Technological Change. Clotilde Coron

HSS cover a range of disciplines studying human reality, both individually and collectively. Technologies are one of the elements of this reality. Understanding technological change is based on this diversity, whose contributions are complementary. We will review the disciplines with the most important contributions by citing some of their classic authors and publications. We will come back to some of them in more detail later in the book.

      I.2.2.1 History

History focuses on the study of technical achievements in relation to their context of appearance. More broadly, it is interested in all historical forms of conception and insertion of technologies in human societies. It is a resource for the development of reflections on the technique of other disciplines, particularly philosophy, anthropology and sociology. Among the most eminent personalities in the history of technology are Lewis Mumford, critical author of The Myth of the Machine (1966), and Bertrand Gille (1978) who, affirming that a technology does not exist if it is not included in a system, proposed to see history as a succession of technical systems.

      I.2.2.2 Philosophy

      The philosophy of technology is the part of philosophy that is concerned with the meaning of technologies, i.e. their nature and value for humanity. Let us begin by mentioning Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels who, in their Communist Manifesto (1999 (1848)), considered the determination of politics on a techno-economic basis: the hand mill corresponded to slavery; the water mill to feudal society; the steam mill to an industrial capitalist society. Considered as a whole, the philosophy of technology is shaped by two traditions. The first focused on alienation, in which technology would be the vector and symbol. The most emblematic author of this trend is certainly Martin Heidegger (1958), who is known for his denunciation of the extension of technical domination. In a similar way, Jürgen Habermas (1973) criticized techno-scientific ideology. In contrast to this pessimistic situation, we can contrast a second, optimistic orientation led by authors such as Gilbert Simondon (1969) and François Dagognet (1989, 1996), or a third orientation, inspired by the precautionary principle, such as the one led by Hans Jonas’ ethics (1903–1993).

      I.2.2.3 Anthropology

      The anthropology of technology is a branch of anthropology that is interested in the history, use and roles of technical objects in their relationship with cultures and environments. Originally focused on technologies and objects from distant, “primitive” and exotic cultures considered as “traditional”, its analyses also now focus on contemporary facts. Marcel Mauss (1923), considered the father of French anthropology, André Leroi-Gourhan (1943, 1945), author of a general classification of technologies, and André-Georges Haudricourt (1955), who was also a botanist, linguist and geographer, all already mentioned, are among the founders of the anthropology of technology.

      I.2.2.4 Sociology

Sociology studies social facts in their entirety (general sociology) and within companies and other organizations (sociology of organizations). Sociologists have contributed to the understanding of technological change by studying individual and collective behaviors in organizations. Some sociologists have focused on humans’ relations with the machine, for example, Georges Friedmann (1946) or Georges Gurvitch (1968), others such as Jacques Ellul (1954, 1988), in a very targeted way, on the relations between the technical system and political power. Sociology has also made important contributions to the change in which technology is engaged. We are thinking, in particular, of Alain Touraine’s first studies (1955) on the evolution of workers’ activities in Renault factories, showing the reorganization of skills and power relations linked to the introduction of new technologies; or, further yet in other empirical fields, to the work of innovation sociologists such as Madeleine Akrich, Michel Callon and Bruno Latour (2006).

      I.2.2.5 Economic sciences

      Economics studies the functioning of the economy. It deals, from a resource allocation perspective, with all the activities of a human community relating to the production, distribution, trade and consumption of products and services. Among thinkers who have devoted part of their work to technological change and its effects, we can cite the name of Joseph Schumpeter, who developed a theory of creative destruction and innovation (1999 (1926)); Jean Fourastié, who is known for his technological optimism (1949); and Alfred Sauvy, author of the spilling theory, who noted the positive effects of technological progress on productivity and ultimately on employment (1980).

      I.2.2.6 Psychology

Psychology seeks to explain human behavior. Since its inception at the end of the 19th Century, it has concentrated on working conditions and human–machine relations with a view to co-adaptation. But its direct contributions to the study of technological change are less long-standing. In recent years, it has contributed to enriching knowledge on phenomena such as the acceptability of technologies, the learning of their uses, and the place of technical objects in activity systems. Ergonomic psychology has focused its efforts on psychology’s contributions to the design of work systems, which are increasingly influenced by technology. A branch of social psychology, organizational psychology deals with the influence in organizations of structural factors on psychosocial relationships between individuals, such as the influence of technology on the structuring of working time and the sharing of tasks.

      I.2.2.7 Multidisciplinary authors and interdisciplinary human and social sciences

Classifying authors by discipline is not always easy (Table I.1), as a common feature of many of those who have been interested in technology is that they are curious minds, whose contributions are not limited to a disciplinary field. Let us take a few examples, among the well-known personalities, without claiming to be exhaustive. First, we will see philosophers. Simondon was also a psychologist – he taught psychology for a dozen years – and Dagognet did work in the history of science. And now, we will see sociologists. Friedmann, a philosopher by training, is best known as a sociologist of work who has always sought to maintain the link between sociology and humanist philosophy, just as Gurvitch has nourished his work with a philosophy of society. Finally, where should Karl Marx, whose work covered economics, philosophy and sociology, be included?

Table I.1. Contributions of the humanities and social sciences

Discipline	Consideration	Subject of study
History	Technologies and their development	Genealogy of the appearance and dissemination of technical achievements
Philosophy	The meaning of technologies for humanity	Nature of the technology Value of technology for humanity
Anthropology	The uses and roles of technical objects	Material culture Technical innovation and societal transformations
Sociology	Social groups, technology and their interactions	Technical power, technical democracy Perceptions and social influences of technology Mediation and communication methods
Economic sciences