Technoscientific Rationality

Navigating Dilemmas in the Contemporary Zeitgeist

Abstract

The symbiotic integration of science and technology, referred to as techno science, has become one of the defining features of the contemporary world. As a culture-shaping phenomenon, technoscience is overwhelmingly intertwined with society and the environment. It influences society’s functions, including how we are present in the world; how we engage with ourselves and others; and how the world appears before us. Despite technoscience shaping our world at an unprecedented pace, it is vital to examine the mechanisms through which it constructs these realities. Thus, this paper explores the general spirit of our contemporary period—technoscientific rationality—and its dilemmas. In navigating this zeitgeist, I critically assess the dilemmas posed by technoscientific rationality. I contend that while technoscience plays a significant role in shaping and governing today’s global order, it is misleading to view it as a totality. Instead, technoscience must be understood in terms of its mediating role within specific contexts, since it has different features in relation to the societies and environments it interacts with. Therefore, it is more insightful to delineate technoscience through specific human-world interactions rather than separating them into independent domains. The primary purpose of the paper is threefold: to examine the mediating role of technoscience in the contemporary human-world relationship; to uncover its dual nature as a 'pharmakon' – both panacea and malady; and to propose ethical and sustainable approaches for the future. To illustrate the complexities and dilemmas of technoscientific rationality, I focus on its interaction with contemporary Ethiopians, while employing a multi-method philosophical approach.