State of the art

The state of the art is an Anglicism derived from the expression state of the art (literally state of the art), used for action research. The English expression can also be translated into Spanish as "pointer", "the latest" or "[the] most advanced"; For example, state of the art technology is translated within the Hispanic cultural context, that is, not literally, as "top technology", "the latest in technology" or "vanguard technology".

In the field of scientific research, the SoA (for its acronym in English) refers to the latest state of matter in terms of R&D, even referring to the limit of public human knowledge on the matter.

Within the industrial technological environment, "state of the art", "state of the art" or "state of the art", all those state-of-the-art developments made to a product, which have been tested in the industry and have been welcomed and accepted by different manufacturers.

In English, the phrase is joined by hyphens when used as an adjective: This machine is an example of state-of-the-art technology. In Spanish, this convention is not fulfilled, although it can be applied in the same way.

In the field of industrial property, especially in the field of patents, it is usually called State of the Art or "prior art". It is defined by everything that has been published, either in the country where the patent is sought or throughout the world, before the patent application date.

Use in Spanish

The Diccionario panhispánico de dudas, advises against the use of the expression "state of the art”.

State of art. Coat censurable in English state of the art: "There will be an invaluable opportunity to see there [...] the most advanced developments, the state of art of our varied technologies" (Abc [Sp.] 12.7.96). In Spanish, it is recommended to replace it with expressions current status or situation, latest developments or status of the issue, according to the cases.

PhD theses

Within a technical academic writing (and by imitation of the academic language that is nourished by English), the theoretical basis on which the writing is based is called state of the art, or which is refuted in the subsequent development in the writing and that forms an introductory part of it. It is common for the second chapter of a doctoral thesis in engineering to be called "State of the art" where a review of the techniques related to said doctoral thesis is made. This chapter is essential to explain the contributions to knowledge that the thesis makes to the current state of knowledge.

The origin of the expression, most likely, is due to Aristotle in the first book of Metaphysics, where he classifies knowledge into science, art and experience.

• Science seeks knowledge for the mere innate curiosity of the human being. In fact the first book Metaphysics Aristotle begins with his famous phrase “All men have by nature the desire to know” (Elcho Pan, 1988:45). Science does not seek any usefulness in the pursuit of knowledge, but to satisfy the innate curiosity of the human being. So it is science philosophy, mathematics, physics, biology, chemistry, etc.
• Art, unlike science, seeks a usefulness in seeking new knowledge, how to make better bridges with a lower cost of materials and manufacturing, how to cure certain diseases or how to put a man on the moon. Thus, according to the aristotelian classification, art is medicine, architecture, computer science and the rest of engineering, but also music, poetry, painting, etc. However, they are the last ones that have taken place today in the term and are the ones that everyone understands by art.
• Finally, Aristotle refers to the experience as the knowledge that possesses the different trades, fisherman, farmer, carpenter, etc.

This explains why in doctoral theses carried out in science, this chapter is called State of Science and in engineering in general State of the art.