Skip to main content

Part of the book series: Philosophy and Technology ((PHTE,volume 11))

Abstract

The view that equates technology with applied science, that is, that blueprints for technological inventions can be straightforwardly derived from scientific theories or scientific knowledge in general, is historically and philosophically problematic.1 Historians of technology tend to reject this view because it makes science the principal dynamical factor behind the development of technology, and therefore leaves almost no room for social influences. Philosophers of technology have severely criticized this model, because it naively assumes that technological designs can be deduced from scientific theories by simply feeding those theories with appropriate boundary conditions. More generally, they claim that technological knowledge is different in nature from scientific knowledge.2

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Allen, J. S. (1981). “Steam Engines,” in A.W. Skempton (ed.), John Smeaton, FRS. London: Thomas Telford Limited, pp. 179–194.

    Google Scholar 

  • Babcock, G.H. (1886). “Substitutes for Steam.” Transactions of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 7: 680–741.

    Google Scholar 

  • Belt, H. van den & A. Rip (1984). Technologie-ontwikkeling: het Nelson-Winter/Dosi-model. Leiden: Lisbon/R-84/21.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bradshaw, G. (1992). “The Airplane and the Logic of Invention,” in R. N. Giere (ed.), Cognitive Models of Science, Minnesota Studies in the Philosophy of Science, vol. XV. Univ. of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cardwell, D. S. L. & R. L. Hills (1976). “Thermodynamics and Practical Engineering in the Nineteenth Century,” in A. R. Hall & N. Smith (eds.), History of Technology. London: Mansell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chant, C. (ed.) (1989). Science, Technology and Everyday Life1870–1950. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Desaguliers, J. T. (1751). De natuurkunde uit ondervindingen opgemnaakt, vol. 3. Amsterdam: Isaak Tirion. (Dutch translation of A course of Experimental Philosophy.)

    Google Scholar 

  • Farey, J. (1971). A Treatise on the Steam Engine, 2 vols. Newton Abbot: David & Charles Reprints. (Siginally published 1827.)

    Google Scholar 

  • Fox, R. (1976). “The Challenge of a New Technology: Theorists and the High-Pressure Steam Engine Before 1824,” in Sadi Carnot et l’essor de la thermnodynamnique. Paris: Éditions du Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 1976, pp. 149–168.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fox, R. (ed.) (1986). Sadi Carnot: Reflexions on the Motive Power of Fire. Manchester: Manchester Univ. Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hills, R. L. (1989). Power From Steam. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Hughes, T. P. (1989). American Genesis. New York: Penguin Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hutter, J. J. (1988). Toepassingsgericht onderzoek in de industrie; de ontwikkeling van kwikdamplampen bij Philips 1900–1940, Ph.D. Thesis. Eindhoven: University of Technology.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kline, R. [1987]. “Science and Engineering Theory in the Invention and Development of the Induction Motor, 1880–1900.” Technology and Culture, vol. 28, pp. 283–313.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kroes, P. A. (1985). “De technische relevantie van fundamenteel onderzoek; het Warmte-theorema van Nernst en de ammoniaksynthese,” in A. Sarlemijn (ed.), Van natuurfilosofie tot technische natuurkunde. Eindhoven: EUT report, Department of Physics, Eindhoven University of Technology, pp. 32–40.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kroes, P. A. (1991). “Steam Engines and the Concept of Efficiency; Characteristics of Technological Knowledge.” Methodology and Science. vol. 24. no. 2. pp. 79–97.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kroes, P. A. (1992). “On the Role of Design in Engineering Theories; Pambour’s Theory of the Steam Engine,” in P. A. Kroes & M. Bakker (eds.), Technological Development and Science in the Industrial Age. Dordrecht: Kluwer, pp. 69–98.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krug, K. (1981). “Zur Herausbildung der Technischen Thermodynamik am Beispiel der Wissenschaftlichen Schule von G. A. Zeuner.” NTM-Schriftenreihe Geschichte der Naturwissenschaften, Technik und Medizin, 18, no. 2, Leipzig, pp. 79–97.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mendelssohn, K. (1973). The World of Walter Nernst. London: Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mittasch, A. (1951). Geschichte der Amnmoniaksynthese. Weinheim: Verlag Chemie.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nernst, W. (1969). The New Heat Theorem. New York: Dover. (Originally published in German in 1917.)

    Google Scholar 

  • Newell, A. & H. A. Simon (1972). Human Problem Solving. New York: Prentice Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pacey, A. J. (1974). “Some Early Heat Engine Concepts and the Conservation of Heat.” British Journal for the History of Science, 7, no. 26, pp. 135–145.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pambour, G. de (1839). The Theory of the Steam Engine. London: John Weale.

    Google Scholar 

  • Payen, J. (1976). “La Pratique des machines a vapeur au temps de Carnot,” in Sadi Carnot et l’essor de la thermodynamique. Paris: Éditions du Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 1976, pp. 125–148.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rees, A. (1819). The Cyclopedia, or Universal Dictionary of Arts, and Literature. London.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Sarlemijn, A. (1987). “Analogy Analysis and Transistor Research.” Methodology and Science, 20 (3), pp. 40–61.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sarlemijn, A. & P. A. Kroes. “Technological Analogies and Their Logical Nature,” in P. T. Durbin (ed.), Technology and Contemporary Life. Dordrecht: Reidel, pp. 237–255.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, A. (1980). “The Newcomen Engine at Passy, France, in 1725: A Transfer of Technology Which Did Not Take Place.” Transactions of the Newcomen Society, 50, pp. 205–217.

    Google Scholar 

  • Staudenmaier, J. M. (1985). Technology’s Storytellers. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vermeij, E. (1989). Contextuele verschillen in de ontwikkeling van technische toepassingen van methaangisting. Master’s thesis. Eindhoven: University of Technology, Dept. of Philosophy and Social Sciences.

    Google Scholar 

  • Winograd, T. & F. Flores (1986). Understanding Computers and Cognition, Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1995 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Kroes, P. (1995). Technology and Science-Based Heuristics. In: Pitt, J.C. (eds) New Directions in the Philosophy of Technology. Philosophy and Technology, vol 11. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-8418-0_2

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-8418-0_2

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-90-481-4603-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-015-8418-0

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics