La Carlota City College

Business and Management Department

GE 7: Science, Technology and Society Engr. Khrisna Mae C. Gelogo, ECE, LPT

Unit 1: General Concepts and STS (Science, Technology and Society) Historical Developments
Module 1: Historical Antecedents of STS
A. Definition of Terms
 Science - comes from the Latin word “Scientia” which means having knowledge and the state
of knowing. Science is broad because man has the desire to know and understand everything
around him (or her).

 Science is as old as the world itself. There is no individual that can exactly identify when and
where science began. From the genesis of time, science has existed. It is always interwoven
with the society. So, how can science be defined?

1. Science as an idea. It includes ideas, theories and all available systematic

explanations and observations about the natural and physical world.
2. Science as an intellectual activity. It encompasses a systematic and practical
study of the natural and physical world. This process of study involves systematic
observation and experimentation.
3. Science as a body of knowledge. It is a subject or a discipline, a field of study, or
a body of knowledge that deals with the process of learning about the natural and
physical world. This is what we refer to as school science.
4. Science as a personal and social activity. This explains that science is both
knowledge and activities done by human beings to develop better understanding of the
world around them. It is a means to improve life and to survive in life. It is interwoven
with people’s lives.

 Technology - comes from the Greek word techne and logia meaning the systematic method
employed to facilitate human sustenance and comfort. In short, technology is the application of
the knowledge gained from the studies of various branches of science. It is the product of
science.

 Society – (Cambridge Dictionary) 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. All
the people in a country, or in several countries, can be referred to as a society.

 Hypothesis – one of the steps of the scientific process; an “if-then” statement or educated
guess, based on observation, and to be tested, accepted or rejected (as a result of the analysis of
data collected)

 Theory – accumulated evidence, over time, performed through a series of reproducible

experiments. (e.g. Theory of Evolution)

 Paradigm – a framework containing all the commonly accepted views about a subject,
conventions about what direction research should take and how it should be performed. For
example, the Earth is round. If we wake up one day and discover that the Earth is cube, the
paradigm undergoes a shift (called paradigm shift) to accept this.

1|Page Module 1
 La Carlota City College
Business and Management Department
GE 7: Science, Technology and Society Engr. Khrisna Mae C. Gelogo, ECE, LPT

B. Relationship of Science, Technology and Society

“Technology is the use or application of scientific knowledge for a specific goal or purpose.”

Figure 1. The relationship of Science, Technology and Society

Science and Society: Science seeks to improve the society while the society demands more from
science.
- There are social influences on the direction and emphasis of scientific development, through
pressure groups on specific issues, and through generally accepted social views, values and
properties.

Science and Technology: Science gives information to technology while technology demands
more from science.
- Technology is the application of scientifically gained knowledge for practical purpose and
through science, we develop new technologies.
- Science ≠ Technology
- Science is the theory (search for knowledge) while technology is the practice (practical
application of knowledge)

Society and Technology: Technology makes life easier in the society while society benefits from
technology.

Role of Science and Technology in the Society

1. Alter the way people live, connect, communicate and transact, with profound effects on
economic development.
2. Key drivers to development, because technological and scientific revolutions reinforce
economic advances, improvements in health systems, educational and infrastructures.
3. The technological revolution of the 21st century is emerging from entirely new sectors:
based on microprocessors, telecommunications, biotechnology and nanotechnology. Products
are transforming business practices across the economy, as well as the lives of all who have

2|Page Module 1
 La Carlota City College
Business and Management Department
GE 7: Science, Technology and Society Engr. Khrisna Mae C. Gelogo, ECE, LPT

access to their effects. The most remarkable breakthroughs will come from the interaction of
insights and applications arising when these technologies converge.
4. It has the power to better the lives of poor people in developing countries.
5. It became differentiators between countries that are able to tackle poverty effectively by
growing and developing their economies, and those that are not.
6. It is the engine of growth.

Activity 1: Answer the following questions in three to five sentences. Support your answers.
1. How does knowledge of science help you in your everyday life?
2. How does technology help you in your everyday life?
3. As a student, what are the possible negative impacts of technology in your life, in your
family and in your society? Cite an example.

3|Page Module 1
 La Carlota City College
Business and Management Department
GE 7: Science, Technology and Society Engr. Khrisna Mae C. Gelogo, ECE, LPT

C. History of Science, Technology and Society: In the World

A Timeline of Western Intellectual History
Ancient: 750 BC – 323 BC BC – Before Common Era
Hellenistic: 323 BC – 31 BC CE – Common Era
Roman: 30 BC – 476 CE
Medieval: 476 CE – 1350 CE
Renaissance: 1350 CE – 1600 CE
Modern: 1600 CE – 1900 CE
Post-Modern:1900 CE - Present

The development of science and technology is as old as mankind. Many ‘inventions’

claimed after the 11th century in fact dated back to the Greeks and Chinese many centuries
before.

Scientific information proposed by the Greek philosopher Aristotle (384 – 322 BC) and
others were lost in the dark ages in Britain and Europe after the collapse of the Roman
Empire.

ANCIENT TIMES
 Tools – around 2.6 million years BC, the first human-like species, Homo habilis ('skillful
person') made sharp cutting edges from stone which were ideal for butchering, cutting,
and scraping off meat from bones

Image 1. The “oldowan chopping tool” used by Homo habilis

- (200 000 - 30 000 years BC) Homo neanderthals or cave men used tools and
weapons. Their tools include spear points and knives, most likely set in wooden
handles, scrappers, pronged harpoons, and engraving tools. About 100,000 years ago
they fashioned tools for cutting meat, cracking open bones and working wood.

4|Page Module 1
 La Carlota City College
Business and Management Department
GE 7: Science, Technology and Society Engr. Khrisna Mae C. Gelogo, ECE, LPT

Image 2. H. Neanderthals wooden tools (left) and the mousterian point (right).

- (Iron Age Celtic dagger from 250 - 50 BC) Swords, daggers and other weaponry
represented a warlike society but are also interpreted as items of social status, perhaps
given as diplomatic gifts between tribes

 The Wheel - Around 4500 BC the wheel and axle combination became the most
important invention of all time. Carts came into common use.
- It is the longest-used invention in human history, had the biggest influence on the
development of modern civilization.
- By 2000 BC wheels had spokes, and then rapid development occurred with
waterwheels and windmills to provide power.

 Ancient Egypt – around 2600 BC the Egyptians used a thick type of paper made from
the pith of the papyrus plant which were usually rolled into a scroll showing an early
form of a book.
- Egyptians used a formal writing system that combined logographic and alphabetic
elements which is called the hieroglyphs.

Image 3. A papyrus (left) and an example of hieroglyphs (right).

 Ancient Babylon – developed and used cuneiform which is one of the earliest systems
of writing, distinguished by its wedge-shaped marks on clay tablets, made by means of
a blunt stylus (tool for writing)
- this was used for more than three millennia, through several stages of development,
from the 34th century BC down to the 2nd century CE

5|Page Module 1
 La Carlota City College
Business and Management Department
GE 7: Science, Technology and Society Engr. Khrisna Mae C. Gelogo, ECE, LPT

Image 4. The Babylonian cuneiform alphabet (left) and an example of cuneiform written
on a clay tablet (right).

MIDDLE AGES
 Printing Press - invented by Johannes Gutenberg (German) in the 1440s. He used the
press to press ink on hundreds of letters at one time.
- Spreading knowledge and information was a very slow process before the invention
of typography.
- Printed the first book, a Latin Bible, in 1456 with a run of 150 copies. Previously, it
would take 3 years to produce a Bible by hand.
- In Renaissance Europe, it introduced the era of mass communication wherein it
facilitated in the wide circulation of information and ideas. It acted as an “agent of
change” through societies that it reached and permanently altered the structure of
society.

Image 5. Johannes Gutenberg (left) and his movable metal-type printing press (right).

 Microscope – It is an instrument for viewing objects that are too small to be seen by
the unaided eye which helped our understanding of microorganisms and disease.
Today, there are electron microscopes, using magnetic fields and electron rays instead
of lenses and light, making it possible to see even atoms.
- In 1590, two Dutch spectacle makers and father-and-son team Hans Janssen and
Zacharias Janssen, created the first microscope which made looking at small things
possible.
- In 1676, Anton van Leeuwenhoek (1632–1723) took this invention a step further
with a magnification of 270 times and discovered tiny single-celled creatures in pond
water.

6|Page Module 1
 La Carlota City College
Business and Management Department
GE 7: Science, Technology and Society Engr. Khrisna Mae C. Gelogo, ECE, LPT

Image 6. Zacharias Janssen (left) and their microscope(right).

Try to Watch this! 😊
Leeuwenhoek and Microscopic Life. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_BiLl2v6OE

 Telescope – In 1608, the first refracting telescope was invented by Hans Lippershey
who was a German-Dutch lens maker. He referred to his design as a “Dutch perspective
glass”.
- In 1610, using his improved design, Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) was able to prove
that the Earth revolved around the Sun. This confirmed the ideas of the Polish
astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543) but it angered the Catholic Church
who had adopted the idea that the Earth was at the center of everything.

MODERN AGES
 Steam Power – During the Industrial Revolution (1760 – 1840) the development of
steam engines to power factory machinery was very relevant. Heating water in a boiler
to make steam to power a vehicle was a major technological advance.
- In 1765, James Watt invented the first modern steam engine. Water could be pumped
out of mines and industrial processes speeded up.
- George Stephenson's Rocket was the first locomotive to pull heavy loads a long
distance. This led to the rapid expansion of railways throughout Britain and the
world.
- The combination of iron and steam paved the way for the great Victorian engineering
projects of Isambard Kingdom Brunel. He designed bridges, tunnels, viaducts and
ships.
- Steam engines enabled the development of pumps, locomotives, steam ships, steam
lorries, etc.

 Electric Light – After many refinements, Thomas Edison's (1847 – 1931) electric light
bulbs were the best and by 1879 they would last for hundreds of hours, much longer
than any of their rivals. They were also cheap.
- Edison and his team discovered that a carbonized bamboo filament could last over
1200 hours which marked the beginning of commercially manufactured light bulbs.
- To sell bulbs, energy was needed, so Edison's Electric Illumination Company built
their own power station in New York.
- After many decades he successfully persuaded the public to opt for clean, convenient
electric light rather than gas lights.

7|Page Module 1
 La Carlota City College
Business and Management Department
GE 7: Science, Technology and Society Engr. Khrisna Mae C. Gelogo, ECE, LPT

Image 7. Thomas Edison (left) and the original carbon-filament bulb(right).

Try to Watch this! 😊

The Current War (Movie) – Inspired by the 19th century competition between Thomas Edison
and George Westinghouse over electric power delivery system in the USA.
 Telephone – Alexander Graham Bell, a Scottish scientist and inventor who was the
first in the race to patent a machine in 1876 that you could use to talk to someone on the
other side of the world.
- On March 10, 1876, Bell perfected the telephone and made his first phone call with
the message "Mr. Watson, come here, I want you". It was a message to Thomas
Watson, Bell’s partner on the design and patent of the first telephone.
- He founded the Bell Telephone Company in 1877 and demonstrated long distance
calls.

Image 8. Alexander Graham Bell (left) and the original carbon-filament

bulb(right).

 Motor Car – Until the 1860s all prototype motor cars were steam driven.
- In 1876, German inventor Nicolas Otto created an improved internal combustion
engine using the principle of the four-stroke cycle (also called Otto cycle) and this is
still the way cars work today.
- In 1885, the first car, the Benz Patent Motorwagen, was developed by Karl Benz. He
was completely dedicated to the proposition that the internal-combustion engine
would supersede the horse and revolutionize the world’s transportation.
- It was a long time before cars became common. Petrol, a cleaning fluid, was only
available from the chemist. Famous names such as Rolls Royce and Henry Ford
developed the technology; Rolls Royce for the rich and Henry Ford for the man in the
street.

8|Page Module 1
 La Carlota City College
Business and Management Department
GE 7: Science, Technology and Society Engr. Khrisna Mae C. Gelogo, ECE, LPT

Image 9. A replica of the first motor car by Karl Benz.

 Communications (Radio wave technology) – Radio waves are a type of

electromagnetic radiation best known for their use in communication technologies, such
as television, mobile phones and radios. These devices receive radio waves and convert
them to mechanical vibrations in the speaker to create sound waves. It travels in all
directions at an incredible speed of 300 000 km per second.
- In 1873, Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell predicted the existence of radio
waves and developed a unified theory of electromagnetism written in his published
book “Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism.”
- In 1886, German physicist Heinrich Hertz applied Maxwell's theories to the
production and reception of radio waves using simple homemade tools and became
the first person to transmit and receive controlled radio waves.
- Guglielmo Marconi, an Italian Nobel-prize winning physicist and inventor, set up the
world's first radio stations to transmit and receive Morse code. In 1901, he
successfully sent wireless signals across the Atlantic Ocean between Cornwall and
Newfoundland, disproving the dominant beliefs of the Earth’s curvature affecting
transmission.

 Flight – At the turn of the century, in 1903, two bicycle repairmen from Ohio, Wilbur
and Orville Wright built and flew the first really successful aeroplane near Kitty Hawk,
North Carolina. From that time progress was rapid and the military advantages of flight
were realized in WWI.

Image 10. Wright brothers’ 1903 “Flyer” replica displayed in the EAA AirVenture
Museum.

 Rockets and Space Flights – The earliest rockets were used in China in the 11th
century but by the 19th century speed and accuracy were much improved. Knowledge
of astronomy meant that scientists knew the relative movements of the planets in
relation to the Earth.
- The Space Race was a series of competitive technology demonstration between the
United States and the Soviet Union, aiming to show superiority in spaceflight. It was
an outgrowth of the mid-20th-century Cold War, a tense global conflict that pitted the
ideologies of capitalism and communism against one another.

9|Page Module 1
 La Carlota City College
Business and Management Department
GE 7: Science, Technology and Society Engr. Khrisna Mae C. Gelogo, ECE, LPT

- A Russian scientist, mathematician, and theoretician, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, was

the first person to draw up plans for space stations and air locks to allow space walks.
He correctly calculated that a rocket would have to travel at 8 km per second to leave
the atmosphere and that liquid rocket fuel would be essential.
- American scientist Robert Goddard not knowing of Tsiolkovsky's ideas,
independently developed liquid fueled rockets from 1926. He is considered as the
father of modern rocket propulsion.
- On October 4, 1957 the Soviet Union launch the world’s first satellite, Sputnik 1.
- Yuri Gagarin, a Soviet cosmonaut, became the first person to journey into outer
space in 1961.
- In the US, NASA scientists redressed the balance in the space race with their moon
landing on July 20, 1969 with Neil Armstrong as the first man to walk on the moon’s
surface.
- The Proton rocket is a type of Russian space vehicle. It was first launched in 1965
and it is still used today, which makes it one of the most successful rockets in the
history of space flight.

Try to Watch this! 😊

Hidden Figures (Movie) – A biographical drama film about three female African-American
mathematicians who worked at NASA and how they play pivotal role in the launch of the flight
of the first man to orbit the earth in space. Meanwhile, they also have to deal with social
discrimination at work.

10 | P a g e Module 1
 La Carlota City College
Business and Management Department
GE 7: Science, Technology and Society Engr. Khrisna Mae C. Gelogo, ECE, LPT

D. History of Science, Technology and Society: In the Philippines

 Pre-Spanish Era – Pre-colonial Filipinos, the natives of the archipelago, already had
practices linked to science and technology.
- Filipinos were already aware of the medicinal and therapeutic properties of plants and the
methods of extracting medicine from herbs.
- They already had an alphabet (Baybayin or Alibata), number system, a weighing and
measuring system and a calendar.
- They used technology in building houses, irrigations and developing tools that they can
use in everyday life. They developed tools for planting, hunting, cooking and fishing; for
fighting their enemies during war or tribal conflicts; and for transportation, both on land
and on waterways.
- The Banaue Rice Terraces are among the sophisticated products of engineering by pre-
Spanish era Filipinos.

Image 11. The Alibata

 Spanish Colonial Period - The colonization of the Philippines contributed to growth of

science and technology in the archipelago. The Spanish introduced formal education and
founded scientific institution.
- Life during the Spanish era slowly became modernized, adapting some Western
technology and their ways of life.
- During the early years of Spanish rule in the Philippines. Parish schools were established
where religion, reading, writing, arithmetic and music was taught.
- Sanitation and more advanced methods of agriculture was taught to the natives.
- Later the Spanish established colleges and universities in the archipelago including the
University of Santo Tomas. The study of medicine in the Philippines was given priority
in the Spanish era, especially in the later years.

11 | P a g e Module 1
 La Carlota City College
Business and Management Department
GE 7: Science, Technology and Society Engr. Khrisna Mae C. Gelogo, ECE, LPT

- The Spanish also contributed to the field of engineering in the islands by constructing
government buildings, churches, roads, bridges and forts.
- The galleon trade has brought additional technology and development in the Philippines
which allowed other ideas, crops, tools, cultural practices, technology, and Western
practices to reach the country.
- Some Filipino students who were able to study in Europe also contributed to the
advancement of medicine, engineering, arts, music and literature in the country.
- The superstitious beliefs of the people and the Catholic doctrines and practices during the
Spanish era halted the growth of science in the country.

 American Period and Post-Commonwealth Era – The Americans have more influence
in the development of science and technology in the Philippines compared to the Spaniards.
- Americans established the public education system, improved the engineering works and
the health conditions of the people.
- They established a research university, the University of the Philippines, and created
more public hospitals than the former colonial master. The mineral resources of the
country were also explored and exploited during the American times.
- They reorganized the learning of science and introduced it in the public and private
schools. In basic education, science education focuses on nature studies and science and
sanitation, until it became a subject formally known as “Science”. Researches were done
to control malaria, cholera and tuberculosis and other tropical diseases.
- The desire of the Americans to develop the human resources of the Philippines allowed
American scholars to introduce new knowledge and technology in the country. Little by
little, these efforts built a stronger foundation for science and technology in the country.
- However, World War II has destabilized the development of the country in many ways
and the country had a difficult time to rebuild itself from the ruins of the war. The human
spirit to survive and rebuild the country may strong but the capacity of the country to
bring back what was destroyed was limited. The reparation money from Japan was
concentrated on building highways and in providing technological training and human
resource development in the country.
- Since the establishment of the new republic, the whole nation has been focusing on using
its limited resources in improving its science and technological capability. Human
resource development is at the heart of these efforts focusing on producing more
engineers, scientists, technology experts, doctors, and other professionals in the country.
- The development of science and technology in the Philippines is shaped by several
factors and influences. Like in the history of science in other countries, it is always
shaped by human and social activities, both internal and external.
Internal Influences
 Survival
 Culture Development of
 Economic Activities Science and
Technology in
External Influences the Philippines
 Foreign Colonizers
 Trades with Foreign
Countries
12 | P a g e Module 1
 International Economic
Demands
 La Carlota City College
Business and Management Department
GE 7: Science, Technology and Society Engr. Khrisna Mae C. Gelogo, ECE, LPT

Figure 2. Influences in the Development of Science and Technology in the Philippines

Activity 2:
1. Cite five other examples of technology that have change the society and/or the
world.
2. Choose one technology or invention that you think is essential to the current
pandemic. Why? (Answer in 3 – 5 sentences. Support your answer.)
3. How does school science shape science and technology in the country
(Philippines)? (Answer in 3 – 5 sentences. Support your answer.)
4. Address this question: “If you are an inventor, what would you invent?” In thinking
about an invention, make sure that you come up with one that has not been invented yet
but is possible to be invented in the near future. Sketch a draft of your invention then
answer the following questions:
 If you are to invent, what would be your invention? Why?
 How is your invention similar to or different from existing tools or technologies in
terms of function?
 Why is there a need for this invention? How will this invention make the world a
better place to live in?

13 | P a g e Module 1