Skip to main content

Research Repository

Advanced Search

Evaluating Hidden Costs of Technological Change: Scaffolding, Agency, and Entrenchment

Martin, Joseph D.

Evaluating Hidden Costs of Technological Change: Scaffolding, Agency, and Entrenchment Thumbnail


Authors



Abstract

This paper explores the process by which new technologies supplant or constrain cultural scaffolding processes and the consequences thereof. As elaborated by Wimsatt and Griesemer, cultural scaffolds support the acquisition of new capabilities by individuals or organizations. When technologies displace scaffolds, those who previously acquired capabilities from them come to rely upon the new technologies to complete tasks they could once accomplish on their own. Therefore, the would-be beneficiaries of those scaffolds are deprived of the agency to exercise the capabilities the scaffolds supported. Evaluating how technologies displace cultural scaffolds can ground philosophical assessments of the cultural value of technologies.

Citation

Martin, J. D. (2015). Evaluating Hidden Costs of Technological Change: Scaffolding, Agency, and Entrenchment. Society for Philosophy & Technology quarterly electronic journal, 19(1), 1-25. https://doi.org/10.5840/techne201522325

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date Jan 1, 2015
Deposit Date Sep 18, 2019
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal Techné: Research in Philosophy and Technology
Publisher Philosophy Documentation Center
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 19
Issue 1
Pages 1-25
DOI https://doi.org/10.5840/techne201522325

Files





You might also like



Downloadable Citations