SCIENCE,

TECHNOLOGY
AND SOCIETY
A LEARNING RESOURCE PACK FOR
FLEXIBLE LEARNING A.Y. 2021-2022

FRANCES KAREN F. MORENO, LPT

INSTRUCTOR I
COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
TARLAC AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY
EMAIL: kf_moreno@tau.edu.ph

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 COURSE OUTLINE

Topic

Unit I: General Concepts and Historical Developments

Lesson 1: Introduction to Science, Technology and Society

Lesson 2: Historical Antecedents of Science and Technology

Lesson 3: Intellectual Revolutions and Society

Lesson 4: Science, Technology and Nation Building

Unit II. Science, Technology Society and the Human Condition

Lesson 5: Technology as a Way of Revealing

Lesson 6: Human Flourishing in Progress and De-Development

Lesson 7: The Good Life

Lesson 8: When Technology and Humanity Cross

Lesson 9: Why the Future Does Not Need Us?

Unit III. Specific Issues in Science, Technology and Society

Lesson 10: Information Age

Lesson 11: Biodiversity and a Healthy Society

Lesson 12: Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) and Gene Therapy

Lesson 13: The Nanoworld

Lesson 14: Climate Change and the Energy Crises

Lesson 15: Environmental Awareness

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 UNIT I: GENERAL CONCEPTS AND HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT
Lesson 3: Intellectual Revolutions and Society

General Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, the students are expected to:

a) Identify the different intellectual revolutions that shaped society across time; and
b) Explain how the different intellectual revolutions transformed the views of society about
the dominant scientific ideologies.

In science and technology, intellectual revolutions refer to the series of events that led to the
emergence of modern science and progression of the scientific thinking in the different
historical timeframes. In this section, we will focus on three important intellectual revolutions:
• Copernican Revolution
• Darwinian Revolution
• Freudian Revolution.

In studying these intellectual revolutions, it is worthy to note that these revolutions resulted
in paradigm shifts, which means that changes that have been made on the intellectual stance or
belief of the society towards a particularly important matter. These changes caused
enlightenment and deeper understanding of how our universe behaves and functions. The
intellectual revolutions have challenged the former beliefs of the society, thus, it often met huge
resistance and controversy.

COPERNICAN REVOLUTION
The Copernican Revolution refers to the 16th- century paradigm shift that is named after
a Polish mathematician and astronomer, Nicolaus Copernicus. Copernicus formulated the
Heliocentric model which states that the sun is the center of the universe. Before the
introduction of the Heliocentric model, the Ptolemy model which states that the planet Earth is
the center of the universe, is being embraced by the society as the truth. Thus, the introduction
of the Heliocentric model was hugely opposed during this time.
Copernicus introduced the Heliocentric model in a 40 - page outline entitled
Commentariolus and later formalized his model through the publication of De Rovulotionibus
Orbium Coelestium (The Revolution of Celestial Spheres) in 1543. In his model, he described
the Sun to be the center of the solar system, and the Earth, together with the other planetary
bodies, revolved around the sun with its own axis.

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 His model draws huge negative reactions especially from the Catholic Church because
according to their teachings, man being not the center of all creations, is unthinkable and
contradicting to the belief of the church. They even accused Copernicus with heresy as he
introduced his model to the society. Nonetheless, despite the many criticisms and problems with
the Heliocentric model, it was soon accepted by other scientists, most profoundly by Galileo
Galilei. The Copernican revolution soon marked the beginning of modern astronomy and the
study of cosmology.

Nicolaus Copernicus Heliocentric Model

DARWINIAN REVOLUTION
The English naturalist, geologist and biologist, Charles Darwin, is credited for creating
another intellectual revolution in the mid- 19th century. His ideas was published in his book
entitled On the Origin of Species in 1859 which gathered evidenced on what he proposed to be
the natural selection of species. According to his theory, all animals, including humans, adapt
and developed traits that would make survival and reproduction more favorable. Later on, these
developed traits will be passed on their offsprings so that they would have much more chances
of surviving so that they could reproduce more offsprings for the continuity of their race.
Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural section, is of course, criticized and considered
controversial during his time. Some critics believed that his theory is too simple and contradicts
the idea that God “designs” human and animals according to His will.

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Note: The finches were the same kinds of birds living in an island named Galapagos, however,
because they eat different foods brought about by geographical division, they developed
different structures of beak.

FREUDIAN REVOLUTION
Australian neurologist, Sigmund Freud, is credited for stirring another intellectual
revolution in the 20th century through his introduction of the concepts of psychoanalysis.
Psychoanalysis is a scientific method of understanding of the inner and the unconscious
conflicts residing within one’s personality that came from free associations, dreams and fantasy.
The human personality, according to Freud, is complex and is compose of structures known as
the id, ego and superego.
The id is the unconscious aspect of the personality that includes untamed instincts,
impulses and desires. It is said that the id is present from birth and operates by the pleasure
principle that requires immediate gratification of all desires, wants and needs to avoid feeling
anything other than pleasure. The superego, on the other hand, is the judicial structure of the
personality that holds all the internalized moral standards and ideals. It is a sense of right and
wrong that provides the guidelines for making judgments anchored on one’s established moral
standards. The ego is the structure of the personality that is responsible in dealing with the
reality and serves as a referee between the id and the superego.
Psychoanalysis immediately caught into controversy and scientists working on the
biological approach in studying human behavior criticized psychoanalysis for lack of vitality
and bordering on being unscientific as a theory. However, amidst the controversy, Freud’s
psychoanalysis is widely credited for dominating psychotherapeutic practice in the early 20th
century. Psychodynamic therapies that treat a different psychological disorders remained
largely informed by Freud’s work on psychoanalysis

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 Sigmund Freud and a model of his psychoanalytic theory

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