Technology, Knowledge, and Wisdom 2: Integration
Does technology help us gain knowledge?
Does increased knowledge lead to increased wisdom?
And what does wisdom say of technology?
Movies have long wrestled with these questions. They explore the possibilities and pitfalls from numerous directions, be that via the political commentary of X-Men, the hopeful future visions of Robocop, or the gently dystopian almost-present visions of Her.
Philosophers, scientists, and theologians have also wrestled with these questions. From the philosophy of Mary Midgley, to the cultural commentary of Andy Crouch, to the religio-scientific utopianism of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin.
Within the academy, scientists, engineers, philosophers, theologians, and educators have the opportunity to shape how we, as a society engage with these issues. Simply shrugging, scrolling on through a news-feed and hoping things will turn out OK is simply not an option.
To this end, taking inspiration from both academic literature and popular culture, this series of discussions will consider the interrelationships between technology, knowledge, and wisdom, and what this means for how we (should) live in today’s world.
A Story: Scenario #2 – Integration
Once upon time, humanity was stuck with the hand it was dealt: a brief, brutish, painful life; limited by shortsightedness, forgetfulness, fragility, and deformity. Now – thanks be to progress – we are free. Free to bind ourselves to a bright, efficient, effective future. We have cameras to see everything; hard-drives to remember everything; technologies to fix everything. There is nothing that can slow us down, impede our advance, or end our days. Now we deal our own hand. And yet, free to deal any hand, there is only one hand we deal. There is nothing we lack, except anything that can slow us down, impede our advance, or end our days.
Session dates:
4th Dec. 2021:
Scenario #1: Specialisation
8th Jan. 2022:
Scenario #2: Integration
5th Feb. 2022:
Scenario #3: Separation
5th Mar. 2022:
Scenario #4: Centralisation
2nd Apr. 2022:
Scenario #5: Transcendence