Technique 1‒2‒3

Abstract

The periodization of technical epochs is associated by the author with what “legal substance” people operate with as the main subject of their activity. On this basis, the thesis of a fundamental shift in the role of technology is put forward - for the first time in the history of mankind, technology acquires the quality of a subject of historical movement. The age of Matter gave humanity a technique that can be called “Technique-1”. This technique has revealed to humans the degree of freedom in the world of substance, matter, and nature, as they are given to humans without the help of science. The next epoch is based on the conquest of Energy. The leap from manipulating matter to mastering the secrets of energy production, storage, and use has taken humans far beyond mere sensory perception. Between the finished product and the starting material there was an intermediary-engineering equipment “Technique-2”. The essence of this technique is to transform one substance into another. The most important transformation is the one that allows you to get, save and use energy. The current era is a time of transformation of Information. Discoveries that turn into opportunities to do almost everything imaginable, like nanotechnology, 3D printers, or editing the human genome-this is the inner spring of modern “Technique-3”. Each new phase entails major social shifts. Technique-3 has crossed a significant threshold: Before the information age, technology was a communication strategy that served as an intermediary between people, that is, technology did not have the property of subjectivity. The situation is changing, and technology is acquiring new social functions. This fundamental transition has yet to be understood in all its components and consequences.