Concepts of the History of Techniques

One of the largest divisions appeared in Europe between English usage and Continental languages: the differences between the cognates of the terms technique and technology . Tensions over this hierarchy of knowledge continued into the Medieval and early modern eras. Most medieval authors maintained some version of Aristotle's sharp distinction between philosophical and productive knowledge, episteme and techne , sometimes framed as the division between liberal and mechanical arts. The meanings of technology were also influenced by the other main definitions of Technik : skills and methods for achieving a specific goal. German dictionaries clearly distinguish this broadly instrumental definition of Technik from its definition as the industrial arts. Thus, by World War II, three main meanings of technology had become established in scholarly discourse: technology as industrial arts, as applied science, and as technique.