THE СONCEPT AND ЕVOLUTION OF TECHNOLOGY
Rozin VadimIn the article the author differentiates the concepts of technique and technology. He identifies four stages of the technique’s development. The first stage is “experimental technique”, which is characterized by magical conceptualization, the second - engineering (rational conceptualization), the third - design, the fourth - technology. Technique is characterized by five features: 1) technique means artifacts, 2) it can be viewed as a “social body” of an individual or society; 3) technique is a method of using the forces of nature; 4) the form of awareness; and finally, 5) it is mediation in the form of tools, machines and material environment, which makes it possible to realize the plans of a man. The author states that conceptualization of technology is an essential characteristic of its concept. If, for example, scholars write about Neolithic technology or the era of construction of the Egyptian pyramids, then it is just a retrospective interpretation, from the point of view of modern understanding of technology. It has sense, for example, when it is necessary to clarify the prerequisites for the development of technology, but in terms of thinking creates problems and contradictions. The author claims that technology develops in the second half of the 18th century as a new reality that describes industrial activities in the language of operations and their conditions - the division of labor, management. Simultaneously, the technology is characterized by the quality, economy, and standardization directives; rational description of production processes, their optimization; and training of the new type specialists - technologists. The author considers three stages of technology development. He also points out the characteristic features and the main types of technology: production, engineering, large techno-social projects, and global technologies. In conclusion the author discusses the conditions for the development of new technologies and shares his opinion on the anthropogenic civilization crisis and the ways to overcome it.