DOES TECHNOLOGY MAKE US MORE OR LESS HUMAN?
Since the beginning of our history, humans have created and used tools to shape our environment, record our experiences, and make our lives easier. Leisure—and the art, liturgy, play, and fellowship that comes from it—is only possible because of technology. But today, technology feels like it is threatening, not enhancing, our humanity. How can we as conservatives reckon with the inescapable role that technological advancement has played in our past, and interact with contemporary tech in a way that supports human dignity?
Join Dr. Andrew Jones and Dr. Marc Barnes for a weekend discussion on the relationship between human nature and technology. Through writings by Martin Heidegger, Jacques Ellul, Ivan Illich, George Grant, and others, students will discuss how we should define the word “technology”; whether our current technologies (like so-called artificial intelligence, transgender surgeries, and space exploration) differ from past technologies in kind or merely in scale; and whether human nature changes in response to technology.
All student attendees will receive copies of the readings and travel stipends of up to $350. All who fully participate in the weekend seminar will also receive a $100 honorarium.
