The impact of modern technological society on the human
spirit and on human values is undeniable. But the ability to
philosophically engage with this impact and also to gain
the means whereby we could evaluate it lucidly and soberly
is a whole other matter. It is difficult for us today to find
a place where we could stand outside the contemporary
cultural matrix that has come to create our very selves, so
as to identify and assess the aspects of our humanity that
have always managed to outstrip the cultural conditioning
and construction of our most basic senses of identity and
self. This paper will take this as a central theme by briefly
looking at three specific philosophers of culture and
humanity, and will explore their insights on the concepts of
technology, culture, utility, and efficiency. By extension, all
the perspectives outlined here will also imply a philosophical
portrayal of the condition of contemporary man therein.
Through examining some specific writings of Jacques
Ellul, Georges Bataille and the Chinese sage Zhuangzi, as
they bring to bear on these aforementioned concepts, it is
my contention that we will be in a better position to assess
the relationship between the human spirit, technology and
society in general, as well as explore the ways in which we can reclaim the inalienable and fundamental existential
sovereignty of the human spirit in particular.