Does the Modern Usage of “Technology” Denote Something Very Different from What τέχνη Meant for the Ancient Greeks?

Abstract

This paper aims to trace the term technology back to its Greek origin, τέχνη. We recognize as its first meaning a mental activity based on knowledge and systematic study which aims to create a technical or a moral work. The present paper argues that the main difference between technology as seen by the classical Greek philosophers and our contemporary technology may lie in the goal that man sets for technology.