Historical Development of Science and

Technology
Prepared by: Jobelle R. Tapia, LPT
 Major Theme
• The history of science is not only a story of humanity’s
collective movement from ignorance to knowledge
• At its limit, the history of science touches the study of religion:
the diverse and changing nature of the never-ending human
search for the TRUTH
• What is stuff? what is life? where are we? When are we? How
we can agree on what we know?
 The Starting Point of Science
• “Nullius in verba”
- Motto of the Royal Society of Science (founded 1660; tasked in
promoting physico-mathematical learning)
- The Royal Society is renamed as Royal Society of Loyal in 1663
for the improvement of natural science
- Associated with Francis Bacon’s idea
- “Don’t believe something just because someone tells you it’s
true. Test out each new hypothesis, or educated guess,
yourself
• Originally adapted by alchemists and medical doctors, who are
called as natural philosophers
• “scientist” was only coined in 1840 by William Whewell
 Overview
• T in Prehistoric time
• S & T in Ancient Civilization
• S & T in Middle Ages
• S & T in the Modern World
 Technology during Prehistoric Time

• Paleolithic - (roughly 2.5 • Neolithic - (8,000 BC to

million years ago to 3,000 BC)
10,000 B.C.)
 Technology during Ancient Civilization
• Sumerian and Babylonian Civilization
(4500-1900 BC) (1900 BC-539 BC

Pottery, Form of writing (cuneiform),

hydraulic engineering, chariot, plow,
textile mill, bricks out of clay, metallurgy,
Sexagesimal system, Ziiggurat, Wheel,
calendar, Astrology
 Technology during Ancient Civilization
• Ancient Egyptian (3100
BC- 332 BC)
-mirror, toothpaste,
engineering and
construction, Pyramids, ox-
drawn plow,
mummification, irrigation,
Calendar (365 days)
 Technology during Ancient Civilization
• Indus Valley
Civilization (3300-
1300 BC)
- Indus numerals ,
indian
measurement based
on body parts,
jewelry, spinning
wheel and Punjab,
indigo plant for
dyeing, pottery
 Technology during Ancient Civilization
• Ancient China
-Zhou (1046-256 B.C.E),
Qin (221-206 B.C.E), and
Ming (1368-1644 C.E.)
- Paper making, gun
powder (1000 AD),
compass, alcohol, tea
production, silk,
umbrella, Iron smelting,
porcelain, seismograph,
paper money
 Science during Ancient Civilization
• Ancient Greek Civilization
- Philosophy
- Presocratic (600-400 BCE):
- Considered as natural philosophers (self-conscious inquiry into
nature)
- Develops schools of thoughts (group of teachers and students who
thought about the same problem)
- Rational debate in which they use reason, logic, and observation
 Science during Ancient Civilization
• Ancient Greek Civilization (12th-9th century BC)
• Presocratic:
1. Thales- separate the natural world from divine
- founded the Milesians
- water is most basic element
2. Anaximander- student of Thales
- first Philosopher who write down his ideas
- he rejected water as the basic element, but
proposed “apeiron”, a formless initial state
- gnomon
 Science during Ancient Civilization
• Ancient Greek Civilization
• Presocratics:
3. Empedocles- 4 elements mixed by two
forces (Love and Strife)
4. Pythagoras- introduced idealism in science
(generations of abstract models)
- numbers are sacred
- role of mathematical truth
5. Democritus- atomos
 Science during Ancient Civilization
• Ancient Greek Civilization
• Socratic: (idealism and empiricism) (399 BCE)
1. Plato- founded a physical school called “The
Academy”
- “thinking about thinking”- training on how to
think properly
- uses idealism (theory of nature based on
perfect abstraction)
- cosmos is perfect
 Science during Ancient Civilization
• Ancient Greek Civilization
• Socratic: (idealism and empiricism) (399 BCE)
2. Aristotle- empiricism (based on empirical
evidence)
- founded the Lyceum
- four elements and aether or quintessence
with 4 physical sensations (hot, cold, dry, and wet)
- knowledge preceded by the experience of
senses
 Science during Ancient Civilization
• Ancient Rome
- engineering, tower crane, water
clock, Julian calendar (12 months,
365 days, and leap day in every
four years)
 Science and Technology in Middle Ages
• 5th to 15th century from the Fall of
Roman Empire and merged into the
Renaissance and Age of Discovery
• Was Science dead in Medieval
Society?
• Early Middle Ages (500-1000 AD)-
Dark Ages
• Middle Ages (1000-1300 AD)- Rebirth
of Science and Scholasticism
• Late Middle Ages (1300-1500)-
Scholasticism and Scientific Method
 Science and Technology in Middle Ages
• Scholasticism- philosophical systems
and speculative tendencies of
various medieval Christian thinkers,
who, working against a background
of fixed religious dogma, sought to
solve anew general philosophical
problems (as of faith, and reason,
will and intellect, realism and the
provability of the existence of God)
 Science and Technology in Renaissance and Age of
Enlightenment
• Renaissance is a cultural and intellectual movement of 15th and
16th centuries
• Age of Enlightenment or Age of Reason- started in the mid-17th
century and ended roughly by 19th century
• The Age of Enlightenment is the age of triumph of science and
of philosophy, relied on rationalism and empiricism
• The Age of Enlightenment and Renaissance is characterized
with Scientific Revolution
 Science and Technology in Renaissance and Age of
Enlightenment
• Philosophical origin of scientific method:
1. Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)
- he innovated telescope from Hans
Lippershey’s version of telescope
- he experienced house arrest in 1633
“He called for specific tests that would let
experimenters confirm his laws with their
own senses. This is the mark of a true
scientist: independent confirmation.”
 Science and Technology in Renaissance and Age of
Enlightenment
• Philosophical origin of scientific method:
2. Francis Bacon (1561-1626)
- English statesman and philosopher
- published Novum Organum Scientiarum
(new method)
- a new approach to science, which was
practical, instrumental, supported by state
- natural philosophers should help improve
humanity through technological advancement
 Science and Technology in Renaissance and Age of
Enlightenment
• Philosophical origin of scientific method:
3. Rene Descartes (1596-1650)
- Mathematician and philosopher
- Epistemology: “How do we know what we
know?”
- “Knowledge obtained through the senses
lacks absolute certainty, because the senses
often deceive us.”
 Science and Technology in Renaissance and Age of
Enlightenment
• Philosophical origin of scientific method:
3. Rene Descartes (1596-1650)
- “Universe of composed only of things that
math can describe.”
- “Human reason can also be deceived! Logical
conclusions from false premises will lead you
to the wrong answers”
- Systematic doubting- a tactic in checking the
validity of your own knowledge
 Science and Technology in Renaissance and Age of
Enlightenment
• Philosophical origin of scientific method:
 The Starting Point of Science
• “Nullius in verba”
- Motto of the Royal Society of Science (founded 1660; tasked in
promoting physico-mathematical learning)
- The Royal Society is renamed as Royal Society of London in
1663 for the improvement of natural science
- Associated with Francis Bacon’s idea
- “Don’t believe something just because someone tells you it’s
true. Test out each new hypothesis, or educated guess,
yourself
• Originally adapted by alchemists and medical doctors, who are
called as natural philosophers
• “scientist” was only coined in 1840 by William Whewell
 Science and Technology in Renaissance and Age of
Enlightenment
• Scientific Revolution (1543-1687)
- Marks the emergence of modern
science
- It is characterized with paradigm
shift
 Science and Technology in Renaissance and Age of
Enlightenment
• Scientific Revolution
• Old/ Previous Science

Claudius Prolemy
 Science and Technology in Renaissance and Age of
Enlightenment
• Scientific Revolution
• New Theory
 Science and Technology in Renaissance and Age of
Enlightenment
• Scientific Revolution
• New Theory
 Science and Technology in Renaissance and Age of
Enlightenment
• Scientific Revolution
• New Theory
- Church admitted
heliocentrism in 1822
 Science and Technology in Renaissance and Age of
Enlightenment
• Scientific Revolution
Galen of Pergamon
- Theory of humorism
- dissected and
experimented on such
lower animals
Science and Technology in Industrial Revolution
• First Industrial Revolution (1760-
1840)- was the transition to new
manufacturing processes in
Europe and the United States
• Transportation:
- James Watt- steam engine
- Robert Fulton- steam boat
- Henry Ford- Model T car
Science and Technology in Industrial Revolution
• Communication:
- Samuel Morse- telegraph
(transmitted electrically in 1836)
- Alexander Graham Bell – telephone
(1876)
- Thomas Edison- phonograph (1876)
- Enrico Maconi- first radio
transmission (1895)
Science and Technology in Industrial Revolution
• Industry
- Eli Whitney – cotton gin (1794)
- Elias Howe- sewing machine (1844)
- Isaac Singer- improves and market
Howe’s sewing machine
- Thomas Edison- electric light bulb
(1879)
- Nikola Tesla- industrial electric
motor (1888)
Science and Technology in Industrial Revolution
• Industry
- Rudolf Diesel- Diesel engine
- Orville and Wilbur Wright- first
airplane
Science and Technology in Industrial Revolution