SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY
Module 1 | The Social Dimension of Science and Technology
THE SOCIAL DIMENSION OF
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
OVERVIEW
In this module, we shall situate science and
technology within the larger society in which we live.
We shall look into various aspects of society and culture
that have contributed to the development of science and
technology over time. Parallel to this we shall also look
at how science and technology have contributed to
society. This chapter provides the framework to be
utilized in the succeeding chapters as we examine the
diversity of science and technology across cultures those of the past and the present; and in different places
of the world.
1.1
A local healer preparing various medical plant parts for
healing.
1.3
TECHNOLOGY AS COMPONENT OF
CULTURE
In sociology and anthropology, technology is
considered as a component of culture. Technology
includes the various processes which a group of people
use to harness the environment to produce objects and
systems that could be utilized to respond to human needs
in society. The objects produced by technology are
referred to as artifacts or material culture.
OVERVIEW OF SOCIETY AND
CULTURE
Humans, as do some animals belong to specific
groups in society. Individuals belongs to a family,
neighborhood, school, church, peer groups, work groups
among others.
Comparison of the evolution of technology from the past
to the present.
A ritual in perform by the tribe leaders to cleanse Mt. Apo
1.2
SCIENCE IN SOCIETY
1.4
By the term science we do not only mean the
formal natural science and social sciences, but also the
knowledges of specific cultures regarding natural and
social phenomena. How different cultures make sense of
their world and how they act accordingly to achieve
desirable outcomes are likewise encompassed in this
broad definition of science.
LINKING SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY,
AND SOCIETY
In general sociology provides various theoretical
perspective to the analysis of society and culture.
1
SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY
Wood formed into a cross.
1.1 OVERVIEW OF SOCIETY AND
CULTURE

It refers to the ways of thinking, the ways of
acting, and material objects that together form
the people’s way of thinking.

It refers to that people’s traditions, customs,
and behaviors. It includes ideas, values, and
artifacts.

Sharing a similar culture helps to define the
society to which we belong.

Cultures are diverse and thus vary across
different places.
FACTORS CONTRIVUTING TO CULTURAL
DIVERSITY
SOCIETY

Physical environment (geographic location) and

How people manage to utilize what is found in
their immediate environment in order to respond
to their needs.
ASPECTS OF CULTURE

It refers to an autonomous group of people
interacting with others in a distinct
geographic territory and sharing a common
culture.

It refers to a group of people who are relatively
self-sufficient and who share a common
territory and culture.

Members of the society preserve and transmit
culture from one generation to the next (through
literature, art, video recording and other means
of expression).
CULTURE
2

Material – this includes concrete and tangible
things that people create and attach meaning to
(tools, houses, books)

Non-material – this includes abstract and
intangible objects (customs, traditions, habits,
attitude, laws, etc.)
SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY
respond to people’s needs by producing a
technological product.
Due to such diversity of culture in every society
brought by its geographic location, people manage to
develop knowledge “knowledge” to utilize the
resources that they can find in their immediate
environment to respond to their needs, this
knowledge is called SCIENCE.

In relation to science, it is science or
knowledge put into practical use to solve
problems or invent useful tools through
harnessing such resources to respond to
society’s needs.

Examples of technology includes: (1)
Producing fire of the first men to drive away
their enemies such as wild animals and cook food,
(2) Creating medicinal herbs, (3) Building a well
to provide water for irrigation, and (4) Using
bamboo to collect water.

It is not related to modern technology.
SCIENCE
1.2 SCIENCE IN SOCIETY

It refers to the knowledge utilized to harness
environmental resources.

It refers to any system of knowledge that is
concerned with the physical world and its
phenomena and that entails unbiased
observations and systematic experimentation.
SCIENCE AS THE GREATEST COLLECTIVE
ENDEAVOR
It contributes to ensuring a longer and healthier
life, monitors our health, provides medicine to cure our
diseases, alleviates aches and pains, helps us to provide
water for our basic needs – including our food, provides
energy and makes life more fun, including sports, music,
entertainment and the latest communication technology.
Last but not least, it nourishes our spirit.
TECHNOLOGY

In a sociologist’s point of view, technology is a
generic term that is associated with the
processes of simply utilizing the available
resources in our society (country) in order to
3

Science generates solutions for everyday life
and helps us to answer the great mysteries of
the universe.

In other words, science is one of the most
important channels of knowledge.

It has a specific role, as well as a variety of
functions for the benefit of our society:
creating new knowledge, improving education,
and increasing the quality of our lives.
SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY
Challenges today cut across the traditional
boundaries of disciplines and stretch across the lifecycle
of innovation — from research to knowledge
development and its application. Science, technology and
innovation must drive our pursuit of more equitable and
sustainable development.
SCIENCE IN SOCIETY

Science refers to the body of knowledge
utilized to understand the world.

Science is composed of Natural Science and
Social Science.

Science has been instrumental
development of technologies.
in

It is the branch of science devoted to the study of
societies and the relationships among individuals
within those societies.

In other words, it studies social phenomena in
the social world.

The major social sciences are Anthropology,
Sociology, History, Economics, Psychology,
Archeology, Geography, Law, Linguistics,
and Politics.
1.3 TECHNOLOGY AS COMPONENT OF
CULTURE
the
Technology touches so many facets of
contemporary life that one is not necessarily conscious
any more of how and why it affects daily experience.
NATURAL SCIENCE
TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE INFLUENCE
EACH OTHER
The story that culture creates a technology,
because that explanation seems the most natural way to
understand our history and it puts our choices at the
forefront, but we also have to consider the ways in which
technology either influences or creates culture.

It is used to understand natural phenomena of
the natural world: the world of plants and
animals, geological formations, how life began,
composition of substances, etc.

Some of the major natural sciences are
Meteorology, Astronomy, Physics, Biology,
Chemistry, and Geology.

Early social thinker utilized the methods of the
natural sciences to understand the social world.
Equally ubiquitous and beyond daily awareness
are cognitive, affective, and behavioral processes
patterned by culture. It has been noted that cultural
factors influence the perception and usage of
technology.
As much as technology is created from the
fabric of our culture, technology also creates the
fabric of our culture. Because of technology, we can find
or create the communities and relationships that fit our
version of thriving, whatever that might be.
TECHNOLOGY
CULTURE
SOCIAL SCIENCE
4
AS
COMPONENT
OF
SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY

Symbols have meanings for people in the
society based on their respective cultures.
STRUCTURAL FUNCTIONALISTS

Artifacts or Material Culture are objects
produced by technology.

Technology is NOT related to modern
technology as “technology” is a generic term for
processes used to harness the environment’s
resources in response to human needs while
“modern technology” can be considered as
products of these processes.


This focuses on the interconnection between
systems in society which have functions that
maintain the functioning of the whole
society.

One social institution affects all other
institutions, thus if there is a dysfunction in one
aspect, the entire system is affected.
CONFLICT PERSPECTIVES

Examples: Stone Tool Technology and
Irrigation System
It focuses on the unequal relationships among
groups or categories of people to explain what
is happening in the society.
EFFECTS OF SCIENTIFIC AND
TECHNOLOGICAL PROGRESS ON
SOCIETY
Scientific and technological progress has had
various effects on society. These effects have not been
limited to the improvement of society’s material wealth,
but have also extended to altering the paradigms under
which society operates.
Specific views on relationship between science
and technology with society and culture have emerged
namely:
a) Technological Somnambulism
b) Technological Determinism
1.4 LINKING SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY,
AND SOCIETY
c) Social Constructions
(SCOT)
SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY
Technology
TECHNOLOGICAL SOMNAMBULISM
It is an interdisciplinary field that studies the
conditions under which the production, distribution and
utilization of scientific knowledge and technological
systems occur; the consequences of these activities upon
different groups of people.
In general, sociology provides various
theoretical perspectives to the analysis of society and
culture. The major perspectives are symbolic
interactionalism, structural functionalism and
conflicts.
SYMNOLIC INTERRACTIONALISM

of
It focuses on the social interactions using
symbols.
5

It is viewed by Langdon Winner, a political
scientist, denies various ways by which
technology provides structure and meaning
for human life.

It contends that human relationship to
technology is consists of merely “making” and
“using” technology.

Technology is considered neutral in moral and
ethical sense – neither is technology good or
bad wherein, this view ignores how technology
can shape social structure and how social
structure shapes technology due to the reason
that technologies are seen to operate beyond
SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY
Module 2 | Science and Technology in Everyday Life
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN
EVERYDAY LIFE
the control of humans and seem to be results
or automatic and unavoidable process.
TECHNOLOGICAL DETERMINISM

It was coined by Thorstein Veblen, an
American sociologist and economists who
viewed that a society’s technology largely
determines its social structure and culture.

Technology is viewed as the main determinant
of a society’s history and the driving force of
its culture. This view posits that the
introduction of newer technologies leads to
changes in society and culture which may lead to
existing knowledge and technologies as well.

For every new discovery or invention, there is a
corresponding transition or change is society.
SOCIAL
CONSTRUCTION
TECHNOLOGY


OVERVIEW
This module presents how science and
technology figure into our everyday lives. First, we shall
look at the relationship of human societies to the natural
world through various ecosystem. This shall be linked to
various food systems that provide everyday sustenance
to people in society. Aside from food, we shall also look
into the various substances and machines utilized in our
households. Lastly, we shall discuss about information
and
communication
technologies
present
in
contemporary societies. All these provide an overview on
the relevance of science and technology to human
societies as utilized in daily activities necessary for
survival.
OF
It is introduced by Wiebe Bijker and Trevor
Pinch (1984), emphasizes the importance of
social context in the development of new
technologies viewed as a product of social
processes involving several social groups.
2.1 ENVIRONMENT AND SOCIETY
Ecosystems provide services that are important
to human existence on a daily basis. Ecosystems services
included the following benefits to mankind: natural
production of food control of climate, support in terms of
cycles and recreational benefits. We may not know it or
take it for granted but ecosystem services are
fundamental to our existence.
It argues that technology and society
negotiate the meaning of new technologies;
then make changes to technology through
resistance; and lastly, construct social and
technological frameworks, actions and practices.
Flourishing biodiversity
2.2 FOOD TECHNOLOGY
Initially, food technologies were developed only
for survival. Food technologies have also led to the
discovery of new products and new applications for the
same ingredients. The diversity of processed food we eat
6
SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY
today is thus a reflection of our human desire to be in
control and be on the top of the food chain.
Children playing the seesaw.
Native dishes in the Philippines
2.5 INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION
2.3 HOUSEHOLD CHEMISTRY
Before the emerging of the infectious disease
(COVID-19) communication and information exchange
are done mostly on face-to-face. Through the
development of information and communication
technologies we can now reach our family and friends
faster and reach vast distances. The rapid growth and
development of information and communication
technologies has resulted to dependence of society on
such technologies.
This section explores the chemistry of the
substances used in every household. It is with chemistry
that one understands the basic properties of the
chemicals inside every household and learns how to
predict, explain how chemicals change as they react to
form new substances. Understanding the chemistry of
household chemicals enhances our awareness of
household chemical safety and precaution.
Online transaction at your fingertips.
Common chemicals used in households.
2.1 ENVIRONMENT AND SOCIETY
2.4 SIMPLE MACHINES
This section shall focus on the simple machines
that human societies commonly utilize in their daily lives
in various arenas of social life. We may ignore these
simple implements and tools, but these are the common
technologies we use every day.
2.2 FOOD TECHNOLOGY
2.3 HOUSEHOLD CHEMISTRY
7
SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY
The last part focuses on technology as a tool to build a
good life and human flourishing. These perspectives
provide the framework in understanding and analyzing
technologies in relation to humanity.
2.4 SIMPLE MACHINES
TECHNOLOGY AND HUMANITY
2.5 INFORMATION AND
COMMUNICATION
From the moment one wakes up to the moment
one returns home from the day’s
activities, there is
always technology. Technology is a part of our lives. But,
then, we have to think, does technology allow us to
explore the possibilities of existence, that is, open our
horizons towards excellence? Or does technology
determine our lives, and therefore, trap us into its
calculations? For instance, when we use our mobile
phones. For sure, mobile phones make contemporary life
easier, in terms of efficiency in communication; but are
we able to see our relationship with the mobile phone as
a mere possibility? Are we able to see how mobile phones
configure our existence? Are we able to see how by
configuring our existence, technology, in this way, has
already laid claim to our lives? What then becomes of
human life? Is it human beings who control and
determine technology? Or has technology started to
control us?
Module 3 | Technology and Humanity
TECHNOLOGY AND HUMANITY
OVERVIEW
PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES OF
TECHNOLOGY
This module provides general philosophical and
anthropological perspectives of technology. It provides a
framework for understanding the link between
technology and humanity. The first part of this module
discusses the meaning of technology as expounded by
Martin Heidegger providing a wider view of the meaning
and essence of technology. The second part
anthropological perspectives of technology provide a
more practical view of technology in term of its
relationship with other aspects of culture and society.
To delve into the philosophical perspective of
technology is to understand technology beyond its
definition. Inquiring into the meaning of technology
is seeking an understanding of its existence in the
first place.
To delved deeper, the meaning of
technology is to recognize the human being as the
locus for technology to occur. That is, questions such
as questions such as “What is
the point, at all, of
technology?” or “Why is there, ultimately technology?
lies not in the technology itself, but in the human being.
Therefore, to understand the meaning of technology is
8
SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY
to understand the human being, who not only wields
technology, but more primordially brings it into
existence.
3D printing produces unique and exquisite pieces of
artistic jewelries and fashion accessories.
MEANING OF TECHNOLOGY
TECHNOLOGY DEFINED BY HEIDEGGER
Technology
 It refers to the means that humans use to obtain
resources and modify the world around them.
Technology as a means to an end
 It refers to how tools, equipment, and facilities
were used by humans to achieve what one wants
 It is an “instrument” to meet our needs.
(instrumental definition)

Technology as a human activity
 It is a general term given for the study of the
function of technology and use of space.
(anthropological definition)


EXAMPLE
3D Printing for Jewelry
Martin Heidegger (1889-1976)
He reexamines the meaning, origin, and the essence
of technology in his book “The Question Concerning
Technology and other Essays”.
Propositions:
1. Technology is not an instrument.
2. Technology is not a human activity.
3. Technology is dangerous.
He defined technology as:
 “a way of revealing”
 a way to understand the world
TECHNOLOGY DEFINED BY ANCIENT
GREEKS



3D Printers are machines that can help you
create finished products without a need for involving any
further steps, the mix of creativity and skills along with
9
Technology is an ancient Greek term, in which
“TECHNE” means art and technique.
The ancient Greeks experienced the ‘making’ of
something as ‘helping something to come into
being’.
Technology is Craftsmanship, Craft, and Fine
art.
SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY
PRINCIPLE OF CAUSALITY


Technology is considered as an instrument, which
implies that technology is a means to an end and
therefore, founded on the relation of cause and
effect.
In the history of western thought, the theorizing of
causality is intimately connected to existence.
CAUSALIT
Y


EXISTENC
E
1. Material Cause (causa materialis)
 It is defined as the “material” or substance of
which the thing is made.
 It refers to the physical elements that find its
unity under our comprehension of “wood.”
 It is wood that serves as the material cause of this
wooden chair.
For Plato, and this may safely be considered to be the
general understanding in classical philosophy,
whatever exists has a cause.
“When I was young, Cebes, I was
tremendously eager for the kind of
wisdom which they call
investigation of nature. I thought
it was a glorious thing to know
the causes of everything, why each
thing comes into being and why it
perishes and why it exists […]”
(Phaedo96a.)

According to Aristotle, there are four causes:
2. Formal Cause (causa formalis)
 It refers to the form in which the thing is
arranged.
 It is the essence or the defining characteristics
(e.g., shape) of the thing.
 It is based on the shape which the material cause
(wood) has taken, which is its “chairness”.
Principle of Causality is expounded by Plato’s
student, Aristotle (384-322 BCE).
3. Efficient Cause (causa efficiens)
 The mover that brought it into existence.
 In this case, the carpenter.
4. Final Cause (causa finalis)
 It refers to the end or purpose of the thing (or
activity).
 The example circumscribes the wooden chair as
a furniture or as a throne, which means that the
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SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY
unity of both formal and material sets forth
the completion of the thing.
A windmill as example of bringing-forth of the power and
beauty of the river (Technology with a meditative way of
harnessing power from nature without harming nature).


A hydroelectric plant as example of challenging-forth
(Technology which reveals something new, a calculative
way of unlocking energy in nature, transforming it into
electric power).
Both the material and formal causes are coresponsible for the occurrence of the
technological object.
The final cause, too, is co-responsible for the
existence of the wooden chair. What brings the
wooden chair into appearance is
the carpenter which is called the “efficient cause.”
TECHNOLOGY AS BRINGING-FORTH

TECHNOLOGY AS A “WAY OF
REVEALING”





Technology is a way of revealing as it brings into
something from concealment to un-concealment,
however, it is not always a revealing that reveals the
truth.
For Heidegger technology can also be a revealing
but, in a sense, of revealing something new brought
about by technological inventions and
innovations.
This can be a revealing, however, that blocks the
truth.
For Heidegger, technology is both a saving power,
as a bringing-forth or poiesis; but it is also a
danger, as a challenging- forth or Ge-Stell.


11
Responsibility and occasioning as the essence of
causality, which in turn, grounds our earlier
definition of technology is ultimately a bringing
about or,
In Heidegger’s term, a “bringing-forth” from
nothing to something, from concealment to
unconcealment, as we showed in the example of the
relation of the four causes to the wooden chair.
This makes technology a revealing of what was
concealed before.
Heidegger classifies bringing-forth or poeisis in two:
1. Bringing-forth in-itself (physis)
SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY


an occasioning from nothing to something,
an emergence. It is a form of bringing-forth
that, characterized in a kind of irruption
(rushing, bursting in) that may find its
paradigm in nature.
He gives the example of “the bursting of a
blossom into bloom in itself”.
TECHNOLOGY AS CHALLENGING-FORTH

2. Bringing-forth in-another
 a bringing forth that is not a sudden
emergence in itself, but it is an emergence
that require the play of four causes,
specifically the carpenter for the case of our
wooden chair.





POESIS VS GE-STELL

Poesis
→ bringing-forth
→ a saving power

Ge-Stell
→ challenging-forth
→ enframing a danger
→ block unconcealment or truth e.g.,
modern technology

12
For Heidegger, technology is both a saving power,
as a bringing-forth or poiesis; but it is also a
danger, as a challenging- forth or Ge-Stell as it
blocks the truth.
The human being becomes merely a standingreserve — regulated as an instrument for efficiency,
productivity, and functionality.
Nature, everything is ordered to stand by, to be on
call for further ordering — standing reserve.
Unlike before, nature is now seen as a “resource we
can readily manipulate.” It is not anymore, an object
of wonder but an object of human conquest.
Man’s technological relationship with nature was
once as one of steward but now is one of both
master and slave.
ANALOGY: The airliner standing on the runway is
a stationary object ordered to be ready for take-off.
We, in fact, like the airliner on the runway, are
situated in the ‘standing reserve’ as human resources.
“In our digital age we are surrounded by technology
but …we do not know how it works or how it is
brought about. We do not know how they were made
or what they are made of and just like the four causes
we have made the 4th cause the most important we
have not questioned the products we have just
accepted that that’s the way things are.”
SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY

“We see nature and people only as raw material for
technical operations.”

Heidegger seeks to illuminate this phenomenon and
to find a way of thinking by which we might be
saved from its controlling power.

We might escape this bondage, Heidegger argues,
not by rejecting technology, but by perceiving its
danger.
EXAMPLE
TECHNOLOGY IS NOT AN INSTRUMENT
TO MEET A MAN’S NEEDS


In mining, man digs coal NOT simply to know
what coals are. Yes, man “exposes” these coals but not
simply to know them. They uncover them because he
wants to use them. Coals are mined from truckloads of
land so as to use their energy. This is the characteristic
of the things revealed in modern technology. They are
there “for” something.

Being “instrumental” reveals man is exerting power
over nature.
“A crafts person would see her or himself as helping
something to come into being. “
- respects nature
Modern technology is not seen as helping to come
into being, but in a sense, “forcing into being”
- nature reveals itself as supplier of energy
COMPARISON OF THE OLD AND NEW
TECHNOLOGY

The modern and the old technologies are of different
modes of revealing:
1. Modern is artificial.
2. Old
technology
(non-machine-powered
technology) still respects nature as an object of
autonomy.
-
13
“Windmill doesn't force the winds to show itself
as a supplier of energy, but it feeds itself into
nature.”
SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY
EXERCISES

Explain the following concepts:
1. Bringing forth is the way of revealing the
essence of something.
2. Man is the most insane species. He worships an
invisible God and destroys a visible Nature.
3. The dignity of the tree (wood) still stands, just
in a different form: the chair.
4. He looked at the granite. To be cut, he thought,
and made into walls. He looked at a tree. To be
split and made into rafters.
5. These rocks, he thought, are waiting for me;
waiting for the drill, the dynamite and my voice;
waiting to be split, ripped, pounded, reborn;
waiting for the shape my hands will give them.
Therefore, technology is not an instrument.
TECHNOLOGY IS DANGEROUS BUT A
SAVING POWER

Human
beings,
with
their
technological
advancements, extended the human life span,
particularly through advancements in medicine.
ANTHROPOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES OF
TECHNOLOGY


However, it has also made possible more efficient
means of killing human beings, from the use of guns
that can kill a few persons at a time to the
employment of thermonuclear devices that can kill
millions in an instant.
CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY








Anthropology
- provides a holistic perspective to the study of
culture and society.
- provides a broader understanding of the link
between science, technology, and society.
Enframing, the essence of technology then, is the
danger.
There is the danger that humans will also interpret
themselves as raw materials.
Man is both a master and a slave to technology.
Heidegger’s Solution: “The will not to will.”
14
Technology is an important aspect of Cultural
Anthropology.
Anthropologists have studied the examples of
material life established in different human
civilizations.
Some examples of these universal differences are in
shelter, attire, tools and methods for acquiring
food and producing material goods.
This aim to answer questions such as:
- What is technology?
- Is technology a human universal?
- What is the relationship between technological
development and cultural evolution?
- How do people utilize artifacts for social
purposes in their everyday lives?
- What cultural meanings are embodied in such
artifacts?
SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY
-

How does culture influence technological
innovation; and
how does technological innovation influence
culture?

CULTURAL RELATIVISM
According to
Anthropologist Julian
Steward, “technology
was the window
between the natural
world and human
society and culture”

Culture
is
unique and thus should
be analyzed based on
its own context and
not judged based on another culture’s context.
- It must be approached based on its context and
how it functions for the society during a specific
period of time or a specific place.

This is cultural relativism. It also looks as culture as
relative to the society which practices it.
The function of a specific technology utilized in
one culture may not be understood by outsiders.
In the same manner, a technology, a technology used
in one culture may not be appropriate to another
culture because they have different contexts.
CULTURAL ECOLOGY




To understand the culture of one society,
anthropologists focus more on the emic
perspective or the insiders’ perspective.
- This means that the people in that culture
could better explain what it is as compared to
an outsider’s description of it.

15
Anthropology sees technology as a part of culture
and as a product of culture.
In other words, adaptations of human societies to
their environment are mainly technological.
- Humans adapt to social and environmental
factors in order to survive and prosper.
This encompasses the concept of cultural ecology
which also mean that the tools utilized by humans
within a given environment is the means by
which they interact with nature from which they
acquire resources in order to survive.
Changes in climate contributed to the development
of stone tools resulted to larger brain size and leaner
body frames.
The use of stone tools led to changes in social
interaction as well as food getting and food
preparation.
SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY


Factors of cultural evolution are humans’
biological urge to live as well as their power to
invent and discover.
- Humans get food, tools, weapons and materials
for shelter from available natural resources.
- Another way of human cultural adaptation to the
environment is through invention of new and
better tools or improve and innovate prior tools
utilized.
- To increase efficiency in their survival capacity,
humans have harnessed wind, water, and fire as
energy sources for plant cultivation, animal
domestication and manufacturing.
 Whatever were the intentions and motives of the
inventors or discoverers of the bow and arrow, the
wheel, furnace and forge, steam engine, microscope,
and others, it is clear that these objects have been
taken and utilized by humankind to make life
more secure, comfortable, pleasant and
permanent.
Technology affects social behavior, specifically on
how work is organized.
CULTURAL EVOLUTION

Anthropologist Leslie White, on the other hand
emphasized that culture is a kind of behavior
which is a manifestation of energy.
He contends that everything in the universe,
including culture, may be described in terms of
energy. He explains that the purpose of culture is
to serve human needs, including those that can be
satisfied by resources intrinsic to the individual;
those that can be satisfied by resources from the
external environment.
SOCIOTECHNICAL SYSTEM

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
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
Cultural change constitutes an evolutionary process
that shares fundamental similarities with genetic
evolution.
As such, human behavior is shaped by both genetic
and cultural evolution.
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It emphasizes the sociality of human technological
activity.
It integrates anthropological findings regarding
pre-industrial societies into a holistic framework of
the universality of human technology and material
culture.
Thomas Hughes’ work on the rise of modern
electrical power systems led to development of the
sociotechnical system concept. He contends that a
successful technological innovation or invention
happens only when all elements of the systems, both
social and technological have been modified so that
they effectively function together.
The sociotechnical system concept provides a
universal worldview of human technological
activity, wherein complex social systems, language
and symbolic actions, rituals, artifact making, diverse
social and non-social actors, and the use of artifacts
by society, are all interrelated parts of one
complex whole which simultaneously adapts and
expresses.
- This means that those who want to develop new
technologies should be concerned NOT only
with techniques and artifacts. Instead, they must
also be concerned with the social, economic,
legal, scientific and political contexts of
technology.
SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY
building in awareness, experience, ease of
understanding, observability and credibility across a
wide variety of potential stakeholders, which include
both users and nonusers of the technology. The first
step in building trust is to familiarize people with the
new technology – make them aware of it and provide
training so they can understand how it might
improve their everyday life, and how to use it
effectively. (Source: https://www.wsp.com/enCA/insights/)
ANTHROPOLOGICAL DEFINITION OF
TECHNOLOGY




Various social factors affect the development of a
specific technology, including what society
chooses, alternative ways of doing, society’s
reframing of its needs, among others.



To maximize the value from new technology, it
must be incorporated and accepted by society – a
marriage of the social and technical, to form a sociotechnical system.

As in any real marriage, it can only deliver its
promised benefits if there is understanding,
communication and acceptance from both sides.
(Source: https://www.wsp.com/en-CA/insights/)

S&T pervade everyday life, politics, and knowledge
production.
There are complex relationships between
technology and culture.
Analyzing these relationships requires working
knowledge of a society’s physical environment,
history, social organization, political system,
economic system, international relations, cultural
values and spiritual life, including human suffering.
Technology is more than the material object; it is a
human world which unifies all aspects of human
experience.
Creating a new technology is not only making a new
artifact, but also a new world of social relations and
worldviews.
GOOD LIFE AND HUMAN FLOURISHING
GOOD LIFE
To increase the likelihood of technology uptake and
success, opinion leaders like futurists, technology
developers, and city and national officials who see the
wider benefits of the new technologies, must work
together to create trust in new technology, by
17
SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY

Human flourishing is the reward of the virtues
and values. Happiness is the goal and reward of
human flourishing.
WHAT IS GOOD LIFE?



Good life is a moral concept. This can be found in
Aristotle ethical theory described in Nicomachean
Ethics. Good life foe a human being to live in the way
that is most suitable or a human that is according to
reason. This is, what separates man from animals, as man
alone has the capacity to exercise reason.
In real life, the word “good” depends on many
factors like the way we live, how we live, and
what character strengths we value in ourselves
and others.
It can be argued that your values are one of the
drivers of what you perceive to be the good
life. Values such as power, security, tradition, or
benevolence are a collection of principles that
guide our selection or evaluation of actions,
events, and people and what we “deem to be
correct and desirable in life” (Schwartz, 1992).
To live the good life is to become what we ought
to be as human beings—moral agents who
strive for the state of eudaimonia.
Eudaimonia is a Greek word commonly
translated as happiness or welfare. It also
means well-being; virtue and human
flourishing.
Aristotle’s good life involves a comprehensive treatment
of the question “how should we live?” This question
reflects the primacy of character, traits of individuals
which is mainly based on the rational account of a good
human life and identifies good human life with virtuous
life and virtue is conceived as human excellence. The
good life therefore is the life of excellence, well-being,
virtue and human flourishing. Well-being, virtuous and
human flourishing is described by Aristotle as
eudaimonia which is also as the highest human good.
Socrates and Aristotle believe that man in its nature is
virtuous, that being virtuous is acting with excellence
and acting rightly. To say that an action is right means
that it maximizes the attainment of the good and
happiness for the greater number of people.
Happiness is derived through deliberate actions and
seeking of ends guided by a correct understanding of
human good. The activity is pleasing because it is caused
by proper orientation of our rational capacity and since
it is good, so it is pleasing.
HUMAN FLOURISHING
So according to Aristotle, good life is the happy life. He
says “happy man lives well and does well for we have
practically defined happiness as a sort of good life and
good action.”
Therefore, a concept of well-ordered conception of wellordered human activity is the basis of living well, both in
the sense of an excellent and worthwhile life.


MAN AND HUMAN FLOURISHING
Human flourishing is defined as an effort to
achieve self-actualization and fulfillment
within the context of a larger community of
individuals, each with the right to pursue his or
her own such effort.
It can also be understood as "prosperity", and
"blessedness".
t is science and technology that provides good life for
everyone and at the same time, it is the quest for good
life that fuels science and technology. Technology
changes us and the world around us in countless ways.
In this vast world where number of inventions are
rapidly growing, science and technology made human
lives convenient and fast.
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SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY
It eases our labor, cures diseases, provides abundant food
and clean water, enables communication and travel
across the globe, and expands our knowledge of the
natural world and the cosmos.
work, how we learn and how we shop. It's inevitable that
our devices begin to reflect our civic aspirations – our
desires to connect with others and to contribute to the
world around us.
People always seek to live better lives and provide a
better life for their kids. In the process, they seek to live
lives of meaning and aspire to fulfill their potential.
As each new technology enters the scene, it has the
potential to improve lives. But, in some cases, it also has
the potential to negatively affect physical and emotional
health.
In the advent of Covid 19 pandemic, physicians and
patients can share information in real time from one
computer screen to another. And they can even see and
capture readings from medical devices at a faraway
location. Using telemedicine software, patients can see a
doctor for diagnosis and treatment without having to
wait for an appointment. Patients can consult a physician
at the comfort of their home.
It is then imperative to understand the relation between
humans and technology is key to responsible
development and acceptance of future technologies in
almost every application field, be it energy, mobility,
health, work, living, learning or entertainment.
Modern technology has paved the way for multifunctional devices like the smartwatch and the
smartphone. Computers are increasingly faster, more
portable, and higher-powered than ever before. With all
of these revolutions, technology has also made our lives
easier, faster, better, and more fun.
Human flourishing in education covers the human ability
to shape and change the physical world to meet needs, by
manipulating materials and tools with techniques.
Man utilized technology to improve teaching and
learning and help our students be successful. ... Through
the use of learning management systems (LMS) students
can access online resources to get assistance on demand
beyond the physical reach of their teacher.
As defined before, human flourishing is defined as an
effort to achieve self-actualization and fulfillment within
the context of a larger community of individuals, each
with the right to pursue his or her own such effort.
Today, man sees the best advantage of any technology
where it increases the efficiency of a business process.
One can perform more tasks in less time. From shared
drives to emails, communication, coordination, execution
and implementation of a lot of business processes has
become swift and hassle-free, all thanks to technology.
For man to flourish in the face of technology, future
technologies need to be based on human needs and values
at a personal, organizational and/or societal level. They
will have to adapt their functionality to maximize these
needs and values, and in some applications fields will
have to engage humans at these different levels.
TECHNOLOGY AND HUMAN
FLOURISHING
Technology is here to stay, but it’s always morphing and
expanding. As each new technology enters the scene, it
has the potential to improve lives. But, in some cases, it
also has the potential to negatively affect physical and
emotional health.
Man is the inventor, creator, innovator as well as a
beneficiary of the effects of technology. As Aristotle said
" a good man" who lives a good life imbued with the
virtue, well-being and human flourishing. Man being
virtuous is acting with excellence coupled with proper
orientation of man's rational capacity where all human
activities are geared towards to the good of the
community.
Today, technology isn't just changing society- it's
changing what it means to be human.
It is then understood that technology that man invented
are for a good reason to benefit man and render human
flourishing.
Technology surrounds us. From our personal laptops,
tablets, and phones to behind-the-scenes technology that
furthers medicine, science, and education. It has
infiltrated every aspect of our lives, changing how we
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SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY
Module 4 | Evolution of Technology and Human Societies
EVOLUTION OF TECHNOLOGY
AND HUMAN SOCIETIES
OVERVIEW
In this chapter we shall go back in time and trace
the evolution of technology and society from tool used
among nonhuman primates to various tools used by early
hominids has found in the archaeological record; and
discoveries, inventions and innovations from the ancient
period to the middle ages until the modern era. We shall
likewise highlight major revolutions in human thought
which changed revealing real views about natural and
social phenomena, leading to more advances in scientific
thinking.
4.1 TECHNOLOGY IN PRIMATE SOCIETIES
Technology is not exclusive to humans as
evidenced by studies of non-human primates. Several
primatologists who have been studying ape behaviors
have discovered that these primates are also engaged in
using uncomplicated tools.
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SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY
Chimpanzee using twigs to fish for termites in the
ground.
Figure of the heavenly bodies - An illustration of the
Ptolemic geocentric system by Portuguese
cosmographer and cartographer Bartolomeu Velho, 156
(Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris).
4.2 ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCES OF
PRE-HISTORIC TECHNOLOGIES
4.4 HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS OF
TECHNOLOGY
Tools use among early hominid species are sad
to have become more sophisticated over the course of
human evolution as shown in the archaeological record.
Throughout history humans were able to
survive and adapt to changes in environmental
conditions and the demands and the needs of the time we
constantly seeking knowledge and end of waiting to help
them in their day-to-day activities such as hunting,
gathering food, transportation and communication
among others.
Upper Paleolithic tool: Prestigious stone tool with two
thin blades.
4.3 INTELLECTUAL REVOLUTIONS
Across human evolution, technological changes
have taken place over time many changes have taken
place including the way humans make sense of their
world. Drastic changes in the way people live, think and
do things are referred to as “revolutions”. Most
revolutions in the history of mankind have entirely
changed the dynamics of human societies. Like all other
revolutions the Intellectual Revolution changed the
general world views of People in society and how they
explained specific phenomena.
Ancient wheel.
4.5 CONTEMPORARY MODERN
TECHNOLOGIES
Contemporary technologies are advancements of
technologies developed during the early and late mother
eras. Such technologies have ushered in the so-called
digital age of information age where in gadgets in the
home and in the workplace have made tasks easier and
more convenient as they operate with a mere push of a
button.
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SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY
Gadgets. Modern technologies
" ... we find no vestige of a beginning,— no prospect
of an end."
James Hutton, Theory of the Earth (1795)
4.1 TECHNOLOGY IN PRIMATE
SOCIETIES
4.2 ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCES OF
PRE-HISTORIC TECHNOLOGIES
4.3 INTELLECTUAL REVOLUTIONS
DARWINIAN REVOLUTION
Archbishop
James
Ussher of Ireland (15811656):
“The earth was created
on October 22, 4004
BC.”
Some Points:
1. The earth is much older than we
thought.
Usher’s “History of the
2. Different creatures have inhabited
World”
the earth at different times.
Problem: How did this happen?
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SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY
4.4 HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS OF
TECHNOLOGY
4.5 CONTEMPORARY MODERN
TECHNOLOGIES
23