Science, Technology, and Society
Technology is a major issue on the human state. Through it human beings are able to clothe, eat and shelter in addition to movement and entertainment. The book by Donald Mackenzie and Judy Wajcman, The social shaping of technology talks about the impact brought about by technology and science on the society. Every part of our lives is intertwined with technology.
The form of connection that rises between the social aspects with science and technology is known as technological determinism. The variation in technology arises either due to scientific advancement, or logic and then the influence they bring on the society. A good example is the computer technology which is seen as aligning itself to natural laws like Moore’s law (MacKenzie and Wajcman, eds.1999). The law describes the components on a state-of-the-art microchip doubles in a fixed point and predictable time. This adds value to the information and communication technology revolution that scholars say is transforming life.
Technological determinism composes both material condition and biological and physical setting as well as the social aspect. For instance, Lynn White accredited the feudal society ‘society dominated by aristocracy of warriors endowed with land’ – to the brainchild and flow to Western Europe of the stirrup. This offered riders with a secure position when riding a horse. Changing technology will be an element amongst political, economic and social.
Mackenzie and Wajcman refer to Langdon Winner as being quite notable in his efforts to try and look down upon technologies as being neutral and what is important is the manner societies decide to apply them (Merkerk, and Van, 2005). According to him, technologies are modelled, be it consciously or unconsciously, to exposed some social choices and close others.
Winner argues that some design elements of technologies can be political while others are in whole. It is actually evident that some technologies are more compatible with some social setups than others. He supports this using energy supply in nuclear technology that calls for plutonium which may increase pressure for a rigid state surveillance to safeguard its theft and hence do away with civil liberties (J. Philip, 2006). The article does not support this claim as natural uranium displayed no sign of depleting as it was at Winner’s time.
The article states that the view that technology just transforms science or its own accord advances a passive attitude to technological change. This places our minds on how to cope with technological change and how to model it. It does away with a major aspect of how people live in politics and in the frame of choices made.
Politically, technology is seen as an anti-technology process. This is due to negative political controls that are placed on it. A good example is Donna Haraway who is a dominant feminist commentator on science and technology. Her poetic display of politics is not well taken in, though the article acquires a different view to it. She is critical of those that belittle technology for mythical natural state. She upholds an embrace of beneficial capability of science and technology (MacKenzie, and Wajcman, 1999). The article uses her to show the strong ability of science and technology to bring about new meanings and bodies to form new worlds, like the extending of private property to patenting.
The idea that technology is a technological change that underpins of popular technological determinism is very agreeable. The book has been able to show that technological change has transformed the social frame from the historical period. It is however a difficult aspect as it calls for a change of attitude in the community, creating awareness and projection for the political players. Additionally and of importance, it calls for variation in the forces that control scientific and technological innovations; financial support, commercial interest and customers.
References
- Philip (2006). How Technology Could Contribute to a Sustainable World. Boston: Tellus Institute.
MacKenzie, Donald and Wajcman, Judy, eds. (1999). The social shaping of technology. 2nd ed. Buckingham: Open University Press, ISBN 9780335199136.
Merkerk, R. O., H. Van Lente (2005). “Tracing emerging irreversibilities in emerging
technologies: the case of nanotubes” Technological Forecasting and Social Change
72(9): 1094-1111.
