SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY and SOCIETY 1
Prof. / Dr. Rita E. Pulmano
UNIT 1
STS: General Concepts and Historical
Developments
CHAPTER 1: GENERAL CONCEPTS
LEUCIPPUS – “Nothing occurs at random, but
everything for a reason and by necessity.”
BERTRAND RUSSELL – “Broadly speaking, we
are in the middle of the race between human skill
as a means and human folly as an end.”
Why is STS made a core subject in College?
1) Not only given to major subjects
2) Should not be neglected that STS has an
effect to everyday life.
3) S&T contribution to the society is traceable
from the ancient times.
The challenge of Science on the great minds
1) To prove the origin of the universe, and the
position of the man in the universe.
2) Position of the earth.
3) Origin of man
- Is man really the product of natural process
such as evolution?
- Is man created by a supernatural divine
being?
4) Man’s way of life
- Transportation
- Communication
- Health and diseases, etc.
The effects of STS to the Society
“S&T bring about development to the society and it
is affecting all aspects of human life.”
1) Robots
2) DNA’s (Microscopic)
3) DOST got the highest budget on R&D in
2011-2015 (because of the significant role
of R&D in the industrialization and
commercialization that can help improve the
economy.
4) S&T has improved man’s way of life BUT it
has also caused HARM to both the
environment and people.
5) Men have become more fearless in the
pursuit for riches and power because of the
creation of destructive devices like guns,
explosives, and nuclear power.
SCIENCE – knowledge involving general truths and
general laws
Characteristics of Science
1) Focuses on the natural world
2) Goes through experiments
3) Relies on evidence
4) Passes through the scientific theory
TECHNOLOGY (Acdg. to W. Brian Arthur, 2009)
- A means to fulfil a human purpose
- Assemblage of practices and components
- Collection of devices and engineering
practices available to the culture.
“Relate with machines and tools, therefore, defines
as means to an end and human activity.”
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
- S&T is too connected that it is hard to
distinguish where one ends and the other
begins (RHODES 1999).
- Science aims to explain the natural physical
world and as it does, it gives way for
technology to address what science has
discovered.
- Machines, tools, and computers are
technologies that are brought by science.
- Tools are techniques to cure diseases
- Technology is applied science
- S&T works hand in hand
Where is S&T taking the Society?
1) S&T has marked a great progress in the
society
2) Machines and tools have made life easier
3) Communication and transportation,
infrastructure and agriculture have become
more convenient
4) National progress now relies so much on
science and technology in the area of
industry, health care, national security and
environmental protection.
BUT, S&T WOULD NOT EXIST WITHOUT
SOCIETY!!!
“Society may seem to be dependent on Science
and Technology, but it is the Society that decides
what happens to SCIENCE ANDTECHNOLOGY.”
CHAPTER 2: WORLD’S HISTORICAL
DEVELOPMENTS
NICOLAUS COPERNICUS – “To know that we
know what we know and to know what do not know
what we do not know. That is true knowledge.”
LOOKING BACK… would give us a better idea on
how S&T was developed, the significant changes
that has happened through time. We will be able to
determine S&T progression.
ANCIENT PERIOD (3,000 BC – 500 AD)
In EUROPE;
- Fire was used by Homo Erectus
- Stone-headed spears
- Wooden bow & arrow (Spain & Sahara,
Africa)
- Sewing needles from bone (Southern
Africa)
- Minoans built palaces in Crete
- Iron working (Greece)
- Etruscan craft-men – false teeth from gold
In AMERICA;
- Stone arrowheads (North America)
- The Folsom paper living on Eastern side of
Rocky Mountains developed sophisticated
tools
- Pottery (South America)
- Flint tools (Arctic)
- Long canal to irrigate their crops
(Peruvians)
- Rafts and boats from reeds (Peru)
- Figures and giant human heads (Olmec
Sculptors)
In ASIA & OCEANIA;
- Clay pots (Japan)
- Wine (Iran)
- Bronze was first made (Thailand)
- Plow – for farmers (China & Mesopotamia)
- Boats with anchors (China)
- Lunar Calendar (China)
- Clay pipes as drains (Pakistan)
- Acupuncture (China, Chinese doctors)
- Sighting of comets (China, Chinese
astronomer)
- Writing on bamboo/ paper made (China)
- Hindu Calendar of 360 days (India)
- Natural Gas for lighting (China)
In AFRICA & MIDDLE EAST;
- Stone tools (Homo erectus)
- Chipping flakes of stone to sharpen tools
(Homo erectus)
- Used antlers to create tools for cutting and
drilling (Homo erectus)
- Bone harpoons for fishing (Africa)
- Built houses from sundried bricks
(Palestine)
- Clay tokens (Mesopotamia)
- Catal Huyuk in Anatolia (Modern Turkey)
- 365 days Calendar (Ancient Egyptians)
- Wheel (Mesopotamia)
- 360 days Calendar (Sumerian)
- Dam at Gawari river (Egypt)
- Pyramids (Egypt)
- Glass (Mesopotamia)
- Comets (Babylonia, Babylonian astronomer)
- Maps (Mesopotamia)
- Pythagorean Theorem – c2= a2+b2
(Babylonian)
- Compiled list of planets and stars
(Babylonian)
- 700 drugs and medications (Egypt)
- Symptoms of Leprosy – skin disease
(Egypt)
- Dug canal to join the Nile river to the Red
Sea (Egypt)
- Alphabet (Phoenicians)
- Irrigation system to water the crops
(Mesopotamia)
MEDIEVAL PERIOD (500 AD – 14TH CENTURY)
The creative period and start of the Industrial
period. The Dark Age
- Established scholastic tradition with
advancement in Philosophy of science and
refinement of scientific method (Emperor
Charlemagne, Western Europe)
- Windmills, spectacles and mechanical clock
- Water mills, building techniques and 3-field
crop rotations (Gothic style)
- Printing press (Guttenberg, 15th Century)
RENAISSANCE PERIOD (14th – 17th CENTURY)
The Age of Rebirth or the Age of Discovery
- Printing of books & other documents for the
rapid increase of knowledge and information
for the preservation of culture.
- Biggest discovery of the whole human
history is the printing with moveable type
NICOLAUS COPERNICUS (1473-1543) Presented
Heliocentric Theory
GALILEO GALILEI (1564-1642) improved
telescope, discovered new celestial bodies and
found support for the Heliocentric Theory. He
conducted experiments on pendulum and falling
objects that paved the way for SIR ISAAC
NEWTON’s discoveries about gravity.
INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION (18th CENTURY)
The transfer of doing works by human hands and
feet to the use of machines. It began in Great
Britain, spread across Europe, America and Asia.
- Time of scientific and technological
advancements.
- Skilled workers were set aside with the
operation of new machines
- Hired women and children for lower salaries
THE 3 IMPORTANT TECHNOLOGIES:
1. Iron production
2. Steam Engine
3. Light bulb
JAMES WATT (Scotland) – improves Steam
Engine.
ROBERT FULTON (America) – Steam boat
THOMAS EDISON (American) – Light bulb
ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL (America) –
Telephone and Steam-powered Locomotive
SAMUEL F. B. MORSE – electric telegraph
KARL BENZ & GOTTLIEB DAIMLER –made the 1st
cars in 1885-1886
THE 20TH CENTURY
- Technology was rapidly developed through
the use of scientific method and funding for
research
- Enhanced communication and
transportation system for humans
- Enriched radio and telephone, reached
wider population
- S&T, more complex and problematic
- In 1971, INTEL developed a microprocessor
that made computer smaller, easier to use
and cheaper
- Invention of ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
(AI) in computer that can “think” similarly to
humans
STEVE JOBS & STEVE WOZNIAK – introduced
Apple (IOS) in 1976
WORLD WIDE WEB, WWW (1989) – has made
global communication, gathering information
through searching and conducting business matters
HENRY FORD – devised a system of mass
production in cars for the MODEL T in 1908

THE 19TH CENTURY (1801 – 1900)

The age of Machine tools. Rise of modern industry,
from agriculture to industrial manufacturing and
technology – intensive services. The second
Industrial Revolution.

- Tools were made for tools and machines

were used for other parts of machines
- Invention of useable electricity, steel, and
petroleum products led to the 2nd industrial
evolution
JOHN DALTON – atomic theory and color
blindness
DMITRI MENDELEEV – periodic table of elements
HERMAN VON HELMONTZ – conservation of
energy and ophthalmoscope
JAMES CLERK MAXWELL – light is an
electromagnetic wave
HENRI BECQUEREL – radioactivity (1896)
MARIE & PIERRE CURIE – discovered Radium
(1898)
JOSEPH THOMPSON – discovered electron
(1897)
HANS CHRISTIAN OERSTED – discovered
electric current in wire caused a nearby compass
needle to move
MICHAEL FARADAY – showed magnet could
produce electricity and invented dynamo in 1831
CHAPTER 3: PHILIPPINE HISTORY
- Pre-Spanish Period
- Spanish Colonial Period
- American & Post Commonwealth Era
- Marcos Era
- Fifth Republic
“There are so many things that we do not want
about the world. Let us not mourn them, instead, let
us change them.” - Ferdinand Marcos
The Philippines as the Third-World Country
- Development of S&T determines the
socioeconomic growth of the country;
1. Unemployment
2. Poverty
- National Progress is related to the capacity
of a country to produce local industrial
goods for domestic needs
1. Increase the chance of foreign
investors for the locally developed
products
2. Increase tourism to try the products
- Supporting the programs of the government
gives us a better chance to regain our
status in the global arena.
PRE-SPANISH PERIOD (BEFORE 1521)
- Archaeological findings show that modern
man from Asia Mainland first came over to
live in Batangas and Palawan for about
48,000 BC
- Made simple toots and weapon of stone
flakes and developed skills like sewing and
polishing stones
- Learned to make adzes ornament of
seashells and pottery
- Used metals (Iron Age)
- Weaving, shipbuilding, mining
- Farming, led to build the Banaue Rice
Terraces of the Ifugaos
- Caracoa – plank-bulit warship that is well
suited for trades
SPANISH COLONIAL PERIOD (S&T GROWTH)
(1521-1898)
- Introduced formal education & founded
scientific institutions
- 3R’s;
1. Reading
2. Writing
3. Arithmetic
- Writing and Music were taught in school
- More advanced methods in agricultural for
natives
- Established schools and colleges,
University of Santo Tomas – the oldest
school/university in the Philippines
- Prioritized medicine, Biology was
highlighted
- Spaniards made contributions in the field of
engineering
1. Construction of establishments,
churches, roads, bridges and forts
- Galleon trade – made a great impact in
economic growth in the Philippines)
- Suez Canal was built
- Agricultural and Industrial development
AMERICAN & POST COMMONWEALTH ERA
(1898-1946)
S&T continued
- Established Bureau of Laboratories in JULY
1, 1901 by the Philippine Commission (to
study tropical diseases and conduct
laboratory projects)
- Bureau of Science in 1905 as the primary
research center of the country
- National Research Council (NRC) was
established in December 8, 1933
- Science was inclined to Agricultural,
Forestry, Medicine and Pharmacy
- FREE-TRADE POLICY nurtured an
economy geared towards Agriculture
- Bureau of Science was replaced by
INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE in 1946
- US Economic survey about the Philippines’
problem with regards to S&T;
1. Lack of basic information
2. No support
3. Minimal budget
4. Low compensation
- Carlos P. Garcia, in 1958, the Philippine
Congress passed the bill “The Science Act
of 1958” which goal is to establish National
Science Development Board (NSDB)
MARCOS ERA (1965-1986)
Science was given importance
- S&T was prioritized in the 1973 Constitution
- The need of Science in public high school in
partnership with NSDB
- In 1968, TECHNOLOGY is recognized as
top reason in economic development
- Gave extra fund to Science and Science
Education
 - Private Universities were encouraged to
create courses that focuses on S&T
- In 1970, there was upgrading of Science
Curriculum and Equipment
- Presidential Decree # 49 s. of 1972 was
declared to support Scientific Research and
Invention
- Established PAGASA to give environmental
protection and utilize scientific knowledge to
ensure the safety of the nation
- National Academy of Science and
Technology (NAST) was established in
1976 to have Scientist in S&T
- Established campuses of Philippine Science
High School (PhiSci) in Visayas and
Mindanao

FIFTH REPUBLIC (1986-PRESENT YEAR)

- NAST was replaced into Department of

Science and Technology (DOST)
- The role of S&T was highlighted in PDP
1987-92
- Budget allocation in S&T was increased into
1.054 Billion
- Filipino Scientist and Inventors were
encouraged to be back in the Philippines.
Estimated in 1998 to be 3,000 competent
Scientists and Engineers
- 3,500 scholarship was provided by the
government
- Schools had updated and modernized
equipment and facilities
- RA # 8439 in 1997 (Magna Cart for S&T
Employees) was enacted to give incentives
and rewards to people who made an impact
in S&T
- Internet Age (Joseph Estrada)
- S&T reached Golden Age (Gloria Aroyo) –
numerous laws and projects were made to
push technology forward
- RA no. 9367, BIOFUEL ACT, promotes the
development and usage of biofuels in the
country
- Awarding for the FOUR FILIPINO
SCIENTISTS (Benigno Aquino III);
1. Gavino C. Trono
2. Angel C. Alcala
3. Ramon C. Barba
4. Edgardo D. Gomez