In his book, The Religion of Technology, David Noble argues that our society has become too reliant on technology. Noble believes that this reliance is not only damaging to our individual well-being, but also to the fabric of our society as a whole. In this blog post, we’ll provide a summary of Noble’s argument and explore some of the dangers of relying too heavily on technology. First, Noble argues that our society has become what he calls a technocracy. A technocracy is a society that places too much emphasis on technology and its use. This way of thinking about technology leads us to believe that progress can only be achieved through technology. As a result, we often put technology above everything else, including people.
“To the deeply religious mind of modern science, beginning with Boyle and Newton (and also Galileo), the twin conceptions of “the divine transcendence of the creator-maker and the transcendence of man as knower reinforced each other.” Henceforth nature was to be understood by the way it was made, which required of the scientist a God-like posture and perspective.
But divine knowledge of creation was not all. Some aimed even higher, seeking not merely to know creation as it was made but also to make it themselves, actually to participate in creation and hence know it firsthand.” The early encyclopedists and experimenters such as Bacon and Descartes aspired to this, and their work paved the way for the scientific revolution of the seventeenth century. With the application of new technologies, scientists were now able to manipulate matter on a scale never before possible, which in turn led to further advances in knowledge. And so the cycle continued, with each new generation of scientists building on the achievements of their predecessors.
In this way, they would not only understand the ways of God but become like God. The most famous exponent of this view was the French philosopher and mathematician René Descartes.
This aspiration led to a new form of knowledge, technology. The aim of technology was to perfect and extend human capabilities, to overcome our limitations and make us more like God. The early Christians saw this as a dangerous hubris, a challenge to the divine prerogatives. In their view, it was an attempt to usurp the role of the Creator and assume a power that belonged to God alone.
“In the sixteenth century, inventors and mechanics had increasingly invoked the image of God as craftsman and architect in order, by analogy, to lend prestige to their own activities: in their humble arts, they were imitating God and hence reflecting his glory. In the seventeenth century, the scientists began to carry this artisanal analogy between the works of man and God somewhat further, toward a real identity between them. Again, as Milton had written, they strove to know God not just in order to love and imitate him, but also “to be like him.”” This was the ambition of the scientists of the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment, and it led to some of the most radical changes in human history. For example, scientists were now able to create objects and machines that could not have been created before. They were also able to manipulate matter on a previously unimaginable scale, opening up a new era of technological progress. This progress was not without its costs, however.
Noble begins his argument by discussing the history of technology. He argues that, in the past, technologies were developed in response to specific needs or problems. For example, the automobile was invented to solve the problem of long-distance travel. However, nowadays technologies are often developed for no specific purpose other than to generate profits for the companies that create them. This shift has had harmful consequences for both individuals and society as a whole.
On an individual level, people have become slaves to their gadgets and devices. Instead of using technology to improve their lives, they now spend their days tethered to gadgets that serve no purpose other than to consume their time and attention. This overuse of technology has led to increased rates of anxiety and depression, as well as sleep disorders and social withdrawal.
On a societal level, our reliance on technology has led to increased inequality. The rich get richer while the poor get left behind. This is because the wealthy are able to afford the latest and greatest gadgets and devices, while the poor can’t even afford basic necessities like food and shelter. Such unequal access to technology leads to further division and strife within our society.
In the early centuries of the Christian era, there were myriad millenarian voices heralding the imminent advent of the Kingdom of God, which drew their inspiration from biblical prophecy and mystical vision. But these voices were soon marginalized by the clerical caste, which embodied the power and authority of the Great Church. In the view of this emergent elite, the millennium had already begun with the establishment of the Church and they were the earthly saints. In their eyes, belief in a millennium yet to come was subversive, because it suggested that the Kingdom of God had not yet arrived but belonged to a future time beyond the Church.
Millenariasm was a dangerous belief, because it threatened the legitimacy of the Church and its priests. Ultimately, the voices of the millenarians were silenced by the Church, and the idea of a millennial kingdom disappeared from public discourse. So, while the millenarian vision may have been utopian, it was also grounded in an understanding of history and the dynamics of power. The Religion of Technology offers a similar critique of our present day techno-society, arguing that our reliance on technology has led to a loss of connection to the natural world and to ourselves.
Noble makes the case that the Church succeeded in squelching these voices not only because of its power, but also because of its use of technology. The Church developed a sophisticated propaganda apparatus that used the latest printing technologies to spread its message throughout the Empire. In addition, the Church employed scholars to write tracts and treatises on a wide range of theological and secular topics. These works were then distributed through the Church’s network of bookshops and libraries.
The bottom line is that we need to be careful about how much we rely on technology. Yes, it can be helpful and even essential in some cases, but we need to make sure that we’re using it in healthy ways that don’t damage our individual wellbeing or tear at the fabric of our society.