Socrates, on trial for his philosophical views considered sacrilegious by his peers, famously defended himself by implying that he’d rather take poison and die than live without his calling to practicing philosophy. His statement “the unexamined life is not worth living” suggests that philosophy as ‘the love of wisdom’ is the ultimate way to examine one’s life. Our contemporary life is immersed in technology. Therefore, for most of us, examining one’s life cannot exclude the relationship to technology.
I like that you start with Socrates. Practicing of philosophy and embodying a love of wisdom I believe is a natural path. My kids practice it without realising. But it comes from a natural curiosity to learn and understand the world and life, which is diminished as kids undergo the programming of modern schooling. When it comes to the pace of tech, the allure of gratification, the relationship we have with our modern digital tech. It's somewhat harder. The speed and pull in our lives is different. Hence lies somewhat of a challenge...cultivating this in people. Can I help my kids practice philosophy without calling it philosophy? Yes. But that is partly because of the environmental context and conditions they live in at home. It's nurtured. Asking 'why' is encouraged. Deeper questions that come naturally from their curiosity are taken as opportunities for learning. Can they respond in a similar way when the teacher is talking them through the new google apps for education experience? Possibly. Again when it comes to tech it's a bit more challenging.
Can we do this for people that work in designing and developing technology? Yes, we can. But maybe it needs to be framed and situated in our life and work contexts differently, we are big kids after all.
On the point you make about the polycrisis and metacrisis... I agree it is rare to see this discussed in the tech field. But there are people like us out there familiar with it. Some may not have even come across the term and engaged in all the discourse surrounding it but when discussing our life, our world, our predicaments, they feel it. The entangled and interwoven. The connection to ways of seeing, knowing, learning, creating, and being. Set and setting needs to be optimal for this type of deeper conversation but I have them with people that work in tech. Some entheogenic compounds can always help too.
Our relationship with and to technology should not remain unexamined. And I look forward to these examinations and explorations as they emerge and learning along the journey with you 🙏
Thank you Mathew for your encouraging words and sentiment! It’s fitting that the next post coming out today will touch on the topics of education and nurture. Excited to continue the convo!
Wonderful introduction to this journey Aki!
I like that you start with Socrates. Practicing of philosophy and embodying a love of wisdom I believe is a natural path. My kids practice it without realising. But it comes from a natural curiosity to learn and understand the world and life, which is diminished as kids undergo the programming of modern schooling. When it comes to the pace of tech, the allure of gratification, the relationship we have with our modern digital tech. It's somewhat harder. The speed and pull in our lives is different. Hence lies somewhat of a challenge...cultivating this in people. Can I help my kids practice philosophy without calling it philosophy? Yes. But that is partly because of the environmental context and conditions they live in at home. It's nurtured. Asking 'why' is encouraged. Deeper questions that come naturally from their curiosity are taken as opportunities for learning. Can they respond in a similar way when the teacher is talking them through the new google apps for education experience? Possibly. Again when it comes to tech it's a bit more challenging.
Can we do this for people that work in designing and developing technology? Yes, we can. But maybe it needs to be framed and situated in our life and work contexts differently, we are big kids after all.
On the point you make about the polycrisis and metacrisis... I agree it is rare to see this discussed in the tech field. But there are people like us out there familiar with it. Some may not have even come across the term and engaged in all the discourse surrounding it but when discussing our life, our world, our predicaments, they feel it. The entangled and interwoven. The connection to ways of seeing, knowing, learning, creating, and being. Set and setting needs to be optimal for this type of deeper conversation but I have them with people that work in tech. Some entheogenic compounds can always help too.
Our relationship with and to technology should not remain unexamined. And I look forward to these examinations and explorations as they emerge and learning along the journey with you 🙏
Thank you Mathew for your encouraging words and sentiment! It’s fitting that the next post coming out today will touch on the topics of education and nurture. Excited to continue the convo!