Electronic Resource
Cambridge
:
Cambridge University Press
Science in context
8 (1995), S. 451-455
ISSN:
0269-8897
Source:
Cambridge Journals Digital Archives
Topics:
History
,
Natural Sciences in General
Notes:
The informative and engaging essays in the foregoing collection suggest several interesting concepts that deserve further research and reflection. Over the past decade, the “social construction of technology” has become a concept often explored by historians (Bijker, Hughes, and Pinch 1987). Even though it has performed the useful function of discrediting technological determinism, the concept suggests too narrow a set of influences that shape technology. Two other concept, “nature-shaped technology” and “culture-shaped technology,” convey the character of technology more effectively. To designate “nature” as a shaper of technology reminds us that in a relatively prisine world the designer of technology negotiates with natural forces more than with human-built ones. To see culture as a shaper of technology suggests a broader range of influences affecting technology, not simply the social. “Shaping” conveys the notion of influence and avoids that of determinism better than “construction.”
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S026988970000209X
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