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The Dialectic of Technology: Commentary on Warner and England 1
Author(s) -
Bell Michael M.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
rural sociology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.083
H-Index - 65
eISSN - 1549-0831
pISSN - 0036-0112
DOI - 10.1111/j.1549-0831.1995.tb00594.x
Subject(s) - dialectic , argument (complex analysis) , sociology , agency (philosophy) , epistemology , perspective (graphical) , meaning (existential) , metaphor , social theory , politics , focus (optics) , structure and agency , social science , law , political science , philosophy , chemistry , biochemistry , linguistics , physics , optics , artificial intelligence , computer science
Warner and England (1995) make a welcome argument for a technological science perspective for sociology based on a theory of humans as technological agents and an epistemology that includes ethical values. As with any sociological perspective, however, Warner and England's comments help to focus on and understand some aspects of social life and not others. This commentary provides a complementary focus by emphasizing the dialectical relationship between human agency and technological agency. Furthermore, I argue that a dialectical view is necessary for grounding Warner and England's theoretical argument and for acting on their ethical argument. Implications of a dialectical perspective for the meaning and politics of technology are explored. The paper concludes with a discussion of the suitability of “science” as a metaphor for sociology.