The Concept of Technocenosis by B.I. Kudrin (Methodological Analysis)

Abstract

The article discusses the ideas of B. Kudrin’s philosophy of technology (“technetics”) and the concept of technocenosis. The author specifies three problems: 1) the conver­gence of technocenoses with biocenoses and descriptions of technocenoses based on the mathematical model of H-distribution, 2) difficulties associated with the alloca­tion of technocenoses (alteration of technocenoses under the influence of changes in documents, allocation of technocenoses as a whole), 3) reduction of distribution characteristics in technocenoses only to diversity. Mass industrial production, the for­mation of a consumer sphere and consumers with different requirements for technical products, and the creation of documents (projects, norms) by engineers and designers that meet these requirements are highlighted as factors in the formation of techno­cenoses. Two circumstances that explain why B. Kudrin reduced the characteristics of technocenoses to one understood as diversity are analyzed: the transfer of biologi­cal patterns to the field of technology and the use of mathematical modeling for this purpose. Since mathematical ideal objects are much simpler than technical systems, technocenoses needed to be simplified. In conclusion, one of the scenarios for the de­velopment of cenology within the framework of technetics is discussed. In addition to the tasks of setting up technocenoses in industrial production (determining the whole and composition of products), it is necessary to build mathematical models that would allow describing not only the processes analyzed by B. Kudrin. For example, the for­mation, functioning and “dying out” of technocenoses, the interaction of techno­cenoses with each other, the use of various resources in technocenoses (electricity, AI, etc.), strategies for the synthesis and cooperation of technocenoses with other technical systems.