75447 2712-9934 Technology and Language 3 4 9 2022 1-191
EDI RUS 1-7 Universität Passau Adamowsky Natascha
Passau, Germany
 0000-0002-2554-064X University of Padua Grigenti Fabio
Padua, Italy
 Mimesis and Composition: Introduction A brief overview is offered of a special issue of papers associated with the Padova Summer School on Philosophy and Cultural Studies of Technology. The two key concepts of mimesis and composition are presented in relation to the various themes in the collection. It is shown how mimetic protocols of repetition and reproduction are linked to the inexhaustible multiplicity of compositional patterns in all domains of human activity. There are two thematic poles investigated by the different contributions: science and technology on the one hand, and on the other hand enchantment and magic. These two domains, for a long time opposed, appear as different imitative ways of composing the world within a horizon of meaning. In this perspective, phenomena such as play or experiences such as sound or smell, take on a driving theoretical role. Viewed as a whole, they constitute the lemmata of a new and more comprehensive fundamental anthropology. 10.48417/technolang.2022.04.01 130.2:62 Cultural Studies of Technology Play Mimesis and Composition Technology and Magic Experiment and Enchantment Sound and Smell Form and Function https://soctech.spbstu.ru/article/2022.9.1/ 1-7.pdf
RAR RUS 8-20 Universität Passau Adamowsky Natascha
Passau, Germany
 Productive Indeterminacy: On the Relationship between Play and Science Over the course of the last two hundred years theories and discourses on play have differentiated in many ways. They are confronted with a multifaceted field of play phenomena and playful activities as well as with a history of manifold play objects, play materials and playgrounds. Both sides - theories and historical phenomena - have not yet found a convincing correspondence, especially since in research, efforts predominate to view regulated and contingent activities as games, or to interpret a play or a game as a symbol, metaphor, function, etc. of something else. In most cases, this 'something else' refers to what is called 'the real thing' in everyday life. But if playing is not the real thing, we cannot experience anything real, fundamental or true in it. It never gets beyond the stage of preparation, simulation or distraction with the result that relations of play to science, knowledge and technology are completely left out. The following contribution takes a completely different approach and sees play as a factor constitutive of culture, that is both as a productive dynamic and as well as a result of culture. The approach is to see play as a special combination of movement and encounter and the player as someone who participates in his surroundings in a mode of productive indeterminacy. The thesis is that the latter is a prerequisite for every form of getting to know as well as of insight. 10.48417/technolang.2022.04.02 130.2:62 Play theory History of play culture Anthropology and phenomenology of play Epistemology of participation https://soctech.spbstu.ru/article/2022.9.2/ 8-20.pdf
RAR RUS 21-29 0000-0002-7774-8549 Leuphana Universität Lüneburg Benedetta Milani
Lüneburg, Germany
 On the Mythical Atmosphere of the Digital World Can the digital world - a world considered to be emerging and depending on the most sophisticated and modern technologies - be compared with the mythical world? And would this comparison be productive for an analysis of the forms of the digital world? In the article an affirmative answer will be given to those questions and the comparison between the mythical and the digital will be developed around two key points: the absence of contingency and the immersive character of those worlds. The exclusion of contingency resolves in a deterministic way to be in the world and is strongly connected with the social necessity - present in the mythical as in the digital world - to perform predictions and preempt the future; the immersive dimension contributes to the collapsing of the distance between the subject and her objects, taking away from the human subject the privileged role that modern thought had given it. These features, which inform the digital world, determine its mythical atmosphere and also the different positioning of the human subject within this world. Given this theoretical horizon, the article will argue that in the digital world another form of rationality is involved than the logical-scientific thinking of modernity. This digital rationality, close to mythical rationality, constitutes and thinks the subject differently from the modern perspective and shows other possibilities for constructing and understanding the real. 10.48417/technolang.2022.04.03 130.2:62 Digital World Symbolic Form Mythical World Contingency Immersivity https://soctech.spbstu.ru/article/2022.9.3/ 21-29.pdf
RAR RUS 30-41 Università degli Studi di Padova Federico Monaro
Padova, Italy
 The Pledge, the Turn, the Prestige: The Border Between Magic and Technology as Practices In this paper I will try to show how magic and technology might be associated taking both into account as a cultural expression of contemporary society. I will argue that technology penetrates magic, creating a specific dynamic which raises ethical dilemmas. The underlying idea, following a long tradition of thought, is that technology represents a kind of “second human nature.” As Arnold Gehlen claims, the technical attitude (Technik) compensates for the structural deficiency of humans, allowing them a gradual opening to the world. But magic is also an expression of this attitude, insofar as it tends to mimic natural mechanisms. Magic expresses itself with instructions, rules, and purposes, as much as technology does. Precisely for this reason magic also involves the same rationality typical of the developmental mode of technology, sharing the same objective. I will argue that Christopher Nolan's movie The Prestige (2006) shows an example of technological integration inside magic itself, highlighting two orders of problems: one ethical and the other intrinsic to the magical act and its nature. 10.48417/technolang.2022.04.04 130.2:62 Magic Technology Anthropology Prestige Performance art https://soctech.spbstu.ru/article/2022.9.4/ 30-41.pdf
RAR RUS 42-75 0000-0002-0343-0888 RWTH Aachen University Smolka Mareike
Aachen, Germany
 Enchanting Narratives: A Historical Ethnography of Contemplative Science In modernity, narratives seem to have lost their magical power to effect changes in the world. Language is generally considered as a system of arbitrary symbols coordinated with aspects of reality. Yet, research in the social studies of science and technology indicates that modern aspirations to exorcise magic co-exist with oppositional pulls towards re-enchantment: feelings of awe and wonder, practices akin to sorcery, searches for moral values, transcendental meaning, and magic words. This study on contemplative science, the neuroscientific, psychological, and clinical study of contemplative practices like mindfulness meditation, sheds light on the enchanting power of historical narratives. Historical narratives are revealed to play an important, but as yet unacknowledged role, in the re-enchantment of brain research. Drawing on historical ethnography, this study analyzes how the contemplative science community narrates history at conferences, commemorative events, and in published textual accounts to valorize this field of research as a project of re-enchantment without destabilizing its scientific legitimacy. First, the folk history of contemplative science is shown to endow the field with enchanting qualities by combining Weberian ideal types of charismatic and rational authority. Second, alternative histories of meditation research are reconstructed and their absence from the official narrative is explained in relation to the charismatic-rational Janus face of contemplative science. Third, contemplative scientists are found to take recourse to history in mobilizing regimes of valuation that help justify their work in light of socio-ethical critiques. The analysis contributes to scholarly discussions on the thesis that language can be considered as technology, having practical effects in the world. In support of this thesis, the argument presented indicates that historical narratives can serve to defend science against critics, attract novice researchers, and build a research community around the allure of modern enchantment. 10.48417/technolang.2022.04.05 13 Enchantment Contemplative science Mindfulness Historical narratives Charisma Regimes of valuation Justification work https://soctech.spbstu.ru/article/2022.9.5/ 42-75.pdf
RAR RUS 76-89 J-9548-2017 57210142445 0000-0002-7956-4647 Department of Social Science, Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University Bylieva Daria
St. Petersburg, Russia
 0000-0002-3925-488X Peter the Great St.Petersburg Polytechnic University Zamorev Anton
St.Petersburg, Russia
 Father Christmas: Magic and Technology Father Christmas is the last generally accepted domain of belief in miracles in today's world. Focused on his two most important functions, which are to collect children's wishlists and deliver presents in a single night, Santa Claus almost from the very start has used not only magic tricks, but has also adopted technologies from people. These technologies (like snail mail or sleigh), however, now seem outdated. In this study we examined hundreds of examples (postcards, films, tales, toys, games, etc.) demonstrating the use of new technologies by Santa Claus, Papá Noel, or Ded Moroz. In the 20th century the image of the wizard is often used to showcase the latest technology. The new trend to attribute Father Christmas's magical powers both in popular culture and by scientists to the use of uber-complex technologies both real-life and science fiction (drones, tensor cores, ion-shield of charged particles, curvature of the space-time continuum, etc.) is an interesting feature of today's technology-driven society. The article suggests that the emergence of the need to deprive even Father Christmas of magic can be accounted for by a simplification of cultural views, a departure from symbolic/figurative interpretation and an emergence of “post-logical” thinking that is unable to derive meaning from a magical story. 10.48417/technolang.2022.04.06 13 Santa Claus Father Christmas Magic Technology Wizard Belief Mass culture Fairy-tale Science https://soctech.spbstu.ru/article/2022.9.6/ 76-89.pdf
RAR RUS 90-100 0000-0001-9435-3269 University of Paderborn Sven Thomas
Paderborn, Germany
 Language in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction The technology of machine translation has become an integral part of our interaction with the world. This article wants to explore the effects these systems might have on our languages. Most of the time this technology is being investigated regarding its reproduction of (gender) bias. This article argues that the reproduction produced by machine translation is of a more fundamental type: it reproduces language itself. To motivate research in this direction this article will first look at Walter Benjamin’s thoughts on language and translation to then show that machine translation can be seen as a mechanical reproduction reproducing language itself. This will become visible in the way machine translation systems are being trained. By relying on past translations these systems reproduce former states of our languages. With this observation this article then focuses on a certain aspect that was highlighted by Benjamin in his essay on mechanical reproduction: the shift in historicity of the reproduced (language). With this we will be able to glimpse a shift in our perception that accompanies this changed situation: the withering of dialectical moments in our interaction with the world. 10.48417/technolang.2022.04.07 130.2: 004.032.26 Machine translation Mechanical reproduction Language Translation Philosophy Walter Benjamin https://soctech.spbstu.ru/article/2022.9.7/ 90-100.pdf
RAR RUS 101-124 0000-0001-5363-4515 National Research University Higher School of Economics Oznobikhina Irina
Moscow, Russia
 Magic Materialism: From Atmospheric Technologies to Architectures of Affect There has been a renaissance in the study of affect and atmospheres along with technologically developed contemporary reality. Despite the critique of atmospheres as diffuse and ‘groundless’ theory, this investigation shows it to be a promising concept for a variety of fields including science, art and technology. Of strongest interest to this paper is the field of spatial arts with special focus on affective dimensions of sound and light. Aside from emphasizing the material qualities of the latter along with feelings and affects, the correlation between these ‘atmospheric’ components will be traced in the current research with relation to volume and intensity. Along with affording a critique of dominant theoretical approaches such as the new materialism, atmospheres are considered as affective qualities that can be re-produced and mediated by technologies. Accordingly, the notion of atmosphere serves not only to 'set' territorial climate but as a scaffold for the atmospheric architecture composed of sound and feelings: vibrant, fluid, and poetic, yet material. 10.48417/technolang.2022.04.08 1: 534.32 Atmosphere Architecture Soundscape Technology Light https://soctech.spbstu.ru/article/2022.9.8/ 101-124.pdf
RAR RUS 125-142 0000-0002-7454-4620 Peter the Great St.Petersburg Polytechnic University Redko Elizaveta
St.Petersburg, Russia
 0000-0001-8558-6247 Peter the Great St.Petersburg Polytechnic University Bogatyrenko Maria
St.Petersburg, Russia
 The Composition of Saint Petersburg Scents: Smellwalks for Urban Exploration Smells are an integral part of the perception of space, but also one of the most difficult aspects to investigate. This article presents the image of St. Petersburg through his composition of smells. As a result of the analysis of the smell paths desсribed by respondents (N=81), noting all the smells and the associations that arise long their route of movement around the city, several visual representations of the composition of smells of St. Petersburg were developed, fixing different aspects. The first method of visualization is a classic circle of smells, that will form a general idea of their composition, which directly presents the main categories (food, city, nature), each of which in turn is divided into independent elements and their sources. The second method of visualization is the correlation of the emotional assessment of smells, with their frequency of occurrence during a walk in the form of spheres of different colors and sizes. The third visualization is a generalized “route of smells,” on which possible smells and their sources are marked on a fragment of the city map from the metro station “Ploshchad Muzhestva” to the Benois Garden. The fourth type of visualization is a representation of the same urban route, but according to the individual compositions of each respondent, noting the frequency with which an individual perceives a certain smell and the set of smells that are detected. The variations in representing smells shown in the study allow us to see many different approaches to the problem of composition, which can be both a generalized scheme and a map of the area, taking into account the emotional component, as well as individual characteristics. Redko, E., & Bogatyrenko, M.. The Composition of Saint Petersburg Scents: Smellwalks for Urban Exploration // Technology and Language. 2022. № 3(4). P. 125-142. https://doi.org/10.48417/technolang.2022.04.09 10.48417/technolang.2022.04.09 159.933:71 Smell Smellwork Composition Association Petersburg https://soctech.spbstu.ru/article/2022.9.9/ 125-142.pdf
RAR RUS 143-159 0000-0001-7102-7479 Darmstadt Technical University Tamborini Marco
Darmstadt, Germany
 Philosophy of Biorobotics: Translating and Composing Bio-hybrid Forms In this paper, I explore how bio-hybrid forms can be created and combined when starting out from organic forms. The thesis I advance here is epistemological: the combinatorial practice of bionics, biomimetics, biorobotics, and all design strategies inspired by nature is based not on biomimetic inspiration (i.e., on a kind of imitation of nature) but on a practice of translation. To develop this thesis, I focus on the practices of contemporary biorobotics. I examine the practice of translating natural forms into technical artifacts, as developed by Raoul Heinrich Francé during the early 20th century. I then analyze the making of robots capable of replicating complex systems of locomotion. Finally, I investigate the interaction between robots and living organisms (fish). In the concluding part of the paper, I reflect on the philosophical payoff and broader conditions of possibility for this translational practice. I discuss when and to what extent a translation of biological forms into biotechnical ones is acceptable, and also highlight the conception of form that underlies this practice. I additionally seek to draw attention to the need to philosophically investigate what happens between different domains of knowledge - especially between science and technology. Thus, this article invites philosophers to develop a philosophy in the interstices of knowledge production. 10.48417/technolang.2022.04.10 130.2:62 Form Biorobotics Organism Philosophy Of Science and technology Biomimetics Technoscience https://soctech.spbstu.ru/article/2022.9.10/ 143-159.pdf
RAR RUS 160-174 Brandenburgische Technische Universität Cottbus - Senftenberg Schwarz Astrid
Cottbus, Germany
 Composing and Combining: Opposing Constructive Principles? The distinction between the constructive principles of combining and composing is discussed in terms of works of art, nature, and technology. How is the work that emerges from these different principles ultimately constituted and perceived as a definable entity and how is this important for the philosophy of technology? In contrast to composition, combining is presented as a strategy to give more importance to the processual, to the various spatial and temporal couplings and decoupling of the components of a work, to their relationship to their surroundings and also to the relatedness of the observer to the work. Gardenworks can stand for principles of combination as well as principles of composition.  They are nature-culture hybrid forms, examples are discussed referring to 17th and 18th-century pleasure gardens. The emphasis on the principle of combination in the case of the English landscape garden ultimately produced a model for a sociotechnical handling with nature-culture constellations based on a policy of democratic principles. This combinational play in the garden can also be seen as a suitable heuristic for dealing with the comprehensive transformation processes occurring in the Anthropocene and for practicing corresponding forms of action. 10.48417/technolang.2022.04.11 130.2 Principles of combination Gardenwork Art work Garden history Homo hortensis Rauschenberg Pleasure gardens Principles of composition Anthropocene Technoscience https://soctech.spbstu.ru/article/2022.9.11/ 160-174.pdf
RAR RUS 175-186 0000-0001-7102-7479 Darmstadt Technical University Tamborini Marco
Darmstadt, Germany
 17344631600 0000-0002-2173-4084 Institut für Philosophie, Darmstadt Technical University Nordmann Alfred nordmann@phil.tu-darmstadt.de Brandenburgische Technische Universität Cottbus - Senftenberg Schwarz Astrid
Cottbus, Germany
 Knowing and Controlling the World through Gardenworks and Biorobots: Discussion of Tamborini and Schwarz The papers by Marco Tamborini „Philosophy of biorobotics: translating and composing biohybrid forms“ and Astrid Schwarz „Composing and combining: Opposing constructive principles?“ outline different positions on mimesis and composition as the fundamental human practices of homo faber. A critical commentary seeks to highlight their differences. Tamborini specifies homo faber as homo translator who moves between different media of presentation and expression. Reproduction in another medium entails a back and forth which defines the work of the translator: a novel is reproduced by a film, the movement of a salamander is reproduced by a machine, an architectural design is reproduced by a physical building. Schwarz promotes homo hortensis who practices gardening, widely understood, in different ways – by composing and imposing a plan, or by combining and incorporating the dynamics of physical and biological processes. She foregrounds a creative and constructive act which is profoundly mundane in that it assimilates the world into the works of technology and art. Engineers, designers, architects, and planners are gardeners of sorts in that they are world-makers, tending to works and worlds. This resonates, of course, with ideas of the anthropocene and the epochal role of humans in planetary affairs. – The authors then respond constructively to the critical commentary, seeking common ground among the three positions. 10.48417/technolang.2022.04.12 130.2:62 Composition Combination Translation Gardening Biomimesis https://soctech.spbstu.ru/article/2022.9.12/ 175-186.pdf