Living in the Labyrinth of Technology (review)

Willem H. Vanderburg's book Living in the Labyrinth of Technology starts by saying that it is 'a narrative of where we are taking science and technology, and where science and technology are taking us.' This suggests that even if we are not being offered the means of escape from the labyrinth (there is no outside), we are at least being offered some guidance in the tradition of Daedalus, Ariadne, and Theseus. Herein lies the strength and problem with Vanderburg's book.

Vanderburg structures his book around the idea that humanity has already engaged in two great 'megaprojects' and is on the threshold of a third. Part 1, 'Disconnecting from and Reconnecting to the Earth and the Gods,' looks at the change of society brought about by industrialization and the shift away from pre-industrial life. Part 2, 'Disconnecting from and Reconnecting to Experience and Culture,' explains how we broke our bonds with local culture, particularly through the use of communication. In part 3, 'Our Third Megaproject?' Vanderburg argues that we are at the beginning of a global culture completely mediated by technology. To support his argument, the book abounds with anecdotes that take us down the convoluted passages built by our reliance on technology and frequently highlight the trouble that occurs when that technology produces unexpected consequences or fails to operate at all.

In a larger sense, our megaprojects have transformed humanity from homo sapiens into homo economicus, and in the third age into homo informaticus. Vanderburg argues that the transformation is bad for us. The basis for this position largely comes from Jacques Ellul, who was Vanderburg's postdoctoral mentor and colleague, and to whom the book is dedicated. While Vanderburg's concerns are stated in less spiritual terms than Ellul's, they are both based on the idea that when technology mediates human interaction, we lose something of our humanity. If living in the trap of technology was not bad enough, there is not much we can do about the situation unless we 'awaken from our technique-induced slumber' and live 'in the tension between "people changing technique" and "technique changing people."'

Vanderburg's message is an important one, particularly as a part of education for students who are being trained to maintain, develop and live in a technological society. The problem with Living in the Labyrinth of Technology is that it takes on this complex topic and makes it even more complex by adding confusing terms and sprawling commentary. In particular, there is the frequent use of the term 'connectedness,' especially 'technology-based connectedness' which is set in contrast to 'culture-based connectedness.' In some places, 'technology-based connectedness' seems to be synonymous with Ellul's 'technique,' or the totality of human methods of solving real world problems, but in other places the term seems closer to McLuhan's ideas about media, mind, and society. 'Culture-based connectedness' could mean culture before modern technology or technologically unmediated human behaviour.

Simply parsing passages can prove a challenge. Consider this passage about mass media and advertising. 'The increasingly essential role of information flows was to make a relatively autonomous technology livable while recreating social cohesion. One of the price tags was a weakening of the dialectical tension between the individual and society in favour of the latter.' How can an 'autonomous technology' be 'livable'? It is not clear what a 'dialectical tension between the individual and society' could be or how weakening a tension can favour one dialectical pole. Although there may be other 'price tags,' they are not identified. The situation is not helped by Vanderburg's frequent reassurance after such passages that it will all be explained later in the analysis.

One of the great philosophical problems about discussing technology and society is that there is no easy way to separate culture from our tools and systems. Any definition of technology broad enough to be used to identify social transformation (whether Vanderburg's 'megaprojects' or Neil Postman's 'technopoly') will...