Friday, September 18, 1970
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Purge Five
4 Frid~iy, S~pt~mber 1 8, 1 970 THE MICHIGAN DAILY Page Five
Shape of the
Herbert A. Simon, THE
S H A P E OF AUTOMATION,
Harper & Row, $1.45.
By ROBERT GRAY
Mr. Simon calls himself a
technical radical and an econo-
mic conservative - that is, he
believes that computers will be
able to do, anything a man can
do and that it will just be a con-
tinuation of the industrial revo-
lution with our economic struc-
ture continuing to look as it is.
This is a remarkable juxta-
position. Marxists deal with the
phenomenon of the institutional
change which follows the im-
pact of technological invention
on the economic process under
the heading of Historical Ma-
terialism. Capitalist social scien-
tists squirm over this heading
since it is not official ideology,
but do speak of the influence
of invention on the economic
process and the subsequent
change of institutions, econo-
mic and social, and individual
philosophies. They call the time
span involved the "cultural lag."
For reasons of his own, Mr.
,Simon chooses to ignore his
academic colleagues on both
ideological sides of this pheno-
menon.
On the technical side, I am
least able to evaluate Mr. Sim-
on's ideas. He says flatly that
within a span of less than twen-
ty-five years technology will be
able to substitute machines for
any and all human functions
in organization. In much less
than twenty-five years, we will
be technically able to have the
almost completely automatic
factory which can, within limits,
repair and maintain itself. Cleri-
cal operations, more easily auto-
mated, will resemble the auto-
matic factory. Non-programmed
as well as programmed decision-
making will become mechanized,
and Mr. Simon is explicit about
this. How professional managers
dance ,in this schizoid world of
organizational loyalty and pro-
fessional suicide should be in-
teresting to watch.
I Simon shows no concern with
his statement that in less than
twenty-five years, ". . . we shall
have acquired an extensive and
empirically tested theory of
human cognitive processes and
their interaction with human
emotions, attitudes and values."
As a manager, an organization
man, his tendency to let the so-
cial side of the change shift
for itself as much as safety will
allow is understandable. But his
strangely inept and superficial
handling of the ominous side of
the picture weakens the credi-
bility of the book, while he dis-
plays deplorable personal ethics
as well.
He puts off the problem in
one instance 'by saying simply
that automation creates new
jobs and therefore there can be
only a temporary technological
Sdisplacement. This in spite of
the fact that he foresees totally
automated factory and clerical
complexes. Mr. Simon obviously
didn't talk with the Appalachian
remnants of the coal mines.
Then, perhaps seeing the need
# for something at little more con-
vincing, helays claim to scienti-
fie proof that mechanization
does not produce unemployment.
He escalates quickly into mathe-
matical formulas meaningless to
the lay reader inviting those
who don't wish to follow to skip
*page 'Y' and finally, to be safe,
in a great show of brotherhood
and moral cleanliness. Mr. Si-
mon preaches, "The simplist
moral reasoning leads to a gen-
eral rule for the introduction
of change: The general society
which stands to benefit from
the change . . . should compen-
sate generously those who would
otherwise be harmed by it." Mr.
Simon is playing games with us.
During one of his unguarded
moments, he claims that at the
1965 level of increase in produc-
tivity (3 per cent), 200,000 work-
ers could be dispensed with each
year "without reducing living
standards." This annual 200,000
man exodus, therefore, becomes
a group of non-persons with no
living standards as such. They
have disappeared permanently
into the slums with the other
displaced persons.
At another point, Mr. Simon
notes the parallel drawn by a
capitalist expert between man
an'd the horse. When the horse,
through mechanization, was no
longer a factor in production,
the horse population dropped
from 21 million in 1915 to 2 mil-
lion by 1960. "It couldno longer
produce enough to pay its keep."
The human worker, facing auto-
mation. can learn from the fate
of the horse. The human worker,
motivated of course by profit-
taking, has no such thing as
"human rights." He is a factor
in production. In Simon's words,
"a man is a pair of eyes and
ears, a brain, a pair of hands, a
pair of legs, and some muscles
for applying force. In other
words, he is a collection of me-
chanical sub-systems operating
as a production tool. When ma-
chinery does the job better, this
view leaves nothing behind as
"human" to have rights. When
managers, appearing at their
humane best, speak of the work-
ers' dignity and happiness, it is
invariably followed with, "They
work better."
Both 'the managers (Estab-
lishment) and the worker-tools
have a period of "cultural lag"
in which to maneuver. While
automation gradually takes over
production, there is still an ever-
decreasing need for the worker-
tool. During this time psycho-
logical problems will increase as
well as the problems of physical
survival. Simon suggests the
magnitude of the problem.'
It is only one step . . . to
what psychilogists now refer
to as the 'identity crises.'
.. The developing capacity of
computers to simulate man
... will change man's concep-
tion of his own identity as a
species. The definition of
man's uniqueness has always
formed the kernel of his cos-
mological and ethical systems.
With Copernicus and Galileo,
he ceased to be the species lo-
cated at the center of the uni-
verse, attended by sun and
stars. With Darwin, he ceased
to be the species created and
specially endowed by God with
soul and reason. With Freud,
he ceased to be the species
whose behavior was potential-
ly governable by rational
mind. As we begin to produce
mechanisms that think and
learn, he has ceased to be the
species uniquely capable of
complex, intelligent manipula-
tion of his environment .
I am confident that man will,
as he has in the past, find a
new way of discerning his
place in the universe-a way
that will satisfy his needs for
dignity and for purpose. But
it will be as different from
the present one as was the
Copernican from the Ptole-
maic.
While this last rhetoric was
intended to be the swan song
for the human-tool, it contains
the totally unintended promise
of the future. What he was say-
ing is that the man who has
been a worker has no' future
in this system - a fact, I am
sure, that will slowly enter the
worker's mind. With his loss as
a production unit, he is worth-
less.,
To add to this painful aware-
ness, his uniqueness as an idio-
syncratic individual must be re-
moved. Automation demands a
standardized environment. So as
the need for man's flexibility
is erased by standardization, so
is his individuality.
To control the human-work-
er population while his t i m e
runs out, a psychological as well
as a physical containment is
necessary. While such repres-
sive needs and measures are not
mentioned by Simon, he says
this. "We shall have Eby 19853
a pretty good understanding of
how the human mind, works.. .
it has obvious and fundamental
consequences for both peda-
gogy and psychiatry [both of
which will be largely automated,
Today's Writers---
Robert Gray is a graduate
student in library science who
describes himself as a "revolu-
tionary-at-large." Steven War-
ren, a freshman, has unbounded
interests in philosophy, liter-
ature, and the arts. Ira Stein-
berg is associate professor of
education at Oberlin College.
future
he says, along with the physic-
ian and the corporate vice-pres-
ident. We may expect very
rapid advances in the effective-
ness and efficiency of our tech-
niques of teaching and our
techniques for dealing with hu-
man maladjustment."
At some point the admin-
istrators are going to b faced
with a decision on what the
."final solution" to the "human
problem" is to be. The N a z i
solution was crude and ineffi-
cient. It caused negative feed-
back, and it was hard to dis-
pose of the bodies on a mass-
production scale.
The ultimate American solu-
tion will be simple. The idea is
already being used in a related
context. Jobs are being elimi-
nated quietly by not filling them
again as they are vacated for
any reason. It is known. of
course, as "attrition." The final
solution? Promise the jobless
and hungry ex-workers a mini-
mum of food, lodging and enter-
tainment while they remain
alive in exchange for "volun-
tary" sterilization. The worth-
less human being really has no
choice, and the human-worker
problem is solved.
Bad
Adrian Dupuis, ed., NATURE,
AIMS, AND POLICY READ-
INGS IN THE PHILOSOIY
OF EDUCATION, Jniversity'of
Ilinois Press, paperback, $345.
By IRA S, STEINBERG
As I first thumbed through
this collage, it seemed to me
to be the result of a dragging
operation. And, so it is. We are
informed in the General Series
Preface that it is based on a se--
lection from the listings in
Philosophy of Education: An
Organization of Topics and Se-
lected Sources, (University of
Illinois Press, 1967). This is the
report of a bibliographical s' r-
vey of the field of philosophy of
education. Philosophers and
philosophers of education xere
asked to send in recommenda-
tions of readings of use in cour -
ses in philosophy of education.
These were screened by a team of
philosophers of education (in
consultation with others outside
the team) and the final sele-
tion was organized and compiled
as the report. Needless to say,
the biblography offers consider-
able breadth and variety, the
major concern being, in my
judgment, to representtthe di-
versity of the field, to offer
something for everyone.
The present volume also tries
to offer something for everyone:
but it does not offer very much
for anyone. As Mr. Dupuis in-
forms us in his preface "there
were sixty pages of biblograph-
ical items on 'Nature, Aims and
Policies' in the original Project
Report." He adopted three cr-
teria for further selectivity: ex-
plicit reference to aims of edu-
cation in title or content, level
of difficulty, and representative-
ness. These were not applied in
a simple, mechanical fashion,
though. "Explicit mention of
aims . . . is not always present
(or even necessary); the essay
might simply suggest a general
philosophic base for solving all
educational problems including
aims." Now there is a mind-
boggler of a criterion, if there
ever was one. The selection by
Dewey that is offered as an ex-
b
0
0
k
s
marks
ample of the application of this
criterion is in its own right no
less a mind boggler.
The criterion of level of dif-
ficulty seems aimed at the lowest
common denominator. The idea
was to select those readings
which could be understood by
students without background in,
philosophy or philosophy of ed-
ucation. There is even an apolo-
gy for including some more dif-
ficult selections when easier ver-
sions could not be found. In
fact, there were very few dif-
ficult selections at all, unless
obscurity is the sort of difficulty
the editor had in mind. The cri-
terion of representativeness w,}s
intended to apply "mainly ;'hen
strongly divergent points of view
on an issue were evident." Taken
together the three criteria have
provided a hodgepodge of di-
verse issues and pseudo-issues as
exemplified in more, rather
than less, simplistic treatment.
And this is representative of
Philosophy of Education?
Perhaps it is a good sampler of
the field. Perhaps it is useful as
a device for introducing novices
to its mysteries. It is even hand-
ed. It includes several -ssays
on reading off aims from differ-
ent metaphysical positions as
well as a few essays on why one
should not do so. It is devoted
to the elaboration of aims in
terms of educational theories
but includes an essay which
points out that what pass for
educational theories are slogans
and* systems of slogans.
Lest one be misled, I hasten
to point out that there is in fact
very little in the way of con-
frontation directly on issues of
philosophic disagreement in this
volume. The editor promised
strong divergence in views over
the relationship of religion and
values. Divergent positions are
presented. But one man's argu-
ments do not bear very heavily
upon another's; each ,mphasizes
a different point. And then, the
last three essays present a Luth-
eran position, a Jewish posicio.,,
and the Vatican's position on
education. There is something
for everyone, but not much of
anything for anyone
David McReynolds, WE HAVE
BEEN INVADED BY THE 21st
CENTURY, Praeger, S7.95.
By STEVEN WARREN
These days there seems to
exist a general re-awakening
to a problem that has con-
cerned a few very aware people
for a long time; that is
the inability of the masses to
handle rapid technological de-
velopments effectively and, more
important, morally. Koestler de-
fines and explains the problem
very handily in Darkness At
Noon, circa 194.1, and Alvin Tof-
fler offers some solutions in
Future Shock, published this
year. This is also the theme
which tenuously ties together
the essays in McReynold's book.
However, the material in the
book as a whole would suggest
a much different title than We
Have teen Invaded By The
21st Century; it should be per-
haps something on the order of
A Portrait of the Radical as a
Human Being. The reader finds
himself involved much more
than he would expect from a
quick glance, principally be-
cause McReynolds involves him-
self so totally in what he does.
His radicalism, one finds, is
literally his entire life, and his
humanistic ethic pervades all
his politics; these things are
what the book demonstrates.
The work itself is a series of
essays all written between 1959
and the present, arranged in a
loosely catagorical rather than
chronological order, and pre-
faced with a critical introduc-
tion by Paul Goodman. McRey-
nolds deals with quite a variety
of subjects, some humorously,
some sarcastically, some darkly,
some angrily, some sadly, but
all with a personal intensity
which, taken out of context,
might even-seem a bit over-emo-
tional.
He begins by describing his
early impressions of the history
that was happening around him.
"The pace of change in our
society has been so swift that
it tells more about me to say
that I am from 1929 than to
say I am from Los Angeles.
McCarthy (Joseph, not Eug-
ene) and Wallace (Henry, not
George) are not merely his-
tory to me, nor is World War
II. Those are eras of time
that I visited."
He continues with a capsule
description of recent history,
te chnologicaldevelopments and
radicalisms that should prob-
ably be required reading today
for anyone seriously interested
in effecting social change. He
then becomes a trifle muddled
in his reminiscenes of school
days and politics at UCLA, con-
cluding that "Only others of the
Old Left will know how poignant
was our defeat, will understand
how joyous and sad we were,
as we discovered our values
could survive without us, prov-
ing their worth even as it proved
us expendable and forced us to
begin again, learning from the
children we had thought to
teach." As elsewhere, his mes-
sage is sound but given as it is,
in a highly personal sense, it
takes on a melodramatic tinge.
One of McReynolds' main pre-
occupations, which also ties all
the essays with the title, is the
inhumanism in today's world
caused by technology. This
again emphasizes his concern
for people. He exhibits that par-
ticular capacity to participate
in the ideas and feelings of
others which is truely empathy
and not sympathy, when he tells
us of Hart Island Prison and the
...a
personal
bodies of the Bowery, the fear A tri
and anger of the people and one sec
students of Prague in '68 and ing wit]
the "inscrutability" of the (as oppo
Japanese who. seem to have into ac
between Westernization with a the eff
soljd heritage. He is not only Negro's
amazingly empathetic in regard past an
to the Negro, but is most ac- tion de
curate in his perceptions of the persona
racial situation today, and quite the act
able to clearly express those Freedom
perceptions., He notes that tions w
". ..the present movement (to- PFP c
ward resolution) is not the re- while E
sult of Northern agitation, and, Presiden
response
o of essays appears in
ction of the book deal-
L. true racial integration
rsed to making the Negro
darker white man) and
ects of progress on the
situation in America,
d present. Another sec-
eals with McReynolds'
1 involvement regarding
ions of the Peace and
m Party in the '68 elec-
hen McReynolds was a
andidate for congress
ldridge Cleaver ran for
nt. He concludes this
while often dependent on finan-
cial help from Northern liberals,
it was not launched from the.
North. The Negroes and whites
involved in the movement are
products of the South, of that
'other side of Dixie' the North
has chosen not to see."'At an-
other point, he contends "Bald-
win has argued that this nation
needs the Negro-needs him on
the bottom of the social pile, as
a permanent proletariat . . .
but it needs to be carried a step
further. The North needs the
South as proof of Northern
virtue."
section with his personal feel-
ings of responsibility in the
racial tension in an open letter
directed toward white liberals
and radicals.
Politically, as in everything
else, McReynolds is a humanist;
he is a dedicated pacifist and
therefore against all violence,
Establishment or radical; he
holds that patriotism to one's
country may constitute treason
toward the state. "Everything,"
he says, "revolves around Viet-
nam." He contends that the war
is ilegal by way of violating the
UN charter provisions and is im-
moral because human beings are
being murdered. He emphasizes
the fact that the state is acting
without official sanction only to
further its own ends.
Toward the end of the book,
McReynolds makes the point:
that the Technological Revolu-
tion, as such; has already taken
place and calls on the New Left
"to organize the revolution
which is." In that sense, he com-
pares the New Left's present po-
sition to that of the Marxists
immediately after the Industrial
Revolution. He supports this
position well; technology has
alienated a number of groups
effectively as a change in the
production and distribution of
goods.
Finally, having first firmly
established himself as a human-
ist in the reader's high esteem,
he remarks, almost in passing,
that he is a homosexual. The
statement only serves to deepen
the reader's image of the au-
thor. The candor of this section
is genuine and enlightening
(and probably frightening to a
few).
McReynolds is powerful and
accurate when he condemns the
war, the state and other insti-
tutions, and keen in his observa-
tions of the racial struggle,
but the moving force behind the
whole book is the author's own
depth of personal involvement.
One of the things that impress-
es me most about McReynolds,
and what makes the book pos-
sible, is his wealth of experi-
ences which implies an enorm-
ous effort on his part toward
commitment and involvement.
In this new Technological Age,
when supposedly most people
have involved themselves in the
various social problems, McRey-
nolds, by example, has proven
that one can still see a majority
of guilty blushes (including
mine) when he asks the ques-
tion: "Where were you when
9',
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