Main events in the history of technology development. The emergence and development of technology. Main periods of development of philosophy of technology

Yu.S. Pospelov

Starting approximately from the second half of the twentieth century, the widespread use of computers (computers) of different generations in society gradually began. An essential feature of computer technology is the presence of control programs, which represent a sequence of instructions for calculations. Currently, a distinction is made between service programs that manage the internal process of a computer system (the most important of them is the operating system, a set of control and processing programs), and application programs that help the user solve problems of varying complexity. Consequently, computer technology is a control tool created by man, which he uses in his activities. The means of labor produced by people, as well as the means of activity for other areas of social life, perform certain functions, the performance of which is necessary for a person, but the person himself cannot perform them through natural organs (hand, brain), or the means of activity perform them more efficiently than a person. The means of human activity, primarily labor, in which certain functions are embodied, the performance of which is necessary for a person for certain purposes, are called technology.

Before the development of capitalism, technology was created on the basis of knowledge acquired in the course of material labor activity by its workers, in the course of gaining experience in the production of certain products. This knowledge is called empirical (from the gr. empirio - experience). Empirical knowledge is systematized in a certain way. However, they have not yet identified the laws of existence, development, objects from which technology is created, and methods of its production. In other words, empirical knowledge of this kind is not yet strictly scientific, allowing one to accurately predict the results workers need. These necessary results are obtained to a certain extent blindly - by trial and error. The lack of scientific, that is, mental activity in the production of certain types of products is explained by the long absence of a constant surplus product in material production, since there was simply nothing to feed people with mental labor and satisfy their other material needs.

In addition, the slave-owning classes, feudal lords, dominating manual workers

© Pospelov Yu.S., 2014

Section II. Economics: problems and prospects

labor, directed their efforts to capture and force these workers to work. The named exploiting classes were not interested in stimulating the development of production technology. In addition, during the historical periods under review, broad markets for the sale of products had not yet emerged. Therefore, the ruling classes had no interest in stimulating the development of production technology and obtaining large profits through this. Such constant widespread interest arises only during the period of the Great Geographical Discoveries. This leads to the emergence of a class that creates ample opportunities for a revolutionary transformation of production. This class is the bourgeoisie, which bases its dominance on wage labor.

Along with the development of material technology and on its basis, in the course of the historical development of society, technology is created that embodies the mental functions of man. Since the emergence of humanity, primitive tools have been created that make it possible to record the number of certain objects - to count them sequentially and in total. This technique is already a technique of mental labor. It begins to be created especially widely in the process of development of product exchange.

An outstanding contribution to the development of computer technology was made by the English mathematician C. Babbage (1792-1871). In 1822, he made a working model of a machine, which he called a “difference machine,” which made it possible to calculate the value of polynomials (polynomials - Yu.P.) of the second degree with an accuracy of eight digits. This machine differed from the adding machines of B. Pascal and G. Leibniz in that human intervention was not required when moving to the calculation of the next value of the function. In 1833, Charles Babbage conceived the idea of ​​​​creating an “analytical engine” that could not only perform one given action, but also carry out an entire program of calculations. Babbage's machine contained all the basic parts of modern computing machines. Its universal capabilities were proven by Lady Lovelace, daughter of the poet Byron. This woman, who developed the first programs for Babbage's machine, is not without reason considered the world's first programmer. It should be said here that Babbage was the first to think of using a set of holes punched in a certain way on a card or tape to record commands and numbers in a machine. He borrowed the idea for the first perforation principle from the French inventor J.M. Jacard, who used it on his loom to produce fabrics with complex patterns. The programs compiled by Lady Lovelace showed how the rules for calculating various functions should be translated into punch card language. Ch. Babbage's project was ahead of the technical capabilities of its implementation and did not attract the attention of engineers. Only about 100 years later did designers return to Babbage's ideas.

An important place in the history of computer technology is occupied by Herman Hollerith, who used the machine he created and a punched card as an information carrier to process the results of the US census in 1890. It is interesting to note that such machines were first used in Russia in 1897 to process census results. The name of Hollerith is also associated with the founding of the first company specializing in the production of punched cards and counting and information devices. Subsequently, this company was transformed into IBM, now one of the world's largest computer producers.

The first computers appeared only in the 1940s. This was explained by the need to create both an adequate theoretical basis and appropriate technical systems based on radio electronics. At the end of the 1930s. English mathematician A. Turing showed that various problems can be solved with the help of machines if these problems or tasks can be expressed through a finite number of operations. In 1940, the American mathematician Norbert Wiener

There is an idea to use not the decimal number system in computers, but the binary one (in this case, any number can be written using only two digits - 1 and 0. The first attempts to use electronic elements in computers date back to the end of the 1930s.

Bibliography

1. Clausen P. Computers and robots / P. Clausen. - M.: World of Books, 2006. - P. 10-11.

2. Pospelov Yu.S. Historical stages in the development of computer technology. Computerization of society and management / Yu.S. Pospelov. - M.: Book and Business, 2012. - 72 p.

3. Pospelov Yu.S. Management philosophy. Management as an integral natural and social process / Yu.S. Pospelov. - M.: Book and Business, 2010.

ITS DEVELOPMENT

Socio-historical conditions for the emergence of technology. Archaic

Technology in primitive society and ancient civilizations.

Technology in the culture of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.

Science as a sphere of human activity. The relationship between science and technology.

Technical progress in modern times.

Development of technology in modern times. Scientific and technological revolution.

Test questions and assignments

What are the main semantic aspects of the concept of “science” and features

Scientific knowledge?

The science- a form of spiritual activity of people aimed at producing knowledge about nature, society and knowledge itself, with the immediate goal of comprehending the truth and discovering objective laws. Science is:

· social institute (research institutes, universities, academies of sciences, etc.)

· branch of spiritual production (R&D);

· a special system of knowledge (a holistic system of concepts, laws, theories).

Scientific knowledge– a special type of cognitive activity aimed at developing objective, systematically organized and substantiated knowledge about nature, man and society

Peculiarities:

· objectivity;

· development of the conceptual apparatus (categoriality);

· rationality (consistency, evidence, consistency);

· verifiability;

· high level of generalization;

· universality (examines any phenomenon from the perspective of patterns and causes);

· use of special methods and methods of cognitive activity.

What is the connection between the philosophy of technology and the philosophy of science?

Give the basic concepts of the relationship between science and technology.

There are several relationships between the philosophy of science and the philosophy of technology:

· technology is an applied science in itself and one of the parts of the global perception of science;

· the development of science is determined by the development of technical apparatus and instruments;

· the development processes of both technology and science can be considered as autonomous from each other and at the same time they coordinate each other;

· the technology of science develops much faster than the technology of everyday life;

· philosophy of science has similar tasks in relation to science as the philosophy of technology in relation to technology.

Highlight the main stages of the relationship between science and technology and

Transformation of science into a productive force.

The following stages of development of technical knowledge are distinguished:

· pre-scientific (until the second half of the 18th century) - knowledge is obtained empirically and does not imply the use of scientific knowledge;

· the emergence of technical sciences (from the second half of the 18th century to the 70s of the 19th century) - natural scientific knowledge began to be used and the first technical sciences appeared.

· classical (until the middle of the 20th century) - characterized by the formation of a number of technical theories that formed the foundation for further development.

· modern (since the middle of the 20th century) - technical sciences begin to integrate not only with natural, but also with social sciences, complex research is emerging, technical sciences are increasingly differentiated from natural and social sciences.

How do you understand the thesis about the immanence of technological progress?

Human nature? Give the basic concepts of emergence

Technicians.

Highlight the historical stages of technology development and name them

Distinctive features.

First - the emergence of primitive technical devices for household needs: hoe, axe, shovel, scraper, knife, awl, etc. Chronologically, this is the entire prehistoric era: from its formation to the first ancient civilizations of 4-3 millennia BC.

Second - handicraft development of technical devices. Chronologically, the countdown can be carried out from the State University of the millennium BC. and until the modern era of the late 16th - early 18th centuries. Technical devices during this period began to differ significantly from the primitive ones, but they were still devices, and not technology, since there was no natural scientific leap, humanity was only preparing for it. The craft of an artisan was not based on science and theoretical calculations; the base was traditional knowledge and practical skills of generations.

Third - machine technology, which was based on engineering activity, which, as a more developed form of technical activity, is oriented towards science, theoretical and applied natural science. Machines - steam, mechanical, electric. Machine technology could not appear as an alternative to craft technology at the same historical time, since there were no real conditions for the free development of natural science, as well as engineering activities, which were later brought to life by objective needs for the development of productive forces.

Fourth - information technology: automated control systems and information technology systems (ACS/ITS). This stage of technical development began in the middle of the 20th century. and continues to this day. Machine technology has been replaced by machine production, automated technical systems (lines, workshops, factories), and electronic computer technology. Labor productivity has increased sharply, and the path from invention to implementation of technical devices has been significantly shortened.

How the technology for making stone tools improved

Primitive man?

The first method of making stone tools was breaking, apparently already used by Australopithecus. The method was amazingly simple - you just had to throw one stone on top of another, and then choose the right one from among the fragments - large enough to hold in your hand and with a sharp edge. However, in practice, to obtain a more or less suitable ax, it was necessary to break too many stones. Therefore, the next invention was the method of chipping - from a stone that already had the appropriate size and shape, small pieces were broken off by blows from another stone until a cutting edge of the desired shape appeared.

This is how hand axes were made - double-sided tools weighing up to a kilogram, which, apparently, were tools of universal use. These tools characterize the Acheulean era of the Lower Paleolithic (1.5 - 0.2 million years ago). Choppers, gradually improving, remained the main and most common human tools until the advent of the Middle Paleolithic era (ca. 200 - 45/30 thousand years ago).

There were various retouching methods, however, the essence of the invention was that the blow of the working stone was transmitted to the workpiece through the prototype of a chisel, a bone, or a third stone shaped like a stick. This way it was possible to more accurately calculate the impact and, by separating small flakes, give the product a more complex shape.

Thanks to the use of retouching, in addition to choppers, people also had a new tool - a “cutter” - a flat stone with a sharp edge, no longer intended for chopping, but for cutting hard materials - wood and bone.

About 80 thousand years ago, the process of making tools by retouching was decisively simplified by the introduction of plate technology. Now, instead of processing the stone from all sides, a large stone was first given a geometric shape, and then plates were chipped from its edges. All that remained was to retouch the working edge of the resulting workpiece, and even then, only if the cutting edge did not appear during the chip itself.

Finally, 20 - 30 thousand years ago, modern people made an invention that meant a real breakthrough in tool activity - stone tools began to be equipped with handles made of wood, horn or bone. The ability to assemble a weapon from two or more parts opened up enormous possibilities for creativity. In particular, primitive axes and throwing spears with a stone or bone tip appeared.

The use of a handle in many cases made it possible to simplify stone processing. Its shape and size became unimportant; now only a cutting edge was required from the stone. The onset of the Mesolithic era is determined by the fact of bringing this idea to its logical conclusion - the emergence of microlithic technology.

Tool using microliths

If in the Paleolithic the knife was made from a fairly long plate, through painstaking retouching, which created not only the blade, but also the handle inserted into the handle, now special small sharp fragments were chipped from the stone, which were glued with resin or asphalt into a bone or wooden base. The result was a “knife-saw” - a weapon, in principle, worse, but incomparably simpler to manufacture.

The most important achievements of the Neolithic era

The beginning of the Mesolithic period coincided with the onset of the last ice age, during which almost the entire planet remained either too cold or too dry. However, the retreat of the glacier signaled the beginning of the transition to sedentism, and this, in turn, stimulated the development of new technologies. The most important technical achievements of the Neolithic era were the development of grinding, drilling and sawing stone.

Processing stone by rubbing against wet sand, although it seemed extremely labor-intensive (it took dozens of hours of hard work to make one ax), ultimately saved both time and material. For its part, the drilling technique made it possible to ensure a more reliable connection of the product with the handle.

Grinding and drilling, which made it possible to give the stone any shape, spread, however, only in the 4th millennium BC. e., that is, already at a time when copper began to be widely used in some regions. The inhabitants of ancient Egypt even immediately switched to making tools from copper, and never mastered grinding.

Microliths, still necessary for the manufacture of cutting tools, also underwent evolution during the Neolithic period, turning from just small fragments of stone into geometrically regular elements forming an almost even blade. Moreover, their sizes became so standard that a fallen and lost fragment could be replaced.

Such manufacturing precision was achieved by improving plate technology. Now, the stone was splitting into neat columns, which, in turn, were already splitting across into equally shaped fragments of millimeter thickness.

Retouching also reached its greatest perfection in the copper era. With the emergence of states, stone processing became a profession, and artisans appeared in Egypt and Mesoamerica capable of carving even long daggers from stone.

Misrepresentation of developmental stages

It would be a mistake to believe that each stage of development: Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic was characterized by some strictly defined stone processing technique.

Firstly, along with the newest ones, outdated technologies could also be used, at least to save time, or for the least important tools. Moreover, for example, the spread of microlith technology and the invention of composite tools in many cases led to the fact that the labor-intensive and painstaking technique of retouching was completely forgotten. A sharp stone, roughly chipped, but set into the handle, was still more effective than the most sophisticated hand ax.

Secondly, just as it was in later eras, along with the tribes who spared no effort to bring their tools to perfection, there were also principled opponents of progress. Thus, the Tasmanian aborigines mentioned above continued to use tools that even Pithecanthropus would have abhorred until the very end. After all, modern humans were physically superior to Australopithecines, so if Australopithecines could survive on broken rocks, then Tasmanians could even more so. In isolation from other nations, of course.

Finally, in order to master stone processing perfectly, it was necessary to have large quantities of it.

The end of the era of stone tools

The spread of microliths, polished stone, and then metals led to the fact that the technique of retouching, as well as the technique of plates, was increasingly forgotten. As a result, only in some places on the American continent before the arrival of Europeans were flint points comparable in quality to Paleolithic ones. On the other hand, tools made of wood, horn and bone were constantly improved. They displaced stone, which allowed people to inhabit areas where it was absent.

Careers

Wood and bone, however, were processed with stone tools, so some amount of stone was still required. In their migrations, each tribe periodically had to visit areas where stone outcrops were found, and in such places real quarries gradually arose, where for centuries, taking turns, many tribes mined stone.

Materials

Obsidian produced very sharp chips, but was too brittle and rare. Siliceous minerals and rocks were most often used to make tools: quartz, chalcedony, and jasper. However, a wide variety of minerals and rocks were used as mineral raw materials - tuffites, jade, shales and others.

Emergence and development

Technology has long attracted the attention of thinkers. Understanding technology as the art of producing things that embody human knowledge and imitate nature, Plato considered it obligatory for the construction of defensive walls, shipyards, temples and other structures. He paid special attention to the fact that technology should be based on knowledge. “We need such knowledge,” says Plato in his “Dialogues,” which would combine the ability to do something and the ability to use what has been done... After all, here the art of making and the art of application exist separately, although they relate to the same thing same subject "(7.180). Aristotle wrote that “of existing objects, some exist by nature, others by virtue of other reasons” (8.82). This reason lies in labor, during which “in objects of art we process the material for a specific purpose, but in natural bodies it is available as something existing” (8.87). It is quite obvious that for Aristotle technology is the art of extracting from nature its potential possibilities for human existence. Of course, he further argues, in what is created with the help of art, i.e. There may be errors in technique. But the use of art is an indispensable condition for creating a new thing. In this Aristotle saw the difference between man and other living beings.

There were attempts at philosophical understanding of technology in the Middle Ages, during the Renaissance and in modern times in the works of Leonardo da Vinci, G. Galileo, F. Bacon, Pascal and other thinkers. However, despite the solid stock of philosophical knowledge about technology, there has not yet been a philosophy of technology as a specific area of ​​philosophical knowledge. Noting this circumstance, N.A. Berdyaev wrote: “It is amazing that a philosophy of technology and machines has not yet been created, although many books have been written on this topic. Much has already been prepared for the creation of such a philosophy...” (9.153).

The works of K. Marx played a major role in the development of the philosophy of technology. G. Ropol writes that “Marx, in his reflections on the importance of labor and the products of labor for the self-realization of man, was practically a pioneer in posing the problems of the philosophy of technology... Marx cannot in any way be underestimated as a philosopher of technology” (3.198). At a superficial glance, notes G. Ropol, Marx can be attributed to technological determinism. But this understanding of Marx, in his opinion, is a misunderstanding. “It’s a pity,” G. Ropol rightly notes, “that Soviet interpreters of Marx uncritically adopted this thesis, while neglecting ... the dialectic of technology and society inherent in Marx’s concept” (3.199).

However, in fairness, we note that Marx had not yet defined the philosophy of technology as a special area of ​​philosophical knowledge, although he laid the methodological foundations for this. The birth of the philosophy of technology in the West is usually associated with the name of E. Kapp, who was the first to use the very concept of “philosophy of technology.”

In 1877, a book by Heidelberg University professor E. Kapp, “Basic Directions in the Philosophy of Technology,” appeared on the German book market. It is no coincidence that it was republished in Germany a hundred years later: the philosophy of technology dates back to a non-chronological origin.

The basis of E. Kapp’s reasoning was his theory of “organ projection”, in which the concept of “natural soul” occupies a central place. This concept expresses the integrity of a living organism. The “natural soul” realizes the contradictions that arise between the organs of the body and their functions. Technology is the result of resolving these contradictions, the projection of the anatomical and physiological characteristics of the human body into natural material.

Even after E. Kapp’s book, the pace of development of the philosophy of technology cannot be called rapid. The contribution of technology to the development of civilization has so far been regarded as only positive; the negative consequences of technological progress have not yet appeared on the surface of social life and have not disturbed public opinion. Moreover, in Western philosophy, technology has traditionally been viewed as a craft or the simple application of scientific discoveries in production. Technical activity was regarded as an activity of an intellectually lower order, which did not deserve the serious attention of philosophers. The absence of a clearly expressed serious philosophical tradition, the analysis of specific rather than fundamental issues of the development of technology, the emphasis on the study of historical and social problems associated with technology, and not the technology itself - all this made it difficult for the time being to form a philosophy of technology.

As a new area of ​​philosophy, the philosophy of technology fully declared itself only in the 60-70s of our century in Germany. In the early 70s, a program for the philosophy of technology was formulated - a transition from abstract reasoning about technology to its interdisciplinary analysis as a complex phenomenon of modern human civilization. Not only philosophers, but also representatives of other fields of scientific knowledge and branches of technology began to study the philosophy of technology. Research in the philosophy of technology began to be closely connected with the philosophy of science and philosophical anthropology, and considered as an important section of social philosophy. The philosophy of technology begins to take bold steps along the path of its development. According to G. Ropol, technology “has become a worthy subject of private philosophical discipline, the importance of which for human self-understanding is difficult to overestimate” (3.196). However, the recognition of philosophy of technology as a specific field of philosophy was still far away.

The traditional preference for studying theoretical issues in philosophy, the relatively recent emergence of complex technology existing next to simple ones, were the reasons for the statements that “many philosophers have not even heard that there is any philosophy of technology. And indeed, there is hardly any basis for asserting that philosophy technology is already a well-established discipline" (10.191-192). It is not at all accidental that in the latest edition of TSB, in the "Philosophical Encyclopedia", in the "Philosophical Encyclopedic Dictionary" and even in the relatively recently published "Concise Philosophical Encyclopedia" there are articles on the philosophy of culture, life, morality, science, liberation, law, nature, history, religion, feelings, economics, but there is no article on the philosophy of technology.

It should be noted that in the formation of the philosophy of technology, along with professional philosophers, representatives of technical sciences and engineers played a huge role. Moreover, both in Germany and in Russia, engineers were the initiators of raising the question of the need and importance of the philosophy of technology and the formation of new research programs in this area. Mention should be made of the "Union of German Engineers", created in 1855, the research program on the philosophy of technology of the Russian engineer P.K. Engelmeyer in 1929, and the "USA Office of Technology Assessment", created in 1972.

Western philosophy of technology has quite clearly realized two problems: the insufficiency of scientific understanding of technology only as an instrumental means of society’s influence on nature and the contradiction between cultural and technical progress, the alienation of scientific and technical activity and its products from man and society.

It is human nature to strive to improve his life, to adapt the world to his needs, and technology is his good friend, comrade-in-arms, assistant and, in a way, even master. Technology has always attracted the attention of philosophers, and this is easy to explain. The fact is that human activity is technical in nature. Having stood out from the animal world thanks to labor, man, in essence, turned labor activity and the ideas, skills, methods and means of production associated with it into the fundamental foundations, the basis of his existence.

Technique ( from the Greek techne - art, skill) as a concept has two meanings. In the first sense, technology refers to tools and instruments of labor and any artificial devices (artifacts) used to transform the environment. In the second sense, the concept of “technique” denotes a system of skills, a level of mastery in the implementation of a particular type of activity.

In the philosophical analysis of activity, as a rule, the second meaning is used; The philosophy of technology primarily operates with the first meaning. Technology is a set of artifacts, i.e. made artificially. The concept of “philosophy of technology” appeared at the end of the 19th century. An independent direction in the philosophy of technology developed in the 60-70s of the 20th century. During this period, technology became an independent force and was no longer considered an integral part of science.

Currently, the following problems arise that require study:

1) the global nature of technological development;

2) the problem of quantitative growth of development;

3) the problem of military disasters;

4) the problem of humanization of technical growth.

Interest in the study of technology, as a philosophical problem, is clearly manifested already in Aristotle. A new wave of interest in technology is associated with the development of engineering thinking during the Renaissance, and later with the Baconian and Cartesian traditions. Rationalist philosophy, especially in the person of the Enlightenment, was inclined to see in technology and technical progress the decisive means of resolving all social contradictions and achieving general well-being.

Modern human life is impossible without the use of a wide variety of technology. With the help of machines, a person cultivates the land, extracts oil, ore, and other minerals, moves, produces various goods, organizes his leisure time, etc. The main property of technology is its ability to perform useful work and, accordingly, allow a person not to do this work.

In technology, humanity has accumulated its centuries-old experience, techniques, methods of cognition and transformation of nature, and has embodied all the achievements of culture. The forms and functions of technical means uniquely reflect the forms of human influence on the world around him. The ever-increasing role of technology in society has led to the emergence in philosophy of a relatively independent field of knowledge - the philosophy of technology. Although the term was introduced back in 1877 by the German thinker E. Kapp in his work “Foundations of the Philosophy of Technology,” philosophy of technology acquired the status of a special philosophical discipline in the 60-70s of the twentieth century. The philosophy of technology is closely related to the philosophy of science, on the one hand, and philosophical anthropology, on the other.

Stages of technology development

The history of technology is an objective prerequisite for human activity. There are several concepts of the historical development of technology. In the classical Marxist vision, its history is expressed in a chain of successive stages: hand tools, the craft and manufacturing period, machine technology, automated systems. Changes in this story are due to the transfer to a technical device of those functions that were previously carried out by the acting person himself. “Natural” is replaced by “artificial”, created, thereby expanding the possibilities for man to master the outside world and the depths of his own life. The type of connection between man and technical working bodies is changing.

The modern world is a “technological” space and “technological” time. If technology disappears today, people will disappear too. We live and act not in the primordial world, but in the “technosphere”.

The ideas about the periodization of the development of technology expressed by the American philosopher and sociologist Lewis Mumford are attractive and relevant. He believed that the beginning of the second millennium AD can be considered the starting point of modern (and not ancient) technology. Based on the experience of European history, L. Mumford distinguishes three technical eras. The first - “paleotechnical” - is based on the technology of “water and wood”. The second - “eotechnical” - is based on the complex of “coal and iron”. And finally, the third - “neotechnical” - (currently ongoing) uses a complex of “electricity and alloys”. As we can see, periodization is based on the main type of energy used in technology and the “substance” that occupies a central place in the creation of technical devices.

An interesting diagram of the stages of technical development was proposed by the domestic researcher G. F. Sunyagin. According to the historical typology he proposed, the stages of technology change are determined by a certain type of labor. The most ancient technology with its “destructive” nature (within the framework of hunting and gathering) reflects the “appropriating” way of relating to nature. Agricultural practice, established during the Neolithic revolution, revealed aspects of constructiveness, technical features in fact. However, the most complete qualitative facets in the history of technology were revealed with the advent of machine production. In his opinion, such technical innovations of the late European Middle Ages as watches, glass and printing played an expressive role in recreating a “technical” view of the world. The clock allowed us to escape from natural cycles, from organic time. They gave a person the opportunity to “condense” time, subordinate it to the rhythms of his own activity, and allowed him to realize its necessity. Since then, time has become “wealth”, and its lack has become “disaster”. “There is not enough time” - this complaint is heard everywhere to this day. Glass brought awareness to the homogeneity of space. His “desacralization” took place, the veil of “sacredness” was removed from him. Prerequisites have arisen for the approval of ordinary visual experience as the basis for the vision of reality, in addition to symbolic associations. The printing press changed the entire communication system and unified sign-designated reality. The above typology is interesting in the sense that it shows technical innovations as facts that contribute to large-scale changes in human mentality and the entire system of social relations from economies to higher ideologies.

One of the greatest physicists of the twentieth century, Max Born, resorted to a bold image, trying to show the main milestones in the development of technology. In his opinion, expressed in the book “My Life and Views,” it is legitimate to believe that one of the decisive facts of history is the type of energy that humanity has at its disposal at the moment. The entire history of mankind falls into two great periods:

1) from Adam to the present day;

2) with the advent of atomic energy, from now on and for all future times.

The transition from the first period to the second is marked by the end of the consumption of solar energy and also the use of purely terrestrial energy sources.

Let us note that all theories of periodization of technology development complement each other and deserve the right to exist.

Stages of technology development:

· technology – as a tool of labor. Tools complemented the functions of the human body. During this period, technology does not oppose man, but any innovation is perceived with joy.

· technology is a machine. Man exists as an appendage of a machine. (Turn on the machine, etc.) Technization leads to a conflict between man and machine.

· technology – as technology.

· technology - a set of operations for the purposeful use of technology. The person is freed from the main production and is a manager. The conflict between man and machine has been eliminated at this stage.

An assessment was made of the stages in the history of the development of technology: the stage of the emergence of technical devices; stage of craft development of technical devices; machine technology stage; stage of information-rich technology (automated control systems / information technology systems). The concept of technology has ancient Greek etymological roots and has become widespread in both ordinary and scientific consciousness. Technology is understood as a set of mechanisms and machines created by man on the basis of scientific achievements, designed to carry out various types of activities. Features of the development of technology contributed to the emergence of six technological structures of society.

technical devices

craft equipment

machine technology

information technology systems

technological structure.

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5. Petrov, V.P. Social and philosophical analysis of the peculiarities of personality formation in modern Russia. – N. Novgorod, NNGASU, 2011.

Etymology of the word technique has an ancient Greek history - τεχνῆτιο (techne), which determined the widest range of human activities at that time in the existence of the Hellenes - from the simplest craft to high art. It is assumed that this word appeared in the time of Homer and was interpreted as τέκτων (tekton), having the Indo-European root tekp, meaning carpentry, and was originally used to refer to the art of a master of construction - a carpenter, and then began to be used in the meaning crafts or arts generally.

Aristotle considered this concept more comprehensively, giving it the meaning of knowledge. In the treatise “Nicomachean Ethics,” he drew attention to the difference between other types of knowledge, such as ουράνιος (empeireia: experimental knowledge) and της επιστήμη (episteme: theoretical knowledge). Although the meaning of knowledge among the Hellenes was close to the meaning of knowledge, they still did not unite them, realizing that there are things that have not yet received their explanation. Knowledge in the broadest sense of the word meant turning to the still unknown. Techne (τεχνῆτιο) represented that area of ​​knowledge that is directly related to human activity, connected with it, reflects its result, that is, generated by human thought and labor in accordance with existing needs. This was the area of ​​​​technological knowledge. Its subject was the sphere of what was being created, i.e. in the process of becoming. Theoretical knowledge was addressed to what directly exists, that is, to what was already given by nature or the gods and required understanding.

Technical knowledge was, as it were, a connecting link between experimental knowledge and theoretical knowledge. Technoscience intuitively combined experimental data and theoretical conclusions to explain what is happening and the present.

A feature of technical knowledge was its focus on design, construction and production. The process of future production in technical knowledge consists of a number of stages: ideal modeling of the object, its design and direct development of the structure. This is an essential feature that allows us to see technical knowledge as a means to achieve goals that meet the real needs of society and people.

Comparing the processes of production in technical knowledge and the processes of emergence in nature, Greek thinkers believed that they were similar in many ways, although the production process was more complex. Unlike nature, technical knowledge through technology is capable of modeling and improving what it creates in accordance with emerging needs. Technoknowledge has the power to change natural processes, so technology, on the one hand, acts similarly to natural processes, and on the other, can change the world around us in accordance with the emerging needs of people.

Thus, in the word technology, from the moment of its verbal use, two aspects were combined: Firstly, tools, i.e. tools with which a person carries out activities, realizing his needs; Secondly, accumulated knowledge, skills, methods of work necessary in the use of tools, as well as used to improve them. Although the word techne was first used in Hellas, it does not prove that technical devices originated there. This fact emphasizes the peculiarity of the development of knowledge among the Hellenes, based on the spiritual understanding of the phenomena of reality. The technology itself, or rather the primary tools for economic use, dates back to 4-3 millennia BC, that is, to the time of the birth of human civilization. Therefore, they could not yet be considered technology in its essential understanding and engineering application. This was only a prototype of technology for the initial designation of “human techno-making”: the creation of tools (scrapers, hoes, axes, shovels, spindles, wheels), the organization of primary production (in construction, agriculture, metalworking). These were the first steps of mankind in the development of technology, and later in conceptual justification.

Technology as an essential element of the culture of society and the development of civilization historically includes four stages of its existence. I. The origin of technical devices. II. Craft formation of technical devices. III. Machine technology. IV. Information-rich technology [automated control systems / information technology systems (ACS/ITS)].

Chronologically, the first stage included the entire prehistoric era and lasted until the emergence of the first ancient civilizations of 4-3 millennia BC. At this time, primitive communal relations formally took shape and then gradually transformed. The socio-economic formation had a primitive appearance, and human activity was limited to his family and tribal needs. Primitive household devices were used, necessary for domestic needs. They were often random in nature, because weren't invented a person, and were by chance them. According to the Spanish philosopher and publicist J. Ortega y Gasset, this technique was the “technique of chance.” At the very early stage of his existence, primitive man did not understand the meaning of a tool and, naturally, could not imagine how to make it. He limited himself only to using suitable natural objects for his needs. For example, an empty shell served him as a natural drinking vessel that replaced his palms (L. Geiger, German researcher). A random stone or animal bone was used as a primitive “knife,” “axe,” or “hammer.” But even here the “case” was not for everyone, but only for the most developed, that is, those who were able to comprehend what they saw for their primary needs. And only after millions of years did repeated accidents begin to turn among primitive man into a tendency to conscious, and later to expedient his use of natural objects as economic devices, which gave impetus to their technical production and use.

The range of technical and economic means was limited, and the operations for their production were simple and passed on from generation to generation. Man has not yet realized himself as a subject of his activity, and, consequently, as a creator of technology. He “does not yet feel like homo faber,” so he accepts technology as part of nature with which he is in unity (H. Ortega y Gasset).

The pace of development of technical devices during this period was the longest in the history of mankind, since ancient man created devices using the “trial and error” method, accidentally came across the desired solution, and only with the advent of the first civilizations in Egypt, India, China And Mesopotamia (states of Ur, Uruk, Lagash in the two rivers Tigris and Euphrates) A new stage in the development of technical devices begins to take shape.

Chronologically, it can be defined from the stage of the emergence of the first ancient civilizations (4-3 millennia BC) until the advent of modern times (late 16th - early 17th centuries).

Technical devices during this period began to differ significantly from primitive ones, but they could not be called technology due to the fact that scientific knowledge was just emerging and people had not yet learned to apply it in practice. True, household equipment is becoming more diverse, and the methods of its manufacture are becoming more complicated, and not every person can make the device he needs himself. Moreover, the very use of complex objects of labor required knowledge and serious training to engage in a specific craft with the manufacture of production tools in various types of household activities.

For these reasons, a social layer of artisans gradually began to emerge, people who combined technology and workers (J. Ortega y Gasset). Their tools of labor still acted as a simple addition to man, who, although he was the “driving force” of the technical process (K. Marx), the relationship “man - tool” has not fundamentally changed since the time of the primitive communal system. This will happen much later with machine technology, the use of which will significantly increase labor productivity and qualitatively change the technological process.

The point was that the craft of an artisan as a special form of technical activity was not based on science, no theoretical calculations were made. The basis was the traditional knowledge and practical skills of generations. This meant that the craft could only be mastered empirically, which is why it remained within the framework of tradition. This circumstance imposed natural restrictions on all inventive activity. The emergence of new technical devices was, as before, a matter of great time. And although the pace of technical development accelerated compared to the pace of development of “accidental technology,” they could not satisfy the growing needs of mankind. Only with the advent of the Renaissance, or more precisely with the beginning of the New Age, in Europe did technology acquire the content that corresponded to its form. This content of technology was science. Craft technology has historically exhausted its potential and opened the way to machine technology.

The chronological framework of the third stage includes several centuries: from the modern period to the middle of the 20th century.

Machine technology was based on engineering activity , which, as a more developed form of technical activity, is oriented towards science, that is, theoretical and applied natural science.

This is the social essence of the fact that machine technology could not appear as an alternative to craft technology at the same historical time. There were no real conditions for the free development of natural science, as well as engineering activities, which were later brought to life by the objective needs for the development of productive forces. Society began to realize this fact precisely in modern times, along with the end of the era of primitive accumulation of capital and the beginning of the era of bourgeois revolutions in the countries of Western Europe.

At the same time, it is worth noting that engineering activity has its own background. It naturally fits into the chronological framework of those eras that preceded the New Age. This was facilitated by the circumstances and activities of a number of unique representatives of the human race, in particular, Archimedes (287-212 BC), Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), Galileo Galilei (1564-1642), Nicolaus Copernicus ( 1473-1543), Johannes Kepler (1571-1630), Francis Bacon (1561-1626), Isaac Newton (1643-1727), Christian Huygens (1629-1695). However, the junction of scientific knowledge and production had not yet occurred; the time of scientific and technological revolutions was ahead.

As M. Heidegger noted, humanity was still allotted time for the continuous evolution of production and the associated development of theoretical and practical natural science knowledge, before the industrial revolution that began in England in the 60s of the 18th century (which swept Europe and the USA) led to the need formation of individual technical sciences (for example, theoretical mechanics).

Significant events along this path were: the invention by the Englishman James Watt (1736-1819) of a steam engine and a universal heat engine; the Frenchman Etienne Lenoir (1822-1900) of the internal combustion engine; Russian inventors, father and son Cherepanovs, a steam locomotive and the construction of a railway with a length of 3.5 km (the Cherepanovs - Efim Aleksandrovich (1774-1842) and his son Miron Efimovich (1803-1849) were serfs from the Demidov factory owners) ; the discovery of the physical properties of electricity and the invention of the electric motor - the dynamo in 1867; Yablochkov Pavel Nikolaevich (1847-1894) electric candle (1876), which resulted in a whole series of world electrical inventions that marked the beginning of the fourth stage in the development of technology. Scientific discoveries played a decisive role in the transition from crafts to machine technology, and then to machine production.

The transition from manufacture to industrial production required the professional training of engineers. In Paris in 1794, the famous mathematician and engineer Gaspard Monge (1746-1818) opened the Polytechnic School, which combined scientific-theoretical and technical-practical training. This training system began to spread throughout Europe and the USA. Russia is also taking specific measures to train technical specialists. In 1830, a vocational school was opened in Moscow, which in 1868 was transformed into the Imperial Moscow Technical School (higher educational institution), since 1917 it has been the Moscow Higher Technical School, a university, the largest research center for mechanical and instrument engineering. Nowadays MSTU named after. N.E. Bauman.

Unlike craft practice, where man continued to be the main driving force of the technical process, in machine technology the driving principle is the force of nature transformed into a machine. Machine technology created the prerequisites for the transition to the fourth stage of technical development of society.

Chronologically, the fourth stage - the stage of information-rich technology - begins to take shape in the mid-twentieth century and continues to this day. ACS/ITS contribute to the improvement of design, scientific research, production and process management.

Major scientific discoveries in the field of atomic physics and quantum mechanics, the development of chemical physics and electronics (nanoelectronics), technological developments (biotechnology, membrane, vacuum, laser technologies) and the use of traditional and non-traditional energy carriers contributed to the emergence of new generations of technology. The creative scientific and technical process among scientists and specialists, inventors and engineers in various spheres of human life goes in parallel with the creation and use of new technology. There are multiple research institutes, design bureaus, design bureaus, laboratories, institutes, factories, and enterprises of various types of property to create new equipment and apply new technologies in the production of a wide range of products.

Machine technology has been replaced by machine production, automated control systems, and information technology systems. Electronic computer technology, computerization of production and intellectual processes have made it possible to reduce the time for the development and implementation of products by tens, hundreds and thousands of times. A person in this process is represented at three levels: engineer, programmer, technologist.

The problem of the historical formation and development of technology, its theoretical vision has been substantively developed in a number of countries and scientific schools, including Russia. Western theorists and philosophers of technology include a galaxy of German thinkers of the 19th-21st centuries - E. Kapp, F. Dessauer, E. Bloch, M. Heidegger; French philosopher and sociologist J. Ellul; American scientists L. Mumford, T. Veblen, D. Bell, A. Toffler, J. K. Galbraith, W. Rostow; Spanish philosopher J. Ortega y Gasset. In Russia, among the thinkers of this trend is P.K. Engelmeyer - the first theorist of the philosophy of technology, A.A. Bogdanov. In modern Russia, the work of V.G. deserves a worthy assessment. Gorokhova, V.M. Rozina, E.A. Shapovalov, the work of the St. Petersburg philosopher N.M. is very relevant. Al-Ani, whose ideas are used in the article.

The historical emergence of technology led to the development of six technological structures, differing in production technologies. The beginning was laid by the industrial revolution of the 18th century in Europe. In the first technological structure (1770-1830), textile machines became a key factor in the development of production. In the second (1830-1880) it was a steam engine. In the third (1880-1930), the electric motor played a leading role, significantly increasing the flexibility of production. In the fourth (1930-1970), a technical and technological breakthrough in industry was provided by the internal combustion engine, which made it possible to move to mass production of various classes of cars, tractors, and airplanes. The fifth technological structure (1970-2010) was based on achievements in the field of microelectronics, computer science, biotechnology, genetic engineering, new types of energy and materials. There was a substantive exploration of outer space and the development of satellite communications. The core of the technological structure consisted of the electronics industry, computer technology, robotics, software, telecommunications, information technology, and fiber optic technology. The sixth technological structure has been developing before our eyes since 2010. The key factor is nanotechnology and cellular technologies. The advantage of the sixth technological structure, compared to the previous one, is predicted to consist in a sharp reduction in energy and material intensity of production, in the design of materials and organisms with predetermined properties. Its core is nanoelectronics, molecular and nanophotonics, nanomaterials and nanostructured coatings, nanobiotechnology, nanosystem technology. The rationale for this approach was laid by S.Yu. Glazyev, and it can be noted with a sufficient degree of optimism that the forecasts of the Russian economist are quite realistic, as is his identification of six technological structures. Modern technology is technology of the fifth, sixth and even seventh generations; its functioning is possible only with the use of advanced technologies. The relationship between engineering and technology gives a real impetus to the development of both industrial production and society as a whole in all spheres of its life: economic and environmental, managerial and scientific, pedagogical and artistic, medical and physical education, defense and public safety.

Reviewers:

Kulakov A.A., Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor, Head. Department of National History and Culture of the Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Professional Education NNGASU, Nizhny Novgorod.

Kozhevnikov V.P., Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor, Professor of the Department of Philosophy and Political Science of the Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Professional Education NNGASU, Nizhny Novgorod.

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