The present needs a new thought
23 July 2020 | Written by La redazione
Philosophy and technology, two areas in close contact that we explored in the last episode of 20 minutes from the future with Cosimo Accoto, an MIT researcher from Boston
In school, philosophy is sometimes seen, unfortunately, as that boring subject in which various authors say things that are not easy to understand. Yet philosophy is much more, it is a fundamental subject for understanding the world around us. In the current technological revolution we need more than ever philosophy to understand the reality and the role that new technologies have in our societies. For this reason, we had the opportunity to dialogue with Cosimo Accoto, essayist, advisor and research affiliate fellow of MIT in Boston, who deals with reasoning about the technological revolution through the lenses of philosophy.
Face the future. “The study of the philosophical disciplines has a long history and the recent one has focused on telling the story of philosophy itself – explained Accoto – but it hasn’t always been this way […] it should be, and that’s what I’m trying to carry on, a reflection and comparison on the problems and key issues of the contemporary world, very often linked to technology.
A new thought. Philosophy must therefore regain a position of relevance in guiding ethical, moral and not only discussions on technology and its impacts because “philosophy is an experience of the limits of thought and experiences – continued Accoto – since many of the technologies push a lot in there the limits of our doing and our thinking, it is clear that philosophy is one of the disciplines that can help contemporary society to think about the limits and their overcoming. The present needs a new thought.
The philosophy of the markets. One of the themes that philosophy has always dealt with is that of automation, starting with the first technological tools capable of accelerating and expanding human capabilities, especially in the context of work with previous industrial revolutions. Today we are facing a new revolution that also affects the cognitive field, but according to Cosimo Accoto, what is really interesting is a new type of automation on which philosophy should reflect, the automation of the markets.
