In class this week, we discussed the introduction and first chapter of Alan Borgmann’s Holding on to Reality. Throughout this book, Borgmann promises to describe the relationship between ‘reality’ and ‘information’. Borgmann’s thesis at the end of the introduction promises the reader that the author will develop a theory and an ethics of information so that humanity may find a balance between the three types of information. According to Borgmann, these three kinds of information can be categorized as natural (information about reality), cultural (information for reality), and technological (information as reality).
Borgmann, a professor at the University of Montana, worries that our culture today relies too heavily on and is infatuated with the last type of information, namely, information as reality. With the growth of technology, Borgmann fears that this kind of information will grow and spread, making natural and cultural information less and less important or used. Regarding natural information, we use natural signs to learn about the actual presences (or the reality) of nature. With cultural information, we use the more stable, practical conventional signs (made by humans) to enrich the natural information. However, technological information is different. It takes the signs of technological devices and treats them as reality, not as signs of reality. By doing this, the true presences of reality are disregarded and maybe even lost, Borgmann believes. To save these presences, and natural and cultural information along with them, Borgmann thinks, as is stated in his thesis, that a balance should be struck between the three types of information.
I believe Borgmann has a very legitimate and important concern about humanity’s loss of contract with reality, natural information, and cultural information. I can see people losing touch with reality all around me, especially in my generation. Even I have let technology become a reality for me in my life. It is not that I (and others around me) do not recognize that there are true presences out there, in reality. We know that natural and cultural information exist. We just seem to have little use for them, if there is a technological device that can portray a new reality for us that is ‘better’ and ‘more convenient’.
Reading these first few pages of Borgmann really helped me to realize how much the third kind of information has infiltrated my life. Really, the question ‘where can one go to experience pure silence, without the roar of technological information?’ rings true within my experience. In my house, information as reality is everywhere. With 4 telephones, 5 cell phones, 5 televisions, 3 computers, and 3 laptops, the third type of information has taken over every single room. In my car, my radio and my CDs keep me entertained as I drive. At school, I cannot escape computers, TVs, or cell phones either. Even exploring in the woods behind my house, I have my cell phone with me, for fear that I may be needed, in case of emergence. The saddest part of all is that I feel like I need all of these devices, these carriers of information as reality. Without them, I feel more out of touch with reality than ever. But what kind of reality am I feeling alienated from? This is the most important question, one that I know Borgmann will address.
In a perfect world, maybe humanity could be rid of this third type of information, or at least its pull on and control over society. However, I realize that we cannot get rid of technological information, and most would not want to, because, indeed, this third type of information definitely has its advantages. It is my sincere hope, then, that Borgmann can, as his thesis suggests, help us strike a balance between the three existing kinds of information, so that we may truly see reality as ‘an economy of signs and presences.’
No comments:
Post a Comment