Technology and change: The role of technology in the knowledge civilization era

Abstract

This chapter presents a reflection on the role of technology in the era of knowledge civilization. Diverse perceptions of this era, the concepts of three civilization eras vs. three waves, of a conceptual platform vs. an episteme of a civilization era, of the major changes at the end of industrial civilization era are recalled. The deepening separation of the three spheres of technology, hard science, and social science/ humanities is discussed. Upon reflection, it is shown that this separation results from the widely diverging episteme of these three cultural spheres. The contemporary philosophy of technology is briefly reviewed; it is shown that some of its writings disregard the opinions of technologists even when it comes to defining technology. The danger of misunderstandings resulting from such diverging opinions is stressed. © 2007 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.