Chapter 1

The Nature of Technology

 The inability to understand technology and perceive its effects on our society and
ourselves is one of the greatest problems of our age.
 The word technology has Indo-European roots and the word stems from “Tekne”
referring to woodworking.
 Technologist word was used by Aristotle to refer to grammarian and rhetorician.
 18th century dictionary defines technology as “Description of arts, especially the
mechanical”.
 In 1831 Jacob Bigelow published “Elements of technology” the first book with
technology in its title.
 Definition of Technology: Technologies are developed an applied so that we can do
things cheaper, faster, and more easily. Technology is the ability to create tools and
techniques.
 Human beings lack physical prowess but make up for that with their superior intellect and
reasoning powers.
 The first element in technology is “Organization”. Without organization complex
technologies cannot be realized.
 Lewis Mumford asserted that the first “machine” was not a physical object, but the
organizational structures that the pharaohs employed to build the pyramids.
 The second element in technology is “System”. Without a system of distribution of
electricity for example the invention of light bulbs would be useless.
 Technology is basically an interplay of devices, skills, and organizational patterns.
 Example of the evolution of pen reaches the conclusion that sophisticated design of the
modern pen stands in sharp contrast to the poor skill of the pen wielder.
 A schematic definition of technology: a system created by the humans that uses
knowledge and organization to objects and techniques for the attainment of specific
goals.
 Technology may not necessarily be limited to the attainment of existing needs or goals. It
may address ne needs and goals.
 Aspirin is an example of a new technology created to address a need that did not exist
before. Fever is just the body’s way of combating infection. So supressing a fever is not
necessarily required.
 The development of technology to address some needs. Here the needs may not be
practical only. The appeal of a technology is at least as much important as the purpose
they serve. Lack of appeal might lead to a technology not being employed.
Technological advance and the Image of Progress:
 Henry Ford said “If we have a tradition it is this: Everything can be done faster and
better”.
 The development of Technology Graph:

 The technology graph cannot be applied to all fields. Example: writing now is poor
compared to elder times.
 Technological progress is not an indicator of progress in general. Example: Nazi
Germany developed V2-Rockets and Mercedes and auto prix racing cars, but their
treatment of some group of people was barbaric.
 Is it really progress if technology is keeping a person alive on a ventilator at the expense
of enormous resources, when these resources may have been used for other purposes?
 Metaphor: Transference of an idea from one area to another. Use of technology as a
metaphor for progress.
 Technologist discover the importance of feedback. Comparing a system or objects
current performance to its old performance. Noted by Norbert Weiner. Steam Engine
Example.
 Development of technology is related to a self-regulating market. More Demand equals
more production for that particular technology. No as simple in the modern world due
to the requirement of things like bills being passed before a new technology can be
employed.

Technology and Rationality

 Rational approach needs to be taken as a way of thinking when one encounters a
problem. The solutions should employ using technology as a means of solution rather that
offering of activities that seek help from the metaphysical plane as opposed to the
physical one.
 No putting down people with irrational thinking.
 Rational way of thinking does not confer moral superiority. Because sometimes in the
course of rational thinking people make major moral and ethical transgressions. Basically
ends do not justify the means.
  Rational thinking also leads to “Disenchantment” as German sociologist Max weber
noted. French Sociologist Julian Freund added to this by saying that this void is created
due to human disenchantment is filled by the humans by engaging in furious activity and
through various devices and substitutes.
 Scientists and technologists sometime work in isolation to discover new technologies
without understanding the consequences that their inventions are going to have on the
masses.

Technological Determinism
 No pain no gain. Problems created are environmental degradation, alienation, and the
threat of nuclear annihilation.
 Definition: The belief that technology acts as an independent force in our life,
unaffected by social forces, is known as “technological determinism”.
 Social Constructivists: adherents of the social construction of technology approach
 Definition: Technologist determinant is someone who wants to pursue greater
improvement and invention in technology because they believe the pros of technology
always outweigh the cons.
 In short even if technology has provided us with many benefits but they were possible
only because of the direction the society wanted to take the technology in. So technology
is not independent of the society in which it is embedded.
 More than often the ability of society to influence the technology is not in hands of the
society as a whole, but in the hands of select few. These select few peoples are people
who have access to power and resources.
 C.S Lewis noted “Man’s Power over nature is really the power of some man over others
with nature as their instrument”

Living in Technological Society

 Modern Technology should require the participation of wide range of people to better
suit our needs. Because of the complexity of the modern technology the participation is
restricted to a few and the rest of us are only passive users.
 A quasi-religious belief in UFO’s combines and excessive confidence in technology
with a distrust of people and organizations that control it in actual practice.
 Widespread Participation in the shaping of technology is essential for democracy.
 The benefits and costs of sharing Technology are not Equal either.
 STUDY UNIT #1
Thursday May 1st
The Nature of Technology
(Volti chapter 1)
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this unit of study, you should be able to address the following:
 What are the linguistic roots of the term “technology”?
 How has technology served as a survival strategy for Homo sapiens throughout the
ages?
 How does Rudi Volti define “technology”? What are the principal components of Volti’s
comprehensive definition of “technology”? (Hint: knowledge is one component). What
is meant when we say that technology is a system?
 Complete the following sentence: “A sociology of technology examines…”. That is,
articulate the basic sociological perspective on technology (hint: sociology emphasizes
the social context in which technologies are developed and used).
 Why is technology often equated with social progress? (hint: think of the development
of technology as a cumulative and dynamic process)
 In what ways is the creation of technologies a rational approach to problem solving (as
opposed to the more traditional means of dealing with problems in earlier historical
periods)?
 Describe technological determinism as a theoretical perspective on technology and
society.
 Describe social constructivism as a theoretical perspective on technological change.
Chapter Synopsis
Defining Technology
 technology is a relatively new term, first published in the 1820’s by Jacob Bigelow
(Harvard University)
 the word technology can be traced back to the Greek language, where it can be broken
down into 2 parts:
 techne meaning the art of doing/making something… it didn’t refer to an object
(a noun), but rather a craft or skill (a verb)
 logos originally meaning “informed discourse or debate”, and later simply
“knowledge”
 technologies have historically been invented to help us do things we otherwise couldn’t
accomplish, thereby making up for our lack of other traits; as a species, we’re not
 particularly strong, or fast, and we can’t fly, or breath under water, but we can use our
imagination and create technology
 our ability to create and use technology sets us apart from non-humans; in particular,
our ability to engage in abstract though (imagination and creativity have allowed us to
create technolies)
 our reliance on technology dates back 100’s of thousands of years to the early period of
simple tool technologies (tools made of stone, bone and wood… knives, scrapers, arrow
heads, lodge pools, etc.)
 As Marshall McLuhan said: “First we shape our technologies, and then they shape us,”
…this reflects the reciprocal relationship between our technologies and our social
organization/behaviours
 technologies have made the survival of the human race possible

Technology: A system based on the application of knowledge, manifested in physical objects

and organization forms, for the attainment of specific goal
 Technology is a system comprised of the following elements:
 Artifacts (cars, cameras, computers, candles, calculators, couches…)
 knowledge (the knowledge required to design and make technologies)
 technique (the skills required to use and maintain technologies)
 organization (the social relations required to maintain technologies)
 Try to identify several examples of social relationships bound up with e.g.,
the private automobile
 Volti’s definition of technology has its limitations:
 it assumes technology comes about in order to meet existing needs… this is not
always the case
 the history of technology is littered with examples of inventions looking for
problems to solve; e.g., aspirin
 new technologies often create new needs and new problems
 goals achieved through technology are not always practical ones satisfying
pressing human needs; e.g., new technologies often developed as status
symbols, or frivolous entertainment
Technological Advance and the Image of Progress
 the development of technology is an inherently dynamic and cumulative process
 technological change is one of continuous improvement of existing technologies
 this dynamic, progressive element of technology makes it a unique human
endeavour (unlike other human endeavours such as art, literature, and music where
 it is hard to measure ‘progress’)
 some societies may be advanced technologically, but not in other areas such as the
distribution of goods and services and the delivery of social justice
 Nazi Germany developed the Mercedes and other impressive technologies, but
murdered millions of Jews
 Pre-literate societies had simple technologies, but advanced artistry and social
relationships
 the notion of progress is complex and can only be understood in the context of a given
set of cultural beliefs and values

Technology as a Metaphor
 technology has been employed as a metaphor; e.g., technology as social progress
 technology has shaped the way we think about ourselves and our world; e.g., the
technological principle of feedback (e.g., James Watt’s flyball governor designed to
automatically regulate the speed of a steam engine) has been incorporated into other
areas of social life; e.g., the stock market; policy analysis, etc.
Technology and Rationality
 a technologically progressive society has come to mean one in which problems can be
managed in a rational way… can be studied systematically and where solutions to
problems can always be found
 however, rational modes of thought do not necessarily confer moral superiority
 in fact, extreme rational thought can result in tragic moral transgressions (e.g., Nazi
Germany and the Holocaust)
 rationality requires objectivity
Technological Determinism
 a theoretical perspective on social change which assigns priority to technological factors
 promotes the idea that technological development is out-of-control… technology has a
‘life of its own’
 there is no doubt that technology does impact on individuals and society, but the
direction and pace of technological development is influenced by many social,
economic, political (etc.) factors
 Social Constructivism is the theoretical perspective on social change which assigns
priority to socio-cultural factors and human agency
Living in a Technological Society
 modern technology is accessible in some form to the entire population, yet, by its very
 nature, few people actually understand it; our lack of understanding can render us
somewhat powerless over our technologies and alienated
Review Questions

1. Define technology (identify its principal components). What are some of the limitations of
this definition? pp. 4-5
 A system created by humans that uses knowledge and organization to produce
objects and techniques for the attainment of specific goals. This can be broken down
into 3 components:
o Tools and Techniques – no other creature is dependent on them, this is
responsible for the survival and expansion of a species that lacks many of the
innate abilities of other animals. Examples: cannot match the speed of a
cheetah, strength of an elephant, or leaping ability of a kangaroo. Our
intelligence is the ultimate source of technology.

o Organization – a group effort between development, production, and

employment of particular technologies. Need the energies and skills of many
individuals in an organization to be combined and coordinated through some
organizational structure.

o System – for an individual technology to operate effectively, more is required

than the invention of a particular piece of hardware; it has to be supported by
other elements that are systematically interconnected.

 Some limitations are:

o Whose goals are to be attained
o Technology does not always respond to existing needs, it may create its own
needs
o The phenomenon known as “the law of the hammer”: give a sex-year old a
hammer, and to the child everything starts looking like a nail.
o Creating technology just for the challenge and enjoyment of solving
technological problems.

2. The word “technology” comes from the ancient Indo-European word techne. Describe the
evolution of this word from its Greek roots to its first modern application. p. 4
 Linguistic roots can be traced to the Indo-European stem tekne, which refers to
woodworking
 Source of the Greek word tekne, which can be translated to “art”, “craft”, or “skill”
 Also the root of the Latin word texere, which means “to weave”. This eventually meant
fabrication or construction.
 “Technologist” was used by Aristotle and others of his time, it meant grammarian or
rhetorician
  Early 18th century, the English Dictionary defined it as “a Description of Arts, especially
the Mechanical”
 In 1831, Jacob Bigelow published Elements of Technology (which was the first book in
English with the word Technology in the title). He defined it as; technology consisted of
“the principles, processes, and nomenclatures of the more conspicuous arts,
particularly those which involve applications of science.”

3. Reliance on today’s advanced technologies has been criticized as being “unnatural”. Is this
a fair criticism? Why or why not? p. 4
 No it is not a fair criticism because our past and future were/are dependent on our
capacity to shape our existence through the invention and application of implements
and techniques that allow us to transcend our meager physical endowments.
 Jacob Bronowski stated that “to quarrel with technology is to quarrel with the nature of
man—just as if we were to quarrel with his upright gait, his symbolic imagination, his
faculty for speech, or his unusual sexual posture and appetite.”

4. Why is social organization considered to be an essential component of technology? Give an

example of a complementary relationship between social organization and technology. p. 5
 Social Organization is defined as “the people in a society considered as a system
organized by a characteristic pattern of relationships.”
 A particular technology requires the group effort of: the development, production, and
employment.
 Example: earthenware pots require a complex network of material suppliers, potters,
tool makers, marketing agents, and consumer capable of making good use of the pots.

5. How does the history of high-speed aircraft illustrate the process by which new
technologies emerge? p. 5
 Early biplanes had drag-inducing wires and struts could not make effective use of the
more powerful engines.
 Availability of these engines led to the design of aerodynamically cleaner aircraft.
 Streamlined airframes and powerful engines lead to a faster aircraft but dangerous high
landing speeds.
 This then led to the invention of flaps and slots.
 By the 1940s it became apparent that improved airframes could achieve still higher
speeds with more powerful engines which then led to the development of the turbojet.

6. For the incandescent light bulb to be a commercial success there had to be a

complementary structure in place to support it. What were the key elements of the system
that Thomas Edison created? p. 5
 Depended on the development of a serviceable filament and the use of an improved
vacuum pump that evacuated the interior of the bulb, this would prevent the
combustion of the filament.
 An effective electrical generator was needed to supply the current that produced the
 incandescence of the filament.
 A network of electrical lines had to be strung up between the generator and individual
homes, shops, and factories.
 Metering devices were necessary so that users could be accurately billed for the
electricity they used.

7. How does the history of the pen exemplify some key aspects of technological change?
Explain the transition from the organic to the industrial and how it represents overall
technological change. p. 6
 Two hundred years ago, the standard writing instrument was a goose-quill pen which
required a fair degree of skill in order to be used effectively. However, in the 19 th
century the steel-nib pen (ball point) was the product of a complex manufacturing
process. It was mass produced (even though it is made from a variety of artificial
materials and manufactured close tolerances, the ballpoint pen could only be produced
through sophisticated industrial processes) in many different forms in order to meet
specialized needs, making it completely divorced from the organic world and requires
very little skill from its user.
 The goose-quill pen was an organic product that was sharpened by the user and
required a great deal of skill; this represented the handicraft technologies typical of its
time. While the ballpoint pen was mass produced and was meant for anyone to use it
and it required very little skill.
 Technological change is not always a smooth process and many of the necessary
changes entail considerable pain and disruption.

8. What is a sigmoid curve? How is the curve relevant to the course of technological change?
p. 8-9

 Initial period of growth: The first curve rises slowly, inclines steeply in the middle but
then begins to slow down.
 Secondary period of growth: rate of advance accelerates, reaches a maximum then
begins to proceed at a slower pace but never completely levels off.
 A slow development of technology at the beginning and over time a large increase in the
developmental findings and advancement take place.
9. Give an example of a technology that seems to embody progress. According to what
standards may it be deemed progressive? p. 9
 Nazi Germany produced many technological triumphs such as: Mercedes and Auto
Union grand prix racing cars of the late 1930s and the V-2 rocket used during World War
II
 Society is able to develop and make use of advanced technologies

10. Give an example of a technology where its contribution to overall progress is ambiguous
at best. p. 9
 New medical technology maintains an individual’s life but only at an enormous expense
and does this justify expenditures that otherwise might be used for expanded prenatal
care or other preventative measures.

11. What, in a technical sense, is meant by “feedback”? Note a particular technology that
makes use of the feedback principle. Give an example of how “feedback” has entered the
social realm. pp. 11-12
 Norbert Wiener defined it as, “a method of controlling a system by reinserting in it the
results of its past performance.”
 A steam engine; when it begins to rotate too rapidly a flyball governor closes the valve
that admits the steam which brings the engine back ti its proper operating range. When
it slows down, the governor opens the valve to admit more steam.
 In the 18th century is offered a metaphor for the economic system to produce a self-
regulating market. Example: If buyers want a particular commodity, its price was high,
motivating sellers to produce more of it. If the prices were low, less would be produced.
Increase in production would cause prices of commodity to fall, so more would be
purchased, while drop in production would cause the price to rise, leading to a
reduction of purchases. (Supply and Demand)

12. What is meant by rationality? How is it connected to the development of technology?

How does it relate to the way Max Weber used the word “disenchantment”? p. 14
 The condition in which values, beliefs, and techniques are believed to be based on
logical, explicable principles
 The rational method of problem solving, with its overarching concern for devising
appropriate means for attaining particular ends, makes no distinction concerning the
ends being pursued. There is nothing in the rational approach to the world that prevents
the use of logically and empirically derived means in the service of goals that are neither
rational nor ethically justifiable.
 “Disenchantment” – for it was bereft of the gods, genies, and spiritual forces that
people not imbued with the spirit of rationality used to explain their world. Modern day
definition of disenchantment is to lose the sense of awe, commitment, and loyalty that
is necessary part of a meaningful existence. Basically not using logic to what should be
done to solve the problem.
13. What is meant by technological determinism? What is meant by social constructivism?
Why is neither adequate to the task of describing the nature of technology? p. 15
 The belief that technology acts as an independent force in our life, unaffected by social
forces is technological determinism.
 The emergence of particular technologies, choices between competing technologies,
and the way these technologies are actually used owe a great deal to socially grounded
forces like political power, social class, gender, and organizational dynamics.
 Best described by William F. Ogburn, “the interconnected mass [i.e., social intuitions,
customs, technology, and science] is in motion. When each part is in motion and
banging up against some other part, the question of origins seems artificial and
unrealistic. If one pushes the question to the extreme, origins are lost in a maze of
causative factors.”
 Examples: when computers first appeared in mid-1940s there were modest
expectations but today we can’t imagine the world without them.