Christianity and the Philosophy of Technology in France

Abstract

In the twentieth century, a number of French Christian philosophers have described technology as a civilization process, each one in his own way. A short survey of Jacques Ellul’s, Dominique Chenu’s, Emmanuel Mounier’s and Jean Brun’s major works, shows that their diverging views were rooted in contrasting understandings of the Christian concept of incarnation. The dilemma spiritualization vs incarnation which underpinned their view of technology may still be relevant to understand the uncritical sanctification of technology in this century.