Author Topic: Modern Technology, neutral or non-neutral? (Read 1973 times)

Caraffa · « **on:** April 24, 2012, 11:38:32 PM »

I didn't want to get off topic in the "Women in College" thread, so I created this one.

Quote from: Clelia

True. Anything (and any concept) can be used properly or abused, don't you agree?

Yes true, because the what counts are the heart and mind motivations involved. Yet even such statement on my part can also be a bit too surface level and even superficial. The question is not "Is this technology good or evil," but "How does this technology alter our interactions with and perception-of the world?" A good argument can be made for instance that gunpowder was the final nail in the coffin of chivalry, and that the automobile helped to speed up changing sɛҳuąƖ mores (no pun intended) and also affected civility. To put in another way, we need to look at the question in a more teleological and ontological way.

Numerous Popes opposed railroads (even though I myself like trains) in the Papal States and Cardinal Luigi Lambruschini opposed gas lighting and the telegraph as well, because they saw that such things could easily be used by the liberal bourgeoisie to promote liberal reforms and behaviors as well as the flight to the cities and away from a more agrarian life. If we remember that today is a Rogation Day, we will further understand this very Catholic resistance to the Industrial Revolution and the uncritical acceptance of modern technology in general.

The Greeks deliberately limited their technological progress because they saw that down the road too much technology would lead to people being cogs in a mechanistic world. When it comes to things like the printing press, we can refer back to Plato here, who was correct in that total reliance on written word will eventually break down the memory. After all, St. Padre Pio's pious illiterate peasant parents knew the Scriptures from simple memory! something that was apparently not uncommon amongst pious Catholic peasants. So let us put aside the post-Gutenberg Protestant notion that Catholics did not know or could not have known Scripture.

Graham · « **Reply #1 on:** April 25, 2012, 09:02:47 AM »

It seems there are more than a few fans of Neil Postman here.

I try, within reason, to keep my life low-tech. In particular I keep my distance from electronic gadgets. Whenever I buy something I look for handmade items in natural materials, which often means buying antiques. I'm also endeavouring to move my career into a traditional craft and to that end I've been taking classes on woodworking with handtools. So, while not a "luddite," it's fair to say that I take these warnings about technology seriously.

However I've always wasted too much time on the computer/internet.

Graham · « **Reply #2 on:** April 25, 2012, 11:07:38 AM »

Quote from: Caraffa

Numerous Popes opposed railroads (even though I myself like trains) in the Papal States and Cardinal Luigi Lambruschini opposed gas lighting and the telegraph as well, because they saw that such things could easily be used by the liberal bourgeoisie to promote liberal reforms and behaviors as well as the flight to the cities and away from a more agrarian life.

Could you cite anything on this?

Exilenomore · « **Reply #3 on:** April 25, 2012, 01:29:03 PM »

Quote from: Graham

Quote from: Caraffa
Numerous Popes opposed railroads (even though I myself like trains) in the Papal States and Cardinal Luigi Lambruschini opposed gas lighting and the telegraph as well, because they saw that such things could easily be used by the liberal bourgeoisie to promote liberal reforms and behaviors as well as the flight to the cities and away from a more agrarian life.

Could you cite anything on this?

I would be interested in such a citation as well.

It is safe to say that the advancements in technology have been used as a vehicle to detach people from nature, and thus, from reality. The industrial revolution was a source of great suffering for the people of my country, whose blood running through their veins was agraric, but who were forced to leave the land to go work in the factories which had disturbed the normal economical order in the first place. The workmen lived in poverty because they were severely underpaid by the rich middle class and even children were used in the factories, many of whom were killed by the dangerous machinery.

It was a product of the liberal revolt, with it's haughty accusations against monasteries and other religious houses, claiming that they were useless and that they should be transformed into factories. More and more, people ceased to notice the beauty of things that grow, and were instead captivated by the sterile and cold embrace of the mechanisms and machines of, and ushering into, a new era, which has proven to be a very dark one. An era, in which thoughts and utterances reach the other side of the world in seconds, but where in the creature has abandoned it's God. An era, which boasts of men flying through the air with little effort in airplanes, but which is struck with an apostasy that has never before been seen in the history of Christendom.

Caraffa · « **Reply #4 on:** April 25, 2012, 10:34:09 PM »

Quote from: Graham

Could you cite anything on this?

Would the Wikipedia pages on Pope Gregory XVI and Cardinal Lambruschini be OK? I know I should not use that as top source, but it will come up on a google books (secondary sources) though some authors like to through in their progressive opinions/biases when stating this. It is also hard to locate papal edicts/statements that were not bulls or encyclicals.

However, I first discovered such information from a person on AQ a few years back, who I'd consider to be quite credible and knowledgeable, so he might have more info. In fact, I'm about 99.8% sure that he is a member here.

ServusSpiritusSancti · « **Reply #5 on:** April 25, 2012, 10:36:44 PM »

Who is the member?

Vladimir · « **Reply #6 on:** April 26, 2012, 12:01:24 AM »

Quote from: Caraffa

Quote from: Graham
Could you cite anything on this?

Would the Wikipedia pages on Pope Gregory XVI and Cardinal Lambruschini be OK? I know I should not use that as top source, but it will come up on a google books (secondary sources) though some authors like to through in their progressive opinions/biases when stating this. It is also hard to locate papal edicts/statements that were not bulls or encyclicals.

However, I first discovered such information from a person on AQ a few years back, who I'd consider to be quite credible and knowledgeable, so he might have more info. In fact, I'm about 99.8% sure that he is a member here.

There's actually a print source that mentions the Papal opposition to railroads - unfortunately, it was in an ultra-modernist translation of the Holy Scriptures that I felt no need to remember the name of when I first came across it several years ago.

Caraffa · « **Reply #7 on:** April 26, 2012, 12:02:04 AM »

Quote from: SpiritusSanctus

Who is the member?

PereJoseph.

Quote from: Vladimir

There's actually a print source that mentions the Papal opposition to railroads - unfortunately, it was in an ultra-modernist translation of the Holy Scriptures that I felt no need to remember the name of when I first came across it several years ago.

Thank you for the info Vladimir.

ServusSpiritusSancti · « **Reply #8 on:** April 26, 2012, 10:13:18 AM »

Yes, PereJoseph is a member here.

Graham · « **Reply #9 on:** April 26, 2012, 01:05:20 PM »

Quote from: Caraffa

Quote from: Graham
Could you cite anything on this?

Would the Wikipedia pages on Pope Gregory XVI and Cardinal Lambruschini be OK? I know I should not use that as top source, but it will come up on a google books (secondary sources) though some authors like to through in their progressive opinions/biases when stating this. It is also hard to locate papal edicts/statements that were not bulls or encyclicals.

However, I first discovered such information from a person on AQ a few years back, who I'd consider to be quite credible and knowledgeable, so he might have more info. In fact, I'm about 99.8% sure that he is a member here.

Oh, I don't question the credibility or reliability of you or PereJoseph. I'd just like to read the full docuмents for myself to see on what principles these views are founded. Perhaps other applications could be drawn from them.