Technology has always been part of human activity. It is present in every sphere of life. Technology is the total set of any human methods, skills, techniques, and procedures utilized in the development of goods and services or in their successful achievement of specific goals, for instance scientific research. It is also the totality of any systems created to make information obtainable by a human being in an efficient and effective manner.
The Schatzberg Model incorporates two important categories of analysis in order to give rise to a more general framework. They are cultural and technological. Using this approach, we attempt to understand how people in society relate to technology. Specifically, we analyze two important dimensions of the culture and technology debate: technology as a cultural phenomenon, and technology as a social artifact.
The cultural approach examines how individuals and groups within a society conceptualize technology. This is based on the assumption that all knowledge, not just scientific knowledge, is socially constructed and that technology is equally subjective according to the existing social structures. Accordingly, all knowledge about technologies is cultural knowledge. According to the cultural approach, technology as a social artifact is determined by its incorporation into particular cultures. This view is similar to the representational theory of science, in which knowledge is studied not only as objective and empirical data but as part of the culture it originates from.
The second approach focuses on technology as a human life form. This approach examines scientific knowledge and the impact it has on the performance of human life. According to this approach, human beings learn and develop through a process of critical analysis, which analyzes both the positive and negative aspects of scientific knowledge. In so doing, the goal is to construct technology that will help humans live better lives.
The question as to whether philosophy of science has been valuable for the progress of society is one that has been addressed by many philosophers. Aristotle argued that practical reasoning is the best type of understanding, since it is based on factual evidence. He also pointed out that technology forms part of the historical progression of man. According to Schatzberg, however, practical reasoning is only part of the process, since in twenty-first century technological systems tend to become the products of human culture and not the outcome of scientific discoveries. Thus, he claimed that Aristotle’s view that knowledge of reality is independent of the causal factors which affect the changes of technology is false.
According to Schatzberg, the twentieth century will be the age of applied science and technology. Applied science and technology, he said, will make possible the development of a democratic society, where everyone can have a say in how new technologies are developed. In addition, applied science and technology will provide a solid foundation for the liberal arts. Furthermore, he predicted that the arts would benefit from a technology perspective, and that their long-term position in society would be strengthened.