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61st out of 99 books
—
28 voters
The Technological Society
."..He goes through one human activity after another and shows how it has been technicized, rendered efficient, and diminished in the process."- Harper's Magazine
Paperback, 512 pages
Published
October 12th 1967
by Vintage
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This is a very interesting book, and one not well know to many outside France. Ellul is one of the few philosophers who devoted much of his life to the understanding of technology as a stand-alone phenomenon. With great care, the author takes you through a detailed explanation of technology's manifestation, and how it goes on to transform the world we live in. There are different thoughts on how technology can be controlled, but in the end, Ellul feels there is no stopping it. We must simply lea...more
Ellul writes about the situation of humanity in a civilisation that he, like some other writers of the time (Mumford, Ferkiss, to some extent Daniel Bell), regards as fundamentally different in character due to technological influence.
Despite the book's title in English, Ellul's major topic of concern isn't "technology" in the form of machinery or computerisation, but "technique". Ellul defines technique as the itentional application of a repeatable means engaged in order to achieve an identifie...more
Despite the book's title in English, Ellul's major topic of concern isn't "technology" in the form of machinery or computerisation, but "technique". Ellul defines technique as the itentional application of a repeatable means engaged in order to achieve an identifie...more
Well this is such an interesting book but not necessarily for the issues Ellul brings up. Obviously much has changed of the world from 1954 and in this American translation, which appeared in 1964, (considered by the Knopf publisher as their "Folly") to where one has to wonder if his ideas even have validity anymore. In addition one has to constantly keep track of his vernacular and adjust it to a more modern word sense or at least find an adaptive set of terminology that fits and still makes se...more
A masterpiece.
"The substitution of thetempus mortuum of the mechanical clock for the biological and psychological time “natural” to man is in itself sufficient to suppress all the traditional rhythms of human life in favor of the mechanical. Again, genuine human communities are suppressed by the technological society to form collectivities of “mass men” incapable of obeying any other law than the statistical “law of large numbers.” All the technical devices of education, propaganda, amusement, sport, and reli...more
The first few times I picked this one up it didn't seem to be much more than a rather plodding diagram of generic claims about the dehumanization of society due to the appetites and inherent structures of science, government and business - the indulgent kind of paranoia that's bread and butter for the entertainment industry (think The Matrix etc.) It doesn't leave you with a whole lot to chew on. The print quality in mine is pretty bad to boot. For much of the book Ellul treats his observations...more
Ellul has one point: Civilization is ruled by technique, and the only response to technique is further technique. Please read the first half, and the conclusion of this book (that's all I could take, but I could take no less). You will see this pattern play out everywhere, everyday. But can you fight this power? Should you?
By the way, his (translated) term "technological" has nothing, per se, to do with technology. I would have translated it as "methodological".
An example: Various modern methods...more
By the way, his (translated) term "technological" has nothing, per se, to do with technology. I would have translated it as "methodological".
An example: Various modern methods...more
This book is another truly remarkable exposition of the relation between technology and society, along with Mumford's, Pentagon of Power. This book, as with the latter, goes far beyond a mere criticism of technologies. It examines the nature of Technique, which is the collective organization of a society mediated and, in the end, increasingly driven by technology. The ideology of efficiency which drives technologies becomes incorporated into every aspect of the social structure.
This book is much...more
This book is much...more
I found this book fascinating, worldview-shattering, and amazing. It caused me fear and worry but also greatly helped me understand the society in which I live. Things which seemed to not make sense were explained by the detailed explorations of technique and the technological society in this book. I found it incredible and essential reading. Also remarkable was the similarities with Revelation and some of the words of Jesus in the Bible.
Jacques Ellul's book is a philosophical work, and he pushes back against the continual drive to make things more efficient, and he does this based upon mankind's relationship to techniques. His concern is that the more our actions are governed by a technique, the less capable we are of expressing our moral freedoms. I like this book because I think we can all appreciate the tension Ellul points to and that it conveys his concerns well.
If you can stand wandering french philosophy, This is an excellent book of sociological theory with much to offer. It is very comprehensive in the arguments undertaken, and while you may not necessarily agree with the conclusions drawn it presents a very provocative picture worth considering
Very dense. Didn't really like it, or get anything out of it. Read the first 75 pages, and the last 10. Tried other parts in between, but they weren't useful.
Would not recommend it. Didn't really learn anything. I was hoping to use something for my teaching. Written in 1960 by a Frenchman, so consider the timeframe and context. I'm much more optimistic.
Would not recommend it. Didn't really learn anything. I was hoping to use something for my teaching. Written in 1960 by a Frenchman, so consider the timeframe and context. I'm much more optimistic.
Excellent! A 'Must Read' esp. by Christians in our day but all would benefit and find themselves put out but agreeing with a lot of what he has to say. It's been many years since I've read much Ellul but I love his writing.
Feb 04, 2009
Chandler
is currently reading it
Ellul gives a gut wrenching, exhilarating view of "technique" and its uninterrupted stranglehold on society by way of autonomous efficiency.
A very important book. Jaques Ellul was one of the greatest thinkers of our time....a very wise man.
Ellul may overstate himself at times, but his prophetic ideas are well worth pondering. This is a very uncomfortable book to read!
This book ruined/saved my life.
Nov 17, 2011
Bruce Lindsay
added it
This book sucked
The Unabomber lead me to this book. At first, I thought Kaczynski's manifesto was much better reasoned out, lucid, and compelling, but at about page 400, this book hit me -- the implications, the . . . I don't know. A bleaker coloring to my already cynical look at where man's heading.
Ellul is one of those thinkers, like Simone Weil or Hannah Arendt, who are in a class to themselves. He defines technology, not by tools and tehniques, but by a set of assumptions governing the choices we make, where utility and the possibility of doing something overrides all other considerations, becomes, in fact, the determinative value of society.
Ellul is neither a Luddite nor a Jeremiah, and he is reserved in his claims. Neither shrill nor militant in his position, he limits himself to clear-headed comments on the possible ramifications of the proliferation of technology in Western society.
This book blew my mind- I'll never see the world the same way again. I'll never appeal to "efficiency" as if it were a moral end (and error I was absolutely making). Absolutely one of the most important things I have read in my life.
2 likes · like · see review
Orwell said it in the 1940s- Ellul elaborated on it in the 1960s- but no one listened. Now we are all enslaved and think we are free. Time to take the red pill.
Well, we skipped a like 100 pages in the middle, but I was able to get the main gist of the book.
Jun 17, 2013
Whoof
marked it as to-read
Jun 17, 2013
Dave Menace
marked it as to-read
Jun 07, 2013
Ethan Adkins
marked it as to-read
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Baptised Catholic, Ellul became an atheist and Marxist at 19, and a Christian of the Reformed Church at 22. During his Marxist days, he was a member of the French Communist Party. During World War II, he fought with the French Underground against the Nazi occupation of France.
Educated at the Universities of Bordeaux and Paris, he taught Sociology and the History of Law at the Universities of Strau...more
More about Jacques Ellul...
Educated at the Universities of Bordeaux and Paris, he taught Sociology and the History of Law at the Universities of Strau...more
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“If man--if each one of us--abdicates his responsibilities with regard to values; if each one of us limits himself to leading a trivial existence in a technological civilization, with greater adaptation and increasing success as his sole objectives; if we do not even consider the possibility of making a stand against these determinants, then everything will happen as I have described it, and the determinates will be transformed into inevitabilities.”
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2 people liked it
“Our civilization is first and foremost a civilization of means; in the reality of modern life, the means, it would seem, are more important than the ends. Any other assessment of the situation is mere idealism.”
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The observations in this book are still completely valid. The only difference t...more
Aug 18, 2012 04:57pm