We need to talk about.. Pune, India.
To understand this blog you're going to need to watch the (2 min) video below first.
“What's the video about ? Pune, India ?"
I hope that you realise that the video is not directly about Pune, India. Pune is used as an example of things that we know which may not have any apparent, direct, tangible, function for us. I could have picked my knowledge of the words to an Abba song, the history of the early Christians in England, or the chemical formula for photosynthesis. I know all of these things, but none of them have an apparent function to my every day life.
"So, you know stuff you don't use. What's that got to do with the ToK of Technology?"
The answer to the question "why do we know things that we don't use ?" is a way of approaching the ToK of Technology. Most conventional writing on the relationship between knowledge and technology takes the approach that technology is a tool which helps us to manipulate the world, and therefore helps us to know more about the world. I'm not sure that I agree with this.
"I'm still not clear what Pune has got to do with the ToK of Technology".
My knowledge of Pune may have been acquired due to technology, I am interested in the causes of that technology. Does that technology have a direct functional relationship to my needs ? Is it helping or hindering my pursuit of knowledge in the world ? How is it shaping my perspectives of the world ? Most importantly, what has caused the technology that allowed me to know about Pune ?
In the video I make the point that the conventional answers to these questions tend to focus on HOW we use technology, or HOW technology works. I'm more interested in the causes of technology, questions pertaining to WHY technology exists rather than just how it works.
Of far more interest to this approach is the premise that rather than just knowing about Pune through technology, Pune is technology itself. This approach starts to question the conventional separation between knowledge and technology.
"but, surely how technology changes our knowledge is more important to the Theory of Knowledge ?"
Many people would agree that a descriptive account of how technology operates gives you great insight into the effects of that technology. I contend that trying to understand the causes of technology will give us a greater understanding of its effects on knowledge than merely describing its operation. In this I am taking a rather structural, functionalist, approach.
"OK, how do I find out more ?"
In the coming weeks TokToday will publish 3 blogs on the relationship between knowledge and technology, unpacking some of the Knowledge Questions from ToK optional unit Knowledge & Technology. These blogs will focus more on the causal perspectives of technology rather than the descriptive perspectives.
These blogs are underpinned by my thinking on creating The ToK Mindset (linked here), ToK Skills and how to teach critical thinking.
I hope that you find the upcoming series useful, and if you have any questions or suggestions please don't hesitate to get in touch: Daniel@TokToday.com
have a great day!
Daniel, Lisbon, Jan 2023