IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - December 2020 - 72

and social formations. In this context, the various
achievements of different societies have been a function
of their differing attitudes and social, historical, climatic,
and intellectual conditions. These achievements have
not been confined to a particular nation or historical
period, especially thanks to common ground that has
existed between nations, and also as a result of communication between nationals and cultures. Many of these
achievements are from the artistic and literary heritage
of various nations, and also include tools that are used
in everyday life. Each of these achievements has been
dedicated to solving different shortcomings that exist
within people's lives, and these solutions have been
transferred to other societies for the same purposes.

The transfer of technology to nonindustrialized societies with their
own histories, civilizations, and
backgrounds has led to the emergence
of cultural issues and conflicts
specific to the modern period.

The modern era, which began in Europe after the
Renaissance, and peaked in its universality and expansion in the last two centuries, has been characterized by
some distinctive features. One of the most important
and impressive features of this era is the expanding role
of technology in human life. Today, people have
become so technology-driven across the globe that it is
hardly possible to imagine life without technology in the
recent decades. Due to the development of technologies, especially communication technologies, the transfer of technical devices is taking place at a dazzling
speed today; perhaps this is a reason why many people
talk about a " global village. "
The rapid transfer of a given technology from a society where that technology fits its society's cultural,
social. and historical background and has developed on
that basis, to societies with different cultures and technological backgrounds, has led to many consequences
for both the technology and the target community. Many
societies that have had great civilizations and cultures
(which is the accumulation of multi-millennial human
interactions in a particular geographical and historical
setting), have lost their identity in the onslaught of the

technological life of the modern age. In some cases,
communities have experienced intense and sometimes
ferocious resistance in their confrontation with the new
technologically-driven lifestyle. This has caused a lot of
damage to the people and culture of those communities.1 Hence, an analysis of the interaction of technology
and new cultural contexts is important, especially for its
effects on the global periphery.2 This requires, on the
one hand, sociological and psychological studies to
examine the status of the societies that are confronted
with new technologies. It also requires a profound philosophical analysis of technology and society, and the
relation between these two concepts as they relate to
human beings. Sociological and psychological data,
without the presence of a theoretical framework, cannot
respond to the vast set of questions that arise around
this issue.
Major works that deal with the " transfer of technology " or " imported technology " either have management
approaches,3 or have addressed this issue from the perspective of developed countries,4 and view the issue as
being concerned solely with optimal transfer methods,
regardless of how these technologies impact the target
communities.5 Issues created in societies where technology conflicts with the existing culture are so acute and
deep that mere managerial or cultural studies cannot
identify the resulting problems and find a firm solution.
To this end, we have explored the philosophy of technology to deal with technology and how it conflicts with
the interests and dynamics of the culture of the affected
society. In his famous book, Thinking Through Technology, Carl Mitcham discusses two important approaches
to the philosophy of technology. The first analyzes technology and its methods, and also questions and examines different aspects of human life from the
perspective of technology and, according to Mitcham
himself, turns technology into a paradigm for understanding other aspects of human life. Mitcham calls this
approach " engineering philosophy of technology. " The
second approach. which is known as " humanities philosophy of technology, " seeks the meaning of technology and life in the era of technology from a perspective
that lies outside technology, and more from the

1
The Samurai rebellion, will be discussed below as a salient example of
this point.
2
The term " periphery " is used loosely here (and not in the more restricted
way that it is used in political philosophy), to refer to communities that are
outside the small group of " developed " countries.
3
For example, see [23]. In this paper, one can find many references, and
according to them, authors give management implications for better technology transfer.
4
For example, see [35, pp. 141-156]. Although this is an original and impressive textbook, it ignores serious cultural conflicts and wants to solve the
problem of technology transfer by means of " innovation " and " expertise. "
5
Also there are sociological points of view. For a look at sociological views
that have been devoted to technology transfer, refer to [37].

IEEE TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY MAGAZINE

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DECEMBER 2020

IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - December 2020

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