La Carlota City College

City of La Carlota
-oOo-
AB ELS DEPARTMENT
Module in GE7
2st semester, AY 2022-2023
SARALYN F. CASUGOD
Email: saralyncasugod@gmail.com
Facebook Account: SARALYN CASUGOD

I. COURSE TITLE : GE7 (SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY)

II. NUMBER OF UNITS : 3 Units
III. COURSE DESCRIPTION :
This interdisciplinary course engages student to confront the realities brought about by
science and technology in society. Such realities pervade the personal, the public, and the global
aspects of our living and are integral to human development. Scientific knowledge and
technological development happen in the context of society with all its socio-political, cultural,
economic, and philosophical underpinnings at play. This course seeks to instill reflective
knowledge in the students that they are able to live the good life and display ethical decision
making in the face of scientific and technological advancement.

IV. COURSE OUTCOMES:

At the end of the course, the students should be able to:

Knowledge
1. Articulate the impacts of science and technology on society, specifically Philippine society
2. Explain how science and technology affect society and the environment and its role in nation-
building
3. Analyze the human condition in order to deeply reflect and express philosophical
ramifications that are meaningful to the student as a part of society
4. Define and demonstrate the impact of social media on the students’ life and Philippine
society in general

Values
1. Imbibe the importance of science and technology in the preservation of the environment and
the development of the Filipino nation
2. Critique human flourishing vis-à-vis the progress of science and technology such that the
student may be able to define for himself/herself the meaning of the good life
3. Foster the value of a healthy lifestyle toward the holistic and sustainable development of
society and the environment.

Skills
1. Creatively present the importance and contributions of science and technology to society
2. Examine shared concerns that make up the good life in order to come up with innovative
and creative solutions to contemporary issues guided by ethical standards
3. Illustrate how the social media and information age impact their lives and their
understanding of climate change.

V. COURSE OUTLINE
 A. PRELIM PERIOD

 Historical antecedents in which social considerations changed the course of science and
technology
 Intellectual revolutions that defined society
 Science and technology and nation building

B. MIDTERM PERIOD

 The Human Person flourishing in terms of science and technology

 When technology and humanity cross
C. SEMI FINALS PERIOD
MODULE 3. SPECIFIC ISSUES IN STS
 The Information Age
 Biodiversity and the Healthy Society
 Genetically Modified Organisms:

D. FINALS PERIOD

 Science, Health, and Politics

Nano World
 Climate Change

VI. CONTENT DISCUSSION

Module 1. General Concepts and Historical Events in Science, Technology, and Society.

Lesson 1. Historical Antecedents in which social considerations changed the course of science
and technology.
 IN THE WORLD: ANCIENT. MIDDLE AND MODERN AGES
 IN THE PHILIPPINES

LEARNING OUTCOME: At the end of this lesson, the students should be able to:
 DISCUSS THE INTERACTIONS BETWEEN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY
AND THROUGHOUT HISTORY
 DISCUSS HOW SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS AFFECT SOCIETY
AND THE ENVIRONMENT.

Science is a body of empirical, theoretical, and practical knowledge about the natural world,

produced by scientists who emphasize the observation, explanation, and prediction of real-
world phenomena. Historiography of science, in contrast, studies the methods employed by
historians of science.

How is science used in technology?

 SCIENCE:
- Knowledge about or study of the natural world based on facts learned through
experiments and observation.
- is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form
of testable explanations and predictions about the universe.
 - It is the pursuit of knowledge about the natural world through systematic observation
and experiments. Through science, we develop new innovation, technologies.

 TECHNOLOGY:
- Science or knowledge put into practical use to solve problems or invent useful tools.
- Is the application of scientifically gained knowledge for practical purpose.
Scientist use technology in all their experiments.

The role of Science and Technology

1. Alter the way people live, connect, communicate, and transact, with profound effects on
economic development.
2. Key drivers to development, because technological and scientific revolutions underpin
economic advances, improvements in health systems, education and infrastructure.
3. The technological revolutions of the 21 st century are emerging from entirely new sectors,
based on micro-processors, tele-communications, bio-technology and nano-technology.
Products are transforming business practices across the economy, as well as the lives of
all who have access to their effects. The most remarkable breakthroughs will come from
the interaction of insights and applications arising when these technologies converge.
4. Have the power to better the lives of poor people in developing countries.
5. Differentiators between countries that are able to tackle poverty effectively by growing
and developing their economies and those that are not.
6. Engine of growth
7. Interventions for cognitive enhancement, proton cancer therapy and genetic engineering.

 Society - is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group
sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and
dominant cultural expectations.
- The sum total of our interactions as humans, including the interactions that we engage in
to figure things out and to make things.
 Science, technology, society and environment (STSE) education, originates from the science
technology and society (STS) movement in science education. This is an outlook on science education
that emphasizes the teaching of scientific and technological developments in their cultural, economic,
social and political contexts.
 In this view of science education, students are encouraged to engage in issues pertaining to the
impact of science on everyday life and make responsible decisions about how to address such issues
(Solomon, 1993 and Aikenhead, 1994).
 The STS movement has a long history in science education reform, and embraces a wide range of
theories about the intersection between science, technology and society (Solomon and Aikenhead,
1994; Pedretti 1997). 

What is the relationship between science and society?

 The impact of science and technology on society is very evident. But society also influences science.
 There are social influences on the direction and emphasis of scientific and technological
development, through pressure groups on specific issues and through generally accepted views,
values and priorities.

How Science can have an effect to the society?

- Science influences society through its knowledge and world view. Scientific knowledge
and the procedures used by scientists influence the way many individuals in society think
about themselves, others, and the environment.
 - The effect of science on society is neither entirely beneficial or entirely detrimental

Lesson 2. INTELLECTUAL REVOLUTIONS THAT DEFINED SOCIETY

Scientific Revolution
How can science be defined?
1. Science as an idea. It includes ideas, theories, and all available systematic explanations and observations
about the natural and physical world.
2. Science as intellectual activity. It encompasses a systematic and practical study of the natural and physical
world. This process of study involves systematic observation and experimentation.
3. Science as a body of knowledge. It is a subject or a discipline, a field of study, of a body of knowledge that
deals with the process of learning about the natural and physical world.
4. Science as a personal and social activity. This explains that science is both knowledge and activities done by
human beings to develop better understanding of the world around them.

Scientific Revolution was the period of enlightenment when the developments in the fields of
mathematics, physics, astronomy, biology, and chemistry transformed the views of society about nature. It
explained the emergence or birth of modern science as a result of these developments from the disciplines
mentioned.
Some Intellectuals and their Revolutionary Ideas
Nicolaus Copernicus
He placed the Sun to be the centerpiece of the universe. The Earth and all the planets are
surrounding or orbiting the Sun each year.
Nicolaus Copernicus was an astronomer who proposed a heliocentric system, which the
planets orbit around the Sun; that Earth is a planet which, besides orbiting the Sun annually, also
turns once daily on its own axis; and that very slow changes in the direction of this axis account for
the precession of the equinoxes.
Nicolaus Copernicus was born in Thorn, Poland on February 19, 1473. He was the son of a
wealthy merchant. After his father's death, he was raised by his mother's brother, a bishop in the
Catholic Church. Copernicus studied mathematics and astronomy at the University of Krakow.
Through his uncle's influence Copernicus was appointed a canon (church official) of the Catholic
Church. He used the income from the position to help pay for additional studies. Copernicus studied
law and medicine at the universities of Bologna, Padua, and Ferrara in Italy. While he was studying at
the University of Bologna, his interest in astronomy was stimulated. He lived in the home of a
mathematics professor who influenced him to question the astronomy beliefs of the day.

After his return to Poland, Copernicus lived in his uncle's bishopric palace. While there he
performed church duties, practiced medicine and studied astronomy. In Copernicus' time most
astronomers believed the theory the Greek astronomer Ptolomy had developed more than 1,000
years earlier. Ptolomy said the Earth was the center of the universe and was motionless. He believed
all other heavenly bodies moved in complicated patterns around the Earth. Copernicus felt that
Ptolomy's theory was incorrect. Sometime between 1507 and 1515, he first circulated the principles
of his heliocentric or Sun-centered astronomy.
Copernicus' observations of the heavens were made
with the naked eye. He died more than fifty years
before Galileo became the first person to study the
skies with a telescope. From his observations,
Copernicus concluded that every planet, including
Earth, revolved around the Sun. He also determined
that the Earth rotates daily on its axis and that the
Earth's motion affected what people saw in the
heavens. Copernicus did not have the tools to prove his
 theories. By the 1600s, astronomers such as Galileo would develop the physics that would prove he
was correct. Copernicus died on May 24, 1943.
- He was considered as the founder of modern astronomy.

Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin is famous
for his theory of evolution. He
changed our concept of the world’s
creation and its evolution.
Darwin proposed that species can
change over time, that new species come
from pre-existing species, and that all
species share a common ancestor. In this
model, each species has its own unique set
of heritable (genetic) differences from the
common ancestor, which have
accumulated gradually over very long time
periods.
The theory of natural selection
was explored by 19th-century naturalist
Charles Darwin. Natural selection explains
how genetic traits of a species may change
over time. This may lead to speciation, the
formation of a distinct new species.

Sigmund Freud
Freud is a famous figure in the field of psychology. Rosenfels also described him as towering
figure and a very talented communicator who did his share to raise the consciousness of the civilized
world in psychological matters.
Freudian theory postulates that adult personality is made up of three aspects: (1) the id,
operating on the pleasure principle generally within the unconscious; (2) the ego, operating on the
reality principle within the conscious realm; and (3) the superego, operating on the morality principle
at all levels of ...
Sigmund Freud is the father of modern psychology,
which analyzes the human mind and claims that the unconscious mind,
controls the conscious mind. The human mind has different layers like a
conscious mind, preconscious mind, and unconscious mind. Ego, superego,
and id are the apparatuses of the mind and functioning in person. The
unconscious mind is a repository from which one's personality has emerged.
Dreams are the indirect outlets of the unconscious mind. Therefore, in the
psychoanalysis method, dreams are the royal roads to the unconscious mind.
Freud's theory analyzes the life instinct and death instinct in human beings.
Life strives for the dialectical synthesis of birth and death.

Freud's theories include:

 Unconscious mind: This is one of his most enduring ideas, which is that the mind is a reservoir of
thoughts, memories, and emotions that lie outside the awareness of the conscious mind. 2
 Personality: Freud proposed that personality was made up of three key elements: the id, the ego, and
the superego. The ego is the conscious state, the id is the unconscious, and the superego is the moral
or ethical framework that regulates how the ego operates. 3
  Life and death instincts: Freud claimed that two classes of instincts, life and death, dictated human
behavior. Life instincts include sexual procreation, survival and pleasure; death instincts include
aggression, self-harm, and destruction.4
 Psychosexual development: Freud's theory of psychosexual development posits that there are five
stages of growth in which people's personalities and sexual selves evolve. These phases are the oral
stage, anal stage, phallic stage, latent stage, and genital stage. 5

Mechanisms of defense: Freud suggested that people use defense mechanisms to avoid anxiety. These
mechanisms include displacement, repression, sublimation, and regression.

CRADLES OF EARLY SCIENCE

 Meso-American Revolution - it has contributed a lot of ideas or discovery for Archaeology. The temples
and pyramids left a lot about of Architecture that lead us to study more or it.
4 CULTURES: MAYA, INCA, AZTE and OLMEC. It includes the entire area of Central America from southern
mexico up to the border of south America. Mesoamerica refers to the diverse civilizations that shared
similar cultural characteristics in the geographic areas comprising the modern-day countries of Mexico,
Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica.

Cultures of Meso-american civilization.

1). Maya Civilization: The Maya civilization was one of the most dominant Indigenous societies of
Mesoamerica. As early as 1500 BCE the Maya had settled in villages and were practicing agriculture. The
Classic Period of Mayan culture lasted from about 250 CE until about 900. The Maya was noted as well for
elaborate and highly decorated ceremonial architecture, including temple-pyramids, palaces and
observatories, all built without metal tools.

10 Achievements and contributions of the Maya Civilization:

1). Astronomy2). Ball courts3). Chocolate 4). Mathematics5). Rubber6). Mayan Writing System7). Law and
Order 8). Hallucinogenic Drugs 9). Maya Calendar 10). Maya Art

2. Inca Civilization: The Inca civilization made advanced scientific ideas considering their limitations as old
civilization. The Inca Empire, which flourished from approximately 1200 to 1533 AD, was the largest ancient
civilization in pre-Columbian America. The Inca Empire was a vast empire that flourished in the Andean region
of South America from the early 15th century A.D. up until its conquest by the Spanish in the 1530s.The Inca
built a variety of bridges including suspension bridges and pontoon bridges. One of the main forms of
medicine used by the Inca was the coca leaf. The Inca developed aqueducts to bring fresh water into town.
The basic unit of distance used by the Inca was one pace or a "thatki".

Scientific innovations and technologies used by the Inca Empire:

1. Road communication- used for communication, transport

goods, moving army troops
2. Quipus (kee-pooz) talking knots, were recording devices
used by the Inka Empire.
3. Stone building- sturdy stone building without the use of
iron tools
3). Aztec Civilization: The Aztec Empire (c. 1345-1521) covered at its
greatest extent most of northern Mesoamerica and they also made substantial contributions to science and
technology and to the society as a whole. With its capital city at Tenochtitlán (Mexico City), is actually the
well-documented Mesoamerican civilization with sources including archaeology, native books (codices) and
lengthy and detailed accounts from their Spanish conquerors - both by military men and Christian clergy.
Contributions of Aztec Civilization

1). Chinampa system, a cultivation method almost identical to hydroponics

2). Construction with pile base. It is currently used in the construction of buildings on muddy terrain,
is widely used in Mexico City.
 3). Production of the color indigo.
4). Production of amate paper.

4). Olmec Civilization: The Olmec civilization is what is known as an archaeological culture. This means there
is a collection of artifacts thought by archaeologists to represent a particular society. What is known about
archaeological cultures is based on artifacts, rather than texts.
Contributions of Olmec Civilization
1). Monumental sacred complexes
2). Massive stone sculptures
3). Ball games
4). The drinking of chocolate
5). Animal god

 Asian Revolution - The Revolution itself taught Asian countries about freedom and independent
nationhood along the improvement brought by it internally.
1). India: They are known for iron and metallurgical works.
Contributions of India in science and technology:
- Seamless Metal Globe - Considered one of the most remarkable feats in metallurgy, the first seamless
celestial globe was made in Kashmir by Ali Kashmiri ibn Luqman in the reign of the Emperor Akbar.
- Plastic Surgery - Written by Sushruta in 6th Century BC, Sushruta Samhita is considered to be one of the
most comprehensive textbooks on ancient surgery.
- Cataract Surgery - The first cataract surgery is said to have been performed by the ancient Indian
physician Jabamukhi Sushruta, way back in 6th century BCE.
- Ayurveda - Charaka authored a foundational text, Charakasamhita, on the ancient science of Ayurveda.
Referred to as the Father of Indian Medicine, Charaka was was the first physician to present the concept
of digestion, metabolism and immunity in his book.
- Indian astronomer and mathematician Aryabhata (476–550), in his Aryabhatiya, introduced a number
of trigonometric functions, tables, and techniques, as well as algorithms of algebra.
- Another Indian, Brahmagupta, also suggested that gravity was a force of attraction, and lucidly
explained the use of zero as both a placeholder and a decimal digit.
- Another Indian named Madhava of Sangamagrama is also considered as the founder of mathematical
analysis (Joseph, 1991)

2). China: Science in China has a long history and developed quite independently of Western science.
Needham (1993) has researched widely on the development of science and technologies in China, the
effect of culture, and the transference of these principles, unacknowledged, to the West. The Chinese
contribution to Western science is particularly interesting because it serves as a center of controvers
about the roots of western science.
Contributions of China in science and technology:
-The four great inventions of ancient China are the compass, gunpowder, papermaking, and printing.
These four discoveries had an enormous impact on the development of Chinese civilization
-They also invented tools like iron plough, wheelbarrow, and propeller, design for different models of
bridges.-Invented the first seismological detector and developed a dry dock facility.
- Acupuncture, ancient Chinese medical technique for relieving pain, curing disease, and improving
general health.
-made significant advances in science, technology, mathematics, and astronomy. The first recorded
observations of comets, solar eclipses, and supernovae were made in China.
- Silk road, a great trade route linking China to other Roman Empire where it allowed transport and
exchange of goods in these regions

 Middle East Revolution - The Revolution in the Middle East were a product of the development and
growth of individual nationalism, imperialism, for the efforts to westernize and modernize Middle
Eastern Societies, and to push the declining power of the Ottoman Empire in the Arab Region.
 1). Muslims: Islam’s golden age in science, technology and intellectual culture spanned about 500 years,
from the ninth until the 14th centuries. The scientific method, as it has been developed in modern
western science, was indeed invented by Muslims and first practiced by them on a large scale.

Contributions of Muslims in science and technology:

-Al-Hasan Ibn al-Haytham was a pioneering scientific thinker who made important contributions to
the understanding of vision, optics and light. Also regarded as the Father of Optics.

-Ibn Sina's most important contribution to medical science was his famous book Al Qanun Fi Al-Tibb
(The Canon of Medicine), known as the “Canon” in the West. His other major work was “The Book of
Healing”, a scientific and philosophical encyclopedia. This book was intended to ‘heal’ the soul. He
invented an instrument for observing the coordinates of a star. He made several astronomical
observations and stated that the stars were self-luminous.

-Mathematician Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi gave his name to the concept of the algorithm
while the term algebra is derived from al-jabr.

-Jābir ibn Hayyān is considered to be the “Father of Chemistry” (Derewenda, 2007; Warren, 2005). He
emphasized systematic experimentation, and did much to free alchemy from superstition and turn it into
a science.

 African Revolution - The fight against colonialism and imperialism in Africa.

1). African: Africa's first great civilization emerged in ancient Egypt in c. 3400 BC. Africa is known for
having many mineral resources.

- They used three types of calendars: lunar, solar, and stellar.

- Many advances in metallurgy and tool making were made across the entirety of ancient Africa.

- A structure known as the African Stonehenge in present-day Kenya (constructed around 300 B.C.) was a
remarkably accurate calendar. Several ancient African cultures birthed discoveries in astronomy. Many of
these are foundations on which we still rely, and some were so advanced that their mode of discovery
still cannot be understood.

- The Lebombo bone is one of the oldest mathematical artifacts known, a small piece of the fibula of a
baboon, found near Border Cave in the Lebombo Mountains between South Africa and Swaziland. It's
used as a lunar phase counter.

2). Egyptian: The ancient Egyptians were inventing writing and advancing the sciences of mathematics,
medicine and astronomy. They developed ways to measure time and distances, and applied their
knowledge to monumental architecture. From its unification around 3100 B.C. to its conquest by
Alexander the Great in 332 B.C. ancient Egypt was the preeminent civilization in the Mediterranean
world.

-They are known to be the Center of Alchemy

-concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in the place that is now the country Egypt. They
built a dam and pyramids to divert water from Nile River.

-Rules of geometry were developed to preserve layout and ownership of Farmlands along Nile River and
build rectilinear structures, the post of lintel architecture of Egypt.