Inside the Politics of Technology: Agency and Normativity in the Co-Production of Technology and Society PDF
Preview Inside the Politics of Technology: Agency and Normativity in the Co-Production of Technology and Society
Amsterdam University Press h The old saying that ‘man is the measure of all things’ presupposes free and a autonomous human beings on the one hand, and neutral instruments on the n other. Humanism plus instrumentalism, however, is a double illusion, this s volume argues. Science and technology are not simply the means to reach h a human ends. On the contrary, they also actively shape human beings, their r goals, their meanings, and their mutual relations. b e r By means of case studies of technological innovations as diverse as video- s cameras, electric cars, electronic notebooks, pregnancy tests, and genetic ( screening devices the authors of Inside the Politics of Technology discuss the e d implications of this so-called ‘co-production’ of science, technology, and . ) society for our philosophical and political ideas about humanity and techno- I logy. Are human beings the only ones endowed with agency, or do technolo- n s gical artifacts act as well? And if they do, then how should we understand or i d practice a politics of technology? e t h Hans Harbers was trained as an historical sociologist and is currently e Associate Professor at the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of P Groningen. His research and publications focus on the roles of nonhuman o l actors in the co-production of knowledge, power, and morality. i t h a ns h a r bers ed. i c ( ) s With contributions by: Cornelis Disco, Philip Brey, Nelly Oudshoorn, Margo o Brouns, Ellen van Oost, Dirk Stemerding, Annemiek Nelis, Peter-Paul f Verbeek, Petran Kockelkoren, Boelie Elzen, Tsjalling Swierstra, Jaap Jelsma, T Inside the Politics e and Marcus Popkema. c h n o of Technology l o g y ISBN 90-5356-756-9 Agency and Normativity in the Co-Production of Technology and Society AMSTERDAM UNIVERSITY PRESS 9 789053 567562 www.aup.nl Inside the Politics of Technolo 24-06-2005 10:58 Pagina 1 Inside the Politics of Technolo 24-06-2005 10:58 Pagina 2 Inside the Politics of Technolo 24-06-2005 10:58 Pagina 3 Inside the Politics ofTechnology Agency and Normativity in the Co-Production ofTechnology and Society Hans Harbers (ed.) Inside the Politics of Technolo 24-06-2005 10:58 Pagina 4 Cover illustration:Fortunato Depero,Gli automi, Milan,Collection Gianni Mattioli Cover design:Studio Jan de Boer BNO,Amsterdam Layout:Adriaan de Jonge,Amsterdam © Amsterdam University Press,Amsterdam, All rights reserved.Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part ofthis book may be reproduced,stored in or introduced into a retrieval system,or transmitted,in any form or by any means (electronic,mechanical,photo- copying,recording or otherwise) without the written permission ofboth the copy- right owner and the author ofthe book. Inside the Politics of Technolo 24-06-2005 10:58 Pagina 5 Contents Preface Introduction:Co-Production,Agency,and Normativity Hans Harbers The Distribution ofAgency Back to the Drawing Board:Inventing a Sociology ofTechnology Cornelis Disco Artifacts as Social Agents Philip Brey Diversity and Distributed Agency in the Design and Use ofMedical Video- Communication Technologies Nelly Oudshoorn,Margo Brouns,and Ellen van Oost The Mediation ofAgency Choices and Choosing in Cancer Genetics Dirk Stemerding and Annemiek Nelis Artifacts and Attachment:A Post-Script Philosophy ofMediation Peter-Paul Verbeek Art and Technology Playing Leapfrog:A History and Philosophy of Technoèsis Petran Kockelkoren Inside the Politics of Technolo 24-06-2005 10:58 Pagina 6 The Politics ofAgency Taking the Socio-Technical Seriously:Exploring the Margins for Change in the Traffic and Transport Domain Boelie Elzen Trapped in the Duality ofStructure:An STS Approach to Engineering Ethics Tsjalling Swierstra and Jaap Jelsma The Cultural Politics ofPrenatal Screening Marcus Popkema and Hans Harbers Epilogue:Political Materials – Material Politics Hans Harbers References About the Authors Index ofNames Index ofSubjects Inside the Politics of Technolo 24-06-2005 10:58 Pagina 7 Preface During a stay from -as research fellow at the University ofTwente, Enschede,the Netherlands,I participated in the so-called “Mumford-pro- gram”– a project to stimulate and co-ordinate intellectual collaboration on the spot between various strands of Science and Technology Studies:from philosophy,sociology,and history ofscience and technology up to research policy and management studies.This volume,discussing the analytical and normative consequences of(conceiving) technology and technological arti- facts as agents,is one ofthe project’s principal results.Accordingly,the con- tributing authors are (or were) all engaged with the University ofTwente. Earlierversionsofthecontributionstothisvolumewereextensivelydis- cussedinacommonworkshopwithEmilieGomartandKnutSørensenasex- ternaldiscussants.Iwouldliketothankbothof themfortheirstimulating commentsandcriticalremarks.Inaddition,differentchapterswerereviewed seperatelybyexperts:DonaldMacKenzie(BacktotheDrawingBoard),David Hess (Artifacts as Social Agents),Adele Clarke (Diversity and Distributed AgencyintheDesignandUseofMedicalVideo-CommunicationTechnolo- gies),AnnemarieMol(ChoicesandChoosinginCancerGenetics),Andrew Feenberg (Artifacts and Attachment), Sven Kesselring (Taking the Socio- Technical Seriously),Bryan Wynne (Trapped in the Duality of Structure), andJohnLaw(TheCulturalPoliticsofPrenatalScreening).Wearegrateful for their encouraging remarks and helpful criticisms,which improved the originaldraftssubstantially.DickPels,TsjallingSwierstra,andNilDiscocom- mentedontheearlierversionsof theintroductionandtheepilogue.Their persistent support helped me overcome moments ofhesitation. Finally,I would like to thank George Hall and Nil Disco for their careful corrections ofthe English,and Maarten Zeehandelaar for his conscientious compilation ofthe index. Groningen,June Hans Harbers Inside the Politics of Technolo 24-06-2005 10:58 Pagina 8 Inside the Politics of Technolo 24-06-2005 10:58 Pagina 9 Introduction Co-Production,Agency,and Normativity Hans Harbers The Netherlands,. a.m., February :A few minutes after take-off from the nearby Twente Air Force Base,an F-fighter plane gets into trouble, tries to turn around and return to the base,but crashes into the residential area of Hasseler Es in the town of Hengelo.Houses catch fire,cars are de- stroyed,summerhouses and sheds are ruined.Total material damage:€mil- lion.Plus an F-of course – a multiple of that amount.Fortunately,there were no personal injuries;even the pilot was saved by his ejection seat at the last minute.A “divine miracle”,according to Hengelo’s mayor,Lemstra. The accident prompted an immediate debate on the risks of military flights over densely populated areas.Voices were raised demanding to closure the Twente Air Force base.Part ofthe discussion concerned the cause ofthe accident.Was the engine failure caused by a technical defect,fuel problems,or could it simply be a matter ofa bird flying into the intake compressor? And what about the pilot? Did he act properly? Shouldn’t he have flown straight ahead after he had received the first signals ofengine trouble from his dash- board instruments,instead ofmaking a sharp turn to the right in order to re- turn to the base as soon as possible,a move which brought him above the stricken area? Or, simply another possibility, might not the accident have been caused by the lack ofradar control,since that very morning the ground station was out oforder due to technical maintenance? This was the twenty-fifth F-to crash since this aircraft was first deployed by the Dutch armed forces in .According to the Air Force’s public rela- tions department,% ofthese crashes were attributable to technical trou- bles;% to human failure.But what is technical and what is human in this case? Is the absence ofground radar,due to maintenance work,a technical or a human affair? If,as it appears,engines can be destroyed by flying birds,why can’t human beings take that into account? And when the engine fails,this is manifested to the flying pilot as a technical defect,but couldn’t it have been foreseen by maintenance personnel at the airbase,thus making them or their
Description:The list of books you might like
