부산대학교 도서관

In spite of the many advantages of technology in an era of globalisation, crucial ethical questions raise about the impact of technology on man and human relationships. One can refer to automatic identification technologies, social networking applications, robots and cyborgs. In this paper, we intend to explore how one can prevent the flaws of dark sides of technology from leading to ever-greater ethical decay. By ethical decay, we mean specifically the threat technology poses to what is referred to as the longing for being as man and solidarity with the other(s). The current globalisation goes hand in hand with an ongoing revolution in technology. We need to extrapolate to what these technological developments will lead if they are allowed to pursue an autonomous course. Against this ethical background, in this paper the central role of technology is revealed by a hermeneutical approach of the well known myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. The fact that in this paper we bring technology in connection with literature, and ethics, is to situate within the Aristotelian tradition in the classification of philosophical subjects. Like M. Nussbaum in her also by Aristotle influenced Upheavals of Thought, we consider a series of poetic subjects, especially technology, and aesthetics, besides theoretical and practical (e.g. ethics, politics and economics) subjects. When philosophers of technology often conclude that not technology but a misuse of technology leads to problems for man and human relationships, it is precisely our argument that the ever more presence of technology in economics and society, makes it harder and harder to control ones desires in such a way, one does not prevent becoming the victim of technology. For man it is really hard to resist technology. To remain indifferent is not possible. It becomes apparent that ethics that starts from a neutral or purely instrumental role of technology, is not evident at all. Technology, in the myth of Orpheus the technique of music, both affect man's thymos (willpower, anger) and epithymos (desire, love).