View source for Convivial Tools

The concept of ''Convivial Tools'' was developed by [[Ivan Illich]] in his book [[Tools for Conviviality]] (1973). ''Convivial Tools'' can be defined as tools which allow the user to operate with independent efficiency, and with minimal reliance on external expertise. The term applies in particular to tools that are developed and maintained by the commmunity that uses them. 

The underlying theme in Illich's work is how individuals and communities can take back the control over skills which have been progressively monopolized by professional elites. This theme is set out in his three most famous books as follows:
*[[Deschooling Society]]: taking back control of our own education
*[[Tools for Conviviality]]: taking back control of technology
*[[Medical Nemesis]]: taking back control of health and health care

Illich was strongly influenced by the Counter-Culture of the 1960s. His work in the nineteen-seventies built upon ideas formulated by the [[Appropriate Technology]] and [[Whole Earth]] movements. These in turn had [[Historical Roots]] going back to the naturalism of [[Jean-Jacques Rousseau]], and to ninetheenth and early twentieth century critiques of industrial society. Illich was also profoundly Catholic, and his later work evolved in a more markedly spiritual direction.

==The Convivial Tool==
The central part of this site will focus on the [[Convivial Tool]] itself, its characteristics and development.

==Thematic Topics==
The [[Thematic Topics]] presented on this website illustrate, each in its own way, the idea of "Convivial Tools." For example the [[Hacker Generation]] that invented the personal computer in the nineteen-seventies was a community that developed the tools that they themselves used. The more recent [[Free and Open Source Software]] movements are also examples of community tool development. The participatory culture of the [[Web 2.0]] is the latest manifestation of a tendancy towards increased control of users over their tools, reversing the long historical trend of personal loss of control over the complex machinery of industrial society.

==Links==
*Wikipedia article on "Ivan Illich": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Illich
*[http://conviviality.ouvaton.org Convivial Tools Encyclopedia] article on "Ivan Illich": http://conviviality.ouvaton.org/article.php3?id_article=7
*[http://conviviality.ouvaton.org Convivial Tools Encyclopedia] article on "What are Convivial Tools": http://conviviality.ouvaton.org

[[Category:Root]]