Abstract

The themes and topics of these eight essays are various. Two common threads run through them, though, and provide a tenuous unity. One thread, the basis for their claim to unpopularity, is their emphasis upon negative aspects of technological progress. The other is their philosophical character which, as described by the author, is not so much to resolve problems as "to raise questions, to sharpen our focus on the issues, and to indicate considerations that must be taken into account". Both threads stand out in the first essay.