Philosophy of Technology: Chapter 19 (Stephen J. Kline)

"What is Technology" (1958)

Kline emphasizes the need for a clear definition of technology, however, he identifies a conflict in the attempts to define it: 1) technology is used to describe material things, actions, processes, methods, and systems; and 2) technology is used symbolically to represent procedures and progress. His article is an attempt to "unpack" the term, and in so doing he suggests that there are 4 usages for technology:

1. hardware or artifacts (any thing/end product manufactured by humans)
   
2. sociotechnical system of manufacture (all elements needed to manufacture things)
   
3. knowledge, technique, know-how, or methodology for accomplishing tasks (information, skills, processes, and procedures needed to accomplish tasks)
   
4. sociotechnical system of use (combination of hardware and people to accomplish tasks that we could not perform without such systems, extending human capacities)

In comparing humans to other animals, he states that we are the "only species that purposefully makes innovations in our sociotechnical systems in order to (hopefully) improve their functioning" (212). This "purposeful innovation" separates us from other animals, in Kline's mind, more than any other human characteristic. He calls us "lords of the planet," but states that to rule well, we need to understand the source of our powers and how they are used.