Title: Life and Technology
Subtitle: Why Ortega y Gasset Matters Today
Subject Classification:  Anthropology, Philosophy, Technology  
BIC Classification: JH, HP, TB
BISAC Classification:
Binding: Hardback, eBook
Planned publication date: Nov 2026
ISBN (Hardback): 978-1-83711-856-4
ISBN (eBook): 978-1-83711-857-1

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Description

Life and Technology offers a philosophical reappraisal of José Ortega y Gasset’s thought in light of contemporary technological transformations: the emergence of artificial intelligence, algorithmic anticipation, and autonomous systems as defining conditions of human existence.

Drawing on Ortega y Gasset's philosophical anthropology, the book argues that technology is not merely a set of tools but a fundamental dimension of human life, shaping the conditions of action, responsibility, and meaning. This marks a "fourth phase" of technological development, one that gives rise to the moral blasé: a condition in which functioning persists without genuine biographical weight.

By bringing Ortega y Gasset into dialogue with contemporary philosophical traditions, the volume shows that his philosophy is not a historical curiosity but a living framework for contemporary debates on technology, ethics, and human agency. Rather than proposing a purely normative ethics of technology, the book develops an anthropological perspective that clarifies how technological mediation reshapes moral experience itself.

It will be of interest to scholars and advanced students in philosophy, ethics, and technology studies, as well as readers interested in philosophical anthropology and contemporary ethical theory.

Biography

Author(s):  Massimo Vittorio is Associate Professor of Moral Philosophy at the University of Catania, Italy, and a former Fulbright Distinguished Chair at the University of Notre Dame, USA. His work draws on philosophical anthropology to examine how technology, including AI and digital environments, reshapes moral space and human agency.

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