Summa technologiae

Summa Technologiae is a book by the Polish writer Stanisław Lem, which was first published in 1964 and 1976, translated into German by Friedrich Griese. The West German edition appeared in 1976 in bound form in the Insel-Verlag in 1981 and in paperback by Suhrkamp. The GDR issue was published in 1980 by Verlag Volk und Welt, Berlin. In 2013, an English edition appeared at the University of Minnesota.

The work's title refers to the large "sum" of theology: Summa Theologica of Thomas Aquinas and Summa Theologiae of Albertus Magnus. "Technology" is understood by Lem as the totality of the material foundations of our civilization and culture. The author approaches his subject in a philosophical way. He wants to show what we can ever hope to gain from science and technology. The often mentioned in connection with this work predictions for Lem's " virtual reality " are really just by-products. For actual information technology development should these predictions - in the absence of earlier English translation of the work - have remained without much effect.

These predictions are, for example, about the said Lem " Phantomatik " Virtual reality or to nanotechnology, further to the artificial intelligence, which he calls " Intellektronik ". The Lem'schen neologisms point out that the terms in common use today were formed only after the publication of the work.

The purpose of this generically unclassifiable book is to capture hardly exhaustive with these trend predictions. From the typical futurological statements, for example, a Herman Kahn, the approach Lem distinguished by the fundamental nature of the issues. Lem does not arise the question of what will happen in 30 or 100 years, but what will be if we exhaust all possibilities of the technology fully, where the limits of today's technology are and how they can be overcome. It's Lem rather a meta-theory of technical evolution than a futurology: "? Moving the technology to us or we will " " If the ratio is, mankind - Technology ' always the same, or change it historically " "Are there technologies that conceivable, but now and forever are unrealizable? Would be the reason of this impossibility in the structure of the world or in our limitations? " " Is it for civilization except the technological yet another possible direction of development? "" It's the direction that we have taken, something typical in the cosmos, it is the standard or she is an aberration? "From a science- or technology - philosophical approach to Lem's work, in turn, is distinguished by the angle of view of the designer, the interested, the feasibility of a technology.

A prerequisite of the Summa Technologiae is the extension of the term "technology". " Technologies " are according to Lem " the process of realization of goals that the company has set for itself, but also such that no one had in mind when they went to work ." As the " effectors " come in such procedures (based on the cybernetician Pierre de Latil ) not only simple equipment (hammer, typewriter, etc.) and feedback systems (computers, animals, humans ) in question, but also himself changing systems (z. , a living species ) or even systems with an even higher degree of freedom in which the selection or even creation of the material with which the system establishes itself, is possible.

On this basis Lem comes to the comparison of technical and biological development. Both are physical, self-organizing systems in which development and progress is possible. The driving force of this self-regulatory development schemes is the inherent desire for a stable state of equilibrium. Lem developing a native of cybernetics concept of " homeostasis ".

Bibliography

• Stanislaw Lem: Summa Technologiae. Insel Verlag, Berlin, 1976 ( translated by Friedrich Griese ), ISBN 3-458-15021-8.
• Stanislaw Lem: Summa Technologiae. Verlag Volk und Welt, Berlin.
• Stanislaw Lem: Summa Technologiae. Suhrkamp Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1981, ISBN 3-518-37178-9.
• Online text of a partial translation of Lem 's book (by Dr. Frank Prengel )
• Stanislaw Lem: Summa Technologiae. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, 2013, ISBN 0-816-67576-7.

Science fiction works: 1951 Astronauci (Eng. The Planet of Death, 1954) | 1955 Obłok Magellana (German guest in Space, 1956) | 1957 Dzienniki gwiazdowe (Eng. The Star Diaries, 1961) | 1960 Eden (Eng. 1960) | Solaris 1961 | 1961 Powrót z Gwiazd (Eng. transfer, 1974) | 1964 Niezwyciężony (Eng. The Invincible, 1967) | 1964 Bajki robotów (Eng. Mortal, 1969) | 1965 Cyberiada (German Cyberiad, 1983) | 1968 Opowieści o pilocie Pirxie (German pilot Pirx, 1978) | 1968 Glos Pana (Eng. the voice of the Lord, 1981) | 1969 Opowiadania (Eng. night and Schimmel, 1976) | 1971 Congress futurologiczny (Eng. the futurological Congress, 1974) | 1981 Zagadka (Eng. The Riddle ) | 1981 Golem XIV (Eng. Thus Spoke Golem, 1984) | 1982 Wizja Lokalna (German Lokaltermin, 1985) | 1987 fiasco

Various: 1957 Dialogi (German Dialogues, 1980) | 1959 Śledztwo (Eng. The study, 1975) | 1971 Doskonała proznia (Eng. Perfect Vacuum, 1973 The absolute vacuum, 1984) | 1973 wielkość urojona, (German Imaginary size, 1976) | 1964 Summa Technologiae (Eng. 1976) | 1976 Qatar (Eng. the sniffles 1976) | 1980 Prowokacja, (German provocation, 1981) | 1983 One Human minute, (Eng. A minute of humanity, 1983 )

Filmed: 1960 The Silent Star | 1963 Ikarie XB 1 | 1968 Solaris | Solaris 1972 | 1973 examination | 1978 test flight to Saturn | 2002 Solaris | 2007/2011 Ijon Tichy: Space Pilot

• Literary work
• Literature ( 20th century)
• Literature ( Polish)
• Science fiction literature
• Works by Stanisław Lem