Introduction: The Necessity (and Spirit) of Critique in Andrew Feenberg’s Philosophy of Technology

Abstract

In this introductory chapter I situate the following collection as one that takes as its starting point Andrew Feenberg’s philosophical critique of technology. Feenberg’s critique of technology is quite wide-ranging and so the chapters in this book fall within three themes that I outline in this introduction. First, Democratic Potentials, which explores how democracy can be used as a standard against which technologies can be critiqued. Trajectories of Contemporary Critique, which looks at how history and hermeneutics can inform the critique of contemporary technologies. And Critical Theories of Technology, which draws together intellectual histories of the critique of technology.