Technology and Human Discourse
James Burke in the book entitled: "The Day the Universe Changed" relates that the Europeans in the course of overrunning the country of Spain came across libraries as well as universities and other optical, mechanical and philosophical knowledge that changed the face of the academics in Europe and sparked the founding of universities based on the philosophy of Aristotle that replaced the Augustinian philosophies of the day. Later notes Burke individuals such as Kepler, Galileo and Newton, through their study and research stated more knowledgeable explanations for natural phenomena than those given by Aristotle for man's place in the universe and how the universe actually works. Burke also notes that the advent of print spurred information and knowledge forever changing the world in which we live. In today's world new discoveries are taking place at a rate much faster than ever before in the history of mankind and Newton's theory has been, as pointed out by Burke, to be found lacking in explaining all that man is able to observe. At different points in history mankind has assumed that it has reached what it perceives to be the pinnacle of available knowledge however, Burke points
SUMMARY & CONCLUSION Certainly after having reviewed the many readings in connection with the study within this work in writing it is clear that the factors that impact technological development are many and diverse. " and an article by Robert Heilbroner takes up the debate of determinism within the work "Does Technology Drive History: The Dilemma of Technological Determinism". How many times in the life of an individual who is presently 70 years old has the belief system, or those beliefs based on science changed or transitioned? Certainly it can be stated that it must be many times. From the political and socio-economic factors that drive the technological applications for arms and defensive capacities to the social factors that drive the technological development such are language-learning and distance education via the web and that drive the business world, the medical field applications, space exploration and certainly important in today's world are the factors that drive the development of the tools used to detect and monitor objects in near-space that may threaten the very existence of mankind, it is certain that the old saying of . This book brings clarity to this debate. Many philosophies exist for the reasons behind or indeed the 'why' of the events and directions taken by mankind and while many of these theories sound like they fit perfectly, and do appear to be that which is correct theoretically, the view of the historian is one is able to see with clarity because there is little conjecture to the view of history from the historian's post-history view. Just as held by Marx the technologies that change and alter life for all mankind are the reality and yet, those technologies are, according to historians, not autonomous but in actuality are products of the sociology of life and are subject to controls within the society or what has been termed democratic controls, or controls of popular opinion. Certainly this must have been true in the past as well. For instance Burke points out that during the time of Copernicus that mankind looked up into the sky and supposed that the sun was rotating around the earth and because the Church and Aristotle both held this belief then the medieval individual held that it must be the correct belief. Technology promises to render a very interesting view for the historian of the coming century upon earth. the hand-mill gives you society with a feudal lord; the steam-mill, society with the industrialist capitalist.
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Acceptance Essays
