In “Technology and Modern Existence,” the fifth chapter of Frederick Ferré’s book “Philosophy of Technology,” Ferré describes perspectives of influential historical minds regarding humanity’s reactions to the co-evolving technosphere.
Futurism is a broad topic drawing from numerous fields of human concern. Karl Marx, Buckminster Fuller, Martin Heidegger, and Herbert Marcuse conceived their seminal views in very different periods of history, yet their works created pronounced effects on the growth and evolution of humanity itself. Their philosophies and insights continue to exert influence.
Karl Marx, according Ferré, would be appalled by the heights reached by capitalism. Marx’s views describe and predict the exploitation of the average citizen for the socioeconomic gains of power-holding elites. Marx’s views are justified in terms of modern instances of supply and demand, debt, overwork/burnout, and the socioeconomic uncertainties experienced by individuals and communities in even the most prosperous societies. Marx’s predictions for humanity and the intrinsically interrelated Technosphere were proven to be valid. Historically, revolts against these forces have not created the kinds of lasting change that Marx envisioned, often creating more harm than progress or freedom. The principles introduced and popularized through Marx’s work offer no pragmatic solutions for the work of futurists yet have cascading impacts as a variable in their calculus. A fully automated luxury society, for example, would require an automated means of production to achieve the utopian vision of its namesake.
Buckminster Fuller, according to Ferré, was the most optimistic of the great minds covered. Fuller saw the potential good of technology along with the inherent good found in humankind. Fuller points out how the sufficient adoption of technologies could solve some of the most difficult and complex problems of humanity. The task of solving humanity’s problems usually falls to the delegation of resources and the immense investments of time and effort necessary. Fuller lends a hopeful element to futurism. Reminiscent of possibilities like a unified empathic civilization or the realization of a fully automated means of production, Fuller’s work contributes to futurism’s propensity of seeking favorable futures.
When addressing modern social concerns and the state of a prototypical individual living in an affluent and connected society, Martin Heidegger’s works are prescient and incredibly salient. Heidegger’s concepts of Geworfeneheit, a state resulting from the social constructs parroted through Gerede, and the worldviews that so many people seem to leave unquestioned, contemporarily, appear ubiquitous. Heidegger seems to have inadvertently predicted the contemporary “authenticity movement” through his insights involving human needs. A need to exist as a human being in terms of the human condition is a perspective that seems lost by many (if not most) individuals.
Heidegger calls for divergent thinking. His perceptions regarding human nature and the constructs of rampant superficiality or consumerism have become even more accurate with the proliferation of social media. Heidegger’s work is of great value to futurists due to how the technosphere’s effects upon individuals affect societies.
Herbert Marcuse’s views seem to be the most relevant to futurist theory due to how closely his works and views align with the hopes and fears of the average person – and those of futurists. Marcuse echoes the socioeconomic and social outrage noted by Marx, the hope and altruism maintained by Fuller, and the prescient issues of individuals that concerned Heidegger. Marcuse points out the presence of technological repression while subtly asserting hopeful ideas which could rise to prominence. Still, Marcuse does not appear as a source of optimism for the purposes of futurists. Notions of an automated means of production or of global humanitarian solidarity can act as a point of liberation for the thinking of individuals, though Marcuse notes the repression of “living to work” as a cause that precludes the advancement of collective worldviews necessary for a paradigm shift to occur at a requisite massive scale. The works of Marcuse echo loudly throughout futurist theory.
Dark Age Two 