BIG HISTORY 2

PHILOSOPHY OF DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

NOTE: THE FIRST TWO PAGES OF THIS PART OF MODULE 2 WERE DERIVED FROM AN AVAILABLE MODULE ON THE
PHILOSOPHY OF DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY AUTHORED BY MR. JOVEN B. ESTEBAN.

Technology as ARTIFACTS

✓ Artifacts are what we often see around us: computers, mobile phones, mp3 players,
tables & chairs, cars, houses, bridges, bikes, etc.
✓ They are our immediate encounter with technology.

In this discussion, you will explore what artifacts are, the difference of artifacts from other objects
in the lifeworld, how they are situated in this world, and how they interact with others.

What are artifacts? In design and technology, artifacts are the outcome of design projects and
processes. In this case they are called technical artifacts. But what is common about these
artifacts?

Though these artifacts can be so different, do they have anything in common? You will realize
that these things (like shape and the materials used) are not random, but chosen deliberately to
make them fit for what they are designed for or for doing what they are supposed to do. A full
description of what an artifact is requires two stories: physical properties of the device and what
you can do with it- function.

In other words, an artifact is described in terms of:

• Its physical nature

• Its functional nature

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How are artifacts different from objects in the natural world?

Scenario: Suppose someone walks in a forest and picks up a thick branch of a tree to lean on. Is
that technology? After all, that someone has used an object for a
purpose.

Let’s say, another guy walks in the forest and uses a cane in going
out for his walk. Although the branch and the cane are used for
the same purpose, they have a different story.

The cane started as a branch or a piece of wood, and has been

modified considerably in order to be able to fulfill its role as a cane.

What is now the difference?

The branch is a natural object (not modified). Cane is an artifact
(modified). Therefore, based on this example, an artifact can be
described as any object that has been modified whether or not it
displays what it has been modified for.

In this case, these artifacts are human-made objects different from

natural objects, which are not human-made.

According to Aristotle, a Greek philosopher, natural things, since these are non-human made,
have their principles of generation and motion inside. Artifacts, on the other hand, are generated
only by outward causes, namely human aims and forms, and cannot reproduce by themselves.

Furthermore, Aristotle also explains the causes why artifacts have come to be formed in the way
that they have. He offers the doctrine of four causes as explanation to the existence of
something:

• Material cause: ‘that of which something is made”

• Formal cause: “form, the account of what it is to be”
• Efficient cause: “the primary source of change”
• Final cause: “the end, that for the sake of which a thing is done”

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➢ Consider the production of an artifact like a dining table.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_causes

What does this information tell us?

All the objects we see around us whether natural or man-made, were created to answer the
question WHAT is it made of (material cause). They were created to answer the question HOW
does it look like? (formal cause), WHO made it? (efficient cause). And most importantly, its
creation has to answer the question WHY was it made? (final cause). The last factor speaks a lot
about the harm or benefit the efficient cause intends to produce. This is where the ethical
dimension sets in. Issues involving cloning, cosmetic or aesthetic surgery, robotics and the like
may be confronted with much clarity if they were used for the purpose of improving mankind
and not destroying it. There is a need to consider the environment and the people around you
as well. They are very much part of the equation to make harmonious existence possible.

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