Historical Antecedents

in which Social Considerations changed the course

of Science and Technology

Chapter 1, Part I – GEd109 – Ms. Ilao

Objectives
• Define and Discuss the
interactions between Science,
Technology, and Society
throughout History

• Discuss how scientific and

technological developments
affect society and the
environment

• Describe the paradigm shifts in

history
What words are often associated with:
Science, Technology, & Society?
 Science
- Is an evolving body of knowledge that is
based on theoretical expositions and
experimental and empirical activities that
generates universal truth.
 Technology
- Application of Science and creation of
systems, processes, and objects designed to
“help” humans in their daily lives.
 Society
- Sum total of our interactions as humans
- A group of individuals involved in persistent
social interaction sharing the same geographical
or social territory, typically subject to the same
political authority and dominant cultural
expectations (Science Daily).
 Scientific and technological principles
have been and continue to be applied to
solve problems that people experience
in their day-to-day aspects of living.
 Problems in the Modern Society

• Technology
• Human values
• Social organization
• Environmental concerns
• Economic resources
can be solved by the application of
• Political decisions scientific knowledge, technical
expertise, social understanding
and humane compassion.
Science
• Is studied holistically, often in an
interdisciplinary method
• It needs to become more multidisciplinary
(cooperation and integration between the
social and natural sciences)
• Draw on the contributions of the humanities
The influence of Science and technology
on people’s lives is expanding.
The Role of Science and Technology
DIKTAPE
DIKTAPE
D – differentiators between countries
I – interventions
K – key drivers to development
T – transform business practices
A – alter the way people live
P – power to better lives
E – engine of growth
Historical Antecedents
in the World
 A 4
I A R E I T
D S N
2 H
V L N E N 0
D
A E A C L I
N M
I
N I
U T
H N
N T I
A S D
C E G T
C N I H C
U
O R S
I F
G
O T S T I E T
E L
S E A N
R
S D I
N C N L
C E A T A
T I N H M L
N R U
E I E
N A
N C N E R R
G V
C
E A E T Y E
E . V
.
 Ancient Times
(from Ancient times to 600 BC)
• Science during this time involved
practical arts (healing practices
and metal tradition).
Imhotep
• Egyptians already had reasonably
sophisticated medical practices.

• The heart of Egyptian medicine is

trial and error
Ancient Times
(from Ancient times to 600 BC)
• The Egyptian medicine
was considered
advanced as compared
with other ancient
nations because of one
of the early inventions
of Egyptian civilization
– the papyrus.
 Advent of Science
(600 BC to 500 AD)

• Ancient Greeks were the early thinkers, they were the

first true scientists.
• They collected facts and observations and then use
these observations to explain the natural world.
• Scientific thought in Classical Antiquity produced
substantial advancements in scientific knowledge.
• Scholars employed principles developed by Greeks
(application of Math and deliberate empirical research)
Islamic Golden Age (8th to 14th Century)

• Science and Technology in the

Islamic world adopted and
preserved knowledge and
technologies from contemporary
and earlier civilizations.

• This was a period of cultural, economic, and scientific

flourishing in the history of Islam (during the reign of
Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid)
• This began with the inauguration of the “House of
Wisdom” in Baghdad.
Islamic Golden Age (8th to 14th Century)

• Islamic Science was characterized by having practical

purposes as well as the goal of understanding.
Islamic Golden Age (8th to 14th Century)

• Mathematics also flourished in this period (Al

Khwarizmi, Avicenna, and Jamshid al Kashi)

• There was also great progress in medicine. (Al

Biruni and Avicenna)

• Islamic Physicists also arose. (Al Haytham, Al Biruni)

Traditional Revisionist
• Lacked innovation • Scientific Revolution
• Handing on ancient
knowledge
 Ancient China
• Gave the world the Four Great Inventions
• compass, gunpowder, papermaking, and printing
• The Four Great inventions serve merely to highlight the
technological interaction between East and West.
 Cai Lun

Chinese Alchemists

Bi Sheng
 Renaissance
(1300 AD – 1600 AD)

• The Golden Age of Science – when great advances

occurred in different fields
• Rediscovery of Ancient Scientific Texts and printing
democratized learning and allowed faster propagation
of new ideas.
• Marie Boas Hall coined the term “Scientific
Renaissance” (early phase of the Scientific Revolution)
 Renaissance
(1300 AD – 1600 AD)

• Peter Dear argued a two-phased model of early

modern science:
• Scientific Renaissance of the 15th and 16th centuries
focused on the restoration of natural knowledge of
the ancients
• Scientific Revolution of the 17 century when
th

scientists shifted from recovery to innovation

The period is usually seen as
“Scientific Backwardness”
 Renaissance
(1300 AD – 1600 AD)
• The most important technological advancement was
the development of printing – Johannes Gutenberg

• The development of printing amounted to a

communications revolution which transformed the
conditions of life
Enlightenment Period (1715 AD – 1789 AD)

• The “Age of Reason” characterized by Radical

reorientation in Science which emphasized reason over
superstition and science over blind faith.
• Many books, essays, inventions, scientific discoveries,
laws, wars, and revolutions were made in this period

Galileo Galilei Johaness Kepler Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz

Enlightenment Period (1715 AD – 1789 AD)

• Isaac Newton’s “Principia Mathematica” and John Locke’s

“Essay Concerning Human Understanding” – two works
that provided the scientific, mathematical, and
philosophical toolkit for the Enlightenment’s major
advances

• This era dedicated to human progress.

Industrial Period (1760 – 1840)

• The rise of modern Science and Industrial Revolution were

closely connected
• Great Britain – the home of industrial revolution (the rise of
textile and metallurgical industry)
• Science offered in this period the hope that careful
observation and experimentation might improve industrial
production significantly
“Applying Science to the problems of industry served
to stimulate public support for Science.”
1. Use of new basic materials
2. Use of new energy sources
3. Invention of new machines
4. New organization of work (factory system)
5. Developments in transportation and communication
6. Increasing application of science to industry
 20 th Century
• Generated entirely novel insights in all areas of research
where an intimate connection between Science and
Technology was established
• Science now is dealing with the complexity of the real world
• Epistemological and methodological questions as well as
interdisciplinary aspects become ever more important in
scientific research
“ Discovery ”
 “ Discovery ”
• There were two parts of the 20 thcentury.
• The start of 20th century was strongly marked by
Einstein’s formulation of the theory of relativity.
• The second half, several branches of science
continued to make progress
• Modern Physics grew into a primary discipline
contributing to today’s basic natural sciences
“ The year 1953 was an important landmark for Biology
with the description by Crick and Watson of the
structure of DNA, the carrier of genetic information
(Rosch, 2014).”
“The application of scientific knowledge can induce
changes of environmental and thus living conditions.”
 Fourth Industrial Revolution

• Blurring boundaries between physical, digital, and

biological worlds
 Fourth Industrial Revolution

• Fusion of AI (artificial intelligence), IoT (internet of

things), 3D printing, genetic engineering, quantum
computing, and other technologies.

• “Perfect storm of technologies”

Science and Technology . . .
Flourished from the Ancient Times until Present
Questions?
Announcements
• An activity will be uploaded in our google classroom.
Deadline of submission is on Wednesday, September 7,
2022, 11:59pm.

• Further updates will be posted in the gclassroom as

deemed necessary.