Question 1

What is technological mediation? What is the moral relevance of this phenomenon?

Accepted Answer

Technological mediation refers to the ways in which technology acts as an intermediary in our interactions with the world. This can include everything from the use of smartphones and social media to the ways in which technology shapes our understanding of reality through virtual reality and augmented reality.

The moral relevance of technological mediation lies in the ways in which it can impact our relationships, our understanding of truth and reality, and our ethical decision-making. For example, the use of social media as a mediator for communication can impact the quality of our relationships and the ways in which we interact with others. Additionally, the use of virtual reality and augmented reality can shape our understanding of what is real and what is not, raising questions about the moral implications of blurring these lines.

Furthermore, the ways in which technology mediates our access to information and knowledge can have moral implications. For example, the algorithms used by search engines and social media platforms can shape the information we are exposed to, potentially influencing our beliefs and values in ways that raise ethical concerns.

Overall, technological mediation raises important moral questions about the impact of technology on our lives and the ways in which it shapes our understanding of the world. It is important to critically examine the moral implications of technological mediation in order to ensure that we are using technology in ways that align with our ethical values and principles.

Question 2

Did Lee Harvey Oswald and his rifle kill John F. Kennedy? Or was it just Lee Harvey Oswald? Explain your answer.

Accepted Answer

The official investigation and conclusion by the Warren Commission is that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in assassinating President John F. Kennedy. According to the Commission's report, Oswald fired three shots from his rifle, with the second and third shots hitting Kennedy and Texas Governor John Connally. There is no credible evidence to suggest that anyone else was involved in the shooting. Therefore, the official conclusion is that Lee Harvey Oswald and his rifle were responsible for the death of John F. Kennedy.

Question 3

Which view is most plausible, the strong view or the common sense view? Explain why.

Accepted Answer

The most plausible view would likely be the common sense view. This is because the common sense view is based on practical experience and everyday understanding, making it more relatable and accessible to a wider audience. The strong view, on the other hand, may be based on more extreme or radical perspectives that may not align with the majority of people's experiences or beliefs. Additionally, the common sense view is often rooted in cultural norms and societal expectations, making it more widely accepted and understandable. Overall, the common sense view is more likely to be seen as plausible because it is grounded in the shared understanding of the majority.

Question 4

Does the designer's intention influence the moral properties of a technological artifact? If so, how?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Does the designer's intention influence the moral...

Question 5

How should we understand Latour's notion of an "actant"?

Accepted Answer

The answer of How should we understand Latour's notion of...

Question 6

President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas on November 20, 1963. According to defenders of the strong view, he was killed by
A) Lee Harvey Oswald's rifle.
B) Lee Harvey Oswald and his rifle.
C) Lee Harvey Oswald.
D) someone else.

Accepted Answer

The strong view posits that Lee Harvey Oswald, acting with his rifle, was responsible for the assassination of President Kennedy, emphasizing both the individual and the means used.

Question 7

President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas on November 20, 1963. According to defenders of the common sense view, he was killed by
A) Lee Harvey Oswald's rifle.
B) Lee Harvey Oswald and his rifle.
C) Lee Harvey Oswald.
D) someone else.

Accepted Answer

The common sense view, supported by the Warren Commission, is that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in assassinating President Kennedy.

Question 8

The furnaces used by Nazis in the death camps were
A) used by the Nazis without the awareness of the designers.
B) refitted for use in the camps for a purpose different from their design.
C) designed and sold with knowledge of how they would be used in the camps.
D) poorly designed and engineered.

Accepted Answer

The furnaces used in the Nazi death camps were designed and sold with the knowledge of how they would be used, indicating a complicit understanding between the manufacturers and the Nazi regime regarding their purpose in the extermination process.

Question 9

The invention of the telephone to help hard of hearing people might be used as an example of
A) the adage that necessity is the mother of invention.
B) how we have too many technological mediators governing our communication.
C) how technological artifacts take on a life of their own beyond the intentions of their designers.
D) an actant.

Accepted Answer

The telephone was initially intended to help the hard of hearing, but it evolved beyond its original purpose, illustrating how technology can develop uses beyond the designer's intentions.

Question 10

The word mediate literally means "placing in the middle." Which of the following represents a strong view of technology as mediating action?
A) A speed bump that slows down cars
B) A pair of blue glasses that make everything look blue
C) A television which allows us to witness world events as they happen from our homes
D) A microscope that enables us to see tiny things

Accepted Answer

The answer of The word mediate literally means "placing in...

Question 11

Robert Moses is said to have designed bridges with low overpasses
A) to save on construction costs.
B) for aesthetic value.
C) to keep lower class and blacks out who rely on public transportation.
D) All of the above

Accepted Answer

Robert Moses is often criticized for designing bridges with low overpasses on the parkways leading to Jones Beach in New York, allegedly to prevent buses, and thus lower-income individuals and racial minorities who were more likely to rely on public transportation, from accessing the beaches.

Question 12

Langdon Winner believes that the low overpasses on Long Island designed by Robert Moses "embody a systematic social inequality, a way of engineering relationships among people that, after a time, becomes just another part of the landscape." This quote can be used to exemplify the
A) neutral (or weak) view.
B) moderate view.
C) deterministic view.
D) strong view.

Accepted Answer

The quote exemplifies the strong view, as it suggests that the design of infrastructure (like the low overpasses) can enforce social inequalities, implying that technology (in this case, architectural design) can have a powerful, deliberate impact on society's structure and the interactions within it.

Question 13

On Winner's view, technological artifacts come to
A) mediate our activity in the world.
B) nothing; they are completely inert.
C) embody values.
D) reveal standing-reserve.

Accepted Answer

Winner argues that technological artifacts embody values, meaning they can reflect and enforce certain social and political values.

Question 14

The apartheid system in South Africa ended with the release of Nelson Mandela in 1990. The apartheid regime built separate schools, healthcare units and restaurants for White and non-White people. Langdon Winner and other advocates of the strong view would say that
A) engineers in the South African society had a second-order responsibility to redesign the public buildings designed by the apartheid regime.
B) engineers in the South African society had a first-order responsibility to redesign the public buildings designed by the apartheid regime.
C) the social values of the apartheid system were engineered into nearly all public buildings in the South African society.
D) the public buildings designed by the Apartheid regime were morally neutral means to an end.

Accepted Answer

The strong view, as advocated by Langdon Winner, suggests that technology and infrastructure embody social values and political power. In this context, the apartheid system's social values were embedded in the design of public buildings, reflecting and reinforcing segregation.

Question 15

The French sociologist Bruno Latour asks us to consider an example in which "the driver modifies his behavior through the mediation of the speed bump: he falls back from morality to force . . . on the campus road there now resides a new actant that slows down cars." This quote can be used to exemplify the
A) neutral (or weak) view.
B) moderate view.
C) deterministic view.
D) strong view.

Accepted Answer

The answer of The French sociologist Bruno Latour asks us...

Question 16

Sociologist Bruno Latour ask us to consider a "speed bump that forces drivers to slow down on campus. . . . The driver modifies his behavior through the mediation of the speed bump . . . on the campus road there now resides a new actant that slows down cars." Latour does not claim that the speed bump itself is a moral agent or "actant." It is not the speed bump that performs the action of slowing down cars. Latour's view is, rather, that
A) the people who design and use the speed bump slows down cars.
B) it is the combination of the speedbump and the people who design and use it that together slows down cars.
C) engineers have a first-order responsibility to design speed bumps that are safe and respect the driver's autonomy.
D) engineers have a second-order responsibility to design speed bumps that safe and respect the driver's autonomy.

Accepted Answer

Latour's perspective emphasizes the interaction between human and non-human actors (like the speed bump) in producing effects or actions. In this case, it's the combination of the speed bump and the people involved (those who design and use it) that collectively contribute to slowing down cars.

Question 17

Which of the following might be an objection to Winner's view?
A) Technology is active in our lives whether designers intend it or not.
B) Technology reveals what actions designers have set for us.
C) Technology determines our actions in accordance with wishes of designers.
D) Technology cannot hold values unless we know intentions of designer.

Accepted Answer

Winner's view suggests that technologies can embody specific forms of power and authority, regardless of the intentions of their designers. Therefore, the objection that technology cannot hold values unless we know the intentions of the designer contradicts Winner's perspective.

Question 18

Which would of the following would count as further explanation of the strong view of technology?
A) The claim that technology cannot mediate our actions
B) The claim that there are no agents or actors but humans
C) The claims that moral responsibility is in rational agents
D) The claim that technology reveals certain activities to us

Accepted Answer

The strong view of technology suggests that technology itself plays an active role in shaping human actions and perceptions. Choice D, "The claim that technology reveals certain activities to us," aligns with this view by suggesting that technology can influence what we see and do, thus providing further explanation of the strong view.

Question 19

Which of the following views technology and humans as forming hybrid agents?
A) Winner
B) Heidegger
C) Latour
D) None of the above

Accepted Answer

Latour's Actor-Network Theory (ANT) views technology and humans as forming hybrid agents, emphasizing the interconnectivity and agency of both human and non-human (technological) actors in social networks.

Question 20

What is an advantage of actor-network theory?
A) It explains why we should regulate the Internet.
B) It explains how technological networks reveal actions for actors.
C) It explains that technology matters in ethical discussions because it is not passive.
D) It explains that technology should be regulated by a network of scientists.

Accepted Answer

Actor-network theory highlights the active role of technology in shaping human actions and interactions, emphasizing that technology is not merely passive but plays a significant role in ethical and social dynamics.

Quiz 15: The Ethics of Artifacts

What is technological mediation? What is the moral relevance of this phenomenon?

Did Lee Harvey Oswald and his rifle kill John F. Kennedy? Or was it just Lee Harvey Oswald? Explain your answer.

Which view is most plausible, the strong view or the common sense view? Explain why.

Does the designer's intention influence the moral properties of a technological artifact? If so, how?

How should we understand Latour's notion of an "actant"?

President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas on November 20, 1963. According to defenders of the strong view, he was killed by

President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas on November 20, 1963. According to defenders of the common sense view, he was killed by

The furnaces used by Nazis in the death camps were

The invention of the telephone to help hard of hearing people might be used as an example of

The word mediate literally means "placing in the middle." Which of the following represents a strong view of technology as mediating action?

Robert Moses is said to have designed bridges with low overpasses

Langdon Winner believes that the low overpasses on Long Island designed by Robert Moses "embody a systematic social inequality, a way of engineering relationships among people that, after a time, becomes just another part of the landscape." This quote can be used to exemplify the

On Winner's view, technological artifacts come to

The apartheid system in South Africa ended with the release of Nelson Mandela in 1990. The apartheid regime built separate schools, healthcare units and restaurants for White and non-White people. Langdon Winner and other advocates of the strong view would say that

Which of the following might be an objection to Winner's view?

Which would of the following would count as further explanation of the strong view of technology?

Which of the following views technology and humans as forming hybrid agents?

What is an advantage of actor-network theory?