The Impact of John Dewey’s Productive Pragmatism on Larry Hickman’s Philosophy of Technology

Document Type : The Quarterly Jornal

Authors

1 PhD student, Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran.

2 Associate professor, Department of Western Philosophy, Faculty of Literature, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran (corresponding author)

Abstract

Larry Hickman approaches the philosophy of technology through a pragmatist lens. This article explores the relationship between Hickman’s philosophy of technology and John Dewey’s pragmatism, aiming to elucidate the implications of Dewey’s philosophy in the discourse on technology. Prior to Hickman's exposition, Dewey was not typically regarded as a philosopher of technology. However, Hickman contends that Dewey developed a comprehensive philosophy of technology that diverges from the traditional view of technology as self-sufficient, detached from human essence. Hickman distinguishes between technology and technique by emphasizing the role of knowledge, asserting that technology emerges from systematic research into technique. Dewey introduces the concept of naturalized technology, viewing it as an investigation into existing techniques to enhance adaptation to the environment and modify it according to human needs. In Dewey’s productive pragmatism, technology becomes a philosophical concern, allowing philosophers to employ philosophical methods and tools to enrich their understanding and society’s perception of the interplay among various aspects of technological culture, thereby shaping the evolving technological landscape. Hickman argues that Dewey’s philosophy can reconcile technological culture with democratic values without resorting to holistic systems or linguistic analyses. However, Dewey’s definition of technology tends to centralize it as a general concept, and his critique of realism hints at a resurgence of holistic metaphysics.

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References

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