Essay Example on Evolution of Technology: Lenski, White & More

The evolution in technology occurs as people bring about innovations in society. As people seek new ways of meeting their demands and exploiting resources, technological changes occur in the process. Sociologists and anthropologists have developed different perspectives among other scholars with varying aspects in explaining technological evolution. In this work, three views on the evolution of technology will be discussed and compared. These are the works by Gerhard Lenski, Leslie White, and Alvin Toffler.

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According to Gerhard Lenski, he stated that societies evolve to meet changes both in the social and natural environment (Lenski, 2015). Such changes can either be extinct or innovation, and innovative changes have, over time, led to technological advancement. The advancements in technology have made it easy to access information, which has, in turn, show how resources can be exploited in the environment. The propagation of this information has taken place through the passing of genes from one generation to another, the ability to apprehend the information, and the use of such information in understanding the ability to master the language and the logic. Lenski has linked technological advancement to factors such as the existence of cultural information, the genetic heritage, social interaction with other societies, the growing population, and human needs, among other several factors. As a result of these factors, people have been forced to invent adaptive measures to the changes that have taken place in their social and cultural environments. Due to the process of adapting to these changes, it has resulted in technological evolution (Lenski, 2015). Lenski believes that the key driver of human progress is information, that is, the more humans know how to harness and make use of the available resources that is the more we get to advance the interests of human societies. Lenski recognizes four significant stages of communication. The first stage is the passing of genes from one generation to another, which is also termed as biological communication. The second stage is sentience, whereby we grow our abilities to be aware of and understand the world around us. At the same time, our adaptation to the earth's environment is facilitated. The third stage is becoming capable of logic, and the last stage is the mastering of language, writing, and the ability to create symbols (Lenski, 2015).

The perspective by Leslie White is based on the ability to control energy. White's primary argument is that the advancements in technology have majorly been contributed to by the ability of humans to tap more energy. According to him, technology evolves majorly due to the ability of humans and their attempts to solve survival problems (White, 2016). As a result, people have tried as much as they can to capture more energy to meet their needs. White states that efficiency and technological evolution much depend on the more energy gets harnessed. He believes that the growth of cultures significantly impacts technological evolution. According to him, the ability to harness more power and the extent to which technology advances is affected by culture are some of the critical factors. The evolution of culture is measured by the amount of energy it can harness. White provided five stages of human development in line with energy usage. There are two forms of energy used by people; their muscles, energy, and energy from domesticated animals. The agricultural revolution is achieved through the use of energy from plants (White, 2016). The fourth stage is where people use natural resources to create energy, including oil, gas, and coil. The last stage is where humans harness nuclear and atomic energy. The formula derived by White is "C = ET, C is cultural development, E is the energy consumed, and T is the technical factor efficiency" (White, 2016).

The perspective of Alvin Toffler focuses on what is desired as future shock. Toffler argues that people ought to derive the best adaptive measures than they had before (Richerson & Christiansen, 2013). The definition of future shock, according to Toffler, is the perception of change soon. Toffler is a social critic, journalist, and a futurist, and. In contrast, different intellectuals have an association with predictions and ideas about the things we have come to think of as the postindustrial era, and he stands out. According to this perception, there are social and technological changes in society, and many people in society get overwhelmed by these unprecedented changes. According to Toffler, there are three primary stages of societal development, and they include agrarian revolution, industrial development, and postindustrial growth (Richerson & Christiansen, 2013). He refers to revolutionary changes in the economy and society in a concept he terms as "waves." He further expresses the idea that humans have already passed through "waves," which is the first stage, and are currently in the process of entering the third one, which is believed to be the knowledge phase. Haller (2011) believes that the way of moving from the first wave to the current one was difficult and long and entailed significant changes in all dimensions and at the mental level. The current transition to society and the economy has been attributed to mental and physical modifications.

Lenski's viewpoint connects technological evolution to adaptive measures by humans to meet their needs. The argument by White links development to the methods used in capturing energy. The perspective considers technology as to key societal evolution factors (White, 2016). Both White and Lenski link the evolution of technology to the need for meeting different the different or many changes in society and human needs. According to Toffler, technological changes advancements can overwhelm people's ability. White and Lenski have not addressed the consequences of technological advancement in society. Technological advancements bring about a lot of environmental implications, and for this reason, Toffler's argument is the most effective. However, White and Lenski offer the most insightful information on the evolution of technology. The three theories treat technology as a critical factor contributing to societal evolution. Due to the need to continue meeting the ever-rising needs, there have been changes in technological aspects which has, in turn, impacted the nature of society. Another important factor is knowledge since it dictates the extent to which people can keep up with changes in technology. Where the three authors defer is in their ideas of the essential resource for the development of a society. According to Lenski, he believed that technology was the society's most important resource. White, on the other hand, believed that what drove society to develop was the harnessing of energy by the people and how this is done. Toffler argued and believed that the most important thing is information available to humans and that it led to what is known as information overload.

References

Lenski, G. (2015). Ecological-evolutionary theory: Principles and applications. Routledge. https://scholar.google.com/scholar_url?url=http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download%3Fdoi%3D10.1.1.212.1073%26rep%3Drep1%26type%3Dpdf&hl=en&sa=T&oi=gsb-gga&ct=res&cd=0&d=7145053355794602715&ei=THooXuO2B63JsQKz5qXYCA&scisig=AAGBfm3_Q3QFX2xv1BEzbpfw3f7MZ8G3SA

Richerson, P. J., & Christiansen, M. H. (Eds.). (2013). Cultural evolution: Society, technology, language, and religion (Vol. 12). MIT Press. https://books.google.co.ke/books?hl=en&lr=&id=p-vxCwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR5&dq=Richerson,+P.+J.,+%26+Christiansen,+M.+H.+(Eds.).+(2013).+Cultural+evolution:+Society,+technology,+language,+and+religion+(Vol.+12).+MIT+Press.&ots=gCtE5tq_Jk&sig=NTviIZUkE4lWqePSXk8StHHNKnI&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false

White, L. A. (2016). The evolution of culture: the development of civilization to the fall of Rome. Routledge. https://scholar.google.com/scholar_url?url=https://www.academia.edu/download/5286506/Metzner_2001_White_-_The_Evolution_of_Culture_-_The_Development_of_Civilization_to_the_Fall_of_Rome.pdf&hl=en&sa=T&oi=gsb-gga&ct=res&cd=0&d=1076856942526001120&ei=bnooXvyCCL2Fy9YPls2Q-Ak&scisig=AAGBfm12AG34PwAh0PsBjExYQ4Lfkqtjrw