Technology and the Individual
BEHS 103: Technology in Contemporary Society
Week 5
Credit: Katherine Im (2021, July)
1
Origins of Individuality
Image source: http://www.plantsciences.ucdavis.edu/plantsciences_Faculty/Bloom/CAMEL/individual.html
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Early Civilization
Individual needs not as important as community needs
Agriculture and domestication of animals – allows for settlement – required many hands doing the same tasks
Families form – early form of individuation
Source: World Academy of Art & Science – http://www.worldacademy.org/forum/landmarks-emergence-individuality-western-civilization
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Why this changed:
It all started with technology!
Technological advances in agriculture (e.g., plow) lead to better crop yield
Better crop yield led to population increases
Image sources:
http://www.ancient.eu.com/image/112/
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fpeople.howstuffworks.com%2Fpopulation-six-billion.htm&h=0&w=0&sz=1&tbnid=KLQCap6blHwhOM&tbnh=204&tbnw=248&zoom=1&docid=d_RTuYppuZgWvM&hl=en&ei=19TuUfLcKa-84APsw4GYDA&ved=0CAIQsCU
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Greater population = more workers available to do non-farming work
Led to crafts-based industry – can be done by individuals rather than as a collective
Craftsmen:
Controlled their own yield (production)
Had portable skills
Were motivated to innovate
Image source: http://gnc3.wordpress.com/category/middle-ages/
5
Beginning of the concept of “personal property”
Creates a desire to have more, desire for wealth
Folk tales – begin to celebrate individuals, identify with heroes and accomplishments
Image source: http://kootation.com/fairy-books-traditional-folk-tales-and-stories-from-around-the.html
6
Government & Law
As civilization became more advanced, there was a need for government and laws to manage an increasingly specialized society
Hammurabi code (1772 BC) – King of Babylonia – 1st set of laws organizing society, establishing punishments for crimes (“eye for an eye”)
Individuals held accountable for their own behavior
Source: http://wps.ablongman.com/long_levack_wc_1/43/11050/2829013.cw/index.html
Image Source: http://www.awesomestories.com/assets/hammurabi-headpiece
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Throughout history, the concept of governance in the Western world has increasingly focused on individual liberties.
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Magna Carta – 1215
Signed by King John
Created Parliament, limiting the power of the King
Established a system of courts to protect the rights of people
Ensured that all free men would have due process
Established property and inheritance rights
Image source: http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=tlDM0P5CFrGTcM&tbnid=KWEd0rHce___kM:&ved=0CAcQjB0wAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fliverpool.fluxtime.com%2Fhistory3.html&ei=Dt7uUYKXCvSt4AO5o4HADA&psig=AFQjCNEgP8-C1T7DqcarWQY2ApeRgKiWKA&ust=1374695310327768
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Renaissance (14th – 17th century)
Ostentatious displays of wealth
Art, education, commerce flourish
Predominant philosophy of the era was the belief that man was the center of his own universe.
Why is that important?
http://2renaissance.org/2012/09/04/the-first-renaissance-1/
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Suggests that the answers to human problems lie within humans themselves
Magnified the importance of invention and technological advances
Galileo
Michelangelo
DaVinci
Gutenberg
http://www.biography.com/people/leonardo-da-vinci-40396
http://www.doxologists.org/galileo-galilei/
http://www.biography.com/people/michelangelo-9407628
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Gutenberg
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Exploration and the New World
Rise of entrepreneurship – high risk, high reward
Rise of banking – borrowing and lending
Rise of consumerism due to worldwide trade – sugar, tea, spices, silk
Age of Enlightenment (1700-1800)
Rise of scientific inquiry, independent thinking, reason
The world operates according to unchanging laws of nature
People of reason can make the world better
http://library.thinkquest.org/26466/history_of_democracy.html
Image source: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_SggBiqeyvJg/SxLEDTSc7yI/AAAAAAAAAvs/xw5Krdh-oIw/s1600/experimentwithanairpump2.jpg
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John Locke (1632 – 1704)
Government’s job is to protect natural rights of individuals
These include “the right to life, liberty, and the ownership of property”
Incorporated into the Declaration of Independence and the French Declaration of the Rights of Man
Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778)
Challenged the divine rights of Kings
Political power comes from the will of the people, not God
By the end of 19th century most European monarchies had given up considerable power to the people
Rise of Nation States
As people prospered during Enlightenment, the middle class rose in numbers and in power
Masses were better educated and began to demand more freedom, legal protection, participation in government
American Revolution (1775–83)
Declaration of Independence (July 4,1776)
Inalienable rights of individuals
French Revolution (1789-1799)
Overthrow and dissolution of the monarchy
Allowed people to be upwardly mobile in society
Middle class began to stratify
Industrial Revolution (1750-1840)
Paradox – dehumanizing work conditions, but also allowed some people to thrive
Spawned new industries and technologies
New wealthy class, middle class growing
Fed the appetite for consumerism and cheap goods
Personal identity evident in the “things” people possessed
http://www.flowofhistory.com/units/eme/17/FC111
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Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)
Created after WWII to prevent future atrocities
All human beings have rights and freedoms
Rule of Law applies equally to all people and all nations/states are required to abide by it
Image source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/Eleanor_Roosevelt_at_United_Nations.png
Video about UDHR: http://vimeo.com/1823335
In the modern Western world, the purpose of government and law is to protect the rights of individuals.
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The purpose of government and law in modern democracies: To protect the natural rights of the individual
Equality
Life
Liberty
The pursuit of happiness
Freedom of speech, religion, and press
Privacy
Contemporary social movements and policies supporting individualism
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Public Education in the United States
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Increasing access to education over time
In the 20th century, greater efforts to include all segments of the population
Public Education in the United States – Timeline
http://www.arc.org/content/view/100/217/
25
First 6 presidents: Discussion federal involvement in public education to prepare for citizenship in a republican form of government
1785/1787: Required a system of public education to be established in each township
1820: First public high school opens in Boston
1841/1848: 77+ million acres of land in the public domain granted for schools
1647: Mass Bay Colony – every town of 50 families should have an elementary school
Public Education in the United States – Timeline
http://www.arc.org/content/view/100/217/
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1954: Brown v. Board of Education
1972: Title IX
1973: Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
2001: No Child Left Behind
1944: GI Bill
2015: Every Student Succeeds Act
Social Movements
Civil Rights Movement – 1960’s
Gay Rights Movement – 1969
Americans with Disabilities Act – 1990
Women’s Rights Movement – 1800’s through 1960’s
Social Security Act – 1935
Welfare – 1800’s – ensures that all citizens are provided for – upholds the value of the individual
Globalization of individualism
Individualism has become a global phenomenon due in part to technology.
Advances in mass communication have allowed ideas to spread around the world, including democracy and individualism.
With the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, mass communication messages were predominantly grounded in Western values and capitalism.
Even in traditionally collectivist cultures like China, the internet has given rise to a “me culture.”
1 – http://gaz.sagepub.com/content/72/3/287.abstract
28
Implications of the rise of individualism
Laws about technology that protect individual rights
American with Disabilities Act (1990)
Assistive Technology Laws – “Tech Act” (1998)
Intellectual Property laws
Information Privacy laws
Leisure & Mass Entertainment
20th century – leisure, vacations, holidays, touring became accessible to the middle and working classes
Entertainment has become a daily occupation
The “right” to enjoy oneself becomes a prevalent theme
What technologies made this possible?
Image source: http://steadystaterevolution.org/work-and-leisure-in-a-steady-state-economy/
31
Consumerism: The customer is always right
Sears introduces money-back guarantee in 1900
Satisfaction is a personal matter and should be honored
BY 1920, Sears became the largest retailer in the world
Replaced caveat emptor (buyer beware) with the customer is always right.
32
Romantic Love & Self-Fulfillment
Marriages originally revolved around economic and social considerations
Divorce, not being married were stigmatized
Social and economic freedom makes romantic love possible
High rates of divorce indicate that people are interested in romantic love and self-fulfillment
Knowledge/Service Industry Era
Emphasis on technology use – driven by technology
Value on professional development of technical skills, leadership skills, and soft skills – all about the individual and what they know or have the ability to know
Managing multiple selves
Continued materialism – want things, want them fast
Throw-away mentality vs. hoarding – attaching values to objects
Redefining the nature of social relationships
Online Activism
Social media increasingly powerful impact on politics and policy
Simplifies petitions, fundraising, and raising awareness
Vast and global audience
Activism vs. “slacktivism” – does it matter if it is effective?
Image: “Activism is Learning” by John Englart CC BY-SA 2.0
35
How does the evolution of the “individual” relate to technology?
Mirrors the path of work & technology
Pre-civilization
Work: hunter-gatherer
Individual: subservient to the needs of the group
Level of individuation: survival, subsistence living
Agrarian society
Work: agriculture and domestication of animals
Individual: group work required for farming
Level of individuation: physical freedom
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR_iPXLWtA0ZAqEA0GAO9GgMBrPYsBXSfhAeNtApaSXwADRjmGJ
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Craftsman society
Work: surplus of workers, specialization
Individual: individual skill development
Level of individuation: productive, creative freedom
https://www.google.com/search?q=potter&client=firefox-a&hs=A15&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=R_HuUfPRJtDl4AOpvoHIAQ&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1440&bih=796#facrc=0%3Bpottery%20potter&imgdii=_&imgrc=_
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Industrialization
Work: rapid production, specialization
Individual: easy access to inexpensive goods
Level of individuation: materialism
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQNQzCL4ph54KkGLvy_jG3vbEXgU_-NCdLLpUBNe_dD9PSqF8B3Ug
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Work: no production, focus on information
Individual: development of technical and social skills
Level of individuation: multiple selves, highly driven by technology, still defining what the new “self” is
Knowledge/Service Era
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTbNqQGB1z0s_Fhq_CWGhxPfz0eaAgz8zxuH9QM5sh_SzVHbFxKoQ
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What’s next in the evolution of individual needs?
survival needs =>
physical needs =>
need to provide =>
need to be loved =>
need to feel successful =>
???
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (1943)
The evolution of human needs parallels that of Maslow’s famous theory about the “hierarchy of needs.”
Individuals must have their most basic needs met before they can worry about higher level needs.
