lester frank ward proposed the idea of technology as the first cause of social change.
lester frank ward proposed the idea of technology as the first cause of social change.
who proposed the idea of technology as the first cause of social change?
lester frank ward
social innovation was discussed in the writings of figures such as peter drucker and michael young (founder of the open university and dozens of other organizations) in the 1960s. it also appeared in the work of french writers in the 1970s, such as pierre rosanvallon, jacques fournier, and jacques attali. however, the themes and concepts in social innovation existed long before. benjamin franklin, for example, talked about small modifications within the social organization of communities that could help to solve everyday problems. many radical 19th century reformers like robert owen, founder of the cooperative movement, promoted innovation in the social field and all of the great sociologists including karl marx, max weber and émile durkheim focused attention on broader processes of social change. in recent years, the work of gabriel tarde on the concept of imitation has been rediscovered by social scientists in order to better understand social innovation and its relation to social change. other theories of innovation became prominent in the 20th century, many of which had social implications, without putting social progress at the center of the theory. joseph schumpeter, for example, addressed the process of innovation directly with his theory of creative destruction and his definition of entrepreneurs as people who combined existing elements in new ways to create a new product or service. beginning in the 1980s, writers on technological change increasingly addressed how social factors affect technology diffusion.
social innovation
one objection to the argument is that it leaves open the question of why the first cause is unique in that it does not require any causes. proponents argue that the first cause is exempt from having a cause, while opponents argue that this is special pleading or otherwise untrue. critics often press that arguing for the first cause's exemption raises the question of why the first cause is indeed exempt, whereas defenders maintain that this question has been answered by the various arguments, emphasizing that none of its major forms rests on the premise that everything has a cause.
cosmological argument