Albert Borgmann lived a good life with technology

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by Dan Krutka

My terrible relationship with my smartphone is probably what sparked my interest in technology criticism. I am easily distracted, and before I knew it, I was lost in repetitive loops of checking the same apps and sites over and over (later Natasha Dow Schüll gave me a name for this phenomenon: Ludic loops). I wasn’t dedicating my time to the things that were important to me, including sleep. However, over time, I came to realize that my poor relationships with my smartphone was just an amplification of larger problems with technology.

If you start reading what I’m calling technology criticism here, you might eventually make your way to Albert Borgmann’s 1984 book, Technology and the Character of Contemporary Life: A Philosophical Inquiry. I am no Borgmann expert, and I’ve only read some chapters of his book, but he helped come to an important conclusion: Evaluating technology is really about reminding ourselves what is most important in our lives. Since the industrial revolution, technology companies have promised us that technology will make our lives easier and more efficient. But, Borgmann challenges us to consider, are ease and efficiency the things that are more important to us? Technology companies would reply that ease and efficiency will free up our time to prioritize whatever we want. First, it’s bullshit. Technology didn’t save women’s labor because cleanliness expectations shifted and sexism persevered (Cowan, 1983); emails made it to easy to message and now knowledge workers are inundated with more messages than ever (Newport, 2021); and cars promised more personalized, faster travel but sprawl has us driving further in more traffic (Speck, 2013). These are my examples, but I think Borgmann would co-sign that none of these technologies helped me live a good life.

Borgmann’s (1984) philosophy is far more complicated than what I’ve written here. The core of his argument is embodied by his device paradigm. Put simply, Borgmann distinguished between technologies he called focal things and devices. Focal things require our involvement and result in focal practices. He uses the example of the family use of a stove or fireplace for heat. Historically, making a fire required the family to come together to do the tasks required to make a fire, and then the family gathered around the fire (focal thing) and enjoyed the heat together (focal practice). While the work is hard, he called this a good burden. On the other hand, he contended that central heating has concealed the entire process of producing heat (the commodity), reduced work, increased efficiency, and meant that the family could spread throughout the house… they no longer needed to be together. 

Borgmann asked us to consider that hard things, especially with others, may actually bring joy to our lives. This is embodied in our first technoskeptical question, what does society give up for the benefits of the technology? Borgmann would say that streaming music (and recorded music before it) cost us the focal practice of playing music together. He appeared on the the Joy of Missing Out podcast a couple years ago, and the episode was titled, “The Joy of Good Burdens.” There he mentioned the culture of the kitchen, and discussed the joy we get from making meals together. He also talked about jogging with groups. He believed that these focal practices brought more joy to our lives than the efficiency of pre-made meal services or Peloton bikes in our home.

Borgmann died earlier this week. I was sad to hear of his passing, but I can’t help but smile too. I know he lived a good life. He lived well with technology. And for those of us in education, he might inspire us to teach kids to see through what technology companies are selling (and boy I can’t go a day without seeing a new bullshit commercial from DirectTV or Audible or whoever),  and figure out what role technology plays in a fulfilling life.

For more, I recommend reading his book. I am going to try to finish it. L.M. Sacassas also wrote a nice post on his Convivial Society newsletter that is much more eloquent and detailed than mine. Borgmann’s device paradigm inspired Ryan Smits and I as we developed the unfolding a smartphone curriculum. You can find Ryan’s blog post, our webinar for NCSS, and the curriculum on our site.

References

Borgmann, A. (1984). Technology and the character of contemporary life: A philosophical inquiry. University of Chicago Press.

Cowan, R. S. (1983). More work for mother: The ironies of household technology from the open hearth to the microwave. Basic Books.

Newport, C. (2021). A world without email: Reimagining work in an age of communication overload. Portfolio.

Speck, J. (2013). Walkable city: How downtown can save America, one step at a time. Macmillan.

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