Prometheus

Technology is a pretty important interest area in the humanities at the moment, and it is one of my primary areas of interest.  I keep wondering how far back I need to go to learn the ins and outs of the history of technology while also wondering how far in the future I need to look to understand the potential direction of technology in order to support my work.  Looking into the past is manageable, but how would I look into the future?  Well, science fiction literature, for sure, since that is my beat, but also recent patents for proposed new technologies would be a good source of information as well (I think).  

In fact, apparently the U.S. Patent Office actually has a weekly "Electronic Official Gazette" that provides information on patents issued that week.  This publication puts some data behind all the talk about innovation.  California appears to have around 700 patents issued EACH WEEK.  That is three times as much as any other state.  This week, Texas had 171, New York had 167, and Washington had 153...California had 780.  Fascinating.

In order to not go down too many rabbit holes (although rabbit holes are part of what makes research so fun!) while trying to learn more about technology and find solid footing in this large area of research, I've re-focused on the Greek myth of Prometheus.  Most literary criticism dealing with technology points back to Prometheus, so it makes sense for me to revisit this story and understand it more fully.  Prometheus is widely known in Greek mythology for being tasked by the gods with creating man and subsequently making Zeus angry by supposedly favoring humans over the gods (Zeus in particular).  As Zeus becomes angry with humans, he decides to take fire away from them.  Well, Prometheus goes to Hephaestus, known as the god of technology (which I learned by reading The Iliad a few weeks ago), and steals fire to give it back to man.  Prometheus' act of giving fire to humans marks the birth of human technology, and this is why the story is so important to my work.  

I didn't originally understand why critical theory and philosophy put such a strong emphasis on Prometheus and not on Hephaestus, but I understand now that the concern of critical theory and philosophy is a human-centric concern and doesn't really care that the gods had technology.  Technology becomes important once humans have this capability because it shapes our history, culture, and ultimately our future.  

The story of Prometheus is a fascinating one, and sadly, one that I think would only fare well in a film adaptation with the utmost care and attention.  Unfortunately, I get the sense from the previews that the film Prometheus which came out this summer simply takes the idea of Prometheus and turns it into something horrible rather than giving it serious philosophical attention.  I haven't seen it because I'm pretty sure that it will disappoint me.  But who knows, maybe I'll see it on DVD....