I Heart Technology

At Catholic Exchange, Mark Shea holds forth on Technological Messianism in his inimitable fashion.

I sincerely appreciate a lot of what technology has done for mankind, I really do. You will find no bigger fan of central heat or indoor plumbing. I happen to think, though, that the task of our generation - having ridden the wave of the industrial revolution in a kind of dizzy stupor - is to put technology in its place, to show it who's boss.

So far we've done a lousy job. We seem to lack either the ability or the inclination to say in regard to technology "This far, and no farther" - to set any limits whatsoever, practical, moral or aesthetic.
There are always those willing to push in what seem to be inadvisable directions, trusting that future generations will know how to put such developments to wise use and won't suffer them to be turned to evil purposes. Alfred Nobel learned differently. So did Einstein. For that reason alone, I don't think we ought to be pursuing cloning technology of any kind. The potential there for abuse is just too great. Just stop it.

Even in regard to non-human species, there are probably a ton of really good reasons why God made the reproductive process the way he did, so that certain combinations and permutations just couldn't happen - chimeras, for instance (what our forefathers called "monsters"). In the words of the old Sesame Street tune, "One of these things is not like the other, one of these things just doesn't belong...". Natural law is fairly screaming that human and animal DNA are not to be mixed. Again... just stop it.

One way in which we could make great progress quickly would be to improve the aesthetics of our technology, to spend a great deal more time and trouble on the design phase simply in terms of beauty. As it is, "form follows function" is a favorite catch-phrase, but often seems to be only an excuse for altogether skipping the task of trying to create anything beautiful or lasting.

Most of the items in the big box stores are made to be cheap and easy to manufacture and to look good on display... just good enough to entice you to buy, actually. They are also made to be easy to ship. They are not made to add much to your home environment or to age well. They are not made to pass on to your children or to make you feel good about being human, and they should be.

I keep thinking of Tolkien's elves. There is a very good online essay I found called "Elves and Art in Tolkien's Aesthetics" that discusses at some length Tolkien's idea of harmony between technology (the elves' "magic") and the environment. In Tolkien's work, things crafted by the elves often seem magic to outsiders, but the magic is inherent to the nature of the object itself, not something imposed on it by means of spells or that sort of thing. The elves are magical, and so the things they make are magical, sharing their essence, as it were. The magic itself is transparent, not showy or given to displays of power.

What if our technology were a lot more transparent? By that I mean, could we go a great deal farther in hiding our gadgetry? Or, if not hiding it, at least giving it some character? Cell phones, televisions, radios, computers... these are all magical things. So why do we design them to look so dull and prosaic? Or if not dull - glossy, cheap and crass like a fashion magazine?

Art touches the spirit. Any object, any gadget, will - through the elements of its design (apart from its function) affect the user, for good or ill. It will help to make them a little more - or less - freely and vitally human. Most of our products deaden, rather than enliven. They dull the senses and shrivel the imagination. Don't even get me started on architecture. Have you ever seen anything less inspirational than a modern public school building?

Comments

[Joe]

"A tree grows fruit because it is a magic tree." - GKC in Orthodoxy

[e.]

Tim J. said: "So far we've done a lousy job. We seem to lack either the ability or the inclination to say in regard to technology "This far, and no farther" - to set any limits whatsoever, practical, moral or aesthetic."

Well, that's because our technological progress has accelerated to such extent while our wisdom in such matters has been altogether left behind.

There will be no such limit imposed on technology.

That Promethean Fire has been bestowed and with it, the 'Frakenstein' will now come upon us!

[Clarke Fountain]

Time to contemplate, to appreciate, to develop thought slowly, to feel through the creation of a thing...such time is necessary for the creation of "elvish" beauty.

Reverence for that which is above us, beyond our ken, greater than ourselves...such reverence is necessary for the creation of "elvish" beauty.

Gentleness, such as St. Paul spoke of ("Love bears all things...") is necessary for the creation of "elvish" beauty.

Forbearance, which sets aside the lesser goal in order to bring forth the greater good...is necessary for the creation of "elvish" beauty.

These things being so, to me the wonder is not that so much in our world is amazingly ugly. The true wonder is that there is anything that is not.

[Jim Jankengt]

If you have never read Neil Postman's book "Technopoly" I highly recommend it. It is about the moral use of technology and , yes, he does argue that technology is NOT morally neutral.

[Sleeping Beastly]

It sounds to me like you have work to do in the area of industrial design. I'm not kidding- as an artist, this may be something you're being called to. It had never even occurred to me that modern technology could be genuinely beautiful and uplifting, and I couldn't even now begin to imagine how to make it so. But perhaps someone should- someone who sees the void and can imagine how to fill it.

[NewssyLee]

Thanks to you