In Search of a New Prometheus

Abstract

Toward the end of his book, Philosophy of Technology, Frederick Ferré reminds us of that wonderful ancient myth in which Prometheus steals the secret of fire from the gods and gives it to humanity, thereby setting us on the road to civilization. For this Prometheus was punished. He was chained to a rock and tortured daily by a bird who ate his liver, which then regenerated overnight so he could be tortured again by having it re-eaten the next day by the same bird. Not that I would want to deliberately set events in motion which would lead to such a horrible fate for anyone, but I sorely feel the need for a new Prometheus who would set us free from current philosophers of technology whose major objective seems to be to keep informed philosophical discussion of technology out of reach. Such a savior would not have to give us fire; intellectual enlightenment would suffice. As the old Prometheus freed humanity from the torment of the cold and dark, the new Prometheus through his or her gift would free us from the current state of darkness which characterizes the philosophy of technology. Ferré aspires to be that Prometheus, but I find that he is not.