Influence of Culture on Human Technology :: Sanders The Men We Carry in Our Minds

Influence of Culture on Human Technology The influence that culture has had on human technology is undeniable. unmatched could thus far go as far as to say that sometimes, it is difficult to distinguish amongst the two. The term culture is extremely difficult to define because of the vast force of meanings that people attach to it. For this very reason, it is imperative to examine the most basic notion of culture, namely the totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all former(a) products of human bailiwick and thought (as taken from www.dictionary.com). Given this definition, it seems reasonable to conclude that human technologies fall under the category of all other products of human work and thought. Yet, although human technologies are closely linked to culture, we must draw certain distinctions between the two. Today, for example, pop culture is thought of as the exportation of American music, food, and cinema. Thi s is a legitimate example of a culture because it encompasses the ideas/beliefs/traditions of a vast group of people. Computers on the other hand, although great as inventions, cannot be considered a culture. One might argue that computers are part of a culture, or may have even led to a culture (namely, the information age), but in and of themselves, computers and other such human technologies are just that, technologies. Technologies can either be of the mechanical/scientific sort (such as the car) or they can be a type of innovative idea that changes life in some profound expressive style. Having established workable definitions for both culture and human technology, we can direct deal with the question of how culture has affected human technology. Given the broad scope of the question, there are several ways to answer it. One way of doing this would be to examine several different cultural movements or characteristics (i.e. art, religion, etc.) and see how they ha ve helped create different human technologies. Another way of analyzing the relationship between the two however, is to look at a human technology and see how culture has altered it. This will be the method employed in this essay. I) trust and WarOne of the most obvious examples of a culture or a cultural aspect influencing a human technology is the relationship between religion and the nation-state.