Technology Assessment and the Study of History

Research in technology assessment, because of its necessarily broad character, must draw upon a wide range of disciplines. The present essay is concerned in particular with what technology assessment can draw from the discipline of history-what it can gain from historical knowledge and historical perspectives. Starting from a consideration of the general aims of both history and technology assessment, the article investigates their points of intersection. It attempts to outline some of the specific ways in which historical research can contribute, on the one hand, to the theoretical foundations of technology assessment, and on the other hand, to the process of reaching judgments about the future consequences of technological change.