Interaction of science, engineering and production in the history of technology at the instrumentalization stage

The article examinesthe instrumentalization stage - the first in the history of technology development period of interaction between science, technology andproduction. Science in its infancy existed in the form of natural philosophy. It was rooted in mythology and provided little or no impacton production. Production experience accumulated slowly in the form of specialized tools and manufacturing operations, it was of empiricalcharacter, and could not be generalized theoretically. But even then, the needs of practice facilitated the development of mathematics(arithmetic and geometry) and mechanics. This was reflected in the works of Pythagoras, Euclid, Aristotle, Archimedes and othergreat scholars of the Antiquity. But in the slave era, science was still far from production and remained employed in supporting the minority,the aristocratic part of society. Great achievement was the creation of the Eneolithic writing. It provided a fixation of the accumulatedindustrial experience and technological expertise, contributed to the rise of science and culture. The birth of engineering activitiesrelated primarily to construction and architecture. Engineers did not only develop projects of complex structures, but also supervisedthe labour of slaves. The most important achievements in production were the invention of the loom, smelting of ores and metal machining.It was of great significance for the other branches of engineering and agriculture. Production of steel provided the tools of artisans,and warriors weapon of high hardness, strength and sharpness. Thus, at the stage of instrumentalization using the tools replaced thefunction of direct contact between the human hands with the material being treated. The effect of this interaction is repeatedly reinforcedand contributed to the rapid development of metal machining and other hard materials. Later simplest mechanisms began to appear:levers, rollers, blocks, etc. Then, at the final stage, there were mills, bows and arrows and throwing complex machines: ballista, catapult,etc. In the mills, Marx already saw all the main elements of the machine.

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