试论技术人工物的实在性

On the Reality of Technological Artifacts

当代技术实在论表明,技术人工物是物向度的技术实在,它的实在性代表着技术实在的最高等级或程度。但自亚里士多德以降,传统实在论以实体优先于关联为前提,对于人工物解释存在如下悖论:一方面,按照实体的独立存在命题,应把人工物描述为源自自身而有别于其他实体的真实存在;另一方面,按照亚里士多德对自然物和人工物的区分,人工物又被描述为出于外在目的的物质之物。这种悖论,实际上是传统实在论的主客体二元论在技术人工物描述方面的特殊表现。鉴于这一悖论,我们宁愿回到柏拉图,以关联优先于实体为前提,把技术人工物理解为一种内在关联物。这种关联物不是对称性的人和非人的实体杂合,而是他们相对的互动和作用的价值关联物。在这种意义上,技术人工物不是中性的工具或独立的文化系统,而是人和物同时在场的间性存在,是制造之在、使用之在和背景之在。这样来看待技术人工物的实在性,不仅能够在理论上弥合传统实在论包含的主客体分割情形,而且有利于我们在不同情境中以其各种关系或文化构型解释它的广泛意义。

Contemporary realism of technology indicates that technological artifacts represent the highest order or extent of technological reality. However,a paradox exists in what the traditional realism since Aristotle has made sense of artifacts by the premise substance prior to relation. On one hand,in accordance with the proposition substances as independent beings,artifact is described as a real existence originated in itself and independent of another substances; on the another hand,according to what Aristotle distinguished artifacts from natural objects,it is as material thing from its external aim of human being. This paradox is a special form of the subject-object dualism applied to describe technological artifacts by the traditional realism. Facing with the theoretical awkwardness,we may be tempted to go back Plato who thought the premise relation prior to substance,construe technological artifact as an internal relata. This relata is not the substance hybrid of the symmetrical human and non-human beings,but the value relata of their relative actions. In this sense,technological artifacts are interalogical beings in making,using or situation where human beings and things are all present at once,rather than neutral tools or independent culture systems. This understanding of the reality of technological artifacts,not only bridge the separated subject and object in theory,but also help to explain their broad senses through various relations and cultural configuration of artifacts in practical situation or real context.