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Techne
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<h2 id="history-of-the-term">History of the term</h2> <p>Many Ancient Greek philosophers, such as <a href="/facts/Socrates/djIKjImv">Socrates</a>, <a href="/facts/Plato/jGtT1UD5">Plato</a>, and <a href="/facts/Aristotle/U2bDlBFW">Aristotle</a>, had difficulty coming up with a single definition for techne and there is differentiation between the ways that these philosophers used the term.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> </p><p>The word techne comes from the Greek word for art, skill, craft, and technique. The modern-day English word <a href="/facts/Technology/9Uav5WVR">technology</a> comes from the <a href="/facts/Prefix/C4Lw8npg">prefix</a> techne and the <a href="/facts/Suffix/Nlnft3NK">suffix</a> <a href="/facts/%27ology/1pnzedcV">ology</a>; both words are of Greek origin combined to mean "the practical application of knowledge".<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> Techne in Ancient Greece was thought of as dangerous in its <a href="/facts/Virtue/XT1frQVu">virtues</a> by many <a href="/facts/Philosophy/zAH5PVD6">philosophers</a>, including Plato.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> Arts such as <a href="/facts/Painting/ygQ47K3b">paintings</a> and <a href="/facts/Sculpture/F01q8gtb">sculptures</a> were particularly thought to be unvirtuous because of their "third-hand [representation] of "true" reality and absolute beauty".<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> Other philosophers, such as Aristotle, believed that techne was virtuous because it uses natural materials "to create objects unknown in nature" and therefore it "completes nature".<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="ancient-greek-philosophers">Ancient Greek Philosophers</h2> <h3>Socrates</h3> <p>The Ancient Greek philosopher <a href="/facts/Xenophon/d3uAqxEu">Xenophon</a> wrote down conversations he had with <a href="/facts/Socrates/djIKjImv">Socrates</a> in the Socratic works <a href="/facts/Memorabilia_(Xenophon)/gpYYL9uj">Memorabilia</a> and <a href="/facts/Oeconomicus/P6L1VNyP">Oeconomicus</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a> In both of these works, Socrates uses <a href="/facts/Episteme/x6cBomgK">episteme</a> and techne interchangeably.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a> Crafts that Socrates classifies as techne include <a href="/facts/Harp/FhRqeCDf">harp</a> playing, <a href="/facts/Flute/bByjt2vu">flute</a> playing, <a href="/facts/Dance/s9SeYNR9">dancing</a>, <a href="/facts/Wrestling/mTFzecQw">wrestling</a>, <a href="/facts/Ancient_Greek_medicine/QwEIau1g">medicine</a>, <a href="/facts/Carpentry/CXW6UBq1">carpentry</a>, <a href="/facts/Ruling_class/6brqEKFD">ruling</a>, <a href="/facts/General_officer/0xmYEU4a">generalship</a>, <a href="/facts/Home_construction/xxrrH9Ga">housebuilding</a>, running a <a href="/facts/Household/snEgg9vP">household</a>, <a href="/facts/Agriculture/TGztqzJs">farming</a>, and <a href="/facts/Mathematics/pxTouaz4">mathematics</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14"><sup>14</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15"><sup>15</sup></a> </p> <h3>Plato</h3> <p>The Ancient Greek Philosopher <a href="/facts/Plato/jGtT1UD5">Plato</a> often used episteme and techne interchangeably, much like Socrates.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:16" href="#fn:16"><sup>16</sup></a> This is because Plato was a student of Socrates and also wrote Socratic works.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:17" href="#fn:17"><sup>17</sup></a> Plato's works define techne as activities such as medicine, <a href="/facts/Geometry/wTQf5ffQ">geometry</a>, <a href="/facts/Politics/1gDNy3RP">politics</a>, <a href="/facts/Music/hDVP0xsQ">music</a>, <a href="/facts/Shipbuilding/XLy9lj1W">shipbuilding</a>, carpentry, and generalship.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:18" href="#fn:18"><sup>18</sup></a> Plato's dialogues introduce the idea of a practitioner connected to a craft, such as a <a href="/facts/Physician/qJ3woFvG">physician</a> with medicine.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:19" href="#fn:19"><sup>19</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:20" href="#fn:20"><sup>20</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:21" href="#fn:21"><sup>21</sup></a> Plato introduced the idea of techne as a way to explain aspects of life such as virtue.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:22" href="#fn:22"><sup>22</sup></a> This increased the complexity of the definition of techne, adding that crafts are separated by what the end product will be or what the activity accomplishes.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:23" href="#fn:23"><sup>23</sup></a> Plato's writings also reveal that he believed the most important job of the practitioner was to be able to explain what they were doing and why they were doing it.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:24" href="#fn:24"><sup>24</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:25" href="#fn:25"><sup>25</sup></a> </p> <h3>Aristotle</h3> <p>Aristotle does not use techne and episteme interchangeably as Socrates and Plato did before him. He distinguishes clearly between the two terms.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:26" href="#fn:26"><sup>26</sup></a> Aristotle includes techne and episteme in his five <a href="/facts/Virtue/XT1frQVu">virtues</a> of intellect: <a href="/facts/Episteme/x6cBomgK">episteme</a>, techne, <a href="/facts/Phronesis/N8JJFyHo">phronesis</a>, <a href="/facts/Sophia_(wisdom)/XRDuVlIL">sophia</a>, and <a href="/facts/Nous/hvSmlHNB">nous</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:27" href="#fn:27"><sup>27</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:28" href="#fn:28"><sup>28</sup></a> In <a href="/facts/Nicomachean_Ethics/QsCgUJ10">Nicomachean Ethics</a>, Aristotle wrote that techne not only meant craft but also <a href="/facts/Production_(economics)/G5mF3WkI">production</a> (for example: the production of a ship).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:29" href="#fn:29"><sup>29</sup></a> Richard Parry wrote that Aristotle believed techne aims for good and forms an end, which could be the activity itself or a product formed from the activity.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:30" href="#fn:30"><sup>30</sup></a> Aristotle used health as an example of an end that is produced by the techne of medicine.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:31" href="#fn:31"><sup>31</sup></a> Like Plato's beliefs about the importance of a practitioner being able to explain their craft, Aristotle believed that the practitioner with the knowledge of techne could teach their skill because they not only had the wisdom of the craft but also understood the outcome.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:32" href="#fn:32"><sup>32</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:33" href="#fn:33"><sup>33</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="notes">Notes</h2> <ul><li>Angier, Tom (2010). <i>Techne in Aristotle's Ethics: Crafting the Moral Life</i>. Bloomsbury Publishing. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 9781441134714.</li> <li>Cohoe, Caleb Murray (2022-01-07). "Knowing in Aristotle part 2: Technē, phronēsis, sophia, and divine cognitive activities". <i>Philosophy Compass</i>. 17 (1): 1–9. <a href="/facts/Doi_(identifier)/muM9Etpq">doi</a>:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fphc3.12799">10.1111/phc3.12799</a>. <a href="/facts/S2CID_(identifier)/ldJsHa2Y">S2CID</a> <a href="https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:245055959">245055959</a>.</li> <li>Richter, Daniel S.; Johnson, William A. (2017). <i>The Oxford Handbook of the Second Sophistic</i>. Oxford University Press. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 9780199837489.</li></ul> <h2 id="further-reading">Further reading</h2> <ul> <li>Philosophy portal</li></ul> <ul><li>Dunne, Joseph. 1997. <i>Back to the Rough Ground: 'Phronesis' and 'Techne' in Modern Philosophy and in Aristotle.</i> Notre Dame, IN: <a href="/facts/University_of_Notre_Dame_Press/JeCIdYej">University of Notre Dame Press</a>. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0268006891.</li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Honderich, Ted, ed. (1995). The Oxford companion to philosophy. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0-19-866132-0. <a href="978-0-19-866132-0" target="_blank">978-0-19-866132-0</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Johansen, Thomas Kjeller (2021). Productive Knowledge in Ancient Philosophy: The Concept of Technê. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-108-62415-2. <a href="978-1-108-62415-2" target="_blank">978-1-108-62415-2</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Angier 2010, p. 33. - Angier, Tom (2010). Techne in Aristotle's Ethics: Crafting the Moral Life. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9781441134714. <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Richter & Johnson 2017, p. 374. - Richter, Daniel S.; Johnson, William A. (2017). The Oxford Handbook of the Second Sophistic. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199837489. <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Richter & Johnson 2017, p. 374. - Richter, Daniel S.; Johnson, William A. (2017). The Oxford Handbook of the Second Sophistic. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199837489. <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>Cohoe 2022, p. 3. - Cohoe, Caleb Murray (2022-01-07). "Knowing in Aristotle part 2: Technē, phronēsis, sophia, and divine cognitive activities". Philosophy Compass. 17 (1): 1–9. doi:10.1111/phc3.12799. S2CID 245055959. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fphc3.12799" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fphc3.12799</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Parry, Richard (2021), "Episteme and Techne", in Zalta, Edward N. (ed.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2021 ed.), Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University, retrieved 2023-06-05 <a href="https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2021/entries/episteme-techne/" target="_blank">https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2021/entries/episteme-techne/</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>"Definition of TECHNOLOGY". www.merriam-webster.com. 2023-06-03. Retrieved 2023-06-05. <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/technology" target="_blank">https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/technology</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>"Andrew Stewart, One Hundred Greek Sculptors, Their Careers and Extant Works, Introduction, Sources". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 2023-06-05. <a href="http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0008:part=1:chapter=1&highlight=techne" target="_blank">http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0008:part=1:chapter=1&highlight=techne</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>"Andrew Stewart, One Hundred Greek Sculptors, Their Careers and Extant Works, Introduction, Sources". www.perseus.tufts.edu. 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