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The Technological System
Some 20 years after writing The Technological Society, Jacques Ellul realized how the totalistic dimensions of our modern technological milieu required an additional treatment of the topic. Writing amidst the rise of books in the 1970s on pollution, over-population, and environmental degradation, Ellul found it necessary, once again, to write about the global presence of technology and its far-reaching effects. The Technological System represents a new stage in Ellul's research. Previously he studied technological society as such; in this book he approaches the topic from a systems perspective wherein he identifies the characteristics of technological phenomena and technological progress in light of system theory. This leads to an entirely new approach to what constitutes the most important event of our society which has decisive bearing on the future of our world. Ellul's analysis touches on all aspects of modern life, not just those of a scientific or technological order. In the end, readers are compelled to formulate their own opinions and make their own decisions regarding the way a technique-based value system affects every level of human life.
378 pages, Paperback
Published June 11, 2018
15 people are currently reading
266 people want to read
About the author
Jacques Ellul
123 books450 followersBaptised Catholic, Ellul became an atheist and Marxist at 19, and a Christian of the Reformed Church at 22. During his Marxist days, he was a member of the French Communist Party. During World War II, he fought with the French Underground against the Nazi occupation of France.
Educated at the Universities of Bordeaux and Paris, he taught Sociology and the History of Law at the Universities of Strausbourg and Montpellier. In 1946 he returned to Bordeaux where he lived, wrote, served as Mayor, and taught until his death in 1994.
In the 40 books and hundreds of articles Ellul wrote in his lifetime, his dominant theme was always the threat to human freedom posed by modern technology. His tenor and methodology is objective and scholarly, and the perspective is a sociological one. Few of his books are overtly political -- even though they deal directly with political phenomena -- and several of his books, including "Propaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes" and "The Technological Society" are required reading in many graduate communication curricula.
Ellul was also a respected and serious Christian theologian whose 1948 work, "The Presence of the Kingdom," makes explicit a dual theme inherent, though subtly stated, in all of his writing, a sort of yin and yang of modern technological society: sin and sacramentality.
Educated at the Universities of Bordeaux and Paris, he taught Sociology and the History of Law at the Universities of Strausbourg and Montpellier. In 1946 he returned to Bordeaux where he lived, wrote, served as Mayor, and taught until his death in 1994.
In the 40 books and hundreds of articles Ellul wrote in his lifetime, his dominant theme was always the threat to human freedom posed by modern technology. His tenor and methodology is objective and scholarly, and the perspective is a sociological one. Few of his books are overtly political -- even though they deal directly with political phenomena -- and several of his books, including "Propaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes" and "The Technological Society" are required reading in many graduate communication curricula.
Ellul was also a respected and serious Christian theologian whose 1948 work, "The Presence of the Kingdom," makes explicit a dual theme inherent, though subtly stated, in all of his writing, a sort of yin and yang of modern technological society: sin and sacramentality.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 19, 2020
I have been reading Jacques Ellul for many years and have been following his writings ever since I bought his book, "The Technological Society" way back in the early 1970's. And so when I came upon his book, "The Technological System," republished by Wipf & Stock, I knew that I wanted to add it to my collection of Ellul works, since it was one I did not have in my library yet. As with his other books, this one does not disappoint; there is much to ponder and reflect on in this book. Ellul tells the reader upfront that this work is in conjunction with his book "The Technological Society" and in point of fact goes beyond it. Suffice it to say that even though Ellul wrote this book in 1980 many of the things he writes about are just as applicable today as they were then (maybe in certain aspects even more so). Ellul was certainly as a sociologist and philosopher a man ahead of his times. Though, his way of writing at times can be ponderous, so as to be hard to understand it is still worthwhile reading. I also enjoy his sarcasm he injects from time to time. His conclusion, "Man in the Technological System" is uncanny as to how it relates to our society today; those 26 pages and his endnotes alone are well worth the price of the book. Here is just one example: "We should not, of course, neglect the powers of the concrete and voluntary integration of man into technology. For instance, the great fear aroused by a detailed record of each individual's entire background." (endnote #4 p. 359) To cap it off, I close with this statement from Ellul: "Thus, the technological system engulfs the individual, and he never even realizes it." (p. 316) This to me encapsulates the world in which we live in today. Indeed, one could say that Ellul writing in 1980 was very presentient about what is occurring in the world today, in regards to the "technological system" and how that impacts us all.
May 15, 2016
Fondamental pour comprendre la société moderne, même avec des détails que le temps prouva incorrects. Surtout montre la corruption de l’homme sous l’aspect du système global de notre civilisation, selon la tradition réformée de l’auteur.
July 4, 2019
It was a good extension/update of 'The Technological Society,' and, as with the former, as relevant today as ever.
August 21, 2011
Très théorique, tire un peu sur la ficelle pour faire rentrer dans "son système". Présenté d'un point de vue très neutre, peu de prise de partie. Assez compliqué, difficile à apprécier.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews