✓ Science Learning

&Technology Objectives
(S&T)
✓ Historical
antecedents ❑
❑
To define S&T,
To identify/enumerate
the different roles of
S&T, and
❑ To trace the history of
S&T in the world
(interaction of S&T and
society/antecedents)
 What is science?
 Learning new facts
(discoveries)

https://www.google.com.ph/search?q=science+definition&source=lnms&tbm=isch&
sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0ahUKEwjPmKTR_tfTAhUIx7wKHYmdBcgQ_AUIBigB&biw=1366&bih=
645&dpr=1#tbm=isch&q=science+cartoon+images&imgrc=pl2P7ZVhw71-bM:
 What is science?

 Solving
problems
(scientific
method)

https://www.google.com.ph/search?q=science+definition&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X
&sqi=2&ved=0ahUKEwjPmKTR_tfTAhUIx7wKHYmdBcgQ_AUIBigB&biw=1366&bih=645&dpr=
1#tbm=isch&q=climate+change+cartoon&imgrc=pUolAkl0HhjWJM:
What is science?
 theintellectual and
practical activity
encompassing the
systematic study of the
structure and behavior of
the physical and natural
world through
observation and
experiment – Oxford
dictionary

https://www.google.com.ph/search?q=science+definition&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X
&sqi=2&ved=0ahUKEwjPmKTR_tfTAhUIx7wKHYmdBcgQ_AUIBigB&biw=1366&bih=645&dpr=
1#tbm=isch&q=science+definition+cartoon&imgrc=CyB2anvUE1EUzM:
 What is technology?
 Creating/inventing things

https://www.google.com.ph/search?q=science+definition&source=lnms&tbm=isch&s
a=X&sqi=2&ved=0ahUKEwjPmKTR_tfTAhUIx7wKHYmdBcgQ_AUIBigB&biw=1366&bih=64
5&dpr=1#tbm=isch&q=technology&imgrc=62wfRSqF1RgKtM:
What is technology?
 Things that fulfill our
needs and desires or
perform certain
functions
 Application of
understanding of
natural laws to the
solution of practical
problems
Reflection:
What is the role of S&T in your life?
Reflection:
What is the role of S&T in your life?
A brief history of discoveries
 S&T in the ancient times
(through 599 BCE)
 Divided into 3 periods:
1. Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, &
Neolithic)
2. Bronze Age
3. Iron Age

Bunch, B and Hellemans, A. The History of Science and Technology. Houghton Mifflin Company.
New York, USA. 2004.
 S&T in the ancient times
 Stone tools have been the first recognized
technology (or craft?)
- Wooden tools could have preceded stones by
millions of years
 Made by one of our direct ancestors (H. habilis or
H. rudolfensis) 2,5000,000
years ago
 Early tools were some broken
pebbles, then improved by
flaking pieces off a core,
creating distinctive shapes with
a single cutting edge

Bunch, B and Hellemans, A. The History of Science and Technology. Houghton

Mifflin Company. New York, USA. 2004.
 S&T in the ancient times
 Characterized by:
➢ Hunting & gathering (or foraging?)
➢ Use of fire (man’s earliest conquest)
➢ Agricultural revolution (farming)
- Use of metal, instead of stone tools, towards the
end
- Pottery and other ceramics, along with glass
were dominant (Ceramics age)
 Civilization began to arise (manufacturing,
trading, villages have rulers, etc.)

Bunch, B and Hellemans, A. The History of Science and Technology. Houghton Mifflin Company.
New York, USA. 2004.
“With the beginnings of metallurgy, the
Stone Age of man comes to an end; with
the beginnings of writing, prehistory
comes to an end; with the beginnings of
agriculture, man's parasitism on nature
gives way to co-operation with nature”
– R.J. Forbes
 S&T in “Antiquity”
(600 through 529 BCE)
 Started with the rise of Greek civilization
➢ developed institutions such as the
Academy, Lyceum, and Museum
➢ were the first to believe that humans could
understand the universe using reason alone
rather than through mythology or religion
(philosophers)
 Characterized by war between religion and
science (Dark ages)

Bunch, B and Hellemans, A. The History of Science and Technology. Houghton Mifflin Company.
New York, USA. 2004.
 S&T in the middle ages
(530 through 1452)
 Decline of science in Europe
➢ Use of currency replaced by barter
➢ Trade ceased entirely
➢ Poverty was endemic and people suffered
from wars, piracy, famine, and epidemics
 Chinese philosophy developed theories on
matter and living beings

Bunch, B and Hellemans, A. The History of Science and Technology. Houghton Mifflin Company.
New York, USA. 2004.
 S&T in the middle ages
(530 through 1452)
 Revival of Western science started during the
last centuries of the first millennium
 Technological revolution took place
➢ Vast improvements in communication and
transportation

Bunch, B and Hellemans, A. The History of Science and Technology. Houghton Mifflin Company.
New York, USA. 2004.
 Renaissance and the
Scientific revolution
(1453 through 1659)
 The depletion of the population of Europe
(Black Death) motivated the smaller
communities to find new ways to function
➢ New atmosphere encouraged the
development of arts, science and
technology
➢ States recognized the importance of
technology for defense and trade
➢ Kings engaged engineers to improve their
fortifications and weapons
Bunch, B and Hellemans, A. The History of Science and Technology. Houghton Mifflin Company.
New York, USA. 2004.
 Renaissance and the Scientific
revolution (1453 through 1659)
 Technology became fully accepted
➢ Many artists, like Leonardo da Vinci,
became architects and technologists
➢ Mathematics was introduced into
universities (became the basis of the arts
and technology)
 Time of colonization, adventure, and
exploration

Bunch, B and Hellemans, A. The History of Science and Technology. Houghton Mifflin Company.
New York, USA. 2004.
 The Scientific revolution
 Started with the publication of Copernicus’s
heliocentric theory and Vesalius’s anatomy
➢ Opposed by both Catholic Church and the
Protestant Church of Martin Luther
➢ Much later, the Church lifted its ban on the
publication of works that defended the
Copernican system

Bunch, B and Hellemans, A. The History of Science and Technology. Houghton Mifflin Company.
New York, USA. 2004.
 The Scientific revolution
 Explorers discovered a wealth of previously
unknown plants and animals
 Mathematics introduced various symbols and
conventions (became an almost universal
language)
 Galileo introduced experimentation into science
 Factories operated, patent laws and the stock
market began, and printed books became the
means to spread technological developments
 Design of machines developed into an art
(gadgets)

Bunch, B and Hellemans, A. The History of Science and Technology. Houghton Mifflin Company.
New York, USA. 2004.
 Scientific Method: Measurement
and Communication
(1660 through 1734)
 Newton’s Principia became the basis of the
scientific method used in the study of natural
phenomena
➢ Theories were formulated from
observations, these theories were used to
predict other phenomena
➢ Natural phenomena were explained by
mathematical laws, an approach to
science not necessarily antagonistic to
religion
Bunch, B and Hellemans, A. The History of Science and Technology. Houghton Mifflin Company.
New York, USA. 2004.
 Scientific Method: Measurement
and Communication
(1660 through 1734)
 Separation of physics and metaphysics
(philosophy) took place (Newton vs.
Descartes on gravity)
 Observation and experimentation became
the pillars of scientific activity
➢ Scientists recorded phenomena in terms of
numbers
➢ Classification of plants, animals, minerals,
fossils became a trend

Bunch, B and Hellemans, A. The History of Science and Technology. Houghton Mifflin Company.
New York, USA. 2004.
 Scientific Method: Measurement
and Communication
(1660 through 1734)
 Science became a shared activity
➢ Societies and journals became the means
of communication (printing press)

Bunch, B and Hellemans, A. The History of Science and Technology. Houghton Mifflin Company.
New York, USA. 2004.
 The Enlightenment and the Industrial
revolution (1735 through 1819)
 Emphasizing reasoning and order
➢ Critical evaluation of previous beliefs in the
light of rationalism
➢ Began with Linnaean scheme for classifying
organisms

Bunch, B and Hellemans, A. The History of Science and Technology. Houghton Mifflin Company.
New York, USA. 2004.
 The Enlightenment and the Industrial
revolution (1735 through 1819)
 Profound change in philosophical thinking
➢ Emergence of “mechanical philosophy”, a
belief that all phenomena could be
explained by sets of simple mechanical
laws
➢ Some materialistic philosophers denied the
existence of a spiritual god and viewed
nature entirely as a mechanical system

Bunch, B and Hellemans, A. The History of Science and Technology. Houghton Mifflin Company.
New York, USA. 2004.
 The Enlightenment and the Industrial
revolution (1735 through 1819)
➢ Two approaches to philosophy emerged:
empiricism (knowledge comes from
experience) and rationalism (knowledge
comes from reasoning)
✓ reconciled b Immanual Kant
➢ “Great Chain of Being” envisioned all
existence as continuous

Bunch, B and Hellemans, A. The History of Science and Technology. Houghton Mifflin Company.
New York, USA. 2004.
 The Industrial revolution
(18th Century)
 Development of machines that would make
work faster or more efficient
➢ Interest in thermodynamics rose as a result
of the steam engine
➢ Concepts of work and power began to be
formalized
 Encyclopaedias were the new form of
publication
 The profession of engineer was one of the
great inventions
Bunch, B and Hellemans, A. The History of Science and Technology. Houghton Mifflin Company.
New York, USA. 2004.
 S&T in the 19th Century
(1820 through 1894)
 Much 19th century science started with the
discovery of electromagnetism by Hans
Christian Oersted
 Science and the teaching of science
underwent a number of changes
➢ Many new fields of science were born
(Anthropology, Archaeology, Cell biology,
Psychology, Organic Chemistry)

Bunch, B and Hellemans, A. The History of Science and Technology. Houghton Mifflin Company.
New York, USA. 2004.
 S&T in the 19th Century
(1820 through 1894)
 Science became professional
➢ Occupation of science became a paid
profession
➢ universities developed into centers where
science flourished
➢ Teaching of science became linked to scientific
research
➢ Publication of scientific information started
➢ Scientists started meeting at national scientific
congresses
➢ The idea that science could ultimately explain
all phenomena in nature became stronger

Bunch, B and Hellemans, A. The History of Science and Technology. Houghton Mifflin Company.
New York, USA. 2004.
 S&T in the 19th Century
(1820 through 1894)
 The relationship between scientific education
and technological progress became fully
understood
➢ Technical schools were founded
➢ Scientific thought was much more generally
known by the public (faced general public
criticism of some scientific ideas, e.g. age
of the Earth and the theory of evolution by
Darwin)

Bunch, B and Hellemans, A. The History of Science and Technology. Houghton Mifflin Company.
New York, USA. 2004.
 Rise of modern S&T
(1895 through 1945)
 Large number of scientists
 Science became much more of a communal
effort
 Science started having an effect on society
directly (the time span between a discovery
and its technical application became shorter)
 Science became highly successful in
explaining the nature of matter, mechanisms
of chemical reactions, fundamental
processes of life, and the general structure of
the universe

Bunch, B and Hellemans, A. The History of Science and Technology. Houghton Mifflin Company.
New York, USA. 2004.
 Rise of modern S&T
(1895 through 1945)
 Quantum theory changed the way
philosophers think about the universe
 Technology did not remain confined to large
enterprises only (became an important part
of everyday life)
 Enormous growth of automobile industry
 Electricity revolutionized technology
 Laboratories for testing and development of
new products were established

Bunch, B and Hellemans, A. The History of Science and Technology. Houghton Mifflin Company.
New York, USA. 2004.
 Big science and
the Post-industrial society
(1946 through 1972)
 Discoveries and inventions reached practical
applications as a result of WW2 (synthetic
rubber, radar, DDT, penicillin, fusion and fission
bombs, jet powered aircraft, helicopter,
ballistic missiles, nuclear weapons, and the
electronic digital computer)

Bunch, B and Hellemans, A. The History of Science and Technology. Houghton Mifflin Company.
New York, USA. 2004.
 Big science and
the Post-industrial society
(1946 through 1972)
 Science became “big”
➢ Equipment/instruments were shared
(interdisciplinary)
➢ Even larger number of scientists, scientists
having specialization
 Science changed society
➢ Availability of automobiles changed how
people migrate
➢ Automation allowed many manufacturing
processes to be done by less skilled workers
Bunch, B and Hellemans, A. The History of Science and Technology. Houghton Mifflin Company.
New York, USA. 2004.
 The Information Age
(1973 through present)

Bunch, B and Hellemans, A. The History of Science and Technology. Houghton Mifflin Company.
New York, USA. 2004.
Activity: “Standing on the
Shoulders of Giants”
 What are the major achievements of S&T in the
ancient, middle and modern ages? How about in
the Philippines?
 Semi-group activity
 Each member chooses 1 major achievement of
the assigned period (no member should pick the
same achievement, as much as possible,
achievements come from different fields)
 Draw it and report on how it works and what
pushed it to be invented or achieved (historical
antecedent)
 Time limit: 3 mins per member (max)
Rubrics