Hand's End

Technology and the Limits of Nature

by David Rothenberg (Author)

Paperback eBook

Price: $39.95 / £34.00

Publication Date: Sep 2023

Edition: 1st Edition

Title Details:

Rights: World

Pages: 256

ISBN: 9780520913202

Trim Size: 6.14 x 9.21

Illustrations: 8 plates

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About the Book

Hand's End offers a new philosophy of technology as the fundamental way in which humans experience and define nature—the tool as humanity extended. Rothenberg examines human inventions from the water wheel to the nuclear bomb and discusses theories of technology in the thought of philosophers including Plato, Aristotle, Bacon, Marx, Heidegger, Spinoza, Mumford, and McLuhan.

Hand's End offers a new philosophy of technology as the fundamental way in which humans experience and define nature—the tool as humanity extended. Rothenberg examines human inventions from the water wheel to the nuclear bomb and discusses theories

About the Author

David Rothenberg is Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Program in Science, Technology, and Society at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. His latest book, Wild Ideas, was published in 1995.

Reviews

Hand's End provides a historical overview of Western philosophical thought about the interrelationship of technology and nature. . . . For all concerned about our planet and humankind's ability to find a sustainable future, Rothenberg extends his hand and mind in affirmation of a more beneficial technology."—Robert S. Blount III, Forest and Conservation Biology

"Technology, human nature, and nature, according to Rothenberg, are inextricable. . . . [and are] explained en route to a bold new theory that encompasses ancient waterworks and nuclear weapons."—Howard Rheingold, editor ofThe Millennium Whole Earth Catalog

"Using pungent historical examples, Hand's End argues that technology, properly used, can extend nature rather than destroy it."—Roger Shattuck, author of The Innocent Eye