Unit:

1 General Concepts and

STS Historical Development

Human creativity is beyond limit that even our ancestors might not have imagined that our
status of science and technology would be as robust as today. Our current understanding about
the nature and the world is a result of constant over throwing of paradigm wherein an old
paradigm like Geocentric Model is replaced by a paradigm that has a higher content and
explanatory power like the Heliocentric Model. Such is termed scientific revolution. This is just
one of the many theories that were challenged in the history of Science and have helped
shaped our society.

Development of Science and Technology does not only leave indelible impact in the history but
its trail can be traced by its influence in our society and country as a whole. In this unit, you will
learn how science and technology has greatly influenced the development of the Philippine
society. You will evaluate different government policies and programs to see how they have
shaped the nation. You will also learn significant inventions and projects accomplished by
Filipinos that greatly develop the countries’ science and technology, and have been a major
contributor to the Philippine nation-building.

This unit will allow you to time travel through the antecedents of science and technology; lets
you investigate how the present status of science and technology came into being, and explore
the major turns in the course of global and national history that led it to its exhilarating and
captivating development.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of this unit, students will be able to:

Discuss the interactions between S&T and society throughout history;

Discuss how scientific and technological developments affect society and the
environment;
Discuss the paradigm shifts through history;
Explain how intellectual revolution changes the way how humans see the world;
Describe the technological advancements that happened in the information age;
Explain the role of Science and Technology in Philippine nation building;
Evaluate government policies pertaining to science and technology in terms of their
contributions to nation building; and
Identify actual science and technology policies of the government and appraise their
impact on the development of the Filipino nation
Topic : 1 Historical Antecedents in the Course of Science
and Technology

Learning Objectives

At the end of this topic, students will be able to:

Discuss how scientific and technological developments affect society; and
Explain the impact of the development of science and technology to the environment

Activating Prior Learning

In order to understand past, one has to look back and revisit it. In like manner, we are
going to take a look at our very rich history and study what are the major turns in the
development of Science and Technology that had led us to the innovation of cutting edge and
sophisticated Technology in the present.
Your task is to fill in the K-W-L chart below by jotting down what you have known and
what are the things that you would like to know about our historical antecedents in terms of
Science and Technology.

What I already Know What I Want to know What I have Learned

Presentation of Contents

Science and Technology in Ancient Times

Historical Antecedents in the Course of Science and Technology

In the ancient times, people were concerned with transportation and navigation, communication
and record keeping, mass production, security and protection, as well as health, aesthetics and
architecture. Science and Technology keeps on advancing in order to meet the growing needs of
people along these areas. Due to the constant innovation introduced by Science and Technology,
which has the end goal of improving lives and making the work easier, faster and efficient, our
society respond by changing as well. These changes are evident as each ancient civilization keep on
creating technology that has been modified and that is being used today.

To name a few, Sumerian are known for their contribution with the first writing system called as
cuneiform. Challenge to mass produce food, they invented plowing, irrigation and dikes and wheel
for farming. Throughout the existence of this civilization, their main mode of transportation was
through waterways such as rivers and seas. They are also known to develop the first road.

Figure 1.1 Sumerian Cuneiform ("Redirect Notice", 2019)

On the other hand, Babylonian civilization, which emerged near Tigris and Euphrates River were
famous for being great builders, engineers and architects. One of major contributions is the hanging
garden of Babylon which one of the seven wonders of the world.

Figure 1.2 Hanging Garden of Babylon ("Image: Hanging Gardens of Babylon - Wikipedia", 2019)

Another civilization that is known for its renowned archeological artifact like the death mask of
Tutankhamen and Pyramid of Giza is the Egyptian Civilization. Also, ancient Egyptians are known for
their earlier contributions like water clock or clypsedra, paper or papyrus, ink and a system of
writing known as hieroglyphics. They have also invented cosmetics for aesthetic reason. Meanwhile,
during this time, wigs were worn by wealthy Egyptians to protect the shave of the heads from the
harmful rays of the sun.

Figure 1.3 Death Mask ("Google
Image Result for
https://www.timetrips.co.uk/ep-
tutmask1.jpg", 2019)
Figure 1.4 Pyramid of Giza ("Google Image
Result for
https://cdn.images.express.co.uk/img/dynami
c/25/590x/Can-you-see-the-flaw-682241.jpg",
2019)

Figure 1.5 Papyrus ("Image: Papyrus

Figure 1.6 Hieroglyphics ("Image: Hieroglyph |
in Ancient Egypt | Essay | Heilbrunn
writing character | Britannica.com", 2019)
Timeline of Art ...", 2019)

Apart from being the birthplace of western philosophy, some of the major achievements of Greeks
include in-depth works on Philosophy and Mathematics. They are also celebrated for their
contribution to the world like coliseum, Olympics, alarm clock and water mill .
 Figure 1.7 Olympics ("Image: The Olympic Figure 1.6 Greek Coliseum
Games [ushistory.org]", 2019) ("Image: the coliseum (greece) -
YouTube", 2019)

Perceived to be the strongest political and social entity in the west, Roman Empire was considered
to be the cradle of politics and governance. Other civilizations looked up to it as a model in terms of
codified laws and legislation. They are also celebrated for the invention of newspaper, bound books
or codex. In terms of architecture and engineering, Romans are known for building elaborate
churches, basilicas, aqueducts, coliseums, amphitheaters and residential houses. They have also
devised their own number system which is the Roman Numeral System.

Figure 1.8 Roman numeral system ("Google

Figure 1. Roman aqueduct ("Image:
Image Result for
Roman Aqueducts— Ancient
http://historylearning.com/fileadmin/user_
Engineering Marvels", 2019)
upload/roman-numerals.jpg", 2019)

Considered to be the oldest civilization in Asia, China is known for the silk trade, tea production, gun
powder and the living legend great wall of China.
Figure 1.10 Silk Road ("Image: Silk Road - Figure 1.11 The Great Wall of China
HISTORY", 2019) ("Image: Great Wall -", 2019)

Science and Technology in Middle Ages

The start of the Middle Ages was marred by massive invasions and migrations. Wars are
prevalent during this time. As such, great technology was needed in the fields of weaponry,
navigation, food and farm production and health. The wars have resulted to population decline.
However, in the later part of this period, there was significant increase in population. Trade and
commerce among nations increased, which resulted in greater demands for transportation
technology. Some of the most innovative minds came from this period.
To facilitate record keeping, woodblock printing developed by Chinese was improved by the
time of Johann Gutenberg with a cast type printing press. This general invention soon evolved
to be the mechanical printing press which was eventually used all over the world. The printing
press was invented to address the need for publishing books that would spread information to
many people at a faster rate. This invention also made works accessible to individuals who
could not even write (Streissguth, 1997).

Figure 1.12 Johann Gutenberg Printing Press

("Image: Johannes Gutenberg Printing Press Stock Photos & Johannes ...", 2019)

Another invention in the Middle Age is the microscope. Growing populations caused massive
migration and urbanization during the period. More and more people transferred to polluted and
populated urban areas which resulted in more people getting sick. With this, experts needed to
a device to study microorganisms to develop proper medicines for illnesses. Guided by the
principles used for the invention of eyeglasses in earlier years, Zacharias Janssen was able to
develop the first compound microscope (Davidson, 2015).

Figure 1.13 Zacharias Janssen’s Microscope ("Image: Molecular Expressions Microscopy Primer: Museum of
Microscopy ...", 2019)

Since the Middle Age was also known as the Age of Exploration, the need for nautical
inventions was high. The invention of the telescope, an optical instrument that helps in the
observation of remote objects, was a great help for navigators during this time.

Great development in the weaponry technology also occurred in this era. This includes cross
bows and long bows. Additionally, in close range hand-to-hand combat, soldiers should wear
something to protect themselves, a need addressed by the creation of iron body armors.
However, body armors were heavy and limited the movements of the soldiers, chainmail was
invented to solve the problem.

Science and Technology in Modern Times

The booming world population during the nineteenth century onwards demanded that more
goods be produced at faster rate. People needed efficient means of transportation to trade more
goods and cover a larger distance. Machines that required animals to operate must thus be
upgraded. Faster and easier means to communicate and compute should be developed to
establish connections between and among nations. All these needs resulted in the development
of industries. However, due to massive industrialization, the modern times again faced more
complicated problems. Food processing and medicine posed some of the bigger challenges
since health was of great concern.

As people were able to develop better means of production to meet the needs of the population,
food preservation and food safety became an issue. Louis Pasteur, a French biologist,
microbiologist and chemist found a way to solve the problem. He invented pasteurization, the
process of heating dairy products to kill the harmful bacteria that allow them to spoil faster.
Through this process, milk could be stored and consumed for a longer period. It also prevented
illnesses caused by harmful bacteria (Macalester College, 2010). Other contributions of Pasteur
to Science and Technology and Medicine included his works on molecular asymmetry,
fermentation and vaccination.
The modern times demanded better means of powering homes and transportation. This led to
the development of kerosene and the petroleum refinery industry (Skrabec, 2010). At present,
petroleum is widely used in powering automobiles, factories, and power plants, among others.

The more people got connected by trade and exploration, the more they needed a way to easily
maintain these connections and communicate with each other in real time. Governments
likewise needed communication system which would allow them to administer their states well.
Important day-to-day decisions must be discussed and addressed at the fastest time possible.
Thus, the invention of telephone by Alexander Graham Bell was one of the most important
inventions at that time.

Figure 1.15 Alexander Graham Bell’s Telephone ("Image: Inventor of the Telephone: Alexander Graham Bell -
Learning History", 2019)

Although an earlier version of the calculator had already been developed, circumstances in
the modern times required a faster way to compute more complicated equations.
Computing devices must also be easy to carry since they would be utilized on a day-to-day
basis. The creation of modern calculators did not only pave the way for easier arithmetic
calculations, but also resulted in the development of more complex processing machines
like computer.
 Application

Your task

1. Write down the top 10 invention in the World and in the Philippines
2. Determine persisting needs were addressed by each invention
3. Briefly discuss the impact of each invention to society

Feedback
 1. Fill in “What I have Learned” column by writing down what you have learned from this
topic

What I already Know What I Want to know What I have Learned

2. Create a collage on the inventions in the Philippines and the world

References:

A History of Science and Technology in the Philippines by Olivia C. Caoili

Retrieved from: https://tuxdoc.com/download/history-of-science-and-technology-in-the-
philippines_pdf#download-require
McNamara, D., Valverde, V., & Beleno, R. (2018). Science, Technology, and Society (1st ed.,
pp. 1-128). Quezon City: C&E Publishing Inc.
Ratnasiri, N., 2006. The role of Science and Technology in nation building. Journal of the
National Science Foundation of Sri Lanka, 34(3), p.113. DOI:
http://doi.org/10.4038/jnsfsr.v34i3.3640
Module in Science, Technology and Society by Gerlie Urbi Bayani, et al. Retrieved from
http://scribd.com/download/module-in-science-technology-and-society_pdf

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