82 L e progrès des sciences e t celu i des tech n iqu es
m y colleagues at th e U niversity of Leeds are freq u en tly in th e position of try in g to' explain w h y th e draftsm en succeed w ith th e ir techniques. A nd in th e bionsiocial sphere, such a s in agricultu re, th e 'difficulties are even greater.
M y last com m ent concerns th e effect of technology on science in th e m iddle period. To (be su re technology provided problem s a n d in stru m en ts to science, b u t th ere w as something even m ore im portant: a basic com ponent of th e new idea of “science” w hich w as advanced by th e founders of the “mechanical philosophy”. The case of Bacon is well known. I w ould rem in d th a t Descartes used Dioptics as a n illu stratio n of his M ethod; th ere h e sta rte d w ith physical theories of light and vision, proceeded to th e m athem atical problem s of th e shape of lenses, a n d con cluded w ith specifications' for a lens-grinding m achine.
D. J. de Solla Price
I should like to ad d a footnote to th e w ords of- Professor Daumas on th e problem of technology (French technique). It seems to me most useful and im p o rtan t to 'distinguish betw een tw o dimes, practically distinct a n d different in th e ir historical character. It is a m a tter of Low Technology a n d High Technology. As fo r th e Low Technology, it is an uncom fortable fact for th e historian th a t w ritin g an d th e w ritte n language are com paratively la te pieces of technology.
By th e tim e of this developm ent and, b y definition, th e end of p re historic tim es, m an h ad alread y acquired q u ite com plex techniques for housing, agriculture, w aterw orks, le a th e r tanning, dyeing, m etal w ork, weapons a n d all sorts of tools. S tarting on th e m ost e a rly tim es at such a high level, subsequent change w as quite gradual a n d slow until th e In du strial Revolution. W ith High Technology it is a qu ite different m atter. Beginning q u ite early, b u t flow ering in Hell'enistic times, th e re grew up a special devices technology of scientific in stru m en ts — astro nom ical devices, p la n e ta ry a n d other autom ata, astrolabes and geared m achines for calculation a n d dem onstration. I t is specially interesting th a t m uch of th is history is attested no t from te x ts b u t ra th e r from ex tan t artifacts in o u r m useum s. W hat is im p o rtan t about th is artisan trad itio n is th a t it gives ris e d irec tly to th e m edieval a n d renaissance schools of clockm akers and o th er m athem atical practitioners. These are most im portant, n o t o n ly because th ey dom inated th e experim ental philosophy of the X V IIth a n d la te r centuries, b u t also because they are th e trad itio n from w hich sp rin g th e m echam cdl techniques of th e in d u stria l revolution.
D iscussion 83
It has ibeen pointed ou t long ago th a t th e Clock is th e prototype m achine. Thus it is th e H igh Technology w hich in te ra c ts stro n g ly With science, but it is o n ly latte in its developm ent th a t th is trad itio n evolves in a form w h ere it tran sfo rm s the m eans of production a n d daily life previously dom inated by Low Technology.
V. I. O stolsky
T he lectu re of (Professor D aum as has d ra w n th e atte n tio n of Sympo sium ’s participan ts to one of th e m ost im p o rtan t dom ains o f historico- -scientific a n d historico-technological investigations, to th e problem of how arise a n d how shape th e m u tu al ties betw een science a n d tech nology.
The significance of this still m ost unsu fficiently exam ined problem h ard ly needs a n y p articu la r dem onstration. The enorm ous acceleration of th e scientific progress, characteristic of these days, is due — to a large ex ten t — to a constantly increasing interactio n a n d m u tu al p en etratio n of scientific know ledge and engineer experience. W ithout carefully considering a n d retracin g the history o f th e developm ent of those factors, we are unable to rig h tfu lly estim ate th e c u rre n t events a n d to establish th e ir actual causes a n d effects in th e sp h ere of science an d production, of economics a n d social relations.
The cognitive value of Professor D aum as’s le ctu re is q u ite obvious. His in itial theses — th e acknow ledgm ent of th e groundlessness o f th e classical opposition betw een science a n d technology, th e ascertain m en t of th e p lu ra lity of spheres of h u m an activities, w ith in th e bounds of w hich science a n d technology cannot be exam ined separately, th e affir m atio n of the continuity of links existing betw een th em w ith in th e space of th e Whole history of civilization — w ill co n stitu te a ratio n al basis for the subsequent research work. However, a s p a rtic u la r in v esti gations go on, th e re should — w e th in k — change a n d become m o re exactly defined th e p articu lar com ponents o f 'th e proposed gen eral con ception. So, in the course of such investigations th e re w ill m ore accu ra te ly clarify itself th e notion of constancy of th e (direct stim u latin g in fluence of technology upon science a n d w ill b e singled o u t some groups of n a tu ra l sciences (for instance, th e complex of biological disciplines), whose origin, developm ent a n d perfection w ere conditioned b y o th er needs an d oth er necessities of m ankind, w hile th e rap prochem ent to the dom ain of engineer activities took place o n ly in la ter periods. Thus, probably, m ore and m ore perceptible w ill be th e necessity of detailedly stu d y in g th e phenom ena of the rev erse in fluence ex erted b y science
