Religia techniki. Boskość człowieka i duch wynalazczości

by David F. Noble, Krzysztof Kornas (Translator)

W jaki sposób postęp naukowo-techniczny jest motywowany religijnie?
Co łączy naukowców, inżynierów i myślicieli chrześcijańskich?
Jakie starożytne wyobrażenia stoją za oczarowaniem nowoczesnymi technikami?
Czy naukę i technikę można uznać za narzędzia „transcendencji”?

Filozofowie, historycy, biolodzy czy fizycy wielokrotnie pisali o relacji nauki i religii – związki religii i techniki wydają się natomiast tematem zaniedbanym. Historyk David F. Noble stara się zapełnić tę lukę. Argumentuje, że w cywilizacji zachodniej kulturowe fundamenty rozwoju technicznego położono już w IX wieku, kiedy sztuki użyteczne powiązano z ideą chrześcijańskiego zbawienia. Bada wzajemne wpływy religii, nauki i techniki aż po wiek XX, w którym ludzie zaczęli władać niemal boską wiedzą i mocą. Przybliża fascynujące profile ideowych architektów współczesnej nauki, a na przykładzie wielkich przełomów w poznawaniu rzeczywistości i władaniu nią – od odkryć geograficznych, przez energię atomową i eksplorację kosmosu, po zsekwencjonowanie ludzkiego genomu i prace nad sztuczną inteligencją – pokazuje, że naukowo-techniczne dążenie do udoskonalania świata i człowieka trudno uznać za czysto świeckie przedsięwzięcie.

Noble ocenia krytycznie zarówno postęp techniczny za wszelką cenę, jak i rolę religii w rozbudzaniu wyobrażeń o raju odzyskanym za pomocą wiedzy i techniki. Apeluje o nową ocenę naszego oczarowania niekontrolowanym rozwojem technicznym. Tytułowa „religia techniki” wiąże się z niezadowoleniem z zastanego świata i szukaniem technicznych sposobów wyzwolenia się od niego – odnalezienia lub stworzenia lepszej, „transcendentnej” rzeczywistości. Noble pyta, czy ta specyficzna relacja religii i techniki, nawet jeśli kiedyś była pożyteczna, nadal sprzyja ludziom: czy wciąż promuje dobro człowieka i jego świata, czy chce już tylko pomóc człowiekowi z tego świata uciec?"

Genres: Technology, Religion, History, Philosophy, Nonfiction, Sociology, Anthropology

390 pages, Paperback

First published September 16, 1997

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

David Franklin Noble was a critical historian of technology, science and education.

Reviews

[John Carter McKnight · Rating 3 out of 5]

An important thesis marred by (1) history-as-list and (2) heavy reliance on a handful of other secondary sources, the ones I'm familiar with being much more interesting and readable. Excessive use of analogizing and definition-switching, along with cherry-picking: in numerous instances historical figures acknowledged as secondary or trivial are quoted at length because they support the author's thesis. Marxism is covered in a single sentence.

Read Nye's _American Technological Sublime_ or Werthiem's _The Pearly Gates of Cyberspace_ instead.

[Len MacRae · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very good survey of the reliance on religion that technology has for long displayed. Some of the information may be common knowledge, much of it is not, but having it collected together is very valuable.
The two minor issues that I have are minor critiques. The first being the date of publication. Nothing to be done about that, but I would love to have updates about the last twenty years. Second, the parts that I most enjoyed were the conclusion and appendix. I wish that they were longer or that there was more similar material included.

[Sierra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definetely some heat in here … good balance of academic writing/good tone, the section on AI was especially cool, I think I’d come back to it. You could also see Noble’s passion for the subject matter which is hard to find in texts like these!! Good rebuttal to secularization thesis yay

[Geriatria_zmarszczki · Rating 4 out of 5]

3/4 interesting historical study
1/4 leftie neoluddite looser whining

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always wondered why the stereotypical Silicon Valley Tech bro speaks about computers and AI in near mystical terms. Think of Ray Kurzweil, Sam Altman, SBF, etc.

I now realize that they are just modern manifestations of a millennium long tendency: that of Western technological development to be viewed and described with a deeply religious language. This has been shaped by age long yearnings for redemption by technology and the quest for perfection.
In other words, at some point more than a thousand years ago, according to David Noble, we began to conceive of technology as a balm to repair the harms of Adam's fall and as a GPS of sorts to guide us back into paradise.

He does not just stop at chronicling these expressions of religio-technological aspiration. He also argues that our deep-seated belief in technological salvation can make us unable to think and act rightly about technology. By viewing it as a kind of existential manifest destiny, we risk handing an unwarranted level of social and political influence to some people. After all, what won't we be ready to sacrifice if it would really usher in technological utopia?

But the more these new technological priests wax religious about their new startups, the more we need be on guard lest they prioritize their disdainful disregard for, and impatience with, the imperfect life we have here on this planet, thereby tricking us into focusing on grand, almost divine, future possibilities rather than dealing with the immediate problems and consequences here and now.

Highly recommended.

[Hans · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’d give it 3.5 stars if I could. The author’s originality is the strongest aspect of this book. His thesis is brilliant but the supporting evidence wasn’t always focused. He had a lot of great material but at time it felt a little convoluted and distracted. Hard to follow the supporting evidence at times.

Overall an excellent argument about the foundations of western techno-culture that have remained largely unnoticed until now. The author brings to light all the hidden historical religious influences underlying modern technologies quest for perfection and the redemption of mankind. This idea is so naturally ingrained in western thought that oftentimes when faced with a collective problem we automatically default to a technological solution to all our collective woes.

The real question now is if the cultural premise is fundamentally flawed and through ever increasing demands for technological messiahs we might actually be creating a system with so much complexity that it becomes increasingly vulnerable and prone to collapse. Thus bringing down global civilization with it. Technology is the idol worship of the materialists because it’s all they have left to put their faith in and it too, will ultimately disappoint.

[aleksandr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Explorations on how religious ideology influences contemporary science and it's dangers for humanity's present and future. Science should not be considered as something opposing to the religion, but a companion to it.

A couple of selected notes from the book:

The underlying premise of the religion of technology—was never meant to be universal. It was in essence an elitist expectation, reserved only for the elect—the “happy few,” in Robert Sinsheimer’s felicitous (Shakespearean) phrase.

The religion of technology, in the end, “rests on extravagant hopes which are only meaningful in the context of transcendent belief in a religious God, hopes for a total salvation which technology cannot fulfill.… By striving for the impossible, [we] run the risk of destroying the good life that is possible.” Put simply, the technological pursuit of salvation has become a threat to our survival.

“Transcendence is a wrong-headed concept,” Cynthia Cockburn has argued. “It means escape from the earth-bound and the repetitive, climbing above the everyday. It means putting men on the moon before feeding and housing the world’s poor.… The revolutionary step would be to bring men down to earth.”

[Jackie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I gave up by page 132. Maybe I'm too spoiled with how Yuval Noah Harari wrote his nonfiction books, but this one was definitely heavy with very specific words and terms. I'm definitely interested in the topic itself, but how it was delivered? Definitely not for me, at least for now. Considering that this is heavily academic and made in the 90s didn't help either. I wonder if there would be a revised version of this book to discuss the early 21st century too.

[Bud · Rating 3 out of 5]

Noble traces technology back to roots in religion particularly certain key ideas - moving the human race back to Eden, for example. I found the early chapters that were focused on early Christian teachings heavy going but the themes he was tracking became more evident as he described development in computers, space exploration, and biotechnology.

[Muhammad Fakhruddin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bila baca buku ini barulah sedikit sebanyak faham asal-muasal Prof. Seyyed Nasr menulis buku Man and Nature. Sangat berkait rapat dengan perubahan dalam faham tradisi Kristian yang masih diikuti saintis masa kini.

[Harta Sujarwo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting. It helps with understanding why we are so misogynistic and paternal.

[Ajen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read after Meghan O'Gieblyn’s, God, Human, Animal, Machine.

[Fred · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating subject, handled unevenly and rather superficially

I read this right on the heels of reading Ray Kurzweil's "The Singularity is Near", which makes for a fascinating juxtaposition. This book will be a good starting point for my own further research into the ideas presented. Basically, David Noble traces a history of the "religion of technology" in the West, from about 900 to the present day. He identifies a shift in Western Christian thinking around the 9th-10th centuries as the beginning of this religion of technology - the "image of God" in man became identified with both the body and soul, instead of just the soul as had been thought up to that point. The other cause he identifies throughout the book is the influence of chiliastic thinking - the millennial expectation of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth, that mankind is to use rationalism and technology to regain its pre-fallen state and either usher in paradise on earth through technology, or use technology to be best prepared to residence in the Kingdom of Heaven.

I would have liked a much deeper engagement with the causes and nature of this shift in thinking, but according to the author, “the reasons remain obscure”. It is a bit frustrating throughout the book that the author is apparently completely ignorant of the existence of Christianity outside of western Europe, and the significant and enlightening differences between the two. For example, Eastern Christianity never identified the "image of God" with both body and soul, but emphatically only the soul. Likewise, chiliasm (millennialism) never took hold in Eastern Christianity (Orthodoxy), where the quest for perfection was always a quest for internal perfection, a paradise of the heart, not paradise on earth. A discussion of this difference would have been enlightening, or at least a deeper look at this shift in the West that the author identifies - it seemed like a crucial point to me.

Overall, his engagement with his subject is a bit superficial. Granted, this is a work of pop history not an academic text, but his heavy reliance on secondary sources left me wondering if his analysis was just the rehashed conclusions of works that support his thesis rather than a critical engagement with the subject matter. For example, is his emphasis on the influence of Joachim of Fiore accurate? Is he fairly presenting the theological position of Scotus Erigena, or distorting it to fit his thesis? Am I being misled for the sake of his ultimate motives?

By the time I reached the end of the book, I felt justified in this feeling as the author's ultimate position is finally revealed. He opens the book saying "It is the aim of this book to demonstrate that the present enchantment with things technological - the very measure of modern enlightenment - is rooted in religious myths and ancient imaginings." In the final chapter, tellingly titled "The Politics of Perfection", he explicitly states his true thesis - to demonstrate that the "religion of technology" is ultimately driven not by a desire to improve this world, but by the basically religious desire to transcend and escape this world.

The problem with this thesis is that it is easily contradicted by a fair reading of today's technological futurists like Ray Kurzweil, who, in "The Singularity is Now" certainly expresses desire to transcend this world through technology, but also constantly justifies advances in genetic engineering, nanotech, and advanced AI robotics by discussing the tremendous benefits to humanity and the promise of greatly alleviating human suffering. To oppose these technologies is to perpetuate massive human suffering for the sake of Luddite ideology, according to Kurzweil. This only confirms my suspicions that the author is more concerned with grinding his axe than with really getting to the bottom of these issues.

Despite my reservations it has provided a fascinating introductory study of connections between certain tendencies in Christian thought and the technological impulse. The author has done a good enough job that I had a thrilling read, and a lot of resources to keep me busy in my own research for years to come.

[Taylor Barkley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow this book is well researched. Only a few books I’ve held which reflect such rigorous study. I could tell this guy spent a lot of time. It being so short makes that all the more impressive. Learned a ton of new stuff.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Part I of The Religion of Technology, David F. Noble traces the development of modern science and technology (S&T) in terms of its religious roots, especially Christian millenarianism: the belief that history will culminate in a glorious thousand-year period of earthly peace and prosperity. This vision has been a powerful motivation to a wide variety of scientists, religious and secular.

Noble’s millenarian story provides a good introduction to the evolution of Christian thought regarding S&T, while highlighting its major periods and figures. Unfortunately, Noble’s description of Christianity is shallow at best, perhaps a symptom of the Marxist habit of developing class-warfare grand narratives without thorough reflection on the evidence. For example, Noble skims over the Biblical references to the millennium as if they were simple matters of fact and belief to Jewish and Christian theologians. This produces a caricature of the vast and unsettled study of eschatology that has occurred over the last several millennia. The association of millenarianism with S&T is made, but deep uncertainties over the connection are never explored.

In Part II, establishes the connections between Christian millenarianism and technologies developed from World War II through the present. Chapters 10 and 11—on artificial intelligence and genetic engineering, respectively—are especially relevant to a study of transhumanism.

Although Noble’s comprehension of Christianity is poor, he does highlight the doctrinal and ethical positions of believers that drive the development of science with transhumanist implications. Noble explains, for example, that Francis Collins, a protestant, had a “relaxed attitude” toward the patentability of genes as a result of his belief that the essence of humanity was spiritual, not physical. [198-199] This may indicate a significant difference between Catholic and Protestant belief worth further investigation.

Another notable observation is the concept of human-directed evolution. This seems natural to some, but others will want to let nature take its course. J.D. Bernal’s quote is typical: “The cardinal tendency of progress is the replacement of an indifferent chance environment by a deliberately created one.” [175] Along the way, natural science, which tends to reveal the “mystery of life” as just another mechanism,” [181] will increasingly give way to engineering.

Noble concludes with a predictable Marxist critique of technology inspired by Christian millenarianism. This unfortunate ending reminds me of the conclusion of Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle: a call for political action in the face of the many evils of capitalism. Sinclair’s call failed; Sinclair mourned that "I aimed at the public's heart, and by accident I hit it in the stomach." Noble’s call to overthrow the (holy or unholy?) alliance between Christianity, government, corporations, and transhumanist visionaries is fated for a similar failure. His book documents strong associations, but not cause and effect relationships, and offers no specific alternatives to the status quo.

[Katrinka · Rating 4 out of 5]

The focus wasn't exactly what I expected-- but the book was well worth the read, provided some surprising information about the religious leanings of many a scientist and organization, and sparked some research interests.

[Ethan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Makes you think about how humans ruin everything when we try to control ourselves without God. Touches on some hidden areas that are not covered very often. I wonder if some of the stuff he says is true, because he definitely had an agenda.

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book will change the way you look at all history, all religion, and all technology.

[Lolotehe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another book recommended to me that got me started on a David Noble kick. It helps explain why so many engineers are young-earth creationists, among other things.

[Adrian · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a beguiling manifesto of christophobic anxieties coupled with a hint of androphobia for good measure. Good fiction reads like fact!

[Coco Gelato · Rating 2 out of 5]

book did not live up to its lofty title