The dissertation considers the influence of Jacques Ellul, Martin Heidegger, and Simone Weil on Grant's understanding of technology. Chapters One and Two analyze Ellul's influence on Grant, while Chapter Three examines Heidegger's influence on Grant's understanding of technology. Chapter Four examines the consequences of Grant's ambiguous evaluation of Ellul and Heidegger. Grant's unwillingness to entirely accept either account of technology leads to a tension in which aspects of Ellul 's account of technology are held simultaneously with elements of Heidegger's account. As a way to overcome the tension between these explanations, Grant becomes open to gnostic elements in Weil's theology, which manifest themselves in radical dualism and esoteric wisdom. The purpose of the dissertation is to clarify the significance of Ellul for Grant's thought. Scholars often overlook the extent of Ellul's contribution for Grant's account of technology, particularly in Grant's refinement of concepts such as technological necessity and his critique of liberal ideology. Furthermore, the dissertation seeks to reveal the pliability of Grant's account of technology, which is closely linked to Grant's theological, philosophical, and political judgments. The dissertation suggests that Grant's understanding of technology leads Grant to espouse gnostic elements from Weil's theology (such as radical dualism and esoteric wisdom) as a palliative to the arid technological necessity and moral inarticulacy of technological civilization. The dissertation challenges the scholarly orthodoxy that exists in the interpretation of Grant's work. Through a fresh reading of primary and secondary sources, the dissertation advocates an alternative approach to understanding Grant's thought. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

[pt] Esta tese tem como tema central a questão da tecnocracia e sua relação com a crise socioambiental. Mais precisamente, tem por objetivo a busca por caminhos de superação do domínio da lógica técnica, a partir do diálogo entre a proposta teológica de Jacques Ellul (1912-1994), nomeadamente, Éthique de la non-puissance (a Ética do não-poder), e as contribuições do papa Francisco na carta encíclica Laudato Si’: sobre o cuidado da casa comum (24 de maio de 2015) e na exortação apostólica Laudate Deum: sobre a crise climática (4 de outubro de 2023). Foi adotado o método de revisão bibliográfica. Das obras sociológicas de Jacques Ellul explicitou-se o problema da técnica moderna: uma crítica profunda e assertiva da Sociedade Técnica. Crítica essa que ganhou correspondência com as observações do papa Francisco, quando colocada em diálogo com as duas obras antes referidas. Esta articulação teve por objetivo provar a atualidade e pertinência do tema. Depois de atestar a necessidade e urgência de se buscar soluções para os graves problemas oriundos da tecnocracia, foi apresentada a Ética do não-poder de Jacques Ellul como resposta teológica que impulsiona à práxis através do testemunho de Jesus Cristo. Quando a proposta elluliana e as contribuições do papa Francisco foram colocadas em diálogo, duas perguntas puderam ser respondidas: há uma proposta de non-puissance na Laudato Si’ e na Laudate Deum? Existe um diálogo possível entre a proposta de Ellul e as propostas contidas na Laudato Si e na Laudate Deum? Ambas as perguntas foram respondidas positivamente. Enquanto Jacques Ellul tem como fonte suprema o testemunho de Jesus Cristo na sua opção pelo não-poder, o papa Francisco faz brotar da espiritualidade cristã a sobriedade e a lucidez. Propostas que se complementam e concorrem conjuntamente para libertar o ser humano e a Criação. / [en] This thesis has as its central theme the issue of technocracy and its relationship with the socio-environmental crisis. More precisely, its objective is to search for ways to overcome the domain of technical logic, based on the dialogue between the theological proposal of Jacques Ellul (1912- 1994), namely, Éthique de la non-puissance (the Ethics of non-power), and the contributions of Pope Francis in the encyclical letter Laudato Si : on care for our common home (24 May 2015) and in the apostolic exhortation Laudate Deum: on the climate crisis (4 October 2023). The bibliographic review method was adopted. The sociological works of Jacques Ellul made clear the problem of modern technique: a profound and assertive critique of the Technical Society. This criticism corresponded with the observations of Pope Francis, when placed in dialogue with the two works mentioned above. This articulation aimed to prove the topicality and relevance of the topic. After attesting the need and urgency of seeking solutions to the serious problems arising from technocracy, Jacques Ellul s Ethics of Non-Power was presented as a theological response that encourages praxis through the testimony of Jesus Christ. When the Ellulian proposal and the contributions of Pope Francis were put into dialogue, two questions could be answered: is there a proposal of nonpower in Laudato Si and Laudate Deum? Is there a possible dialogue between Ellul s proposal and the proposals contained in Laudato Si and Laudate Deum? Both questions were answered positively. While Jacques Ellul has as his supreme source the testimony of Jesus Christ in his option for non-power, Pope Francis brings sobriety and lucidity from Christian spirituality. Proposals that complement each other and work together to free human beings and Creation.

This paper examines the ‘robotic moment’, as defined by Sherry Turkle (2011), in the light of general theories of human-technology relations, notably the theoretical framework founded by Jacques Ellul (1954). Potential psychological, cultural, and technical consequences of human-technology interaction, especially human interaction with so-called ‘social-robots’, are explored. It is demonstrated that the ‘robotic moment’ may reasonably be understood as a result of the formation of pseudo-social anthropo-technological circuits, and as a result of cultural disintegration and an increasingly prevalent societal impulse to incorporate everything that is commonly not understood to be technological (i.e. even the biological, the social, and the spiritual) into the technological order. It is demonstrated that the category ‘social robot’ may reasonably be understood, depending on how the robot is used, as a technique humaine, as a magical practice, or as a complex hybrid practice. Assumptions concerning the nature of technologies, the extent to which technologies are useful, and the impact of technologies on society are questioned. The extent to which a society’s worldview may determine or influence how its inhabitants relate to technologies is explored. It is suggested that, as societies demystify the universe and develop mature techno-secular worldviews, means-to-ends (i.e. technologies) are being mystified; the ensuing quasi-religious techno-secular worldviews, which fail to recognise the limitations of technologies, may in turn be responsible for much of the irrational use of technologies in technological societies. The essay suggests that the ‘robotic moment’ can be explained not only in terms of vulnerabilities inherent in human nature and in terms of properties inherent in technological society, but also in terms of the notions of the sacred that prevail in technically advanced societies and a society’s practice of science, engineering, magic, and faith.