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Republic of the Philippines

Surigao del Sur State University


Tandag City, Surigao del Sur
Telefax No. 086-214-4221
www.sdssu.edu.ph

MODULE

GE- STS

A Course Pack in
SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY

By STS GROUP
2021
Week 2

I. Preliminaries
COURSE NAME : Science, Technology, and Society

COURSE CREDITS : 3 units

COURSE DESCRIPTION The course deals with interactions


:
between science and technology and social, cultural, political, and economic
contexts that shape and are shaped by them. (CMO No. 20, series of 2013). This
interdisciplinary course engages students to confront the realities brought about by
science and technology in society. Such realities pervade the personal, the public,
and the global aspects of our living and are integral to human development.
Scientific knowledge and technological development happen in the context of
society with all its socio-political, cultural, economic, and philosophical
underpinnings at play. This course seeks to instil reflective knowledge in the
students that they are able to live the good life and display ethical decision making

COURSE OUTCOMES
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in the face of scientific and technological advancement.

PRE-REQUISITE/CO-REQUISITES : NONE

In the context of the specific field of specialization, the students will be able to:

Design and evaluate solutions for complex


LO1 computing problems, and design and evaluate
systems, components or processes that meet
specified needs with appropriate consideration
for public health and safety, cultural, societal
and environmental considerations.
An ability to recognize the legal, social, ethical
LO2 and professional issues involved in the
utilization of computer technology and be
guided by the adoption of appropriate
professional, ethical and legal practices.

II. Course Overview:


This course pack is specifically produced for the course GE- STS (Science, Technology, and Society)
intended for you, a student of SDSSU ______ campus enrolled in the Bachelor of ______________
program. This is the first module for the prelim period. Brief introduction to Science, Technology
and Society are some of the essentials included in this course pack. Considering the description of

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the course, this course pack tries to incorporate discussions on the importance of studying Science,
Technology, and Society.

III. General Instruction


This module begins with an Introduction that encapsulates the topics or lessons that
students of this course have to learn, understand and value. This Module is composed of five parts
of which the first part pertains to the Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs). The next part is the
course direction where students are directed to focus their respective course works. The nitty-
gritties of the course are also placed in the lecture and discussion which is the third part of the
module. Each student taking this course is also required to answer all the assessment tasks (refer
to tasks and completion time matrix below) to measure whether the student have learned from
the lessons. For the students to grasp all the essentials of the topics covered in a particular lesson,
links, URLs, videos (in USB stick) and other supplementary reading materials are provided in this
module.

Deadline Requirements

Midterm ● Make a Video Reporting


● Assigned group in every topic must prepare a video reporting using Google Meet as your
Mid-term requirement
● One (1) PPT preparation in every group

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● Allotted time must be 30-45 mins.
● Every member of the group must be part of video reporting
● Observe proper dress code (smart attire)
● Make sure you are in a convenient or conducive place in making a video reporting
● Every group must post their output in advance to our Google Classroom account as basis
of information resources.
● Submit your Video Reporting output before October 1, 2021 for Topics I-V and output for
Topics VI-X must summit before November 1, 2021.
● This must be rated 10% of the requirement
● Flow of video reporting:
● Prayer
● Greetings
● Short Introduction of discussants
● Motivation
● Discussion proper
● Summary of the topic

Finals ● To be announced

IV. Academic Integrity

Academic honesty is required of all students. Plagiarism--to take and pass off as one’s own
work, the work or ideas of another--is a form of academic dishonesty. Penalties may be assigned
for any form of academic dishonesty” (See Student Handbook/College Manual). Sanctions for

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breaches in academic integrity may include receiving a grade of a “Failed” on a test or assignment.
In addition, the Director of Student Affairs may impose further administrative sanctions.

V. Introduction

Science and Technology indeed 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. The developments in this field are
not just products of people’s imagination or a
one-time thought process; they are also
brought by gradual improvements to earlier
works from different time periods.

This module discusses the meaning of Science,


Technology and Society; the Historical
Antecedents, Transformation of Society by Science and Technology such as Copernican ,Darwinian

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Revolution, Freudian Revolution and
Information Revolution.

Lesson 1: Introduction to Science, Technology, and Society

Intended Learning Outcomes

At the end of this module, the students should be able to:


1. discuss the general concepts of Science, Technology and Society and its interactions
throughout the history;
2. identify inventions and discoveries that changed the world over the course of history and
how it transform over the period of time
3. discuss the scientific and technological developments in the Philippines.

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Pre-test

Instructions: On the space provided, write True if the statement is correct or False if it is not.

● ____True____1. Science and Technology are not crucial factors in nation building.

___True______2. Science required invention to devise techniques, abstractions, apparatuses, and


organizations to describe these natural regularities and their law-like descriptions.

____False_____3. Science and technology can be dangerous.

____False_____4. STS is an interdisciplinary field of academic teaching and research having as its
primary focus the explication and analysis of science and technology as complex social constructs.

_____True____5. STS deals with the historical development of science and technology but does
not cover their philosophical underpinnings.

Guide Questions:

1. How does science operate and sets the limitation?


Clearly,the scientific method is a powerful tool,but it does have its limatations and also the
fact that a hypothesis must be testable and falsifiable and that experiments and

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observations be repeatable.

2. What are Science, Technology and society, and why should people want to study and learn
it?
It is important to understand because science, technology, and society can help us in
variety of ways and also to help us to understand the concept behind us, technology and
situation.

3. On the box provided draw your understanding how science and technology related to each
other that give impact to the society.

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1.1. The Meaning of Science, Technology and Society

What is science?

Science comes from the Latin word scientia, meaning “knowledge”. But in the perspective
of Albert Einstein science is the attempts to make the chaotic diversity of our sense experience
correspond to a logically uniform system of thought. It is also considered a subject matter of
nature. Every physical entity in the extra-terrestrial and terrestrial environment is a component of
nature. According to the famous American science historian, John Heilbron ( 2003,p.vii), “ Modern
science as a discovery of regularity in nature, enough for natural phenomena to be described by
principles and laws. He also explained that science required invention to devise techniques,

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abstractions, apparatuses, and organizations to describe these natural regularities and their law-
like descriptions.

Moreover, Science can be classified as a process and product.

1. Science as a process
a. It seeks for truth about the nature
b. concerned with discovering relationship between observable phenomena in terms of
theories
c. systematized theoretical inquiries
d. it is determined by observation, hypothesis, hiof the development of knowledge
e. it is the study of the beginning and end of everything that exist
f. conceptualization of new ideas from the abstract to the particular
g. kind of human cultural activity.

2. Science as a product
a. Systematized, organized body of knowledge based on facts or truths observations
b. a set of logical and empirical methods which provide for the systematic observation of
empirical phenomena
c. source of cognitive authority

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d. concerned with verifiable concepts
e. a product of the mind
f. it is the variety of knowledge, people, skills organizations, facilities, techniques, physical
resources, methods and technologies that taken together and in relation with one
another.

What is technology?

Basically it is the application of scientific knowledge, laws, and principles to produce


services, materials, tools, and machines aimed at solving real-world problems. It comes from the
Greek root word techne, meaning “art, skill, or cunning of hand”.

On the same view, technology is defined as both a process and a product.

1. Technology as a process
a. It is the application of science
b. the practice, description and terminology of applied sciences
c. the intelligent organization and manipulation of materials for useful purposes
d. the means employed to provide for human needs and wants
e. focused on the inventing new or better tools and materials or new and better ways of
doing things.

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f. a way of using findings of science to produce new things for a better way of living
g. search foe concrete solutions that work and give wanted results
h. it is characteristically calculative and imitative, tends to be dangerously manipulative
i. form of human cultural activity.

2. Technology as a product
a. A system of know-how, skills, techniques and processes
b. it is like a language, rituals, values, commerce and arts, it is intrinsic part of a cultural
system and it both shapes and reflects to the system values.
c. it is the product of the scientific concept
d. the complex combination of knowledge, materials and methods
e. material products of human making or fabrication
f. total societal enterprise.

Introduction to Science, Technology and Society

Let us take some very simplistic definitions on the basic concepts of STS in the class.

Science: Hi, I am science. I can investigate of the physical world and its nature including the

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people and the stuff we make.

Technology: Hello, I am technology. I can make stuff. Including stuff used in the society, and
in the production and dissemination of science.

Society: Welcome to my world! Actually, I am the sum total of our interactions as humans,
including the interactions that we engage in to figure things out and to make things.

Based on the conversation of STS it is very clear that all of these are deeply interconnected.
As this class proceeds, you will begin to develop a better picture of the fundamental nature
of this interaction.

In this module you will explore the interaction of science, technology and society,
especially in the recent past 20th and 21st centuries.

Science, Technology and Society (STS) is a relatively recent discipline, originating in the 60s
and 70s, following Kuhn’s The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (1962). STS was the result of a
sociological turn in science studies. STS simply stands for science, technology and society. It is an
interdisciplinary field of academic teaching and research, with elements of a social movement,
having as its primary focus the explication and analysis of science and technology as complex social
constructs with attendant societal influences entailing myriad epistemological, political, and
ethical questions.

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STS makes the assumption that science and technology are essentially intertwined and that
they are each profoundly social and profoundly political. Basically, science and technology are both
social and political.

Being critical:

In this section, you will try to develop a critical stance towards science and
technology. This does not mean that you are going to cast them in a negative light,
or that you need to develop a dislike for them. Many of us have regarded for science
and technology.

What is critical stance?

A critical stance is the deliberate creation of distance between us and the object you study.
In order to be critical one must step back and ask broad questions.

1. Science claims to produce knowledge about the world. What is the nature of this
knowledge? Is it absolutely certain? Are there other kinds of knowledge?
2. Technology claims to improve our lives. Who are us? What does it mean to have a better

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life? What is to be gained and what is to be lost?

Internal and External Perspectives of STS

An internal perspective starts with the principle and assumptions that scientists and
engineers themselves work with and then uses these to try to explain their activities. The
development of an internal perspective requires mastering the details of the science in
question, takes years of hard work to acquire and involves nonverbal assumptions and
practices picked up in this process.

In the external perspective uses a different set of assumptions and attempts to analyse the
context in which experts live and work, as well as what they say. In this perspective you are
interested in the behaviours, goals, rhetoric etc. Also, you analyse the activities of technical
experts without any appeal to the special status of their expertise.

A “classical” view of science and technology

A typical, naïve view of science might be as follows:

▪ Science is a formal activity that creates knowledge by direct interaction with nature.
▪ Science has some kind of special method that allows different scientists to produce the
same kind of knowledge whatever their social and political context might be.

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▪ Scientists perform the same experiments in the same way, and agree upon and reject
the same hypotheses.
▪ Scientists come to consensus on the truths of the natural world.

Nature Science Truth

The classical view began to fall apart in the process of 20 th century investigations of
scientific activity.

▪ Philosophers were unable to formalize the “black box”. There appears to be no


single “scientific method”.
▪ When historians began to explore past scientific activities more closely, they
found there was no such thing as “pure science” removed from social and
political interactions and assumptions.
▪ When sociologists began to open the black box of contemporary scientific
activity, they found that the inside was thoroughly social and political.

Then, why do most people still hold the naïve view?

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____WD___________________________________________________________________
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Scientism

▪ Scientism goes back at least as far as the Scientific Revolution (c.1550-1700) and
originates in the claim that there is a sharp divide between “ facts” and “
values”.
▪ According to this view, when we do science, we set aside values and study only
facts.
▪ The authority of science rests on its claim to be “value free” and hence
“objective”.
▪ Scientism promotes the idea that all of society’s problem can be solved by
experts who are specially trained to unearth the facts of the matter.
▪ Scientism, and the scientistic movement, make the claim that science is for the
benefit of all humanity

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Technologically progressivism

▪ Technological progressivism has its roots in the European Enlightenment (c.


1700-1800), when progress became a synonym for good and technology came
to be seen as a fundamental tool in progressive projects.

Good = Progress
Progress = Technology

▪ Technological progressivism assumes that technological change is inherently


good and sees it as self-propagating, moving by the internal constraints of
technology itself. For example, we view new technologies as progressive and
older ones as old fashioned and use this as a reason for changing technologies.
We advocate the adoption of new technologies with little reflection on their
social impact or the broader question of whether or not we want those impacts.

Technoscience

▪ In the classical view of the relationship between science and technology, science
leads the way by creating knowledge from nature and technology follows by

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following this knowledge to creation of new things.
▪ In this case, you will investigate the complex interaction between science and
technology and the social environments in which they are produced, and which
they, in turn, produce.
▪ The sum total of scientific and technological activities as technoscience.

Technoscience is the combined total of scientific and technological ideas and


activities in their social, political and economic realities. Nobody has any doubt that
modern society istechnoscientific. Modern nation-states and the global economy, itself,
could not function if they were not based on technoscience. Thus, it is im possible to
understand modern society without studying the effects of technoscience.

What makes something social?

Society is the result of people, and institutions interacting with one another. It is a sort of
epiphenomena of these individuals. Society in turn shapes the people and institutions that form it.
Most people experience society as though it were external force acting upon them. The effects of
society operate through the vague mechanism of social norms. Norms tell us what we should and
should not do, what we should and should not think. But they are not rational- or rather, their
rationality is not universal. Norms produce the values that we use in interacting with others. They
produce many of our core ideas- such as ideas of the place of class, the role gender, meaning of

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the race, the function of justice, the importance of objectivity, the criterion of truth, the
significance of evidence, etc.

Technoscience is social

In the simplest sense, technoscience is the product of people, and people are social.

But it is possible to claim something much stronger than this:

▪ The social norms of technoscientists affects where they will look, what they will see
and what they will say about it. (Their worldview).
▪ Technoscientists’ norms are shaped by their discipline (Basic scientific concepts
mean different things in different fields).
▪ Professional norms affect the value that technoscienctists place on judgements.
▪ We find disagreement about what counts as science across time and from place to
place.
▪ The development of technology is highly social, and depends on the manipulation of
social norms.

What makes something political?

▪ Politics is about control. It is the result of the distribution and utilization of power in


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our societies.
Political activity functions by employing various structures, resources and discourses
in order to consolidate and wield power. Political structures are formal and informal
rules to play. Formal rules are things like laws and procedures, informal rules are
things like social norms. There are many kinds of political resources: natural
resources, money, military force, knowledge, access, charm, etc. Politics uses
discourses to control what is sayable and what is not, to control the way in which
something is said and the framework of what is discussed. Dominant discourses
lend a kind of cultural authority.

And so, what do you think is the clear boundary between the social and the political aspects?

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________________________________________________________________________________
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Technoscience is political

▪ There are formal and informal rules that dictate who can make decisions about how
to proceed with technoscientific work.
▪ Different political structures create different opportunities, at the national level, the
level of institutions, and the level of individuals.
▪ Individual knowledge workers (technoscientists), various institutions, and different
professional groups all use economic and cultural resources to advance their aims.
▪ Discourses can be developed by appeal to both social and scientific norms. These
discourses can then be used as resources to advance technoscientific work. This is
often referred to as the production of social capital.

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K
Exercise 1. Reflection Task 1 (Individual Task)

Name: JENNIFER L LOLO Date Submitted: __________

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Course/Section: _______2FMA___________________ Score: _________________

Instructions: Answer the following questions comprehensively.

1. Trevor Pinch has said that STS shows that “politics, culture, economics, and society can be
found in the hardest of artifacts” (Science and Technology Studies: The Next Twenty” panel
session, Harvard University, April 7-9, 2011). Use the writings of two different STS authors
to support and/or refute this claim.
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2. Using the concepts from Kuhn’s The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, discuss the

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progression of STS theories.
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3. Discuss the role of quantification in science and technology from your own perspective.

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________________________________________________________________
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Exercise 2. Reflection Task 2 (Individual Task)

Name: __________________________________ Date Submitted: __________

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Course/Section: __________________________ Score: _________________

Instructions: On the space below you create a slogan that reflects your view of science and
technology. It should be specifically state whether you view science and technology as good or
bad, both, or neutral. You can use different art materials to make it visually appealing and
impactful.

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Exercise 3. Reflection Task 3 (Individual Task)

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Name: __________________________________ Date Submitted: __________

Course/Section: __________________________ Score: _________________

Instructions: On the space below, paste a magazine or newspaper cutout of any photograph that
depicts an issue or problem in science and technology. Then, answer the questions that follow.

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1. What is the issue or problem depicted in the photograph?
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2. How does this particular issue or problem impact the well-being of humans today?

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________________________________________________________________
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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 photograph?
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4. What was the key crisis that helped drive the development of the field Science and
Technology in Society? How did those crises change our understanding of science and
technology? What impact has this had on how science is practiced by scientists and perceived
by non-scientists?
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1.2. Historical Antecedents of Science, Technology and Society

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Intended Learning Outcomes

At the end of this module, the students should be able to:


1. explain the social contexts shaped and were shaped by science and technology across three
historical periods.
2. identify inventions and discoveries that changed the world over the course of history; and
3. discuss the scientific and technological developments in the Philippines.

An antecedents is defined as a precursor to the unfolding or existence of something. The


historical antecedents in science and technology are factors that paved the way for the presence
of advanced and sophisticated scientific and technological innovations today.

Ancient Period

The advances during the ancient period allowed civilizations to flourish by finding better ways
of communication, transportation, self-organization, and of living in general.

Ancient Wheel. People from ancient civilizations used animals for transportation long before

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the invention of the wheel. No one knows exactly who invented the wheel and when. There is,
however, a general agreement that the ancient wheel grew out of mechanical device called the
potter’s wheel- a heavy flat disk made of hardened clay which was spun horizontally on an axis. It
is believed that the Sumerians invented the potter’s wheel shortly about 3500 BC. The invention of
the ancient wheel is often credited to the Sumerian’s since no other ancient civilization used a
similar device at the time. It could be that a potter thought of shifting the potter’s wheel to a 90-
degree angle for the purpose. Nonetheless, it would not be until 1000 to 1500 years later that the
wheel was first used on carts.

Figure 1. Ancient Wheel

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Paper. Roughly around 3000 BC, the ancient Egyptians began writing on papyrus, a material
similar to thick paper. Papyrus is made from the pith of the papyrus plant cyperus papyrus. It is
lightweight, strong, durable, and most importantly, portable. Before the Egyptians invented the
papyrus, writing was done on stone. Because of the difficulty of writing on stone, writing was
reserved only for very important occasions. With the advent of the papyrus, documentation and
record-keeping became efficient, widespread, and vast. Through it use, information dissemination
became exponentially faster. Records were kept and stood the test of time.

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Shadoof. The shadoof was an early tool invented and used by ancient Egyptians to irrigate
land. Among Egyptians who lived near the Nile River, irrigation was necessary to water their crops.
The shadoof, also spelled as shaduf, is a hand-operated device used for lifting water. Its invention
introduced the idea of lifting things counterweights. Because of this invention, irrigation and
farming became much more efficient. The shadoof is also believed to be an ancient precursor of
more sophisticated irrigation tools.

Figure 3: Shadoof

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Anitikythera mechanism. Antikythera mechanism, ancient Greek mechanical device used to
calculate and display information about astronomical phenomena. The remains of this ancient
“computer,” now on display in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens, were recovered in
1901 from the wreck of a trading ship that sank in the first half of the 1st century bce near the
island of Antikythera in the Mediterranean Sea. Its manufacture is currently dated to 100 bce, give
or take 30 years.

erwin berryFigure 4: A fragment of the Antikythera mechanism

The Antikythera mechanism had the first known set of scientific dials or scales, and its
importance was recognized when radiographic images showed that the remaining fragments
contained 30 gear wheels. No other geared mechanism of such complexity is known from the
ancient world or indeed until medieval cathedral clocks were built a millennium later.

The Antikythera mechanism was fabricated out of bronze sheet, and originally it would have
been in a case about the size of a shoebox. The doors of the case and the faces of the mechanism
are covered with Greek inscriptions, enough of which survive to indicate clearly much of the
device’s astronomical, or calendrical, purpose. It is believed that a hand-turned shaft (now lost)
was connected by a crown gear to the main gear wheel, which drove the further gear trains, with
each revolution of the main gear wheel corresponding to one solar year. On the front of the
mechanism is a large dial with pointers for showing the position of the Sun and the Moon in the
zodiac and a half-silvered ball for displaying lunar phases. The drive train for the lunar position is
extremely sophisticated, involving epicyclic gearing and a slot-and-pin mechanism to mimic subtle
variations (known as the “first anomaly”) in the Moon’s motion across the sky. (See Hipparchus
and Ptolemaic system.)

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Two large dials are on the back of the mechanism. The large upper dial has a five-turn spiral
slot with a moving pointer to show the 235 lunations, or synodic months, in the Metonic cycle. This
cycle is almost exactly 19 years long and is useful in regulating calendars. A subsidiary four-year
dial showed when the various Panhellenic games should take place, including the ancient Olympic
Games. The large lower dial has a four-turn spiral with symbols to show months in which there
was a likelihood of a solar or lunar eclipse, based on the 18.2-year saros eclipse cycle. These
astronomical cycles would have been known to the Greeks from Babylonian sources. The
inscriptions imply that there may originally have been a display of planetary positions, most likely
on the front face, but nearly all the relevant parts are missing.

The Antikythera mechanism is the only known physical survivor of a long tradition of
mechanical astronomical displays. The widespread existence of such devices can be inferred from
references in Greco-Roman literature, particularly in the descriptions left by Marcus Tullius Cicero
(1st century bce), that stretch from Archimedes (3rd century bce) to a poetic reference in the late
4th or early 5th century ce. The exact purpose of the Antikythera mechanism remains speculative,
however. Nor is it known if the bronze-geared technology and the advanced mechanical design
skills involved in its construction were exploited for other applications within the Greco-Roman
world.

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Aeolipile, steam turbine invented in the 1st century ad by Heron of Alexandria and
described in his Pneumatica. The aeolipile was a hollow sphere mounted so that it could turn on a
pair of hollow tubes that provided steam to the sphere from a cauldron. The steam escaped from
the sphere from one or more bent tubes projecting from its equator, causing the sphere to
revolve. The aeolipile is the first known device to transform steam into rotary motion. Like many
other machines of the time that demonstrated basic mechanical principles, it was simply regarded
as a curiosity or a toy and was not used for any practical purpose.

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Figure 5: An illustration of Hero’s Engine

Middle Ages

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Heavy Plough. It is considered one of the most important technological innovations during
the middle ages is the innovation of the heavy plough. Clay soil, despite being more fertile than
lighter types of soil, was not cultivated because of its heavy weight. However, through the
invention of the heavy plough, it became possible to harness clay soil. According to Professor
Thomas Bernebeck Andersen of the University of Southern Denmark succinctly describes the
impact of the invention of the heavy plough: “The heavy plough turned European agriculture and
economy on its head. Suddenly, the fields with the heavy, fatty, and moist clay soils became those
that gave the greatest yields.” Because of this, Europe particularly it’s northern territories, saw
rapid economic prosperity. The heavy plough stirred an agricultural revolution in Northern Europe
marked by higher and healthier agricultural revolution in Northern Europe marked by higher and
healthier agricultural yields and more efficient agricultural practices.

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Figure 6: An impression of the heavy plough

Gunpowder. The gunpowder is one of the most interesting inventions in China. Originally,
it was developed by Chinese alchemists who aimed to achieve immortality. They mixed charcoal,
sulphur, and potassium nitrate, but instead of creating an elixir of life, they accidentally invented a
black powder that could actually generate large amounts of heat and gas in an instant. Ironically,
instead of prolonging life, gunpowder is widely used to propel bullets from guns and cannons
which cause countless deaths. In fact, gunpowder propelled weapons are preferred by raiders who
plan to attack at a distance. The same weapons are also used to dissipate any attempts of invasion.

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On the other hand, gunpowder is also used in fireworks during important celebrations in China.

Figure 7: Gunpowder

Printing Press. After the Chinese developed woodblock printing, Johann Gutenberg was
able to invent the printing press, a more reliable way of printing using a cast type. He utilized
wooden machines that extracted juices from fruits, attached to them a metal impression of the
letters, and pressed firmly the cast metal into a piece of paper, which then made an exact
impression on paper. This general invention soon evolved to be the mechanical printing press
which was eventually used all over the world. The printing press was invented to address the need
for publishing books that would spread information to many people at a faster rate. This invention
also made works accessible to individuals who could not even write (Streissguth, 1997).

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Figure 8: Printing Press

Microscope. Another invention in the middle Ages is the microscope. Growing populations
caused massive migration and urbanization during the period. More and more people transferred
to polluted and populated urban areas which resulted in more people getting sick and needing
medical attention. To develop the proper medicines for illnesses, experts must understand the
sickness through an investigation. Thus, they needed a device that could magnify things invisible to
the eye. Guided by the principles used for the invention of eyeglasses in earlier years, Zacharias

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Janssen was able to develop the first compound microscope. With this device, people were able to
observe organisms that were normally unseen by the naked eye. The microscope was key in
discovering new means in preventing and curing various illnesses (Davidson, 2015).

Figure 9: Antique Microscope

Paper Money. Although it was not until the 17 th century that bank notes began to be used
in Europe, the first known versions of paper money could be traced back to the chinese in 17 th
century AD as an offshoot of the invention of block printing, which is similar to stamping. Before
the introduction of paper money, precious metals, such as gold and silver were used as currency.
However, the idea of assigning value to a marked piece of paper did not immediately become
popular. In fact, when the Mongols attempted to introduce paper money into the Middle East
market in the 13th century, it did not gain immediate success. Nonetheless, traders and merchants

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eventually realized the huge advantage of using paper money because it was easier to transport
around compared to the previous forms of currencies.

Figure 10: Paper Money

Mechanical Clock. Although devices for timekeeping and recording sprung from the
ancient times, such as the Antikythera mechanism, it was not until the Middle Ages that clockwork
technology was developed. The development of mechanical clocks paved the way for accurately
keeping track of time. The sophistication of clockwork technology of the mechanical clock
drastically changed the way days were spent and work patterns were established, particularly in

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the more advanced Middle Age cities.

Figure 11: A medieval mechanical clock found in Prague, Czech Republic

Spinning Wheel. Another important invention of the Middle Ages is the spinning wheel, a
machine used for transforming fiber into thread or yarn and eventually woven into cloth on a
loom. Although no consensus could be made regarding the origin of the spinning of the wheel, it is
theorized that the Indian invented the spinning wheel between 6 th and 11th century AD. Prior to
the invention of the spinning wheel, weaving was done predominantly through the more time-
consuming and tedious process of hand spinning. According to White (1974), the invention of the

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spinning wheel sped up the rate at which fiber could be spun by a factor of 10 to 100 times. Thus,
White argued that this invention ushered in a breakthrough in linen production when it was
introduced in Europe in 13th century AD.

Figure 12: Spinning Wheel

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Modern Ages

The booming world population during the 19th century onwards demanded that more
goods be produced at a 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.

Pasteurization. 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. The challenge to
keep manufactured food from deteriorating was greater for dairy products, especially milk, since
they usually spoiled faster. These goods needed to be consumed almost immediately after
production or they would cause illness diphtheria, food poisoning, and typhoid fever. Since
transporting these products would also take time, it would be impossible to trade them. 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 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

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contributions of Pasteur to science, technology, and medicines included his works on molecular
asymmetry, fermentation, and vaccination.

Figure 13: Pasteurization

Jacquard Loom. As the Industrial revolution reached full speed, the jacquard loom was
considered as one of the most critical drivers of the revolution. Built by French weaver Joseph
Marie Jacquard, the Jacquard loom simplifies textile manufacturing. Prior to the invention of the
jacquard loom, a drawloom was used which required two individuals to operate- the weaver and a

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drawboy if figured designs on textiles were needed. As such, intensified manual labor and greater
effort had to be exerted to produce complex designs. In 1801, Jacquard demonstrated the
ingenuity of his version of a loom in which a series of cards with punched holes automatically
created complex textile designs and made mass production easier. The jacquard loom is also an
important antecedent of modern computer technology as it demonstrated the use of punched
cards to instruct a machine to carry out complex tasks, i.e. making different textile patterns.

Figure 14: Jacquard loom

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Calculator. Although earlier versions 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 the computer.

Figure 15: Calculator

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Petroleum Refinery. The modern times demanded better means of powering homes and
transportation. At first, people used animal oils for generating light to illuminate their homes.
However, the production of animal oils could not keep up with the demand. Faced with this
concern, Samuel M. Kier was able to invent kerosene by refining petroleum. Kerosene was later on
referred to as the “illuminating oil” because it was used as first to provide lighting to homes. After
some time, it was applied for heating purposes. The development of kerosene established the
petroleum refinery industry (Skrabec,2010). At present, petroleum is widely used in powering
automobiles, factories, and power plants, among others.

Figure 16: Petroleum Refinery

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Engine-Powered Airplane. Orville Wright and Wilbur Wright are credited for designing and
successfully operating the first engine-powered aircraft. The Wright brothers approached the
design of powered aircraft and flight scientifically. Orville and Wilbur proved that aircrafts could fly
without airfoil-shaped wings. They demonstrated this in their original Flying machine patent (US
patent #821393), showing that slightly tilted wings, which they referred to as aeroplanes, were the
key features of a powered aircraft. Their pioneering success marked an age of powered flights.
Sans modern knowledge on aerodynamics and a comprehensive understanding of the working of
aircraft wings, the Wright brothers were brilliant scientists who paved the way for modern aircraft
technology.

engineer John Logie Baird is largely credited for the invention of the modern television.
Baird successfully televised objects in outline in 1924, recognizable human faces in 1925, and
moving objects in 1926,and projected colored images in 1928.Baird’s television technology caught
on really swiftly. In fact, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) used this for its earliest
television programming in 1929. Despite being the first television invented. Beird’s television was
later on criticized for its fuzzy and flickering images, primarily because it was mechanical compared
to electronic versions that were developed much later.

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Figure 18: Television

Compound Microscope. A Dutch spectacle maker named Zacharias Janssen is credited for
the invention of the first compound microscope in 1950.Together with his father Hans Zacharias
began experimenting with lenses by putting together several lenses on a tube. This led to an
amazing discovery that an object, when placed near the end of te tube, can be magnified far larger
than what a simple magnifying lens can do. Janssen’s compound microscope was an important
progression from the single lens microscope. It was capable of magnifying objects three times their
size when fully closed and up to ten times when extended to the maximum. Today, the compound
microscope is an important instrument in many scientific studies, such as in the areas of medicine,
forensic studies, tissue analysis, atomic studies, and genetics.

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Figure 19: Compound Microscope

Philippine Inventions

Despite being considered a developing country, the Philippines also contribute to the
global advancement of science and technology. It is quite remarkable to note the ingenuity of the
Filipinos despite the lack in resources. The Philippines is known to be one of the most vulnerable
countries in terms of natural disasters. Many of the discoveries and inventions made by the
Filipinos were therefore built from indigenous materials or created to adapt to the harsh tropical
environment.

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Electronic Jeepney (e-jeepney). The jeepney is perhaps one of the most recognizable
national symbols of the Philippones and the most popular mode of public transportation in the
country. It is also one of the most enduring symbols of Filipino ingenuity. Jeepneys were designed
and improvised from scratch out of military jeeps that the Americans left in the country after
World War II. As demand for more responsive transportation technology arose, the e-jeepney was
introduced in Metro Manila and Bacolod City. The e-jeepney is the inventive response to criticisms
to the traditional jeepney that belched smoke, directly causing air pollution which made it
unsustainable and uneconomical. E-jeepneys are designed to be environment friendly, eliminating
noise and air pollution as they run on electricity. They are also more economical for electricity is
far cheaper than ordinary drivers to earn more profit.

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Figure 20: E-jeepney

Erythromycin. Perhaps one of the most important medical inventions is the Erythromycin.
The Illonggo scientist Abelardo Aguilar invented this antibiotic out of strain of bacterium called
Streptomyces erythreus, from which this drug derived its name. As with the case of several other
local scientists, however, Aguilar was not credited for this discovery by Eli Lilli Co., Aguilar’s US
employer, to whom he sent the strain for separation. The US Company eventually owned merits
for this discovery.

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Figure 21: Erythromycin

Medical Incubator. World renowned Filipino paediatrician and national scientist, Fe del
Mundo, is credited for the invention of incubator and jaundice relieving device. Del Mundo was
the first woman paediatrician to be admitted to the prestigious Harvard University’s School of
Medicine. She is also the founder of the first pediatric hospital in the county. Her pioneering work
in paediatrics that spanned a total of eight decades won her the 1877 Ramon Magsaysay Award,
Asia’s premier prize granted to outstanding individuals whose selfless service remarkably
contributed to the betterment of society. Her original improvised incubator consisted of two
native laundry baskets of different sizes that are placed one inside the other. Warmth is generated
by bottles with hot water placed around the baskets. A makeshift hood over the baskets allows
oxygen to circulate inside the incubator. Del Mundo’s incubator was particularly outstanding as it
addressed the state of Philippine rural communities that had no electricity to aid the regulation of
body temperatures of newborn babies. For this purpose, del Mundo’s invention was truly
ingenious.

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Figure 22: Medical Incubator

Mole Remover. In 2000, a local invention that had the ability to easily remove moles and
warts on the skin without the need for any surgical procedure shot to fame. Rolando dela Cruz is
credited for the invention of local mole remover that made use of extracts of cashew nuts
(Annacardium occidentale), which are very common in the Philippines. The indigenous formula
easily caught on for its accessibility, affordability, and painless and scarless procedure. Dela Cruz
won a gold medal for this invention in the International Invention, Innovation, Industrial Design,
and Technology Exhibition in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2000.

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Figure 23: Rolando dela Cruz’s commercial product- a mole remover formula made of cashew nut
extracts

Mosquito Ovicidal/Larvicidal Trap System. Dengue, a mosquito-borne viral illness, is


endemic in tropical and subtropical areas, including the Philippines. This virus is usually
transmitted by Aedes aegypti mosquito, rampant during the rainy seasons. Insecticides were
previously used to kill the species. However, recent studies show that insecticide resistance has
evolved in some mosquito populations. Likewise, using insecticides is harmful not only to humans
but also to the environment. In 2010, the Department of Science and Technology-Industrial
Technology Development Institute (DOST-ITDI) was able to introduce the Mosquito
Ovicidal/Larvicidal Trap System, also known as OL Trap. This trap system is made of natural
ingredients that are lethal mosquitos but safe for humans and the environment.

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Figure 24: Mosquito Ovicidal/Larvicidal Trap System

Banana Ketchup. Filipino technologist, Maria Orosa, is credited for the invention of banana
ketchup, a variety of ketchup different from the commonly known tomato ketchup. Her invention
appeals particularly to Filipinos who love using condiments to go along with their food. Historical
accounts posit that Orosa invented the banana ketchup at the backdrop of World War II when
there was a huge shortage of tomatoes. As a result, Orosa developed a variety of ketchup that
made use of mashed banana, sugar, vinegar, and spices, which were all readily available.Orosa’s
banana ketchup is brownish-yellow in natural color, but is dyed red to resemble the color of the
most loved tomato ketchup.

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Figure 25: Banana Ketchup

Exercise 4. Reflection Task 4 (Individual Task)

Name: jeson C Jorge __________________________________ Date Submitted: __________

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Course/Section: __________________________ Score: _________________

Instructions: Answer the following questions comprehensively.

1. Give three other scientific and technological developments in the world and in the
Philippines that created a large impact on your daily life. Why?
1.cellphone
2.tv
3.radio_____________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
_
2. What historical antecedents gave rise to the inventions you mentioned in the first
question?
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________

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__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

3. How did the developments in science and technology shape human history?
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________

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Exercise 5. Reflection Task 5 (Individual Task)

Name: __________________________________ Date Submitted: __________

Course/Section: __________________________ Score: _________________

Poster Making

Instructions:

1. Selects any inventions on the different historical antecedents in the course of science and
technology. ( Ancient Period, Middle Ages, Modern Ages, and Philippine Inventions)
2. On a 15” x 20” illustration board or any makeshift canvass of the same size, the student will
draw, paint, or stick a photograph of an invention from the chosen inventions besides
those that were already discussed in this section.
3. Student will come up a particular theme you want to employ in designing the poster.
4. At the back of the poster, student should place a 100 to 200 write-up about the invention
that specifically addresses the following questions:
4.1. What is the invention?
4.2. What are the precursors of your chosen invention? What tools existed prior to it or
how did people carry out activities before its invention?

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4.3. What were the social, political, cultural, or economic contexts in which the
invention was made?
4.4. What were the social, political, cultural, or economic impacts of your chosen
invention?

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Exercise 6. Reflection Task 6 (Individual Task)

Name: __________________________________ Date Submitted: __________

Course/Section: __________________________ Score: _________________

If I were an Inventor, Programmer…


Theme: Addressing Plastic Problems for Transforming Communities
Instructions:

Plastic pollution is one of the most serious threats to our environments, creating toxic
exposure in every phase of its life cycle. The scale of problems created by plastic cups, bottles and
containers is growing along with our population. Plastic often contain additives making them
stronger, more flexible, and durable. But many of these additives can extend the life of products if
they become litter, with some estimates ranging to at least 400 years to break down. Currently
13millions tons of plastic enter the world’s ocean every year. An estimated accumulation of 12

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billion tons by the year 2050 lead to break for all life, damaging the human health, the
environment and the global economy. Millions of animals are killed by plastic every year, from
birds to fish to other. It has been reported that China, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, and
Vietnam generate more ocean plastic waste than the rest of the world combined.

Based on the predicament brought by the plastic in all aspects of life, the student will
design a program that will answer to the abovementioned problem. Make sure that the designed
programme/initiative/innovation should relate to the plastic waste management practices or
others in the school or in the community. Moreover, the initiative should demonstrates how the
innovation or programme transform the community and provide impactful evidence in reducing
the plastic usage and/or improving the plastic waste management system as well as clean the
ecosystem of the community. The content of the initiative/programme/innovation, to wit;

a. Title of the Programme/Initiative/Innovation


b. Summary of the Programme/Initiative/Innovation
c. Background Information or reasons why you created the Programme/Initiative/Innovation
d. Period of time when the programme was/has been started
e. Key knowledge, skills, attitudes/values, and behaviours that the school or community
expects to develop from this programme/initiative/innovation
f. Activities ( includes strategies/activities of implementation, and each brief information of
each activity)

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g. Propose Programme for Monitoring and evaluation mechanisms
h. Benefits/impacts/positive outcomes of the programme/initiative/innovation
i. Plan for Sustainability and plan for scaling-up/expansion

1.3. Transformation of Society by Science and Technology

This section reviews the intellectual revolutions that changed the way people perceive the
influence of science on society in general. It focuses on the Copernican, Darwinian, Freudian,
Information, Mesoamerican, Pre-modern east Asia, Modern East Asia, Pre-modern South Asia,
Africa and the Middle East, Modern Near and Middle East, and Modern Africa. By discussing these
intellectual revolutions in the context of science, technology and society students will engage in a
critical analysis of on-going intellectual and scientific revolutions, which they may find themselves
to be part of. This section aims to establish the interaction between science and technology and
society, cementing further the relationship as introduced in the first session.

Intended Learning Outcomes

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At the end of this module, the students should be able to:
1. explain how the Intellectual Revolution changed the way how humans see the world
2. articulate ways by which society is transformed by science and technology
3. research on other intellectual revolutions that advance modern science and scientific
thinking.

The term Intellectual Revolution refers to Greek speculation about the nature in the period
before Socrates (between 600 to 400 BCE). Therefore, experts believe that there are appropriate
words for IR and these are pre-Socratic or nontheological or first philosophy.

There are three characteristics features of this Greco Intellectual revolution in verse form. First,
the word is not a product of supernatural forces that do not make things happened but it is a
natural whole entity. Second, there are laws of nature which people strongly believed and follow
because it is highly immoral to ignore them. Third, humans of highly and respectable intellect
discovered these laws of nature.

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1.3.1. Copernican Revolution

▪ It is the paradigm shift from Ptolemaic model of the heavens which was
unchallenged until the 16th century, described the cosmos as having Earth stationary
at the center of the universe, to the heliocentric model with the Sun at the center of
the Solar System.
▪ Nicolaus Copernicus formulated the heliocentric model of the universe. At the time,
the belief was that the Earth was the center of the solar system based on the
geocentric model of Ptolemy.

▪ The model illustrated the Earth, along with other heavenly bodies, to be rotating
around the Sun.
▪ When Copernicus introduced his model it was then rejected by the public and
people believe that the idea of Ptolemy is correct. It appalled many since their
religious belief had taught them that the Earth was created first before all other
things. Copernicus was even persecuted as a heretic because his teachings were
against what was widely accepted by religion. After some time, astronomers
realized that the Copernican model simplified the orbits for planets. It also
answered issues that could not explain using the geocentric model.

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▪ As time passes, it was eventually accepted the Copernican model since there were
works from other philosophers who supported the model of Copernicus. It was
eventually accepted by the people in a period which was called the birth of modern
astronomy. This era began what was known as the scientific revolution which
resulted in the transformation of society’s thoughts and beliefs.
▪ Thus, the Copernican Revolution marked a turning point in the study of cosmology
and astronomy making it a truly important intellectual revolution.

1.3.2. Darwinian Revolution

▪ This revolution was considered to be one of the most controversial intellectual


revolutions of its time. In 1859, Charles Darwin, an English naturalist, biologist, and
geologist, published his book, On the Origin of Species. In this book, Darwin
introduced the theory of evolution, which posited that populations pass through a
process of natural selection in which only the fittest would survive.
▪ He stated that the organisms have the ability to adapt to their environment and
would gradually change into something that would be more competitive to survive,
a process known as evolution. However, this theory became controversial as people
perceived it to be contradictory to the church’s teaching that the source of life is a
powerful creator. The theory emerged at a time when most of the population
believed and accepted the biblical version of the Earth’s creation. Because of this
conflict, the people were divided- some believed that the theory explained the

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origin of life, but the religious and the faithful strongly refuted it. It was only after
some time that people came to understand that Darwin’s theory of evolution was
not in fact against the teachings of the church and both can coexist.
▪ The place of the Darwinian Revolution in modern science cannot be
underestimated. Through the Darwinian Revolution, the development of organisms
and the origin of unique forms of life and humanity could be rationalized by a lawful
system or an orderly process of change underpinned by laws of nature.

1.3.3. Freudian Revolution

▪ In the 20th century Sigmund Freud, an Austrian psychiatrist developed


psychoanalysis a scientific method understanding inner and unconscious conflicts
embedded within one’s personality, springing from free associations, dreams, and
fantasies of the individual.
▪ The theory of Freud explained that there are many conscious and unconscious
factors that can influence behaviour and emotions. He also argued that personality
is the product of three conflicting elements: id, ego, and superego.
▪ Science hardliners brushed off the legitimacy of psycho analysis as a science since
its concepts were more philosophical and super natural. Many believed that Freud’s

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theory had no scientific basis as no empirical or experimental data could support it.
▪ Amidst controversy, Freud’s psychoanalysis is widely credited for dominating
psychotherapeutic practice in the early 20 th century. Psychodynamic therapies that
treat a myriad of psychological disorders still remain largely informed by Freud’s
work on psychoanalysis.

1.3.4. Information Revolution

▪ This revolution describes the present economic, social and technological trends
after the first wave of Industrial Revolution. It is the development of technologies
such as computers, digital communication, and microchips in the second half of the
20th century that has led to dramatic reduction in the cost of obtaining, processing,
storing, and transmitting information in all forms such as text, graphics, audio and
video.
▪ Evidently, the convergence of computers and communications has changed our
lives because of what they do with information and not what they are. The
electronic delivery system makes information available anywhere. Ideas can be
everywhere at once, in real time anytime and in full color.
▪ Like snail mails have been reduced since the introduction of emails. Instead of
typing and retyping words in a piece of bond paper, corrections are done without
using the traditional correction fluid or pencil eraser to do it. One can hold a face-

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to-face conversation through Skype, Zoom etc. Additionally, students seldom visit
the libraries because of the availability of internet through their smartphones.
▪ Economically, information revolution may have improved business transactions but
reduced the employment rate. Machines can do what humans can in a factory at a
faster rate. On the social aspects, human lives have improved tremendously. It is
now a necessity to own a gadget unlike before that it was more a status symbol
rather than a necessity.
▪ Information is still reshaping our lives. Information is universal energy, effecting
change, creating and disrupting order. Information in the form of proprietary
databases can be monopolistic. It is information that is forcing us to question the
true nature of the decision process and the perception of reality.

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Exercise 7. Reflection Task 7 (Individual Task)

Name: __________________________________ Date Submitted;__________

Course/Section: __________________________ Score: _________________

Instructions: On the space provided, write TRUE if the statement is correct or FALSE if it is not.

____________1. An intellectual revolution emerges as a result of the interaction of man and


society.

____________2. Intellectual revolutions are necessary in understanding how society is


transformed by science and technology.

____________3. Intellectual revolutions are often met with huge support snd general acceptance.

____________4. Intellectual revolutions shape science and technology and often spare society

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from its influence.

____________5. The Copernican revolution introduced the concept of heliocentricism.

____________6. According to Copernicus, the Earth is the center of the solar system.

____________7. The Darwinian revolution changed the way people understood nature and
evolution.

____________8. Charles Darwin received huge support from the church.

____________9. Sigmund Freud introduced scientific approaches to understanding the human


subconscious.

____________10. The Freudian revolution was, in itself, controversial and met with resistance.

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Exercise 8. Reflection Task 8 (Individual Task)

Name: __________________________________ Date Submitted;__________

Course/Section: __________________________ Score: _________________

COMIC STRIP in the REVOLUTIONS

Instructions: Choose one of the different revolutions discussed in this section. On the space below
make a comic strip on how you able to discussed the chosen revolution. In making the comic strip
you should be guided the steps to make it more appealing and substantial. (1) Write your ideas for
your comic (2) Draw the three-frames (3) Use the basic shapes to draw (4) Add in the speech and
lettering (5) Add detail to your cartoon, and (6) Go over your comic in pen. You may use another
sheet of paper if needed.

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Exercise 9. Reflection Task 9 (Individual Task)

Name: __________________________________ Date Submitted: __________

Course/Section: __________________________ Score: _________________

Instructions: Aside from the four intellectual revolutions discussed in this section, other
intellectual revolutions also took place across history in many parts of the world, such as North
America, Asia, Middle East, and Africa. The student task is to research on a particular intellectual
revolution that took place in any of the four geographical locations mentioned. Prepare an 8 to 10
PowerPoint presentation and report the highlights of your chosen intellectual revolution. Use the
following questions for your presentation.

1. What is the intellectual revolution all about?


2. Who are the key figures in the revolution?
3. How did the revolution advance modern science and scientific thinking at the time?
4. What controversies met the revolution/
5.

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Cite your own implication on the chosen revolution.

Prepared by:

CHARLIE SHEEN M. PERNITEZ, LPT

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Instructor

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