134 research outputs found
Technocratic Consciousness in the Thought of Jacques Ellul
No full textDegree awarded: Ph.D. Politics. The Catholic University of AmericaThe dissertation is about Jacques Ellul, a French philosopher and theologian of the second half of the twentieth century. A critic of modernity, Ellul focuses on the ill effects of our obsession with technology, leading to its idolization. The technological development has created a new type of consciousness in the modern person, a technocratic consciousness, which Ellul calls "technique." Technique leads to spiritual degradation, replacing fundamental human values with a single value of efficiency. The main target of Ellul's criticism is the modern state, which is the fullest expression of technique's social aspect. It is through the state, pervasive and omnipresent, that technique controls the totality of human life, leading to complete and inescapable objectification, entrapment, and subjugation of the human being. A Christian theologian, Ellul hopes to solve this crisis by showing the way to personal spiritual growth and thereby helping restore our autonomy from technique. Although his solution is to the point, Ellul fails to demonstrate how such personal transformation translates into social change. Consequently, he lacks a true social theory. The dissertation offers a friendly critique of Ellul's theory by focusing on his dialectical method. Considering himself a dialectician, Ellul does not see that dialectic operates as an organizing principle of reality reflecting contradictions within his target social phenomena, such as the state, and thus revealing their potential for transformation. If he had seen that, he would not have limited his solution to personal spiritual growth but rather would have put it in a broader context of social change. Influenced by anarchism, Ellul is distrustful of conventional politics. His proposed social action is nonviolent direct action similar to the movements led by Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. As a result of such action, desacralizing technique and the state, Ellul hopes to form an alternative social organization, resembling a mutualist federation envisioned by classical anarchism. His theory foresees environmental and anti-globalization movements as well as other popular movements for democratization and transfer of power from the state to civil society.Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-20T16:22:16Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1
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The chances of Revolution in Ellul
No full textThe author, based on the work Change of Revolution, analyzes what Jacques Ellul understand as structural and existential in a Marxist revolution. Analyzing the main experiences of this type, the French thinker finds its by technification of the society. However, it also notes the validity of Marx’s objectives of overcoming the proletariat and the alienation. Thus, a revolutionary and libertarian socialism would be possible under certain conditions. On an existential level, Ellul questions in each one of us the permanence of efficiency values, of power and the pursuit of money as the main purpose of life, offering an authentic and radical transformation before the seizure of power. Thus, the author develops the Ellulian concept of God’s revelation in Jesus Christ as a lever and fulcrum of Revolution.O autor, tendo como base a obra Mudar de Revolução, analisa, neste texto, em caráter preliminar, o que Jacques Ellul entende como sendo o estrutural e o existencial numa revolução marxista. Analisando as principais experiências desse tipo, o pensador francês constata o seu fracasso a partir da opção pela tecnicização da sociedade. Entretanto, constata também a validade dos objetivos de Marx de superação do proletariado e da alienação. Assim, um socialismo revolucionário e libertário seria possível dentro de determinadas condições. No plano existencial, Ellul questiona em cada um de nós o arraigo dos valores da eficácia, do poderio e da busca do dinheiro como principais finalidades da vida, propondo uma autêntica e radical transformação antes da tomada do poder. Dessa forma, o autor desenvolve o conceito elluliano da revelação de Deus em Jesus Cristo como alavanca e ponto de apoio da revolução.Universidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho, Departamento de Administração Pública, Faculdade de Ciências e Letras de Araraquara, Araraquara, Rodovia Araraquara-Jaú - Km 01, Campus, CEP 14800-901, SP, BrasilUniversidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho, Departamento de Administração Pública, Faculdade de Ciências e Letras de Araraquara, Araraquara, Rodovia Araraquara-Jaú - Km 01, Campus, CEP 14800-901, SP, Brasi
As possibilidades da Revolução em Ellul
No full textThe author, based on the work Change of Revolution, analyzes what Jacques Ellul understand as structural and existential in a Marxist revolution. Analyzing the main experiences of this type, the French thinker finds its by technification of the society. However, it also notes the validity of Marx’s objectives of overcoming the proletariat and the alienation. Thus, a revolutionary and libertarian socialism would be possible under certain conditions. On an existential level, Ellul questions in each one of us the permanence of efficiency values, of power and the pursuit of money as the main purpose of life, offering an authentic and radical transformation before the seizure of power. Thus, the author develops the Ellulian concept of God’s revelation in Jesus Christ as a lever and fulcrum of Revolution.O autor, tendo como base a obra Mudar de Revolução, analisa, neste texto, em caráter preliminar, o que Jacques Ellul entende como sendo o estrutural e o existencial numa revolução marxista. Analisando as principais experiências desse tipo, o pensador francês constata o seu fracasso a partir da opção pela tecnicização da sociedade. Entretanto, constata também a validade dos objetivos de Marx de superação do proletariado e da alienação. Assim, um socialismo revolucionário e libertário seria possível dentro de determinadas condições. No plano existencial, Ellul questiona em cada um de nós o arraigo dos valores da eficácia, do poderio e da busca do dinheiro como principais finalidades da vida, propondo uma autêntica e radical transformação antes da tomada do poder. Dessa forma, o autor desenvolve o conceito elluliano da revelação de Deus em Jesus Cristo como alavanca e ponto de apoio da revolução
How can GI science advance the value of city-level and national Digital Twins?: AGILE Pre-Conference Workshop June 13th 2022 - Delft, Netherlands
No full textThe basic concept of a Digital Twin (DT) is a realistic digital representation of a physical thing with two-way flow of information from the physical to the model and back: one way is a refinement of the digital representation, back is the triggering of real impacts on the depicted reality. This concept was introduced by the manufacturing community to improve product life-cycle. It has extended to the built environment and underpins areas ranging from urban administration to telecommunications. Locationenabled Digital Twins are investigated at city and national levels motivated by cost reduction, efficiency, decision-making and innovation, and particularly to contribute to local and national Net Zero initiatives [Ellul et al. 2022].Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository 'You share, we take care!' - Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.Urban Data Scienc
Ellul\u27s Critical Theory of Technology and Artificial Intelligence
No full textV diplomskem delu se osredotočam na nekatere negativne posledice eksponentnega razvoja umetne inteligence (UI) in ChatGPT, pri čemer izhajam iz problematike, ki nam jo predstavi Jacques Ellul v svojem delu Tehnološka družba. Avtor oblikuje celovito filozofijo tehnične civilizacije, ki jo predstavi kot tragedijo naše dobe. V svojem delu poudarja vlogo tehnike v sodobni družbi in razvija sistem mišljenja, ki nam pomaga razumeti razvoj tehnične civilizacije, ki smo jo ustvarili sami. Ellulova analiza nas spodbuja k razumevanju tehnike v širšem smislu in opozarja na njene daljnosežne vplive na družbo. Čeprav ima razvoj UI tako pozitivne kot negativne posledice, se bom v nalogi osredotočila predvsem na slednje. Pokušala bom prikazati, kako lahko avtorjeva filozofija tehnike osvetli in razjasni zapleteno razmerje med človekom in UI – zlasti jezikovni model ChatGPT – ter kakšne posledice ima to za našo prihodnost. Skozi pogled ChatGPT oziroma preko njegovih ustvarjalcev izvemo, da bo imel razvoj generativne UI velik vpliv na človeštvo. Skozi pisanje diplome sem namreč ugotovila, da tehnika ni več zgolj orodje v rokah človeka, temveč je postala avtonomna, samostojna realnost, katere vplivi so vseprisotni. UI bo vplivala na vrsto področij, od avtomatizacije in produktivnosti ter kreativnosti do izobraževanja, zasebnosti in nadzora. Obseg vpliva razvoja UI je izjemno širok in pri nas lahko vzbuja strah, saj hitro spoznamo, da UI prežema prav vsa področja našega vsakdanjega življenja. Tehnika stremi tudi k največji učinkovitosti in produktivnosti, vse bolj se generira sama in deluje po lastnih moralnih pravilih, ki se razlikujejo od človeških. To pomeni, da pogosto ne upošteva človeških vrednot in čustev. Vse to vodi v družbeno preobrazbo ljudi, spreminja okolje, v katerem živimo, negativno vpliva na strukturo naših domov, medsebojne interakcije ter medčloveške odnose.In my thesis, I focus on some of the negative consequences of the exponential development of artificial intelligence (AI) and ChatGPT, drawing from the issues presented by Jacques Ellul in his work The Technological Society. The author develops a comprehensive philosophy of technical civilization, which he presents as the tragedy of our time. In his work, Ellul emphasizes the role of technology in modern society and develops a system of thought that helps us understand the development of the technical civilization we have created ourselves. Ellul\u27s analysis encourages us to understand technology in a broader sense and warns of its far-reaching impacts on society. Although the development of AI has both positive and negative consequences, in this thesis, I will primarily focus on the latter. I will attempt to show how the author\u27s philosophy of technology can illuminate and clarify the complex relationship between humans and AI—particularly the language model ChatGPT—and what implications this has for our future. Through the perspective of ChatGPT and its creators, we learn that the development of generative AI will have a significant impact on humanity. While writing this thesis, I have come to realize that technology is no longer merely a tool in human hands but has become an autonomous, independent reality whose impacts are pervasive. AI will affect a wide range of areas, from automation, productivity, and creativity to education, privacy, and surveillance. The scope of AI\u27s influence is incredibly broad and can evoke fear, as we quickly realize that AI permeates every aspect of our daily lives. Technology also strives for maximum efficiency and productivity, increasingly generating itself and operating according to its own moral rules, which differ from human ones. This often means it does not consider human values and emotions. All of this leads to a societal transformation of people, changes the environment in which we live, and negatively impacts the structure of our homes, interpersonal interactions, and human relationships
Provoking hope : contemporaries theological perspectives in the work of Jacques Ellul
No full textDans L’espérance oubliée Jacques Ellul parle d’espérance comme à la fois une réponse de la part de l’être humain au silence de Dieu et une « présence éclatante des réalités dernières ». A travers le dialogue avec entre autres Paul Ricoeur et Søren Kierkegaard, en passant par Moltmann, Castelli et André Neher, notre auteur en présente les enjeux de jugement théologique sur notre situation historique, de critique envers la « déréliction » qui habite la société technicienne, et de choix fondamental pour une éthique de liberté et de non-puissance. Notre travail vise non seulement une lecture analytique de la pensée d’Ellul sur l’espérance et de sa réception, mais aussi un examen approfondi de la dialectique interne à la théologie de notre auteur ainsi qu’un travail de mise en perspective de deux axes thématiques : la prophétie et l’eschaton. Notre conviction est que le discours théologique sur l’espérance présenté par Ellul peut apporter des contributions cruciales à la théologie de notre temps.In Hope in times of abandonment Jacques Ellul talks about hope as a human reaction to God’s silence as well as a “bright presence of the ultimate realities” in the present. Through the dialogue with Paul Ricoeur and Søren Kierkegaard, passing through Moltmann, Castelli and André Neher, our author introduces its challenges: as a theological judgement on our historical situation, a critic to the “abandonment” which inhabits the technological society and a fundamental choice towards an ethics of freedom and of non-power. Our aim is to present not only an analytic reading of Ellul’s statements on hope, but also of the inner dialectic of his theology, leading to a perspective setting upon two main topics: prophecy and eschaton. We are convinced that Jacques Ellul’s theological discourse on hope can bring crucial contributions to the theology of our time
La provocation de l'espérance : perspectives théologiques actuelles dans l'œuvre de Jacques Ellul
No full textIn Hope in times of abandonment Jacques Ellul talks about hope as a human reaction to God’s silence as well as a “bright presence of the ultimate realities” in the present. Through the dialogue with Paul Ricoeur and Søren Kierkegaard, passing through Moltmann, Castelli and André Neher, our author introduces its challenges: as a theological judgement on our historical situation, a critic to the “abandonment” which inhabits the technological society and a fundamental choice towards an ethics of freedom and of non-power. Our aim is to present not only an analytic reading of Ellul’s statements on hope, but also of the inner dialectic of his theology, leading to a perspective setting upon two main topics: prophecy and eschaton. We are convinced that Jacques Ellul’s theological discourse on hope can bring crucial contributions to the theology of our time.Dans L’espérance oubliée Jacques Ellul parle d’espérance comme à la fois une réponse de la part de l’être humain au silence de Dieu et une « présence éclatante des réalités dernières ». A travers le dialogue avec entre autres Paul Ricoeur et Søren Kierkegaard, en passant par Moltmann, Castelli et André Neher, notre auteur en présente les enjeux de jugement théologique sur notre situation historique, de critique envers la « déréliction » qui habite la société technicienne, et de choix fondamental pour une éthique de liberté et de non-puissance. Notre travail vise non seulement une lecture analytique de la pensée d’Ellul sur l’espérance et de sa réception, mais aussi un examen approfondi de la dialectique interne à la théologie de notre auteur ainsi qu’un travail de mise en perspective de deux axes thématiques : la prophétie et l’eschaton. Notre conviction est que le discours théologique sur l’espérance présenté par Ellul peut apporter des contributions cruciales à la théologie de notre temps
Artificial intelligence systems: ChatGPT through the prism of Ellul\u27s critique of technology
No full textV diplomskem delu se osredotočam na nekatere negativne posledice eksponentnega razvoja umetne inteligence (UI) in ChatGPT, pri čemer izhajam iz problematike, ki nam jo predstavi Jacques Ellul v svojem delu Tehnološka družba. Avtor oblikuje celovito filozofijo tehnične civilizacije, ki jo predstavi kot tragedijo naše dobe. V svojem delu poudarja vlogo tehnike v sodobni družbi in razvija sistem mišljenja, ki nam pomaga razumeti razvoj tehnične civilizacije, ki smo jo ustvarili sami. Ellulova analiza nas spodbuja k razumevanju tehnike v širšem smislu in opozarja na njene daljnosežne vplive na družbo. Čeprav ima razvoj UI tako pozitivne kot negativne posledice, se bom v nalogi osredotočila predvsem na slednje. Pokušala bom prikazati, kako lahko avtorjeva filozofija tehnike osvetli in razjasni zapleteno razmerje med človekom in UI – zlasti jezikovni model ChatGPT – ter kakšne posledice ima to za našo prihodnost. Skozi pogled ChatGPT oziroma preko njegovih ustvarjalcev izvemo, da bo imel razvoj generativne UI velik vpliv na človeštvo. Skozi pisanje diplome sem namreč ugotovila, da tehnika ni več zgolj orodje v rokah človeka, temveč je postala avtonomna, samostojna realnost, katere vplivi so vseprisotni. UI bo vplivala na vrsto področij: od avtomatizacije in produktivnosti prek kreativnosti in izobraževanja do zasebnosti in nadzora. Obseg vpliva razvoja UI je izjemno širok in nas lahko navda s strahom, saj hitro spoznamo, da UI prežema prav vsa področja našega vsakdanjega življenja. Tehnika stremi tudi k največji učinkovitosti in produktivnosti, vse bolj se generira sama in deluje po lastnih moralnih pravilih, ki se razlikujejo od človeških. To pomeni, da pogosto ne upošteva človeških vrednot in čustev. Vse to vodi v družbeno preobrazbo ljudi, spreminja okolje, v katerem živimo, negativno vpliva na strukturo naših domov, medsebojne interakcije ter medčloveške odnose.In my thesis, I focus on some of the negative consequences of the exponential development of artificial intelligence (AI) and ChatGPT, drawing from the issues presented by Jacques Ellul in his work The Technological Society. The author develops a comprehensive philosophy of technical civilization, which he presents as the tragedy of our time. In his work, Ellul emphasizes the role of technology in modern society and develops a system of thought that helps us understand the development of the technical civilization we have created ourselves.
Ellul\u27s analysis encourages us to understand technology in a broader sense and warns of its far reaching impacts on society. Although the development of AI has both positive and negative consequences, I will primarily focus on the latter in this thesis. I will attempt to show how the author\u27s philosophy of technology can illuminate and clarify the complex relationship between humans and AI-particularly the language model ChatGPT-and what implications this has for our future. Through the lens of ChatGPT, or rather its creators, we learn that the development of generative AI will have a significant impact on humanity. Through writing this thesis, I have realized that technology is no longer merely a tool in human hands but has become an autonomous, independent reality whose impacts are pervasive. AI will affect a wide range of areas, from automation and productivity to creativity, education, privacy, and surveillance.
The scope of AI\u27s influence is extremely broad and can evoke fear, as we quickly realize that AI permeates all aspects of our daily lives. Technology also strives for maximum efficiency and productivity, increasingly generating itself and operating according to its own moral rules, which differ from human ones. This means that it often does not consider human values and emotions. All of this leads to a societal transformation of people, changes the environment in which we live, and negatively impacts the structure of our homes, interpersonal interactions, and human relationships
Autonomy of technique and determinism in La technique ou l\'enjeu du siècle, by Jacques Ellul
No full textEsta dissertação de mestrado analisa a filosofia da técnica de Jacques Ellul a partir do primeiro e mais conhecido livro de sua trilogia de filosofia da técnica, a obra La technique ou lenjeu du siècle, de 1954. Considera-se o centro de sua argumentação a ideia de que, a partir de meados do século XVIII, as operações técnicas passam a ser selecionadas a partir da busca por eficiência máxima, isto é, como resultado do cálculo feito por técnicos, de tipo entrada-saída (input-output), de preferência quantificado, que identifica o meio escolhido que efetiva a maior razão entre entrada (input) e saída (output). Partindo da introdução de máquinas na produção e da racionalização do Estado, o critério da eficiência máxima afeta progressivamente todos os campos da atividade humana. Como consequência dessa aplicação generalizada, as operações técnicas fundadas sobre o cálculo de eficiência máxima passam a formar um conjunto com características próprias o fenômeno técnico que, por sua vez, modifica profundamente todos os aspectos da sociedade e a própria posição dos indivíduos na sociedade. Para o autor, o fenômeno técnico é autônomo, isto é, impõe-se à sociedade e aos indivíduos, na medida em que, por um lado, a efetivação dos interesses econômicos e políticos se torna dependente do progresso técnico e, por outro lado, os próprios indivíduos passam a valorizar o progresso técnico como um fim em si mesmo. A autonomia do fenômeno técnico conduz, então, ao determinismo, uma vez que ele transforma e tende a subordinar todos os campos da atividade humana. Em vista da discussão, na literatura secundária, acerca do tipo de determinismo que se segue da análise desenvolvida por Ellul, defende-se que se trata de um determinismo de tendência fatalista, seja porque, para o autor, o fenômeno técnico adquire uma autonomia que parece irreversível por seu autocrescimento, isto é, pelo progresso técnico constante e crescente, e pela unicidade de seus efeitos, a saber, a indivisibilidade, nas operações técnicas, entre os efeitos desejados e os efeitos secundários maléficos previstos e imprevisíveis das operações técnicas, que exigem novas operações técnicas para sua solução , seja porque, na visão do autor em 1954, não há expectativa de que os indivíduos e as instituições deixem de promover o fenômeno técnico. Dessa forma, a obra de Ellul adquire relevância no debate contemporâneo em filosofia da técnica, dada sua ênfase na forma como o progresso técnico diminui a capacidade de decisão dos indivíduos sobre o rumo das técnicas e da sociedade. Trata-se de perceber como, evidentemente, a sociedade mesma valoriza o fenômeno técnico, mas também como os próprios efeitos do fenômeno técnico na sociedade e no ambiente comprometem as condições para a implementação de operações técnicas alternativasThis master\'s thesis analyzes Jacques Ellul\'s philosophy of technique from the first and best-known book in his trilogy on the philosophy of technique, La technique ou l\'enjeu du siècle, from 1954. At the heart of his argument is the idea that, from the mid-18th century onwards, technical operations are selected based on the search for maximum efficiency, i.e. as a result of a calculation made by technicians, of the input-output type, preferably quantified, which identifies the chosen means that produces the highest ratio between input and output. Starting with the introduction of machines into production and the rationalization of the state, the criterion of maximum efficiency progressively affects all fields of human activity. As a result of this widespread application, technical operations based on the calculation of maximum efficiency come to form a whole with its own characteristics - the technical phenomenon - which, in turn, profoundly modifies all aspects of society and the very position of individuals in society. For the author, the technical phenomenon is autonomous, i.e. it imposes itself on society and individuals to the extent that, on the one hand, the realization of economic and political interests becomes dependent on technical progress and, on the other hand, individuals themselves come to value technical progress as an end in itself. The autonomy of the technical phenomenon then leads to determinism, since it transforms and tends to subordinate all fields of human activity. In view of the discussion in the secondary literature about the type of determinism that follows from the analysis developed by Ellul, it is argued that it is a determinism with a fatalistic tendency, either because, for the author, the technical phenomenon acquires an autonomy that seems irreversible - due to its self-growth, i.e. constant and growing technical progress, and the uniqueness of its effects, namely, the indivisibility, in technical operations, between the desired effects and the foreseen and unforeseeable harmful secondary effects of technical operations, which require new technical operations to solve them - or because, in the author\'s view in 1954, there is no expectation that individuals and institutions will stop promoting the technical phenomenon. In this way, Ellul\'s work acquires relevance in the contemporary debate on the philosophy of technique, given its emphasis on how technical progress diminishes individuals\' ability to decide on the direction of techniques and society. It is a question of understanding how, of course, society itself values the technical phenomenon, but also how the very effects of the technical phenomenon on society and the environment undermine the conditions for implementing alternative technical operation
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