Although retired as a teacher, ellul has continued writing. C this article has been rated as cclass on the projects quality scale. A remarkably perceptive viewpoint from sociologist jacques ellul in 1954. In the technological society, jacques ellul formulates a compre hensive and. An introduction to the philosophy of jacques ellul, lehigh university press, 1991, p. Each of us, in his own life, must seek ways of resisting and transcending technological determinism the first act of freedom is to become aware of the necessity.
The technological society was written in 1954 by french philosopher jacques ellul. All interested editors are invited to join the project and contribute to the discussion. Pdf how the technological society became more important. Greta thunberg inspiring others to take a stand against climate change the daily show duration. For instructions on how to use this banner, please refer to the documentation. Whether youve loved the book or not, if you give your honest and detailed thoughts then people will find new books that are right for them. The nonspontaneous union of the individual and the collectivity is one of the essential conditions for the development of techniques in the special sociological form they take in our society. Jacques ellul french politician and social scientist. Jacques ellul and the technological society in the 21st century. Ellul writes in an academic style that is not always very accessible. Samuel matlack revisits jacques elluls classic analysis of technique. Ellul thoroughly shows that much of the difference in ideology between libertarians and socialists becomes largely irrelevant in the technological society this is not to say that ideology is unimportant, but rather that technique proceeds with the same goals and effects. Who was philosopher jacques ellul and how did his writing. Jacques ellul, technology doomsdayer before his time the.
Other readers will always be interested in your opinion of the books youve read. Ellul offers a penetrating analysis of our technological. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. In his 1954 work the technological society, ellul essentially posits that technology, by virtue of its power through efficiency, determines which social aspects are best suited for its. We have wide selection of jacques the and the to choose from. Among twentieth century thinkers on the subject of technology, the french scholar jacques ellul 19121994, author of the wellknown book, the technological society 1954, would seem to be an obvious candidate for the term luddite. Jacques ellul jacques ellul wrote about a perceived takeover of humanity by technology in the technological society way back in 1954. The first essay evokes elluls most celebrated work of 1954. Transcript of ellul s politics of god and politics of man. Jacques elluls the technological society revisited sfu. Librarything is a cataloging and social networking site for booklovers all about the technological society by jacques ellul. The technological society by jacques ellul librarything. Originally published in french in 1954, it was translated into english in 1964. This book is still worth reading by anyone interested in the things that orthodox massmedia advertisements for progress dont tell us about technology, but you have to steel yourself for an.
A principal characteristic of technique is its refusal to tolerate moral judgments. Jacques ellul from his christian perspective pretty much calls the technological society behemoth or, the beast. This volume gives me the welcome and highly useful opportunity to address jacques ellul s 1964 1954 classic work, the technological society, from the context of my work on social theory, the mcdonaldization of society, and the age of the prosumer. The technological society by jacques ellul goodreads. The political illusion 1965 was essential to ellul s trinity of social criticism following the technological society 1954 and propaganda 1962. Jacques ellul, libro the technological society the technological society 1954, context. Ellul offers a penetrating analysis of our technological civilization, showing how technology which began innocuously enough as a servant of humankind. The technological society is a book on the subject of technique by french philosopher, theologian and sociologist jacques ellul. How the technological society became more important in the. Jacques ellul does not take a religious stance, but more of a logical it then follows or is already apparent stance. As insightful and wise today as it was when originally published in 1954, jacques elluls the technological society has become a classic in its field.
This volume gives me the welcome and highly useful opportunity to address jacques ellul s 1964 1954 classic work, the technological society, from the context of my work on social theory, the. The book was brought to the attention of the englishspeaking world indirectly by aldous huxley, who recommended the book above all when asked by prominent sociologists which books to read on scientific control. Ellul offers a penetrating analysis of our technological civilization, showing how technology which began innocuously. Ellul offers a penetrating analysis of our technological civilization. It destroys, eliminates, or subordinates the natural world, and does not allow this world to restore itself or even to enter.
We use your linkedin profile and activity data to personalize ads and to show you more relevant ads. In his 1954 book, the technological society, jacques ellul states. It is absolutely independent of them and eliminates them from its domain. As insightful and wise today as it was when originally published in 1954, jacques elluls the technological society has become a classic in its field, laying the.
I have found much of utility in the book and also much to criticize. Ellul, who died in 1994, was the author of a series of books on the philosophy of technology, beginning with the technological society, published in france in 1954 and in english a decade later. The technological society is a book written by jacques ellul. Ellul and personalism the international jacques ellul. Ellul has provided a sociopolitical as well as a theological analysis of contemporary society in more than 40 books and 800 articles. The book traces humanitys historical discovery of technology, and how technique has come to dominate every aspect of our lives. Ellul offers a penetrating analysis of our technological civilization, showing how technologywhich began innocuously enough as a servant of. The world that is being created by the accumulation of technical means is an artificial world and hence radically different from the natural world.
His behemoth commentary is merely his own subjective way of describing the obvious. As insightful and wise today as it was when originally published in 1954, jacques ellul s the technological society has become a classic in its field, laying the groundwork for all other studies of technology and society that have followed. The dense and discursive work lays out in 500 pages how technique became for civilization what british colonialism was for parts of 19thcentury africa. The 20th century french philosopher and social theorist jacques ellul could be said to be a hard determinist and proponent of autonomous technique technology. In the technological society 1954, french author and philosopher jacques ellul discusses an idea he refers to as technique, which he defines as the totality of methods rationally arrived at and having absolute efficiency for a given stage of development in every field of human activity. Jacques ellul, a professor of history and sociology of institutions at the university of bordeaux and the author of forty books, wrote the technological society between 1952 and 1954. As insightful and wise today as it was when originally published in 1954, jacques elluls the technological society has become a classic in its field, laying the groundwork for all other studies of technology and society that have followed. John wilkinson citat in david lovekin, technique, discourse and consciousness. This union is, as we shall see, one of the most noteworthy results of the tech niques devoted to man.
Jacques ellul on politics, technology, and christianity. The film the betrayal by technology, a 1992 portrait by rerun productions, on jacques ellul broadcasted twice in the. Convinced that the prime reality of the secular world is the triumph of means or technique, he devoted himself to a full volume on the subject. Confronting the technological society the new atlantis. Full text of the technological society internet archive. We can thus see that most of ellul s lifelong political and sociological concerns and ambitions find themselves deeply rooted and wellwatered in the. The technological society 1954 established ellul as a social critic. Pdf how the technological society became more important in. The final interviews before jacques ellul died jacques ellul on politics, technology, and christianity is the best and most satisfying set of interviews ever carried out with jacques ellul and we are most fortunate to have this rich legacy of thought now available to a broader audience.
John sullins, secretary of the society for philosophy and technology and professor of philosophy at sonoma state university, explained in an email to that ellul s work, especially the technological society, offered a meditation on technology s toll on humanity. Click to read more about the technological society by jacques ellul. One of his writing projects is an autobiography to be published after his death. The original french was published in 1954 and made scarcely a ripple in a cultural world. This article is within the scope of wikiproject biography, a collaborative effort to create, develop and organize wikipedias articles about people. A concern for technique as the determining factor in western society and institutionssee the technological society 1954, the technological system 1977, and the technological bluff 1988. But in 1954, just a year before american scientists started working on artificial intelligence, ellul wrote his monumental book, the technological society. Wheaton college librarys jacques ellul page with biographical information and listings of their holdings of rare ellul manuscripts jacques ellul at anarchist archive. Ellul offers a penetrating analysis of our technological civilization, showing as insightful and wise today as it was when originally published in 1954, jacques ellul s the technological society has become a classic in its field, laying the groundwork for all other studies of technology and society.