3.

1 THE SOCIOLOGY ASPECTS OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Definition of Sociology

• Sociology is the study of human social relationships and institutions. Sociology's purpose is to
understand how human action and consciousness both shape and are shaped by surrounding
cultural and social structures

• Sociology is also a social science that studies human societies, their interactions, and the
processes that preserve and change them.

AUSGUSTE COMTE

• Auguste Comte (1798-1857) The Father of Sociology The term sociology was first used by
Frenchman Auguste Comte in the 1830s.

• French philosopher known as the founder of sociology and of positivism.

• A philosopher, mathematician, and social scientist.

• Comte's major works includes:

1. Sixvolume - Course of Positive Philosophy (1830-42).

2. Four-volume System of Positive Polity (1851-54)

HARRIET MARTINEAU

• Harriet Martineau (1802-1876) the First Woman Sociologist.

• Essayist, novelist, journalist, and economic and historical writer.

• She also translated the Comte's major works which is six-volume “Course of Positive Philosophy”
into English language.

HERBERT SPENCER

• Herbert Spencer (1820-1903).

• English sociologist, philosopher and early advocate of the theory of evolution

• Herbert Spencer is famous for his doctrine of social Darwinism.

• Spencer's major works:

1. Herbert Spencer's Principles of Biology - Survival of the Fittest (1864)
2. The Synthetic Philosophy (1896 )
THE FOUR FOUNDER OF SOCIOLOGY

MARK WEBER (1864-1920)- Father theory of Bureaucracy

EMILEDURKHEIM (1858-1917)- Father of the French school sociology

KARL MARX (1818-1883)- Father of modern sociology

GEORGE SIMMEL (1858-1918)- GEORGE SIMMEL

DEFINITION OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• Science fundamentally is the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the natural and
physical world through observations and experiments.

• Study of science evolved with the civilization of human beings.

• Technology is an art, skill or ability which is used to create and develop products and acquire
knowledge.

• Scientists used their knowledge to develop technology and then used technology to develop
science.

IMPORTANCE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• Science generates solutions for everyday life and helps us to answer the great mysteries of the
universe. The most important benefit of science has been the luxury it has brought to daily life. 

•  Technology is important in our lives because it helps to deal with everyday dynamic things.

Relationship between Sociology with Science and Technology

• The sociology of science and technology covers three different units of investigation:

1. The internal structure of the scientific and engineering community.

2. The institutionalization process of science and technology.

3. The interaction of science, technology and society.

POSITIVE EFFECTS OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN COMMUNITY

- Information Technology
- Communication Technology
- Learning Technology
- Transportation Technology
NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN COMMUNITY

- Social Skills
- Data Privacy

3.2 THE DYNAMICS OF SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGES

THE DYNAMICS OF SCIENTIFIC CHANGE

• Back in 16th century , they were expected to be intuitively true (information without evidence )

• Nowadays, new theories are expected to be predictively accurate S

• Scientific changes is Any change in scientific mosaic, transition from one accepted theory to
another or from one employed method to another Proposed by Barseghyan in 2015 from a book
called "Scientific Changes"

OLD SCIENTIFIC METHOD

NEW SCIENTIFIC METHOD

HOW IT BEGINS TO CHANGE?

• Discovered in 20th century as a separate academic discipline (branch of knowledge, taught and
researched as part of higher education).

• Starts with a book (Volume Scientific Change) by Crombie in 1963.

• More about the investigation of the condition of the scientific change By examined cases from
periods, societies and scientific discipline.

Thomas Samuel Kuhn

• American historian of Science for The Structure of Scientific Revolution in 1962 (influence
philosophy of science).

• Tend to portray the history of science in terms of competing paradigms or conceptual systems.

WHY SCIENCE CHANGED?

• Science does not change but the understanding and the perception of people keep changing
Science relies on testing ideas with evidence gathered from the natural world.

• The development of the technologies used are different and improved a lot from time to time It
has been thoroughly tested and supported by multiple time of experiments and some lines of
evidence (have explanation).
THE DYNAMICS OF TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE

• The concept of technological diversity that is considerable general significance in economics.

• Involves the invention of technologies and their release as open source via:

a) Research and development.

b) The continual improvement of the technologies.

c) The diffusion of the technologies throughout the industry or society.

PROCESS OF TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE

1. INVENTION- the creation of a new product or process

2. INOVATION- the application of the invention for the first time
3. DIFFUSION- how fast others begin to adopt the innovation

TECHNOLOGICAL REVOLUTION

• Industry 4.0 is the origin of a new revolution: A fusion of leading-edge production techniques
and smart systems that integrate with organizations and people.

• The fusion of technologies and their interaction across the physical, digital and biological
domains make the Fourth Industrial Revolution fundamentally different from previous
revolutions.

REVOLUTION OF TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE

1st TECHNOLOGICAL REVOLUTION “STEAM ENGINE”

• The proto-industrialization period

• Started at the end of the 18th century to the beginning of the 19 th

• Mechanization makes agriculture started to be replace by the industry

• Invention of the steam engine help speed up the manufacturing of railroads

2nd TECHNOLOGICAL REVOLUTION ”ENGINE ELECTRICITY”

• Started at the end of the 19th century

• Massive technological advancements in the field of industries. Electricity, gas, and oil.
3rd TECHNOLOGICAL REVOLUTION “MACHINE PROGRAMMING”

• In the second half of the 20th century

• The rise of electronics, telecommunication and of course computers

4th TECHNOLOGICAL REVOLUTION “INDUSTRY 4.0”

• Started in the dawn of the third millennium with The Internet.

• Creates a world in which virtual and physical systems of manufacturing cooperate with each
other in a flexible way at the global level.

PROS AND CONS OF TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE

1. INVENTED- creates new product and processes

2. TMES- increase efficiency, lower costs
3. INDUSTRIALIZED- helps economies evolve

CONS AND CONS OF TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE

1. MALFUNCTIONS- all are machine driven

2. EXTREME DEPENCIES- becoming more and more dependent on technology
3. ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES- global warming