Science and Technology and Society Module
Science and Technology and Society Module
Lemery Campus
Lemery, Iloilo
Introduction:
Science, Technology and Society (STS) 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. STS builds on the history and philosophy of science and technology, sociology and
anthropology, policy studies, and cultural and literary studies; all of which shape the modes of
analysis deployed in the field. The intercollegiate program brings together courses taught in a
variety of departments, and is divided into three principal areas: history of science and
technology, philosophy of science and technology, and social science approaches to technology
and science. Courses explore the effects of science and technology on society and culture; the
politics of socio-technical systems; science policy in national and international contexts; the
social and environmental risks vs. benefits of technological and scientific advancement and,
more specifically, cover topics such as the political economy of pollution, the culture of the
scientific laboratory, theories of race and genetic engineering, social networking and the
Internet, the body and politics of health.
Learning Outcomes:
Model Aquarium
Planterium
MODULE 1
General Concepts in Science, Technology and Society
Introduction
This module will provide an in-depth discussion and understanding on general concepts
and historical antecedents in which social considerations changed the course of science and
technology in global and local setting. Discussion on the interaction of science and technology
throughout the history is also one of the objective of this module. This module will also improve
the critical thinking analysis on how scientific and technological developments affect the society
and environment.
“If we lived on a planet where nothing ever changed, there would be little to do. There
would be nothing unpredictable world, where things changed in random or very complex ways,
we would not be able to figure things out. But we live in an in-between universe, where things
change, but according to patterns, rules, or as we call them, laws of nature. If I throw a stick
up in the air, it always falls down. If the sun sets in the west, it always rises again the next
morning in the east. And so it becomes possible to figure things out. We can do science, and
with it we can improve our live (Carl Sagan, Cosmos (1980, 1985)
Learning Outcomes
Discussed the interactions between Science and Technology and society throughout the
history.
Discuss how scientific and technological developments affect society and the
environment.
Identify the paradigm shifts in history
Discussion
The history of science and technology is a field of history that examines how the
understanding of the natural world and the ability to manipulate it have changed over the
millennia and centuries. This academic discipline also studies the cultural, economic, and
political impacts of scientific innovation.
Terms to be learned
Culture: - Is loosely defined as a society's way of life, provides the basis for forging identities.
Allows people to understand themselves in relation to others and provides them a lens through
which they base what is considered the "right way" of doing things.
Society: Have some form of subcultures. It refers to a group of people living in a community. It
is a web of social relationship, which is always changing. (MacIver and Page)
Social solidarity - whereby members of the community live together for mutual benefit
Shared identity and culture among members that serve as basis for their patterns of
action and behavior
A common language
A large population and the ability to sustain succeeding generations of members
Definite geographical area
Hunting and gathering: Communities date as far back as several million years ago and were
considered the first societies. The basic social and economic nits were the family and local clan
which organized hunting and gathering activities and distributed the accumulated food supply.
Horticultural and pastoral societies: a. Their emergence was brought about by the gradual shift
from the hunting-and-gathering lifestyle to a more sedentary life, and the introduction of
agriculture as a more stable food production method. Horticultural societies - relied on the
cultivation of plants as their primary source of food Pastoral societies - depended on the
domestication of animals, Plating seeds; handmade tools (horticultural society) Semi-nomads;
domestication of animals (pastoral society)
Agricultural societies: a. Around 10,000 years ago, the development and spread of agriculture
led to the emergence of civilizations in Mesopotamia and china, and this brought about the
establishment. b. Food production became more efficient due to the new methods of learning,
the invention of more advanced tools, and the establishment of permanent settlements. c. Plow
animals; irrigation; farming; subsidence farming - enough food for community (producing);
surplus farming - excess goods exchanged to other community
Industrial societies: a. Meanwhile, the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in England during
the latter half of the 18th century transformed agricultural societies. b. Technological
advancements resulted in the invention of machines that improved production. c. The rise of
urban centers or cities was also a major development during this period. d. (1800-1899); 19th
century (industrial revolution); introduction of machines and technology; bourgeoisie-capitalist;
proletariat-working class masses
Post-industrial societies: a. Since the late latter portion of the 20th century, many countries
have become developed.b. In this society, knowledge is a commodity and technological
innovation is key to long-lasting growth and development. c. Internet; can be used to personal
use as well; individual complex knowledge + advance technology
Culture: Is one of the important bases that define and influence a society. It refers to the sets
of beliefs, ideas, values, practices, knowledge, history and shared experiences, attitudes, as
well as material objects and possessions accumulated over time an dshared by the members of
society.
- (E.B. Tylor's concept) it is the complex whole which encompasses beliefs, practices, values,
attitudes, laws, norms, artifacts, symbols, knowledge, and everything that a person learns and
shares as a member of society.
Science and technology: play major roles in the everyday life. They make difficult and
complicated tasks easier and allow people to do more with so little effort and time; were
developed by gradual improvements to earlier works from different time periods
Ancient times: People were concerned with transportation and navigation, communication and
record-keeping, mass production, security and protection, as well as health, aesthetics, and
architecture.
APPLICATION
Direction: Look for your own partner and perform the activity. Ensure that you are going to
follow health protocols when you decide to meet with each other.
Mechanics 5 points
ASSESSMENT No. 1
Module 1 Lesson 1
Direction: Answer the following questions. Reflect your answers in the boxes provided. This
sheet will be returned during the next schedule of module distribution.
1. Give three other major scientific and technological developments in the world (or in the
Philippines) that created a large impact on your daily life
2. What historical antecedents gave rise to the inventions you mentioned in the first question?
3. How did the developments in science and technology shape human history?
MODULE 1
General Concepts in Science, Technology and Society
Introduction
When we say revolution in science we are referring to the spinning of a matter around itself or
around the other matter. But in this chapter, we will be dealing with the ground-breaking
intellectual revolution that turns the world into 360 degrees. It is like strongly believing into
something and someone destroyed what you are believing for.
Learning Outcomes
Discussion
The term "Intellectual Revolution" is used to refer to Greek speculation about the
"nature" in the period before Socrates (roughly 600 to 400 BCE). Hence, the alternative,
technical terms are "pre Socratic" or "non-theological" or "first philosophy". Bear in mind that
the "philosophy" in question has little to do with ethics, and much more to do with what we
would call physics or logic.
There are three characteristic features of this form of speculation. First, the world is a natural
whole (that is, supernatural forces do not make things 'happen'). Second, there is a natural
'order' (that is, there are 'laws of nature'). Third, humans can 'discover' those laws. I will
develop these concepts more fully in class.
Although the texts have been translated as prose, much of what survives is actually verse.
All of these pro-Socratic philosophers reached maturity in the colonies, east and west. Was the
"colonial" mentality more intellectually adventurous than that found in the mother country?
Though these thinkers thought in non-theological terms that does not mean that they were
atheists, most were not, but rather that they viewed the natural order as reflecting some
underlying intelligence, the Logos (loosely: "the rational principle").
The earliest of these thinkers lived in Ionia, on the western coast of modern Turkey, in the
town of Miletus. The Ionians were concerned with two issues: What is the underlying and
primary 'substance' (Greek: arché)? And, second, how can one explain change and
transformation, given that what we perceive derives from one substance? One should note the
modernity of these questions. Physicists still seek the primary particle; science still attempts to
explain how natural substances 'change'.
Thales, ca. 585 BCE, argued that the primary substance was 'water' perhaps observing
that water can be observed in liquid, gas or solid form. Whether he believed everything was
truly based on water or whether he used water an analogy, is not quite clear. Consider, too,
that the use of water as a primary substance is not far removed from the primary
substance of many creation myths.
Xenophanes, another 6th century Ionian from the town of Colophon, went in a different direction,
applying the logical methods of the Ionians to understanding of the Greek gods. Here are
Heraclitus who defined this entity with his term "Logos" or 'rational principle'. In this citation
Heraclitus articulates one of the most important problem of philosophy and of science: As
everything is in the process of change, how can one know anything for certain? The statement is
the foundation of 'epistemology', the study of knowledge. The most recent and significant
formulation of the problem is the Heisenberg Principle (devised by the Nobel prize winning
physicist of the 1930s).
Pythagoras and his followers perceived that the ultimate reality (arché) was not something material,
but number
Parmenides and his disciple, Zeno, argue the contrary of Heraclitus; namely that
motion/change is logically impossible. Something either "is" or "is not", typically called "being"
and "non-being". If "being" changes, it can only become "non-being", but that is impossible.
APPLICATION
NEGATIVE AND POSITIVE RESULTS OF INNOVATIONS
AND TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES
Direction: Using a long sized bond paper, list down, draw a poster, or make a slogan on the
positive or negative results of innovations and technological advances. One bond paper for
positive result, and another one for negative results. Submission date next schedule of
module distribution.
ASSESSMENT No. 2
Module 1, Lesson 2
Meso-America
Asia
Middle East
Africa
MODULE 1
General Concepts in Science, Technology and Society
Introduction:
This module will deal with the introduction and the scope and limitations of Science,
Technology and Society. It will attempt to capture the holistic view of how Science, Technology
and Society interact and affect each other in the Philippine setting.
Learning Outcomes:
1. explained how early Filipinos applied scientific principles in their daily living;
2. presented government policies on science and technology and explained their
importance to the nation; and
3. discussed the role of science and technology in nation-building
Discussion:
Science and Technology are dynamic processes engaged in by man to satisfy two basic
needs – the thirst for knowledge and the material requirements for human survival and
prosperity. Science and technology had been around even before the words biology, physics,
chemistry, engineering and agriculture were coined.
The development of science and technology in the Philippines has already come a long way.
Many significant inventions and discoveries have been accomplished by or attributed to
Filipinos.
Pre-colonial
Colonial
Post Period
Period
-colonial period
APPLICATION
Activity No. 3
ASSESSMENT No. 3
Name: _______________________ Course/Year/Section: ___________
2. What do you think are the major contributions of science and technology
to Philippine nation-building?
3. If ever you will become the President of the Republic of the Philippines,
what policy or program on science and technology do you want to
implement?
Module 2
Introduction:
Over the course of human history, people have developed many interconnected and
validated ideas about the physical, biological, psychological, and social worlds. Those
ideas have enabled successive generations to achieve an increasingly comprehensive
and reliable understanding of the human species and its environment. The means used
to develop these ideas are particular ways of observing, thinking, experimenting, and
validating. These ways represent a fundamental aspect of the nature of science and
reflect how science tends to differ from other modes of knowing.
It is the union of science, mathematics, and technology that forms the scientific
endeavor and that makes it so successful. Although each of these human enterprises
has a character and history of its own, each is dependent on and reinforces the others.
Accordingly, the first three chapters of recommendations draw portraits of science,
mathematics, and technology that emphasize their roles in the scientific endeavor and
reveal some of the similarities and connections among them.
This chapter lays out recommendations for what knowledge of the way science works is
requisite for scientific literacy
Learning Outcomes
1. defined science;
2. discussed the relationship of Science to technology and society
3. enumerated the different branches of science and sub-sciences
4. compared and contrasted the domains of the different branches of science
Discussion:
Science presumes that the things and events in the universe occur in consistent
patterns that are comprehensible through careful, systematic study. Scientists believe
that through the use of the intellect, and with the aid of instruments that extend the
senses, people can discover patterns in all of nature.
Science also assumes that the universe is, as its name implies, a vast single system in
which the basic rules are everywhere the same. Knowledge gained from studying one
part of the universe is applicable to other parts. For instance, the same principles of
motion and gravitation that explain the motion of falling objects on the surface of the
earth also explain the motion of the moon and the planets. With some modifications
over the years, the same principles of motion have applied to other forces—and to the
motion of everything, from the smallest nuclear particles to the most massive stars,
from sailboats to space vehicles, from bullets to light rays.
Demography
History
Social Sciences Psychology
Sociology
Computer Science
Geometry
Logic
Abstract Logistics
Mathematics
Sciences Numerology
Numismatics
Philaetely
Philology
Philosophy
NAtural Physical
Biological
Sciences
APPLICATION
Activity No.4
Sci-Dictionary
Direction: Search for the different branches of natural science and its definition
(Physical and biological science). Look for only 10-15 words and make your own
Sci-Dictionary. Be creative of your work. Submission of the outputs will on the next
schedule of module distribution.
ASSESSMENT No.4