1.

An Overview of the History of

the Relationship of Science and
Technology and Culture (Weeks 1
and 2)
There are number of lenses with which we can look at the development of sciences.
Due to this, we might highlight some perception more over other ways of viewing
things. As we cite some examples in history, we emphasize the interaction of
science and culture and vice-versa.

At the end of this module you should be able to:

1. Relate the concept of technological determinism and creative destruction in some
events in the development of science and technology throughout history.
2. Explain the role of institutions and institutionalization of knowledge in the
development of the sciences.
3. Discuss the impact of the spread of Western Science on colonies of previous
imperialist states.

Technological Determinism

The main idea behind technological determinism is that advances in technology is

the driver of change in social values and norms in society. The development of this
thinking is associated with the philosopher Thomas Veiblen under the some
influence from the ideas of Karl Marx. Figure 1 summarizes some of the main
ideas from Marx with the discussion of the base and the superstructure. The figure
incorporates some of the aspect of the interaction of technology (means of
production) with culture and society (superstructure). The diagram highlights that
new tools (i.e. means of production) shapes (maintains) how the superstructure is
manifested. The superstructure then as shown below attempts to maintain (shapes)
the means of production. The process is seen to behave spirally in that new
technology influences the superstructure which in turn influences development of
new technology moving on and on indefinitely in time.
Figure 1: Summary of the Idea of the Base and the Superstructure. The means of
production (technology) shapes the superstructure. [2]

The Relationship of Tool Creation/New Technology with the

Formation of New Social order.
The role of an individual to their society is related to their standing and class with
respect to their societies. As in Figure 1, we highlight the creation of new
tools/technology and how it may have impacted the early social groups of our
ancestors. The point of asking some of these questions below is to emphasize how
framework in Figure 1 could be interpreted and applied at various points in our
human history.
Based on the framework in Figure 1, attempt to draw out the possible impact in
history of how the new tool affected our social structures then.

Stone Age to Early Bronze Age to Dawn of Agriculture. (Attempt answering the
following questions in your head before proceeding to the next parts)

1. Discuss how difference in skill level of using hunting tools might have
impacted social structures in early human society.

2. Relate how the development of food preservation techniques (e.g. creation of

pots, salt mining, discovery of fire) might have impacted distribution of food in early
society.

3. Discuss how the establishment of agriculture resulting to greater food security

further created new roles in our society.

As one can see, food distribution may be central to the creation of new social
structure. It can be argued that those who are skilled hunters would more likely be
assigned to the distribution of food in the early social groups, making those hunters
take on leadership roles in the early society. New food preservation techniques may
have further reinforced the idea of ownership of food and the ability of controlling its
distribution. The need of less people in food production may have resulted in the
need to create new roles in our past societies. The success of agriculture gave rise
to early city-states and larger empire which create new roles and creation of newer
social structures to regulate the increasing population.

Bronze Age and Iron Age Cities and Empires

Advances in agricultures led to social stratification and the emergence of classes

whose main task is in the administration of people. There is a need to control our
food supply, maintain order in the society, protect the population from calamities and
catastrophes and so on. Going back as in Figure 1, one may see that the new ways
of controlling the population (e.g. politics, emerging forms of government) from the
rise of development of tools would attempt to maintain the earlier modes of
production. The slavery system seen in large iron age empires (e.g. Rome) may
be means to maintain control of food production and building creation. The creation
of laws resulting in the creation of soldiers, warriors, administrators, scribes, and
politicians can also be ways of maintaining means of production that are seen to
stabilize existing social order.

The emergence of an elite class in our early societies can also be linked to the
establishment of some social order to maintain existing modes of production. One
such class are some of your well-known philosophers. In the Greek and Roman
times, one can argue that ideas from Greek and Roman Philosophers (Abstraction of
Thought) eventually led to the development of formalized way thinking and doing
science, thereby significantly shaping our current science and technology.

The Middle Ages in Europe and Renaissance

The Fall of Rome may have resulted in the fall of administrative of a large part of the
Europe. This also led to the fall of the elite and wealthy class dependent on the
slave labor in the Roman Empire. Feudalism emerged within this period and the
rise of the Catholic Church in Europe was seen. The general thinking in this period
in Europe of Science and Technology is that the sciences did not develop as much.
Focus is on technological development for practical purposes (e.g. better windmills,
watermills vs. advances in mathematics, chemistry, and physics). Developments in
abstract thought and sciences were seen more in the Islamic and Chinese empires
in this period. Technological and scientific advances as more or less spearheaded
through the Catholic church by the clergy in the monasteries e.g. (Roger Bacon (a
Franciscan Friar), Nicolaus Copernicus (Polish monk)).

Advances in shipbuilding in the late Middle Ages and better trade administration
(e.g. emergence of new trade concepts such as bonds, securities, stocks) gave rise
to the Italian city states (e.g. Florence, Rome, Pisa, Genoa, etc.). The increase in
concentration of wealth in these city-states resulted in the emergence of a more
powerful wealthy class that can challenge previous dominant social structures (e.g.
monarchy and the Catholic Church). The new wealthy families (e.g. Medicis,
Borgias, etc.) with their extreme wealth were able to patronize “Renaissance Men”
which led to further developments in arts, sciences, and technology during that time.

Institutionalization of Science and Towards Industrialization.

The institutionalization of science would not have been formalized without the works
of Rene Descartes and Francis Bacon. Rene Descartes formalized deductive
reasoning in his Discourse on Methods. Francis Bacon on the other hand,
emphasized the need of rigorous data collection to prove or disprove a proposition.
Bacon also warned scientists of the four idols (Tribe, Cave, Marketplace, Theater).

The Royal Academy of London and French Royal Academy of Sciences were both
established in the 1660s. The formalization of the sciences can be argued to have
greatly impact the generation of larger bodies of knowledge culminating in the
Industrial Revolution.

Formalizing a group and instituting an organization consolidates certain common

goals and vision among its members. The group maybe exclusive to outsiders yet
at the same time promote prestige and eventually gain authority over their fields of
pursuit.
Industrial Revolution and Culture

The industrial revolution was a period initially seen in Britain of rapid production of
goods largely driven by advances in science and technology, finance, and politics. It
has brought rapid social change that made lives of people a little more complex.
Below are tables that highlight differences in society prior to industrialization and
after industrialization.

Table 1: Summary of Some Differences in an Industry-based and Agriculture-

based Mode of Production
Component Agriculture-based Industry-based

Formal Education Not Needed Needed (e.g.Operation of

Production of Good
Time (Synchronization)
Standardization
Concentration/Specializatio
n efforts are diffused.
Professionalization
Business Structure
Machines, Basic transactions
requires some level of literacy)
Single Production of Mass Production of Goods
Goods (Factories)_
Relaxed time frame Tasks requires specific times
in the minute/second scale.
(Why time is important in
those cultures that first
industrialized?)
Goods are not Goods should follow certain
standardized. standards. (e.g. standard size
of parts to construct a car,
muskets, guns, etc.)
In creating goods, In the factory setting, division
of labor means that people
focus on doing specific tasks.
In doing work, Doing standardized work
degrees may not be resulted in the need of
considered necessary certification from an institution
to do a specific task. (e.g.
teaching, medicine,
engineering)
More horizontal. More top-down. The need to
control larger amounts of
people

The sudden change in modes of production would be argued to have impacted

society. For one, labor related issues emerged resulting in the need to address
worker rights. Another example is the need for formalized education to thrive in
world that becomes more and more industry based. The way at looking at capitalism
as a world view which manifested more in the industrial revolution also made way to
new ways of thinking in the changing social structures.
Creative Destruction and Life and Death of Industries

Creative destruction is a concept coined by Austrian economist Joseph Schumpeter.

The main idea is that to have innovation and create new things, old structures are
needed to be destroyed. This idea could be argued to be first manifested in the
case of the Luddites and was recently observed in the case of Blockbuster, CDs to
USB to Cloud Storage, etc.

Case of the Luddites.

The Luddites are members of a movement in industrial revolution England in the

1800s. They were textile worker that began burning textile factories. Their main
motivation would be that the new textile machines would replace the workers.
[create: new machines that are efficient in making new textiles, destroy: livelihood of
workers].

Other examples of Creative Destruction.

1. Cars  More efficient transport than horses; impact on the work of coachmen,
stable persons, and horse manure street cleaners.
2. Discovery of Kerosene  More efficient gas for lighting; less work for whalers that
hunt whales for their oil.
3. Email  better and faster way to communicate readable material to other people;
eventual destruction of postal system.
4. Internet and Online Learning  more efficient and free way to disseminate
knowledge; possible destruction of the current educational system.

In the lens of creative destruction as a philosophy, we can look at how new tools
shaped our society and simultaneously look at old structures that were left behind
when these new tools/concepts were adopted. Revisiting our framework in Figure
1, the word “shapes” can be seen both as creating new ways and destroying old
ways.

Spread of Western Sciences

The changes experienced by Britain, Europe, and the United States from
industrialization and from advances from the sciences and technology were
eventually spread by the Western powers to other parts of the world mostly through
their colonies and via trade. George Basalla proposed three phases in the spread of
Western Science to their colonies.

The three phases are namely:

1. The colonies as source of scientific knowledge for the colonizers.

2. The colonies are dependent on the colonizers for their scientific training and lastly.
3. The former colonies have an independent scientific tradition.

One of the main issues worth discussing is whether colonies would be better off
without the colonizers’ influence and spread of Western Science.

Case of India and the Philippines in the Basalla Framework of Spread of

Western Science.

Phases Development of Railway Establishment of Public

System in India (British)
1st phase India is a source of
knowledge for crops (e.g.
tea and cotton) for the
Britisih
2nd phase Training of Engineers to
construct railway system
in India.
Health System in
Philippines (American)
Philippines is a source of
studying tropical diseases
for the American
Scientists (e.g. Leprosy,
Tuberculosis, Malaria,
Dengue, etc.)
Establishment of the
Public Health System in
the Philippines.

Possible Motivation for Possible Motivation for

British: Lack of
personnel from England
that will help in
construction of railway
that can hasten transport
of raw materials from
India.
3rd phase Presence of universities
and training of engineers
independent from British
American: Control of
diseases to protect the
American colonizers
assigned in the
Philippines.
Existence of a
Department of Health and
public health system
independent from the
influence of the
Americans.
References
1. Social Aspects of Science and Technology:
https://cseweb.ucsd.edu/~goguen/courses/275f00/s2.html
2. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Base-superstructure_Dialectic.png
3. Toffler, Alvin. 1981. The third wave. New York: Bantam Books.
4.  Reinert, Hugo; Reinert, Erik S. (2006). Creative Destruction in Economics:
Nietzsche, Sombart, Schumpeter. The European Heritage in Economics and the
Social Sciences. Springer. pp. 55–85
5. Basalla, G., 1967. The Spread of Western Science. Science, 156(3775), pp.611-
622.
6. Tiglao, T. 1997, A Century of Public Health in the Philippines,
https://bit.ly/2Z8k60v