What is technology?

Etymologically the term technology comes from the combination of these two Greek morphemes tékhnē, (meaning “art”) and -logía (meaning “study”). It refers to the collection of techniques, skills, methods and processes used in the production of goods or services or in the accomplishment of objectives, such as scientific investigation.

The human species' use of technology began with the conversion of natural resources into simple tools. The prehistoric discovery of how to control fire and the later Agricultural Revolution increased the available sources of food. Likewise, the invention of the wheel helped humans to travel in and control their environment. Later developments in historic times, including the printing press, the telephone, and the Internet, have lessened physical barriers to communication and allowed humans to interact freely on a global scale. The steady progress of military technology has brought weapons of ever-increasing destructive power.

The Greeks view about technology

Technology has been a subject of discussion in philosophy since the Greeks. The Greek philosopher Democritus, for example, believed that technology is an imitation of nature. House-building and weaving were first invented by imitating swallows and spiders building their nests and nets, respectively.

Aristotle held the same view that technology is the consequence of imitation of nature, but he added in his book Physics Book II that:

"generally art in some cases completes what nature cannot bring to a finish."

Aristotle also distinguishes between natural things and artifacts. According to Aristotle, the former have their principles of generation and motion inside, whereas the latter, insofar as they are artifacts, are generated only by outward causes. For example, animals, which are natural things, can grow, move and reproduce. A wooden bed, which is an artifact made by a human, cannot move, grow, or reproduce itself.

Adapted from https://www.myenglishpages.com/site_php_files/reading-technology.php

Read the extract from the text

Read the extract from the text.

“the former have their principles of generation and motion inside”. (last paragraph)

The pronoun “their” refers to: