Thought Research On Technological Democracy Of Feenberg

Since1970s till today, many new technical phenomenon caused by the rapiddevelopment of science and technology, more and more technology philosophers payattention to technical problems, technology bring people’s potential into the reality.But people are lost in the dissimilation caused by technology, People usuallyexaggerated technology independent power when they research in the problems oftechnology, and neglect of the Command and control of technology.As the topic of this paper, Andrew Feenberg’s philosophy of technology formedin such a background. He is a well-known Western contemporary critical theory oftechnology expert. As a new representative figure of Frankfurt School, AndrewFeenberg states philosophy of technology in three book—Critical theory ofTechnology, Alternative Modernity and Questioning Techniques, those are called”Trilogy of philosophy of technology”.Andrew Feenberg criticizes.Technical Entity theory and The Tool theory fromthe perspective of analysis on schools in philosophy of technology. On the basis ofanalysis from Frankfurt School philosophers, such as Marcuse Heibert, MichelFoucault and La Tour, as well as study from Nishida Kitero and Kawabata Yasunari,Andrew Feenberg reaches conclusions that modernity is not the only standard oftechnology. Therefore, technology developing can have different kinds of choices anddirections, depending on double standards——technology and society. At the sametime, Feenberg puts forward theory of instrumentalizing. Japan has succeeded inmodernization. Feenberg thinks that other developing countries absolutely cancombine advanced foreign technology with their native culture, and then they willfind a way of modernization fitting themselves.One of the most important characteristics in Feenberg’s philosophy oftechnology is that he does not only study technology, but also put other factors, especially social factor into technology. Consequently, democratization of technologycan possibly be realizing and the negative effects of technology alienation canpossibly be avoided or solved. Feenberg claims to realize the technology democracy,people have to put participants (especially vulnerable group)’s benefit and value intothe technology through design of technology. For this he puts forward threeapproaches to promote technology democratic process, namely: the technicalcontroversies between different groups﹑innovative dialogues and participatorydesign﹑users’ creative appropriations. Through these approaches, negative effectscaused by technology hegemony are overcame.Participate in the design the user innovation of technology and invention andcreation through the interests of all levelHowever, there are drawbacks in Feenberg’s critical theory of technology.Compared with theory form other philosophers of technology, Feenberg’s theory needto be improved very much. To make a long story short, although Feenberg’s theory isnot impeccable, it offers reference and support for protecting different kinds of culturesystems from all over the world; it tells a feasible way for technology developing inthe future; it is actually enlighteningly meaningful to the study and reinforcingtechnology, even to modernization in developing countries.