Comparing Different Perspectives on Technology Evolution

Comparing Different Perspectives on Technology Evolution
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Comparing Different Perspectives on Technology Evolution
Introduction
In the contemporary society, technology has brought a lot of innovations in the society. As people try to come up with ways of exploiting the available resources, technological changes occur as a result. A lot of researchers have viewed the impact of technology from different viewpoints. Some of the arguments of these researchers are similar while others are contradicting. The evolution of technology is influenced by continuous innovations that occur in society in a bid to create new opportunities and promises. As much as the future remains unknown, technology advancements and innovations continue to restructure the way people live. Furthermore, technology encourages people to develop new habits associated with technological innovations. Consequently, these changes occur as society looks for new ways of exploitation of resources to meet their demands. Evolution in technology takes different routes to meet the demands of the ever-changing world. For instance, globalization has been influenced by the evolution of faster computers and internet connectivity, which has converted the global society into a village. To understand the evolution of technology, analysts, scholars, and sociologists have created different theories and concepts in their effort of explaining how technology has evolved. The purpose of this paper is to compare three perspectives of the evolution of technology, as advocated by Gerhard Lenski, Leslie White, and Alvin Toffler. 
Gerhard Lenski: Social-Cultural Evolution  
Gerhard Lenski's approach to the evolution of technology is based on a social, cultural evolution perspective. Social-cultural evolution is a term that refers to all theories of cultural and social evolution. According to Lenski, 'all societies evolve to meet the changing nature of natural and social environments.' (Lenski, 2015) Concerning this, his view on technological progress means that it is the most fundamental factor in societies' evolution. Furthermore, he argues that these changes are either influenced by innovation or extinction. Therefore, changes as a result of evolution have led to advancements in technology. These advancements are brought by continuous access to new information on how to exploit and use the available resources. He also proposes that these innovations are mainly caused by passing of more improved genes from one generation to the other. Therefore Lenski focuses on four main stages of human development to explain these advancements. In these four stages, Lenski says that 'information is passed through the following order; genetically, individually, signs, and symbols or language.' (Lenski, 2015) These factors form the basic necessity for people to invent measures that will adapt to these changes in their social, cultural environment. The adaptation process is what has caused the evolution of technology. 
Leslie White- Energy Control and Harnessing 
Leslie White's approach to the evolution of technology is based on the perspe...