卡西尔论技术与形式

Cassirer on Technology and Form

卡西尔是当代哲学中德高望重的人物,现今思想界具有百科全书知识的一位学者,在技术哲学方面被认为是从文化哲学的视角考察技术的代表人物。在《形式与技术》一文中,他把技术置于文化哲学的大框架下,分析科学、艺术、语言、巫术等各种文化形式与技术的关系,探讨技术的本质。他对技术本质的分析,不是停留在工程学的层面上,即探讨技术发明的原理、技术构思的来源;而是要深入挖掘使技术得以形成发展的根本力量:技术在本质上乃是人的"愿望"与"意志"的集合体。用卡西尔的话说,考察不能"停留在技术产品的范围内,停留在功能和产品的范围内",而是要"从形成的东西追溯到形成的法则"。

Cassirer is one of the most respected figures of contemporary philosophy.He is a scholar with the encyclopedic knowledge in modern intellectual and in terms of philosophy of technology;he is considered the representative who studies technology from the perspective of philosophy of culture.In the ＂Form and Technology＂,he puts the technology under the framework of philosophy of culture,analyzing the relationships between science,art,language,magic and other forms of culture and exploring the nature of technology.On the analysis of the nature of technology,Cassirer not stops at the engineering level which discusses the principle of technical inventions and the source of technology ideas,but thoroughly digs the fundamental forces making the technology formation and development,that is,technology is in nature the collection of man＇s ＂desire＂ and ＂will＂.With Cassirer＇s words,study can not ＂stay in the range of technology products,in the range of functionality and products＂,but ＂from the thing formed back to the law of the form＂.