“In our technological society, technique is the totality of methods rationally arrived at and having absolute efficiency (for a given stage of development) in every field of human activity.” (Ellul, 1964) p. xxv.
A totality of methods….not just manufacturing, or what we call high-tech, but also advertising, politics (think of the subtlety with which “spin” is applied), management, psychology, economic, and educational. This totality is brought to bear in every field of human activity…there are instruction manuals and self-help books for everything. By the way, an easy image to grasp this is to reflect on the runaway popularity of the “Blank….for Dummies” series.
This is a series of books that focus on achieving a functional understanding of particular topics. It started, as I recall, with DOS for Dummies. It went on to Word of Dummies, Windows for Dummies, etc. But the series no longer confines itself to obvious technical fields like the Windows operating system or HTML. Nowadays, with the help of the Dummies books, we can become “functional” in many aspects of our life. On a recent stroll through a bookstore I found these guides had something for us starting quite young. Dating for Dummies helps us get started on the right foot. Then there’s Sex for Dummies. There’s A Guide to Pregnancy for Idiots (this is a different series, but the intent is the same). After pregnancy, of course there may be a few extra pounds to shed. That’s when you can use Weight Loss for Dummies. And you’ll want to make sure to have a look at Parenting for Dummies. Of course, the pressures of life mean you’ll need Stress Management for Dummies. Should life take a toll on your marriage, there’s Rekindling Romance for Dummies (I’m not making that up!) If that doesn’t work, there’s Divorce for Dummies. Left on your own you may need Crossword Puzzles for Dummies. Should you start questioning this entire enterprise there’s Philosophy for Dummies, or Spirituality for Dummies if you’re inclined in that direction. The list goes on, but you get the point.
A single series of books, that is to say a single approach to a broad range of topics, that is, a totality brought to bear on a very wide range of human activity. Considered as individual methods, the range of techniques obviously have many differences between them, and perhaps not quite so obviously, common characteristics and general tendencies. But the technical consciousness allows us to take a common approach to all these areas of life and more.
The technical phenomenon is, however, much more complex than any synthesis of characteristics common to individual techniques. We must differentiate between the technical operation and the technical phenomenon. “The technical operation includes every operation carried out in accordance with a certain method in order to attain a articular end.” What characterizes technical operations is the search for ways to improve it, to make it more productive, efficient, etc. In other words, the technical operation occurs at the level of the practitioner. But two factors intervene, rational judgment and consciousness. Aspects of the operation previously unexamined are brought to light, new techniques are elaborated. A science springs up whose object is the technical operation, or field of application to which the operation was applied. Experts are born, not expert practitioners but students of the field of practice and the most efficient way to approach it. This is the technical phenomenon. It results in a rapid multiplication of fields of inquiry.
So we have teachers, (the educational technicians) and we have all the various kinds of educational experts…curriculum specialists, educational philosophers, childhood development specialists, etc. What characterizes the technical phenomenon in general is the quest for the “one best means” in every field. Given a certain set of starting conditions, the experts search for the single best way currently available to achieve the desired end. It is in a society characterized by the technical phenomenon that education takes place in the United States and Canada.
