TECHNOLOGY AND LIBERATION: A READING FROM THE THINKING OF DUSSEL

Abstract

From the scientific and technological point of view, the South has been traditionally considered to be “underdeveloped” when compared to the North, and dependent on it. This is the geo-political background of the Latin America continent and of Dussel's thinking, who aims at guiding a philosophy towards the liberation of the periphery of the world. Concerning the relationship between man and nature, the poiesis implies thinking about the liberation from technology as a determining factor of material production. Thus, the issue of this investigation might be expressed in the following way: What is the role of technology in the processes of social exclusion and domination? And, in contrast, may technology perform and signify a liberalisation process? In order to answer these questions, it is reviewed the place occupied by technology in the Philosophy of Liberation, and it is also intended to assess the feasibility of a technology of liberation present in the pragmatics of alternative technologies. Bibliographic data is based on the work of Dussel and on the literature on alternative technologies. Finally, the conclusion endorses that the proposed technology of liberation may contribute substantially to the emancipation of peoples and cultures that are scientifically and technologically dominated.