Instructor: Dr. Phil Mullins
Office: A115E 271-4386 (office) 271-5688 (messages)
Hours: 7:00-8:00 a.m. daily and 9-10 a.m. MWF or by appointment in A116E.
E-Mail: mullins@missouriwestern.edu

Class Objectives: This class is designed to introduce some interesting contemporary discussions about the character of technology and its role in modern life. Although the course title identifies the responses to technology that are to be studied as "philosophical responses," the class will not focus exclusively on the writing of philosophers. Some of the writers to be studied identify themselves as "philosophers" but others elect the title "historian" or "historian of technology." Thus the readings are an eclectic collection and this class might be dubbed "interdisciplinary." There is, of course, a very large literature of reflection on technology; this class will focus only on a few interesting figures from the last part of the twentieth century. These figures, of course, rely upon earlier thinkers so some references will be made to earlier thinkers. But in this class, we will focus in on the ideas of three major figures, one after another, with some limited attention also devoted to a few other figures. We will try to read several selections from the key figures and, if there is time, read a selection or two from others. The key figures are Langdon Winner, (a political scientist/political philosopher), Albert Borgmann (a philosopher) and Ivan Illich (a historian). We will start with Winner and read and discuss a set of his essays. What is important is to come to understand the kinds of issues that Winner raises and the stands he takes on these issues. After we finish Winner, we will shift to a consideration of Borgmann and Illich. We will try to outline their perspectives in such a way that the differences and similarities of these three central figures is apparent.

General Expectations: The class is small enough that it can operate as if it were a tutorial. I don't expect to lecture but to discuss with you the material that we read. I will often provide outlines or questions on material. This usually will be put on the class web page accessed from my home page (http://staff.mwsc.edu/~mullins). You need to come to every class; always read material scheduled for class discussion and review questions and/or outlines of the material that are posted on the class web page. In class, you should ask about whatever puzzles you and respond to the comments that I or other class members make. I am assuming that this is an upper level class and that means we all are liberated from some of the chains that enslave general education learning environments! I will treat you as interested class participants joining me on a potentially fascinating intellectual adventure through landscape that you are unfamiliar with but are willing to work to understand.

Graded Work and Grading Policy: You will be graded on the four following elements (1) participation (30%), (2) midterm (20%), (3) short paper or presentations on some reading (20%), (4) final (30%). These are discussed below.

(1) Participation (30%)-This includes class attendance, preparation for class, and discussion of material. It should not be difficult to make a very good score on participation if you come to class, prepare for each class, and discuss with me and others what we are reading. At the midterm, I will provide you a written comment or two about your participation.

(2) Midterm (20%) and Final (30%)-We will work out a take-home examination for both the midterm and final. You will have about a week to prepare a written response to a question or questions that require thought. Most likely, the question or questions will ask that you compare and contrast the approaches of different figures that we have studied. I will be available to help you is sorting thought the material to shape an essay. I may review the essay with you and give you an opportunity to revise it for a better mark. For example, if you wrote a paper that rated a B = 85 of 100, you might, after reworking the exam, improve the score to an A = 90 of 100.

(3) Short paper or Presentations (30%) : You will be assigned a short paper and/or presentations on a topic related to what we have been working on. For example, it might be interesting to have you review an essay on Borgmann by Pieter Tijmes, a Dutch philosopher of technology. As a class, we might then have an e-mail discussion with Dr. Tijmes. Your paper/presentation would be an effort to set forth what Tijmes thinks of Borgmann's views on technology. You would pull this out of Tijmes' essay and what he says via e-mail. This is just one possibility for the paper or presentation. We might arrange to have a class session comparing Tijmes' view of Borgmann with that found by some others who have written about Borgmann's work.

Please be aware of the following general college policies applying to every class: "Since honesty in classroom or laboratory is required, cheating, plagiarism, or knowingly furnishing false information to the college constitutes a violation." Any dishonest activity will affect you grade adversely. Any student who has a disability that hampers normal class performance should advise me as soon as possible so that we can discuss available alternatives.

Materials: Some of the material that we read will be on the web. Other reading materials I will provide you with a copy. Two books that we will read should be available at Passport Bookstore: Albert Borgmann, Crossing the Postmodern Divide and Ivan Illich, Tools for Conviviality.

Schedule: The reading/discussion program will be revised as we progress. Some things may take less time than anticipated and some may take more. I may insert some material (e.g., Tijmes's essay on Borgmann) at one stage or another, depending on how we progress as a class in understanding the material. It is thus difficult to lay out all of the reading schedule for the class on the opening day. In every class session, we will discuss where we will go in the immediately upcoming sessions. You will never be in the dark as to what preparation is required. Insofar as I am often providing reading materials, I will try to provide them about a week ahead. The presently anticipated general plan for treating the major figures in the course follows but remember that this will include several different readings and some by figures other than the primary figure identified for the section:

Weeks 1-4-Langdon Winner

Weeks 5-9-Albert Borgmann

Weeks 10-14-Ivan Illich