Contingency of technology and strong program of Donald MacKenzie
https://doi.org/10.28995/2073-6401-2019-8-248-261
Abstract
This article deal with the idea of contingency in technological development as it presented in works of Donald Angus MacKenzie. From his point of view, the main focus in sociological studies of technological development should be shifted from understanding it through the lenses of “natural trajectories” to grasp it as a result of social construction. In this sense, construction is understood not as the purposeful influence of society on technological progress, but as a complex interweaving of various interests and expectations, which, rather, forms the horizon of the desired development, than merely planning it. Also, MacKenzie supposes that economic approaches to the study of technology should become more open to the influence of sociological ideas. Such concepts as technological determinism or the natural trajectory of development limit the potential of both firms and scientific research. Given the complexity and uncertainty of technology, it is necessary to use new methods to study it. Thus, according to MacKenzie, the “ethnoaccountancy” can shed light on how firms correlate profits and R & D costs in different regions of the world, which means it can enrich both sociological and economic understanding of technology. Describing the approach of MacKenzie as a whole, one can conclude that it is based on extensive empirical material, while the author himself relies on openness to new approaches and issues, combining them into a specific bricolage, which is a model of interdisciplinary research.
About the Author
N. P. Zvolev
Russian State University for the Humanities
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Nilolai P. Zvolev, postgraduate student
bld. 6, Miusskaya Square, Moscow, GSP-3, 125993
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Review
For citations:
Zvolev N.P. Contingency of technology and strong program of Donald MacKenzie. RSUH/RGGU BULLETIN. Series Philosophy. Social Studies. Art Studies. 2019;(3):248-261. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.28995/2073-6401-2019-8-248-261
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