Shadows And Everything Between: What Is Lost When Technology Takes Over

Abstract

Technology has a long history of influencing humanity. While this statement seems monolithic and perhaps deterministic, this essay intends first to illustrate, in small part, the impacts of technology, and second, to discuss a possible way forward amid the technological change. I will follow the impact of electric light on Japanese aesthetics, particularly from the perspective of Jun’ichirō Tanizaki and his essay, In Praise of Shadows. Then, I will extend the conception of electric light into digital technologies in general, the goal being to connect the loss of beauty in Tanizaki’s view to the broader detriment of humanity via the digital environment. As electric light redefined beauty for Tanizaki’s Japan, so, too, have digital technologies redefined what we consider human interaction and information. Lastly, in a call for awareness and human solidarity, I will suggest that resistance is not futile. Indeed, it is imperative if we intend to free ourselves from the matrix we have fashioned and enabled.