#Seed026: Resistance through Rejection or Embrace?
#Seed026: Resistance through Rejection or Embrace?
Thoughts on technology, innovation and the spiritual path
My friend Henrik Vierula shared this image with me the other day and challenged me to write a reflection on it. For those who have followed The Sufi Gardener, you’ll know that I occasionally write about technology and I tend to waver between its rejection and its embrace. In some way, the photograph captures this conflict quite explicitly. But as I took the time to reflect upon it, I realized that there’s something more. Our relationship to technology is not a rudimentary weighing of pluses and minuses but rather an essential question about the spiritual path.
The Pervasiveness of Technique
What is technology? We may think we are referring to gadgets and robots but it is something much more subtle and overarching. So much so that we may not even realize its pervasiveness. To avoid the confusion, the French philosopher and social critic, Jacques Ellul, author of The Technological Society, speaks of technique, instead of technology. He writes,
“Technique is the complex and complete milieu in which human beings must live, and in relation to which they must define themselves. It is a universal mediator, producing a generalised mediation, totalizing and aspiring to totality. The concrete example of this is the city. The city is the place where technique excludes all forms of natural reality.” (The Search for Ethics in a Technicist Society)
This is a reflection on the pervasive influence of human-made systems and technologies in modern life. For Ellul, technique has become so dominant that it defines our very existence and has largely replaced the natural world. In other words, our lives are shaped by the artificial environments we create. This inner conflict is part of the condition, but we don’t really have a choice.
Take the written word as an example. Hypothetically, an individual could refuse to learn to read. However, given that the written word is an integral part of our reality, this person would simply be considered illiterate or more crudely, impaired. Once someone has acquired the technique of reading and writing, then that cannot be undone except through a physical or mental disability. Embracing or rejecting the technique is irrelevant given that it has pervaded reality itself.
On Openings and Knowledge
Recently, I was discussing with my friend and mentor, Shaykh Hamdi Ben Aissa, about technology, and the human desire of constant discovery. Drawing from Sufi spiritual teaching, he commented on a specific formulaic meditative prayer, known as dhikr, (or mantra): Ya Fatah, Ya ‘Alim. Translated as O Opener, O Knower, this meditation on the Divine Names represents an integral part of our spiritual journey. Ya Fatah is a meditation on asking the Divine to open what was closed. In other words, it is asking God to help you discover new ways of knowing and seeing the world. The caveat is that this prayer, left to its own, has a devilish side.
The Prophet Muhammad, may the light of God continue to nourish his soul, taught us to close the doors as a protection from the devil. We can draw an allegory to our promethean desires for discovery without restraint. As we consistently open doors to new discoveries, we often open ourselves up to irreparable moral damage (one just needs to watch Oppenheimer to be reminded of such evil). Innovation for innovation’s sake. Hence comes the second part of the meditation, Ya ‘Alim. Openings for the sake of ourselves leads to arrogance: the Satanic impulse. However, openings that lead us to humility and recognizing the limits of our own knowledge are the foundations of spiritual growth.
The Spiritual Path as Resistance
I try to remind myself of the following counsel from Marcus Aurelius: “Remember that whatsoever lies outside of the bounds of this poor flesh and breath is none of yours, nor in your power.” If Ellul is right then we are never going to be able to resist technique. As we watch the global adoption of AI technologies, for example, we may intend to opt-out and not use the technology, however, its societal impacts will continue. Nevertheless, following Marcus Aurelius’ stoic mindset, all this lies outside our bounds.
The struggle between the eagle and the drone is not a metaphor for society, but rather one for our inner selves. It is a metaphor for the struggles to be free. Are we living like an automaton, or are we expressing our true freedom? Freedom from the shackles of our whims. What is in our bounds? Where does resistance lie? That resistance lies in the control of our desires, wants, and passions. It lies in the governance of the soul. In our ability to become virtuous human beings. It lies in our ability to wake up and embark on the spiritual path.