Science,
Technology
and
Society
LUIS V. SALENGA
Instructor
What is Science?
🞇
Comes from the Latin word
“scientia, meaning” Knowledge”
What is science?
🞇
Learning new
facts (discoveries)
What is science?
Solving
problems
(scientific
method)
What is science?
🞇
the intellectual and
practical activity
encompassing the
systematic study of the
structure and behavior of
the physical and natural
world through observation
and experiment – Oxford
dictionary
What is technology?
🞇
Creating/inventing things
What is Technology
Application of scientific
knowledge, principles to produce
laws, and services,materials,
tools,
and
machines aimed at solving realworld problems.
- Comes
from the Greek word
techne, meaning “art, skill, or
cunning of hand.”
🞇
What is technology?
Things that fulfill
our needs and
desires or perform
certain functions
🞇 Application of
understanding of
natural laws to the
solution of
practical problems
🞇
“What defines a technological tool – one historical
definition – is something that takes a human’s sense
or ability and augments it and makes it more
powerful. So, for example, I wear contact lenses or
glasses; that is a technology that enhances my human
ability of vision and makes it better .”
-
Mark Zuckerberg
Further Reading
The Medawar Lecture 1998: Is Science
Dangerous? (Lewis Wolpert)
Reliable scientific knowledge has no moral or ethical value
🞇 It is meant simply to explain how nature and the universe work
and that the obligations of scientists, besides studying the nature
of the universe, is to explain the possible uses and applications of
such scientific knowledge.
🞇 Science is not the same as technology.
🞇
The very nature of science is that it is not possible to
predict scientific discoveries and how these discoveries may
be applied.
🞇
Reflection:
What is the role of S&T in your life?
Role of Science and Technology
So how are science and technology
related?
🞇
🞇
🞇
Provides
fertile
source
of
novel
scientific question
justifies the allocation of resources
needed to address these questions in an
efficient and timely manner, extending the
agenda of science
Source
of
otherwise
unavailable
instrumentation
and
techniques needed to address novel and
more difficult scientific questions more
efficiently
Science, Technology and Society
🞇
A
relatively
young
field
that
combines previously
independent
and
older disciplines, such as the
history of science, philosophy of science,
and sociology of science.
🞇
Generally, applies methods drawn
from history, philosophy, and sociology to
study the nature of science and
technology and ultimately judge their
value and place in the society
Reflection:
What is the role of S&T in your life?
Even if science and technology has
brought about many useful and
exciting things, there are still
drawbacks to these.
Antibiotics were
invented
Overuse/ misuse of
antibiotics
Antibiotic resistance
1. Science and Technology can be Misused
2. Inventions in Science and Technology can
have a disturbing nature.
3. Science and Technology can be harmful because of
the crazy experiments
4. Science and Technology can harm animals and
people
5. New developments in Science and Technology can
have unintended consequences
TOP 10 Ethical Dilemmas (2020)
• The pseudoscience of
skincare.
• AI and Gamification in
Hiring
• Predatory Journals
• The HARPA SAFEHOME
Proposal(Health Advanced Research
Projects or HARPA is a to be
established
US
government
department and SAFEHOME stands for
Stopping Aberrant Fatal Events by
Helping Overcome Mental Extremes)
• Class Dojo and Classroom
Surveillance
• Grinch Bots
• Project Nightingale
• Student Tracking
Software
• The Corruption of Tech
Ethics
• Deep Fakes
Quick Question:
What moral, ethical, and existential dilemmas
brought about by S&T do you know?
Exercise 1. Reflection (Individual
Activity)
Instructions. Find an image that depicts an
issue or problem in science and technology.
Then, answer the following questions.
1. What is the issue or problem depicted in
the image?
2. How does this particular issue or problem
impact the well-being of humans today?
3. Why is it important for people to study
and learn about STS as an academic
field, especially in addressing the issue or
problem depicted in the image
Exercise 2. Issues in Science in
Technology (Group Activity)
Instructions: Form groups with 3-4 members. From the list
presented previously, choose one emerging ethical dilemma
in science and technology. Research about the nature of the
dilemma your group choose and be prepared to report the
highlights of your research in class. Create a PowerPoint
presentation (no more than 5 slides) to highlight of the
summary. Use the guide questions below:
1.
2.
3.
4.
What is the emerging ethical dilemma about?
What factors or events led to this dilemma?
What are the societal implications of this dilemma?
Why is it important to question the moral and ethical
issues surrounding innovations in science and
technology?
5. In the face of this dilemma, why is it important to study
STS?
A Brief History of Discoveries
S&T in the ancient times (through 599 BCE)
Divided into 3 periods:
1. Stone
Age (Paleolithic,
Mesolithic, & Neolithic)
2. Bronze Age
3. Iron Age
THE STONE AGE
STONE AGE
The
stone
age
was
the
period during which stone
was the most widely used
material for making tools
and weapons.
STONE AGE
The stone age can be divided into
➢The Paleolithic Age -
Old Stone Age
➢The Mesolithic Age –Middle Stone Age
➢The Neolithic Age
–New Stone Age
PALEOLITHIC AGE
❖Paleolithic age was the longest part of stone age.
❖It can be further divided into lower,middle,upper
paleolithic age.
❖The paleolithic men used rough and rude stone
implements.
❖Their main occupation was hunting and food
gathering.
❖Paleolithic men did not settle on one place for a
long time.
Cave paintings are the source of information
about the early human life.
CAVE PAINTINGS DRAWN BY PALEOLITHIC MAN
Group dance,Bhimbetka
Boar ,Altamira, Spain
Hunting, Bhimbetka
Bison, Chauvet, France
The Angono - Binangonan
Petroglyphs
are
petroglyphs carved into a
rock wall in Binangonan,
Rizal, Philippines.
It consists of 127 human and animal
figures engraved on the rock wall
probably carved during the late Neolithic,
or before 2000 BC. They are the oldest
known work of art in the Philippines.
OX (LASCAUX, FRANCE)
PALEOLITHIC TOOLS
ROCKSHELTERS -BHIMBETKA
❖It is the geological age
between
palaeolithic
and
neolithic ages.
❖They used small stone tools
with sharp points.
❖These types of tools were
used in the period subsequent
to the Palaeolithic Age.
❖ This age is known as the
Mesolithic Age .
➢Hunting became extensive in
the Mesolithic Age.
➢ As a result many animals
became extinct.
➢ Mammoth is an example for
such a species.
➢Man discovered new sources of
food in this period.
➢They ate edible grass, dolphin,
otter, whale, fishes, and so on.
MAMMOTH :-
Mammoths, who belong to the
elephant family, lived around ten
thousand years back.
CHARACTERISTICS
MESOLITHIC TOOLS
NEOLITHIC AGE
-In the period subsequent to the Mesolithic Age,
man began to use polished stone tools.
-This period is called the Neolithic Age.
-The beginning of cultivation was the major
progress in this period that dates around eight
thousand years back.
-The change from food gathering to food
production is a landmark in the history of human
life.
-Environmental changes, scarcity of food,
population growth, etc. are pointed out as the
major reasons that led to cultivation.
-Man began to cultivate and settle down in the
river valleys.
-Gordon Childe, the historian, termed these
changes as 'Neolithic Revolution
-In the Neolithic Age, human
beings began to rear animals
for food.
-They began a settled life for
the purpose of cultivation and
domestication of animals.
-Wheat, barley, jute, different
kinds
of
tubers,
paddy,
plantain, etc. were the major
crops of that age.
Neolithic site (cave painting edakkal
cave- kerala)
TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE ATTAINED IN
THE NEOLITHIC AGE
S&T in the ancient times
🞇
Stone tools have been the first
recognized technology (or craft?)
- Wooden tools could have preceded stones by
millions of years
Made by one of our direct ancestors (H.
habilis or H. rudolfensis) 2,5000,000 years
ago
🞇
Early tools were some broken
pebbles, then improved by
flaking pieces off a core,
creating distinctive shapes with
a single cutting edge
🞇
S&Tin the ancient times
Characterized by:
➢ Hunting & gathering (or foraging?)
➢ Use of fire (man’s earliest conquest)
➢ Agricultural revolution (farming)
- Use of metal, instead of stone tools,
towards the end
- Pottery and other ceramics, along with
glass were dominant (Ceramics age)
🞇
Civilization
began
to
arise
(manufacturing, trading, villages have
rulers, etc.)
🞇
“With
the
beginnings
of
metallurgy, the Stone Age of
man comes to an end; with the
beginnings
of
writing,
prehistory comes to an end;
with
the
beginnings
of
agriculture, man's parasitism on
nature gives way to cooperation with nature”
– R.J. Forbes
S&T in “Antiquity” (600 through 529 BCE)
Started
civilization
🞇
with
the
rise
of
Greek
➢ developed
institutions such as
the Academy, Lyceum, and
Museum
➢ were the first to believe that
humans could understand the
universe using reason alone
rather than through mythology
or religion (philosophers)
Characterized by war between
religion and science (Dark ages)
🞇
S&T in the middle ages (530 through 1452)
🞇
Decline of science in Europe
➢ Use
of currency replaced by barter
➢ Trade ceased entirely
➢ Poverty was endemic and people
suffered from wars, piracy, famine,
and epidemics
Chinese philosophy developed theories on
matter and living beings
🞇
S&T in the middle ages (530 through 1452)
Revival of Western science
started during the last centuries of
the first millennium
🞇 Technological revolution took
place
➢ Vast
improvements
in
communication
and
transportation
🞇
Renaissance and the Scientific
revolution (1453 through 1659)
🞇
The depletion of the population of
Europe (Black Death) motivated the
smaller communities to find new
ways to function
➢ New atmosphere encouraged
the
development
of
arts,
science and technology
➢ States
recognized
the
importance of technology for
defense and trade
➢ Kings
engaged engineers to
improve their fortifications and
weapons
Renaissance and the Scientific
revolution (1453 through 1659)
🞇
Technology became fully accepted
➢ Many artists, like Leonardo da Vinci,
became
architects
and
technologists
➢ Mathematics was introduced into
universities (became the basis of the
arts and technology)
Time of
exploration
🞇
colonization,
adventure,
and
The Scientific revolution
🞇
Started with the publication of
Copernicus’s heliocentric theory
and Vesalius’s anatomy
➢ Opposed by both Catholic Church
and the Protestant Church of Martin
Luther
➢ Much later, the Church lifted its ban
on the publication of works that
defended the Copernican system
The Scientific revolution
🞇
🞇
🞇
🞇
🞇
Explorers discovered a wealth of previously
unknown plants and animals
Mathematics introduced various
symbols and conventions (became an
almost universal language)
Galileo introduced experimentation into
science
Factories operated, patent laws and the
stock market began, and printed books
became the means to spread technological
developments
Design of machines developed into an
art (gadgets)
Bunch, B and Hellemans, A. The History of Science and Technology. Houghton Mifflin Company.
New York, USA. 2004.
Scientific Method: Measurement and
Communication (1660 through 1734)
🞇
Newton’s Principia became the basis of the
scientific method used in the study of natural
phenomena
➢ Theories
were formulated from
observations, these theories were
used to predict other phenomena
➢ Natural phenomena were explained
by mathematical laws, an approach
to
science
not
necessarily
antagonistic to religion
Scientific Method: Measurement and
Communication (1660 through 1734)
Separation of physics and
metaphysics (philosophy) took place
(Newton vs. Descartes on gravity)
🞇 Observation and experimentation
became the pillars of scientific
activity
🞇
➢Scientists
recorded
phenomena in terms of
numbers
➢Classification of plants,
animals, minerals, fossils
became a trend
Scientific Method: Measurement and
Communication (1660 through 1734)
Science
activity
🞇
➢Societies
became
a
shared
and
journals
became
the means of
communication
(printing
press)
The Enlightenment and the Industrial
revolution (1735 through 1819)
🞇
Emphasizing reasoning and order
➢ Critical
evaluation of previous
beliefs in the light of rationalism
➢ Began with Linnaean scheme for
classifying organisms
The Enlightenment and the Industrial
revolution (1735 through 1819)
🞇
Profound change in philosophical thinking
Emergence of “mechanical philosophy”, a
belief that all phenomena could be
explained by sets of simple mechanical laws
➢ Some materialistic philosophers denied the
existence of a spiritual god and viewed
nature entirely as a mechanical system
➢
The Enlightenment and the Industrial
revolution (1735 through 1819)
➢ Two
approaches to philosophy
emerged: empiricism (knowledge
comes
from
experience)
and
rationalism (knowledge comes from
reasoning)
✓ reconciled
➢ “Great
b Immanual Kant
Chain of Being” envisioned
all existence as continuous
The Industrial revolution
(18th Century)
🞇
Development of machines that would make
work faster or more efficient
➢ Interest in
thermodynamics rose as
a result of the steam engine
➢ Concepts of work and power
began to be formalized
Encyclopaedias were the new form of
publication
🞇 The profession of engineer was one of the
great inventions
Bunch, B and Hellemans, A. The History of Science and Technology. Houghton Mifflin Company.
🞇
New York, USA. 2004.
S&T in the 19th Century
(1820 through 1894)
🞇
🞇
Much 19th century science started with
the discovery of electromagnetism by
Hans Christian Oersted
Science and the teaching of
science underwent a number of
changes
➢ Many new fields of science were born
(Anthropology, Archaeology, Cell biology,
Psychology, Organic Chemistry)
Bunch, B and Hellemans, A. The History of Science and Technology. Houghton Mifflin Company.
New York, USA. 2004.
S&T in the 19th Century
(1820 through 1894)
🞇
Science became professional
➢ Occupation of science became a paid
profession
➢ universities developed into centers where
science flourished
➢ Teaching of science became linked to scientific
research
➢ Publication of scientific information started
➢ Scientists started meeting at national scientific
congresses
➢ The idea that science could ultimately explain
all phenomena in nature became stronger
Bunch, B and Hellemans, A. The History of Science and Technology. Houghton Mifflin Company.
New York, USA. 2004.
S&T in the 19th Century (1820 through
1894)
🞇
The relationship between scientific
education and technological progress
became fully understood
➢ Technical
schools were founded
➢ Scientific thought was much
more generally known by the
public (faced general public
criticism of some scientific ideas,
e.g. age of the Earth and the
theory of evolution by Darwin)
Rise of modern S&T(1895 through
1945)
Large number of scientists
Science became much more of a
communal effort
🞇
Science started having an effect on
society directly (the time span between a
discovery and its technical application
became shorter)
🞇 Science became highly successful
in
explaining
the
nature
of
matter,
mechanisms
of
chemical
reactions,
fundamental processes of life, and the
general structure of the universe
🞇
🞇
Rise of modern S&T(1895 through
1945)
Quantum theory changed the way
philosophers think about the universe
🞇
Technology did not remain confined
to large enterprises only (became an
important part of everyday life)
🞇
Enormous growth of automobile
industry
🞇 Electricity revolutionized technology
🞇
Laboratories
for
testing
and
development of new products were
established
🞇
Big science and
the Post-industrial society (1946
through 1972)
🞇
Discoveries and
inventions
reached practical applications as
a result of WW2 (synthetic rubber,
radar, DDT, penicillin, fusion and
fission
bombs,
jet
powered
aircraft,
helicopter,
ballistic
missiles, nuclear weapons, and
the electronic digital computer)
Big science and the Post-industrial society
(1946 through 1972)
🞇
Science became “big”
➢ Equipment/instruments
🞇
were shared
(interdisciplinary)
➢ Even larger number of scientists, scientists
having specialization
Science changed society
➢ Availability of automobiles changed
how people migrate
➢ Automation allowed many manufacturing
processes to be done by less skilled workers
HISTORY OF SCIENCE
AND TECHNOLOGY IN
THE PHILIPPINES
The Information Age
(1973 through
present)
Activity: “Standing on the Shoulders
of Giants”
🞇
🞇
🞇
🞇
🞇
What are the major achievements of S&T in
the ancient, middle and modern ages? How
about in the Philippines?
Semi-group activity
Each member chooses 1 major achievement of
the assigned period (no member should pick the
same achievement, as much as possible,
achievements come from different fields)
Draw it and report on how it works and what
pushed it
to
be
invented
or
achieved
(historical antecedent)
Time limit: 3 mins per member (max)
Rubrics