Technological evolution is the name of a science and technology studies theory developed by Czech philosopher Radovan Richta.
Contents |
Theory of technological evolution
According to Richta and later Bloomfield [1] [2], technology (which Richta defines as "a material entity created by the application of mental and physical effort to nature in order to achieve some value") evolves in three stages: tools, machine, automation. This evolution, he says, follows two trends: the replacement of physical labour with more efficient mental labour, and the resulting greater degree of control over one's natural environment, including an ability to transform raw materials into ever more complex and pliable products.
Stages of technological development
The pretechnological period, in which all other animal species remain today (aside from some avian and primate species) was a non-rational period of the early prehistoric man.
Theoretical implications
The process of technological evolution culminates with the ability to achieve all the material values technologically possible and desirable by mental effort. An economic implication of the above idea is that intellectual labour – and thus intellectual property, will become increasingly more important relative to material labor and physical goods. The creation of markets for intellectual property (such as universities, book stores, and patent-trading companies) is therefore an indication that a civilization is transforming into the final stages of technological evolution. Interestingly, this highlights the importance underlining the debate over intellectual property rights in conjunction with the internet. With growing disintermediation in said property markets and growing concerns over the protection of intellectual property rights it is not clear what form markets for intellectual property rights will take with the evolution of the information age.
See also
- Differential technological development
- History of technology
- Kardashev scale
- Social progress
- Sociocultural evolution
- Technological singularity
- Technology development
