Stigler's Critical Theory Of Technology

As one of the most important phenomena of contemporary,technology has shaped the basic reality of this era.Bernard Stiegler(1952-),a famous contemporary French philosopher,conducted in-depth thinking and research on technology from a critical perspective.His masterpiece,Technology and Time,focused on the reflection and criticism of the nature of technology.The source of Stiegler’s thought includes three components.First,French philosophy of technology and anthropology represented by Gill,Simondon,Leroi-Gourhan;second,Husserl,Heidegger,and Derrida Phenomenology;the third is the social critical theory of the Frankfurt School.The Frankfurt School’s theory has particularly profound influence on Stiegler.In Technical Prosthetic Ontology,Stiegler expressed his thoughts on the nature of technology and the relationship between people and technology.In his view,technology and people are in a dynamic relationship of invention with each other.It is not so much that people invent technology,but rather that technology invents people as a supplement.Therefore,technology is the second origin of man.The development of technology has created a historical existence of man,and man is epiphylogenetics.In technology is the innate structure of man.Based on the technical prosthetic Ontology,Stiegler analyzes the living conditions of human beings under the conditions of modern advanced information technology.The digitization and informatization of technology has shaped the ideology of modern people;the technology of capital control has created various digital illusions in movies and televisions.These illusions have stimulated false desires and controlled people’s lives.Stiegler’s attitude to technology is dialectical.He believes that technology has two sides.It is both a poison and a antidote to modern society.Stiegler tries to find possible ways for people to liberate themselves in the technological world.This approach is the pharmacology theory that he put forward,which can play a role of antidote to the disadvantages of modern technology.It is undeniable that Stiegler’s theory of technical criticism has many limitations.A dialectical view of Stiegler’s philosophy of technology will not only enable us to deepen our understanding of historical materialism,but also help us to deepen our reflection and criticism of contemporary capitalist society.