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Part of
The Pragmatics of Adaptability
Edited by Daniel N. Silva and Jacob L. Mey
[Pragmatics & Beyond New Series 319] 2021
► pp. 75–98

Chapter 4
The reality of technological worldviews

Time and space frames of reference in the world of self-driving cars

| Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
There appears to be a silent shift in technological discourse, from adapting technology to people’s needs to adapting people’s needs to new technologies. This shift in ‘direction-of-fit’ is effected by spatio-temporal text-world builders. The analysis of a technological article on self-driving cars serves as an example of a discourse-space approach to identifying the fundamental coordinates of worldview construction, involving Space, Time and Attitude. Results allow a critical evaluation of a one-directional heuristic that suggests user benefits. However, the frame-of-reference and point-of-view mask the socio-political consequences of introducing self-driving cars. The analysis reveals the subjective ground of the argument and challenges a self-assertive, dehumanised positivist attitude to technological innovation. It is argued that the spatial nature of worldview construction directs towards desires and intentions for action.
Keywords: worldview, intentionality, technological discourse, discourse-space, time
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Discursive epistemes
  • 3.The self-fulfilling prophecy of some discourse worlds over others
  • 4. The spatial ground for sense making in thought, language, discourse and society
    • 4.1Spatial cognition and the analogy between natural world perception and abstract world construction
  • 5. A model for STA text-world analysis: Politics and technology
  • 6. Rebooting the automobile
  • 7.A technological perspective on the self-driving car
  • 8. Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 17 March 2021
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/pbns.319.04kaa
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