IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - December 2020 - 80

these technologies are each in a network of conceptual
and functional communications. Therefore, it is possible
to build homes with a combination of new technologies
and traditional methods, but special furniture, beds and
accessories, new cabinet designs, expensive kitchen
appliances, and even mass media devices, each will
demand a particular type of architecture that is no longer compatible with traditional Iranian architecture. For
example, the kitchen's electric appliances with stunning
new designs or new cabinet designs cost a lot to families, one of the main functions of which is to show off
the beautiful and luxurious home to others. On the
other hand, the focal practices16 of family members that
were based on having family discussions, gatherings,
and related activities back in traditional society, are now
formed around watching a TV show. For the mother of
the family who spends a long time in the kitchen, this
also means that she too has to use this opportunity of
being with the family while cooking. In such situations,
the concept of an enclosed kitchen which was the case
in traditional Iran will be an unnecessary issue and in
conflict with new technologies. This is how kitchens that
could have been designed with the new technologies
and traditional cultures were gradually replaced with
open kitchens. All these conditions show that it is not
unusual to see the traditional Iranian architecture being
replaced with a mimetic style of Western architecture.

Finding Solutions to Consequences of
Technology Transfer
In this research, we sought to find a solution to the
effects and consequences of technology transfer to the
global periphery. We also sought to reduce conflicts in
this area. We discussed the philosophy of technology as
a fundamental structure for analyzing this issue. With a
glance at the classical approaches to the philosophy of
technology, we discovered their shortcomings in not
paying serious attention to this field. That is why we
reviewed Don Ihde's ideas which focus on the relationship between culture and technology.
Ihde's ideas were significant in two major ways. First,
he is the first and most prominent philosopher of technology to directly address this important phenomenon
that affects the lives of many human beings around the
world. Ihde attempted to take technology transfer issues
away from the merely technical and bring them closer to
human and intellectual approaches. Second, Ihde has
used philosophical approaches such as phenomenology
for a deeper analysis of this phenomenon and has been
able to reject the rigid and one-sided approaches of
determinist analyses. But despite all these strengths,
Ihde's ideas have important weaknesses in coming up
16

To learn about focal things and practices refer to [1].

with a strategy and a model for a correct encounter of
global peripheries with new technology. From a descriptive point of view, Ihde puts forward the concept of pluriculture as grounds for diminishing cultural differences
for the future of relations between technology and societies. He easily ignores, in his description, the basic and
fundamental differences between different cultures and
the West, as well as the many historical records of cultural conflicts that have led to the domination of Western culture. Ihde does not pay attention to the fact that,
at the end of the day, it is the network of technology that
dictates its specific culture to the target community.
With examples of minor changes in technological tools,
one cannot conclude that the various differing cultures
of the world would come closer together as a result of
future technological development. In some ways, Ihde
gives an inadequate description of the relationship
between technology and global peripheries by undermining the fundamental cultural conflicts as well as the
process of change in technology.

Author Information
Saber Monadi Nouri is a Ph.D. candidate in the philosophy
of science and technology at Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran. Email: Saber.monadi@gmail.com.
Mostafa Taqavi is Assistant Professor in the philosophy
of science and technology at Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran. Email: M_taqavi@sharif.edu.

References

[1] C. Barker, Cultural Studies: Theory and Practice. Sage, 2003.
[2] A. Borgmann, Technology and the Character of Contemporary
Life. A Philosophical Inquiry. Chicago, IL: Univ. of Chicago Press, 1987.
[3] A. Borgmann, " Focal things and practices, " Readings in the Philosophy of Technology, pp. 115-135, 2009.
[4] P. Brey, " Philosophy of technology after the empirical turn, " in
Techné: Research in Philosophy and Technology, vol.14, no. 1,
pp. 36-48, 2010.
[5] H. Choi, " The social construction of imported technologies:
Reflections on the social history of technology in modern Korea, "
Technology and Culture, vol. 58, no. 4, pp. 905-920. 2017.
[6] R.P. Crease and H. Achterhuis, American Philosophy of Technology. The Empirical Turn. Indiana Univ. Press, 2001.
[7] M.G. Durham and D.M. Kellner, Media and Cultural Studies: Keyworks. Wiley, 2009.
[8] J. Ellul, The Technological System, Wipf and Stock, 2018.
[9] N. Fazeli, Tajrobeh-e tajaddud [the experience of modernity].
Tehran: Pizhu
¯ hishkadah-i Mut.a¯ la'a¯ t-i Farhangı¯ va Ijtima¯ 'ı¯, 2017.
[10] A. Feenberg, Alternative Modernity: The Technical Turn In
Philosophy And Social Theory. Univ of California Press, 1995.
[11] A. Feenberg, Questioning Technology. Routledge, 2012.
[12] Y. Fukuzawa, An Outline of a Theory of Civilization: Columbia
Univ. Press, 2009.
[13] A. Gordon, A Modern History of Japan: From Tokugawa
Times to the Present. New York, NY: Oxford Univ. Press, 2003.
[14] M. Heidegger, The Question Concerning Technology, and
Other Essays. 1977.
[15] M. Horkheimer and T.W. Adorno, " The culture industry: Enlightenment as mass deception, " Media and Cultural Studies: Keyworks, pp. 41-72, 2006.
[16] T.P. Hughes, " The evolution of large technological systems, " The
Social Construction of Technological Systems: New Directions

IEEE TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY MAGAZINE

∕

DECEMBER 2020

IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - December 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - December 2020