Social Shaping of Technology and Technological Determinism

It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity”, these are the quotes of the famous German physicist Albert Einstein in relation to how the world has become overly reliant on technology. As a result, we have taken nature for granted while also ignoring the adverse effects of technology. The making of steam engine, the usage of fossil fuel and the creation of chlorofluorocarbon are all technologies which has benefited us greatly and are continuing to do so, but like everything on this earth there are always negatives to counter the positives This is the balance that we must find between nature and humans.

Leo Marx, once a professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Harvard graduate, wrote an article titled “Technology The Emergence of a Hazardous Concept”. In this article, the author explores the modern day definition of the word technology and argues that technology offers too broad of a definition and is ill fitting to describe all technical advancements and their creators. Technology can be defined as the branch of knowledge that deals with the creation and use of technical means and their interrelation with life, society, and the environment, drawing upon such subjects as industrial arts, engineering, applied science, and pure science (dictionary.com). On the other hand, it can

Today, in our society, most people use our abundance of technology without thinking about where any of it came from. For thousands of years man has been creating technology innovations and through the decades, we have made much progress to make our lives easier. For example, the 1910s brought about stainless steel, the 1920s brought Henry Ford´s automobile, the 1930s yielded the jet engine. But, nothing had a more profound effect on the future than the technology brought about in the 1940s.

Chapter two begins with an intriguing question. Does technology control us? The answer, it depends who you are. Again Nye provides many stories to discuss the question. He talks about current advances that many people would have a difficult time imagining not having or using. To contrast this, he gives examples of societies that chose to reject advances in technology. He includes the examples of Japan’s rejection of guns, and religious groups such as the Amish or Mennonites, who carefully consider the effects of any technology on their society before adopting it. He points out that a common view is that mechanical systems are deterministic or inevitable. However, there are several beliefs that counter that including Werner Sombart

W asks, Can technology "embody specific forms of power and authority" (19). He reviews the ideas of Kropotikin, Morris Hayes, Lillienthal, Boorstein and Mumford on his way to answering his question. For example, Hayes states that "deployment of nuclear power facilities must lead society toward authoritarianism" because of safety concerns (19-20). W believes "that technical systems of various kinds are deeply interwoven in the conditions of modern politics [and further, that the] physical arrangements of industrial production, warfare, communications, and the like have fundamentally changed the exercise of power and the experience of citizenship" (20). Indeed, "human ends are powerfully transformed as they are adapted to technical means" (21).

To define technological determinism is an approach in technology or technological advances, as a central element in the process of social change. Technology is stabilized, its tend is design to dictate the behavior of users, which diminishing the human agency. Social and cultural circumstances in which technology is developed, however ignores this stance. As we watch The Apple Special Event, Apple’s new product line is an example of technological determinism. Apple product make users feel they need the newest and latest products that they offer. Radio Wars showed technological determinism as the radio change. From how people used AM radio then they discovered FM radio and people switch from AM to FM. Once satellite radio was created people

From the Abacus, the simplest form of calculating to the role of today’s computer, from the early telegraph to today’s satellite communications, from the simplest kite to today’s Jet Engine Airplanes, from the first liquid-fuelled rocket to today’s Space Shuttle, and much more to come, inventors, scientist, engineers, military forces and governments have all been responsible for those new discoveries made by mankind. “Perhaps the most misleading catch-phrase learned in childhood is that ‘Necessity is the mother of invention’ creating social compulsions no one knows how to control.” (The Inventions, pg.8) In the 1980’s, people were embroiled in many problems related to the evolution of technology, from those created by the microchip to those unleashed by the H-bomb. In contrast, invention springs from a divine discontent with things the way they are and a conviction that man can do better.

Throughout the twenty-first century the globe has continued to evolve technologically at rapid rates. This evolution has caused humanity to question the relationship they have with such advancements. Some have speculated that society functions as a technological utopia. Where the human interaction with technology is largely in control, and people in society determine technologies function. While others have stated that the culture is largely run by a technological determinism—technology has more control over humanity than humanity has control over technology. While American society continues to develop technologically, the arts find ways to respond to the cultural atmosphere.

Technology has a definite impact not only on our everyday lives but also on the ideologies we pursue or abandon. This change can be clearly seen as society has progressed through from an agrarian culture through the growing pains of the industrial revolution, and into the current wave, the information wave. The role of technology was seen as a tool in the agrarian culture and also as a means for physical exploration of humanity 's surroundings. During the industrial revolution that tool, used to better the agrarian age morphed into a guiding force for social change, intellectual idealism, and scientific exploration. As the industrial age drew to a close, marked by

Mankind has limitless potential. However, we often are first forced to break down old barriers. In the past humans have broken free of gravity and traveled through the skies. Then came the invention of the computer. The idea of millions of calculations performed each minute may have seemed absurd a century ago, but society’s dependence on it today can never be overestimated. The future, I believe, will be an era of power and energy.

Technological determinism is a term developed by Marshal McLuhan, a theorist in the study of new media. By technological determinism, McLuhan refers to technology having the power to change societies and influence our cultures. In this essay I will argue that technology does have the power to change society and influence a civilization, using ideas put forward by Marshal McLuhan. I will also discuss the debate around technological determinism recognizing the claims made by Raymond Williams that society shapes technology as we look back at its emergence and their subsequent control.

Techno-optimist or techno-pessimist? That is the question. Technology throughout time has no doubt changed our way of life. Travelling to destinations quicker, curing new diseases, or figuring out how to cease a wide famine are examples of how technology has made advances over time. The solutions that scientists create spark a tool that others cannot live without. But what if these technologies bring out negative effects rather than their desired purpose? Sometimes, innovators create new inventions that bring unintended consequences. It could range from less communication face to face, side effects from new medicines, or pollute the earth’s atmosphere.

Part of Nye’s argument that there is no such thing as technological determinism stems from the fact that even today there are many different cultures throughout the world that each use or refuse to use various technologies. If technological determinism was a legitimate theory then one would see growing homogeneity in the international system but it is quite clear that this is not the case in real life. The true main idea of this article is that there is “not just one future” for humanity because technology has not created a single path that humanity must follow but rather humans still have many choices currently and in the future that will shape the technologies that the different

From the beginning mankind has used technology to make life easier and to solve problems. Would you consider a chair you sit in, or in door pluming technology? We will discuss how technology has grown from just using the sun to wake up in the morning, to power house companies like Apple, and Amazon that supply technology to the world.

Technology has played an integral part in shaping society in many different ways. Throughout history, technological inventions have changed everything from the way humans are clothed and fed to the very ways we communicate and interact as a species. Examining the effects technology has on society illustrate both how technology shapes culture and society and how society can affect future technology. This can be seen by examining a few of the major technological innovations in human history followed by a look at a new technology and how it may shape future society.