Beyond or within the limits? A misleading dilemma for current technological processes

Abstract

The concept of limit offers an opportunity to summarise some milestones in the evolution of technological processes. Although this concept is theoretically and empirically problematic in the light of contemporary scenarios, both as a factor that generates processes and as a demarcation between nature and artifice, it remains fundamental in at least two areas: innovation and sustainability. Indeed, a series of material and immaterial limits condition, and sometimes compromise, the implementation of the technological processes. The incentive to manage these limits has often acted as a lever for innovation, both in terms of processes and products. Above all, dealing with limits has been at the heart of the orientation towards sustainability since its inception. The scientific community and the general public have come to terms with the finite nature of non-renewable natural resources and the need to limit emissions. In both cases, the limit is used as a warning, with fears of the transition from alarm bell to death knell for the planet. The concept of limit is also relevant to the adaptation strategies to Climate Change. However, the concept of limit as something that clearly establishes a “within” and a “beyond” has supported a misleading dilemma, in the face of the development of the global economy. A change of approach is therefore called for, replacing the opposition of the limit by the integration of the continuum, bearing in mind that the right time and the right measure have always been an indispensable qualitative range for technological processes characterised by ethical principles.