UNIT 1: GENERAL CONCEPTS AND
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF STS
PRELIMS
1. Historical Antecedents of Science and
Technology
a. in the Ancient World
b. in the Middle and Modern Ages
c. in the Philippines
2. Scientific Revolution
3. Science and Technology in Nation Building
Lesson 1: INTELLECTUAL
THAT DEFINED SOCIETY
REVOLUTIONS
OBJECTIVES
At the end of this discussion we must
be able to answer the following questions.
1. How do we define Science? Technology? and
Society?
2. How do Science, Technology and Society
interact with each other or how they are related?
3. What is Science Technology and Society
(STS)?
4. What are the historical antecedents that
changed the course of Science and Technology
in the
a. World (ancient, middle and modern
ages)
b. Philippines
SCIENCE
-Came from Latin word “Scientia”- which
means knowledge
-A system of acquiring
knowledge based on
the Scientific Method
-As a process used to
solve problems or
develop
understanding
of
nature that involves
testing
possible
answers
-An organized, systematic, and methodical
activity of building and organizing knowledge
about how the universe behaves through
observation experimentation or both.
-As a discovery of regularity in nature enough
for natural phenomena to be described by
principles and laws.
-Tries to discover facts and relationships and
then tries to create theories that makes sense
of these facts and relationships.
TECHNOLOGY
-it refers to the methods, systems, and devices
which are the result of scientific knowledge
being used for practical purposes.
-the human attempt to change the world… by
creating products that make our life easier.
-comes from Greek root word “techne”.
Meaning “art skill or cunning of hand”.
-it is the application of scientific knowledge
laws and principles to produce services,
materials, tools, and machines aimed to
solving real-world problems
-the means or activity by which man seeks to
change or manipulate his environment
SOCIETY
-came from the Latin word “societas” which
means “a friendly association with others”
-a large group of people who live together in an
organized way making decisions about how to
do things and sharing the work that needs to
be done.
-a grouping of individuals which is
characterized by common interest and may
have distinctive culture and institution.
Science- process of acquiring Scientific
knowledge
Technologyapplication
of
scientific
knowledge for people
Society- group of people who uses technology
and who are studying science
2. How do science, technology and Society
interact with each other or how they are
related?




Science drives technology by making new
technology possible through scientific
breakthroughs.
Engineers focus on using science to
develop products
Without
technology
some
science
experiments would not be possible
Without science technology could not
proceed
Science is a way of knowing
Technology is a way of doing

The very questions that scientists ask
are shaped by the available technology
3. What is Science, Technology and Society
(STS)?
Science, Technology, & Society (STS)
- is relatively young field that
combines previously independent
and older disciplines such as History
of Science, Philosophy of Science,
and Sociology of Science.
- applies methods drawn from history,
philosophy, and sociology to study
the nature of science and technology
and ultimately judge their value and
place in society
- sees to bridge the gap between two
traditionally
exclusive
culturehumanities and natural sciences- so
that human will be able to better
confront the moral, ethical, and
existential dilemmas brought by the
continued developments in science
and technology.
- is the
study of
how
social,
political,
and
cultural
values
affect
scientific research and technological
innovation and how these in turn
affect society, politics, and culture
-
Stone age humans were huntergatherers who lived in small,
nomadic groups
Neanderthals (70,000 BCE)
 Stone tools (Oldowan tools)- used
for chopping, cutting and scraping
Cro-Magnons (35 000 BCE)
 Hafting (head and haft)- These
hafted stone points increased the
force and effectiveness of these
tools, therefore, allowing people
to hunt and kill animals more
efficiently.
4. What are the historical antecedents that
changed the course of Science and
Technology?
“Those Who Do Not Learn History Are Doomed
To Repeat It”
- Sir Winston Churchill
A glimpse of the history of Science and
Technology
1. Ancient World
2. Middle Ages
3. Industrial Revolution
PRE-HISTORIC SCIENCE
The primitive man must have:
- Conceived that the earth is flat and
limitless
- Observed the changing of the
seasons in connection to the shifting
of the sun
- Recognized
the
fundamental
distinction between living and nonliving things
- Practiced instinctive therapeutics
-
STONE AGE
The stone age marks a period of
prehistory in which humans used
primitive stone tools.
THE NEOLITHIC REVOLOTION (c. 15 000 BCE)
From hunters to settlers: transition from
nomadic
hunter-gatherers
to
agrarian
communities
Fertile Crescent: The Cradle of Civilization
MESOPOTAMIA
 Formed from the ancient words
meso and potamos
 Situated between the Tigris and
Euphrates rivers
 Tigris and Euphrates rivers
provided freshwater necessary
for agricultural production
SUMERIAN CIVILIZATION (c. 4100-1750 BCE)
 Explored the practice of the scientific
hypothesis
 Engaged in technological innovation
 Created the earliest written language
 Developed mathematics, astronomy,
and astrology
 Fashioned the concept of time
Sumerians’ most important inventions: Wheel,
Sail, and Writing
The wheel is developed from a need to
make pottery in less time. The potter’s wheel
was then adapted to create carts and chariots
for transporting goods and for travelling.
The invention of the sail which most
likely began simply through the observation of
the wind’s effect on a piece of cloth.
Cuneiform- a system of writing first
developed by the Sumerians. It utilized word
pictures carved on clay.
Irrigation and Dikes
Farming Implements
BABYLONIAN CIVILIZATION (c. 2300 BCE)



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
Astronomy and Astrology
Mathematics
Cartography
Jewelry-making
Calendar system
Babylonian Astronomy and Astrology


Babylonian astrology represented the
melding of science and religion.
Babylonian astrology consisted of
making temporal predictions and
decisions based on the movements of
the celestial; bodies
ANCIENT EGYPTIAN SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY




Egyptian civilization developed along
Nile River
Egyptian built grand monument and
temples
They made advances in engineering,
architecture,
agriculture,
medicine,
astronomy, and even in art and literature
Hieroglyphics, Egyptian writing system,
used pictograms and alphabets-like
characters that stood for certain sounds.

Egyptians had developed durable sheets
of writing materials from the papyrus
plants
 Ancient Egyptian handheld mirrors
 Depiction
of
Ancient
Egyptian
Toothbrush
 Temple of Luxor
 Great Pyramids of Giza
 Egyptian astronomy— for spiritual and
practical purposes
o Star clock
o Merkhet
 Medicine in ancient Egypt was intimately
tied to magic.
 Best—known work dealing with
medical issues:
a. Ebers Papyrus (c. 1550 BCE)
b. Edwin Smith Papyrus (c. 1600 BCE)
c. London Medical Papyrus (c.1629
BCE)
The Egyptians also practiced embalming,
called mummification
ANCIENT GREEK SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
 The achievements of ancient Greek
science were among the first in antiquity
 However, the Greeks undervalued
observation in favor of the deductive
process.
Deductive Reasoning




Knowledge is built by means of
pyure thought
Powerful approach in mathematics
The Greeks eventually came to
believe that the only way of obtaining
knowledge was the use of deduction
Observations were undervalued
PYTHAGORAS of SAMOS (c. 570- 495 BCE)
 He was credited with mathematical and
scientific discoveries
 Numerical system
 Pythagorean theorem
 Sphericity of the Earth
 Identify of the morning evening
star as the planet Venus
 Founded a sect where Greek philosophy,
religion, art, and mysticism were all
fused together.
PLATO (c. 428-347 BC)
 He believed all substances to be
composed of air, earth, fire, and water
 HE believed in a spherical Earth which
was the center of his universe, and a
motion of his universe, and a motion of
planets along crystalline spheres
 He invented a theory of vision involving
three streams of light
HIPPOCRATES (c. 460-375 BCE)
 He established a medical school on the
island of Kos, and he wrote many
treaties on medical matters
 He is known as the founder of modern
medicine
ARISTOTLE (c. 364-322 BCE)
Important contr0ibutions:
o Classification of animals in his book
Historia Animalium
o Binomial nomenclature (“genus” and
“difference”)
o Treatises:
o De Anima or On the Soul
o Meteorologica
TECHNOLOGICAL BREAKTHROUGHS OF THE
ANCIENT GREEKS
1. East façade of the Parthenon, Athens
2. Old Crane in use
3. Water Mill in action
4. The Antikythera Mechanism- the first
analog computer
ANCIENT ROMAN SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY
 Romans innovations were largely more
concerned with refinement than new
ideas
 For the Romans, science had to provide
useful information
ANCIENT PERIOD
-ancient civilization paved the way for
advances in science and technology
- these advances during the ancient
period allowed civilizations to flourish by
finding better ways of communication,
transportation, self-organization and ways of
living.
- People from ancient civilization used
animals as means of transportation
- The invention of ancient wheel is
credited to the Sumerians.
- Around 3000 B.C., the ancient
Egyptians began writing on a papyrus
- It is made from a pith of plant called
cyperus papyrus
- Before the invention of papyrus,
writing and book keeping is done on
stones and tablets.
SHADOOF
-a tool invented and used by ancient
Egyptians to irrigate land
- it is a hand-operated device used for
lifting water
- its invention introduced the idea of
lifting things using counterweights
ANTIKYTHERA MECHANISM
-discovered in 1902 and retrieved from
the waters of Antikythera, Greece
- the world’s oldest known Mechanical
Computer created by Greek
-it is a mechanism similar to a clock for it has a
circular face and rotating hands
-it is believed that this mechanism is used to
predict astronomical positions and eclipses
AEOLIPILE
-it is known as the Heron’s engine
-it is the world’s first steam engine which spins
as the water container at its center is heated
- at first, it doesn’t serve any practical purpose.
It is believed to be one of the “temple wonder
of that time”
MIDDLE AGES
- The major advances in scientific and
technological development too place
in this period
- These
advancements
include
constant increase of new inventions
innovation in traditional production
and the emergence of scientific
thinking and method
HEAVY PLOUGH
- “the heavy plough turned European
agriculture and economy on its head.
The fields with heavy fatty soil
became those that gave the greatest
yields”- Prof. Thomas Andersen
- Because of the invention of heavy
plough, Northern Europe saw rapid
economic prosperity.
GUNPOWDER
- Around 850 A.D. Chinese alchemists
accidentally invented the gunpowder
- Prior to the invention of gunpowder,
swords, and spears were used in
battles and wars
- The invention of gunpowder has
allowed advanced warfare such as
fiery arrows cannons and grenades.
PAPER MONEY
- Paper money was first used by
Chinese in 17th century
-
-
Before the introduction of paper
money, merchants and traders used
precious metals such as gold and
silvers
They realized that using paper
money brought advantages because
it is easier to keep and transport
MECHANICAL CLOCK
-the development of mechanical clock
helped the people in accurately keeping the
track of time
- the sophistication of clockwork
technology drastically changed the way of
spending the way and work patterns were
stablished.
SPINNING WHEEL
-a machine used to transform fiber into
thread or yarn and eventually woven into cloth.
- it is theorized that the Indians are the
one invented the spinning wheel between 6th
and 11th century
MODERN AGES
- History period when people realized
the importance of the efficiency of
transportation, communication, and
production
- Industrialization too place but with
greater risk on human health, food
safety, and health
TELESCOPE
-Invented by Galileo Galilei that can
magnify 20 times larger than regular glasses
- this is used to discover important
astronomical features lie the moon’s crates
and stars
COMPOUND MICROSCOPE
- Invented by a Dutch named
Zacharias Janssen in 1590’s
- Nowadays, microscope is used in
many scientific studies in the area of
medicines forensics and genetics
JACQUARD LOOM
-built by French weaver Joseph Marie
Jacquard
which
simplifies
textile
manufacturing
- Prior to the invention, a draw loom is used
which requires two persons to operate
ENGINE- POWERED AIRPLANE
-invented by Orville Wright and Wilbur
Wright
- they demonstrated that slightly-tilted
wings are the key features of a flying aircraft
FIRST AUTOMOBILE
-the first stationary gasoline engine
developed by Carl Benz was a one-cylinder twostroke unit which ran for the first time on New
Year’s Eve 1879
- a lightweight car powered by a
gasoline engine, in which the chassis and
engine formed a single unit.
TELEVISION
-Invented by Scottish engineer John
Logie Baird in 1920s
-British Broadcasting Corporation and
this for its earliest television programming in
1929
- this first television is mechanical and
no the same as the television we have
nowadays.
20TH CENTURY INVENTIONS BY FILIPINO
SCIENTIST
VIDEOPHONE- invented by Gregorio Y. Zara
-two-way
television
telephone
(videophone in 1955)
MEDICAL INCUBATOR- invented by Fe Del
Mundo
-first Asian to have entered Harvard
University
MOLE REMOVER- Mr. Rolando Dela Cruz is
credited for the invention of the mole remover
which is mad from cashew nuts extracts
NARCISO MOSUELA- inventor of superalan
UNIT 1: GENERAL CONCEPT AND HISTORICAL
DEVELOPMENT OF STS
1. Historical Antecedents of Science and
Technology
a. in the Ancient World
b. in the Middle and Modern Ages
c. in the Philippines
2. Scientific Revolution
3. Science and Technology in Nation Building
contribution in chemistry
 Arab chemists greatly improved the
earlier distillation apparatus and used it
for lrge scale production of perfume
 The Arabs laid the basis for modern
chemistry in their investigation of
chemical transformation
 Astronomy in the Medieval Islamic
World
Timbutu Manuscripts
Different phases of the moon from Abu Rayhan
al-Biruni’s astronomical works
 The association of science with kings
wealthy merchants and nobles which
was initially very fruitful, ultimately
proved to be the weakness of Arab
culture and science
 Arab science provided a crucial link
between the development of ancient
science and the rise of modern science
SCIENCE
AND
MEDIEVAL INDIA


TECHNOLOGY
Al-Biruni was a distinguished historian
and he wrote a great deal of information
about India
He highlighted the elitist character of
Indian science. It was restricted to a few
people who practiced science only as an
intellectual exercise
The Expansion of Islam in the Middle Ages
ADVANCES IN INDIAN SCIENCE
Arab Science
 Examine the classical scientific and
philosophical traditions of the Greeks
 Caliph-al-Mamum founded a bureau of
translation, ‘Dar el Hikhma’, where the
great scholar Hunain ibn Ishaac and
Thabit ibn Khurra prepared Arabic texts
out of Aristotle’s and Ptolemy’s writings
and other major Greeks classics of
science.
ASTRONOMY



Arab Science
 Astronomy
 Medicine
 Optics
 Chemistry
 Mathematics
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Central to Islam medicine was belief in
the Qur’an and Hadiths
The major contribution of the Islam Age
to the history of medicine was the
establishment of hospitals
The earliest documented general
hospital was built about a century later,
in 805, in Baghdad, by the vizier to the
caliph Harun al-Rashid
The Arab doctors, perfumers, and
metallurgists made their greatest
IN
Glimpses pf ancient Hindu astronomy
are found in the Vedas and the Vedic
literature
Hindu astronomy is reco0irded in the
Surya Siddhanta, summarized (“Five
Treaties “)
Aryabhata the Elder composed the
Aryabhatiya, the earliest preserbed work
on astronomy written during the 5th
century
GEOGRAPHY

The 9th century Indian geographers
improved on Ptolemy’s work and

depicted the Indian Ocean as an open
body of water instead of a land-locked
sea as Ptolemy had done,
In 1647, Sadiq Isfahani prepared an
encyclopedic work that contained a
World Atlas
METALLURGY
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

The earliest firm evidence for the
production of metallic zinc is from India
The Rasaratnakara, a text ascribed to
the great Indian scientist Nagarjuna,
describes this method od production od
zinc
They manufactured brass, and alloy of
copper and zinc
MEDICINE


The earliest concepts in Indian medicine
are set out in the sacred writing called
the Vedas.
The golden age of Indian medicine was
marked by the production of the medical
treatises known the Charaka-Samhita
compiled by Charaka, a physician, and
Sushruta-Samhita compiled by Sushruta,
a surgeon.
TECHNOLOGICAL
ADVANCES
DEVELOPMENT IN MEDIEVAL INDIA
AND
GEARS
-Medieval India used two types of gears: the
worn-gearing and the pindrum gearing
-Gear were used in sugar-milling, in wooded
cotton-gin and water-lifting
Belt-drive Spinning Wheel
Handloom
IMPEDIMENTS TO THE GROWTH OF SCIENCE
IN INDIA
Social structure
Religious orthodoxy
Intellectual atmosphere
Social Structure
 There was a very considerable stability
in Indian Society
 In India, the society was divided into
rigid social groups=-a caste system
Religion orthodoxy

There was a co-existence between Islam
and Hinduism, and there were no strong
movements of reform
Intellectual atmosphere
 In medieval India, education was also
limited to religious teaching, and the
intellectual atmosphere was not in favor
of challenging the established ways of
thinking, or of propounding new theories.
DEVELOIPMENT
OF
TECHNOLOGY IN CHINA

SCIENCE
AND
Science in China has a long history and
developed quite independently of
Western Science
The controversy:
Western scientists argue that all scientific
contributions from non-Europeans were
technology-based, no science-based
Traditional Chinese Medicine
1. Acupuncture
2. Herbal Medicine
Four Great Inventions
Compass
Gunpowder
Paper making
Printing
Paper making
 China was the first nation to invent
paper, called “bo”, made of silk
 Paper was first used by the Chinese for
wrapping
 The Chinese began using paper, made
from rice straw, for toilet purposes in
the sixth century, Ad. Also, the Chinese
began to have a paper currency in the
early 90th century.
 The Chinese began to use woodblock
printing in the 7th century where the next
is carved into the wood blocks which are
then inked.
A. woodblock printing
Round compass
WEAVING AND EMBROIDERY
 China was the first country in the world
to raise silkworms and make silk
 China renowned all over the world as the
Oriental country of silk
 The Chinese approached the natural
world through philosophical schools of
thought
 Another
approach
through
the
organization of plants, animals, and
mankind in the form of books called
“ben cao”
 China is one of the first countries in the
world to have done astronomical
research
 The
Chinese
invented
brilliant
astronomical instruments as the
armillary sphere
0
SCIENTIFIC
AND
TECHNOLOGICAL
STAGNATION IN MEDIEVAL CHINA
B. woodblock printing- movable type
Why did Chinese technology fall behind that of
Europe in the Middle Ages?
 John K. Fairbank argued that the
Chinese political system was hostile to
scientific progress
 Joseph Needham argued, and most
scholars agreed, that cultural factors
prevented Chinese achievements from
developing into what could be called
“science”
THE EMERGENCE OF SCIENTIFIC THINKING
AND METHODOLOGY IN EUROPE



GUNPOWDER
 Chinese Taoist alchemists accidentally
invented
the
gunpowder
after
experiencing with substances in the
hope of creating an elixir of immortality
 Gunpowder was originally used for
making fireworks and its later
adaptation
revolutionized
warfare
across the world
COMPASS
Chinese magnetic compass


Scholars concentrated their intellectual
activities mainly on religion, and they
used
the
rigors
of
scientific
investigation for practical purposes for
the sake of their religion
Scientific issues were hardly discussed
in depth by the intellectual elites
European scholars built upon their
existing knowledge by seeking out
ancient learning in Greek and Arabic
texts which they translated into Latin
The rediscovery of the works of Aristotle
allowed the full development of the new
Christian philosophy and the method of
scholasticism
In the 13th century, Roger Bacon
described the cornerstone of the
scientific method
Scientia experimentalis
Objective verification
MAJOR TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS
 Medieval Europe saw a radical change in
the rate of new inventions, innovations
in the ways of managing traditional
means of production, and economic
growth
Adoption of gunpowder
Vertical windmills
Spectacles
Mechanical clocks
Building
Techniques
(Gothic
architecture, medieval castles)
Agriculture (three-field crop rotation)
Maritime technology
Mechanical printing
People of the Middle Ages had to face a
great number of questions and pressing
problems
In order to find solutions, more and
more intellectuals dared to study nature
objectively and to apply the results of
contemporary scientific thinking. This
led to an enormous increase in the
quantity and quality of innovation and
eventually resulted in the “Scientific
Revolution” of the 16th and 7th centuries