Langdon Winner (1993): Upon Opening the Black Box and Finding It Empty: Social Constructivism and the Philosophy of Technology
The Social Construction of Technology, or Social Constructivism, is a theory introduced by Wiebe Bijker and Trevor Pinch. The theory proposes that the development of technology is an interactive sociotechnical process within relevant social groups (e.g users, producers). As a methodology, social constructivism analyses artefacts in the context of society and explores the dynamics of technological change. According to Pinch and Bijker (1987), social constructivism is “fundamentally a sociological approach towards technology”. This school of research attempts to understand the mechanisms behind different social groups’ interpretations of technological artefacts.
In his article titled “Upon Opening the Black Box and Finding It Empty: Social Constructivism and the Philosophy of Technology”, Langdon Winner (1993) presented a critique of social constructivism; noting that while there are definitely positive facets of social constructivism, there are also significant complications with the methodology. The aspects of social constructivism that he finds valuable include its conceptual rigor, its concern for specifics and its attempts to provide empirical models of technological change that better reveal the actual course of events (Winner, 1993). Despite this, Winner is adamant about the narrow confines of the social constructivist perspective. In his article, Winner (1993, p. 368) explores four specific limitations of social constructivism:
A disregard for social consequences: Social constructivist writing explains how technologies come to be, however it ignores the consequences of technologies and the impac...
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When it comes to the definition of technology in their articles, both Carr and Cascio have similarities and differences. Both authors are debating about the use of technology in today’s society. Both of their articles touch base on the ideals of “what technology is” in their perspectives. Carr believes that technology is making us want the quick path to information or common knowledge and says the Internet is “a machine designed for the efficient and automated collection, transmission, and manipulation of information”. Cascio also believes th...
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This is magnanimously echoed by Mackenzie & Wajcman, who state that technology can only be understood as the product of social preferences, bureaucratic mandates, and economic pressures. The import from this statement is that social shaping of technology proponents are concerned mainly with the social forces that give rise to certain technologies, rather than the social effects that result from certain technologies. The social constructivist aspect of the social shaping of technology theory is a great way to demonstrate how technologies inadvertently emerge from procedures of choice and negotiation between relevant social groups to realize the social interests they
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Technological determinism “sees technology as the cause of cultural and social change” (Morris, 2013). Within technological determinism, there are two different types. Hard technological determinism is “an oversimplified, cause and effect explanation for social change” (Johnson, 2013). Soft technological determinism views “technology is one of many social factors that drive social change” (Johnson, 2013). Viewing the Internet as one of the many factors in shaping social change is a technological determinist view. Young a...
Technology is crucial in influencing society, therefore it is imperative to understand what influences technological development and how it changes society, such as social shaping and theories of technological determinism. Langdon Winner supports the social determination of technology through the findings of others and his theories of politically influenced technologies, thus Winner accounts for technological determinism through defining the theory in this context.
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Today, Americans are faced with the increasing change of technology in our everyday life. Sometimes the change happens and we do not realize how it affects our lives. I think it is always a good idea to talk to someone that is older than yourself, like your grandparents to remind you of the times in their younger years. Hopefully, that will open your eyes to the changes we face in this generation and the generation to come. In this chapter, the author explores the relationship of changing technology to changes in both the environment and social institutions.
Technology allows culture to evolve by creating solutions to problems by removing constraints that exist. Every invention and concept is expanded on to create the utmost perfect solution. Although this process can take decades, or even centuries, to actually develop a proficient resolution, the end result is what advances society industrially. There are conflicting views, however, if these advances are beneficially or maliciously affecting society (Coget). There are three kinds of people in regards to the attitude toward technology: technophiles, technophobes, and those who aren't biased in either regard (Coget). Technophiles understand that the world adapts to the advances in technology and uses them to improve their lives (Tenner). Technophobes observe technology as damaging or are uncomfortable in using it (DeVany). It is undeniable that technology is ever-expanding, thus peaking curiosity to uncover what fuels the fear behind the technophobes. Our focus is concentrated on the technophiles and the technophobes . I will begin with the latter as they contribute greatly to the ov...
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