Open AccessDialectical reasoning in Jacques Ellul's critique of "autonomous'’ technology
Jacques Ellul (1912-1994) is one of the most influential twentieth-century philosophers of technology. His critique of the “technological system ", characterized by him as an autonomous power which is on the brink of developing out of control, is original and all-encompassing Ellul maintains that the most important features of technology are that technology is a result of sin, that it has given rise to a technological system which constitutes an "autonomous" force with the attainment of efficiency as the basis of its ethics, and that it has enslaved man. In order to counter the advance of the system, Ellul advocates a Christian form o f non-violent anarchy. This form of resistance is designed to "desacralize" the technological system and is based on Ellul’s exegesis of certain Biblical passages. It is argued that Ellul tends to absolutize human freedom as well as the dialectical tension between man and technology, which he considers a precondition for human freedom. By contrasting Ellul's views with the Reformational position, it is shown that Ellul's conception of technology is inadequate, leading to an erroneous view of man's relation to technology and the meaning of technology.