Is It Possible to Create a New Indigenous Technology from an Imported Technology?

Abstract

The transfer of technical artifacts from industrialized countries to other parts of the world is nowadays a common and everyday occurrence. But the differences in the cultural backgrounds of societies, and the cultural and social consequences of technological incursion on destination societies have led to conflicts and dichotomies that have sometimes destroyed the cultural infrastructure of these destination societies. Therefore, making changes to imported technologies and the possibility of developing technology based on the needs of the native culture have been indispensable necessities for destination communities. In this article, we explore the possibilities surrounding this issue and look for a solution to be implemented. To this end, we first review and critique the views of scholars of science and technology studies and also of the philosophy of technology, and in particular look at the work of Ihde and Feenberg. We found their answers to these questions to be constructive but lacking a holistic approach that is also practicable. Finally, by presenting a three-step solution of our own, we try to bridge the gap and link the ideas of thinkers and the real issues of technology and culture in non-industrial societies. We believe these three steps offer a way to indigenize various forms of imported technologies.