Philosophy of Science and Technology
APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY
Philosophy of
Science and Technology
“technological choice and application that is small-scale, labor-intensive, energy- efficient, environmentally sound, and locally controlled”
- Wikipedia -
What is Appropriate Technology?
✕
Technology is necessary for development.
✕
The 90% of resources in engineering are invested to the technological development for the rich 10%.
✕
The other 90% need technology.
✕
The current way of technological development is not sustainable.
Why Appropriate Technology?
✕ The other 90%
✕ Local
✕ Autonomy
✕ Small-scale
KEY word
✕ Mahatma Gandhi – portable spinning wheel
✕ Ernst E. Schumacher –
Small is Beautiful!
✕ Jimmy Carter – Office of A. T.
✕ Victor Papanek –
Design for the Real World
✕ Paul Polak
– Out of Poverty
The History of A. T.
Examples of Appropriate Technology
Examples of Appropriate Technology
자료: http://qiuyiwu.com/Qdesign/2011/11/wheelchair/
Example: WHEEL + CHAIR
자료: http://qiuyiwu.com/Qdesign/2011/11/wheelchair/
Example: WHEEL + CHAIR
Appropriate Technology
Environmental Movement
Green Development
Back-to-Earth Movement Slow City
Design for the other 90%
Relative areas and activities
✕ Solution for world poverty
✕ Counter-cultural movement
Two major motivations/trends of A.T.
A.T. as an Alternative culture
www.Touch4Good.co m
자료: International Finance Corporation
A.T. Bottom of Pyramid, New Business
✕ Recognition that the current development of science and technology is not appropriate.
✕ Science and technology for the rich and the strong
✕ Ignoring cultural contexts
✕ No purpose
✕ Not-sustainable
The significance of A.T. in our time
✕ Current understanding and practice of A. T. is meaningful, but not sustainable.
✕ A. T. for the other 90%
- a quick answer to a fundamental problem
- ultimate goal unclear
✕ A. T. as an counter culture - ideal, but naïve
- Why hasn’t this been successful?
Evaluation
✕ It is important that the main stream engineers has begun to acknowledge (consciously and unconsciously) the inappropriateness of
modern technology.
✕ The general interest in appropriate technology should lead to a new paradigm in science
and technology in the future.
The Implication of A.T. in our time
✕ Who should take initiative?
✕ Which context should we considered important?
✕ What would be an ultimate goal?
→ How could we make A. T. sustainable, practically and theoretically?
Questions for the Future A.T. movement
✕ Who should take initiative?
✕ engineers and experts + citizens
✕ Which context should we considered important?
✕ technological divide, environmental crisis
✕ What would be an ultimate goal?
✕ a better world, a good society, a humane life
From A.T. to a new paradigm in science and technology
Efficiency
Time
The Reality: Technological divide
✕ Reduce the Gap!
✕ It is not that simple. . .
✕ Typically optimistic view on technology .
Often proposed suggestion
✕ A technology or a technological system is considered to be more desirable in terms of its production and consumption,
✕ if it can eventually reduce the technological gap;
or
✕ if it is more accessible to more people.
A new criteria for progress
Efficiency
Time
진보의 새로운 패러다임
Ernst E. Schumacher (1911-1977)
QUESTIONS?
http://flic.kr/p/qDy63
