吉尔菲兰的发明社会学：成就、洞察与决定论

吉尔菲兰勤奋一生，学术研究涉及领域相当广泛，但是在他生活的年代，他的学术成就受到不公正的对待，他始终徘徊在学术圈的边缘^[64]。他对发明社会学的贡献不应该被长久埋没，他所作的努力是技术社会学研究的初次尝试，也代表了技术社会学历史上的一个高峰期。

吉尔菲兰的工作在奥格本时代是唯一性的。在1935年《发明社会学》之前和之后的几十年，没有别的著作集中于发明的社会原因和社会影响这一话题^[65]，直到20世纪70年代吉尔菲兰为其《发明社会学》做增补本的时候，才有各领域的学者探讨此类问题。

吉尔菲兰的研究中也有一定的缺陷。他的观点中有充满争议的部分，例如，他的关于发明和种族的关系，世界语的必要性，气候、体型与发明的关系等；他的最具有影响力的38条发明的社会原理，有的是无懈可击的，有的是见解深刻的，有的也备受批判。他的研究方法是折衷主义的，从大量的学科中采用经验和理论知识。他自己的学术风格不同于社会科学研究者竞相模仿的成功的科技工作模式，他追求的不是精雕细琢和发展他的主题中限定的部分，他没有尝试给出发明的深刻理论，而是泛泛地理解发明及其分支的一般现象。他的发明社会学没有剖开发明活动的内核，没有根本性的解释发明是如何产生的，这个问题留给创造力研究者和心理学研究者去做了。吉尔菲兰对发明带有偏见，但是这种偏见是温和的。他认为发明只有满足某些个人需要的而不是整个社会需要时才可能被接受。他宣称，发明不是历史的主要推动力量，奥格本文化滞后的观点太过简单。尽管如此，他在发明社会学方面的成就依然为人们提供了宽广的知识和极具洞察力的建议。

吉尔菲兰的思想中对决定论也是左右摇摆。例如，他曾经提到，当社会各种力量产生，发明就会在特定的一些年里不可避免地出现^[66]。这是强决定论思想，然而在原理第27条中，吉尔菲兰又很直接地讨论发明来自于发明者。他认为不管之前我们认为个人发明者在发明活动中有多么的不必要，但是我们必须意识到没有那些发明者就根本不会有发明。整个发明者阶层在发明进程中处于关键性地位，因为一切和发明相关的情况，不管是促进的、直接的或者隐藏的都要通过发明者作用于发明。因此我们总结出发明者群体决定了整个发明的方向、频率和效率，并且与发明者的绝对数量、智力、道德品质、发明动机的强度、自由的时间和设备的配备等因素相关联^[67]。这是占主导地位的决定论的观点，就像奥格本一样，虽然吉尔菲兰看到了发明者的重要性，但是他把一些外部混乱的因素调动起来：发明的社会原因都来自于外部世界的变迁^[68]。

此外，吉尔菲兰的学术魅力可能还在于，他撰写的简洁内容（例如，《发明社会学》正文内容只有158页）却覆盖了广阔的知识领域，他的成果涉及发明史、发明与专利的经济学、发明者的心理学、发明所处的社会条件、发明的社会影响以及发明的未来预测等。如果说奥格本对于技术社会学的重要性等同于默顿之于科学社会学、熊彼特之于技术创新的经济学^[69]，那么或许吉尔菲兰对发明社会学的重要性也应该如此。

【注释】

[1]Taviss Irene．Review：Supplement to the Sociology of Invention．By Gilfillan，S．Colum ［J］．Technology and Culture，1974，15（1）：136－138．

[2]关于吉尔菲兰生平的资料主要来源于：Gilfillan S Colum．An Ugly Ducking’s Swan Song：the Autobiography of S．Colum Gilfillan［J］．Sociological Abstracts，1970（18）：i－xl．

[3]Gilfillan S Colum．Series of Articles on the Social Principles of Invention［J］，The Journal of the Patent Office Society，1934（16）：30，307，544，769，832．1935（17）：71，154，216．

[4]Godin Beno5t．Innovation Without the Word：William F．Ogburn’s Contribution to Technological Innovation Studies［J］．Minerva，2010（48）：277－307．

[5]Barbe Bernard，Robert K Merton．Brief Bibliography for the Sociology of Science［J］．Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences，1952，80（2），Contributions to the Analysis and Synthesis of Knowledge，140－154．

[6]MacLeod Christine．Heroes of Invention：Technology，Liberalism and British Identity，1750－1914［M］．Cambridge，New York：Cambridge University Press，2007：1－22．

[7]Usher A P．A History of Menchanical Invention［M］．Harvard University Press，1954：60－61．

[8]French Gilbert James．Life and Times of Samuel Crompton of Hall－in－the－Wood ［M］．Manchester：Charles Simms and Co．，1862：160．

[9]Smiles Samuel．Lives of the Engineers：The Steam－engine．Boulton and Watt［M］．J．Murray，1904：3．

[10]Smiles Samuel．Life and Labor or Characteristics of Men of Industry，Culture and Genius［M］．Montana：Kessinger Publishing，2003：116．

[11]Gilfillan S Colum．The Sociology of Invention：An Essay in the Social Causes of Technic Invention and Some of its Social Results：Especially as Demonstrated in the History of the Ship［M］．Chicago：Follett Publishing Company，1935：3．

[12]Macleod Cristine．Concepts of Invention and the Patent Controversy in Victorian Britain ［M］//Robert Fox Edited．Technological Change：Methods and Themes in the History of Technology．UK．US．etc：Harwood Academic Publishers，1996：137－153．

[13]Epstein Ralph C．Industrial Invention：Heroic，or Systematic？［J］．The Quarterly Journal of Economics，1926，40（2）：232－272．

[14]Gilfillan S Colum．The Sociology of Invention：An Essay in the Social Causes of Technic Invention and Some of its Social Results：Especially as Demonstrated in the History of the Ship［M］．Chicago：Follett Publishing Company，1935：73．

[15]Gilfillan S Colum．Who Invented It？［J］．The Scientific Monthly，1927，25（6）：529－534．

[16]Gilfillan S Colum．The Sociology of Invention：An Essay in the Social Causes of Technic Invention and Some of its Social Results：Especially as Demonstrated in the History of the Ship［M］．Chicago：Follett Publishing Company，1935：74．

[17]Gilfillan S Colum．The Sociology of Invention：An Essay in the Social Causes of Technic Invention and Some of its Social Results：Especially as Demonstrated in the History of the Ship［M］．Chicago：Follett Publishing Company，1935：10．

[18]Gilfillan S Colum．The Sociology of Invention：An Essay in the Social Causes of Technic Invention and Some of its Social Results：Especially as Demonstrated in the History of the Ship［M］．Chicago：Follett Publishing Company，1935：3．

[19]Ogburn W F，Gilfillan S Colum．The Influence of Invention and Discovery［R］//US President’s Research Committee on Social Trends，Recent Social Trends in the United States．New York：McGraw－Hill，1933，Volume I：159．

[20]Gilfillan S Colum．Who Invented It？［J］．The Scientific Monthly，1927，25（6）：529－534．

[21]Gilfillan S Colum．The Sociology of Invention：An Essay in the Social Causes of Technic Invention and Some of its Social Results：Especially as Demonstrated in the History of the Ship［M］．Chicago：Follett Publishing Company，1935：6．

[22]Gilfillan S Colum．The Sociology of Invention：An Essay in the Social Causes of Technic Invention and Some of its Social Results：Especially as Demonstrated in the History of the Ship［M］．Chicago：Follett Publishing Company，1935：14．

[23]Gilfillan S Colum．The Sociology of Invention：An Essay in the Social Causes of Technic Invention and Some of its Social Results：Especially as Demonstrated in the History of the Ship［M］．Chicago：Follett Publishing Company，1935：43－44．

[24]Macleod Cristine．Concepts of Invention and the Patent Controversy in Victorian Britain ［M］//Robert Fox Edited．Technological Change：Methods and Themes in the History of Technology．U．K．U．S．etc：Harwood Academic Publishers，1996：137－153

[25]Gilfillan S Colum．The Sociology of Invention：An Essay in the Social Causes of Technic Invention and Some of its Social Results：Especially as Demonstrated in the History of the Ship［M］．Chicago：Follett Publishing Company，1935：52－54．

[26]Furfey Paul Hanly．Steam Power：A Study in the Sociology of Invention［J］．The A－merican Catholic Sociological Review，1944，5（3）：143－153．

[27]Ogburn W F．Review：the Sociology of Invention．By Gilfillan，S．Colum［J］．The A－merican Journal of Sociology，1936，42（1）：126－129

[28]Usher A P．Review：the Sociology of Invention．By Gilfillan，S．Colum［J］．American Sociological Review，1936，（1）：152－153

[29]Gilfillan S Colum．The Sociology of Invention：An Essay in the Social Causes of Technic Invention and Some of its Social Results：Especially as Demonstrated in the History of the Ship［M］．Chicago：Follett Publishing Company，1935：47．

[30]Gilfillan S Colum．The Sociology of Invention：An Essay in the Social Causes of Technic Invention and Some of its Social Results：Especially as Demonstrated in the History of the Ship［M］．Chicago：Follett Publishing Company，1935：47．

[31]Gilfillan S Colum．The Sociology of Invention：An Essay in the Social Causes of Technic Invention and Some of its Social Results：Especially as Demonstrated in the History of the Ship［M］．Chicago：Follett Publishing Company，1935：45．

[32]Gilfillan S Colum．The Sociology of Invention：An Essay in the Social Causes of Technic Invention and Some of its Social Results：Especially as Demonstrated in the History of the Ship［M］．Chicago：Follett Publishing Company，1935：6．(www.chuimin.cn)

[33]Gilfillan S Colum．The Sociology of Invention：An Essay in the Social Causes of Technic Invention and Some of its Social Results：Especially as Demonstrated in the History of the Ship［M］．Chicago：Follett Publishing Company，1935：7．

[34]Gilfillan S Colum．The Sociology of Invention：An Essay in the Social Causes of Technic Invention and Some of its Social Results：Especially as Demonstrated in the History of the Ship［M］．Chicago：Follett Publishing Company，1935：58．

[35]Gilfillan S Colum．The Sociology of Invention：An Essay in the Social Causes of Technic Invention and Some of its Social Results：Especially as Demonstrated in the History of the Ship［M］．Chicago：Follett Publishing Company，1935：58．

[36]Gilfillan S Colum．The Sociology of Invention：An Essay in the Social Causes of Technic Invention and Some of its Social Results：Especially as Demonstrated in the History of the Ship［M］．Chicago：Follett Publishing Company，1935：51－52．

[37]Gilfillan S Colum．The Sociology of Invention：An Essay in the Social Causes of Technic Invention and Some of its Social Results：Especially as Demonstrated in the History of the Ship［M］．Chicago：Follett Publishing Company，1935：49．

[38]Gilfillan S Colum．The Sociology of Invention：An Essay in the Social Causes of Technic Invention and Some of its Social Results：Especially as Demonstrated in the History of the Ship［M］．Chicago：Follett Publishing Company，1935：54－55．

[39]Gilfillan S Colum．The Sociology of Invention：An Essay in the Social Causes of Technic Invention and Some of its Social Results：Especially as Demonstrated in the History of the Ship［M］．Chicago：Follett Publishing Company，1935：56．

[40]Gilfillan S Colum．The Sociology of Invention：An Essay in the Social Causes of Technic Invention and Some of its Social Results：Especially as Demonstrated in the History of the Ship［M］．Chicago：Follett Publishing Company，1935：55．

[41]Gilfillan S Colum．The Sociology of Invention：An Essay in the Social Causes of Technic Invention and Some of its Social Results：Especially as Demonstrated in the History of the Ship［M］．Chicago：Follett Publishing Company，1935：57．

[42]Ogburn W F，Adams，J．L．and Gilfillan，S．Colum．The Social Effects of Aviation ［M］．Cambridge（Mass．）：Riverside Press，1946：68．

[43]Gilfillan S Colum．The Sociology of Invention：An Essay in the Social Causes of Technic Invention and Some of its Social Results：Especially as Demonstrated in the History of the Ship［M］．Chicago：Follett Publishing Company，1935：131．

[44]Gilfillan S Colum．Social Implications of Technical Advance：A Review of the Literature ［J］，Current Sociology，1952，1（2－3）：191－207

[45]Gilfillan S Colum．Social Implications of Technical Advance：A Review of the Literature ［J］，Current Sociology，1952，1（2－3）：191－207．

[46]Gilfillan S Colum．An Ugly Ducking’s Swan Song：the Autobiography of S Colum Gilfillan［J］．Sociological Abstracts，1970（18）：i－xl．

[47]Gilfillan S Colum．Social Effects of Inventions［R］//US National Resources Committee，Technological Trends and National Policy，Including the Social Implications of New Inventions．Washington：USGPO．1937：24－38．

[48]Gilfillan S Colum．The Sociology of Invention：An Essay in the Social Causes of Technic Invention and Some of its Social Results：Especially as Demonstrated in the History of the Ship［M］．Chicago：Follett Publishing Company，1935：131－132．

[49]Gilfillan S Colum．Social Effects of Invention［R］//US National Resources Committee，Technology Trends and National Policy，Including the Social Implications of New Inventions，Washington：USGPO：1937：24－38．

[50]Gilfillan S Colum．Social Effects of Invention［R］//US National Resources Committee，Technology Trends and National Policy，Including the Social Implications of New Inventions，Washington：USGPO：1937：24－38．

[51]Gilfillan S Colum．The Sociology of Invention：An Essay in the Social Causes of Technic Invention and Some of its Social Results：Especially as Demonstrated in the History of the Ship［M］．Chicago：Follett Publishing Company，1935：139．

[52]Gilfillan S Colum．Social Effects of Invention［R］//US National Resources Committee，
Technology Trends and National Policy，Including the Social Implications of New Inventions，Washington：USGPO：1937：24－38．

[53]Gilfillan S Colum．Invention as a Factor in Economic History［J］．The Journal of Economic History，Supplement：The Task of Economic History，1945（5）：66－85．

[54]Westrum Ron．Technologies and Society：the Shaping of People and Things［M］．Belmont，Calif．：Wadsworth Pub．Co，1991：58．

[55]Bright James R．Thennological Forecasting for Industry and Government：Methods and Appliations［M］．Englewood Cliffs，N J．：Prentice－Hall，1968：1．

[56]Ogburn W F．Machines and Tomorrow’s World［M］．Washington：National Resources Committee，1938：9．

[57]Bright James R．Technology Forecasting Literature：Emergence and Impact on Technological Innovation［M］//P．Kelly and M．Kranzberg（Eds．），Technological Innovation：A Critical Review of Current Knowledge．San Francisco，Calif：San Francisco Press，1978，Volume II，Chapter 13：369－475．．

[58]Gilfillan S Colum．Social Effects of Invention［R］//US National Resources Committee，Technology Trends and National Policy，Including the Social Implications of New Inventions，Washington：USGPO：1937：24－38．

[59]Ogburn W F，Gilfillan S Colum．The Influence of Invention and Discovery［R］//US President’s Research Committee on Social Trends，Recent Social Trends in the United States．New York：McGraw－Hill，1933，Volume I：163．

[60]Ogburn W F，Thomas，Dorothy．Are Inventions Inevitable？A Note on Social Evolution Source［J］．Political Science Quarterly，1922，37（1）：83－98

[61]Gilfillan S Colum．The Prediction of Inventions［R］//US National Resources Committee，Technology Trends and National Policy，Including the Social Implications of New Inventions，Washington：USGPO：1937：15－23

[62]Gilfillan S Colum．The Prediction of Inventions［R］//US National Resources Committee，Technology Trends and National Policy，Including the Social Implications of New Inventions，Washington：USGPO：1937：15－23．

[63]Gilfillan S Colum．The Prediction of Technical Change［J］．Review of Economics and Statistics，1952，34（4）：368－385．

[64]Westrum Ron．Technologies and Society：the Shaping of People and Things［M］．Belmont，Calif．：Wadsworth Pub Co，1991：57－58．

[65]Taviss Irene．Review：Supplement to the Sociology of Invention．By Gilfillan，S．Colum ［J］．Technology and Culture，1974，15（1）：136－138．

[66]Gilfillan S Colum．The Sociology of Invention：An Essay in the Social Causes of Technic Invention and Some of its Social Results：Especially as Demonstrated in the History of the Ship［M］．Chicago：Follett Publishing Company，1935．62．

[67]Gilfillan S Colum．The Sociology of Invention：An Essay in the Social Causes of Technic Invention and Some of its Social Results：Especially as Demonstrated in the History of the Ship［M］．Chicago：Follett Publishing Company，1935．79．

[68]Gilfillan S Colum．The Sociology of Invention：An Essay in the Social Causes of Technic Invention and Some of its Social Results：Especially as Demonstrated in the History of the Ship［M］．Chicago：Follett Publishing Company，1935：44．

[69]Godin Beno5t．Innovation Without the Word：William F．Ogburn’s Contribution to Technological Innovation Studies［J］．Minerva，2010（48）：277－307．