{"id":1251,"date":"2022-10-10T12:15:28","date_gmt":"2022-10-10T12:15:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/projects.ccu.press\/edwardslive\/?p=1251"},"modified":"2022-10-10T12:15:29","modified_gmt":"2022-10-10T12:15:29","slug":"alan-reid-on-philosophy-technology-and-guns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/projects.ccu.press\/edwardslive\/alan-reid-on-philosophy-technology-and-guns\/","title":{"rendered":"Alan Reid on philosophy, technology, and guns"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Alan Reid, associate professor of English, is knowledgeable about technology and has a concern about guns and gun culture in the United States. These blended impulses led to the creation of his latest scholarly work, A Philosophy of Gun Violence<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In many ways a follow-up to his 2018 book The Smartphone Paradox: Our Ruinous Dependence in the Device Age<\/em>, Reid applies the same philosophy of technology to guns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Cover<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur technological artifacts, like smart phones or guns, are non-neutral,\u201d said Reid. \u201cThey are positively charged for a deliberate, specific use. Smart phones are intended for you to pick it up and scroll, and they are designed to hold your attention in those ways. Similarly, guns are designed for you to pick it up, hold it, and pull the trigger.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to his research background in the philosophy of technology, Reid\u2019s interest in this topic generated from his concern as a citizen and a parent about increasing desensitization of gun violence, including nationwide increases in gun sales as a solution to that violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt hit me after Sandy Hook in 2012 that we\u2019ve really crossed a line in terms of normalization,\u201d said Reid. \u201cThat, and the call for more firearms — more access to guns. It led me on a path of thinking, \u2018This is not the approach we should take, and here\u2019s why.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reid incorporates concepts from a wide range of contemporary tech philosophers in presenting his case, including Bruno Latour\u2019s Actor Network Theory (ANT) and the work of Peter-Paul Verbeek and Langdon Winner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Our technological artifacts, like smart phones or guns, are non-neutral. They are positively charged for a deliberate, specific use.”<\/p>Alan Reid<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe basic concept is that technologies invoke actions,\u201d said Reid. \u201cI\u2019m not saying that guns make people kill people. But, they can change your perception of reality; they can distort your views of things. Especially when one is carrying a gun, open or concealed, it changes circumstances, and I think that\u2019s really dangerous. I reference Latour, who said, \u2018You are different with a gun in your hand, and the gun is different with you holding it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reid also offers a background on technology and how he defines it, incorporating concepts from the field of semiotics that categorize items as a thing, an object, and an artifact. A \u201cthing\u201d is an item with no prescribed meaning or definitive use. An \u201cobject\u201d takes on meaning for the user because it has an identified particular use or purpose. An item becomes an \u201cartifact\u201d when individuals in society generally agree upon a single purpose for that item.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat makes a gun an artifact is that we all collectively understand that it\u2019s meant to be aimed and fired\u2026. I\u2019m interested in it as an artifact in that it drives you toward its use. It does have an agenda. It wants to be used, and it wants to be used in a specific way; that way is to fire a projectile. It does want you to use it in that way and in no other way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reid consulted with numerous gun manufacturers and high-profile gun rights advocates in researching his book to learn their perspective and offer his philosophy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI wanted to understand their view and encourage them to understand mine, that a gun changes one\u2019s perception when it\u2019s in their hand,\u201d said Reid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the end, a gun works as a technology just as a cell phone does, said Reid, and that technology has an effect on its user.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople might say, \u2018Oh, it\u2019s just a smart phone; it\u2019s an instrument.\u2019 But so much research shows it\u2019s not just an instrument. It persuades you to do things you might not otherwise have done. The difference is that using a gun is quite a bit more lethal than checking your smart phone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n

 <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Alan Reid, associate professor of English, is knowledgeable about technology and has a concern about guns and gun culture in the United States. These blended impulses led to the creation of his latest scholarly work, A Philosophy of Gun Violence. In many ways a follow-up to his 2018 book The Smartphone Paradox: Our Ruinous Dependence…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1252,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[114],"tags":[85,116,122,124,123],"class_list":["post-1251","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english-corner-faculty-voices","tag-book","tag-english","tag-guns","tag-philosophy","tag-technology"],"yoast_head":"\nAlan Reid on philosophy, technology, and guns - Edwards Live<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/projects.ccu.press\/edwardslive\/alan-reid-on-philosophy-technology-and-guns\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Alan Reid on philosophy, technology, and guns - Edwards Live\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Alan Reid, associate professor of English, is knowledgeable about technology and has a concern about guns and gun culture in the United States. 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