ABSTRACT
Technologies are ever-changing, dynamic materializations of socio-cultural values, making them rich objects for comparative study. This chapter puts rhetoric of technology and comparative rhetoric literatures in conversation to propose a framework for appreciating the culturally situated, nonverbal energies that attend artifacts and techniques. As an example, the ancient Indian story of Ajātaśatru’s robots is analyzed, uncovering within the story, an energy of dharma entangled with machines as tools of detachment, spoken through their guardianship of the relics of the Buddha. Comparatively, where Western energies of technology might engender visions of artifacts and techniques as means for amplifying one’s desires over nature (or other people), Ajātaśatru’s robots represent tools for moderating the desires of the self. The chapter closes with a brief discussion of some potentially fruitful research trajectories for pursuing the comparative rhetorical energies of technologies.
