Device & Virtue
Chris Ridgeway & Adam Graber
Recent Episodes
Can we live humbly and still post that photo on Instagram? In the digital age, humility isn't so straightforward. With the smartphone at our fingertips, is pride just one selfie away?
Many of tech’s biggest names have been anything but humble. Tesla, Edison, Jobs, Zuckerberg, Musk. Does that mean their inventions will re-make us in their image? Or is there a way to hold humility in one hand and our smartphones in the other?
Drawing from Christian wisdom, Greek virtues, and modern theologians, Adam and Chris look for the borderland between pride and pusillanimity, between vainglory and self-abasement. And they explore how those borders are shifting thanks to social media, smartphones, and artificial intelligence.
IN THIS EPISODE
- The AC/DC battle between Tesla and Edison, and what Frank Lloyd Wright said under oath
- The many shades of pride: ambition, autonomy, conceit, domination, vanity, and more!
- Aristotle’s concept of magnanimity
- Why you can’t have humility without Christianity, Stanley Hauerwas says
- Newsfeeds and the vainglorious “love of novelty”
- Chris and Adam’s reflections on pride and humility in their own lives
LINKS
- We’re using the list of virtues from Stanley Hauerwas and his book, The Character of Virtue: Letters to a Godson. Buy a copy and read along with us!
- Aristotle’s Nichomachean Ethics
- Rebecca Konyndyk Deyoung’s Glittering Vices
- More on Edison v Tesla
- “The Virtues of Pride and Humility: A Survey” - Robert C. Roberts
- “Beware Our Tower of Babel” by John Walton
TALK BACK
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The word "temperance" may make us think of prohibition, but this virtue isn't some outdated legislation. Today's technologies are creating all new challenges. Should we be prohibiting them now?
It’s the season of Virtues! We’re exploring the old-school virtue of Temperance—including how a technology in the 1800s changed the course of American politics, spawned hundreds of Christian organizations and even changed the US constitution!
Plus, why ice cream could be an moral issue.
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IN THIS EPISODE
- How virtue ethics can be understood through parenting
- What it could mean to be “temperate” in our social media and smartphone usage
- How temperance could change the way humans use A.I.
THE LITTLE COLD WATER GIRL
THE WILLARD FOUNTAIN.Children Invited to Contribute Their Mite to the Fund for This Gift.The commission for “Willard Fountain.” which is to be a gift to the city of Chicago from children all over the world connected with the Loyal Temperance Legion Department of the World’s W.C.T.U.,…All money raised should be sent to Miss Anna Gordon, Evanston, Ill., and it is earnestly desired that little people everywhere should be impressed with the thought that the mission of love and money which they might perform by giving a cup of cold water to men who might otherwise be drawn into the saloon, can be carried out by this patient little figure, which will never grow “weary in welldoing.” It rests with them to send their pennies if they would be thus represented.
Cold Water Girl Fountain—Chicagology
QUOTES
…the self indulgent man is so called because he is pained more than he ought at not getting pleasant things (even his pain being caused by pleasure), and the temperate man is so called because he is not pained at the absence of what is pleasant and at his abstinence from it.The self-indulgent man, then, craves for all pleasant things or those that are most pleasant, and is led by his appetite to choose these at the cost of everything else; hence he is pained both when he fails to get them and when he is merely craving for them (for appetite involves pain); but it seems absurd to be pained for the sake of pleasure. —Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics
LINKS
- We’re using the list of virtues from Stanley Hauerwas and his book, The Character of Virtue: Letters to a Godson. Buy a copy and read along with us!
TALK BACK
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Can we live simply without tossing our smartphone-life in the trash? We found answers in Sister Act II and walk-in closets. This season, we're doing something new, and it begins with the virtue of Simplicity.
We live in a complex world. Can technology help simplify it? Or does it only make things worse? Chris and Adam look at Simplicity in the face of social media, smartphones, and artificial intelligence.
IN THIS EPISODE
If you ever feel fragmented, this episode is for you. Drawing on insights from Stanley Hauerwas, Richard Foster, and the Sermon on the Mount, we explore...
- How might we live simpler lives in a technology-driven world?
- Could social media and smartphones promote simplicity rather than fragmentation?
- What role does Christian community play in fostering the virtue of Simplicity?
Plus, learn how past technological developments have already shaped our relationship to Simplicity.
Filled with philosophical insights and practical advice for integrating simplicity into modern life.
LINKS
We’re using the list of virtues from Stanley Hauerwas and his book, The Character of Virtue: Letters to a Godson. Buy a copy and read along with us!
TALK BACK
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Wow, we've got a new set of episodes coming our way—and Adam & Chris have decided to unveil a twist—while possible moving even closer to the Platonic ideal of Device & Virtue.
Support our new season at https://www.deviceandvirtue.com/patreon
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If not, what about our soundboards and electric guitars? If you thought the answer would be straightforward, you don't know us! Adam and Chris deep into the intertwining histories of church music and technology. From early debates over instruments in worship services to the effects of platforms like Spotify on today's songwriting, they explore the tensions between tradition and innovation.
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IN THIS EPISODE
- Trace the twists and turns of church debates over instruments vs voices
- Can instruments help Christians worship in Spirit and truth?
- Strong opinions from ancient church fathers, the Reformers, and denominational creeds
- Is AI just another "instrument," or something more disruptive?
Watch the TikTok Worship Song clip: https://www.tiktok.com/@jonathanogdenmusic/video/7221950505486945541
Read Chris' AI worship song about the blind man in John 9
LINKS
- “The first AI Christian artist” JC (@jc.theartist) • Instagram photos and videos
- Worship.ai by John Dyer (create your own worship song in “modern worship music”, “classic hymn”, or the “Psalms (KJV)”
- Spotify has reportedly removed tens of thousands of AI-generated songs (Engadget May 2023)
TALK BACK
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- Follow Device & Virtue on Instagram and Twitter.
- Follow Chris and Adam on Twitter.
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