Shaping self and world: technology and the structure of space

Callanan, Luke (2007) Shaping self and world: technology and the structure of space. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

[English] PDF - Accepted Version Available under License - The author retains copyright ownership and moral rights in this thesis. Neither the thesis nor substantial extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author's permission. Download (2MB)

Abstract

Much of human existence is mediated through, if not outright dependent on, technology. This includes our experience of space, not as a scientifically quantified structure containing all things, but rather as a region of action and perception. What I shall call lived space arises through activity and perception in the world; it is thus the result of a constitutive act and not something pre-existing 'out there' in the world. Technology is a way to perceive and act in the world, thus the technology that is available will determine in part how lived space is constituted. But the human is not simply a disinterested user of technology as a tool. There is a feedback effect, whereby the self is shaped through its encounter with technology. By exploring Heideggerian phenomenology of space and technology, I will thus argue that space and self are structured by technology.

Actions (login required)

View Item