Society vis-à-vis Science and
Technology: The triad
Knowledge production
and Application
Science and Technology
• Often closely related subjects BUT two different
concepts and should not be used interchangeably;
• The two may develop separately without one influencing
the other
• Recently, they become so intertwined reinforcing each
other and they are construed the same.
SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY:
Which came first?
SCIENCE –
systematic enterprise that builds
and organizes knowledge in the
form of testable explanations and
predictions about nature and the
universe.
TECHNOLOGY
the collection of techniques,
methods or processes used in the
production of goods or services
or in the accomplishment of
objectives, such as scientific
investigation.
Science
refers to the body of
knowledge that has been
produced through and
validated by scientific process
of inquiry which seek to
define, understand and predict
natural phenomena.
(Consciousness of Doing)
Science….
Body of knowledge or facts
A way of thinking about or
approaching a topic
Ask questions that aim to
increase our understanding of the
physical universe and our ability
to explain nature
Therefore…
Science has 4 meanings
• science as knowledge
• science as a field of systematic inquiry
into nature
• science as a form of human cultural
activity
• science as a total societal enterprise
Goal of science is
often to describe,
explain, and
predict
relationships that
occur naturally.
• Science as knowledge
* processed information which are
generated to understand nature(science)
and ultimately can be used for practical
and applied purposes(technology).
*this knowledge reflects two significant
features of science as knowledge:
(1) it is socially produced hence
cultural and;
(2) its used is largely determined by
socio-ecological forces
• Science as theoretical
inquiry
Science – Wissenschaft
*formal science- logic and mathematics- abstract
symbols do not necessarily refer to phenomena of the
natural world
*substantive science- physics, biology, psychology,
and sociology- phenomena of the natural world as the
object of science
• Science as a field of
systematic inquiry
into nature
Refers to a particular field or domain of
systematic inquiry in which knowledge is
sought
• Science as a form of
human cultural
activity
* human cultural process and on human ideas and activities as
cultural in nature
* a field that focuses on how cultural process affects the teaching
and learning of science
*advocate the potential contribution of such an approach to several
research domains and to questions of access and equity
*human cultural activity practiced by people called the scientist and
formerly as the natural philosophers
• Science as a total
societal enterprise
The complex knowledge, people,
skills, organizations, facilities,
technics, physical resources, methods
and technologies taken together and
in relationship to one another, are
devoted to the study and
understanding of the natural world
Science
Technology
 Scientific inquiry
(investigating the natural world)
Technology products
and processes
 Scientific knowledge
(what we think we know)
Technological innovation
(creating the designed world)
Technology
• Applied science
• Involves the design and uses of
devices (product), processes (how
to make it), and materials (inputs)
to solve practical problems and to
satisfy human needs and wants.
in the broadest sense, extends our abilities
to change the world; to cut, shape and put
together materials; to move things from one
place to another; to reach farther with our
hands, voices and senses (Benchmark for Science
Literacy, AAAS, 1993)
Is the process by which humans modify
nature to meet their needs wants(Technically
Speaking: Why All Americans Need to Know More About
Technology, NAE/NRC, 2002)
The goal of technology is to try and
change the relationship that exists to
achieve desirable results
Technology- 4 meanings
*Technology as Technics
*Technology as a Technology
*Technology as a form of Human
cultural activity
*Technology as a Total societal
enterprise
• Technology as Technics
Lewis Mumford’s term:
-Material product of human making
(material artifacts)
-fabrication (hardware)
• Technology as technology
Refers to the complex knowledge,
methods, materials, and if applicable,
constituent parts used in making certain
kind of technic
Examples: technologies involved in car
manufacture (brake tech, carburator
tech, engine tech, transmission tech,
etc.)
• Technology as a form of human cultural
activity
A kind of human cultural activity which focus on any activity
in the production of an outcome (object), physical or mental.
The subject, an individual or group, determines that there is a
need or motive to fulfill, the object;
The use of tools (e.g., technology, training, conceptual ideas,
people) the subject moves toward accomplishing the object.
The practitioners called the technologists e.g. craftspeople,
machinists, and professional engineers.
• Technology as a total societal
enterprise
Integration of the complex knowledge,
people, skills, organizations, facilities,
technics, physical resources, methods, and
technologies that, taken together, and in
relationship to one another; and are
devoted to research, development,
production, and operation of technics
•
Impacts of science and technology:
positive vs negative
1. Improve quality of life
2. Development of medical technology and
research
3.
Ensure rapid transfer of information and
data to address needs of the population
Science
vs
 Deals with natural world
 Existence in the natural
world
 Process of how we seek out
meaning of the natural world
through inquiry through a
systematized way(exploring,
discovering)
Technology
 Deals with how humans
modify, change, alter or
control the natural world
 What can we do or should
do to satisfy our needs and
wants through alteration
and modification of the
natural world materials and
substances
 Process of how we alter the
natural world through
invention, innovation,
problem solving
In summary…
 Technology
 Science
form of human activity
which is devoted to the
production of technics or
technic-related intellectual
products and whose root
function is to expand the
realm of practical human
possibility
form of human activity
which is devoted to the
production of theory-related
knowledge of natural
phenomena and whose root
function is to attain an
enhanced understanding of
nature
Society
A group, large or small, of people in a
particular place and time who are linked by
common goals and interests.
Society affects both science and
technology
Society forms, directs, influences
science and technology
Impacts of science and technology in
society- health, well-being,
environment, community organizing,
work, economy, communication and
military.