.
Anders, G., 1972, Endzeit und Zeitende: Gedanken über die atomare Situation, München: Beck.
Bensaude‐Vincent, B., and Guchet, X., 2005, What is in a word? Nanomachines and their philo‐sophical implications, Centre d’histoire et de philosophie des sciences, Université Paris (unpublished manuscript).
Clement, A., 1978, If “small is beautiful,” is micro marvellous? A look at micro‐computing as if people mattered, ACM SIGPC Notes 1(3):14-22.
Dupuy, J.‐P., 2004, Complexity and uncertainty, in: Foresighting the New Technology Expert Group: State of the Art Reviews and Related Papers, Brussels, pp. 153-167, http://europa. eu.int/comm/research/conferences/2004/ntw/pdf/soa_en.pdf (January 25, 2006).
Hett, A., 2004, Nanotechnology ‐ Small Matter, Many Unknowns, Swiss Reinsurance Company, Zurich.
Hooke, R., 1665, Micrographia, or, Some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies Made by Magnifying Glasses: With Observations and Inquiries Thereupon, Martyn and Allestry, London.
Jones, R., 2004, Soft Machines, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Joy, B., 2000, Why the future doesn't need us, Wired (April 2000).
Nordmann, A., 2004, Nanotechnology's worldview: new space for old cosmologies, IEEE Technol. Soc. Mag. 23(4):48-54.
Nordmann, A., 2005a, Noumenal technology: reflections on the incredible tininess of nano, Techné 8(3):3-23.
Nordmann, A., 2005b, Nanotechnology: convergence and integration ‐ containing nanotechnol‐ogy, in: 9th Japanese‐German Symposium: Frontiers of Nanoscience, Deutsche Gesellschaft der JSPS‐Stipendiaten, Bonn, pp. 105-119.
Nordmann, A., 2005c, Wohin die Reise geht: Zeit und Raum der Nanotechnologie, in: Unbestim mtheitssignaturen der Technik, Gerhard Gamm and Andreas Hetzel, eds., transcript, Bielefeld, pp. 103-123.
Rossmann, T., and Tropea, C., eds., 2004, Bionik: Aktuelle Forschungsergebnisse in Natur‐, Ingenieur‐ und Geisteswissenschaften, Springer, Berlin.
von Gleich, A., 2006, Potenziale und Anwendungsperspektiven der Bionik: Die Nähe zur Natur als Chance und als Risiko, draft study.
Weber, M., 1988, Gesammelte Aufsätze zur Wissenschaftslehre, J.C.B. Mohr, Tübingen.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2008 Springer Science + Business Media B.V
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Nordmann, A. (2008). Technology Naturalized: A Challenge to Design for the Human Scale. In: Philosophy and Design. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-6591-0_13
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-6591-0_13
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-6590-3
Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-6591-0
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawPhilosophy and Religion (R0)