Page 364 - Orthodoxy Zizioulas

O r t h o d o x y
The Domination of Technolog y
There is probably nothing more characteristic of our
modern world than the domination of technology. This
domination is so powerful and widespread that the human
being tends to become dependent on it in almost every as-
pect of life. In certain cases this dependence already amounts
to addiction, and if things continue on their present course,
it may become an element of human identity itself.
The roots of modern technology lie in the rise of rational-
ism. Human reason came to be understood as the capacity to
observe the world by establishing causes and effects, calculat-
ing, measuring, mapping, predicting, controlling, and render-
ing nature intelligible and useful. Nature was gradually re-
duced to something to be counted and manipulated. In this
way technology emerged not simply as a tool, but as a mode
of understanding reality itself.
Its development passed through many stages. In Ancient
Greece, techne was regarded as inferior to λόγος, because craft
dealt with particular material things, while true knowledge
dealt with universals. Rome introduced the principle of utility
and efficiency. The Franks added the element of will and pow-
er. In the Middle Ages, nature was still seen as a “book” reveal-
ing God; but with Protestantism God and nature became in-
creasingly disconnected. The Enlightenment completed the
shift by presenting nature as governed by autonomous laws
decipherable by man alone. Science and technology then be-
came united in a new way: knowledge no longer sought con-
templation of reality, but mastery over it.
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