Perspectives on Technology Evolution

Scholars come up with a variety of hypotheses or claims to explain advantages of technology. If I look at the works of the authors Lenski, White, and Toffler, there are various perspectives on this subject, including sociologist, anthropologist, journalistic, and futuristic perspectives. According to Lenski, technological evolution is the product of socio-cultural shifts dependent on invention and extinction. According to White, they are harnessing resources, and cultural growth aids in the advancement of technology. Finally, Toffler points out that social and technological revolutions result in drastic changes that place man in a state of shock in the future, resulting in a slew of inventions. When we examine the three perspectives, we will see that they have certain parallels, such as using social changes as the basis of new and sophisticated inventions aimed at improving and making the life of man comfortable.

In conclusion, the three perspectives by Lenski, White, and Toffler have similarities and differences. Firstly, all the three views on technological evolution base their arguments on social change. Also, the authors argue that technology evolves as a result of the changing human needs to improve and make their lives better. Both White and Lenski argue that the innovations can lead to new additional element or extinction through eliminating and replacing some of the old items. Another similarity in all the three views is that agriculture lays a foundation for the evolution of other technological tools such as machines, steam engines, as well as infrastructure. On the contrary, one of the major differences is the source of technological changes. While Lenski argues that socio-cultural changes lead to the innovations, White posits that it is as a result of harnessing energy, and Toffler sticks to the industrial revolution. Another difference is the setting in time whereby Lenski and White build from early man civilizations of simple tools out of crafting whereas Toffler focuses on current rapid changes and expectations of the future which influence the innovations and confusion of man at present. In my opinion, Lenski and Toffler give the comprehensive explanations on the evolution of technology. The reason is that they map out the changing needs of man, the roots of technological innovations and extinctions, current structures of inventions, and the socialization process of this information to the rest of the world.



References

Elwell, F. (2013). Lenski’s evolutionary theory. Faculty.rsu.edu. Retrieved on September 12, 2017 from: http://www.faculty.rsu.edu/users/f/felwell/www/Theorists/Essays/Lenski2.htm

Fretwell, J. (2015). The keys to student engagement in the future shock classroom. The Blue Review. Retrieved on September 12, 2017 from: https://thebluereview.org/student-engagement-future-shock-classroom/

White, L. (1943). Energy and the evolution of culture. American Anthropologist, 45(3), 335-356. http://dx.doi.org/10.1525/aa.1943.45.3.02a00010