Science, Technology, and Society (STS)
- is a relatively young academic field that traces
its roots from the interwar period and the start
of the Cold War, when historians and scientists
found interest in the interconnections of
scientific knowledge, technological systems, and
society.
SCIENCE VS. TECHNOLOGY
SCIENCE
- from the Latin word ‘scientia’ which means
‘knowledge’
- a systematic and methodical activity of building
and organizing knowledge about how the
universe behaves through observation,
experimentation, or both
- originally called “philosophy of the natural
world” since it began from the ancient Greek’s
desire to know about nature (the first scientists
were called philosophers of nature).
- sought to discover the truth behind material
things and natural things. They investigated
what makes materials the same and what
makes them different – how tree is not a flower
and a flower is not a rock.
TECHNOLOGY
- from the Greek word ‘techne’ which means
‘art, skill, or cunning of hand’
- the application of scientific knowledge, laws,
and principles to produce services, materials,
tools, and machines aimed at solving realworld
problems
- wished to apply what humans know about
nature to make something that would help
them live better.
HISTORICAL ANTECEDENTS OF SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY
One of the key interests of STS as an academic field is
the history of science and technology.
The history of science and technology focuses on how
science and technology have changed across time.
Also, it explores the impacts of scientific and
technological innovations on the prevailing social,
cultural, political, and economic contexts through
history.
ANCIENT PERIOD
- The rise of ancient civilizations paved the way
for advances in science and technology.
- These advances during the ancient period
allowed civilizations to flourish by finding better
ways of communication, transportation, self-
organization, and of living in general.
EX.
Ancient Wheel
- A mechanical device called potter’s wheel
invented by Sumerians
Paper
- Roughly around 3000 BC, the ancient Egyptians
began Writing on papyrus, a material similar to
thick paper. Papyrus is made from the pith of
the papyrus plant Cyperus papyrus.
Shadoof
- The shadoof was an early tool invented and
used by ancient Egyptians to irrigate land.
Among Egyptians who lived near the Nile River,
irrigation was necessary to water their crops.
Antikythera Mechanism
- Discovered in 1902 and retrieved from the
waters of Antikythera, Greece, the Antikythera
mechanism is similar to a mantel clock.
Aeolipile
- Also known as the Hero 's engine, the aeolipile
is widely believed to be the ancient precursor of
the steam engine. Hero of Alexandria is credited
for the demonstration of the use of the aeolipile
during the 1st century AD.
MIDDLE AGES
- Between the collapse of the Roman Empire in
5th century AD and the colonial expansion of
Western Europe in late 15th century AD, major
advances in scientific and technological
developments took place.
- The Middle Ages was not as stagnant as
alternate terms such as the ‘Medieval Period’ or
‘Dark Ages’ suggest.
EX. INTELLECTUAL REVOLUTIONS

Heavy Plough - intellectual revolutions refer to the series of

events that led to the emergence of modern
Gunpowder
science and the progress of scientific thinking
Paper Money across critical periods in history.
- Copernican, Darwinian, and Freudian
Mechanical Clock revolutions
Spinning Wheel French astronomer Jean Sylvain Bailley, these scientific
MODERN AGES revolutions involved a two-stage process of sweeping
away the old and establishing the new
- As the world population steadily increased,
people of the Modern Ages realized the utmost COPERNICAN REVOLUTION
importance of increasing the efficiency of - 16th-century paradigm shift named after the
transportation, communication, and Polish mathematician and astronomer, Nicolaus
production. Industrialization took place with Copernicus.
greater risks in human health, food safety, and - He formulated the heliocentric model of the
environment which had to be addressed as universe in his outline Commentariolus.
scientific and technological progress unfolded at - Belief Earth was the center of the Solar System
an unimaginable speed. based on the geocentric model of Ptolemy (i.e.,
EX. Ptolemaic model).
- formalized his model in the publication of his
Compound Microscope treatise, De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium
Telescope (The Revolution of Celestial Spheres) in 1543
- Contribution of the Copernican Revolution is
Jacquard Loom far-reaching.
- served as a catalyst to sway scientific thinking
Engine-Powered Airplane
away from age long views about the position of
Television the Earth relative to an enlightened
understanding of the universe.
INVENTIONS BY FILIPINO SCIENTISTS
- marked the beginning of modern astronomy.
- The Philippines boasts of its own history and Although very slowly, the heliocentric model
tradition of scientific and technological eventually caught on among other astronomers
innovations. who further refined the model and contributed
- Filipinos have long been known for their to the recognition of heliocentrism. This was
ingenuity. As with all other inventions, necessity capped off by Isaac Newton's work a century
has always been the mother of Philippine later. Thus, the Copernican Revolution marked
inventions. a turning point in the study of cosmology and
astronomy making it a truly important
EX. intellectual revolution
Electronic Jeepney DARWINIAN REVOLUTION
Erythromycin - English naturalist, geologist, and biologist,
Medical Incubator Charles Darwin is credited for stirring another
important intellectual revolution in the mid-
Mole Remover 19th century.
Banana Ketchup - science of evolution, “On the Origin of
Species,” was published in 1859 and began a
 revolution that brought humanity to a new era
of intellectual discovery.
- The Darwinian Revolution benefitted from
earlier intellectual revolutions especially those
in the 16th and 17th centuries, such that it was
guided by confidence in human reason's ability
to explain phenomena in the universe
- Darwinian Revolution can be likened to the
Copernican Revolution in its demonstration of
the power of the laws of nature in explaining
biological phenomena of survival and
reproduction
- The place of the Darwinian Revolution in
modern science cannot be underestimated.
- Through the Darwinian Revolution, the
development of organisms and the origin of
unique forms of life and humanity could be
rationalized by a lawful system or an orderly
process of change underpinned by laws of
nature.
FREUDIAN REVOLUTION
- Austrian neurologist, Sigmund Freud is credited
for stirring a 20th century intellectual revolution
named after him, the Freudian Revolution
- Psychoanalysis as a school of thought in
psychology is at the center of this revolution.
- Psychoanalysis
- a scientific method of understanding inner and
unconscious conflicts embedded within one's
personality, springing from free associations
dreams and fantasies of the individual.
- Freud suggested that humans are inherently
pleasure-seeking individuals.
- These notions were particularly caught in the
crossfire of whether Freud's psychoanalysis fit
in the scientific study of the brain and mind.
- notion that all humans are destined to exhibit
Oedipus and Electra complexes
- Freud's psychoanalysis is widely credited for
dominating psychotherapeutic practice in the
early 20th century.
- Psychodynamic therapies that treat a myriad of
psychological disorders remain largely informed
by Freud's work on psychoanalysis.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND NATION-BUILDING
History of S&T in the Philippines
- development of science and technology in the
Philippines was influenced by many internal and
external factors
- Sector begins during pre-colonial period
- During this period, people used herbal medicine
to treat illnesses.
- To facilitate trading, Filipinos made use of
writing, measurements, and calendar systems.
- Farming, fishing, mining, and weaving were the
first livelihood skills developed by Filipinos.
- The techniques Filipinos developed for
livelihood purposes resulted in majestic
architectural designs that managed to attract
worldwide attention like the Banaue Rice
Terraces of Ifugao.
- During the Spanish colonial period, science and
technology developed through the
establishment of formal education institution
and the launching of scientific organizations.
-
WHY DO WE NEED TO STUDY STS?
- Through discoveries and innovations,
humankind has learned more about our world
and its mysteries than it did before. The world
as we know it today is a result of that evolution
through time. Studying history of science and
technology gives us an understanding of how
the world used to be and how the discoveries of
the past have become important to our lives
today.
The essence of technology is by no means anything
technological by - Martin Heidegger
The fundamental meaning of technology is one of those
things that cannot be solved by any such 'solution'.
Technology must be conceptualized more
fundamentally, meaning that we must grasp the source
of technology through the ways in which human beings
experience and create the meaning of existence. The
essence of technology is nothing technological. In
reality, it involves a mindset and a way of looking at the
world around us.