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Revised-STS-Module - module
Science, Technology and Society (GEC103)
Cagayan State University
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Unit 1: General Concepts and STS Historical Development (17 hours) .....
Topic 1: Historical Antecedents in the Course of Science and ............
Technology
Topic 2: Intellectual Revolution .............................................
Topic 3: Science and Technology and Nation Building ..................
Unit 2: Science, Technology and Society and the Human Condition .......
(18 hours)
Topic 4: The Human Person Flourishing in terms of Science and......
Technology
Topic 5: Technology as a Way of Revealing ..............................
Topic 6: The Good Life ......................................................
Topic 7: When technology and humanity cross ...........................
Unit 3: Special Issues in Science, Technology and Society ..................
(18 hours)
Topic 8: Information Age ....................................................
Topic 9: Biodiversity and the Health Society ..............................
Topic 10: The Nanoworld ....................................................
Topic 11: The Aspects of Gene Therapy ...................................
Topic 12: Climate Change (Mandated Topic) ..............................
Unit 1:
General Concepts and
STS Historical Development
(17 hours)
Introduction
Human creativity is beyond limit that even our ancestors might not have imagined that our status of science and technology would be as robust as today. Our current understanding about the nature and the world is a result of constant over throwing of paradigm wherein an old paradigm like Geocentric Model is replaced by a paradigm that has a higher content and explanatory power like the Heliocentric Model. Such is termed scientific revolution. This is just one of the many theories that were challenged in the history of Science and have helped shaped our society.
Development of Science and Technology does not only leave indelible impact in the history but its trail can be traced by its influence in our society and country as a whole. In this unit, you will learn how science and technology has greatly influenced the development of the Philippine society. You will evaluate different government policies and programs to see how they have shaped the nation. You will also learn significant inventions and projects accomplished by Filipinos that greatly develop the countries’ science and technology, and have been a major contributor to the Philippine nation- building.
This unit will allow you to time travel through the antecedents of science and technology; lets you investigate how the present status of science and technology came into being, and explore the major turns in the course of global and national history that led it to its exhilarating and captivating development.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this unit, students will be able to:
Discuss the interactions between S&T and society throughout history;
Topic 1: Historical Antecedents in the Course of Science
and Technology
Learning Objectives
At the end of this topic, students will be able to:
Discuss how scientific and technological developments affect society; and Explain the impact of the development of science and technology to the environment
Activating Prior Learning
In order to understand past, one has to look back and revisit it. In like manner, we are going to take a look at our very rich history and study what are the
major turns in the development of Science and Technology that had led us to
the innovation of cutting edge and sophisticated Technology in the present.
Your task is to fill in the K-W-L chart below by jotting down what you have
known and what are the things that you would like to know about our
historical antecedents in terms of Science and Technology.
What I already K now What I W ant to know What I have L earned
Presentation of Contents
Science and Technology in Ancient Times
In the 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. Science and Technology keeps on advancing in order to meet the growing needs of people along these areas. Due to the constant innovation introduced by Science and Technology, which has the end goal of improving lives and making the work easier, faster and efficient, our society respond by changing as well. These changes are evident as each ancient civilization keep on creating technology that has been modified and that is being used today.
To name a few, Sumerian are known for their contribution with the first writing system called as cuneiform. Challenge to mass produce food, they invented plowing, irrigation and dikes and wheel for farming. Throughout the existence of this civilization, their main mode of transportation was through waterways such as rivers and seas. They are also known to develop the first road.
On the other hand, Babylonian civilization, which emerged near Tigris and Euphrates River were famous for being great builders, engineers and architects. One of major contributions is the hanging garden of Babylon which one of the seven wonders of the world.
Figure 1 Sumerian Cuneiform ("Redirect Notice", 2019)
Apart from being the birthplace of western philosophy, some of the major achievements of Greeks include in-depth works on Philosophy and Mathematics. They are also celebrated for their contribution to the world like coliseum, Olympics, alarm clock and water mill.
Perceived to be the strongest political and social entity in the west, Roman Empire was considered to be the cradle of politics and governance. Other civilizations looked up to it as a model in terms of codified laws and legislation. They are also celebrated for the invention of newspaper, bound books or codex. In terms of architecture and engineering, Romans are known for building elaborate churches, basilicas, aqueducts, coliseums, amphitheaters and residential houses. They have also devised their own number system which is the Roman Numeral System.
Figure 1 Papyrus ("Image: Papyrus in Ancient Egypt | Essay | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art ...", 2019)
Figure 1 Hieroglyphics ("Image: Hieroglyph | writing character | Britannica", 2019)
Figure 1 Greek Coliseum ("Image: the coliseum (greece) - YouTube", 2019)
Figure 1 Olympics ("Image: The Olympic Games [ushistory]", 2019)
Considered to be the oldest civilization in Asia, China is known for the silk trade, tea production, gun powder and the living legend great wall of China.
Science and Technology in Middle Ages
The start of the middle ages was marred by massive invasions and migrations. Wars are prevalent during this time. As such, great technology was needed in the fields of weaponry, navigation, food and farm production and health. The wars have resulted to population decline. However, in the later part of this period, there was significant increase in population. Trade and commerce among nations increased, which resulted in greater demands for transportation technology. Some of the most innovative minds came from this period.
To facilitate record keeping, woodlock printing developed by Chinese was improved by the time of Johann Gutenberg with a cast type printing press.
Figure 1 Roman numeral system ("Google Image Result for historylearning/fileadmin/ user_upload/roman-numerals", 2019)
Figure 1. Roman aqueduct ("Image: Roman Aqueducts— Ancient Engineering Marvels", 2019)
Figure 1 Silk Road ("Image: Silk Road - HISTORY", 2019)
Figure 1 The Great Wall of China ("Image: Great Wall -", 2019)
Great development in the weaponry technology also occurred in this era. This include cross bows and long bows. Additionally, in close range hand-to-hand combat, soldiers should wear something to protect themselves, a need addressed by the creation of iron body armors. However, body armors were heavy and limited the movements of the soldiers, chainmail was invented to solve the problem.
Science and Technology in Modern Times
The booming world population during the nineteenth century onwards demanded that more goods be produced at faster rate. People needed efficient means of transportation to trade more goods and cover a larger distance. Machines that required animals to operate must thus be upgraded. Faster and easier means to communicate and compute should be developed to establish connections between and among nations. All these needs resulted in the development of industries. However, due to massive industrialization, the modern times again faced more complicated problems. Food processing and medicine posed some of the bigger challenges since health was of great concern.
As people were able to develop better means of production to meet the needs of the population, food preservation and food safety became an issue. Louis Pasteur, a French biologist, microbiologist and chemist found a way to solve the problem. He invented pasteurization, the process of heating dairy products to kill the harmful bacteria that allow them to spoil faster. Through this process, milk could be stored and consumed for a longer period. It also prevented illnesses caused by harmful bacteria (Macalester College, 2010). Other contributions of Pasteur to Science and Technology and Medicine included his works on molecular asymmetry, fermentation and vaccination.
The modern times demanded better means of powering homes and transportation. This led to the development of kerosene and the petroleum refinery industry (Skrabec, 2010). At present, petroleum is widely used in powering automobiles, factories and power plants, among others.
The more people got connected by trade and exploration, the more they needed a way to easily maintain these connections and communicate with each other in real time. Governments likewise needed some kind of communication system which would allow them to administer their states well. Important day- to-day decisions must be discussed and addressed at the fastest time possible. Thus, the invention of telephone by Alexander Graham Bell was one of the most important inventions at that time.
Although an earlier version of the calculator had already been developed, circumstances in the modern times required a faster way to compute more complicated equations. Computing devices must also be easy to carry since they would be utilized on a day-to-day basis. The creation of modern calculators did not only pave the way for easier arithmetic calculations, but also resulted in the development of more complex processing machines like computer.
Science and Technology in the Philippines
Even in Philippines during precolonial times up to modern times, the advancement of Science and Technology has been equated to socio-economic progress and political sovereignty and security. So, let us briefly take a look on how science and technology in the Philippines developed into its current state.
Precolonial Science and Technology in the Philippines
There had been activities linked to technology during this period that included use of fire, pottery-making and use of herbal medicines. Early Filipino settlers had their own methods of farming in fact Banaue Rice Terraces are among the sophisticated products of engineering feat during pre-colonial era. They also utilize stones for recording purposes, extract iron from ore and practice smelting and refining. It has also been noted that they had learned to build boats for coastal trade and barter system in trading goods and resources with the neighboring countries.
Generally, Filipinos during this period are highly superstitious. Though they can already read and write using their own system of writing, no trace of record has been found yet to prove that they had written literary tradition during this time.
Figure 1 Alexander Graham Bell’s Telephone ("Image: Inventor of the Telephone: Alexander Graham Bell - Learning History", 2019)
American Regime
There was a rapid advancement of Science and Technology during the American regime which was made possible through the efforts of the government in granting scholarships for higher education in Science and Engineering and extension public education system especially free primary education, introduction of science and industry and vocational courses and public health programs in the system and establishment of science research agencies. To note, during this period, University of the Philippines Los Baños was established for the promotion of higher education in the sciences and government research institutions and agencies performing technical functions.
Unfortunately, the educational and scientific engagement of Filipinos in the country was put to halt when the second world war broke in the Pacific region. The center for of all educational and scientific activities which Manila were utterly razed to the ground destroying the infrastructures and facilities.
Post-Colonial Science and Technology in the Philippines
In 1957, shortly after the world war II, the then President Ferdinand E. Marcos
received a report on the deterioration of Science and Technology in the
country. The report analyzed the causes of this decline -- the lack of government support; dearth of scientists of high training and ability; low
morale of scientists and a lack of public awareness of Science. It made several
recommendations towards a long-range development of science in the country.
Consequently, Congress enacted the Science Act of 1958.
Figure 1 University of the Philippines Los Baños Photo taken from bit/33k8BFV
The Science Act created the National Science Development Board (NSDB) to
formulate policies for the development of science and coordinate the work of
science agencies. The Act also created the Philippine Atomic Energy
Commission (PAEC) that explored the use of atomic energy for economic development and the National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST) and
placed these, along with the NRCP, under the NSDB. In addition, Philippine
Coconut Research Institute was added to NSDB to modernize coconut
industry, as well as Textile Research Institute
Recognizing that technology was the leading factor in economic development,
President Marcos channeled additional funds to support projects in applied
sciences and science education. In 1972, he created the National Grains Authority to provide for the development of the rice and corn industry,
Philippine Council for Agricultural Research to support the progressive
development of agriculture, forestry and fisheries for the country. It was also
during his regime when Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and
Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) under the Department of
National Defense was established to provide environmental protection and to
utilize scientific knowledge to ensure safety of the people.
During President Corazon Aquino’s administration, the National Science and Technology Authority was replaced by the Department of Science and
Technology, giving science and technology a representation in the cabinet.
The Presidential Task Force for Science and Technology which came up with
the first Science and Technology Master Plan (STMP) was created. Its goal is
for the Philippines to achieve newly industrialized country status by the year
Figure 1 Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) Photo taken from shorturl/isUZ
- Create a collage on the inventions in the Philippines and the world
Topic 2: Intellectual Revolution
Learning Objectives
At the end of this topic, students will be able to:
Discuss paradigm shifts through history; Explain how intellectual revolution changed how humans see the world; and Select a revolutionary scientist and present a persuasive speech representing his/her theory
Activating Prior Learning
You may have read about different theories that worked and were believed to be true during ancient times. In Astronomy, for example, you have learned that Sun is the Center of the Solar System and that the planets, including Earth, are revolving around it in an elliptical orbit. However, people in ancient times believed that the earth was the center of the universe. Early beliefs also claimed that human beings were created through “Divine Creation” but this was replaced by Darwin’s Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection. These are just some of the examples of early theories that were challenged in the history of Science.
What were the great Intellectual Revolutions that significantly shaped our Society? What made these new theories controversial? Who were these people or groups of people behind these upheavals that permanently changed the course of history of Science? What were their needs, and what were their struggles that motivated them to engage in such scholarly contribution?
This topic will lead you to some of the answers of these aforementioned questions. Moreover, this topic describes how science and technology theories paved the way for the Enlightenment and our current understanding of some of the fundamental concepts of Science and of the world.
scientists and his developing knowledge of geology and fossils, he proposed the theory of evolution by natural selection. Darwin proposed that: individual organisms within a particular species show a wide range of variation for a characteristic, individuals with characteristics most suited to the environment are more likely to survive to breed successfully; and the characteristics that have enabled these individuals to survive are then passed on to the next generation. This is called Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection.
Figure 2 shows that individual organisms had a common ancestor and evidence supports that life originated from single cell bacteria and archaea some 3 billion years ago.
Figure 2 Tree of Evolution ("Redirect Notice", 2019)
The Father of Psychoanalysis
In the past, the field of Psychology was always classified under philosophy. Psychology was considered more of an art rather than a science. In the late 19 th century, Sigmund Freud was able to change people’s perception of psychology with his revolutionary theory of psychoanalysis.
Psychoanalysis is the study of human behavior. In his theory, Freud explained that there are many conscious and unconscious factors that can influence behavior and emotions. He also argued that personality is a product of three conflicting elements: id, ego and superego.
Science hardliners brushed off the legitimacy of psychoanalysis as a science since concepts were viewed as philosophical and supernatural. Many believed that Freud’s theory has no scientific basis as no empirical or experimental data could support it.
Figure 2 Theory of Creation ("Redirect Notice", 2019)
Figure 2 Theory of Psychoanalysis ("Redirect Notice", 2019)
Revised-STS-Module - module
Course: Science, Technology and Society (GEC103)
University: Cagayan State University
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