Definition and essence of the technosphere
TECHNOSPHERE(Greek techne - skills, skill, ability and sphaira - ball)
the field of real existence of technology and the totality of material means of human transformative activity; the global human environment, the synthesis of the natural and the artificial, leading to the symbiosis of technology and humanity in nature.
a special shell of the planet in which human practical activities are carried out.
as part of the biosphere, radically transformed by man into technical and man-made objects;
as part of the biosphere, transformed by people through the direct and indirect influence of technical means in order to best meet the socio-economic needs of man;
as a closed regional-global technological system of utilization and reutilization involved in the economic circulation of natural resources.
“second nature”, created by man in the process of materializing his goals, ideas, theories, is an inorganic mechanical system, which today also includes scientific concepts that are trying to transform the world.
2. Stages of development of the technosphere
The technosphere has passed three main stages of its development:
eotechnics(when the building material was wood and the source of energy was water);
paleotechnics(where iron and coal predominated);
neotechnicians(in the 20th century, when metal alloys and electricity began to be used).
forecast – biotechnology, i.e. a technique based on the laws of biology.
American sociologist L. Mumford back in the 40s. XX century predicted the onset of the stage of biotechnology. Development along this path in science began with the creation of computers based on the human brain model, as well as with the emergence of post-industrial society - the result of the globalization process.
forecast – noogenics, i.e. the stage of creating an intelligent principle that will unite the biosphere and the global technosphere into one organic whole.
In the 20th century technology has turned into a new, artificial human environment, displacing the old, natural one.
3. Main characteristics of the technosphere
Main characteristics of the technosphere:
autonomy (having autonomy, independence from something)
self-determination (unambiguous predetermination).
Like the natural one, the technoenvironment is a kind of self-contained system that can be determined without (independently) human intervention. The structural elements of this system are so closely interconnected that it is impossible to separate them from each other or solve any technical problem in isolation.
The ever-accelerating movement toward environmental disaster, disastrous for humanity, gives rise to a sense of fear among many of the technical phenomenon and engineering impact on nature. Indeed, along with the tools of creation, the human mind, since ancient times, has created more and more sophisticated tools of destruction and destruction, moving along this azimuth much faster and showing much more ingenuity and resourcefulness. In the last decades of the 20th century. It was discovered that the technology that was conceived and designed to make life easier, create abundance, and improve the world, itself contains the danger of global catastrophes.
In the technogenic era, natural systems are divided into their component elements; technology tears them out of their immediate natural connection, thereby qualitatively transforming the organic matter of the world in accordance with material purposes.
The global nature of modern environmental problems is mediated by the inorganic and pseudo-organic nature of the results of scientific and technological progress and the production associated with it.
In modern processes of globalization the technosphere plays a dual role:
firstly, it is an instrument of globalization, as well as a kind of cause of this phenomenon;
secondly, from the moment of its formation, the technosphere (as a set of technology and technological processes) itself globalizes, absorbing and rooting man himself.
In a technological society, technology has invaded not only between man and nature, but also into the sphere of interpersonal communication.
The concepts of man and technosphere are closely interrelated. After people appeared on Earth, they began to adapt to the environment and exert a certain influence on it. Initially it was insignificant, but gradually increased due to the development of science and technology. As a result, man transformed the biosphere to suit himself with the help of technical means to satisfy his own needs. There are 3 stages of development of the biosphere. The first includes the time from the origin of life on the planet until the intervention was minimal. The second continues to this day. This stage is characterized by active intervention in the biosphere. The third stage is a future state in which the impact will be controlled by people.
What is technosphere
This is a biosphere transformed by man in order to protect it from the negative effects of the environment.
Throughout evolution, man has developed various methods of protection from natural hazards, and subsequently from his own activities. As a result, people have significantly improved living conditions and increased life expectancy.
There are other definitions. Thus, the technosphere is a set of operating and inactive technical objects, as well as the products of their activities, existing in space and on planet Earth. The products of activity are changes in the earth's crust, soil, atmosphere, and the chemical composition of water. Theoretically, the technosphere can evolve indefinitely not only deep into the geosphere, but also into space.
The technosphere is a system that obeys internal patterns and laws of structure, functioning, and development. That is, it can develop itself. The autonomy of the technology is revealed. Robots, automatic lines, and computer self-adjusting stations are being created.
The technosphere is a synonym for the noosphere, that is, a new evolutionary state of the biosphere, where the decisive factor of development is human activity.
The pace of development is constantly increasing. The growth of scientific knowledge and the constant increase in the level of technology have a strong negative impact on nature, which leads to the emergence of a number of acute problems. These include the constant increase in the death of many organisms as a result of environmental pollution and others.
State of the Technosphere
Nowadays, the pace of transformation has become so rapid that the methods of protection are lagging far behind. After obtaining various biological and chemical substances, new types of energy, there was a need to understand safety issues, proactively assess future innovations and develop the foundations for the safe development of people.
The spontaneous development of the technosphere poses a threat to the prosperous existence of man. It is necessary to ensure environmental, production, industrial, information security in the technosphere, and take measures to reduce harm from natural sources. The main harm occurs as a result of production. The carriers of harmful factors in production are biological and chemical machines, energy sources, etc.
Now technology and science are aimed at meeting the needs of people and maximizing the exploitation of natural resources. This has catastrophic consequences. led to the exhaustion of the deformation of the natural cycle of substances, a change in the regeneration mechanisms of the biosphere.
It is necessary to treat nature as carefully as possible, use various treatment plants, create technical devices that cause minimal harm to the environment, as well as technologies for waste disposal and processing, etc.
The scale of material culture created by humanity is truly enormous. And the pace of its development is constantly increasing. Nowadays, the so-called technomass (everything created by man in a year) is already an order of magnitude higher than biomass (the weight of wild living organisms). This is an alarming signal; it requires a thoughtful attitude to the balance of the components of the nature-biosphere-human system.
The level of human impact on the environment depends primarily on the technical level of society. It was extremely small at the initial stages of human development. However, with the development of society and the growth of its productive forces, the situation has changed dramatically. The 20th century is the century of scientific and technological progress. Associated with a qualitatively new relationship between science, technology and technology, it has enormously increased the scale of society’s impact on nature and posed a number of new, extremely pressing problems for people.
The study of the influence of technology on the biosphere and nature as a whole requires not only applied, but also deep theoretical understanding. Technology remains less and less interconnected, which ultimately
balances living systems at various levels. As a result, dynamic harmony is achieved throughout the supersystem of life - the biosphere.
Modern natural science, in the course of studying biocenoses, introduces a new concept - “coevolution”, meaning the mutual incorporation of species. It is coevolution that provides the conditions for coexistence and increasing the stability of the biocenosis as a system. Coevolution is a promising new idea in the natural and social sciences. Indeed, in adaptation (both in nature and in society) the decisive role is played not by the struggle for existence, but by mutual assistance, consistency and “cooperation” of various species, including non-humans. linked by genetic ties.
The development of the biosphere occurs through deepening the interaction of living organisms and the environment. In the course of evolution, the process of planetary integration gradually occurs, i.e. strengthening and developing interdependence and interaction between living and nonliving things. Integration process V.I. Vernadsky considered it an essential characteristic of the biosphere. Despite all its inconsistencies, the development of the biosphere is a factor on a planetary scale and means the progressive mastery of the life of the entire planet. The existence of life on Earth has radically changed the appearance of our planet and its components - landscape, climate, temperature of the Earth, etc.
The emergence of man as “homo sapiens” (reasonable man), in turn, qualitatively changed not only the biosphere, but also the results of its planetary influence. Gradually, a transition began to occur from simple biological adaptation of living organisms to intelligent behavior and purposeful changes in the natural environment by intelligent beings.
The geosphere itself generally reacts passively to human intervention, while living matter actively adapts to new conditions of existence and the presence of humans in nature. Thus, the resistance and immunity of many insects and rodents to poisons used by people has increased many times over. Mutational or modified species and populations appear, adapted to the technogenic and polluted environment. Many species of animals change the forms of their existence and adapt to life in the vicinity of humans.
Man, as a special form of life and a creature with intelligence, introduces fundamentally new elements into relationships with nature. It acts as an autonomous integrity within the biosphere. Living matter, transforming inert matter and interacting with it, creates the biosphere. Similarly, man, transforming the biosphere, creates the technosphere. But if, during the formation of the biosphere, all biocenoses only maintain system integrity through the exchange of matter and energy, then man, in addition to these functions, first of all reifies nature, creating new artificial objects.
However, not all human creations are in harmony with the surrounding reality. And if living organisms created by man, for the most part, fit into the general system of nature, then this cannot be said about other objects created by him: buildings, structures... In addition, what is made by man, as a rule, does not contribute to the creation of new energy reserves . The endless destruction of minerals and living matter brings the very existence of not only intelligent life, but also life as such, to the brink of disaster.
Awareness of the current situation was expressed in numerous scientific forecasts and projects for solving environmental problems, as well as in a number of new philosophical concepts. Thus, V.I. Vernadsky, an outstanding geochemist, reflecting on the interaction of society with nature, introduced the concept of “noosphere”. Humanity is part of the Earth's biosphere. The biosphere (Greek bios - life and sphaira - ball, sphere, region) is the sphere of all life on Earth, including the upper part of the earth's crust inhabited by organisms, the hydrosphere and the atmosphere. In the course of history, humanity has become the main geological-forming force, powerfully and extensively influencing the planetary state. In this regard, Vernadsky concludes that the transition of the existing biosphere to a new state - the noosphere is inevitable.
The noosphere (Greek noos - mind, mind and sphaira - sphere, area) is a state of the biosphere when its development occurs purposefully in connection with the activities of people in the interests of the joint evolution of man and nature. In contrast to the religious-idealistic interpretation of the noosphere as an abstract kingdom of the mind, a “thinking layer” outside the biosphere and above it (by Teilhard de Chardin), Vernadsky considered the noosphere as an objective state of the “society - nature” system, taking shape at the present time. Its creation is associated with the growing role of science in social development, the increasing integration of public life and reasonable cooperation between states, the democratization of the social structure and the formation of environmental consciousness in society.
Vernadsky's ideas about the noosphere were further developed, in particular, in the ideas of the Russian academician N. N. Moiseev about “coevolution” - the joint, harmonious development of nature and society. The central thesis of this and other concepts is the position of humanity’s responsibility for its actions in the natural world and the need to form a new type of relationship in the “society-nature” system in connection with changes in society itself.
Habitat- this is part of nature with which society directly interacts in the process of its existence and development. At the beginning of the emergence of humanity, its natural habitat covered only a small part of the earth's surface. Now it includes not only the entire surface of the planet, but also its interior, the world ocean, near-Earth airspace, and also part of our solar system.
Built environment- this is such a part of the environment that was created by man in the process of historical development of social production and does not exist on its own as nature. It includes the entire set of man-made dwellings, settlements, roads, vehicles, tools, technical devices and means, enterprises and agricultural production, man-made artificial materials, etc. In different historical eras, the role and relationship of these environmental elements the environments were different and influenced people’s lives in different ways. Society in its historical development also had an impact on the environment, modifying it. Currently, a significant part of people’s life activities takes place in an artificial environment (it is no coincidence that the desire for natural, natural properties in the composition of an artificial habitat occurs as it develops and becomes increasingly “severed” from nature).
Los V.A. “Man and Nature”, Moscow 1973
Barazenko V.G. “The principle of determinism and modern biology”, Moscow 1980
Magazine "Man Science Nature", Moscow 1986
gr. techne - skill, skill + ball) - 1) part of the biosphere, transformed by people through the direct and indirect influence of technical means in order to best meet the socio-economic needs of humanity. With a significant limitation - global rationality of transformation, taking into account the task of preserving the type of biosphere that is necessary for the life and development of mankind - the technosphere potentially becomes part of the noosphere. 2) An almost closed future regional-global technological system for utilization and reutilization of natural resources involved in economic circulation, designed to isolate economic and production cycles from natural metabolism and energy flow, a possible component of the future noosphere. (See Biosphere, Noosphere).
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Technosphere
area of reality, which is characterized by the use of technology. In a narrower sense, the concept of T., which appeared in the 40-50s. in works zarub. Scientologists and sociologists of technology as a response to scientific and technological revolution, is used to characterize modern technology. civilization, for which the penetration of complex machine technology into all spheres of activity is specific. The ambiguity of the interpretation of the concept of T. in philosophy. and cultural studies theories is connected both with a contradictory attitude towards scientific and technical. development (the confrontation between scientism and anti-scientism, characteristic of the second half of the 20th century), and with the lack of an accurate generally accepted concept of technology, from which the concept of technology is derived. The range of definitions of technology varies from a fairly narrow one - “mechanical. and automatic tools of production” (Massachusetts. Technol. School), to the extremely broad - any objects created by a person to realize his goals, acting as a means of achieving them (in this understanding, technology includes not only any tools of labor, but also transmitted complexes of skills and abilities , technologies) - characteristic of Europe. social anthropology. It is clear that depending on one or another approach to technology, both topological and historical characteristics change significantly. borders of T. In modern In cultural studies, a broad interpretation of the concepts of technology and technology is more accepted, since it allows one to significantly expand the context of research by classifying not only material tools as technology, but also ideological skills and technologies, and also to significantly shift the research. emphasis on the description of technological processes. development for historical analysis. interaction between technology and man in the social (the influence of technological development on modernization processes, social stratification, economics, politics), psychological (man’s perception and mastery of technology, technology and psychology of small and medium-sized groups, engineering psychology), cultural proper (technology and axiological standards, technology in cultural creativity, technology in cultural communication) aspects. However, an overly broad interpretation of the concepts of technology and technology is fraught with the danger of “erosion” of research. context (since almost any cultural object can act as a means or tool in certain situations). Therefore, highlighting T. as part of the arts. “cultural” world, it is necessary to clearly define its place in this world as a set of arts. means of human development of the surrounding natural and cultural space, specific. features of technology: pragmatism, tools, information. isolation. Fundamental research. the tasks in relation to T. are the determination of its boundaries (i.e., the identification of T. itself) and its historical and genetic. typologies. Determining the boundaries of technology involves identifying the following aspects: - existing technology, its typology, areas of its application; - the relationship between technology and science, the presence of direct and feedback between scientific and technical. development; - the status of technology in society, its influence on sociodynamics; - the relationship between technology itself (material tools) and technology (ideational technical skills, abilities), mechanisms for transmitting technology. skills. Historically and typologically, it is customary to divide the development of technology into the stages of hand tools (technical devices are only more advanced “extensions” of human organs, while man is the main performer of the work), machine (mechanical devices independently perform a number of functions regulated and controlled by man) , automatic (mechanical and electronic devices are capable of performing not only physical, but also logical and mathematical operations and sequences of operations; human functions are reduced to control and management). The identification and localization of these stages is quite arbitrary, but they allow us to outline the basics. historical milestones development of technology means and T. Equipment is also classified according to the areas of its application (transport, military, household, etc.), according to the technologies used in it. principles (mechanical, electronic, hydraulic, etc.), the degree of human participation in its work (manual, semi-automatic, automatic), almost every area of application of technology forms its own terminology. apparatus for designating technical funds. An adequate typology for T. has not been developed, however, an analysis of technology with t.zr. these classifications mainly determine the appearance of T. Having formed within the framework of foreign countries. Scientology and sociology of technology, the concept of technology has long been used almost exclusively for the analysis of modern technology. internal technical problems development and characteristics of social processes with t.zr. influence of technology on them. A significant trend in philosophy and cultural studies of recent times is the transition from unambiguously evaluative declarative works for or against technology. progress, to more meaningful studies of the role of technology in the existence of society and culture, the gradual extrapolation of the concept of technology to history. research and study of local cultural communities. Lit.: Omarov A.M. Technology and people. M., 1965; Episkoposov Yu.L. Technology and sociology. M., 1967; Meleshchenko Yu.S. Technology and patterns of its development. L., 1970; New technocratic wave in the West. M., 1986; Yukhanov A.L. Modern abroad. sociology of technology. M., 1992; Anisimov K.L. Man and technology: Modern times. Problems. M., 1995; Callage F. Technical Revolution and Society. N.Y., 1987; Fogger H., Mines G. Technosphere: Open Researches. V. 1-2. Boston, 1991. A.G. Shakin. Cultural studies of the twentieth century. Encyclopedia. M.1996
At all stages of its development, humanity continuously influenced the environment, as a result of which it slowly changed its appearance. Since the middle of the 19th century. The transformative role of man in the development of the environment began to increase significantly. This was facilitated by high rates of population growth on Earth (demographic explosion) and its urbanization, increased consumption of energy resources, intensive development of industrial and agricultural production, mass use of means of transport, increased costs for military purposes, technological progress and scientific -technical revolution.
These processes led to the fact that by the middle of the 20th century. Zones of partial, and in some cases complete, regional degradation of the biosphere have emerged on Earth. Thus, as a result of active human activity in many regions of our planet, the biosphere was destroyed and a new, artificial habitat was created - the technosphere. Technosphere- a set of regions of the biosphere in which the natural environment has been completely or partially rebuilt by humans using direct or indirect technical influence in order to best suit their material and spiritual needs
In the 20th century The process of expanding the techno-sphere and increasing its power proceeded at a rapid pace. In table Table 1 shows the parameters characterizing the development of the technosphere.
Urbanization (from lat. Urbos - city) - the process of increasing the share of the urban population.
Table 1
Dynamics of growth of the technosphere in the 20th century _
|
Indicators |
Beginning of the 20th century |
End of the 20th century |
|
Gross world product, billion US dollars per year |
20 LLC |
|
|
Power consumption, MW |
1 LLC LLC |
10 000 000 |
|
Population, billion people |
||
|
Fresh water consumption, cubic meters km per year |
4 000 |
|
|
Consumption of annual increase in biomass of biosphere producers, % |
Since today there is no other known source of growth in human economic activity other than the consumption of natural resources, the development of the technosphere was carried out through the destruction of the natural environment and the displacement of natural ecosystems of the biosphere. The exponential growth of economic activity has led to the fact that the biosphere in many regions of our planet began to be actively replaced by the technosphere. Table data 2 show that there are few areas left on the planet with undisturbed natural ecosystems.
table 2
Territory of the Earth disturbed by economic activity _
|
Continent |
Territory, % |
|
|
Undisturbed |
Completely broken |
|
|
All land |
51,9 |
36,3 |
|
Europe |
15,6 |
64,9 |
|
Asia |
43,5 |
29,5 |
|
Africa |
48,9 |
15,4 |
|
North America |
56,3 |
29,4 |
|
South America |
62,5 |
15,1 |
|
Australia |
62,3 |
12,0 |
|
Antarctica |
100,0 |
|
Ecosystems are most destroyed in developed countries - Europe, North America, Japan. Here, natural ecosystems have been preserved mainly in small areas; they represent small patches of the biosphere, surrounded on all sides by areas disturbed by human activity and therefore subject to strong technogenic pressure. The technosphere, the brainchild of human civilization, is gradually replacing the biosphere.
New, technospheric conditions include human living conditions in large cities and industrial centers. An increasing number of people are experiencing these conditions of existence due to the process of urbanization of the Earth's population. The process of urbanization is largely objective in nature. Urbanization helps to increase the efficiency of human activity and solves social, cultural and educational problems of society.
In table Table 3 shows UN data on the population living in cities around the world in different years.
Table 3
Rate of urbanization of the world's population
|
Year |
1880 |
1950 |
1970 |
1984 |
2000 |
|
Urban population, % |
13,1 |
