Historical antecedents in which

social Considerations changed the

course of science and technology
STS Lesson 2
Learning Objectives:
Discuss the interactions between S&T and society
throughout history
Discuss how scientific and technological developments
affect society and the environment
 Identify the paradigm shifts in history
Articulate ways by which society is transformed by science
and technology
A brief history of discoveries
S&T in the ancient times
(through 599 BCE)
Divided into 3 periods:
1. Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, &
Neolithic)
2. Bronze Age
3. Iron Age

Bunch, B and Hellemans, A. The History of Science and Technology. Houghton Mifflin Company. New York,
USA. 2004.
 S&T in the ancient times
• Stone tools have been the first recognized technology
(or craft?)
- Wooden tools could have preceded stones by millions of
years
• Made by one of our direct ancestors (H. habilis or H.
rudolfensis) 2,5000,000
years ago
• Early tools were some broken
pebbles, then improved by
flaking pieces off a core,
creating distinctive shapes with
a single cutting edge

Bunch, B and Hellemans, A. The History of Science and Technology. Houghton Mifflin
Company. New York, USA. 2004.
 S&T in the ancient times
• Characterized by:
Hunting & gathering (or foraging?)
Use of fire (man’s earliest conquest)
Agricultural revolution (farming)
- Use of metal, instead of stone tools, towards
the end
- Pottery and other ceramics, along with glass
were dominant (Ceramics age)
• Civilization began to arise (manufacturing,
trading, villages have rulers, etc.)
Bunch, B and Hellemans, A. The History of Science and Technology. Houghton Mifflin Company. New York,
USA. 2004.
“With the beginnings of metallurgy, the
Stone Age of man comes to an end; with
the beginnings of writing, prehistory
comes to an end; with the beginnings of
agriculture, man's parasitism on nature
gives way to co-operation with nature”
– R.J. Forbes
 S&T in “Antiquity”
(600 through 529 BCE)
• Started with the rise of Greek civilization
developed institutions such as the Academy,
Lyceum, and Museum
were the first to believe that humans could
understand the universe using reason alone
rather than through mythology or religion
(philosophers)
• Characterized by war between religion and science (Dark
ages)

Bunch, B and Hellemans, A. The History of Science and Technology. Houghton Mifflin Company. New York,
USA. 2004.
 S&T in the middle ages
(530 through 1452)

• Decline of science in Europe

Use of currency replaced by barter
Trade ceased entirely
Poverty was endemic and people suffered from
wars, piracy, famine, and epidemics
• Chinese philosophy developed theories on
matter and living beings

Bunch, B and Hellemans, A. The History of Science and Technology. Houghton Mifflin Company. New York,
USA. 2004.
 S&T in the middle ages
(530 through 1452)

• Revival of Western science started during

the last centuries of the first millennium
• Technological revolution took place
 Vast improvements in communication
and transportation

Bunch, B and Hellemans, A. The History of Science and Technology. Houghton Mifflin Company. New York,
USA. 2004.
 Renaissance and the
Scientific revolution
(1453 through 1659)
▫ The depletion of the population of Europe (Black
Death) motivated the smaller communities to find
new ways to function
New atmosphere encouraged the development
of arts, science and technology
States recognized the importance of technology
for defense and trade
Kings engaged engineers to improve their
fortifications and weapons
Bunch, B and Hellemans, A. The History of Science and Technology. Houghton Mifflin Company. New York,
USA. 2004.
 Renaissance and the Scientific
revolution (1453 through 1659)

▫ Technology became fully accepted

Many artists, like Leonardo da Vinci,
became architects and technologists
Mathematics was introduced into
universities (became the basis of the arts
and technology)
• Time of colonization, adventure, and exploration

Bunch, B and Hellemans, A. The History of Science and Technology. Houghton Mifflin Company. New York,
USA. 2004.
 The Scientific revolution
▫ Started with the publication of Copernicus’s
heliocentric theory and Vesalius’s anatomy
Opposed by both Catholic Church and the
Protestant Church of Martin Luther
Much later, the Church lifted its ban on
the publication of works that defended the
Copernican system

Bunch, B and Hellemans, A. The History of Science and Technology. Houghton Mifflin Company. New York,
USA. 2004.
 The Scientific revolution
▫ Explorers discovered a wealth of previously
unknown plants and animals
▫ Mathematics introduced various symbols and
conventions (became an almost universal
language)
▫ Galileo introduced experimentation into science
▫ Factories operated, patent laws and the stock
market began, and printed books became the
means to spread technological developments
▫ Design of machines developed into an art (gadgets)
Bunch, B and Hellemans, A. The History of Science and Technology. Houghton Mifflin Company. New York,
USA. 2004.
 Scientific Method: Measurement and
Communication
(1660 through 1734)
• Newton’s Principia became the basis of the scientific method
used in the study of natural phenomena
Theories were formulated from observations,
these theories were used to predict other
phenomena
Natural phenomena were explained by
mathematical laws, an approach to science not
necessarily antagonistic to religion

Bunch, B and Hellemans, A. The History of Science and Technology. Houghton Mifflin Company. New York,
USA. 2004.
 Scientific Method: Measurement and
Communication
(1660 through 1734)
• Separation of physics and metaphysics (philosophy)
took place (Newton vs. Descartes on gravity)
• Observation and experimentation became the pillars
of scientific activity
Scientists recorded phenomena in terms of
numbers
Classification of plants, animals, minerals,
fossils became a trend
Bunch, B and Hellemans, A. The History of Science and Technology. Houghton Mifflin Company. New York,
USA. 2004.
 Scientific Method: Measurement and
Communication
(1660 through 1734)

• Science became a shared activity

Societies and journals became
the means of communication
(printing press)

Bunch, B and Hellemans, A. The History of Science and Technology. Houghton Mifflin Company. New York,
USA. 2004.
 The Enlightenment and the
Industrial revolution (1735 through
1819)
• Emphasizing reasoning and order
Critical evaluation of previous
beliefs in the light of rationalism
Began with Linnaean scheme for
classifying organisms

Bunch, B and Hellemans, A. The History of Science and Technology. Houghton Mifflin Company. New York,
USA. 2004.
 The Enlightenment and the
Industrial revolution (1735 through
1819)

• Profound change in philosophical thinking

Emergence of “mechanical philosophy”, a
belief that all phenomena could be
explained by sets of simple mechanical laws
Some materialistic philosophers denied the
existence of a spiritual god and viewed
nature entirely as a mechanical system
Bunch, B and Hellemans, A. The History of Science and Technology. Houghton Mifflin Company. New York,
USA. 2004.
 The Enlightenment and the
Industrial revolution (1735 through
1819)
Two approaches to philosophy emerged:
empiricism (knowledge comes from
experience) and rationalism (knowledge
comes from reasoning)
reconciled by Immanual Kant
“Great Chain of Being” envisioned all
existence as continuous
Bunch, B and Hellemans, A. The History of Science and Technology. Houghton Mifflin Company. New York,
USA. 2004.
 The Industrial revolution
(18th Century)

• Development of machines that would make work

faster or more efficient
Interest in thermodynamics rose as a result
of the steam engine
Concepts of work and power began to be
formalized
• Encyclopaedias were the new form of publication
• The profession of engineer was one of the great
inventions
Bunch, B and Hellemans, A. The History of Science and Technology. Houghton Mifflin Company. New York,
USA. 2004.
 S&T in the 19th Century
(1820 through 1894)
• Much 19th century science started with the
discovery of electromagnetism by Hans
Christian Oersted
• Science and the teaching of science
underwent a number of changes
 Many new fields of science were born
(Anthropology, Archaeology, Cell biology,
Psychology, Organic Chemistry)

Bunch, B and Hellemans, A. The History of Science and Technology. Houghton Mifflin Company. New York,
USA. 2004.
 S&T in the 19th Century
(1820 through 1894)
• Science became professional
Occupation of science became a paid profession
universities developed into centers where science
flourished
Teaching of science became linked to scientific research
Publication of scientific information started
Scientists started meeting at national scientific
congresses
The idea that science could ultimately explain all
phenomena in nature became stronger
Bunch, B and Hellemans, A. The History of Science and Technology. Houghton Mifflin Company. New York,
USA. 2004.
 S&T in the 19th Century
(1820 through 1894)
• The relationship between scientific education and
technological progress became fully understood
Technical schools were founded
Scientific thought was much more generally
known by the public (faced general public
criticism of some scientific ideas, e.g. age of
the Earth and the theory of evolution by
Darwin)

Bunch, B and Hellemans, A. The History of Science and Technology. Houghton Mifflin Company. New York,
USA. 2004.
 Rise of modern S&T
(1895 through 1945)
• Large number of scientists
• Science became much more of a communal effort
• Science started having an effect on society directly
(the time span between a discovery and its
technical application became shorter)
• Science became highly successful in explaining
the nature of matter, mechanisms of chemical
reactions, fundamental processes of life, and the
general structure of the universe

Bunch, B and Hellemans, A. The History of Science and Technology. Houghton Mifflin Company. New York,
USA. 2004.
 Rise of modern S&T
(1895 through 1945)
• Quantum theory changed the way philosophers think
about the universe
• Technology did not remain confined to large
enterprises only (became an important part of
everyday life)
• Enormous growth of automobile industry
• Electricity revolutionized technology
• Laboratories for testing and development of new
products were established

Bunch, B and Hellemans, A. The History of Science and Technology. Houghton Mifflin Company. New York, USA. 2004.
 Big science and
the Post-industrial society
(1946 through 1972)
• Discoveries and inventions reached practical
applications as a result of WW2 (synthetic
rubber, radar, DDT, penicillin, fusion and
fission bombs, jet powered aircraft, helicopter,
ballistic missiles, nuclear weapons, and the
electronic digital computer)

Bunch, B and Hellemans, A. The History of Science and Technology. Houghton Mifflin Company. New York, USA. 2004.
 Rise of modern S&T
(1895 through 1945)
• Science became “big”
Equipment/instruments were shared
(interdisciplinary)
Even larger number of scientists, scientists
having specialization
• Science changed society
Availability of automobiles changed how
people migrate
Automation allowed many manufacturing
processes to be done by less skilled workers
Bunch, B and Hellemans, A. The History of Science and Technology. Houghton Mifflin Company. New York, USA. 2004.
 The Information Age
(1973 through present)

Bunch, B and Hellemans, A. The History of Science and Technology. Houghton Mifflin Company. New York, USA. 2004.
Activity 2: “Intellectual Revolutions
that define society”
Group Role Play: Research and explain the
“revolution” without reporting (10-15 mins
creative presentation)
• Group 1 – Copernican (Nicalaus Copernicus)
• Group 2 – Darwinian (Charles Darwin)
• Group 3 – Newtonian (Isaac Newton)
• Group 4 – Internet / Information
Rubrics