Difference between revisions of "Convivial Systems"
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Ivan Illich laid the foundations for a theory of the [[Convivial Tools|convivial tool]]. Developing his constant theme of giving back to ordinary people control over knowledge that has been monopolized by specialized elites, Illich envisaged tools which would allow their users to operate with independent efficiency. He also foresaw that such tools would be developed and maintained by a community of users. | Ivan Illich laid the foundations for a theory of the [[Convivial Tools|convivial tool]]. Developing his constant theme of giving back to ordinary people control over knowledge that has been monopolized by specialized elites, Illich envisaged tools which would allow their users to operate with independent efficiency. He also foresaw that such tools would be developed and maintained by a community of users. | ||
| − | Illich however was addressing tools in the limited sense of individual technical artifacts, even though such artifacts could attain the size of a factory or power plant. But there are other, wider, definitions of tools and technology, such as that promoted by Jacques Ellul in his book The Technological Society. Ellul grouped tools and technology under the broader category of | + | Illich however was addressing tools in the limited sense of individual technical artifacts, even though such artifacts could attain the size of a factory or power plant. But there are other, wider, definitions of tools and technology, such as that promoted by Jacques Ellul in his book The Technological Society. Ellul grouped tools and technology under the broader category of "technique," which he defined as: "the totality of methods rationally arrived at, and having absolute efficiency (for a given stage of development) in every field of human activity." Thus “technique” includes for example the rational methods used to run the modern state: statistics, accounting, social work and so on. (Ellul’s pessimistic conclusion was that the totality of techniques escapes human control and follows its own unstoppable evolution. Illich’s program can be seen as an attempt to regain control over that process.) |
| − | Another wide definition of tools is promoted by those who see ideas as tools (such as for example [http://conviviality.ouvaton.org/article.php3?id_article=20 Daniel Dennett]). If an individual idea can be seen as a tool, a set of interrelated ideas can be seen as a technical system. | + | Another wide definition of tools is promoted by those who see ideas as tools (such as for example [http://conviviality.ouvaton.org/article.php3?id_article=20 Daniel Dennett]). If an individual idea can be seen as a tool, a set of interrelated ideas can be seen as a sort of technical system. Thus the concept of "technique" can be extended even to purely mental activity. |
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| + | If tools can be designed to be more convivial, in other words to increase the autonomy of their users, in the same way technical ''systems'' can be designed to be more convivial. | ||
==Convivial service systems== | ==Convivial service systems== | ||
