History of Technology and Philosophy

By americanate
  • Period: 429 BCE to 347 BCE

    Plato (Writing)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyIKayNXTPY
    Greek philosopher Plato writes some of the earliest Western philosophical works. As a pseudo-student of Socrates, Plato learned directly from Socrates and others as both an interlocutor and a listener of the famous Socratic conversations. Socrates himself never wrote any of his thoughts down, but Plato wrote many dialogues that go into Socratic and Platonic philosophy. Plato even founded a philosophical academy where written works could be studied.
  • 150 BCE

    Roman Concrete

    Roman Concrete
    The Roman road network covered most of the Roman Republic and Empire. While the road was used primarily as a means of exchanging goods and transportation of military legions, the roads also facilitated the transfer of written goods such as financial records and books. Among these were the works of Plato and Aristotle as well as other philosophers of the time.
  • 313

    Edict of Milan (Law)

    https://historyofphilosophy.net/latin-fathers
    Emperor Constantine in the Byzantine (East Roman) Empire officially declared himself Christian in 313 CE with the Edict of Milan. Constantine officially made Christianity the state religion, which begins the explosion of Christianity philosophy that comes in Medieval Europe later. Constantine's use of law here allowed people to practice theology on a far wider scale, a branch of philosophy dealing with religion.
  • 725

    Clock

    Clock
    When the Chinese invented the clock in 725 CE, they created something without realizing: specific points in time as a unit of measurement. As more and more people relied on clocks to schedule their days, philosophers began both scheduling times to do philosophy and thinking about the nature of time. This metaphysical question led to many other branches and questions in philosophy.
  • 1450

    Printing Press

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjbMcQ-ThZo
    The printing press made written texts far more accessible than previous. On top of making scribes obsolete, the printing press revolutionized the way people do philosophy. Literacy rates gradually increased, and more people had access to philosophy -- including new and official translations of Greek, Latin, and Muslim works, as well as Christian theology.

  • Steam Engine

    Steam Engine
    The steam engine created many avenues for new technologies to form. The relevant one is the later locomotive, which increased transportation of both goods and people. More people had access to various other locations and people, and suddenly people could transport large quantities of items comparatively quickly -- including large shipments of books.

  • Typewriter

    https://thesocietypages.org/cyborgology/2012/07/26/nietzsches-transformative-typewriter/
    The typewriter increased the efficiency by which people could produce and read texts. Philosophers who were used to writing suddenly found themselves able to produce way more words than they could with a quill alone, and a new wave of philosophy as the Industrial Revolution dominated through Europe and America.
  • Period: to

    Internet

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsdFNTeGqIg
    ARPANET in 1983 CE created a new avenue with which to communicate, but only between those institutions that were connected to it. As the internet developed into its full potential by 1990, the world had become more connected than ever before. The internet allowed philosophers to communicate and exchange ideas instantly, and even allowed nonprofessional philosophers to engage with others.