Technology and the Digital World

Phenomenology and philosophy of technology are deeply linked, particularly through the work of Heidegger. His thinking has led to many forms of engagement with technology, some of the most prominent falling under the label of post-phenomenology (Ihde, Verbeek). The success of this field of thought notwithstanding, it has only quite recently turned to ethical and political issues. This chapter will map these developments but also inquire into the relationship of phenomenological philosophy of technology and political thought more generally. It does this first, because Heidegger’s “politics” somehow demands it, and secondly, because the relative absence of political thinking in this field is noteworthy, given the prominent connection to political issues in other important areas of philosophy of technology. Merleau-Ponty is another important influence for contemporary political outlooks on technology through his work on embodiment and habitualization, providing ways of understanding a technological situatedness that differs depending on social and personal history. (This chapter connects to the preceding discussions of race/intersectionality and (dis)ability on this point.) Current analyses of technological artefacts and user interfaces that attempt to unveil their implicit politics often refer to Merleau-Ponty’s thought, combining this with the theory of affordances (Gibson) and motives from Uexküll’s writings. Clarifying the different relationships to phenomenology, these theories will offer help explain the political ramifications of such analyses.