GEC08-SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY HISTORY OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY IN

ANCIENT TIMES

Overview
For thousand years ago, mankind had assumed that the world
around them, the Sun, the Moon and the Stars, were Gods and
spirits. Believing they were recording messages from their Gods,
ancient civilization such as the Babylonians, had gathered great
catalogues of astronomical data. The detailed astronomical
calendar from Babylon records the rising and falling of the
Life & Works of
constellations and the gods they represented. This knowledge and Pre-Socratic
study of the heavens have been slowly spreading across the Philosophers
ancient world until it reached the Greek colonies on the coast
Miletus-in modern day is known as Turkey. There’s a chattering
change occurred. The Greeks took this astronomical knowledge Life & Works of
and transformed it; they took the Gods out of heavens and Socrates, Plato &
replaced them with reason. Gradually the Greeks begin to say, Aristotle
these are not persons, these are things. There’s an orderly world
which the human mind can actually capture; it is subject to our
understanding. These Greeks began to calculate and predict the Inventions in
movement of the moon and stars through mathematics and logic Ancient Times
rather than using gods and spirits to explain everything. It was then
the birth of ancient Greek Science.
Impact of
Objectives Ancient
Technology to
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to Society

➡ describe how the pre-socratic philosophers viewed the origin

of everything in the universe,
Self-assessment
➡ explain the philosophy and theory formulated by Socrates, Test
Plato and Aristotle about the natural world,

➡ learn how the inventions of the ancient Greeks works, and

➡ discuss the impact of ancient technology in the Greeks’

society, then and now.

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Lecture Notes
The Greeks began to calculate and predict the movement of the moon and stars through
mathematics and logic rather than using gods and spirits to explain everything. It was then
the birth of ancient Greek Science. The ancient Greek science is about the attempts to explain
and understand the natural world, which would include how things are made of, how the
world began if it did began or if it all has always been here.

Pre-Socratic Philosophers humans originated from a single

substance, which could be water, air, or an
The views of the rst thinkers of antiquity,
unlimited substance called “apeiron.” They
also known as the pre-Socratic
attempted to extract all possible
philosophers from Miletus, opened new
conclusions from the observation of nature
paths for the study of nature using human
by using mainly their logic. They
logic. They emerged the rational thoughts
pioneered the unifying approach for the
from the con nes of mythology. The pre-
physical world, assuming one element as
Socratic philosophers mostly investigated
the basis for everything in the Universe.
natural phenomena. They believed that

Thales
Miletus
624-546 BC
Founder of Ionian school
Theoretician of geometry
Stated that the origin of all matter (arché) is water.
Also believed that the Earth rests on water.
First predicted the solar eclipse before it happened (May 28, 585 BC).

Thales, the rst Greek philosopher and
father of Western philosophy, was born in
the city of Miletus, an ancient Greek Ionian
city on the western coast of Asia Minor in
today’s Turkey. His father was Examyes and
his mother was Cleobuline. According to
some sources, Thales was married and had
a son named Cybisthus but according to
others, he never married and adopted his
nephew Cybisthus. He died at the age of
78.He was recognized as one of the Seven
Sages of Greece; Seven Sages of Greece
was the title given by Greek tradition to
seven wise ancient Greek men who were
philosophers, statesmen and law-givers.
The Seven Sages are known for their
practical wisdom which "consisted of short
and memorable pronouncement”. For
example, Thales said “To bring surety
brings ruin." This saying was interpreted
by Diogenes Laertius (biographer of
ancient Greeks philosophers) as “Beware
of committing yourself to false opinion” or
“Beware of false certainty”.

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Thales main contribution lies in trying to (rule #2) form by itself; it can evaporate
provide scienti c explanation behind even no one
worldly phenomenon that had been heat up the
previously explained by mythological water. For
beliefs. His biggest questions about the instance, if you
universe were “ What is the universe made let a glass of
of”? and “ What is the arché of water to stand
everything”? According to him, the on top of the
following are the rules in nding arché; table for quite
some time, you
1. It has to explain existence. This will notice that
means to say that an arche can the level of water
explain why anything exists and had decreases; this is
to have a cause and ground for its evident that Thales believed that water
existence, water can can change form by itself.
change its form
2. It has to explain change. In other by itself. Furthermore, water can freeze or
words, an arché had to be a cause of condensate by itself, too, which also shows
change, that water has the capacity to change its
form by itself. Therefore, we could say that
anything in the universe that change into
3. It had to explain motion. This means
solid, liquid or gas is made of water.
that an arché can explain the change
in place of things, and
Since water can move by itself, just like in a
river, and it can cause motion as well-
4. It has to explain life. Life of things
stones, pebbles, fallen leaves or even
had to be explained by arché.
boats can be displaced by water in a river-

And Thales believed that the “arche” of

everything is water; arché means origin.
Thales believed that life begins from and
requires water. But why water? Simply
because water can explain existence (rule
#1). Since everything in the universe come
in the form of solid, liquid, and gas and
water occurs naturally in all these forms
(ice-solid; water-liquid; mist-gaseous),
then a stone (solid) contains water that’s then water can explain the change in
why it exists. Likewise, rain (liquid) exists position of objects in the universe; hence,
because it is made of water; and, there is water is the origin or arché of everything
fog (gaseous) after the rain because fog because water can cause/explain motion
also is made and contains water. In (rule #3) of things that move even without
addition, Thales believed that arché is external force applied on it. In other
water because water can explain change words, the owing water in a river made

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 GEC08-SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY HISTORY OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

the river to exist in the universe; hence, if believed that when Poseidon (the god of
water is not owing or moving by itself in a the sea) strike his trident on the ground it
river, then the river will not exist at all. Did triggered earthquakes. In contrast to this
you get it? If you have any question for belief, Thales explained, more rationally,
clari cation, just send your queries through that because the earth is oating in an
email or text/private messaging. expanse of water, earthquakes occurs
when the water becomes turbulent.
Based from Thales’ belief that for a
substance to become an arché, it has to
explain life (rule #4). Such idea can explain
the existence of living things like plants,
and animals including human beings; that
is, they were originated and made from
water that’s why they exist in the universe.
Thales believed that the Earth is a flat disc that floats
Remember that plants need water to grow
in water.
and stay alive. Similarly, animals need fresh
water for their bodies to function. Actually,
Thales is also acclaimed for having
water is vital in the regulation of body
predicted an eclipse of the sun that
temperature, nutrient uptake, removing
occurred on 28 May 585 B.C.E. During this
wastes, body weight, and health. Losing
time, the soldiers of Lydia, now Turkey, and
one tenth of the body’s water can results in
Medes (ancient Iranian people) were
death as the body will shut down. In other
engaged in battle when the sky suddenly
turned dark and the entire battle eld and
the surrounding countryside were
plunged into darkness. The men on both
sides of the front line were frightened and
surprised. They stood in shock during the
duration of the eclipse, which lasted only a
few minutes. When the moon moved from
in front of the Sun and the daylight
returned to the land, the scared soldiers
Living things were originated from water and require threw down their weapons and declared
water to stay alive, according to the idea of Thales
about arche .

words, life does not exists without water;

eventually, things that did not exist has no
water at all. Again, Thales believed that
arché is water because it can explain
existence, change, motion and life.

The ancient people attributed the divine

fury behind earthquakes where they The eclipse of the sun predicted by Thales on May 28
585 BCE ended the war between the Lydians and
Medes.
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an end to the war. A cease re between
them soon followed. The accuracy of
Thales’ prediction of the eclipse will
remain a subject for debate because did
not have the scienti c instruments needed
to calculate an eclipse, accurately.
However, what is certain is that the
celestial event was frightening and
astonishing enough to end years of
ghting between the Lydians and the
Medes. 

Anaximander
Miletus
610 - 546 BC
Rejected Thale’s claim that this arché is water.

Believed that arché is unlimited, boundless, in nite and non-

perceptible substance.

Claimed that the origin of everything in the universe is a mixture

of two pairs of opposites-apeiron.

First cartographer.

Anaximander was born in 610 BC in the global representation of the known world
Ancient Greek city of Miletus (now in to increase knowledge for himself and his
Turkey). His father’s name was Praxiades. peers. 
His mother’s name is not known. Little is
known about his early life but it is believed Anaximander believed that the inhabited
that he was a student of the Greek portion of the Earth was at and it was
philosopher Thales of Miletus. made up of
the top face
Anaximander contributed to the of a cylinder
development of early geography and where the
cartography-the science of drawing maps. diameter is
In fact, he was credited in designing the three times
rst published map. It is believed that the height
Anaximander created this map for a of cylinder.
The idea of Anaximander about the
several reasons. One of which was to He also shape of the Earth.
improve navigation between the colonies stated that
of Miletus and other colonies around the the Earth’s
Mediterranean and Black seas. Another position was not supported by anything
reason was to show the known world to and it simply remained in place because it
other colonies in an attempt to make them was equidistant from all other things.
want to join the Ionian city-states. And
lastly, Anaximander wanted to show a

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In addition to the structure of the Earth
itself, Anaximander was also interested in
the structure of the cosmos, the origin of
the world and evolution. He believed that
the sun, moon and stars were not objects
but hollow rings lled with re, which is
covered with thick and dark clouds. In the
cosmological model he proposed, the
rings were hidden from view except
through vents or holes and stars were
the light of this re that could be seen
through the openings. This model could
also explain the phases of the Moon; its
phase depended on how wide or narrow
Anaximander’s model of the Universe. The Sun, the
Moon and each of the stars is actually a transparent
ring – or hoop – made of air. Each ring is filled with
fire which we can only see when the hole in that
particular ring passes over us.
the vent or opening was. The different
phases of the moon and eclipses were a
result of the vents closing.
Anaximander rejected the idea of Thales
that arché is water and believed that the
source or origin (arché) of everything is
apeiron, which means boundless or
unlimited. According to his theory, the
apeiron is unde ned and ever moving. It
also gave the idea that apeiron is a mixture
of two opposites like warm and cold, and
moist and dry. Relative to these opposites,
Anaximander posits the following picture:
The Unbounded (apeiron) moves with
eternal motion (because it is alive,
remember Thales’ principle about life
and motion). As the Unbounded moves,
something separate from it and from
this something, in turn, hot and cold
separate off. Hot becomes re, which
then form the sun and other heavenly
bodies. Cold becomes dark mist which
then forms earth and air, both of which
originally moist but are dried off by re.

Anaximenes
Miletus
585-528 BC

Considered that air was the origin of everything in the

universe and the earth is a broad at disc oating on the
circumambient air.

Explained that thunder and lightning result from wind

breaking out of clouds.

Distinguished clearly between  planets and stars.

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Almost nothing is known of Anaximenes’ meant that air would become thinner; the
life except, as noted, that he was the son most rare ed alteration of air would be
of Eurystratos of Miletus and re. In condensation, Anaximenes meant
contemporary and a student of that air would become more concentrated,
Anaximander. The events of his life may be becoming water and then eventually solid
unknown but the effects of his theory on materials like stone. It's not exactly clear
air as arché of everything in the universe how this process occurred, but we know
were wide-reaching. Differing from Thales, that Anaximenes thought air was
who claimed water was the source of all constantly in motion, and somehow this
things, or Anaximander, who cited 'the motion resulted in rarefaction or
boundless in nite’, Anaximenes believed condensation.
air was the arché, meaning that air is an
Remember the rules in nding arché
eternal, original substance from which the
according to Thales? That is, arché can
physical universe was formed. We may ask,
explain existence, change, motion and life.
'But why air?' Well, Anaximenes used
Let’s nd out whether air could be an
scienti c reasoning to observe that living
arché. As mentioned earlier, Anaximenes
things needed to breathe air in order to
explained that air became other physical
survive. Therefore, Anaximenes concluded
things by rarefaction and condensation;
that air must be the original source of life
and eventually when air is rare ed it turns
and all physical things.
to re and when condensed it turns to
According to wind, wind to cloud, cloud to water, water
Anaximenes, to earth and earth to stone. So, this is
air became evident that because these physical things
other have air, they exist; moreover, air is
physical capable to change through rarefaction
things by and condensation. Furthermore, in
altering its
state and
texture
through a
Air as an arché become other process
physical things by rarefaction or called
condensation
rarefaction or
condensation.
Using these contrary processes of
rarefaction and condensation, Anaximenes
explained how air is part of a series of
changes. Fire turns to air, air to wind, wind
Air differs in essence in accordance with its rarity or
to cloud, cloud to water, water to earth and
density. When it is thinned it becomes fire, while
earth to stone. Matter can travel this path when it is condensed it becomes wind, then cloud,
by being condensed, or the reverse path when still more condensed it becomes water, then
from stones to re by being successively earth, then stones. Everything else comes from these
more rare ed. In rarefaction, Anaximenes

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rarefaction, particles move farther apart thunder and lightning result from wind
from each other while closer during the
condensation process; therefore air is
moving. Lastly, air was comparable to soul
and, just as one's breath gave an
individual life, so air, Anaximenes claimed,
gave life to all observable phenomena.

According to Anaximenes, the earth is a

broad disk, oating on a cushion of air. air.
The sun and stars, he held, were formed
by the same processes of condensation
and rarefaction, and the aming nature of
these bodies is merely due to the velocity
of their motions. He also used his
principles to account for various natural
phenomena such as the following;
breaking out of clouds, rainbows are the
result of the rays of sun falling on clouds,
earthquakes are caused by the cracking of
earth when it dries out after being
moistened by rains. He gives an essentially
correct account of hail as frozen rainwater.

Heraclitus
Ephesus Believed that re gave rise to all
things and everything is in ux.
535 - 475 BC

Most enigmatic among the pre- Considered the human soul to

Socratics and known as be composed of re and water—
the "Weeping Philosopher” re being the noble part and
water the ignoble.

Heraclitus was the son of Herakon, a
descendant of Androclus, the founder of a
great Ionian dynasty of that period, which
ruled the region. Born into an aristocratic
family, he described himself as self-taught
and was ruthless in his criticism of his
predecessors and contemporary thinkers
and philosophers. He was a loner who
suffered from melancholia for a period of
time, which prevented him from
completing several of his works. As a
youngster, he used to play knucklebones
with other youths in a temple and
considered kingship duties a burden. He
abdicated the throne in favor of his
brother. His personality was characterized
by a general contempt for mankind which
coupled with the obscure nature of his
works earned him the nickname the
“Weeping Philosopher” or Mournful
Thinker”. He was also known to his
contemporaries as the “dark” philosopher,
so-called because his writings were so
dif cult to understand.
He believed in the universal ux, i.e.
everything is constantly changing, and in
unity of opposites as suggested by his
saying such as, “The way up and the way
down are one and the same. Living and
dead, waking and sleeping, young and
old, are the same.” These things are the
“same” in that they are all subject to

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 GEC08-SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY
change, arise from one change to vanish
into another and all things, constantly, are
in ux and are, in that regard, the same.
Heraclitus saw change as the only constant
in the world.
He is often quoted as saying that
“one cannot step twice into the same
river”. This statement is an analogy for his
belief that everything is constantly
changing. What he was really suggesting
is that rivers can stay the same over
time even though the waters in it change.
This idea, that the water and life within a
river are always changing, even if the river
looks the same, can be applied to life in
general. People are never the same,
changing in some way from our day-to-day
experiences, and same with society.  society has implications for the future.
This statement from the Greek
philosopher Heraclitus means that the
world constantly changes and that no two
situations are exactly the same. Just as
water ows in a river, one cannot touch the
exact same water twice when one steps
into a river. The water one touched
previously will be downstream while one
steps in water from up the stream. This
water may or may not have been touched
by someone else. This is not to say that the
river insofar as it is a river has changed. It
is the elements that make up the river that
have shifted. In fact, it is only by virtue of
Heraclitus said, “We can never step in the same river
twice.”
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HISTORY OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
having constantly shifting water that the
river exists as a river rather than a pond or
a lake. Similarly, the universe remains
harmoniously stable even as the elements
within undergo constant transformation,
and it is only by virtue of these constant
changes that our universe exists in the way
that it does.
Heraclitus noted that society is similar to a
river in that it constantly changes. This is
also true of interpersonal relationships as
these change based on the history
between two people. Just as no two
situations are exactly the same, each
situation is different based on what
happened before. Heraclitus wants others
to know that each interaction one has in
According to Heraclitus, re was the most
basic element and
all other elements
originated from re,
thus, it is re that
gave rise to all
things. But why did
Heraclitus believed
that re is the origin
of all things in the
universe? Actually,
Heraclitus used
many analogies and word pictures to
explain his views and he does not mean to
say that all things literally come from re.
Instead, this world order, much like re, is
constantly changing, transforming
eternally. He sees the universe as being
involved in a continual change. Everything
is born by the death of something else
like, ame in a re. "For soul’s (identi ed
for re) death is the birth of water, for
water’s death is the birth of earth, from
earth water is born , from water is soul”.
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Parmenides
Elea
515-450 BC
Believed that change is impossible. According to him, everything
that exist is permanent, ungenerated and indestructible.
Coming-into-existence or ceasing-to-exist are likewise impossible,
according to him.
Heraclitus found change itself to be the
only thing that was permanent. Now
comes Parmenides — a turning point in the
history of western philosophy - for he
denies the reality of change. For
Parmenides, change is impossible. The
idea of change is incoherent. And it is not
the only surprising conclusion Parmenides
draws; he also holds that there is no
coming into existence, or ceasing to exist.
According to Parmenides, everything that
exists is permanent, ungenerated,
indestructible, and unchanging.
He argued as follows:  what is out there. Imagine trying to see
Whatever is, is
Whatever is, must be
What is not, is not
What is not ,cannot exist.
As a philosopher, Parmenides think only
about what is, not what is not. What is
cannot be destroyed nor cannot come into
existence; because if something comes
into existence, where did it comes from?
And if is destroyed, where does it go?
Nowhere; this new particle of arché that
just came into being, it came into being
from nothing, truly nothing. How can that
generate something? That is impossible.
Therefore, what is cannot move or grow
or shrink and it cannot change. All of these
things are impossible if you really believe
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HISTORY OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
that the arché is what the Miletians (Thales,
Anaximander, Anaximenes) thought it was.
This also make it unthinkable to speak of
time because the only way we even
understand what time is has to do with
how things move and change. So,
whatever is has always been and and will
always be never changing, never
improving, never deteriorating but always
perfect and complete.
But what about everything that I see and
that is moving, what is that? All of that is an
illusion; nothing you see or hear is really
something that is not there to be seen. It is
impossible. We cannot see what is not
there to be seen, so why should we be
able to refer to what is not there to be
referred to? If something does not exist, in
other words, we cannot think about it and
we cannot speak about it.
The "no-longer" and the "not-yet" are
therefore variants of "what-is-not", and so
the past and future do not exist either.
Then, change is impossible.
What is cannot
move or grow or
shrink and it
cannot change
because what is
is alway perfect
and complete.
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Focus Question #5: If you agree with Heraclitus’ idea that “everything is constantly
changing” and “in unity of opposites”, prove it by means of pictures (at least 3 or 4) w/
caption. Each picture should compliment the other. Go to Google Classroom for further
instructions.

Anaxagoras
Ionia
500-428 BC
Explained the scienti c reasons behind natural phenomena such as
eclipses, rainbows and meteors.

Stated that the moon re ects the sun’s light.

Claimed that the sun was a mass of red-hot metal. 

Believed that there are mountains on the surface of the moon and that
it was inhabited.

Like other Pre-Socratic philosophers of his
time, Anaxagoras chose to interpret the
world through a lens of science,
observation, and logic instead of through
traditional Greek mythology. And because
of this rejection of traditional Greek
mythology, Anaxagoras was convicted of
atheism (not believing in the existence of
gods) and exiled from Athens in the 430s.
The Pre-Socratic philosophers observed
that the world is made up of very diverse
objects, and they all attempted to develop
theories that explained this diversity.
Anaxagoras theorized that there are
numerous (perhaps in nite) fundamental,
physical substances that combine in unique
ways to construct this diversity we see.
These fundamental substances act like
ingredients that were combined in certain
ratios to produce different things (like trees,
furniture, ball, etc.) or beings (like human,
animals) on Earth. Anaxagoras insisted on a
few main principles when it comes to these
fundamental substances:
(a) There is no becoming and no passing-
away. In other words, these fundamental
substances have always existed. Nothing
can be created from nothing and likewise,
nothing out of existence. For example,
when people die, they do not truly cease to
exist. Instead, the fundamental substances
that composed them simply separate.
(b) Everything is in everything. This
principle means that all of these
fundamental substances are inseparable.
Therefore, we can never nd one of these
fundamental substances in its purity; all of
the other fundamental substances are
always present. For example, a dog is made
up of the exact same fundamental
substances as both a human and a chair. It's
just that the ratio of these fundamental
substances differs in each object or being.
This is an odd concept, so consider this
analogy: smear together red, green, blue,
and yellow paint. Once you smear these
colors together, you can never truly
separate them again. The colors literally
seem to be in one another.

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(c) The principle of predominance states

that a thing's appearance is determined by
whatever fundamental substance(s)
dominate that thing's makeup. To go back
to our smeared paint example, if you add
more green paint, what you see may look
totally green to you because the green
predominates over the other colors. But
remember that remnants of the other
colors will always be there, even if they are
in nitesimally small, because, after all,
Anaxagoras explained the scientific reason behind
nothing can go out of existence.
natural phenomena such as solar eclipse.

Anaxagoras also gave a number of novel

scienti c accounts of natural phenomena. Furthermore, he believed that the moon
He produced a correct explanation for has dwelling places, hills and ravines. 
eclipses and described the sun as a
When he was about 33, a meteorite big
brightly glowing rock larger than the
enough to ll a wagon landed in broad
Peloponnese (the mountainous southern
daylight near the town of Aegispotami.
peninsula of Greece)  and the stars were
Anaxagoras claimed that it had come from
other suns lying at such a distance that they
the Sun. To him, there was no dif culty in
appeared to give out no heat. He also put
thinking about the Sun and Moon as
forward the theory that the rainbow is a
sizable, physical objects rather than as
re ection of the sun in the clouds.
deities.

Empedocles
Italy
495-435 BC
Believed that the world is composed of the four primary elements, Earth,
water, wind and re.

Claimed that the world came into being and is maintained by the mixing
of the four primary elements as they come together and are separated by
the processes of Love and Strife.

Empedocles lived 2500 years ago, soon
after the dawn of scienti c thought in
Ancient Greece. He was born in Acragas,
on the island of Sicily, which was then part
of Ancient Greece. Acragas was a
magni cent city, culturally and nancially
rich. Empedocles’ family was well-known
and wealthy. His grandfather, whose name
was also Empedocles, kept racehorses. His
father, Meton, was an Olympic Champion.
He was a vegetarian because he believed
human souls could inhabit animals’ bodies,
so it would be murderous and even
cannibalistic to kill and eat any animal. This
was a typical Pythagorean belief.

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Empedocles probably could not square the elements. Moreover, in Empedocles’

idea of a single element world with his own
observations, and therefore he increased
the number of
elements. He
described air,
re, water,
and earth as:
“the fourfold root of all things.”
He believed everything in the universe was
made of four elements, including living
organisms. These are able to create all
things, including all living creatures, by
being ‘mixed’ in different combinations and
proportions. Each of the elements however,
retains its own characteristics in the
mixture, and each is eternal and
unchanging. Of the four elements,
although Empedocles stresses their
equality of powers, re is also granted a
special role both in its hardening effect on
mixtures of the other elements and also as
the fundamental principle of living things.
He also believed all matter, whether alive or
not, was conscious. Empedocles’ four
elements came to be known as the
Aristotelian Elements.
thought, these four elements interact
continually under the in uence of Love and
Strife. The power of Love, for instance,
functions rst by bringing together “like”
together with “like,” (earth to earth, re to
re, e.g.), but also integrate the four
elements one to another, creating a
homogeneous compound of organic unity.
Strife, on the other hand, is seen as a force
of differentiation and repulsion for the
elements, one that creates great diversity in
nature. This is really what we mean by the
statement that the Universe (humanity as
well) is “dynamic” (think plate tectonics,
volcanism, impact events, etc.) – nature
seems to be both “ xed” in the sense that
matter is neither created nor destroyed, yet
always in ux by forces molding and
shaping the reality we perceive. It is not
that the universe itself undergoes any
fundamental change, but that the forces of
Love and Strife, with their constant
bringing-together and forcing-apart, create
what we see as “change” over time. Here is
a chart roughly depicting Empedocles’
view:

Rather mystically, he believed matter was

held together by a fundamental force of
the universe he described as Love (a force
of attraction and combination) and pushed
apart by another force – Strife (a force of
repulsion and separation). For Empedocles,
it is the forces of Love and Strife that make
the universe so dynamic. As a result, life is
dynamic, eventually, life is joyful to Concept Map of Empedocles’ Cosmic Cycle
contemplate. based on Love and Strife. 

Empedocles explained the natural change

as the result of the combination,
separation, and regrouping of the four

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The Big Three Of Greek Philosophy:

Socrates, Plato, And Aristotle

Because of the excellent education they
received and the freedom they had to
develop and share their own ideas, the
Athenians produced some of the greatest
thinkers in all of human history. Among
these thinkers are three men, Socrates,
Plato, and Aristotle, whose ideas have
in uenced nearly everyone since then. All
three of these men were
philosophers. They use reason to search for
the truth about important things like human
life, God, and nature. Although Socrates,
Plato, and Aristotle were different from
each other in some of their ideas, they did
have some important things in common.
First, all three of them knew that virtue is
very important. They recognized that
without virtue a person can never be
completely happy and ful lled. All three of
them were also very curious about people
and about the world around them. The
ideas of these three men continue to
in uence us in many ways even today.

Socrates
Athens
470-399 BC
Well known for wandering around the agora and marketplace of Athens
and ask people about what they believe.

Remembered more for how he taught than for what he taught (Socratic
Method).

He was put on trial on 399 BC and was accused of corrupting youth

and disbelieving in the gods.

Socrates was born and lived nearly his
entire life in Athens. His father
Sophroniscus was a stonemason and his
mother, Phaenarete, was a midwife. His
family apparently had the moderate wealth
required to launch Socrates’ career as a
hoplite (foot soldier). Socrates married
Xanthippe, a younger woman, who bore
him three sons: Lamprocles, Sophroniscus
and Menexenus. He had little to do with his
sons' upbringing and expressed far more
interest in the intellectual development of
Athens' other young boys.
Socrates is often credited as one of the
founders of Western philosophy. His largest
contribution to philosophy is the Socratic
Method. The method is de ned as a form
of inquiry and discussion between
individuals, based on asking and answering
questions to illuminate ideas. This method
is performed by asking question after
question with the purpose of seeking to
expose contradictions in one’s thoughts,
guiding him/her to arrive at a solid,
defensible conclusion. The principle
underlying the Socratic Method is that
humans learn through the use of reasoning
and logic; ultimately nding holes in their
own theories and then patching them up. In
the Socratic Method (or reasoning
method), Socrates asked questions to his

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 GEC08-SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY
fellow Athenians in a reasoning, which
driven the audience to think through a
problem to a logical conclusion.
Sometimes the answer seemed so obvious,
it made Socrates' opponents look foolish.
For this, his Socratic Method was admired
by some and condemned by others.
Socrates sought to expose contradictions in the
students’ thoughts and ideas to then guide them to
solid, tenable conclusions.
In 399 B.C., Socrates was accused of
corrupting the youth of Athens and of
impiety, or heresy. He chose to defend
himself in court. Rather than present
himself as wrongly accused, Socrates
declared he ful lled an important role as a
gad y, one who provides an important
service to his community by continually
questioning and challenging the existing
state of affairs and its protectors. The jury
was not swayed by Socrates' defense and
convicted him by a vote of 280 to 221.
Possibly the argumentative tone of his
defense contributed to the verdict and he
made things worse during the deliberation
over his punishment. 
Focus Question #6: Have you experienced the Socratic Method of learning in your previous
years in school? Tell me something about it in 5 sentences only. Send it to me thru text/
private messaging or via e-mail. Do not forget to include your name, section and class
schedule
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Athenian law allowed a convicted citizen to
propose an alternative punishment to the
one called for by the prosecution and the
jury would decide. Instead of proposing he
be exiled,
Socrates
suggested he be
honored by the
city for his
contribution to
their
enlightenment
and be paid for Socrates was sentenced to
his services. The death by drinking poison.
jury was not
amused and
sentenced him to death by drinking a
mixture of poison hemlock.
Before Socrates' execution, friends offered
to bribe the guards and rescue him so he
could ee into exile. He declined, stating
he wasn't afraid of death, felt he would be
no better off if in exile and said he was still
a loyal citizen of Athens, willing to abide by
its laws, even the ones that condemned
him to death. 
Plato described Socrates' execution in
his Phaedo dialogue: Socrates drank the
hemlock mixture without hesitation.
Numbness slowly crept into his body until it
reached his heart. Shortly before his nal
breath, Socrates described his death as a
release of the soul from the body.
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 GEC08-SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY HISTORY OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Plato
Athens
428-348 BC
Founded the rst university in the western civilization called The
Academy where he taught about Socrates and Socrates ideas.

Famous in his Theory of Forms where it asserts that the physical world is
not really the 'real' world; instead, ultimate reality exists beyond our
physical world. 

Plato’s parents came from the Greek
aristocracy. His father, Ariston, descended
from the kings of Athens and Messenia. His
mother, Perictione, is said to be related to
the 6th century B.C.E. Greek statesman
Solon. He did have a number of siblings,
however: three brothers, Glaucon,
Antiphon, and Adeimantus of Collytus, and
one sister, Potone. His father died when he
was young, and his mother remarried with
her uncle Pyrilampes. Plato did not have
children, and it is assumed based on
textual evidence that he never married.
Plato founded The Academy, an academic
program that many consider to be the rst
Western university, Plato was a student of
Socrates and teacher of Aristotle. He’s
known for being the founder of the
Academy in Athens, the rst institution of
higher learning in the Western world,
where he stressed the importance of
science and mathematics. Because of this,
he became known as the “maker of
mathematicians.”
Plato’s contributions to philosophy is the
Theory of Forms (Ideas). This theory states
that the physical world is not really the 'real'
world; instead, ultimate reality exists
beyond our physical world. The world we
perceive through our senses seems to be
always changing, which is obviously a clear
observation. The world that we perceive
through the mind, seems to be permanent
and unchanging. Which world perceived is
more real? Why are we seen two different
worlds? To nd a solution to these
problems, Plato split the world into two;
(1) the physical realm, and
(2) the transcendent or spiritual realm
The physical realm is the material stuff we
see and interact with on a daily basis; this
realm is changing and imperfect. It is the
material world, perceived through the
senses, that is imitation of the forms. The
spiritual realm, however, exists beyond the
physical realm. Plato calls this spiritual
realm the Realm of Forms (also called the
Realm of Ideas or Realm of Ideals). This
particular world is invulnerable to the pains
and changes of the material world; it is
perfect and unchanging.
Let's consider a speci c example. Think of a
square. Now draw a picture of a square on
a piece of paper. I will also draw a picture
of a square on a piece of paper. Our
pictures are likely a bit imperfect; maybe
our lines aren't exactly straight, or our
angles aren't exactly 90 degrees. In
addition, your picture and my picture are
likely a little different in sizes, colors, etc. To
put it in Plato's terms, our pictures of

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 GEC08-SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY
squares reside in the physical realm.
Despite their imperfections and differences
there's something about our pictures that
unites them. So what exactly is it that
makes both of our pictures squares? The
“it” that makes our pictures squares is the
Form of Square. You and I share a similar
concept or ideal of what 'square' is, even
though our pictures of squares turned out
slightly different. To put it in Plato's terms,
the concept and ideal of Square resides in
the Realm of Forms and is, therefore,
perfect, abstract, and unchanging. Plato
would say that this Form of Square is more
real than our physical drawings of a square.
So what are these Forms, according to
Plato? The Forms are abstract, perfect,
unchanging concepts or ideals that go
beyond time and space; they exist in the
Realm of Forms. Even though the Forms are
abstract, that doesn't mean they are not
real. In fact, the Forms are more “real” than
any individual physical objects. So,
concepts like Redness, Roundness, Beauty,
Justice, or Goodness are Forms (and thus
they are commonly capitalized). Individual
objects like a red book, a round ball, a
beautiful girl, a just action, or a good
person reside in the physical realm and are
simply different examples of the Forms.
Aristotle
Athens
384-322 BC
Believed that the one thing that all people want is happiness.
Believed that the two fundamental kinds of motion are natural motion
and violent motion. The apparent movement of celestial objects is a
natural motion, whereas lifting an object is a violent motion.
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According to Plato, The Forms are the
essences of various objects; these are the
qualities that an object must have to be
considered that type of object. For
example, there are countless chairs in the
world but the form of “chairness” (the
qualities that make a chair what is or the
essence of what it means to be a chair) is at
the core of all chairs.
Plato's Theory of Forms asserts that the
physical realm is only a shadow, or image,
of the true reality of the Realm of Forms. He
held that the world of Forms is
transcendent to our own world, the world
of substances, which is the essential basis
of reality. Because the Forms exist
independently of time and space, they can
be said to exist only as ideas in people's
minds. The Forms are objective "blueprints"
for perfection. They are considered perfect
themselves because they are unchanging. 
The physical world we perceive through senses seems to
be always changing, while the spiritual world that we
perceive through the mind, seems to be permanent and
unchanging.
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 GEC08-SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY
Aristotle was a student of Plato and at
seventeen, he joined Plato’s Academy in
Athens and remained there until the age of
thirty-seven. During this period Aristotle
acquired his encyclopedic knowledge of
the philosophical tradition, which he draws
on extensively in his works. In 335, Aristotle
founded his own school, the Lyceum, in
Athens, where he spent most of the rest of
his life studying, teaching and writing. One
of his most important study of personal
morality and the ends of human life is the
Nicomachean Ethics. Though it is written
for more than 2,000 years ago, it offers the
modern reader many valuable insights into
human needs and conduct, and has been a
widely-read and in uential book.
In his work, Aristotle starts with the claim
that happiness is dependent on virtue. He
describes virtue as a disposition, rather
than an activity. The individual needs to be
naturally a ‘virtuous’ person, rather than just
acting accordingly.
But then, what is “virtuous”?
Aristotle de nes virtue as the average, or
“mean”, between excess and de ciency.
For example, a man should not be a
coward nor rash. He shouldn’t be wasteful,
nor stingy. He shouldn’t be described as
boorish nor acting as a buffoon. The
pattern is quick to reveal itself. Basically, he
says, the idea of virtue is ''all things in
moderation.'' Humans should enjoy
existence, but not be sel sh. They should
avoid pain and displeasure, but not expect
a life completely void of them. By striving to
live this virtuous life of moderation, human
beings can nd happiness and, therefore,
be ethical. Virtuous action, then, is always
the result of successful practical reasoning.
Aristotle clari es that one’s actions can only
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HISTORY OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
be judged as praiseworthy or blameworthy
if they are voluntary.
Aristotle is known for his study of politics
and government as well as his ideas on
ethics. In many ways, he didn't separate
these areas of study. He believed that the
role of government and politics was to
create a society where individuals could
live happy lives and realize their full
potential. In that way, the science of politics
and governance, from Aristotle's
perspective, was to allow citizens to be
happy by letting them search for their truth
and behave in ways consistent with that
truth.
Aristotle had a lifelong interest in the study
of nature. He investigated a variety of
different topics, ranging from general
issues like motion, causation, place and
time, to systematic explorations and
explanations of natural phenomena across
different kinds of natural entities. His ideas
and writings about motion were important
because of the following reasons; (1) They
in uenced scienti c thought for almost two
centuries. (2) They provide a "common
sense" framework that most people would
agree "make sense. Aristotle categorized
motions as either natural motions
or violent motions. Any motion that an
object does naturally, without being forced,
was classi ed by Aristotle as a natural
motion. Examples of natural motions
include;
• A book lying at rest on a table
naturally remains at rest.
• When an object is dropped, it will fall
on the ground, naturally.
• Smoke rises naturally.
Can you think of any other example?
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 GEC08-SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY
However, any motion that requires a force
is a violent motion. Examples of violent
motion include;
• Pushing a book along a table.
• Lifting a book.
Basically, Aristotle's view of motion is that
"it requires a force to make an object move
in an unnatural" manner. Anyway, if you
push a book, it moves and when you stop
pushing it, the book stops from moving
(but of course, it will not stop at the instant,
it will slows down at rst before coming to a
stop).
After all, if you push a book, it moves.
When you stop pushing, the book stops
moving. (Not right away, of course, but,
unless you push it, it gradually slows to a
stop.) To keep a bicycle moving (on level
ground) you have to keep pedaling. To
keep a car moving, you have to keep the
engine pushing it.
To most people, this is a very reasonable
and "common sense" notion. There are
only two problems with this idea : (1) It
doesn't work, and (2) It isn't logical.
Galileo Galilei rejected Aristotle’s theory of motion;
Galileo used the inertia of an object to explain why
an object stop moving.
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Furthermore, Aristotle theorized the
following about motion based on his
observation but not on experiment;
• heavy objects fall faster than lighter
ones.
• objects in the heavens (the celestial
sphere) move in circular motion,
without any external force compelling
them to do so.
• objects on Earth (the terrestrial
sphere) move in straight lines,
unless forced to move in a circular
motion.
Aristotle’s theory of motion was accepted
for about 2,000 years until Galileo Galilei
contradicted his ideas. Galileo did not
believed that an object , such as ball, came
to a rest because it desired to be in its
natural state of motion. And if that is the
case, the ball might roll on forever. Galileo
explained that an object only stops from
moving because an external force such
friction causes it to stop. He also imposed
the theory of inertia, which states that the
inertia of an object will maintain its state of
motion; eventually, the greater is the inertia
of an object, the greater is its tendency to
change its state of motion. In other words, a
basketball will come to a stop rst before a
tennis ball
(when they
started
rolling from
the same
point)
because
Basketball has greater inertia than
basketball
tennis ball.
has greater
inertia than
the tennis ball. Actually inertia is
proportional to the mass of an object.
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Ancient Greeks’ Technology

During the 5th century BC, ancient Greek
technology developed, leading to the
invention of the rotary mills, screw, water
pump, gear, water organ, water clock, the
torsion catapult and the use of steam to
operate machines and toys. The
foundation, for the use of water resources,
in the modern world, was laid by the Greek
civilization. Many of these inventions
occurred late in the Greek period, often
inspired by the need to improve weapons,
tactics in war and for everyday life. Their
technology reveals a lot about
contemporary society. For the Greeks,
science and technology were not intended
for mass-production and marketing. Apart
from a few exceptions scienti c research
was rarely intended for practical
applications, and never for selling them.
Nobody would have thought to claim
intellectual property rights on his
inventions or to produce them in factories.
Anyway the notion of factory did not even
exist and at the time, a workshop having
about forty workers was already a big
business. Greeks did not take repetitive
manufacturing in high esteem, and did they
really need machines, since slaves and
metics were easily available. Some of their
inventions are enumerated below;
bodies. It also provided information about
the location of the sun, planets and some
of the stars. It was used in the past by
astronomers, astrologers, and navigators,
mainly for;
• locating and predicting the positions
of the Sun, Moon, planets, and stars,
• determining local time given local
latitude and vice versa, and
• for triangulation, and surveying.
Astrolabe was actually an analog calculator,
that measures the altitude of stars and
planets above the horizon, capable of
working out several different kinds of
problems in spherical astronomy.
Astrolabes have been traced to the 6th
century, and they appear to have come into
wide use from the early Middle Ages in
Europe and the Islamic world. By about the
mid-15th century, astrolabes were adopted
by mariners and used in celestial
III. Technology y in everyday life
navigation. By far, this has been one of the
valuable 3.1contributions
Lifting mademachinery
ifting and building by Greece in
the The
eld of astronomy.
Greeks had a large range of advanced technologies to build their monuments. The
kinds of cranes, pulleys, winches and capstan hoists, block and tackle systems which
stones with minimal effort, lifting tongs and lewis for a safe and easy handling.
handling Archimed
winch using a gearbox with which he moved the heaviest loads using only one hand. hand Th
Overhead Crane
built piers (below) was(515 BC)clever.
particularly

Astrolabe An ancient overhead cra

This crane was mounted o

The astrolabe is platform. Capstan winches
it forward or backward and
one of the The stone was grabbed on
lifted, tilted to the other sid
signi cant dropped off. For building a
crane was moved forward
ancient Greece handling the next one. Two
be used together to build p
inventions. It is then the space between bo
in.
an instrument
used to make
astronomical A mechanical device invented by the
measurements like altitudes of celestial ancient Greeks that is
3.2 Hydraulic designed to lift heavy
technolog
technology

The Greeks had water mills but used also special type wi
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pumping systems for domestic needs or irrigation.

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objects off the ground.,This crane was wearing, however, it was not strong enough
mounted on a mobile platform. Capstan to breach forti cations.
winches allowed to tilt it forward or
backward and to lift the load. The stone Water Mill (3rd Century BC)
was grabbed on one side, lifted, tilted to
the other side, and dropped off. For
building a pier, the crane was moved
forward before handling the next one. Two
cranes could be used together to build
parallel walls, then the space between both
was lled in.

Over time, builders relied on these device

to make the temples and other impressive
buildings, many of which are still standing
today.  Water-powered mill used for grinding
grain, rolling and hammering. Because of it,
Catapult (399 BC) mankind was suddenly able to turn simple
grains, such as wheat and rice, into an
important staple food. 

Analog Computer (150 BC)

It was invented by Dionysius the Elder of

Syracuse for forcefully propelling stones,
spears or other projectiles; use mainly as a
military weapon since ancient times. This
weapon was basically large bows made of
wood, horn, and animal sinew.
When a soldier discharged the trigger,
heavy projectiles would be launched forth
as far as 328 feet (100 meters). This could
beat any ancient armor the opponent was
The Antikythera Mechanism had several
dials and clock faces, each which served a
different function for determining and
forecasting important astronomical and
calendar events, and even eclipses. This
mechanism was used to predict the
position of the planets and stars in the sky
depending on the calendar month. A main

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gear would move to represent the calendar earliest paper maps that were used for
year, and would, in turn, move many navigation, and to depict certain areas of
separate smaller gears to represent the the Earth. Anaximander was the rst of the
motions of the planets, sun, and moon. ancient Greeks to draw a map of the known
world, and, as such, he is considered to be
Cartography (600 BC) one of the rst cartographers. The ancient
Greek maps are important to the history of
Cartography cartography because they often showed
is the Greece as being at the center of the world
study and and surrounded by an ocean. Other early
practice of Greek maps show the world as divided into
making two continents—Asia and Europe. These
maps. Ancient ideas came largely out of Homer’s works as
Greeks created the well as other early Greek literature.

Focus Question #7: Search for the other inventions of the ancient Greeks and choose one
from these inventions; then look for the counterpart of such invention in the modern days.
Find a picture of both the ancient invention and the innovation of such invention in the
modern days; briefly describe each. Go to your Google Classroom and submit your work, in
PDF, by first clicking the question posted in your classwork.

Impact of Technology in the Greek’s Ultimately, technology has positively

Society
During the growth of the ancient
civilizations, ancient technology was the
result from advances in engineering in
ancient times. These advances in the
history of technology stimulated societies
to adapt new ways of living and
governance.
Ancient Greece in uenced some of our
modern-day technology, and formed many
amazing ideas which were ahead of their
time. The ancient Greeks also made
massive naval and travel ships and created
many ingenious weapons and employed
several ingenuitive war tactics. They were
also able to keep track the movement of
the Sun, Moon, planets and stars
affected human life from antiquity until now
by solving problems associated with
everyday life, and making it easier for
different tasks to be completed.
Technology has made it easier to farm,
more feasible to build cities, and more
convenient to travel, among many other
things, effectively linking together all
countries on earth, helping to create
globalization, and making it easier for
economies to grow and for companies to
do business. Virtually every facet of human
life can be carried out in an easier, more
effective, and quicker fashion via
technological solutions, resulting in less
problems in one way, and more problems
in another.

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Self Assessment #2: The result of this test will reveal how much you understand the
lesson and will be recorded as part of your performance. Go to your Google
Classroom; click the link to redirect you in the Google Form to answer this test. Say
aloud your promise of honesty (below) before taking the quiz.

In taking this quiz, I (your name) understand that I may not work with anyone else,
including conferring with others (student, or anyone else); exchanging information,
answer or ideas; or in aiding or being aided by others in the completion of this test.
I understand that failure to follow this rules is considered cheating, and may subject
me to a significant reduction in my grade at the discretion of the professor. I certify
that I have personally prepared the answers to this test in accordance with the
above stated rules.

1. What purpose did ancient Greek philosophy serve? (A) To explain religion. (B) To study
medicine. (C) To create maps. (D) To explain the world around them.

2. This philosopher was the teacher of Alexander the Great and the author of the
Nicomachean Ethics. (A) Plato (B) Socrates (C) Aristotle (D) Phytagoras

3. What was the Socratic method? (A) A variable and solution technique (B) A question and
answer technique (C) An experiment and solution technique (D) A test and and question
technique

4. Why was Socrates sentenced to death? (A) He tried to overthrow the government. (B) He
was corrupting the minds of the youth of Athens. (C) He stole silver from the treasury.
(D) He protested democracy.

5. Which Greek philosopher theorized that solar eclipses were caused by the passage of the
moon between the sun and the earth (which was correct)? (A) Anaxagoras (B) Plato
(C) Empedocles (D) Anaximenes

6. What is the correct order of teachers? (A) Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Alexander the Great
(B) Socrates, Aristotle, Plato, Alexander the Great (C) Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, Alexander
the Great (D) Aristotle, Alexander the Great, Plato, Socrates

7. This philosopher is recognized for breaking from the use of mythology to explain the
world and the universe, and instead explaining natural objects and phenomena by
theories and hypotheses. (A) Thales of Miletus (B) Anaximenes (C) Anaximander
(D) Empedocles

8. Which of these is true of the Presocratics? (A) They used the gods of Olympus to explain
earthquakes. (B) They believed Zeus governed over all. (C) They sought rational reasons
for natural phenomena. (D) They relied on ancient myth to handle everyday problems.

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9. Which of the following statements about Plato’s Theory of Forms is INCORRECT?

(A) Everything in the physical realm is an imitation of ideals. (B) Everything in the Realm of
Ideals is perfect and changing. (C) Ultimate reality exists beyond our physical world.
(D) Concepts like Redness, Roundness, Beauty, Justice, or Goodness are Forms (and thus
they are commonly capitalized).

10. The clock-like mechanism invented by ancient Greeks, called Antikythera Mechanism, had
several dials and clock faces, each which served a different functions. This mechanism can
be used for the following purposes except _____. (A) determining and forecasting
important astronomical events such as eclipses (B) predicting the position of the planets
and stars in the sky (C) determining the time of the day. (D) charting the moment of the
sun, planets and moons

Project #2: Two-minute Video

Choose one (1) of the ancient Greek philosophers (mentioned in this module) and make a
short (2-min) video about his life, works and achievements. Include voice over and caption
for a better understanding of the content of the video.

Your work will be graded using the rubrics as shown below.

VIdeo Presentation Rubric

Criteria 2 points 3 points 4 points 5 points

The presentation The presentation was The presentation The presentation

was dif cult to not easy to follow. was easy to was very easy to
Organization follow due to follow. follow.
disorganization
of the utterances.

Most of the Most information Most information All information

information was presented in the presented in the presented in in
Accuracy of
inaccurate or not video was clear, but video was clear, the video was
information
clear. was not usually accurate and clear, accurate
accurate. thorough. and thorough.

The student did The student clearly The student The student
not show an understood most seemed to clearly
adequate aspects of the topic understand the understood the
Understanding understanding of and presented his/her main points of topic in-depth
of topic the topic. information with ease. the topic and and presented
presented those his/her
with ease information
convincingly.

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