Description
Book SynopsisInvestigating the phenomena of technology, science, technique, and mass communication, Piyush Mathur contends that the enterprise of science communication may be misleading vis-à-vis technologyif in part because it frequently coextends with a flawed, but dominant, notion of science that presumptuously implicates technology anyway. Grappling with what authentically constitutes science and the prospective effects of its realization on a global future of mass communication, Mathur explores how various technological forms play specifically into ecologically sensitive mass communication. The result is an eco-communicative theory of technology that includes its classification based upon a set of qualitative principles and a profile of the notion of development. On the whole, though, Technological Forms and Ecological Communication: A Theoretical Heuristic brings the fields of philosophy and history of science, philosophy and sociology of technology, communication studies, and development stu
Trade ReviewThis book is brilliantly researched and opens a new chapter in a heated debate on science and technology. The author critically re-thinks some of the basic notions of our civilization, providing new answers to troubling environmental questions. Technological Forms and Ecological Communication: A Theoretical Heuristic is modern philosophy at its brightest. -- Viacheslav Kudashov, Siberian Federal University
Technological Forms and Ecological Communication: A Theoretical Heuristic is a remarkable achievement. Mathur's critical explorations of how technology, ecology, and communication must be reappraised today from a comprehensively global perspective make this study essential reading for those engaged in communication, development, science and technology, or environmental studies. -- Timothy W. Luke, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
With boundless intellect and compassion Piyush Mathur elucidates the centuries-long evolution of our contemporary concepts of science, technology, and communication. In so doing, he reveals their inherent vagueness and relativity, while presenting brave insights into how to address anew our planetary distress. A stunning contribution! -- Chellis Glendinning, Independent scholar and psychologist
Table of ContentsContents Acknowledgments Preface List of Figures Chapter 1: Technology, Ecology, & Communication Chapter 2: In Apprehending Technology, Bypass the Foucauldian Framework Chapter 3: Science Defined in Terms of Object Versus Method of Study: The Problematics of the Two Approaches Chapter 4: Diverse Objects, Diverse Subjects: An Inquest into a State of Pre- Fragmentation Termed Science Chapter 5:The Argument Concerning the Christian-Religious Inception of Science Chapter 6: Mystique & Domination: A Matter of Mutual Reinforcement The Theological Substructure of the Dominant Notion of Science Chapter 7: Some Terminological Revelations Through European History: The Invalidity of Science as a Theoretical Concept Chapter 8: Science: A Basket Category And why Science-Technology Differential Matters to Communication Chapter 9: An Eco-Communicative Theory of Technology Chapter 10: The Principle of Proximation: Proximate & Distant Technologies Chapter 11: The Principle of Temporality: Newer, Older, Obsolete, & Antiquated Technologies Chapter 12: The Principle of Concentration: Concentrative & Disseminative Technologies Chapter 13: The Principle of Anthropocentrism: Meat Technologies; Technologies of Polity; Communication Technologies Chapter 14: The Principle of Uncertainty: Uncertain Technologies Chapter 15: The Unprincipled Case of the Technologies of Development Chapter 16: Conclusion Bibliography About the Author
