L.M. Sacasas: The Questions Concerning Technology

Episode 135I spoke with L. M. Sacasas about:* His writing and intellectual influences* The value of asking hard questions about technology and our relationship to it* What happens when we decide to outsource skills and competency* Evolving notions of what it means to be human and questions about how to live a good lifeEnjoy—and let me know what you think!Michael is Executive Director of the Christian Study Center of Gainesville, Florida and author of The Convivial Society, a newsletter about technology and society. He does some of the best writing on technology I’ve had the pleasure to read, and I highly recommend his newsletter.Find me on Twitter for updates on new episodes, and reach me at [email protected] for feedback, ideas, guest suggestions. I spend a lot of time on this podcast—if you like my work, you can support me on Patreon :) You can also support upkeep for the full Gradient team/project through a paid subscription on Substack!Subscribe to The Gradient Podcast:  Apple Podcasts  | Spotify | Pocket Casts | RSSFollow The Gradient on TwitterOutline:* (00:00) Intro* (01:12) On podcasts as a medium* (06:12) Michael’s writing* (12:38) Michael’s intellectual influences, contingency* (18:48) Moral seriousness* (22:00) Michael’s ambitions for his work* (26:17) The value of asking the right questions (about technology)* (34:18) Technology use and the “natural” pace of human life* (46:40) Outsourcing of skills and competency, engagement with others* (55:33) Inevitability narratives and technological determinism, the “Borg Complex”* (1:05:10) Notions of what it is to be human, embodiment* (1:12:37) Higher cognition vs. the body, dichotomies* (1:22:10) The body as a starting point for philosophy, questions about the adoption of new technologies* (1:30:01) Enthusiasm about technology and the cultural milieu* (1:35:30) Projectivism, desire for knowledge about and control of the world* (1:41:22) Positive visions for the future* (1:47:11) OutroLinks:* Michael’s Substack: The Convivial Society and his book, The Frailest Thing: Ten Years of Thinking about the Meaning of Technology* Michael’s Twitter* Essays* Humanist Technology Criticism* What Does the Critic Love?* The Ambling Mind* Waste Your Time, Your Life May Depend On It* The Work of Art* The Stuff of (a Well-Lived) Life Get full access to The Gradient at thegradientpub.substack.com/subscribe