OTTO SANCHEZ-CRESPO DA ROSA

This master's thesis analyzes Jacques Ellul's philosophy of technique from the first and best-known book in his trilogy on the philosophy of technique, La technique ou l'enjeu du siècle, from 1954. At the heart of his argument is the idea that, in modern times, technical operations are selected based on the calculation of maximum efficiency, i.e. the calculation made by technicians, of the input-output type, preferably quantified, with the aim of the chosen means actually achieving the highest ratio between output and input. Starting with the introduction of machines into production and the rationalization of the state, the calculation of maximum efficiency is progressively applied to all fields of human activity. As a result of this widespread application, technical operations based on the calculation of maximum efficiency come to form a whole with its own characteristics – the technical phenomenon – which, in turn, profoundly modifies all aspects of society and individuals. For the author, the technical phenomenon acquires autonomy, that is, it imposes itself on society and individuals, to the extent that, on the one hand, the realization of economic and political interests becomes dependent on technical progress and, on the other hand, individuals themselves come to value technical progress as an end in itself. The autonomy of the technical phenomenon results in a determinism, since it tends to impose itself on all fields of human activity. In view of the discussion erected by interpreters such as Ferkiss, Feenberg, Alexander, Cérézuelle, L. Marx & H. Smith, Porquet, among others, on the character of this determinism, it is assumed that it is a determinism with a fatalistic tendency, either because the technical phenomenon acquires an autonomy that seems irreversible – due to the accelerated self-growth of technical progress and the unforeseen effects (unintended consequences) caused by technical applications, which require new technical developments to solve – or because there is no expectation that individuals and institutions will stop valuing technical progress. In this way, Ellul's work acquires relevance in the contemporary debate on philosophy of technique, given its emphasis on how technical progress undermines individuals' ability to decide on the direction of techniques and society. It's a question of understanding how, of course, society itself values technical progress, but also how technical progress undermines the possibility of alternatives, such as traditional or disused techniques, outside the calculation of maximum efficiency.