技术哲学的“大问题”和“小问题”——对米切姆“怀疑”的回应

“Big Issues” and “Small Issues” in the Philosophy of Technology: A Response to Carl Mitcham’s “Suspicion”

卡尔·米切姆(Carl Mitcham)是一位真诚的学者。他的真诚不仅体现在他对他人的以诚相待,也体现在他对事业的真诚。他对“中国特色的西方技术哲学”所持的“怀疑”态度就是他真诚的体现。在其近乎反省式的关于技术哲学的思考中,米切姆通过反思自己(包括在中国)从事技术哲学的心路历程,婉转地提出了对中国技术哲学和技术伦理学研究现状的批评。他指出,一方面,中国的技术哲学和技术伦理学在学习西方的过程中,充满了对美国技术哲学和技术伦理学的“浪漫主义”想象;另一方面,中国技术哲学“亲技术”的特征表现在其对涉及人类命运的宏大问题缺乏深度思考和回应。他坦率地将自己的疑惑和怀疑表达出来,期待中国学者的回应。本文试图对米切姆的“怀疑”提出一点看法。

Mitchem thinks that in learning from the West,the Chinese philosophy of technology and the Chinese ethics of technology have exhibited the same"pro-technological"characteristic as that of the American philosophy of technology:they"focus on small issues and stay away from big issues",that is,they only pay attention to issues such as freedom,informed consent,and the risk-cost-benefit analysis under the frameworks of liberalism and pragmatism,but they lack reflections on or responses to the"big issues"involving the destiny of humankind.He advocates that modern technology should be taken"as a whole"when it is"thought and critically evaluated".In response to this point of view,based on reviewing the critical traditions of the Western philosophy of technology,it is worth questioning why they have not changed the trajectory of technological development,which has increasingly separated humanity from a natural life.In fact,technology is the way people live.Negation technology is not only impossible in reality,but also lacks a justifiable metaphysical basis.At the same time,the philosophy of technology and the ethics of technology based on"the doctrine of the Golden Mean"in the East is fundamentally different from the philosophy of technology based on individualism and liberalism in the West.Therefore,we should regain the thoughts of propriety and harmony in Chinese philosophy and the overall grasp of the world,nature and society in a holistic way,so that we can explore effective strategies to get rid of technological dilemmas.