LifeLong Learning - San Marcos
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Course Description

Technology shapes how we communicate, shop, learn, work, get news, care for others, and spend our time. This four-session conversation invites participants to reflect on how technology is changing modern life. The goal is not to decide whether technology is good or bad, but to ask how we can use it more wisely while preserving the relationships, habits, and forms of community that make life meaningful.

 

Session 1: Has Technology Made Us More Connected or More Distracted?

We are easier to reach than ever, but constant contact does not always create genuine connection. This session explores how phones, notifications, email, and social media shape our attention, relationships, and ability to be present.

 

Session 2: What Do We Lose When Speed and Convenience Become Core Values?

Modern conveniences can make life easier, but they may also make us more impatient, dependent, or disconnected from meaningful practices. This session asks whether some inconveniences – such as cooking, walking, repairing, waiting, remembering, and conversation – are worth preserving.

 

Session 3: Are There Things We Should Refuse to Automate?

As machines take on tasks such as customer service, teaching, therapy, hiring, elder care, and moral judgment, we must ask where automation helps and where it crosses a line. This session considers whether some responsibilities should remain human because they require presence, care, and accountability.

 

Session 4: Is Privacy Still Possible?

Privacy is about more than hiding information; it also involves boundaries, trust, dignity, freedom, and the ability to grow without constant monitoring. This session explores what privacy means in a world of smartphones, smart devices, data tracking, cameras, algorithms, and digital records.

 

Presenter: Ron Stockdreher, Lecturer, Dept. of Philosophy, Texas State University

Ron teaches courses in ethics, applied philosophy, environmental ethics, and a developing field known as engaged ecology. His academic work focuses on helping students apply philosophical insight to real-world challenges, with special attention to our ethical responsibilities to each other, to non-human life, and to the planet. Ron also co-founded the Engaged Ecology Initiative, which fosters dialogue between philosophical traditions and contemporary environmental practice. (Note: LifeLong Learning will host monthly dialogues through the Initiative starting in September). Ron has a Master of Arts in Applied Philosophy and Ethics from Texas State.