View source for Philosophy:Technorealism

{{Short description|Attempt to expand the middle ground between techno-utopianism and Neo-Luddism}}
'''Technorealism''' is an attempt to expand the middle ground between techno-utopianism and [[Social:Neo-Luddism|Neo-Luddism]] by assessing the social and political implications of [[Engineering:Technology|technologies]] so that people might all have more control over the shape of their [[Physics:Future|future]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Democracy in the Digital Age: Challenges to Political Life in Cyberspace|last=Wilhelm|first=Anthony|publisher=Routledge|year=2000|isbn=0203902548|location=New York|pages=22}}</ref> An account cited that technorealism emerged in the early 1990s and was introduced by [[Biography:Douglas Rushkoff|Douglas Rushkoff]] and Andrew Shapiro. In a manifesto released{{by whom|date=September 2022}}, which described the term as a new generation of cultural criticism, it was stated that the goal was not to promote or dismiss technology but to understand it so the application could be aligned with basic human values.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Exploring Religious Community Online: We are One in the Network|last=Campbell|first=Heidi|publisher=Peter Lang|year=2005|isbn=0820471054|location=New York|pages=17}}</ref> Technorealism suggests that a technology, however revolutionary it may seem, remains a continuation of similar revolutions throughout human history.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Virtual Worlds: Culture and Politics in the Age of Cybertechnology|last=Nayar|first=Pramod|publisher=SAGE Publications|year=2004|isbn=0761932283|location=Thousand Oaks, CA|pages=91}}</ref>

== Approach ==
The technorealist approach involves a continuous critical examination of how technologies might help or hinder people in the struggle to improve the quality of their lives, their communities, and their economic, social, and political structures.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.technorealism.org/ |title=Technorealism |accessdate=2007-02-22}}</ref> In addition, instead of policy wonks, experts, and the elite, it is the technology critic who assumes the center stage in the discourse of technology policy issues.<ref name=":0" />

Although technorealism began with a focus on U.S.-based concerns about [[Engineering:Information technology|information technology]], it has evolved into an international intellectual movement with a variety of interests such as [[Engineering:Biotechnology|biotechnology]] and [[Engineering:Nanotechnology|nanotechnology]].<ref name="Berkman Center for Internet and Society 1998">{{cite web|author =Berkman Center for Internet & Society|title = Conference on Technorealism: How should we think about technology|date = 1998 |url = http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/technorealism.html| accessdate=2007-02-06}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Philosophy:Technocriticism|Technocriticism]]
* [[Engineering:History of science and technology|History of science and technology]]

===Ethics===
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
*[[Philosophy:Bioethics|Bioethics]]
*Infoethics
*[[Biology:Neuroethics|Neuroethics]]
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*Nanoethics
*Roboethics
*Technoethics
* [[Engineering:Technology|Technology]]
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==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.technorealism.org/ technorealism.org], historical site


[[Category:Philosophy of technology]]
[[Category:Technology systems]]

{{Sourceattribution|Technorealism}}