Abstract
The gap between the metatheoretical inquiries of the analytical philosophy of history, formulated in terms of general principle, and the actual research practices of the historical discipline needs to be bridged. This investigation of the determinants -preconditions, causes, factors, forces - of technological development during the Industrial Revolution makes explicit the range of theoretical instruments used in such studies. The methodologically unavoidable plurality of aspects and perspectives for each concrete inquiry precludes any generally binding model for technological development. Discussion of epistemological presuppositions, by comparing various approaches, can serve to make fully conscious these presuppositions and make them accessible to analysis and criticism