- ISBN: 9780865717046 | 0865717044
- Cover: Paperback
- Copyright: 10/4/2011
A powerful and insightful critique of modern techno-optimism.
Micahael Huesemann, PhD is a research scientist with a special interest in sustainability and critical science. He has specialized in environmental biotechnology for more than 25 years. Joyse Huesemann, PhD is an activist and academic who has taught at several universities and participates in many environmental, wildlife protection and companion animal organizations.
| Acknowledgments | p. xv |
| Foreword | p. xvii |
| Introduction | p. xxiii |
| Technology and Its Limitations | |
| The Inherent Unavoidability and Unpredictability of Unintended Consequences | p. 3 |
| Interconnectedness | p. 3 |
| Human Improvement upon Nature | p. 5 |
| Unavoidable Negative Effects of Technology | p. 7 |
| Irreversible Consequences | p. 8 |
| The Limitations of Reductionism | p. 11 |
| When Things Bite Back: Some Unintended Consequences of Modern Technology | p. 17 |
| Unintended Environmental Consequences | p. 17 |
| Unintended Consequences of Industrialized Agriculture | p. 23 |
| Unintended Side Effects of Genetic Engineering | p. 25 |
| Unintended Consequences of the Automobile | p. 28 |
| Intended and Unintended Consequences of High-Technology Welfare | p. 31 |
| Unintended Consequences of High-Tech Medicine | p. 33 |
| Unintended Consequences of Technological Revolutions | p. 43 |
| The Decline in Fitness of Future Generations | p. 46 |
| Technology, Exploitation and Fairness | p. 49 |
| Technology and Exploitation | p. 50 |
| Technological Exploitation of Nature | p. 53 |
| Human Domination of Nature | p. 56 |
| Machines and the Control and Exploitation of Workers | p. 60 |
| Television: A Powerful Tool for Social Control and Manipulation | p. 64 |
| Military Technologies | p. 68 |
| In Search of Solutions I: Counter-Technologies and Social Fixes | p. 71 |
| Counter-Technologies | p. 73 |
| Social Fixes | p. 75 |
| Environmental Counter-Technologies | p. 77 |
| Military Counter-Technologies | p. 83 |
| Medical Counter-Technologies | p. 86 |
| Unintended Consequences of Counter-Technologies and Social Fixes | p. 88 |
| In Search of Solutions II: Efficiency Improvements | p. 91 |
| Technological Progress and Rising Material Affluence | p. 94 |
| Efficiency Improvements and Limited Resources | p. 98 |
| Inherent Limits to Efficiency Improvements | p. 109 |
| Unintended Consequences of Efficiency Solutions | p. 112 |
| Sustainability or Collapse? | p. 117 |
| Sustainable Development and Eco-Efficiency | p. 119 |
| Three Conditions for Long-term Sustainability | p. 122 |
| Challenge #1: Serious Environmental Impacts of Large-Scale Renewable Energy Generation | p. 125 |
| Challenge #2: Replacement of Non-Renewable Materials with Renewable Substitutes | p. 133 |
| Challenge #3: Complete Recycling of Non-Renewable Materials and Wastes | p. 135 |
| Sustainability or Collapse? | p. 137 |
| The Uncritical Acceptance of Technology | |
| Technological Optimism and Belief in Progress | p. 145 |
| Belief Progress: A Brief History | p. 148 |
| Comparison of Belief in Progress to Religious Faith | p. 152 |
| Ignorance: The Basis of Most Techno-Optimism | p. 154 |
| Medical Techno-Optimism | p. 159 |
| Techno-Optimism and the Mass Media | p. 167 |
| The Decline of Techno-Optimism | p. 169 |
| The Positive Biases of Technology Assessments and Cost-Benefit Analyses | p. 173 |
| An Overview of Cost-Benefit Analysis | p. 174 |
| Problem #1: Boundary Selection and Externalization of Costs | p. 176 |
| Problem #2: Prediction of Potential Impacts and Selection of Appropriate Indicators | p. 180 |
| Problem #3: Institutional Biases and the Perception of Costs and Benefits | p. 183 |
| Problem #4: Monetization of Non-Market Values | p. 185 |
| Problem #5: The Ethics of Cost-Benefit Analyses | p. 187 |
| The Uncritical Adoption of the Automobile | p. 189 |
| The Hidden Costs of Biofuels | p. 192 |
| Limited Testing of the Effectiveness of Medical Therapies | p. 194 |
| Gross Domestic Product (GDP): A Biased Indicator of Economic Progress | p. 200 |
| Happiness | p. 207 |
| Technological Innovation, Consumerism and Materialism | p. 208 |
| Material Affluence and Happiness | p. 214 |
| Explaining the Paradox | p. 216 |
| Sources of Happiness | p. 224 |
| The Destruction of Traditional Sources of Happiness | p. 226 |
| The Uncritical Acceptance of New Technologies | p. 235 |
| The Myth of Value-Neutrality | p. 235 |
| The Myth of Autonomous Technology | p. 241 |
| The Technological Imperative | p. 243 |
| Technological Dependency and Loss of Freedom | p. 245 |
| The Undemocratic Control of Technology | p. 248 |
| Profit Motive: The Main Driver of Technological Development | p. 253 |
| Technological Development as a Social Process | p. 253 |
| Understanding the Meaning of Profit | p. 255 |
| Profit Maximization and the Development of New Technologies | p. 258 |
| Profit Maximization: Agriculture and Food | p. 261 |
| Profit Maximization: Medical Care | p. 263 |
| Profit Maximization: Military Technologies and Foreign Policy | p. 266 |
| The Next Scientific and Technological Revolution | |
| The Need for a Different Worldview | p. 271 |
| The Power of Worldviews and Paradigms | p. 271 |
| Conflicting Worldviews and Paradigm Shirts | p. 273 |
| A Different View of Reality | p. 277 |
| A Different View of the Economy | p. 279 |
| A Different View of Science and Technology | p. 285 |
| A Different View of Medicine | p. 286 |
| The Need for Increased Awareness | p. 289 |
| The Design of Environmentally Sustainable and Socially Appropriate Technologies | p. 295 |
| Design Criteria for Environmental Sustainability | p. 295 |
| Design Criteria for Social Appropriateness | p. 300 |
| The Prevention of Unintended Consequences | p. 304 |
| The Democratic Control of Technology | p. 306 |
| Local Organic Agriculture: A Model of Environmentally Sustainable and Socially Appropriate Technology | p. 309 |
| Critical Science and Social Responsibility | p. 313 |
| The Myth of Value-Neutrality | p. 313 |
| A New, Critical Science | p. 320 |
| The Question of Responsibility | p. 325 |
| The Problem of Professionalism | p. 328 |
| The Need for Comprehensive Professional Ethics | p. 330 |
| Toward a Critical Science and Engineering | p. 334 |
| For Further Thought | p. 339 |
| Bibliography | p. 355 |
| End Notes | p. 383 |
| Index | p. 415 |
| About the Authors | p. 435 |
| Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved. |
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