LESSON 2: Historical Antecedents in which Social

Considerations that Changed the

Course of Science and Technology.

1
GEC 17 STS
LESSON 2
Historical Antecedents in which Social Considerations that Changed the
Course of Science and Technology
Lesson 2: Historical Antecedents in which Social Considerations that Changed
the Course of Science and Technology.

Learning Objectives

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

1. trace the roots of science, technology to the ancient times,
2. appreciate the historical development and interaction of science, technology, and society, and
3. understand the factors leading to the industrial revolution.

INTRODUCTION

Knowledge of the roots of science and technology and of the general organization of society contributes
significantly to the understanding of man and of the worlds he lives in. In this unit, we shall trace the beginning
of science, technology and society from 2,500 B.C. up to the present century. For this purpose, we shall
conveniently divide the past into three periods before the industrial revolution, the industrial revolution and
the post-industrial revolution.

This is world history from the specific perspective of the interactions of science, technology, and society.

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY BEFORE THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

Ancient Times

The stretch of time referred to here ranged from about 2.5 million before Christ was born (BC) to about the
time of the birth of Christ. You may ask, “why do we have to go that far and a science of our roots?”.

Even at these earliest times, a pattern emerged that is not the different from the pattern we see today. We refer
to the pattern of the interaction of man in society with his material environment. The pattern may be stated
thus: man’s mode of living is determined by his ability to use his material environment; and this ability depends
on his knowledge (or lack of knowledge) of the material environment.

We shall see this pattern unfold as we discuss the different periods of the ancient times: the Paleolithic age, the
Neolithic age, the Bronze age, and the Iron age.

The Paleolithic age marked the first appearance of man on planet earth. It stretched from about 2.5 million BC
to about 8 thousand BC as readily be appreciated the earliest man had yet the most primitive notions of his
material environment. The economy then, so to speak, was based on food gathering and hunting. It was wholly
dependent on what was available in nature: fruits and root crops to be gathered and wild animals to be hunted.

The tools be used to enhance his physical capacity were readily found in his environment – stone implements
shaped by accident that suited his purpose spears, bows, slings, and others were crafted in a most primitive
form.

2
GEC 17 STS
LESSON 2
Historical Antecedents in which Social Considerations that Changed the
Course of Science and Technology
His food production could support big communities. It is, thus, understandable that the social organization in
this period was that of small social groups. Smallness suited greater mobility from one area to another as they
chased with great uncertainty food for survival. Episodic feast and regular fast alternated as big kills came and
went.

This hungry-today-filled-tomorrow mode of living did not afford time for other activities except hunting and
gathering food. Thus, we do not expect great intellectual and cultural achievement in the period. Besides,
mankind was yet in its beginnings. Yet, the hunting rites, burial rites, their magic and myths were manifestations
of their attempt to understand the forces that shaped them and their environment. Their plant and animal are
may be said to be the beginning of biology and medicine. Their rites, magic, and myths bay be said to lead to
what we now call science.

This is a first illustration of the pattern we stated above: Paleolithic man’s knowledge for (or lack thereof)
determined his ability to use his environment, which ability in turn determined his mode of living in society. It
may be said to be a classless society.

We now move to the neolithic age, or new stone age, so-called because of the marked advance in techniques
as manifested in the tools used compare to the previous age. This period covered from about 8,000 BC to about
3,000 BC. The first period AGRICULTURE. We may never know how it came about but neolithic man
discovered the domestication of plants and animals. It started with shifting how culture and settled into
permanent fields. Equally momentous was he purposeful growing of animals for food, wool, and draft use.

This settled-agriculture economy gave rise to a new social organization – the villages. It was a drastic change:
from small nomadic groups to settled units called villages based on agriculture.

Spinning weaving, pottery, baking and brewing were some of the activities. The hallmark of their technique is
the use of ground stone tools, whose imprint spoke of design, standard, and tradition. These three elements
were and are important ingredients on the march of civilization. Design stands of the mental ability to abstract
and manipulate images, to project into the future Standard means the conception of an ideal - ideal spear, arc,
hammer- by which and to which skills and abilities were guided and motivated. Tradition stands for the
community that passed on the design and standard to the young generation.

The demand of sowing and harvesting gave rise to a calendar for use on agriculture. The settled life of the
village, where neolithic man had a degree of control of his food production, afforded him time for other
intellectual and cultural achievements such as geometric design, symbolism, and myths in creation.

The pattern is again clearly demonstrated here. The change of techniques in food production dictated the social
arrangement of villages. The Neolithic period marked the start of the active transformation by man of his
environment. Also, it marked the emergence of social differences.

Next came the period called the bronze age, dating from about 3,000 BC to about 1,000 BC. The name comes
from the fact that the new dormant element is the use of the alloy bronze. Techniques and technology in food
production advanced as attested by the use of irrigation, water-lifting devices, canals and dams. Improvements
in transport came along as demonstrated by roads, sail boats, wheeled carts, horse-drawn chariots. We will see
the key role of transport in the rise if commerce and the market economy.

New tools, materials, and processes can be deduced from some activities engaged in this period: mining and
smelting copper and bronze casting, riveting and soldering metal vessels, brick and stone building, furniture
making and lazed pottery making, these practical knowledge and techniques were completed by works of the

3
GEC 17 STS
LESSON 2
Historical Antecedents in which Social Considerations that Changed the
Course of Science and Technology
mind such as: accounting, ideographic signs, numbers, writing and measures, arithmetic and geometry, solar
calendar, astronomy, professional medicine.

This wider set of technical and intellectual activities and achievements gave rise to (supported) and arose from
(were demanded by) the formation of cities and classes within society. Gods and temples, priests and kings,
craftsmen, traders, law, property, debt, city states and war, empires and slavery - these were the ingredients in
the interplay of social forces in the more complex organization of this period.

Techniques, technology and understanding of Nature advanced into the iron age (l ,000 BC- 600 AD), so-called
by the new dominant element - iron. Increased forest clearance and ploughing, waterwheels and pumps, gears
and pulleys and improved sea-going ships were some of the improvements in food production and transport.
Improved and cheaper tools and weapons, catapults and other machines, improved preparation of drugs and
dyes, and glass-characterized the new tools, materials and processes. Alongside, the period generated alphabets,
literature, coined money, philosophy and rational science.

In the social front, trading cities, politics, republican government, rise of plutocracy social struggles, intensified
warfare characterized the period.

Both the bronze age and the iron age again demonstrate the interlink age between techniques, technology and
the social organization of man.

In the ancient times, we find the roots of science and technology of today; the roots of the present social
arrangement. We may say that science and technology can be traced back to the practical activities of ancient
man to satisfy his material needs - food and protection from the elements. This included even astronomy and
mathematics, which are commonly regarded as impractical and abstract. Equally, our social groupings of today
can be traced back to the villages and cities of the ancient times.

MIDDLE AGES

We now move on to the period of world history known as the Middle ages, about 395 AD. We remind ourselves
that we are looking at history from a specific viewpoint that of the interaction of science, technology, and
society. This means that we focus on the main aspects of history directly contributing to our specific
objective.

Due to the intense economic and political struggles arising from the money-slave economy, the classical
civilization - Greek and Roman - declined and eventually disintegrated. From the Roman, plutocratic, slave
economy’s disintegration grew a new decentralized economic and political system - the economic and political
order of feudalism. The economy of the feudal order was based on land, with the village constituting as
economic unit. Its motive power, so to speak was the sweat and labour of the peasants who were forced to
yield part of the produced to lords in the form of rent, taxes, or feudal service, the hierarchy of authority was
the following: the peasants to the lords-lay or clerical; the lords to the overlords to the pope or emperor.
Another dominant characteristic of the period was the pervasiveness of the religious view: theology held sway
over the minds of people. It is called the age of faith - Christianity, Islam, Buddhism. All intellectual life,
including science was expressed in religious dogma; was confined to churchmen. The feudal system of
production was conductive to the advance of science. Demand for useful science was reduced to a minimum.
The activity of note was the codification of the classical sciences - astronomy, medicine, mathematics - resulting
in comprehensive treatises. Science was confined to book learning and disputation. Rational science was made
a handmaiden to theology in justifying the divine order of the universe whose main features are given in the
Bible.
4
GEC 17 STS
LESSON 2
Historical Antecedents in which Social Considerations that Changed the
Course of Science and Technology
On the other hand, other economic forms were growing up inside the feudal system, trading and urban
manufacturing economy. Where feudal surplus was great, towns began to grow again. Manufactured goods by
guilds for handicrafts were exchanged with the surplus products of the feudal economy. This manufacturing
movement by the guilds gave birth to the bourgeois class that would prominently figure in the rise of capitalism
in the later centuries. The movement also gave birth to utilitarian science. It equally gave significant impetus
to technical innovations. Technical advances continued in the feudal order, even as science was stagnating, they
were a source of transportation of the medieval economy. In agriculture, new developments came along such
as the three-field system, the heavy-wheeled plough. The developments in the transport and power were: collar,
shoes, and stirrup for the horse, mariner’s compass, clock, sternpost rudder, windmill, water mill improved
sailing ship.

Other notable innovations were the use of lenses, alcohol, paper, printing, gunpowder, cannons. Some of these
inventions such as gunpowder and cannons directly stimulated the growth of the sciences of physics and
chemistry. Moreover, both the cannon and gunpowder played key roles in politics and economics – winning
wars and accumulation of capital respectively.

In summary, there was impressive total technical development in manufacture and transport in the middle ages,
these technical developments were motive force for the transformation of the medieval economy. These
advances in technique contrast with the near stagnation of science. The widespread religious attitude and feudal
system of production militated against the development of science. Before proceeding to the next period, we
would like to take a special look at science and technology in Islamic, Indian, and Chinese during the middle
ages. Our special interest is focused on the issue of the influence of culture on the development of science and
technology.

Our interest is based on the following observations. One, Islamic, Indian, and Chinese societies in the middle
ages had knowledge of materials and developed techniques comparable to those in European countries at the
time. Two, the Chinese society, in particular, apparently had more advanced technical capabilities than
European countries. China was ahead of any country in the discovery and invention of such materials and
techniques as paper magnetic compass, printing, gunpowder, cast iron, mechanical clock. These two
observations prompt us to ask two related questions why is it that modern science did not develop in China,
given the advanced state of knowledge and techniques in China during the middle ages? On the other hand,
why did China have a more advance state of knowledge and techniques, compared to Europe?

Joseph Needham, a scholar who studied China for 30 years, offers some tentative answer. Accordingly to him,
the answer primarily lies in the social, intellectual and economic structure of Chinese civilization. Specifically,
Needham singles out the non-interventionist world view of the Chinese of human activity. Two quotations
aptly encapsulate the sense of this non-interventionist attitude “production without possession, action without
self-assertion, development without domination”, and going with the grain of things instead of going against
it”. The attitude so described was favourable to reflection upon the world of Nature: to penetrate as far as
possible into the mechanisms of the neutral world and to utilize its sources of power while intervening directly
as little as possible, using a sit were “action at a distance”.

Furthermore, Needham claims that the kind of thinking so described predisposed the Chinese to seek the
achievement of effects with an economy of means. It was conductive to investigations of Nature for practical
ends. Along this line the Chinese invented the seismograph, casting of iron and water power. It was equally
conducive to the development of the natural sciences. The Chinese predilection for action at a distance led the
discovery of the nature of tides; to the discovery of the phenomenon of magnetism. Thus far we have discussed
the answer to the second of the two questions we asked. The other “face” so to speak of the same non-
interventionist world view equally provides the answer to the first question. In short, the non-interventionist
attitude was incapable of letting the mercantile mentality have a leading role in Chinese society. Thus, it was
5
GEC 17 STS
LESSON 2
Historical Antecedents in which Social Considerations that Changed the
Course of Science and Technology
not capable of fusing together the practical techniques of the craftsmen with the methods in the mathematical
and logical reasoning of the scholars. This fusing as we shall see in the next period, was a necessary ingredient
in the birth of modern science.

RENAISSANCE AND THE SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION

The period covered the years from 1450 to 1690. It covered the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries. The economy
of feudalism was incompatible with the rise of towns, trading and industry. The production of commodities for
sale steadily increased. This non-feudal economic arrangement eventually led to a new economy. As a result,
the period saw the development of capitalism as the leading method of production. In the beginning, the
economic factor was dominant: the conditions for the rise of capitalism made the rise of experimental science
(modern science) possible and necessary. The transformation from the feudal to the capitalist economy was
accompanied by a change in world outlook. From the organic, qualitative, religious world view, it changed to
the mechanistic, quantitative, secular world outlook. The orientation changed from one of reconciliation with
the world as it was to one of controlling Nature through knowledge of its laws. The period also saw the marriage
of the theory of the learned and the techniques of the artisans. As already noted, this fusion played a key role
in the birth of modern science and technology. For our discussion, we shall divide the period covering the
Renaissance and the Scientific Revolution into three phase: the first phase covered the years 1450-1540, the
second phase 1540-1650, and the third phase 1650-1690. These were phases of a single process of
transformation from the feudal to the capitalist economy.

First phase 1450-1540

The mentality of the period can be discerned from the movement to change the system of social from one
based on a fixed hereditary status to one based on buying and selling communities and labour. The major
economic factor that provided the drive for the movement was the rapid expansion of trade, made possible by
a greater available surplus. The greater surplus, in turn, was the result of technical improvements in agriculture,
cloth-making.

Greed for more profits from overseas trade stimulated the rapid development of shipbuilding and navigation
in Europe, resulting in the easy availability of the surplus produced to an ever widening market. The huge
profits made possible the first accumulation of fluid capital which was invested in productive enterprises. The
interplay of profit, manufacture, and market created an increasing demand for and an environment conductive
to inventions, innovations and understanding of the ways of Nature, this demand and environment led the
marriage of the craftsmen to the scholar. Social prestige and recognition was accorded individuals who
combined mental work and manual labour. The practical manual work was no longer regarded as only fit for
slaves but fitted the man of learning as well. The explosive combination of technique and theory led to the
establishment of the scientific method- of modern science as we know it today. We may cite navigation’s as
example: it demanded the use of the science of astronomy and instrumentation. The period saw great men such
as Da Vinci, Copernicus, Vesalius. Such men so to speak, were the catalysts in the social transformation during
the first phase of the period in focus.

Second Phase 1540-1650

With the fusion of the practical techniques of the craftsman with the theoretical methods of the scholar, a new
class of man came to the fore- the experimental philosophers. Such men as Galileo, Gilbert, Harvey to name a
few belong to this class. They spearheaded the advance in the sciences. Thinking about Nature was no longer
6
GEC 17 STS
LESSON 2
Historical Antecedents in which Social Considerations that Changed the
Course of Science and Technology
guided by philosophical principles, but by hard facts carefully gathered from experiments. The mental
framework of the new experimental philosophers the scientist as we call them today found itself more and
more at variance with the religious attitude. Whereas religion fostered the attitude of taking things on faith and
authority, the new scientific thinking promoted a critical questioning mind and recognized no authority
including the revelation in the Bible, except the revelation of Nature as found in experiments. The new spirit
was aptly expressed by Galileo when he said “the Bible teaches us how to go to heaven, but not how the
heavens go”. The hold of religion on the minds of men gradually loosened and was displaced by the secular
preoccupations and fascinations that science offered. The period saw the parting of ways of religion and science.

Technology advanced independently of science. The blast furnace the cast iron and the use of coat instead of
wood were some of the developments. Real technical advances were made by small men building up capital out
of their profits. Economically, the period was dominated by the cumulative effects of navigation for trade. It
resulted in as unprecedented increase in the wealth of those traders and manufacturers who could draw on new
raw materials and supply new markets overseas. The increased wealth grew bigger wit further investment.

Third Phase 1650-1690

Science came of age in this period, the growth of science was intense and concentrated. The two foci were
London and Paris. The enabling political condition was the stable governments in England and France at that
time. The great increase in manufacture and trade, together with the new possibilities opened by navigation,
put a high premium for mechanical invention. Equally, the condition was highly conductive for the growth of
science. Scientist were recognized and honored. The motivation lay in the common interests by governments
in trade, navigations, manufactures and agriculture. There was an organized and conscious effort to use science
for practical ends. The organization took the form of scientific societies. Thus, the period marked the formation
of the two famous scientific societies, the Royal Society of London and the French Royal Academy. The task
these scientist set for themselves was to concentrate on the central technical problems of the time
- pumping, hydraulics, gunnery, navigation, optics, vacuum. They resolved to avoid general philosophical
discussions. We single out here the problem of navigation. It was a great stimulus to the advancement of science
because the attack on this problem brought two earlier sciences, mechanics and astronomy in the great
Newtonian synthesis. With the formation of scientific societies, science established itself as a fully
recognized factor in culture, as a new institution in society.

CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS

During the period of the Scientific Revolution, we saw the break from the forms of feudalism and from the
Church. The old ways were replaced by capitalism the emerging economic arrangement, and by modem science
the emerging method of acquiring knowledge and tool for exercising dominion over the earth. We note the
nearly simultaneous birth of capitalism and modern science. The question of the cause and effect relationship
between the two may not be resolved What is clear though, is that the spirit that gave birth to capitalism was
the same spirit that gave birth to modem science which followed closely that of capitalism. During this period
until the end of the 18th century, science got more from industry than it could yet give back. Yet, the great
success in navigation by the emerging scientific method was enough to prove its worth. Consequently, new
science became part of the emerging capitalist system of social organization.

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

The conventional dates referred to as the time of the Industrial Revolution are from 1760 to 1840 (80 years).
We will adopt the extended period, in the manner of Bernal, which ranged from 1690 to 1895 (205 years).
7
GEC 17 STS
LESSON 2
Historical Antecedents in which Social Considerations that Changed the
Course of Science and Technology
Following J.D. Bernal’s analysis, we will divide the period into four phases: (1) first phase, 1690-1760 (70
years). (2) second phase, 1760-1830 (70 years); (3) third phase, 1830-1870 (40 years); and (4) fourth phase, 1870-
1895 (25 years). After the fourth phases, we will discuss the conditions for industrialization. The Industrial
Revolution may be described as the rapid socio-economic transformation from agricultural to manufacture,
with the population moving from the countryside to towns/cities, where the production of goods was on the
manner of factories rather than of home workshops. It was the outcome of the confluence of technological
developments and the economic, social, cultural, and political changes. The Industrial Revolution signified a
radical transformation of man’s way of working and living. The present world arrangement is largely the effect
of this transformation.

As we discuss the period, it is helpful to keep the following questions in mind. What was the role of technology and
techniques, of science, of economics and sociocultural factors? What was the interrelationship between the factors? Can the Philippines
be an industrialized country?

FOUR PHASES OF THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

The first phase ranged from 1690 to 1760. It served as a transitional period to the industrial revolution proper
in these transitional years, science waned after the outburst of scientific activity in the 17th century.
Technological change, however, continued as evidence by the rapid improvement in agricultural practices. The
small manufacturers who would play a key role in the industrial revolution are not yet aware of the existence of
science and its great possibilities. They continued developing better method - for the most part hand operated
- to cope with rising demands for cloth and manufactured articles. With greater availability of capital,
towns and cities rapidly grew. Freed from the limits of wood fuel, a new heavy industry based on coal expanded
rapidly. The period saw the transition from an economy of food to an economy of power.

The second phase, lasting 70 years from 1760 to 1830, is what is conventionally regarded as the Industrial
Revolution proper. The capitalist mode of production together with the birth of the experimental quantitative
method of science in the 16th and 17th centuries pave the way to the dramatic rise in productivity of
manufactured goods. There was a five-fold increase in the output of cotton goods between 1766 to 1787 in a
span of 21 years. The suction force, so to speak, that pulled production up was the expanding market. A steady
rapid growth of the market for manufactured products, mainly textiles, remained during the period and
beyond, the widespread use of iron and the shift to coal for fuel greatly contributed to further raise the level of
economic activity.

The heart of the Industrial Revolution, or the leading edge, to use the current phraseology was the mechanization
of the textile industry from manual operation to machinery, whereby the weariness of muscle and mind arising
from repetitive and monotonous work was replaced by the wear and tear of inanimate parts. First, the
machinery was water-driven, then, it was driven by the steam engine. In essence, what happened was the
replacement of the “muscle power” of man by the engine, thereby raising the productivity per unit time many
times over. The replacement got ever more sophisticated as the years went by. This has continued to the present
day.

On the other hand, the demand for agriculture to be efficient rose. As the manufacturing population grew in
towns or cities, demand for food for non-farm families increased. For this reason, a new cash-crop agriculture
replaced the peasants and their subsistence agriculture. Scientist were not the creators and movers of the
industrial revolution. It was the artisans and the inventors. Indeed the leading edge developments in textiles did
occur without the use of any radically new scientific principle.

8
GEC 17 STS
LESSON 2
Historical Antecedents in which Social Considerations that Changed the
Course of Science and Technology
At the start, science played ancillary role, it slowly increased in importance with the introduction of the steam
engine in the light and heavy industries. The steam engine was the result of a conscious application of scientific
principles. The search for a reliable source of power was a problem raided by industry. Such problems
stimulated a new outburst of scientific activity. Science during the Industrial Revolution may be characterized
as an activity closely integrated into the mechanisms of production. Through power engineering, chemistry,
electricity, science was support of the industrial revolution. Henceforth, science became indispensable to
industry.

The third phase market the heyday of capitalism. It lasted for forty years, from 1830 to 1870. It was a time of
explosive growth. New cities were established. New means of transport were introduced - railways, steamships.
A new class of capitalist entrepreneurs rose amidst a burgeoning industrial activity. Unfortunately, it was also a
time of extravagant wealth side by side with grinding poverty.

Science and technology grew in importance. The demand of industry resulted in the faster growth of the
applications of science than the growth of science itself. As a consequence, engines were in ever greater need
than scientists. The invention of the telegraph an application of the science of electricity, made possible a faster
mode of communication. The industrial linkage effect resulted in the established of new science-based
industries such as chemical industries for the manufacture of soda and sulphuric acid. Both chemicals were in
great demand by the textile industry. Science, after 200 years of opposition, finally became accepted in
universities.

The fourth phase signaled the beginnings of modern imperialism. The years were from 1870 -1895 (25 years).
The use of machines in manufacturing turned out great quantities of output. The surplus production by the
capitalist entrepreneurs had to find markets. At the same time, to continue the high volume of production,
the capitalist entrepreneurs had to have a ready source of cheap raw materials in order to maximize profits.

This led to the exploitation of the backward countries as a source of cheap raw materials and as market of
manufactured goods. As to science and technology, the period saw the large-scale application of science to war.
A more reliable and stronger source of power was introduced- the internal combustion engine. This motive
power would drastically change the mode of transport. Another equally, if not more, significant development
was the heavy electrical industry. Then, as now, this industry was monopolistic and scientific from the outset.
It spun off the so called industrial research laboratory.

CONDITIONS FOR INDUSTRIALIZATION

Have we take a different look at the process of the Industrial Revolution. For this purpose, we divide our
discussion into,
(a) the changes involved in the process if industrialization;
(b) the factors for industrialization.

The changes involved in the industrialization process may be classed into,

(a) technological changes and
(b) non-technological changes.

It may be said that the technological changes were necessary ingredients, without which industrialization would
have been not possible. The new materials such as iron and steel, the new energy sources such as coal, electricity
and petroleum, and the new motive power such as the steam engine and the internal combustion engine these
constituted the core elements in the industrial production of goods. Given these element, more efficient
production was attained by a new organization of work-division of labour and specialization of function. The
9
GEC 17 STS
LESSON 2
Historical Antecedents in which Social Considerations that Changed the
Course of Science and Technology
continuous supply of raw materials and the marketing products heavily depended on new technological
developments in transportation and communication. Not to be overlooked, were the technological
improvements in agriculture for the production of adequate food supply for the growing non-farming urban
population.

Concomitant with the changes in technology were the non-technological changes economic, political, social
and cultural. The wider distribution of wealth, the transfer of investment from land to industrial production,
growth of large-scale international trade, and advancement of capitalistic growth characterized the
economic changes. The political changes reflected the economic shifts-such as new institutions, novel
government policies. Urbanization, the rise of working-class movements, and the emergence of new patterns
of authority were some of the features of the social changes. Lastly, changes in the culture of people were
inevitable.

Workers acquired new skills and a new relation to his work from hand worker to machine operator. Man’s view
of Nature shifted from administration to control and exploitation. From these changes, we move on to the
factors for industrialization. Then, as mow, capital, labor and market played key roles. Investment in machinery,
funding to carry invention to actual production, and the establishment of a working banking system required
capital, the mere existence of capital was not enough-it had to be available for investment. Both the quantity
and quality of labor were needed in the factories. To attain profitability, the mass-produced goods had to find
markets. Raw materials, transportation linkage, and the engineers and entrepreneurs were important factors for
industrialization. Mineral’s and other natural resources had to be present and made available by the existence
of a requisite technology to exploit them. The sources of raw materials, the factories, and the markets had to
be linked together. As a result, the 18th century was a period of great road-and canal building activity.
Equally significant were the government policies and the social attitude of people.

During the Industrial Revolution, first achieved in England, government policy shifted from one of bias for
agriculture to one of allowing business and industry to develop at it pleased. Overall, the government provided
a milieu favourable to industrial growth. For industrialization to take root, the social milieu had to provide a
nurturing environment. Profit-making was respected and socially acceptable. A secular and quantitative
approach to the world; stress on material goals; the emphasis on hand work, sobriety, thrift, and the relentless
pursuit of one’s calling; and the general attitude if receptiveness to new ideas-all these were the social attitudes
that contributed greatly to the Industrial Revolution. In summary, no single factor can account for the Industrial
Revolution. The confluence of a multiplicity of factors - technological, social, economic, political, and cultural-
gave birth to the Industrial Revolution.

CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN THE 18th

CENTURIES

There were two sets of determinants on the development of science and technology. The logic of Nature and
the inward dynamics of the discipline constituted the inner determinant. The links with the historical process
made up the other set. It can be said that both were operative. At the start, science got more from industry than
industry got from science. The great burst of activity from science in late 18th and mid 19th centuries was due
to the capitalist mode of financing technical and scientific advance. At the end of the 19th century, science and
technology became indispensable to the very existence of industry. Thus, the 18th and 19th centuries playing
an essential part in economic life.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AFTER THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

The period in focus here is the 20th century, from the turn of the century up to the present. Our interest is to
10
GEC 17 STS
LESSON 2
Historical Antecedents in which Social Considerations that Changed the
Course of Science and Technology
view the developments of the world as a whole after the successful industrialization in Europe. For the purpose
of this survey, we shall divide the subject into two sections: (a) science and technology in the age
imperialism (b) science, technology and the industrial civilization.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN THE AGE OF IMPERIALISM

The questions we would like to ask are the following. What was the relation between the centers of science and
technology in Europe, which are the same as the centers of industry, and the rest of the world? Was there a
transfer of science and technology? If so, in what areas? What were the characteristics of the development of
science in the rest of the world? We shall deal briefly with each of these questions. The pattern of relationship
between the industrial centers in Europe and what now known as the third world countries may be said to be
one-sided. On the whole, the rest of the world was the source of cheap raw materials for the advanced countries.

At the same time, the third world countries served as a ready market of the manufactured goods coming from
the industrial centers. Indirectly, thus, the advanced countries exerted control over the political and economic
life of the rest of the world. If there was any transfer of science and technology at all, it was mainly dictated by
the commercial interest of advised countries in the exploitation of the natural resources of the rest of the world.
It is, thus, understandable, that, of the sciences, the biological and geological sciences enjoyed some degree of
transfer. The sciences transferred underwent characteristically through three phases. In the first phase, the
European scientists stayed in the country gathering scientific knowledge in its flora and fauna. They published
their results in European journals. In the second phase, the local scientists who worked as assistants to the
European scientists, carried on the investigation of their mentors. Their standard and reference were those of
their teachers. If it reached the third phase at all, the development would have completed of the establishment
of an independent science capability.

In summary, a new pattern emerged in the relationship between nations as result of science and technology.
With a big head start in industrialization, the advanced countries used science and technology to further boost
their economic strength over that of the rest of the world. On the other hand, the lack of science and technology
capability, coupled with the presence of strong competition from the advanced countries, made and will make
it doubly difficult for third countries to achieve industrialization.

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND THE INDUSTRIAL CIVILIZATION

In this section, we would like to examine the world situation with the widespread propagation of
industrialization among many countries. The questions of interest are as follows. What is the relation between
the modes of social arrangement and the practice of science and technology? What is the role and characters
of S & T in the present century? What is the character of the Industrial Civilization, or, in the phase
of Toffler, the Second Wave Civilization?

Countries may be conveniently classed into two categories: The capitalist or the socialist. Now, these two modes
of social arrangement have differing imprint on the practice of science and technology. The reason for this is
that science and technology partakes of the character both of the object of the search and of the agent of the
search. Thus, though the material may be same, the social milieu informs the thoughts and actions scientists.
“From each and to each according to his ability” encapsulates the spirit of capitalism.

Here the bottom line for any activity is profits, including the search for scientific knowledge and the use of that
knowledge. It is true that a great portion of the funding and efforts in science in the capitalist system may be
said to be motivated by the search for knowledge for knowledge’s sake. Areas such as cosmology, astrophysics,
11
GEC 17 STS
LESSON 2
Historical Antecedents in which Social Considerations that Changed the
Course of Science and Technology
elementary fields and particles belong to this category. The greater portion, however, either directly or indirectly,
is motivated by material gains.

As a result, completion and market forces are the primary factors determining the allocation of money and
human resources in funding scientific and technological activities. An upshot of this arrangement is quality
consumer goods in abundance on the positive side; and, waste of resources in non-essential goods for contrived
needs on the negative side. On the other hand, the quote “from each according to his ability and to each
according to his need” aptly expresses the essence of socialism in contrast to capitalism, the distinguishing mark
is the strong ideological orientation along the lines of the Ruling Party.

As a result of the required ideological consonance, areas of science considered bona fide fields have suffered
diminution if not eradication. The famous example is the science of genetics in Russia. The field had been set
back for decades because of the cultivation of the wrong theory perceived correct because it was consonant
with the Party ideology. The absence of the profit motive, together with competition of the market forces is
replaced by the ideal of directly satisfying the human needs of individuals in any activity pursued, including that
of science and technology. In theory, the human-needs ideal is morally superior to the “greed” of the profit
motivation.

In practice, however, the socialist arrangement so far has produced at best low quality goods compared to those
of the capitalist system; at worst, it has produced chronic shortage of even the basic commodities. Indeed, the
recent social upheavals in Russia and its satellite countries belie the moral and practical superiority of the
socialist vis-a-vis the capitalist system. The Soviet Communist Party has recently approved the restoration of
private ownership. The successes of science has brought upon itself a changed role and character in the present
century. We may described the new science of the 20th century by looking at the eras it went through about
1900’s we refer to these years as the era of private science. Individual scientists - great and small worked alone
in his laboratory.

The funding came from the private pockets - his own or his patron. The motivation was mainly curiosity and
personal satisfaction. By about 1920’s - 1930’s the era of industrial corporations dominated the funding, the
manpower, and the use of results of scientific activities. It was the start of research by teams and of big projects
that went beyond the pocket of one individual. About 1945’s it was the beginning of government science
Realizing that science in the tool of the state both in times of peace- for economic prosperity - and on times if
war – for military strength, government have actively intervened in the growth and application of science. The
intervention takes two forms direct, though the establishment of government institutes, centers, and
laboratories, indirect, through the government funding of contracts with private corporations. The
governments now are the biggest source of funding for scientific activities.

In summary, science and technology does the bidding of governments and big corporations. In both capitalist
and socialist systems, the industrialized countries share a common rhythm and pattern of life. The rest of the
world, through the purchase of manufactured products, share the same rhythm and pattern in varying degrees
in accordance with the stage of development.

This pattern and rhythm we call the industrial civilization, or, in the words of Toffler, the second wave
civilization. Alvin Toffler asserts that the architecture of the industrial civilization consists of three parts: the
techno-sphere, the socio-sphere, and the info-sphere. The fossil fuel and the machine tools, including the vast
array of hardware that both imply, constitute the techno-sphere. To put it differently, the techno-sphere consists
of the system of power sources together with the non-renewable energy source. It is here that wealth is
produced and allocated Wealth produced is in the form of manufactured goods. Wealth allocated is in the form
of wages and profits.

12
GEC 17 STS
LESSON 2
Historical Antecedents in which Social Considerations that Changed the
Course of Science and Technology
To match this techno-sphere, Toffler goes on, is the socio-sphere consisting of: (a) the nuclear family, (b) the
factory-type school, and (c) the giant corporation. The extended family, suited in the agricultural village, has
outlived its usefulness in an industrial city. The new reality of factory closures and other better job offerings
elsewhere dictates a family of father, mother and a few children which can pack in no time and roll to a new or
better job opportunity.

The punctuality, the discipline, and the obedience instilled in the school prepare the young pupils for their
future work in the factory. The drive for mass production has created a third institution-the giant corporation
is an “immortality” – meaning it could last longer than its original incorporators. This makes for very long-term
plans and far bigger projects than ordinarily possible. The socio-sphere allocates the roles to individuals I the
system. To make the entire system work, information is allocated by the infosphere - print, radio, television,
telephone, satellite communication.

The underlying principles that govern the overall pattern of the life of individuals in an industrialized world has
been identified by Toffler.

First is the principle of standardization. Millions of identical products are turned out by various companies every
year. We are surrounded by standard products from birthday cards, toys, to home appliances. Standard
procedures we follow; standard advertisement we see and hear; standard currency, weights, and measures we
use.

Seemingly unrelated in the principle of specialization. Industrialization requires specialization for the efficient
production of standard goods or for the efficient provisions of services. The standard organization of factories
in the division of labor-any one individual does one step or at most few steps in the making of a product the
consisting of tens, hundreds, or thousands of steps. Likewise, professionals cultivate expertise in a narrow area
of a given discipline.

The third principle is synchronization. People in the third worlds countries are notorious for not keeping
appointments on time. This only indicates the absence of the need of the exact timing of sequence of activities
in third world countries. The complex network of factories linked to each other, where delay in one link means
delay in the whole chain, which delay may mean a lot of money lost, requires such timing.

A fourth rule in second wave civilization is concentration. Industrialization set off tendency towards concentration
of people in urban areas; of work factories of children in school, of criminals in prison, of the mentally ill in
lunatic asylums; of capital in a few giant corporations. Underlying this tendency is the idea that concentration
leads to “efficiency”.

Maximization is another principle of second wave civilization. It is what economists call the “economics of
scale”. Bigness is the yardstick by which the status of anything in measured. The aim to become megacities; to
organized megaprojects; to manage mega business.

The sixth principle is centralization in politics, in business, in the national economy, the bulk of the decisions is
made by the central planners-the central government, the top management, the central bank, etc. The structure
of the pyramid is the model organization everywhere.

The set of six guiding principles governs to one degree or another all the second wave countries. These
principles standardization, specialization, synchronization, concentration, maximization and centralization-
operate in both the capitalist and socialist industrialized societies. For as Toffler asserts, they spring not from
political ideology, but from the split between the producer and the consumer and thereby the ever increasing
role of the market.
13
GEC 17 STS
LESSON 2
Historical Antecedents in which Social Considerations that Changed the
Course of Science and Technology
SUMMARY

We have viewed the historical development of the world through a special “lens” the interaction of science,
technology, and society. To guide us though, we must used the markers before, during and after the Industrial
Revolution. We have purposely employed the historic event of the Industrial Revolution as the reference point
to bring out early the ideal of third world countries like he Philippines industrialization.

Before the Industrial Revolution was a long stretch of time about 2.5 million BC to about 1700 AD. This
covered the ancient times (2.5 million BC to 300 AD), the middle ages (395 to 1500), and the Renaissance and
the Scientific Revolution (1450 to 1690). We saw that the main elements of the present civilization find their
roots in the ancient times.

In particular, technology can be traced back to the everyday actions of paleolithic man to maintain his precarious
life. Similarly, science can be traced back to the crude awakening of Paleolithic man of the arrangement and
flow of Nature for his survival. Even at this earliest times, we discern a pattern that holds until today, the means
by which man secures his material needs determined at the same time his social organization. The means
increased in sophistication by sheer accumulation of techniques and by virtue of the accumulated understanding
of the ways of Nature. The techniques metamorphosed into technology, the bits of understanding evolved into
science.

Correspondingly, man’s social organization increasingly became complex: from the small nomadic groups
during the hunting and gathering era, to the settled villages of the agricultural stage, to the trading cities of the
industrial period, and to the megalopolis of the present industrial civilization. We noted the independent
development of techniques/technology on the one hand, and science on the other. We saw this parallel
independent development from the ancient times, through the middle ages till the Renaissance and the Scientific
Revolution. As the level of techniques rose, together with the level of understanding, the level of interaction
between science and technology proportionally picked up Society which stands for the culture, the political
institutions the social organization of a people influenced the development of science and technology.

The case of China is a good example of the dominance of the non-interventionist world view of the Chinese,
according to Needham, did not allow the mercantile mentality a leading role on society and thus, did not allow
the fusion of the practical techniques of the craftsman with the theoretical methods of the scholar. Such a
fusion was made possible by the trading and manufacturing environment in Europe. The capitalist mode of
production put a high premium on individual ingenuity and invention. The same spirit gave birth to modern
science.

During Industrialization Revolution, spanning 205 years from 1690 to 1895, saw the relation of science and
technology transformed from one of loose interaction at the beginning of the 18th century, to one of mutual
functional dependence at the end of the 18th century and beyond. The conjunction of technological, cultural
economic, political and social factors gave birth to the Industrial Revolution. After the Industrial Revolution,
that is the period of the 20th century, industrialism rapidly spread to other countries under the ideology either
of capitalism or of socialism.

The whole world quickly divided itself into industrialized countries and non-industrialized countries, into
countries with strong capability in science and technology and countries with weak or no capability in science
and technology Both contrasting descriptions refer to the same set of countries. Having gained some historical
perspectives on the interaction of science, technology, and society, we will now focus directly on science and
technology.
14
GEC 17 STS
LESSON 2
Historical Antecedents in which Social Considerations that Changed the
Course of Science and Technology
Readings/Website/Videos/Film Clips

Goddard, J. (2010). Concise history of science and inventions: An illustrated Timeline. Washington, D.C.,
USA: National Geographic Society

123 Help me. (n.d.). History of science and technology.

Retrieved from http://www.123helpme.com/history-of-science-and-technology-view.asp?id=158842

Moistero, A.P. (2006). Science, technology and society. Quezon City: Educational Publishing House.

The scientist-history of science. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cgp_Oh7eifA

Progress in science and technology. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlwwZZeiz5o

Science and technology: Moving the Philippines forward. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9li8S3L5p2Q

15
GEC 17 STS
LESSON 2
Historical Antecedents in which Social Considerations that Changed the
Course of Science and Technology