Difference between revisions of "Convivial Tools"
From Convivial Tools Database
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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 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 | + | 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 | *[[Deschooling Society]]: taking back control of our own education | ||
*[[Tools for Conviviality]]: taking back control of technology | *[[Tools for Conviviality]]: taking back control of technology | ||
*[[Medical Nemesis]]: taking back control of health and health care | *[[Medical Nemesis]]: taking back control of health and health care | ||
| − | Illich was strongly influenced by the Counter-Culture of the 1960s. | + | 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 Convivial Tool== | ||
