Cussing the buzz-saw, or, the medium is the morality of Peter-Paul Verbeek

Philosopher of technology Peter-Paul Verbeek adds a new dimension to media ecology by introducing the argument that technologies are inherently moral agents and designing them is a moral enterprise whether or not it is intended to be. Verbeek’s work moves beyond the media as extension theory of media ecology to a media as composite theory in which the human and technological are inseparable. This article compares the moral aspects of media ecology and Verbeek, sketching Verbeek’s philosophy of technology ideas and exploring in detail the elements of Verbeek’s five-step moral media design process in the hope that media ecology consider media design as well as its consumption, in order to, as McLuhan wrote, ‘think things out before we put them out’

Argument (complex analysis · Biology · Epistemology · Extension (predicate logic · Marketing buzz · Media ecology · Media studies · Morality · Sociology · Computer Science · Digital Games and Media · Digital Media and Philosophy · Media, Communication, and Education · Philosophy · Ecology