Technics: Info Systems & Philosophy : Books about philosophical basics of technology, philosophy of technique, technics

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Scholars oriented to reformational Christian philosophy have produced several very valuable studies on the philosophical basics of technology as special science of technics. The word "technology" is overwhelmingly used incorrectly, as tho the suffix "-ology" was just a throwaway. Not so, strictly speaking. Technology is the science which analyzes and theorizes the realized specific techniques that have come and are coming into existence today and tomorrow, and their patterns and inter-relations and impacts on the rest of existence (in plants, animals, humans, and even aliens if they ever arrive from outer space). Technics is a modal dimension universal to created existence, and a modal science that is at once h+ly abstract precisely in order to embrace all phenomena in their technical aspect, whether dominant, central, focal and qualifying / foundational in a phenomenon (sphere specificity); or nondominant, auxiliary, peripheral and subsidiary in a phenomenon (extended sphere universality).

The technological study of information systems is one of the key intellectual disciploines of modern life, and neither technology in the study of techniques, nor technics as a universal modal science (Dooyeweerd, Seerveld, Schuurman) can afford to neglect info-system analysis and search for ins+t (note that my very spelling using a plus sign [+] to indicate a long-sounded "i" and to differentiate that long sound by a "+" in contrast to the short sound indicated now by the usual "i") is a specific micro-technique of spelling). Info systems are much more specialized now with the devlopment the technical complex based on electromagnetic transmission of binary and other pulses thru machines (computers, devices, etc) equipped with program interpreters (codes, encryptions, etc.). This complex is often called "computer technology" but in reality it is computer technique or computer technics, information technique or info technics. A computer itself is a machine (hardware).

Jacques Ellul established this usage in French in his book, entitled La technique, But, unfortunately, when translated into English it appeared under the misnomer The Technological Society – whereas it is his book itself (like every book a constellation of techniques, such as printing) was an analytic discursive work of technology, technological thawt – that is, a scientific-philosophical reflection on techniques, as they disclose a universal modal aspect of creation, its law-order and its appearances in everyday life. So, I argue against the common English usage here because it's too conceptually narrow, limiting and distorting; but usage is usage, changing usually at a very slow pace. - Owlb

New Book:

Sytse Strijbos, professor of informatics at the Free University (VU) in Amsterdam (a former student of Hendrik van Riessen [The Society of the Future] and Egbert Schuurman [see below]) and Andrew Basden, professor of information systems and their human factors, at Salford University, Salford, England, UK. have together produced a symposium of diverse stances making use of the philosophy of Dooyeweerd, Van Riessen and Schuurman.

S. Strijbos and A. Basden (2006)
In Search of an Integrative Vision for Technology:
Interdisciplinary Studies in Information Systems
Publisher: Springer.
Catalogue Data: ISBN-10: 0-387-32150-0 ISBN-13: 978-0387-321509

Expensive! - from Andrew Basden on Thinknet

Biblography of Reformational-Philosophical Works on Technics
Compiled by Gregory Baus©April 22, 2006

Egbert Schuurman (b. 1937), studied Civil Engineering at the Technological University of Delft and Philosophy at the Free University of Amsterdam; is Professor in Reformational Philo­sop­hy at the Technological Universities of Delft and Eindho­ven and at the Agricultural University of Wageningen. He is also a member of Dutch Parliament. Some available publi­cations in En­glish are:

Technology and the Future -- A Phi­losophical Challenge (Wedge, Toronto, 1980) Translated by Drs. H. Donald Morton

Reflections on the Technological Society (Wedge, 1983.)

Perspectives on Technology and Culture (Dordt College Press, 1995)

Faith, Hope and Technology (Clements Publishing, 2002)

Technological World Picture and Ethics of Responsibility (Dordt College Press, 2005)

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Here is a bit about Schuurman's work.

Here is an online essay by Schuurman on ethics of technology.

Here is another Schuurman essay on ethics of genetic engineering.

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Here is a paper on (a Dooyeweerdian view of) the aesthetics (art) of engineering design by Charles C. Adams

technics, technology, techniques, philosophy, info, informatics, infosys, infosysdigital, cybernetics, strijbossyste, basdenandrew, elluljacques, book, print, +, computer

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