Technological evolution
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Technological evolution is the name of a science and technology studies theory developed by Czech philosopher Radovan Richta.
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[edit] Theory of technological evolution
According to Richta and later Bloomfield [1] [2], technology (which Richta defines as "a material entity created by the application of mental and physical effort to nature in order to achieve some value") evolves in three stages: tools, machine, automaton. This evolution, he says, follows two trends: the replacement of physical labour with more efficient mental labour, and the resulting greater degree of control over one's natural environment, including an ability to transform raw materials into ever more complex and pliable products.
[edit] Stages of technological development
The pretechnological period, in which all other animal species remain today ( aside from some avian and primate species) was a non-rational period of the early prehistoric man.
The emergence of technology, made possible by the development of the rational faculty, paved the way for the first stage: the tool. A tool provides a mechanical advantage in accomplishing a physical task, and must be powered by human or animal effort.
Hunter-gatherers developed tools mainly for procuring food. Tools such as a container, spear, arrow, plow, or hammer that augments physical labor to more efficiently achieve his objective. Later animal-powered tools such as the plow and the horse, increased the productivity of food production about ten fold over the technology of the hunter-gatherers. Tools allow one to do things impossible to accomplish with one's body alone, such as seeing minute visual detail with a microscope, manipulating heavy objects with a pulley and cart, or carrying volumes of water in a bucket.
The second technological stage was the creation of the machine. A machine (a powered machine to be more precise) is a tool that substitutes the element of human physical effort, and requires the operator only to control its function. Machines became widespread with the industrial revolution, though windmills, a type of machine, are much older.
Examples of this include cars, trains, computers, and lights. Machines allow humans to tremendously exceed the limitations of their bodies. Putting a machine on the farm, a tractor, increased food productivity at least ten fold over the technology of the plow and the horse.
The third, and final stage of technological evolution is the automaton. The automaton is a machine that removes the element of human control with an automatic algorithm. Examples of machines that exhibit this characteristic are digital watches, automatic telephone switches, pacemakers, and computer programs.
It's important to understand that the three stages outline the introduction of the fundamental types of technology, and so all three continue to be widely used today. A spear, a plow, a pen, and an optical microscope are all examples of tools.
[edit] Theoretical implications
The process of technological evolution culminates with the ability to achieve all the material values technologically possible and desirable by mental effort.
An economic implication of the above idea is that intellectual labour – and thus intellectual property, will become increasingly more important relative to material labor and physical goods. The creation of markets for intellectual property (such as universities, book stores, and patent-trading companies) is therefore an indication that a civilization is transforming into the final stages of technological evolution.
Interestingly, this highlights the importance underlining the debate over intellectual property rights in conjunction with the internet. With growing disintermediation in said property markets and growing concerns over the protection of intellectual property rights it is not clear whether markets for intellectual property rights will expand or contract with the furthering of the information age.
[edit] References
1. Bloomfield, Masse. Mankind in Transition; A View of the Distant Past, the Present and the Far Future, Masefield Books, 1993.
2. Bloomfield, Masse. The Automated Society, Masefield Books, 1995.
