The Gradient Podcast - L.M. Sacasas: The Questions Concerning Technology

Video Description

Episode 135 I spoke with L. M. Sacasas (https://substack.com/profile/1810437-l-m-sacasas) about: * His writing and intellectual influences * The value of asking hard questions about technology and our relationship to it * What happens when we decide to outsource skills and competency * Evolving notions of what it means to be human and questions about how to live a good life Enjoy—and let me know what you think! Michael is Executive Director of the Christian Study Center of Gainesville, Florida and author of The Convivial Society, a newsletter about technology and society. He does some of the best writing on technology I’ve had the pleasure to read, and I highly recommend his newsletter. Find me on Twitter (https://twitter.com/spaniel_bashir) for updates on new episodes, and reach me at [email protected] for feedback, ideas, guest suggestions. I spend a lot of time on this podcast—if you like my work, you can support me on Patreon (https://patreon.com/DanielBashir?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink) :) You can also support upkeep for the full Gradient team/project through a paid subscription on Substack! Subscribe to The Gradient Podcast: Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-gradient-podcast/id1569777340) | Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/6onNcSqsP6hEEqmZ6TU2g8) | Pocket Casts (https://pca.st/itunes/1569777340) | RSS (https://api.substack.com/feed/podcast/265424/s/1354/private/3bbc085c-7aa9-4037-8784-1575653a0438.rss)Follow The Gradient on Twitter (https://twitter.com/gradientpub) Outline: * (00:00) Intro * (01:12) On podcasts as a medium * (06:12) Michael’s writing * (12:38) Michael’s intellectual influences, contingency * (18:48) Moral seriousness * (22:00) Michael’s ambitions for his work * (26:17) The value of asking the right questions (about technology) * (34:18) Technology use and the “natural” pace of human life * (46:40) Outsourcing of skills and competency, engagement with others * (55:33) Inevitability narratives and technological determinism, the “Borg Complex” * (1:05:10) Notions of what it is to be human, embodiment * (1:12:37) Higher cognition vs. the body, dichotomies * (1:22:10) The body as a starting point for philosophy, questions about the adoption of new technologies * (1:30:01) Enthusiasm about technology and the cultural milieu * (1:35:30) Projectivism, desire for knowledge about and control of the world * (1:41:22) Positive visions for the future * (1:47:11) Outro Links: * Michael’s Substack: The Convivial Society (https://open.substack.com/pub/theconvivialsociety) and his book, The Frailest Thing: Ten Years of Thinking about the Meaning of Technology (https://lmsacasas.gumroad.com/l/CWRfq) * Michael’s Twitter (https://x.com/LMSacasas) * Essays * Humanist Technology Criticism (https://thefrailestthing.com/2015/07/09/humanistic-technology-criticism/) * What Does the Critic Love? (https://thefrailestthing.com/2012/07/07/what-does-the-critic-love/) * The Ambling Mind (https://theconvivialsociety.substack.com/p/the-ambling-mind) * Waste Your Time, Your Life May Depend On It (https://theconvivialsociety.substack.com/p/waste-your-time-your-life-may-depend) * The Work of Art (https://theconvivialsociety.substack.com/p/the-work-of-art) * The Stuff of (a Well-Lived) Life (https://theconvivialsociety.substack.com/p/the-stuff-of-a-well-lived-life) Get full access to The Gradient at thegradientpub.substack.com/subscribe (https://thegradientpub.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4) Episode link: https://play.headliner.app/episode/22382832?utm_source=youtube (video made with https://www.headliner.app)