The author reveals the darker side of Western society's adoption of, and adaptation to, modern technology. Despite his portrayal of an increasingly complex, artificial and dehumanized technological environment, Lukasiewicz writes with humour and humanism and makes an enlightening contribution to the habitually grim literature on this subject.
Authors
- Bibliography, etc. Note
- Includes bibliographical references and indexes
- Control Number Identifier
- CaOOCEL
- Dewey Decimal Classification Number
- 303.48/3
- Dewey Decimal Edition Number
- 20
- General Note
- Issued as part of the desLibris books collection
- ISBN
- 9780773573901 0886292344
- LCCN
- CB478
- LCCN Item number
- L855 1994eb
- Modifying agency
- CaBNVSL
- Original cataloging agency
- CaBNVSL
- Physical Description | Extent
- 1 electronic text (xxviii, 272 p.)
- Published in
- Canada
- Publisher or Distributor Number
- CaOOCEL
- Rights
- Access restricted to authorized users and institutions
- System Control Number
- (CaBNVSL)jme00326541 (OCoLC)144084674 (CaOOCEL)400989
- System Details Note
- Mode of access: World Wide Web
- Transcribing agency
- CaBNVSL
Table of Contents
- Contents 8
- List of illustrations 12
- List of tables 14
- List of "boxes" 16
- Designation of references 18
- Abbreviations 20
- Preface 22
- Acknowledgements 26
- Introduction 28
- 1. The paradox of human progress 30
- Notes 39
- 2. Humanities, social and physical sciences: the two cultures 40
- The cultural gap 42
- The issue of accessibility 43
- The psychological gap 45
- Traditional culture and education 46
- The inescapable predicament of social sciences 49
- The ineradicable gap 57
- Notes 58
- References 58
- Appendix: Some gems of obfuscatory (sociological and other) jargon 60
- 3. Technology: the land of many faces 64
- The critics of technology 66
- Embracing the unknown 71
- The blessings and curses of industrial civilization 85
- Technology: a domain unique to the human species 86
- Extension of human capabilities 87
- People: the inhumane users of technology 89
- The dehumanizer and depersonalizer 95
- Technology the unforgiving 101
- The agent of constant change 103
- Population, environment and resources 107
- The causes of suffering 111
- The benefits of democratic industrialization 113
- The Third World and the West: the precarious gap 117
- Difficulties in the West 131
- Notes 133
- References 137
- 4. The ignorance explosion 140
- Human intellectual capacity 142
- The growth of science 144
- Specialization 147
- The complexity of science and the environment 148
- The immediacy and obsolescence of information 149
- The vanishing grasp 150
- New tools and techniques 152
- Some future limitations 159
- Superhumans and superscience 162
- Notes 169
- References 169
- Appendix: On estimating the magnitude of complexity 172
- 5. The brave new world of globalization 174
- The origins 176
- A historical perspective 177
- Continental integration: the United States 179
- Science: a precursor of globalization 181
- Toward a voluntary federation of nations 181
- A rough road to European Union 184
- Globalization of industrial operations 190
- Internationalization of labour 196
- Environmental challenge to sovereignty 198
- The relentless progress of globalization 200
- Notes 200
- References 201
- 6. Language in the service of identity—or communication? 204
- Latin: a historical illustration 207
- The communication imperative: India and Africa 208
- The communication imperative: China and Japan 209
- Toward efficient spelling 213
- English as the modern lingua franca 214
- The early imperatives of communication 215
- Science 216
- Diplomacy, international organizations, business and education 219
- Global audience and standards 220
- Internationalization of vocabularies and lifestyles 226
- Preservation of linguistic identity 230
- Toward a common language 238
- Notes 240
- References 241
- 7. Technology and war 242
- Nuclear weapons: what are they good for? 246
- The Maginot Line of the space age 251
- The missile systems game 255
- The supreme deterrent 257
- What makes deterrence effective? 259
- Containing the arms race 261
- The need for "minimal deterrent" 262
- Notes 263
- References 263
- 8. Jettisoning the harness of biology 266
- Prolonging life—or death? 268
- Playing God 270
- The tyranny of sexual gratification 276
- Notes 278
- 9. Has vision been lost? 280
- Notes 288
- References 289
- Indexes 290
- Subject Index 290
- A 290
- B 290
- C 290
- D 291
- E 292
- F 292
- G 293
- H 293
- I 293
- J 294
- K 294
- L 294
- M 295
- N 295
- O 295
- P 295
- Q 296
- R 296
- S 296
- T 297
- U 298
- V 298
- W 298
- X 298
- Name Index 299
- A 299
- B 299
- C 299
- D 299
- E 299
- F 299
- G 299
- H 299
- J 299
- K 299
- L 299
- M 300
- N 300
- O 300
- P 300
- R 300
- S 300
- T 300
- V 301
- W 301
- Z 301