Journal 9: Last Thoughts on Borgmann

Personally, I really liked how Borgmann ended his Holding On to Reality. Just by the title of his work, it is obvious that Borgmann has a bias toward natural and cultural reality because of their ability to connect the embodied human being back to actual reality, or nature. Natural information is information about nature while cultural information is information for nature. Indeed, both types require what Borgmann calls "focal" activities (which link a person to the natural world) and allow the delicate balance and economy between signs and things to stabilize. Yet, Borgmann tends to look more negatively on information as reality, or technological information, because it produces for the human being a virtual reality (a ‘reality-lite’). This new ‘reality’ made up of solely information not only makes life seem light, one dimensional, banal and less meaningful, but it also disconnects people with actual reality by overriding and destroying the need for natural and cultural information. Thus, to ‘hold on’ to actual reality, natural and cultural information must be defended and saved.
Yet, in the conclusion, Borgmann makes it clear that he does not want to make any of the three types of information more important than the others. Each type has its merits, its contributions to the human experience. Borgmann knows technological information cannot (and should not) be completely wiped away, and in fact, it has been very useful for humanity in many different ways. However, natural and cultural information are extremely important too, Borgmann holds, and he tends to emphasize them more not because of their superiority over technological information but because, in our culture today, they tend to be overlooked and even forgotten due to innovations in information as reality. In the end, what Borgmann calls for is a balance, a truce between the three types of information. If technology can be used without being all-consuming, the balance of signs and things will not be destroyed and humans can live a fuller life in actual reality.
I really respect Borgmann choice to conclude with the idea of ‘balancing’ the three types of information. Obviously, the author is not fond of what he thinks technology is doing to our society, yet he is not completely naïve as to think it can be eradicated from our daily lives. By not totally demonizing technological information (and in fact, working it into the conclusion), Borgmann validates his claims about the virtues of ‘holding on’ to natural and cultural information and, by extension, actual reality itself. Combining this strong conclusion with personal experience that supports the author’s claims about technological information making life ‘lite,’ I believe Borgmann has an excellent, sound conclusion that can be taken both as a warning not to become lost in virtual reality but also as a sign of hope that the three types of information can, in fact, find a balance in the world today.