Chapter 1: Historical Antecedents in the course of Science and

Technology
Ancient Times
- People were concerned with transportation, navigation, communication and record-keeping, mass
production, security and production, as well as health, aesthetics, and architecture.
● Science and Technology
○ Indeed play major roles in everyday life.
○ Makes difficult and complicated tasks easier.
○ Gradual improvements to earlier works from diff time periods.
○ Desire to raise the quality of life of the people.
● Transportation
○ In order to go to places and discover new horizons.
○ Travelled to search for food and find a better location for their settlements.
○ Navigation: helped them in their journey - It allowed them to return home after discovery or
trade.
● Communication
○ Essential to discover and occupy new places.
○ For facilitating trade
○ In order to talk to the people, in the places that they visit.
○ Record-keeping: important in order to remember places & document trades that they made,
to keep records of history and culture.
○ Prevent possible conflicts.
● Weapons & Armours
○ Major achievement
○ Important in discovery of new places or establishments of alliances
○ Invasion of stronger nations to weaker ones
● Conservation of Life
○ Primary challenge of the early people
○ Illnesses and diseases hampered the full potential of a human being
■ Science and technology played a major role in the discovery of cures
● Engineering
○ For better transportation
○ Establishment of structures
■ Protection from human attacks
■ Protection from natural disasters
○ Construction of bigger and stronger infrastructures
● Architecture
○ Sign of technological advancement of a civilization; a status symbol
○ Establishes the identity of a nation
SUMERIAN CIVILIZATION
● Southernmost tip of ancient Mesopotamia.
● Known for their high degree of cooperation with one another and their desire for great things.
● Not really contented with the basic things that life can offer.
○ Cuneiform
■ One of the major contributions.
 ■ First writing system.
■ Utilizes word pictures & triangular symbols which is carved on clay using wedge
instruments and then left to dry
■ Allowed Sumerians to keep record
○ Uruk City
■ Important contribution of Sumerians
■ Considered to be the first true city
■ Built using only mud/clay mixed with reeds then sun drying them
○ The Great Ziggurat of Ur
■ ‘Mountain of God’
■ Constructed using sun-baked bricks
■ Sacred place of their chief god
■ Priests were only allowed to enter
○ Irrigation and Dikes
■ Brings water to farmlands
■ Controls flooding of rivers
■ One of the world’s most beneficial engineering works
■ Sumerians were able to enjoy year-long farming and harvesting
■ Increased food production
○ Sailboats
■ Boats were used to carry large quantities of products and were able to cover large
distances
■ Essential in transportation and trading as well as in fostering culture, information,
and technology
○ Wheel
■ Invented in the latter part of their history since the specialized tools needed to make
it were already available
■ First wheel wasn’t made for transportation, but for farm work and food processes.
■ Use of wheel and axle mass production was easier; farmers were able to mill grains
with less effort in less time

○ The Plow
■ Humans evolved from being food gatherers to farm cultivators
■ Invented to dig the earth in a faster pace
■ It breaks the ground then the farmer drops the seeds
■ Farmers could cultivate larger parcels of land faster, enabling them to mass produce
food without taking so much effort and time
○ Roads
■ Flow of traffic became faster and more organized
■ Used sun-baked bricks and poured bitumen (like asphalt) to smoothen the roads
● Poured bitumen, a black sticky substance like asphalt, to smoothen the
roads.
■ Useful especially in rainy seasons
BABYLONIAN CIVILIZATION
● Emerged near the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
● Babylonians were great builders, engineers, and architects
● Major contribution - Hanging Gardens
 ○ Hanging Gardens of Babylon
■ Structure made up of layers upon layers of gardens that contained several species
of plants, trees, and vines
■ Nebuchadnezzar II built it for his wife, Queen Amytis
■ No documentation, archaeological and/or physical evidence to prove its existence
and no exact location
■ If it existed, then it’s destroyed by war, erosion, or earthquake
■ If real, then it may be considered as one of the greatest engineering and
architectural achievements of the world that is impossible to replicate.

EGYPTIANS CIVILIZATION
● Located in North Africa
● Contributed other practical things that the world considers essential
○ Paper or Papyrus
■ Earlier contribution of Egypt
■ Able to make writing easier for the world
■ Papyrus was a plant that grew abundantly in the Nile River
■ Lighter, thinner - easy to carry and store, Less breakable
■ Major accomplishment
○ Ink
■ Combining soot with different chemicals to produce inks of different colors
■ Must withstand the elements of nature, must also be tamper-proof
○ Hieroglyphics
■ System of writing using symbols
■ Egyptians believed that this was provided to them by their gods
■ Can still be seen today
■ The language that tells the modern world of the history & culture of the ancient
Egyptians
■ Well- preserved
○ Cosmetics
■ The function was for both health & aesthetic reasons
■ Egyptians wore kohl around the eyes to prevent and cure eye diseases
■ Kohl was created by mixing soot or malachite w/ mineral galena
■ Person wearing makeup was protected from evil & beauty was a sign of holiness
○ Wig
■ Were worn for health & wellness rather than for aesthetic purposes
■ Used to protect shaved heads of wealthy from the harmful rays of the sun
■ Better than putting on a scarf or any other head cover since a wig allowed heat to
escape
■ Cleaner than natural hair
○ Water Clock/ Clepsydra
■ Utilizes gravity that affects the flow of water from one vessel to the other
 ■ Amount of water remaining in the device determines how much time has elapsed
since it is full
■ Time is measured
■ Use as a timekeeping device
GREEK CIVILIZATION
● An archipelago in the southeastern part of Europe
● Birthplace of western philosophy
● Some of the major achievements: in-dept works on philosophy & mathematics
○ Alarm Clock
■ To tell an individual when to stop or when to start
■ Large complicated mechanisms were used to time the alarm
■ Made use of water (sometimes small stone or sand) that dropped into drums that
sounded the alarm
■ Plato was believed to have utilized an alarm clock to signal the start of his lecture
○ Water Mill
■ One of the most important contributions
■ Commonly used in agricultural processes like milling of the grains
■ Better than mills powered by farm animals
■ Require less effort & time to operate
■ Only required is an access to rivers or flowing water
ROMAN CIVILIZATION
● Strongest political and social entity in the west
● Considered to be the cradle of politics & governance
● Other civilizations look up to it as their model in terms of legislation and codified laws
○ Newspaper
■ Also known as gazettes, contained announcements
■ Mae before the invention of paper
■ Were engraved in metal or stone tables & then publicly displaced
○ Bound Books/ Codex
■ Julius Caesar started the tradition of stacking papyrus to form pages of book
■ Later on, they were able to provide covers to protect papyrus
■ Made of wax, later replaced by animal skin which proved to be stronger and long-
lasting
■ They were able to produce the first books or codex
○ Roman Architecture
■ One of the most visual contributions
■ Was considered a continuation of Greek architecture, hence the resemblance
■ Adapted new building & engineering technology on architectural designs
established in the past
■ They could produce stronger & sturdier infrastructures
○ Roman Numerals
■ Old system could not keep up with high calculations requirements due to the
increasing rate of communications and trade among nations.
■ Specifically, to address the need for a standard counting method that would meet
their increasing communication & trade concerns
■ Still used in the Hindu-Arabic system
CHINESE CIVILIZATION
 ● Oldest civilization in Asia
● Also known as middle kingdom
● Located on the far east of Asia
● Famous because of its silk trade
○ Silk
■ Naturally produced by silkworms
■ Chines were the one to develop the technology to harvest silk & process it to
produce paper and clothing
■ Resulted in the creation of product for trade
■ Bridged the gap between western world & the middle kingdom
○ Tea Production
■ It was believed that the first tea was drunk by a Chinese Emperor
■ Was developed when an unknown Chinese inventor created a machine that was
able to shred tea leaves into strips
■ This machine was done using a wheel-based mechanism with sharp edges attached
to a wooden or ceramic pot
■ Chines were able to increase their production
○ Great Wall of China
■ Considered the only man-made structure that could be seen from outer space
■ Largest and most extensive infrastructure that the nation built
■ Constructed to keep out foreign invaders & control the borders of China
■ Made with stone, brick, wood, earth & other material
■ Structure was massive & strong that it was said to have literally divided China from
the rest of the world
■ Pride of their land & their crowning glory
○ Gunpowder
■ One of the most interesting inventions in China
■ Developed by Chinese alchemists when aimed to achieved immortality
■ Mixed w/ charcoal, sulfur, potassium nitrate
■ Accidentally invented a black powder that could generate large amounts of heat &
gas in an instant
■ Widely used to propel bullets from guns & cannons which cause countless deaths
MEDIEVAL/ MIDDLE AGES
● Start of middle ages was marred by massive invasions & migrations
● Wars were prevalent during this time
● Some of the most innovative minds came from this period
● Trade to commerce among nations increased - greater demand for transportation technology
○ Printing Press
■ Johannes Gutenberg
■ More reliable way of printing using a cast type
■ Utilized wooden machines that extracted juices from fruits, attached to them a metal
impressions of the letters & pressed firmly the cast metal into a piece of paper
■ Was invented to address the need for publishing books
■ Made works accessible
○ Microscope
■ Needed a device that could magnify things invisible to the eye
■ Galileo Galilei
 ■ Hans Lippershey - refracting telescope.
■ Zacharias Janssen - invention of the first optical telescope

CHAPTER 2: INTELLECTUAL REVOLUTION

● PARADIGM SHIFT
- A fundamental change in approach or underlying assumptions occurs when one paradigm
(framework) loses its influence and another take over.
● NECESSITY IS THE MOTHER OF INVENTION
- Most discoveries and inventions were due to human needs and wants; to make life easier.
● INTELLECTUAL REVOLUTION
- A period when much of the advancements in science and technology changed people’s
perceptions and beliefs.
● THE TELESCOPE
- Hans Lippershey, a German-Dutch eyeglass maker, made the earliest known telescope
1608 but failed to get it patented.
- Galileo Galilei made his own version and his rudimentary telescope in 1609 was able to
magnify objects 3X
- Galileo’s later model was able to magnify objects 20X. With this model he was able to:
➔ Look at the moon
➔ Discover the 4 satellites of Jupiter (aka The Galilean Moons) Io, Europa, Ganymede,
and Callisto. He first observed them sometime between DECEMBER 1609 -
JANUARY 1610 and recognized them as SATELLITES in MARCH 1610.
➔ Observe a supernova
➔ Verify the phases of Venus
➔ Discover sunspots
* FUN FACT: The Earth is the only planet that was NOT named after a Greek or Roman god or goddess. *
● GEOCENTRISM
- Claudius Ptolemy
- the planets, as well as the sun and moon, move in a circular motion AROUND THE EARTH
- The PTOLEMAIC MODEL shows each planet is moved by a system of 2 spheres: the
different and the epicycle. These two combined movements cause the green planet to move
closer and further away from the Earth.
● HELIOCENTRISM
- Nicolaus Copernicus posited a heliocentric view of the solar system in 1514
- the planets move in a circular motion AROUND THE SUN
- The COPERNICAN MODEL simplified the orbits for planets
- In 1543, Copernicus published DE REVOLUTIONIBUS ORBIUM COELESTIUM (On the
revolution of heavenly spheres)
* FUN FACT: Right about the time Copernicus released his views, Ferdinand Magellan’s expedition was able
to circumnavigate the globe (1519). He reached the Philippine archipelago on March 16, 1521 *
● WHY DID PEOPLE REJECT HELIOCENTRISM?
- Religious belief taught them that the Earth was created first before all other things
● THE BIRTH OF MODERN ASTRONOMY
- The Copernican Revolution paved the way for Modern Astronomy when other scientists
submitted and supported the Copernican Model. It debunked the Ptolemaic Model which
stood correct for 1400 years.
 ● DARWINIAN REVOLUTION (Charles Darwin)
- The Origin of Species (1859) presented the THEORY OF EVOLUTION which states
➔ ‘populations pass through a process of natural selection in which only the fittest
would survive’
➔ Organisms have the ability to adapt to fit the environment
➔ SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST through Natural Selection

● WHAT IS EVOLUTION?
- the gradual change in the form of organisms to enhance the chance of survival and
environmental adaptation
ANTI-PREDATORY ADAPTATION
➔ Mimicry
➔ Herding
➔ Chemical Defenses
➔ Fight and Flight
EVOLUTIONARY TRAITS
➔ Human Bipedalism
◆ Standing on both feet
➔ Language
➔ Encephalization
◆ Enlargement of the brain
➔ Canine Teeth
➔ Coccyx
➔ Ulnar Opposition
◆ The ability to touch your thumb and little finger to facilitate rip for skilled
manipulation.
➢ Evolution can be MORPHOLOGICAL, DEVELOPMENTAL, PHYSIOLOGICAL, or BEHAVIORAL.
● WHY DID PEOPLE REJECT IT?
- It contradicts the Church’s teachings; at the time the most believed and accepted idea is the
biblical version of the Earth’s creation (Creationism).
● FREUDIAN REVOLUTION (Sigmund Freud)
- Psychology then was more classified under philosophy/art than science
- This changed later in the 19th century because of Sigmund Freud’s revolutionary theory of
Psychoanalysis that explains human behavior
- There are many conscious and unconscious factors that can influence behavior and
emotions
- Personality is a product of 3 conflicting elements
➔ ID
◆ primitive and instinctual part of the mind that contains sexual and
aggressive drives.
◆ impulsive and unconscious part that responds directly to our desires,
urges, and needs.

➔ EGO
 ◆ the realistic part that mediates between the desires of the id and the
superego.
◆ It is the decision-making component of personality.
➔ SUPEREGO
◆ Operates as your moral conscience.
◆ The superego consists of two systems: The conscience and the ideal self.
◆ The conscience can punish the ego through causing feelings of guilt. For
example, if the ego gives in to the id's demands, the superego may make
the person feel bad through guilt.
◆ The ideal self (or ego-ideal) is an imaginary picture of how you ought to
be, and represents career aspirations, how to treat other people, and how
to behave as a member of society.
➢ WHY DID THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY REJECT IT? - No scientific basis, no empirical data, or
experimental data can support it.
● THE PARADIGM SHIFTS THROUGH HISTORY
○ The COPERNICAN REVOLUTION ushered Modern Astronomy.
○ The DARWINIAN REVOLUTION changed the way we think about how we came to be.
○ The FREUDIAN REVOLUTION made Psychology into a science.

CHAPTER 3: Science, Technology, and Nation Building

The development of Science and Technology has already come a long way. Many significant inventions and
discoveries have been accomplished or attributed to Filipinos.
PRE-COLONIAL PERIOD - The period where scientific and technological development in the Philippines
began.
○ PLANTS AND HERBS - early Filipino settlers were already using certain plants and
herbs as medicine.
○ FARMING AND ANIMAL RAISING SYSTEM - Filipinos implemented farming and
animal raising to produce various crops.
○ TRANSPORTATION - Filipinos also developed
different modes of
transportation, whether
terrestrial or maritime.
○ THE BANAUE RICE TERRACES - The Banaue Rice Terraces was built by the
Cordilleras by hand. These terraces gave benefit to the people by being able to
cultivate crops on the mountain sides in cold temperatures.
COLONIAL PERIOD
- During this period, the Philippines was colonized by two countries: Spain and America.
○ SPANISH COLONIAL (333 year rule) - SPANIARDS PROVIDED THE PHILIPPINES WITH
MODERN MEANS OF CONSTRUCTION.
■ WALLS - walls were built to provide shelter and security.
■ ROADS - roads made transportation easier and organized for the Filipinos.
■ BRIDGES - bridges allowed people and vehicles to cross from one side to the other.
■ HEALTH AND EDUCATION SYSTEM - The Spaniards developed these two
systems that were mainly enjoyed by the principalia class. The education system
helped the Filipinos expand their knowledge in various fields of education.
Meanwhile, the health system provided Filipinos with quality health care.
 ○ AMERICAN OCCUPATION (1898–1946) - AMERICAN'S MODERNIZED ALMOST ALL
ASPECTS OF LIFE IN THE PHILIPPINES.
■ GOVERNMENT AGENCY AND BUREAU OF SCIENCE - They established a
government agency, the Bureau of Science, for the sole purpose of nurturing
development in the field of science and technology.
POST-COLONIAL PERIOD
- The Philippines continued to pursue programs in science and technology after achieving independence
from the colonizers.
○ Ferdinand Marcos
- One of the presidents who ushered in advancements in science and technology was former
president and dictator Ferdinand Marcos. Many agencies in science and technology were
established and strengthened:
● PAGASA (or the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical
Services Administration)
● NAST (or the National Academy of Science and Technology)
● The reconstituted National Science and Technology Authority.
- Marcos saw that the key to nation building is the continued development of science and
technology. The progress in science and technology continued even after his dictatorial rule
and the presidents after him left their own legacies in the field.
■ Purpose: To nurture development in the field of science and technology.

Chapter 4: Human Flourishing in Science and Technology

Martin Heidegger (1889-1976)

● German philosopher
● Contributed to such diverse fields as phenomenology, existentialism, hermeneutics, political theory
and theology (Korab-Karpowicz, para 1).
● Main interest was ontology or the study of being (Korab-Karpowicz, para 1).

Technology as a Mode of Revealing

● Technology
○ An instrumentum
○ “A means of human activity” (Heidegger, 1997, p. 5).
○ Mode of revealing, the truth is brought forth.
● Ancient Greek Concepts
○ Aletheia - Unhiddeness or disclosure
○ Poiesis - Bring forth
○ Techne - Means skill, art or craft.
Technology as Poeisis: Applicable to Modern Technology?

● Modern Technology
○ Very aggressive in its activity.
○ challenges nature and demands of it resources, which forcibly extracts for human
consumption and storage.
○ e.g. Mining is an example of modern technology that challenges forth and brings about the
setting upon of land. It extracts minerals from the earth and forcefully assigns the land as a
means to fulfil the never ending demands of the people.
○ No longer need to work with the rhythms of nature, we control it.
○ Age of switches, standing reserve and stockpiling for its own sake.

Questioning as the Piety of Thought

● Piety
○ Means obedience and submission.
○ Thinking brings forth insights that the mind has not yet fully understood or developed.

Enframing: Way of Revealing in Modern Technology

● The individual takes part in the revealing of nature, but limits must still be recognized.
● If we allow ourselves to get swallowed by modern technology, we lose the essence of who we are
as beings in this world.
● If we are constantly plugged online and no longer have the capacity for authentic personal
encounters, then we are truly swallowed by technology.
● “Where danger is. grows the saving power also." - Holderlin

1. Essence is the way in which things are, as that which endures.

2. The essence of technology is not found in the instrumentality and function of machines constructed, but in
the significance such technology unfolds.

"The essence of technology is nothing technological." (1977) - Heidigger

Art as a Way Out of Enframing

● Enframing
○ Tends to block poeisis.
○ Art helps us see the poetic in nature in reality.
● Techne
■ Technology
■ Appearance
■ Bringing-forth of the true into the beautiful.
■ Poeisis of the fine arts.
■ Art
○ Calculative thinking in which we perceive nature in a technical and scientific manner is
becoming important in the modern world.
○ Meditative thinking roots us in the essence of who we are.
Aristotle's Four Causes Explained by Heidigger

● Causa Materialis - the matter of which e.g. a silver chalice is made

● Causa Formalis - the shape into which material enters
● Causa Finalis - e.g. the sacrificial rite in relation to which the chalice required is determined as to its
form and matter
● Causa Efficiens - brings about the effect that is the finished, actual chalice, in this instance, the
silversmith.
○ "...poetically man dwells upon this Earth" - Holderlin

Chapter 5: Human Flourishing as Reflected in Progress and Development

● What are the signs of progress and development?
○ Development is often associated with growth and greater consumption
○ Poverty rate declines when a country’s GDP per capita grows
○ Life expectancy increases because people can afford better healthcare
○ People earn more money and accumulate wealth
○ Increase in consumption is an indicator of a wealthier population
❖ Even so, the planet is already overburdened with human activities. “It’s about time that we re-think
our standards of development if we truly want to live the good life”
➔ Jason Hickel — “Forget developing poor countries, it’s time to de-develop rich countries”
● An anthropologist at the London School of Economics
● Challenges us to rethink and reflect on a different paradigm “de-development”
● His book, The Divide: A Brief Guide to Global Inequality and its Solutions, explains some
solutions to reverse development and eliminate poverty.
○ According to the media, because of free-market globalization, poverty is fast
decreasing. In reality, global economy has grown by 380%, the number of people
living in poverty on less than $5 a day has increased since the 1980s by more than
4.2 billion, nearly 60% of the world’s population. This is proof that the usual
approach to development is unsuccessful.
● Orthodox Economists vs Progressive type
○ Orthodox Economists – insists that all we need is yet more growth.
○ Progressive type – we need to shift growth from the richer countries to poorer ones
to even things out.
■ Neither approach is efficient, because we exceed our consumption of
natural resources by more than 50% each year.
● Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)
○ Main objective is to eradicate poverty by 2030.
○ Main strategy for eradicating poverty is growth.
■ Growth has been the main object of development despite the fact that it is
not working.
■ Growth isn’t an option anymore.
■ 70% of people in middle- and high-income countries believe that
overconsumption is putting the world at risk. We should make an effort to
buy and own less without compromising our own happiness.
➔ The Ecological Footprint — a resource accounting tool used by governments, businesses,
educational institutions and NGOs.
 ◆ Uses global hectares as a measurement unit — it is a standardized unit that measures our
waste and use of resources.
◆ Our planet only has enough resources for each individual to consume 1.8 global hectares
yearly.
● Ghana and Guatemala, on average consumes 1.8 global hectares per person
compared to 4.7 hectares consumed by each individual in the US and Canada.
➔ Peter Edward (economist)
◆ Poorer countries shouldn’t “catch up”, instead rich countries should “catch down”.
◆ Societies with lower levels of income and consumption doesn’t have to be developed into
the ideal western society, but instead should be an example of efficient living.
❖ How much do we really need to live long and happy lives?
➢ The US – 79 years life expectancy with a GDP per capita of $53,000.
➢ Norway – 81.9 years, $75,504 (2017)
➢ France – 81.9 years, $38,477 (2017)
➢ Canada – 81.9 years, $45,032 (2017)
➢ Monaco – the country with the highest life expectancy with an average of 89.4 years with a
GDP per capita of $162,010 (2011).
■ Cuba
● Similar life expectancy to the US with a GDP per capita of $6,000.
● Only consumes 1.9 hectares, right at the threshold of ecological
sustainability.
◆ The same can be said for Peru, Ecuador, Honduras, Nicaragua
and Tunisia.
❖ Whilst rich countries have an improved quality of life due to excess income and consumption, these
do not always reflect on life expectancy.
➔ In overall happiness and well-being, many low- and middle-income countries rank highly.
◆ Costa Rica
● Low GDP, not a wealthy country.
● Managed to sustain one of the highest happiness indicators and life expectancies
in the world.
◆ The US
● Has four times the amount of GDP per capita of Costa Rica
● but only ranks 16th for subjective happiness, based on “The Science of Happiness”
launched by UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science.
❖ GDP as a measure doesn’t always equate to good quality of life.
❖ We should view countries like Costa Rica not as underdeveloped, but as appropriately developed.
We need to reevaluate how we regard rich countries on their excesses and overconsumption.
● “Steady-State” Economy
○ an economy of stable or mildly fluctuating size which a national, local, regional or global
economy can reach after a period of growth or after a period of downsizing or de-growth.
○ made up of constant stock of physical wealth and constant population size.
The problem is, “de-growth”, “zero growth” and “de-development” can be off-putting for anyone who is not
familiar with the words. This has become a problem because the terms seem to be against human progress,
having a positive view of life, and learning, improving and growing.
❖ De-growth
 ➢ anti-consumerist, anti-capitalist idea
➢ responding to limits to growth dilemma
■ Downscaling of production and consumption
❖ Zero Growth
➢ Population neither grows nor declines
■ Austria and Russia, had zero growth rates in 2014
❖ De-development
➢ Deconstructing rather than improving
● Gaza Strip
○ Military violence reported for over the three-year period of 2011-2013.
○ Gaza could become uninhabitable in less than five years if current economic and population
trends continue
● “How Much is Enough” (Robert and Edward Skidelsky)
○ they lay out the possibility of interventions such as banning advertising, shorter working week
and basic income, it would reduce consumption and improve the quality of our lives.
○ the book asks why westerners work so many hours per week and lead lives that revolve
around money, business and financial decisions.

Solution offered is: Holding back hunger for knowledge to curb insatiability, and to consider a form of basic
income.