Technology Education: Beyond the “Technology is Applied Science” Paradigm

In the early days of the development of philosophy of technology as a discipline that reflects on technology, one finds the opinion that technology is applied science. (Bunge, 1966 speaks about “technology” and “applied science” as “synonyms”). Gardner (1994) shows how Francis Bacon already defended the thesis that technology should be applied science and that we find this opinion time and again in later literature. It is then suggested that there is a more or less straightforward path from that scientific knowledge to the technological product. This opinion for some time functioned as a paradigm for the philosophy of technology.