What is Techno-Optimism?
Peter Königs
Abstract
Should we be optimists or pessimists about technology? This question goes to the heart of how we should think about and relate to technology. Curiously enough, there are few systematic discussions of this question in the philosophical literature. In his nuanced and wide-ranging essay 'Techno-optimism: an analysis, an evaluation and a modest defence' (1), John Danaher remedies this situation by providing a long-overdue systematic exploration of techno-optimism. His essay does four things: it provides an analysis of how techno-optimism should be understood. It offers a general framework for assessing when techno-optimism is warranted. It explains why strong forms of techno-optimism are difficult to justify. And it defends a modest, agency-based version of techno-optimism.