I'm fascinated by the book, From the Garden to the City by John Dyer. It has stimulated my thinking a great deal, as you can tell, since I'm posting a chapter by chapter summary/review. It did not take long for Dyer to convince me that technology is not neutral, even though much of it may fall into grey areas when we're thinking morally.
Why is this? Why is it not neutral? Technology itself is not sinful; man is sinful. Therefore let's use it and see that it helps us transform the world around us.
Ah, but there, you see, is the proverbial rub: it will transform, but how will it transform? Is technology simply an instrument in the hands of sinful men, used for evil because the men who use it are evil? But does that supposedly neutral technology have no effect upon the people? No influence at all?
Another way to view technology is that it is not neutral; in fact, it has power and not just the power to transform culture. It shapes us, makes us and can make us even more evil. If this is the case, then technology can be seen behind many a wicked act and is to be rightfully blamed for so many ills in our society.
These are two opposing views of technology. Dyer points them out as Instrumentalism (the former, which sees technology as neutral, something to be used in any way we can) and Determinism (the latter, which blames technology for many wrongs, and should be avoided as much as possible).
Is there a middle ground, one that sees technology being used wisely and well? Yes, there is; but I'll have to wait to post on that another day. This chapter has stirred my thinking a great deal. It's also one of the more "philosophical" chapters of the book, which means my mind has to work a bit of overtime in order to follow the argument. So, if you're enjoying these posts, come back next week and we'll pick it up from here.