Thinking about the History of Technology Flashcards
What is technology defined as?
Things that people have created so they can manipulate or exploit the natural environment in which they are living to useful ends
What are the components of the Ancient Greek meaning of Technology?
Techne, meaning art or study; and Logos, meaning speech.
Did Giovanni Tortelli and Polydore Vergil add any new inventions to the lists of technologies?
Yes
What was the traditional historiography of inventions before the 19th century ?
Simple lists of inventions and their inventors.– “Who, what, and when”
Vesalius, Copernicus, and the Start of the Scientific Revolution date to approximately when?
Mid 1500’s (1543 on timeline)
The acceptance of heliocentric world theory by the Catholic Church, Linnaeus, and the beginning of the industrial revolution date to when?
Late 1700’s (1759)
When does the “second” industrial revolution begin?” What were its characteristics?
After 1859; characterized by electricity
Radio, Flight, antibiotics, nuclear technology, and space travel is the characteristic of which age?
Modern age
How did Technology slip from meaning the Study of Rhetoric to its modern definition?
The art of rhetoric -> The rhetoric of practical arts (science) -> the practical arts themselves
What major book did Lewis Mumford write?
Technics and Civilization (1934)
What division Lewis Mumford attempt to rectify?
Most historians were only concerned with political events. Mumford proposed technology was a legitimate subject of history
What did Lewis Mumford explore in his book?
Within western culture, technology and society influenced each other in a multifaceted and reciprocal relationship.
What did Marx argue about technology? Did Mumford agree?
Marx argued technology (means of production) automatically determined the character of social institutions (superstructure). Mumford disagreed, showing a more multifaceted direction of influence
How did the historiography of Technology develop with and after Mumford?
In sum, more than just single inventions or inventors:
Why some technologies win over others; The development of technological systems; alliances between different sectors and technologies; Addressing technology’s historical and environmental impacts
What ways does technology impact society or environment
Intended effects, waste, human error
What is the Anthropological Argument for Technology?
Technology is an intrinsic characteristic of Humanity:
Only humans are able to combine objects into more complex ones and apply outside forces to their shaping.
What is the Economic Argument for Technology?
Increased productivity from technology accounts for substantial economic growth; much more than market factors.
Progress Argument
Longer lives are derived from economic and technological prosperity
What is the discrepancy that arises when correlating adjusted economic prosperity to longevity?
Life expectancy still grows over time, meaning other technologies (vaccines, healthcare), have influence.
What were Marshall Mcluhan’s “questions” interrogating technology?
Extension, Replacement, Retrieval, Reversal
What is Extension?
New technology expands on the features of older technologies as extensions of the human body, interacting with the natural world
What is Replacement?
New Technology renders old technologies or parts of old technologies obsolete
What is Retrieval?
New technology incorporates features and designs of existing technologies
What is Reversal?
New technology may have unintended effects which reverse the original gains
