Techne

RELATED TERMS:

David Roochnik (2007: xi) states that techne, variously translated as skill, art, craft, expertise, profession, science, knowledge, technical knowledge, is not only a crucial term in the Platonic dialogues but has also been crucial in the development of Western culture itself. We currently use descendants of the term to discuss the technologies with which we live, the technocrats who rule our institutions, the technical expertise which we admire and the ever more high-tech to which we aspire.

Our lives are pervaded by the works of techne, by much of which we are awed because of its power, speed and intelligence. Furthermore, it is through works of techne that we often project our future planetary existence.

References

Roochnik, D. (2007) Of art and wisdom: Plato’s understanding of techne. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press.