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All 8 Flashcards — What is technology?
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Question
What is technology (broad sense)?
Answer
Any worked-out way of getting things done — a tool, method or machine, from a stone axe to an app.
Question
Value-neutral view of technology?
Answer
The tool is neither good nor bad in itself — only how a human uses it counts ('guns don't kill people, people do').
Question
The shaping view of technology?
Answer
A tool is never fully neutral — it comes with a pull that reshapes our habits, so it shapes the user, not just the task.
Question
Means vs end (technology)?
Answer
A technology can start as a means to an end and quietly become an end in itself — like reaching for your phone with no task in mind.
Question
Best reason AGAINST the neutral view?
Answer
Real technologies aren't blank tools: a phone pulls at your attention and changes how you talk, remember and spend your time.
Question
'Just switch it off' — what's the hidden move?
Answer
It assumes you're fully in control; the strong shaping view says the pull is real and control runs both ways.
Question
The core question of 9.1.1?
Answer
Not 'is this gadget good or bad?' but 'is technology a neutral means we control, or a force that shapes who we are?'
Question
Why isn't a hammer a good model for a phone?
Answer
A hammer sits still until used; a phone actively pulls at your attention and trains your habits.
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Full study notes for What is technology?
Topic 9.1 hub
Philosophy and technology
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