Skip Navigation



Cambridge Journal of Economics Advance Access published online on January 15, 2009
Cambridge Journal of Economics, doi:10.1093/cje/ben062
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Mayhew, A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Cambridge Political Economy Society. All rights reserved.

Clarence Ayres, technology, pragmatism and progress

Anne Mayhew*

* University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Address for correspondence: Anne Mayhew, Chancellor's Honors Program, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA; email: amayhew{at}utk.edu

This paper explores the origins and continued relevance of Clarence Ayres’ definition of technology as a process involving both physical tools and a scientific method of reasoning, where science is understood to achieve cross-cultural explanatory power by virtue of technological validation. Ayres’ concept of technology derived from his training as a Pragmatist and was primarily philosophical rather than descriptive, but is congruent with the work of modern historians of technology and remains useful in addressing a variety of concerns about both the promise and dangers of technological change.

Key Words: Pragmatism • Veblen • Progress • Cross-cultural validity • Scientific method • Instrumentalism

JEL classifications: B25, B31, O30

Manuscript received April 15, 2008; final version received November 13, 2008.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.