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Technological Determinism
A term originally coined by sociologist Thorstein Veblen in the early 20th century and later expanded on and developed by his student Clarence Ayres, the theory of technological determinism states that a society's technology shapes—determines—its social and cultural institutions. It must be understood as part of the broader philosophical view of determinism—the idea that causality is so specific, the universe so orderly, that present and future outcomes of events are determined by prior states—that was so prevalent in the West at the time.
By the end of the 19th century, there was a sense of intellectual completion in the Western world. Modern psychiatry was in its infancy but implied the possibility of an understanding of the human mind. The theory of evolution, though it would be ...
- Adsorption Chiller
- Desalination Plants
- Batteries
- Engineering Studies
- Arms Race
- Appliances, Energy Efficient
- Actor-Network Theory
- Composting Toilet
- Algae Biofuel
- Environmental Remediation
- Clean Energy
- Environmental Science
- Authoritarianism and Technology
- Appropriate Technology
- Anarchoprimitivism
- Design for Recycling
- Anaerobic Digestion
- Green Metrics
- Coal, Clean Technology
- Frankfurt School
- Ecological Modernization
- Best Available Technology
- Bioethics
- E-Waste
- Bacillus Thuringiensis (Bt)
- Green Roofing
- Concentrating Solar Technology
- Information Technology
- European Union Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive
- Best Practicable Technology
- Boundary Objects
- Extended Producer Responsibility
- Biochar
- Participatory Technology Development
- Earthships
- Science and Technology Studies
- European Union Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive
- Cadmium Telluride Photovoltaic Thin Film
- Carbon Footprint Calculator
- Flue Gas Treatment
- Biochemical Processes
- Water Purification
- Light-Emitting Diodes (LEDs)
- University-Industrial Complex
- Green Building Materials
- Carbon Capture Technology
- Carbon Market
- Greywater
- Biogas
- White Rooftops
- Offshore Oil Drilling (Gulf Oil Spill)
- Green Technology Investing
- Carbon Finance
- Cradle-to-Cradle Design
- Plasma Arc Gasification Technology
- Biotechnology
- Zero-Energy Building
- Passive Solar
- Intellectual Property Rights
- Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs (CFLs)
- Democratic Rationalization
- Recycling
- Cellulosic Biofuels
- Smart Grid
- International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
- Copper Indium (Gallium) Selenide (CIGS or CIS) Solar Photovoltaic Thin Film
- Enframing and Standing Reserve
- Solid Waste Treatment
- Distillation
- Solar Cells
- LEED Standards
- Crystalline Silicon Solar Photovoltaic Cell
- Faustian Bargain
- Wastewater Treatment
- Green Chemistry
- Solar Hot Water Heaters
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
- Eco-Electronics
- Futurology
- Maglev
- Solar Ovens
- Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)
- Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT)
- Innovation
- Membrane Technology
- Waste-to-Energy Technology
- Science and Technology Policy
- Electrostatic Precipitator
- Labor Process
- Pyrolysis
- Wind Turbine
- Social Agency
- Geoengineering
- Luddism
- Thermal Depolymerization
- Sustainable Design
- Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
- Marxism and Technology
- Thermal Heat Recovery
- Green Markets
- Postindustrialism
- Thermochemical Processes
- Green Nanotechnology
- Reflexive Modernization
- High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) Systems
- Social Construction of Technology
- Hybrid/Electric Automobiles
- Sociology of Technology
- Materials Recovery Facilities
- Structuration Theory
- Microgeneration
- Systems Theory
- Pozzolan
- Technological Autonomy
- Product Stewardship
- Technological Determinism
- Rainwater Harvesting Systems
- Technological Momentum
- Technological Utopias
- Technology and Social Change
- Technology Transfer
- Unintended Consequences
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