Read the given passage and answer the questions that follow. Critical theory of technology is a political theory of modernity with a normative dimension. It comes from a tradition extending from Marx to Foucault and Habermas which says that advances in the formal claims of human rights take centre stage. Marx attributed this trajectory to the capitalist rationalisation of production. It is prevalent in every modern political system. This trajectory arose from the problems of control over a disempowered and deskilled labour force; but everywhere it is organised — be it Foucault's prisons or Habermas's public sphere — the same pattern prevails. Technological design is shaped by this pattern as the material base of a distinctive social order. In accordance with the notion of thought, critical theory of technology regards technologies as an environment rather than as a collection of tools. We are surrounded by technologies that determine our way of life. The theory builds an approach on the lessons of these histories. In this respect, they are comparable to laws and customs. These institutions said to represent those who live under their sway through privileging certain dimensions of their human nature. Laws of property represent the interest in ownership. Customs like parental authority represent the interest of childhood in safety and growth. Interests, such as these constitute the version of human nature sanctioned by society. The concept of nature suggests an alternative. The reference here is, of course, not to the nature of natural science, but to the lived nature in which we find ourselves and which we are.
- AThe critical theory of technology suggests that as concerns regarding human rights gain attention, we overlook how the social structure tends to become increasingly authoritarian.
- BThe importance of parental authority in ensuring children's safety does not necessarily indicate that such authority is an inherent characteristic of human nature.
- CExaminations of technologies should incorporate their social backgrounds in order to uncover both the obvious and underlying significance they hold for us.
- DTechnologies aim to elevate specific aspects of human nature, often at a significant expense to the natural world we experience.