An Evolutionary Account of Technological Development
If 'nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution' (Theodosius Dobzhansky, 1973) , then, does nothing in technology make sense except in the light of evolution? This study will seek to construct an evolutionary account of technological development. To this end, it wil...
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| Format: | Others |
| Language: | English en |
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2015
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| Online Access: | http://tuprints.ulb.tu-darmstadt.de/4332/1/%20PhD%20Dissertation%20%2B%20CV%20PDF.pdf Faghihian, Mehrdad <http://tuprints.ulb.tu-darmstadt.de/view/person/Faghihian=3AMehrdad=3A=3A.html> : An Evolutionary Account of Technological Development. Technische Universität, Darmstadt [Ph.D. Thesis], (2015) |
| Summary: | If 'nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution' (Theodosius Dobzhansky, 1973) , then, does nothing in technology make sense except in the light of evolution?
This study will seek to construct an evolutionary account of technological development. To this end, it will consider and analyse a variety of theoretical proposals. In this thesis I will survey existing evolutionary accounts found in socio-cultural and engineering sciences, and will evaluate how these theories have been formulated. The study will look at evidence and theory, and it will consider the formalisation, visualisation and conceptualisation of ancestral-descent relationships in socio-technical systems.
In recent years, this area of study has gained momentum among experts from different academic, scientific and theoretical backgrounds, particularly those working in the fields of theoretical and engineering science, technology, and in the development of social-technical systems. 21st century biologists, social scientists, philosophers, economists, and technologists have instigated lively and thought-provoking interdisciplinary discussions about the feasibility of quantifying and modelling macro and microevolution in technology. Neo-Darwinian theory and modern synthesis theory have prepared a framework for a more effective discussion than ever before. The question asked by many researchers in this area is how microevolution can bring about macro evolutionary events in socio-technical systems. However, any evolutionary account of technology requires the application of conceptual tools and special theoretical foundations for study that do not necessarily match those traditionally used in the study of the organic world. Therefore, to address how microevolution can influence macroevolution in technological design, it is important to establish an evolutionary account of modular systems in technology in order to depict the patterns and processes that have evolved over time in the process of design.
The main principles that govern Darwin’s evolutionary scheme according to natural selection suggest that every system in nature uses variation, reproduction and heritability in order to evolve. The simplicity of the general principles that govern the theory of evolution in biology has enabled it to be generalised as a theoretical framework in other academic and research fields. However, the existence of directionality and intentionality in the production of artefacts makes it necessary to extend the definition of, and to re-examine, evolutionary mechanisms and classic notions of synthesis. For example, Simondon's theory of concretization considers the horizontal transmission of technicality in systems. Additionally, Baldwin and Clark argue that the theory of modularity is a powerful conceptual tool which can be used in different fields, and this theory sheds light on how extended evolutionary operators work in technological systems.
It is possible to find similarities between evolution in natural history and the developmental history of modern technology. Historical objects in the two fields are connected together through the idea of reproductive descent. This thesis will investigate how the unit of selection affects the process of evolution and the hierarchical classification of modular systems, and how evolutionary mechanisms bring about evolutionary change in design space through time. It will explore how different evolutionary operators interact to cause 'phenotypic' effects. The main challenge of the thesis will be to explain developmental patterns found in socio-technical systems, and in the biological selective regime, into an extended synthesis. To this end, a scientific investigation of shared research is required, and emphasis will be placed on how this unifying approach can delineate evolutionary mechanisms, functional theory and evolutionary methodology of design, evolutionary operators, and phenotypic-genotypic distinction in technology.
It is apparent that evolutionary theory can be used for theoretical planning in the growth and development of technical-social systems. The basic principles of Darwin’s theory of evolution notes that each system (which can), under a selective regime, achieves properties including variation, reproduction and heritability, in order that the system can evolve. Academics who study the growth and development of technology in the context of an evolutionary-historical process often use the idea of genetic transfer for inspiration.
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