Abstract

LOPEZ-GARAY, Hernán. The Free Software Movement: Towards a Free Relationship with Technology. Enlace [online]. 2009, vol.6, n.3, pp.47-62. ISSN 1690-7515.

A socio philosophical interpretation of the free software movement (FSM) is carried out from a heideggerian perspective. The interpretation will reveal that the FSM far from propelling the emergence of a free knowledge society might be involved in undermining its own project. It will be determined that the root of this paradox lies in technology itself. Hence a central aspect of freedom in the present lies in the setting up of a “free” relationship with technology. FSM could help to give a first step in this direction by helping to raise awareness about the paradoxical relationship man holds with technology. And this could be done both through a change in the process of software design and by software itself, i.e. by using technology to help reveal its own essence.

Keywords : Free Software; Technology; Freedom; Heideggerian Perspective.