Science, Technology and Society

Science
 any system of knowledge that is concerned with the physical world and its phenomena through
observations and systematic experimentation. In general, a science involves a pursuit of knowledge
covering general truths or the operations of fundamental laws.
 Science can be thought of as both a body of knowledge (the things we have already discovered), and the
process of acquiring new knowledge (through observation and experimentation—testing and
hypothesizing). Both knowledge and process are interdependent, since the knowledge acquired depends
on the questions asked and the methods used to find the answers.

Technology
 the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes, especially in industry:
 Technology, for economists, is anything that helps us produce things faster, better or
cheaper. When you think of technology there’s a good chance you think of physical things like big
machines or fast computers.
 Even social or political things like language, money, banking, and democracy are considered
technologies.

Society
 A group, large or small, of people in a particular place and time who are linked by common goals and
interest.
 Society as a collection of individuals united by certain relations or mode of behavior which mark them
off from others who do not enter into these relations or who differ from them in behavior. 
 the aggregate of people living together in a more or less ordered community:
 the community of people living in a particular country or region and having shared customs, laws, and
organizations:
 Science, Technology and Society in History
Learning Outcomes
At the end of the lesson, the students will be able to:
a. discuss the interactions between S & T and society throughout history.
b. construct a paradigm shifts in history;
c. imbibe the importance of science and technology in the preservation of the environment and the
development of the Filipino nation.

Science, Technology and Society (STS)

 The intellectual roots of STS lie in the history, philosophy, and social study of science and
technology, an arena where often-controversial issues and choices interface with values and
influence public policy.
 Interdisciplinary study of the interaction of science and technology with society and culture.
 The realization that discoveries and inventions are shaped by historical forces and in turn influence
values, aspirations, events, and institutions, thus shaping the course of history.

Ancient World

 During the growth of the ancient civilizations, ancient technology was the result from advances in
engineering in ancient times. These advances in the history of technology stimulated societies to adopt
new ways of living and governance.
 The identification of the history of technology with the history of humanlike species does not help in
fixing a precise point for its origin, because the estimates of prehistorians and anthropologists
concerning the emergence of human species vary so widely.
 Animals occasionally use natural tools such as sticks or stones, and the creatures that became human
doubtless did the same for hundreds of millennia before the first giant step of fashioning their own tools.

 Earliest communities - humans lived almost entirely in small nomadic communities

dependent for survival on their skills in gathering food, hunting and fishing, and avoiding
predators. It is reasonable to suppose that most of these communities developed in tropical
latitudes, especially in Africa, where climatic conditions are most favorable to a creature
with such poor bodily protection as humans have.

 Stone -The material that gives its name and a technological unity to these periods of
prehistory is stone. Though it may be assumed that primitive humans used other materials
such as wood, bone, fur, leaves, and grasses before they mastered the use of stone, apart
from bone antlers, presumably used as picks in flint mines and elsewhere, and other
fragments of bone implements, none of these has survived. The stone tools of early humans,
on the other hand, have survived in surprising abundance and over the many millennia of
prehistory important advances in technique were made in the use of stone.

 Power- The use of fire was another basic technique mastered at some unknown time in the
Old Stone Age. The discovery that fire could be tamed and controlled and the further
discovery that a fire could be generated by persistent friction between two dry wooden
surfaces were momentous. Fire was the most important contribution of prehistory to power
technology, although little power was obtained directly from fire except as defense against
wild animals. For the most part, prehistoric communities remained completely dependent
 upon manpower, but in making the transition to a more settled pattern of life in the New
Stone Age, they began to derive some power from animals that had been domesticated.

 Tools and weapons- The basic tools of prehistoric peoples were determined by the materials
at their disposal. But once they had acquired the techniques of working stone, they were
resourceful in devising tools and weapons with points and barbs. Thus, the stone-headed
spear, the harpoon, and the arrow all came into widespread use. The spear was given
increased impetus by the spear-thrower, a notched pole that gave a sling effect. The bow
and arrow were an even more effective combination, the use of which is clearly
demonstrated in the earliest “documentary” evidence in the history of technology, the cave
paintings of southern France and northern Spain, which depict the bow being used in
hunting.

Middle Ages

 The Middle Ages, from about 500 to about 1600, are in the early twenty-first century
recognized as a fertile period marking a transition from the dominance of a handful of
ancient authorities to a broad range of theory and experiment.
 The Beginnings of Western Science (1992), which traces the development of ideas within
cultures and their transfer from one culture to another as well as the cultural contexts that
enflamed these developments.
 As an historian who pioneered studies of the close relationship between science and
Christianity in the West, Lindberg is especially good at laying the "religion versus science"
myth to rest. He does this in a number of ways, including explanations of support for
science and medicine in the medieval church and the transfer of Greek science from Islam
to Europe through Christian scholars such as St. Thomas Aquinas.

Modern World

 Science and technology have had a major impact on society, and their impact is growing.
 By drastically changing our means of communication, the way we work, our housing,
clothes, and food, our methods of transportation, and, indeed, even the length and quality
of life itself, science has generated changes in the moral values and basic philosophies of
mankind. Beginning with the plow, science has changed how we live and what we believe.
 By making life easier, science has given man the chance to pursue societal concerns such
as ethics, aesthetics, education, and justice; to create cultures; and to improve human
conditions. But it has also placed us in the unique position of being able to destroy
ourselves.
History of Science and Technology in the Philippines

Science and technology in the Philippines had experienced periods of intense growth as well as long periods of
stagnation.
The main managing agency responsible for science and technology is the Department of Science and
Technology.

Pre-Spanish Era

 Even before the colonization by the Spaniards in the Philippine islands, the natives of the archipelago
already had practices linked to science and technology.
 Filipinos were already aware of the medicinal and therapeutic properties of plants and the methods of
extracting medicine from herbs.
 They already had an alphabet, number system, a weighing and measuring system and a calendar.
Filipinos were already engaged in farming, shipbuilding, mining and weaving.
 The Banaue Rice Terraces are among the sophisticated products of engineering by pre-Spanish era
Filipinos.

Spanish Colonial Era

 The colonization of the Philippines contributed to growth of science and technology in the archipelago.
 The Spanish introduced formal education and founded scientific institution.
 During the early years of Spanish rule in the Philippines. Parish schools were established where
religion, reading, writing, arithmetic and music was taught.
 Sanitation and more advanced methods of agriculture was taught to the natives.
 Later the Spanish established colleges and universities in the archipelago including the oldest existing
university in Asia, the University of Santo Tomas.
 The Galleon Trade have accounted in the Philippine colonial economy.
 Trade was given more focus by the Spaniards colonial authorities due to the prospects of big profits.
 Agriculture and industrial development on the other hand were relatively neglected.
 The opening of Suez Canal saw the influx of European visitors to the Spanish colony and some
Filipinos were able to study in Europe who were probably influenced by the rapid development of
scientific ideals brought by the Age of Enlightenment.

American Period

 The progress of science and technology in the Philippines continued under American rule of the islands.
 Science during the American period was inclined towards agriculture, food processing, forestry, medicine and
pharmacy. Not much focus was given on the development of industry technology due to free trade policy with
the United States which nurtured an economy geared towards agriculture and trade.
Post Commonwealth-Era

 During the 1970s, which was under the time of Ferdinand Marcos’ presidency, the importance given to science
grew.
 Under the 1973 Philippine Constitution, Art. XV, Sec. 1, the government’s role in supporting scientific research and
invention was acknowledged.
 Funding for science was also increased. The National Science Development Board was replaced by the national
Science and Technology Authority under Executive Order No. 784. A Scientific Career in the civil service was
introduced in 1983.
 In 1986, during Corazon Aquino’s presidency, the National Science and Technology Authority was replaced by the
Department of Science and technology, giving science and technology a representation in the cabinet.