The Motherboard of Myriad Things: Zhuangzi, Xin, and the Internet
Speaker: Billy Wheeler, PhD, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Science and Society
Title:
From a Daoist point of view what should the appropriate relationship be between man and machine? Although technology has influenced mankind for millennia, the exponential growth of digital technologies in recent years has transformed the way we live beyond recognition. In this talk I consider what a Daoist attitude should be towards the internet: both its use and design. I will start by introducing three existing views on Daoism and technology: (i) anti-technology, (ii) anti-efficiency and (iii) “wu wei-effectiveness”. I shall argue that of the three wu wei-effectiveness is the better interpretation. However, whilst wu wei-effectiveness is well-suited for analogue technologies, it is ill-suited for digital technologies. I offer an amendment inspired by Zhuangzi’s conception of the heart-mind (xin 心). I then show how this offers both a diagnosis of the current negative effects of the internet and a remedy for its better use and design.
