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Top3. Different Views Of What Technology Is
I begin by laying out some different definitions of technology and views of technology from the field of Philosophy of Technology.
Kline (1985) explores the word “Technology”. He examined it in terms of usage and defined it as:
Usage 1: Hardware (or Artefacts)
Usage 2: Sociotechnical System of Manufacture
Usage 3: Knowledge, technique, know-how or methodology
Usage 4: Sociotechnical System of Use
All these views position humans in an external relationship to technology that gives the impression we select technology as we do with tools.
Ferré (1995) limits his definition to instances where implementations are used, as well as a means to a practical end, a manifestation in the material world, and as an expression of intelligence. He then defines technology as:
“Practical implementations of intelligence”
Again, this presents a view that suggests humans have total control over technology and in terms of creating devices does seem to hold true. However, there are outcomes of applied practical intelligence that suggest the ‘intelligence’ was not as mature as it ought to have been (e.g., Thalidomide disaster).
We can easily see technology involves design, making things, and changing things in order to achieve some outcome that made the whole effort seem worthwhile. We can see how some people limit the consideration of what is technology to artefacts or objects such as a car (Pacey, 2000). Others hold a socio-technical view (Mumford, 2003; Landes, 1969) where technology is seen as combinations of artefacts and people such as bricklayers building houses for people to live in and banks providing mortgages.