Sunday, January 21, 2018

Techne, Technology, Technicology

It is difficult to infer from common usage of the term 'technology' a consistent definition of it.  For example, an electric car is 'technological', but a wheel rarely is.  But the terminological problem is deeper than one of consistency.  For, strictly speaking, 'technology' means 'the logic of Techne', or 'the study of Techne'.  Thus, constituting the former would be the interaction of the mental and physical dimensions of Knowing-How, the extension of the interaction to inert implements, etc.  Hence, as applied to a vaguely delimited class of inventions, that term is a misnomer.  However, it is too deeply entrenched to return it to its proper usage, so, for that purpose, 'technicology' can be used.  Thus, "the abuse of technology", in common parlance might be a coherent phrase, but "the abuse of technicology" could not be, i. e. since 'abuse' contradicts 'knowing how'.

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