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Nature General

Under Technology's Thumb

by (author) William Leiss

Publisher
McGill-Queen's University Press
Initial publish date
Feb 1990
Category
General, Environmental Policy
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9780773507241
    Publish Date
    Feb 1990
    List Price
    $110.00
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9780773507487
    Publish Date
    Feb 1990
    List Price
    $34.95
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9780773562219
    Publish Date
    Feb 1990
    List Price
    $40.95

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Description

From the introduction: "Standing at the threshold of modern times, Francis Bacon saw in experimental science and technological innovation the keys to humanity's future. Human history to that point, he thought, was an endlessly repeated cycle of despair and false hopes. The false hopes were fed by the old illusion that a few cheap tricks and the right magical formulas would unlock nature's treasury where unlimited wealth and power lay. The despair arose from humanity's seeming inability to escape from subjection to the natural forces that periodically visited famine, disease, pestilence, and destruction upon it."

About the author

William Leiss is a fellow and past president of the Royal Society of Canada, an officer of the Order of Canada, and professor emeritus at the School of Policy Studies, Queen’s University. He is the author of several books, including Mad Cows and Mother’s Milk: The Perils of Poor Risk Communication.

William Leiss' profile page

Editorial Reviews

"In these essays ... [Leiss] has made a notable contribution to our collective understanding of the distinction between technique and technologies and the relation of technology to society." Stanley Aronowitz, Department of Sociology, City University of New York.