How to understand the relation between technology and society better? A comparative analysis on three currently dominant perspectives on this intimate relationship in a techno-scientific society

(07/2010)

Abstract

Technologies have the power to constitute and change our lives. Societies in turn build, (mis)use, keep or abandon and give meaning to technologies. How to understand the complex relationship between technology and society? This paper aims at introducing three currently dominant perspectives on the technology-society relationship: technological determinism, 'technology as neutral tool', and constructivism. By presenting some of their strengths as well as weaknesses, this paper is intended to provide an introductory understanding of different theoretical approaches to technology and society.