The Evolution of Work and Technology in Human Society

Human Action: Imagination and Purpose

Human action encompasses the ability to imagine, organize, plan, and make wishes. Proposed plans and hopes can transcend the scope of what is strictly necessary, allowing for the recreation of new worlds and the devising of a fairer and more beautiful reality. This involves several key dimensions:

1. Intentionality: A way in which the subject moves towards the world as external reality. There are two main forms:
   • Theoretical intentionality: Expressing the human desire to know.
   • Practice-oriented intentionality: Aimed at meeting human needs.
2. Finality: To define an action towards an end implies choosing the means and carrying them into practice.
3. Flexibility: The same end can be achieved by different means, and the means themselves are not predetermined. Human action can innovate.

The Concept of Work

Work is the action by which human beings obtain what they need. The ancient Greeks distinguished between two types of life related to work:

• Private Life: Focused on rightful needs that must remain hidden.
• Public Life: Relates to human affairs, where work is visible and valued.

Within the concept of work, we can differentiate:

• Work for Living: Activity oriented towards obtaining immediate consumer goods.
• Productive Work: Activity aimed at producing artificial things that are more durable.

Characteristics of Work

1. Work can be seen as a transformation of nature.
2. Work is governed by a model that guides production, precedes the work process, and endures after it.
3. The activity of homo faber transforms into that of a human designer and inventor of a world of tools and instruments.
4. The employee receives remuneration for a limited and predefined period of work.

Practical Reason: Philosophical Perspectives

Kant distinguished between theoretical reason, which focuses on knowledge, and practical reason, which guides right action, as well as aesthetic actions dealing with the beautiful.

Aristotle distinguished between intentional practice (technique or the production of objects) and moral and political action. Currently, these uses of reason can be categorized as:

• Instrumental reason
• Moral and political reason
• Aesthetic reason

Work in Industrial Society

The Industrial Revolution radically transformed the concept of work, leading to significant consequences:

1. A new area of work emerged: the factory.
2. Time organization changed; instead of being governed by the sun, men and women began to be governed by the clock.
3. Production became centralized in cities, leading to rapid urbanization.
4. The capitalist bourgeois landlord class appeared.
5. Harsh working and living conditions resulted in the birth of the proletariat.
6. Women began their long march towards emancipation in the workplace.

Work in Contemporary Society

The Second World War marked the end of an era and the emergence of a new society based on political democracy, sustained economic growth, and equal education. In developed countries, the welfare state became necessary, and people, more than just citizens, became capitalists and consumers. Consumption became the engine of the economy, and work became the primary means to access it and obtain a certain social status.

Technique and Technology

Technique

Technique refers to the skill with which natural reality is transformed into artificial reality (as described by Ortega y Gasset). The term 'technique' is often reserved for artisanal methods that do not incorporate scientific knowledge.

Technology

Technology, in contrast, refers to industrial techniques that are intrinsically linked to scientific knowledge.

Philosophy of Technology

The philosophy of technology involves reflections on technical systems and their effects on society and nature. It has questioned the value and social consequences of technological phenomena.

Ortega y Gasset believed that humans must create themselves, and technology helps in this self-creation. He identified three stages through which the human race has progressed in the development of its techniques:

1. Random technique
2. Technique of the craftsman
3. Modern technical approach

For Heidegger, technique is a form of truth. It is the awakening of nature, manifesting itself and releasing its energy to be accumulated and exploited. However, this operation can be performed with a craft technique or with aggressive technology that breaks the landscape and is forgotten.