Abstract
I begin with a quotation from Martin Heidegger because even though the essay “The Question Concerning Technology” was delivered in 1953—some forty-five years ago—it remains one of the most profound statements concerning technology that has been made. Heidegger’s essay has not only become a philosophical classic but also has remained an important source of inspiration for a generation of philosophers writing of the nature of technology, including Herbert Marcuse and Jürgen Habermas of the Frankfurt School, and those like Michel Foucault and Jacques Derrida whom we might call “poststructuralists.”
Everywhere we remain unfree and chained to technology, whether we passionately affirm or deny it. But we are delivered over to it in the worst possible way when we regard it as something neutral for this conception of it, to which today we particularly like to do homage, makes us utterly blind to the essence of technology. (Heidegger, 1997: 4)
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© 2006 John R. Dakers
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Peters, M.A. (2006). From Knowledge to Information: Virtual Classrooms or Automated Diploma Mills?. In: Dakers, J.R. (eds) Defining Technological Literacy. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781403983053_19
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781403983053_19
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