Science, Technology and Society, Study notes of History of Science and Technology

Download Science, Technology and Society and more Study notes History of Science and Technology in PDF only on Docsity! M1 Lesson 1 Introduction to Science, Technology and Society STS explores in rich and compelling ways what difference it makes to human societies that we, collectively, are producers and users of science and technology. STS research, teaching, and outreach offer citizens of modern, high-tech societies the resources with which to evaluate—analytically, aesthetically, and ethically—the benefits and the risks, the perils and the promises, of notable advances in science and technology. What is science? The most basic definition of science is "it is a systematic knowledge of nature through repeatable observation and experimentation." Its aim is the discovery of the laws that govern natural phenomena. Science developed from the observation of regularity in the natural world such as the return of spring after winter, the setting of the sun at a day's end, the falling of the ebb tide after high water. Regularity suggests that nature is not all chaos but follows rules. Defined in this way science has been a human activity well before the development of the first civilizations. The oldest civilizations are believed to have emerged sometime before 3000 BC, but excavations from Catal Hüyük in Anatolia have shown that the people in today's Turkey had developed advanced skills in measurement and accurate mapping as early as 6200 BC. What is technology? The word technology has changed its meaning several times since it came into use in Europe during the 17th century. In the most general terms, it can be defined as the application of knowledge about nature to the practical aims of human endeavor. If this definition is accepted it follows that technological development occurred at least as early as the first scientific study: Stone-age humans realized that flintstone produces better cutting tools than sandstone. They made that discovery and used their new knowledge well before someone found the scientific explanation for the phenomenon. What is society? Society is the organizational form in which individuals of a species live together. Even the animal world contains many examples of different societies. But Humans are the only creatures that live in evolving societies because they can restructure their societies in response to changes in environmental and economic conditions. Society and ethics An important aspect of the development of societies is that interaction between many individuals is impossible without rules of socially acceptable behavior. The establishment of a moral code is therefore a natural product of the evolution of societies (Singer, 1995). It is a widespread belief that moral codes are based on religious foundations and that without religion there can be no agreement on what is right and what is wrong. The comparative study of humans and animal societies shows that moral codes are a natural ingredient and regulator of life in all societies. Any group of humans or animals falls apart if its members make frequent recourse to totally unrestrained attacks. What is civilization? Civilization requires that the society has developed a central institution responsible for the organization of daily life support, for example, the maintenance of a water supply or a transportation system. This requires an advanced administration, which is not found before the development of cities. A civilization is therefore always sustained by an urban society, although the majority of its people may (and often do) live in an agricultural society structure in the countryside. The existence of prehistoric art demonstrates that human societies developed a culture before they developed civilization. The point where a culture evolved into civilization is difficult to determine, and the boundaries between the two concepts are indeed blurred. If culture is behaviour, civilization is structure. One approach to defining civilization lists a few conditions that have to be met before society is considered a civilization. Civilization is characterized by 1. the existence of cities; 2. advanced division of labour based on specialized occupational groups; 3. social classes, including a ruling class that is exempt from work for basic subsistence; 4. an administration that can collect "social surplus" (taxes or tribute); 5. public buildings not designed as dwellings but for communal purposes; and 6. record-keeping in written form. Not all civilizations satisfy all of these criteria, but to be considered a civilization they have to satisfy the majority of them. hundreds of phone numbers that are all a click away. If you lost your cell phone, and all its contacts, you’d have no idea how to get in touch with anyone. How often when you see a beautiful sunset do you take out your phone and take a few pictures? With such easy access to phones, especially smartphones, people aren’t living in the moment. When seeing something we like, or want to remember, we remove ourselves from the moment to snap a picture and share it with our friends. Slowly we are living in hundreds of other people’s special moments instead of our own. Small invasions of technology like this are not something that will be the end of the human race as we know it, but small encroachments of technology into our lives is slowly changing society. Technology can make our lives easier, but with each benefit comes a potential cost. We can still advance technologically without impacting society too immensely by understanding these costs and minimizing them. There is a balance that needs to be found between correctly using technology but knowing when to turn it off. Finding this balance is in the hands of the people though, and will ultimately influence our society for generations to come. M2 - Lesson 1 : Historical Antecedents in the World An antecedent is a thing that comes before anything else. In about 4000 BC, the Mesopotamians tried to explain their observations by suggesting that the Earth was at the center of the Universe, and that the other heavenly bodies moved around it. Humans have always been interested in the nature and origins of this Universe. THE GREEKS were the first people to try and develop the theory behind their observations. People such as Pythagoras concentrated on a mathematical view of the world. Similarly, Aristotle and Plato developed logical methods for examining the world around them. It was the Greeks who first suggested that matter was made up of atoms - fundamental particles that could not be broken down further. But it wasn't only the Greeks who moved science on. Science was also being developed in India, China, the Middle East and South America. Despite having their own cultural view of the world, they each independently developed materials such as gunpowder, soap and paper. However, it wasn't until the 13th century that much of this scientific work was brought together in European universities, and that it started to look more like science as we know it today. Progress was relatively slow at first. For example, it took until the 16th century for Copernicus to revolutionize (literally) the way that we look at the Universe, and for Harvey to put forward his ideas on how blood circulated around the human body. This slow progress was sometimes the result of religious dogma, but it was also a product of troubled times! THE BIRTH OF MODERN SCIENCE It was in the 17th century that modern science was really born, and the world began to be examined more closely, using instruments such as the telescope, microscope, clock and barometer. It was also at this time that scientific laws started to be put forward for such phenomena as gravity and the way that the volume, pressure and temperature of a gas are related. In the 18th century much of basic biology and chemistry was developed as part of the Age of Enlightenment. The 19th century saw some of the great names of science: people like the chemist John Dalton, who developed the atomic theory of matter, Michael Faraday and James Maxwell who both put forward theories concerning electricity and magnetism, and Charles Darwin, who proposed the (still) controversial theory of evolution. Each of these developments forced scientists radically to re-examine their views of the way in which the world worked. The last century brought discoveries such as relativity and quantum mechanics, which, again, required scientists to look at things in a completely different way. It makes you wonder what the iconoclastic discoveries of this century will be. Brief History Of Science And Technology In The Philippines Science In pre- Spanish Philippines, science is embedded in the way of life of the Filipinos. Scientific knowledge is observed in the way they plant their crops that provide them food, in taking care of animals to help them in their daily tasks and for food productions. Science is observed in the way they interpret the movements of heavenly bodies to predict seasons and climates, and in organizing days into months and years. They used science in preparing the soil for agricultural purposes and like any other ancient culture, they discovered the medicinal uses of plants. Technology Is used by people in building houses, irrigations and in developing tools that they can use in everyday life. They develop tools for planting, hunting, cooking, and fishing, for fighting their enemies during war or tribal conflicts, and for transportation, both on land and on water ways. They also develop technologies in creating musical instruments. Stone Age Archaeological findings show that modern man from Asian mainland first came over land across narrow channels to live in Batangas and Palawan about 48,000 B.C. Subsequently, they formed settlements in Sulu, Davao, Zamboanga, Samar, Negros, Batangas, Laguna, Rizal, Bulacan, and Cagayan. Inventions They made simple tools and weapons of stone flakes and later developed method of sawing and polishing stones around 40,000 B.C By around 3,000 B.C. they were producing adzes ornaments of seashells and pottery. Pottery flourished for the next 2,000 years until they imported Chinese porcelain. Soon they learned to produce copper, bronze, iron, and gold metal tools and ornaments. Iron Age The Iron Age lasted from the third century B.C to 11th century A.D .During this period Filipinos were engaged in extraction, smelting and refining of iron from ores until the importation of cast iron from Sarawak and later from China. Inventions / Discoveries They learned to weave cotton, make glass ornaments, and cultivate lowland rice and dike fields of terraced fields utilizing spring water in mountain regions. They also learned to build boats for trading purposes. Spanish chronicles noted refined plank built warships called caracoa suited for interisland trade raids. Roberto del Rosario is the president of the Trebel Music Corporation and the inventor of the Karaoke. Sing Along System in 1975. 4.LUNAR ROVER BY EDWARDO SAN JUAN He is the inventor of the Moon Buggy or the Lunar Rover. This Moon buggy was the car used by Neil Armstrong and other astronauts when they first explored the moon in 1969. 5.VIDEOPHONE BY GREGORIO ZARA. was born in Lipa City Philippines, invented the videophone in 1955 and referred to as a Photophone separator signal. Gregorio Zara invented 30 Patented products includingThe Compass in 1929, Wooden Microscope, Vapor Chamber and Robot that talked walked, and responded to a given command. Etc… 6.ERYTHROMYCIN BY ABELARDO AGUILAR Aguilar discovered the antibiotic from the Aspergillus species of fungi in 1949 and sent samples to Indiana-based pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly Co. The drug firm allegedly registered the propriety name Iloson for the antibiotic in honor of Iloilo province where Aguilar discovered it. Erythromycin, the generic name of Iloson, was reportedly the first successful macrolide antibiotic introduced in the US. 7. ALCO-DIESEL, LAN-GAS, AND SUPERBUNKER FORMULA L BY RUDY LANTANO SR. In 1996, Rudy Lantano Sr, a revolutionary fuel half-composed of water. The mix burns faster and emits pollutants, 95 percent less than those released to the air by traditional fuel products. The inventor said his invention is a result of blending new ingredients and additives with ordinary oil products through agitation and mixing, which is a very safe process. 8.FEMININE HYGIENE BY DR. VIRGILIO MALANG Dr. Virgilio “Billy” Malang is one of the renowned Filipino inventors. One of his famous inventions Links to an external site. was the Feminine Hygiene. or The External Vaginal Cleanser. 9.SINGLE-CHIP GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE ACCELERATOR BY DIOSDADO BANATAO – introduced the first single-chip graphical user interface accelerator. that made computers work a lot faster and for helping develop the Ethernet controller chip that made the Internet possible. In 1989, he pioneered the local bus concept for personal computers and in the following year developed the First Windows accelerator chip. Intel is now using the chips and technologies developed by Banatao. He now runs his own semiconductor company, Mostron, and Chips & Technology, which is based in California’s Silicon Valley. 10. QUINK INK INVENTED BY FRANCISCO QUISUMBING an innovative ink. at that time and was further developed to work with Parker Pens. Aside from being quick-drying, it was also water-resistant, did not clog the pen opening, does not blot, and will not fade. It is considered one of the best selling ink for fountain pens of the millennium. M2 - Lesson 4 : Intellectual Revolution The term "Intellectual Revolution“ is used to refer to Greek speculation about the "nature" in the period before Socrates (roughly 600 to 400 BCE). the alternative, technical terms are "pre Socratic" or "non-theological" or "first philosophy" There are three characteristic features of this form of speculation • the world is a natural whole • there is a natural order • humans can discover those laws Intellectual revolutions that defined society COPERNICAN • This caused the paradigm shift of how the earth and sun were placed in the heavens/universe. It is the idea that rejected Ptolemaic model (earth is the center of the solar system) and proved the heliocentric model (Sun is the center of the solar system having the earth revolving around it.) DARWINIAN • This has brought a great impact on how people approach Biology forever. This revolution provided a different than the "theory of Creation". The Darwinian revolution started when Charles Darwin published his book "The Origin of Species" that emphasizes that humans are the result of an evolution. FREUDIAN • This theory has started to revolutionize Psychiatry with Sigmund Freud. This includes the "Freudian Theory of Personality" that involves the human development contributes to his/her personality and also his "psychoanalysis" that is the process for achieving proper functioning if a human does not complete his/her developmental stage. INFORMATION • This has been the era in which technology has been prevalent. It is also known as the Computer Age that has brought so much change on how are we living today. MESO-AMERICAN • It has contributed a lot ideas or discoveries for Archaeology. The temples and pyramids left a lot about of Architecture that leads us to study more of it. ASIAN • The revolution itself taught Asian countries about freedom and independent nationhood along the improvement brought by it internally. MIDDLE EAST • The revolutions in the Middle East were a product of the development and growth of individual nationalism, imperialism, for the efforts to westernize and modernize Middle Eastern societies, and to push the declining power of the Ottoman Empire in the Arab region. AFRICAN • The fight against colonialism and imperialism in Africa. M3 S & T in Nation Building Introduction It is a well-known fact that no nation can develop without advancing in the areas of science and technology. Science and technology are essential tools in every sector of society. It is a well- established fact that science and technology impact all aspects of our lives as well as the planet we live on. Science and technology have been considered as one of the driving forces of the economic growth of nations. Most developed countries have generated new technologies with the potential to result in dynamic economic performance. This, however, has not been the case with most developing countries and their development plans have not given adequate emphasis and importance to science and technology and in particular to research in the science and technology aspects. Countries like Japan, India, South Korea, and Taiwan have achieved much through science and technology for economic growth. The basic sciences physics, biology, chemistry, and mathematics form the foundation from which applied sciences, technology, and engineering are built. Without a proper foundation in basic sciences, it is very difficult if not impossible to achieve sustainable scientific development. M3 Lesson 4 Personalities in S & T in the Philippines It’s about time that we recognize the achievements of some of the prominent personalities in Science and Technology in the Philippines. There is no doubt about their contributions having aided in the improvement of the lives of the Filipino people. Most of them are National Scientists and their names are on the list of National Scientists of the Philippines by the Presidential Communications Operations Office. National scientists are selected based on the annual recommendation from the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST), the highest recognition and advisory body on Science and Technology. Here’s a catchy theme of a previous NAST Annual Scientific Meeting: “On Being and Becoming: Where We Are and Where We Want To Be.” Annual meetings such as this one serve “to challenge more of our scientists, policymakers, and citizens to work together towards the progressive Philippines anchored on science, which is the vision of the Academy for our beloved nation.” This was part of the message given by then President of NAST, Perla D. Santos Ocampo, M.D. Pediatrician Santos Ocampo was conferred the prestigious rank, National Scientist on June 23, 2010, through Proclamation No. 2099. M4 Lesson 1 The Human Person Flourishing in Terms of Science and Technology Science, Technology and Human Flourishing Flourishing is a state where people experience positive emotion, positive psychological functioning, and positive social functioning, most of the time, ‘” living within an optimal range of human functioning.” Human flourishing is an effort to achieve self- actualization, and fulfillment within the context of a larger community of individuals, each with the right to pursue his or her own such effort. It involves the rational use of one’s individual human potentialities, including talent, abilities, and virtues in the pursuit of his freely and rationally chosen values and goals. The human person as both the bearer and beneficiary of science and technology. Humans may unconsciously acquire, consume or destroy what the world has to offer. Technology changes us—and the world around us—in countless ways. It eases our labor, cures diseases, provides abundant food and clean water, enables communication and travel across the globe, and expands our knowledge of the natural world and the cosmos. The stuff of science fiction is now, in many cases, reality, and it can make our lives longer, healthier, and more productive than ever. Every discovery, innovation, or success contributes to our pool of human knowledge. A human being has a perpetual need to locate himself in the world by finding proofs to trace revolution? the revolution of the physical world?? or is it ?? (There is a perpetual need by humans to locate himself in the revolution in the world of intellect? Human flourishing elicits our idea of self-importance. Human flourishing may be achieved with the advent of progress and development. M4 Lesson 2 Technology As a Way of Revealing Questions Concerning Technology based on Martin Heidegger work Heidegger places his interpretation of ancient technology against modern technology. The essence of Greek technology is revealing; equals the approach of the modern peasant who cares for and maintains his world. On the other hand, the essence of modern technology is also “revealing” but the revealing that rules in modern science and technology is challenging which puts nature to unreasonable demands. Therefore, technology leads to an inauthentic existence, chiefly because until today, it has taken the dignity of the human person into inadequate consideration. Today men are treated as means to an end, used for experimentation or even threatened to be destroyed. So the recognition of the primacy of the human person vis-a-vis technological consideration weapon would be a long step towards the solution of our problem. A man should be seen as a human being who should be loved, respected, cared for, and preserved instead of just moving lumps of matter with which anything can be done. A man should produce only those things that will make life better and not what will destroy life. Heidegger is not against science and technology but against abuse of technology. He also makes a clear distinction between technology and the essence of technology. The essence of technology is very important to Heidegger and it is based on aletheia (truth) of each age and at every stage of all developments. In Heidegger Being and Truth are closely related. It follows, therefore, that the philosopher who thinks Bing, the real artist and the man of technology are like the poet who names the holy. They are both responding to the call and the challenge of Being; to the way Being chooses to manifest itself to man. The way Being chooses to reveal itself to man, either through art or through technology, does not depend on man; it depends on Being. For Heidegger, when man has learned to be “calmed”, when he no longer tries with the aid of technology to bend nature to his will only then will he be able to carry out his tasks as the “guardian of Being” M4 Lesson 3 The Good Life PHILOSOPHY - The Good Life: Aristotle The Good Life is a Life of Eudaimonia Most of our activities and the goods they bring are only means to end Most of the “ends” are the themselves or are they only lead to, activities that are centers to better ends, higher goods. The highest-end and greatest good Aristotle called Eudaimonia (prosperity, happiness, well-being, vital well-being). Eudaimonia ( = Happiness) is living the life one was made to live. Aristotle.(384 BC – 322 BC) was a Greek philosopher, a student of Plato Links to an external site., and teacher of Alexander the Great Links to an external site.. His wrote on: physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, ethics, biology, and zoology. His thought in multiple fields was considered definitive for millennia, and his work in ethics and politics is still widely influential today. He is one of the greatest thinkers in the history of western philosophy. Aristotle argued that as we mature, we act less aimlessly and more purposefully. We try to develop a plan for living that unites all our various purposes. Without a plan for living, we don’t know what we are trying to do or why we’re trying to do it. Moreover, not just any plan will do—we need the right plan, which is one that aims at the final or ultimate end. But what is the final end of human life, the end that all of us ought to aim at? For Aristotle, the final end of human life is to flourish, to live well, to have a good life. All actions should aim at this end. Of course, in order to live at all we need food, clothing, and shelter, but living is itself the means to the end of living well. And what is living well a means to? Aristotle says that living well is the final end for humans; it is not a means to anything else. Aristotle thinks this is obvious because few people want to live poorly. He argued that not all desires are the same. There are acquired desires, which differ between individuals, and natural desires, which are the same for everyone. Acquired desires—say for caviar— correspond to our wants, whereas natural desires—say for food—correspond to our needs. Acquired desires or wants correspond to apparent goods; things that appear good because we want them. Natural desires or needs correspond to real goods; things that are good for us whether we want them or not.