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Week 2 SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY

Unit 1
Title: The Intellectual Revolutions
Learning Outcomes:
1. Discuss the paradigm through history;
2. Explain how the Intellectual Revolution transform society
changed the way how humans see the world; and
3. Describe the technological advancements that happened in the
information age.
Concept Digest (Discussion)
The previous chapter tackled how historical antecedents have
affected the course of science and technology. It has been
established that most, if not all, of the discoveries and
inventions in science and technology during each time period were
due to human needs and wants. Brilliant minds responded to the
call of the times and created things that could make life easier
for the people.
There have also been instances when advancements in science
and technology changed people’s perceptions and beliefs. Much of
these events have happened in a period now known as the
Intellectual Revolution. The developments during the Intellectual
Revolution showed how society was transformed by science and
technology.
This chapter aims to establish the interaction between science
and technology, and society, cementing further the relationship as
introduced in the first chapter.
COPERNICAN REVOLUTION
In the early times, people questioned what
created days and nights. They wanted to
understand what heavenly bodies like stars,
moons, and planet are. The invention of the
telescope allowed the people to take a peek at
the outer space but more importantly, it also
intrigued them to know what was actually out
there. Many Greek philosophers and intellectuals
wrote about planets in an attempt to explain the movement of
heavenly bodies and their effects on the world as they knew it.
Many of these philosophers agreed that planets moved around in
circular motion, and that these movements created days and nights,
among others. A famous philosopher and astronomer, Claudius
Ptolemy, stated that the planets, as well as the sun and the moon,
moved in a circular motion around the Earth. The sun and moon’s
revolution explained the existence of days and nights. He believe
that the Earth was the center- a concept known as geocentrism.

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Juan dela Cruz Street, Toril, Davao City
Landline No. (082) 291 1882
Accredited by ACSCU-ACI

Ptolemy’s geocentric model was widely accepted by the people and

was one of the greatest discoveries of that time.

In the geocentric model, the Sun and the other six visible objects in the sky
revolve around the Earth.

In the 16th century, Nicolaus Copernicus, a Polish

mathematician and astronomer, challenged the Ptolemaic model. He
introduced a new concept known as heliocentrism, which suggested
that the center of the Solar System was not the Earth but actually
the sun.
In his book, he wanted a model of the universe in which
everything moved around a single center at unvarying rates
(Gribbin, 2003. Copernicus placed the Sun to be the centrepiece of
the universe. The Earth and all the planets are surrounding or
orbiting the Sun each year. The Moon, however, would still be seen
orbiting the Earth. Copernicu’s model of the Earth orbiting around
the Sun automatically positioned the planets into a logical
sequence. In his model, Copernicus outlined two kinds of planetary
motion: (1) the orbits of Venus and Mercury lay inside the orbit
of the Earth, thus, closer to the sun; and (2) the orbits of Mars,
Saturn, and Jupiter lay outside the Earth’s orbit, thus, farther
from the Sun. From this model, he would work on the length of time
it will take for each planet to orbit once around the Sun. The
result would from a sequence from Mercury, with a shortest year,
through Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn with the longest
year. He placed the planets in order of increasing distance from
the Sun. One of the great problems in the Copernican model,
however, was the position of the stars. The stars cannot be placed
in a fixed position like crystals in a distance sphere.

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Juan dela Cruz Street, Toril, Davao City
Landline No. (082) 291 1882
Accredited by ACSCU-ACI

In the heliocentric (Sun-centered) model, the Earth is just one out of many
planets, all of which orbit the Sun in elliptical orbits.

This idea was rejected at first by the public. It appalled

many since their religious belief had taught them that the Earth
was create first before all other things. Copernicus was even
persecuted as a heretic because his teachings were against what
was widely accepted by religion. After some time, astronomers
realized that the Copernican model simplified the orbits for
planets. It also answered issues that could not be explained using
the geocentric model. Other works that supported this model started
to emerge well. It was eventually accepted by the people in a
period which was called the birth of modern astronomy. This era
began what was known as the scientific revolution which resulted
in the transformation of society’s thoughts and beliefs.
DARWINIAN REVOLUTON
The theory of evolution by natural selection, first
formulated in Darwin's book "On the Origin of
Species" in 1859, is the process by which organisms
change over time as a result of changes in heritable
physical or behavioral traits. Changes that allow
an organism to better adapt to its environment will
help it survive and have more offspring.
Evolution by natural selection is one of the best substantiated
theories in the history of science, supported by evidence from a
wide variety of scientific disciplines, including paleontology,
geology, genetics and developmental biology.
The theory has two main points, said Brian Richmond, curator of
human origins at the American Museum of Natural History in New
York City. "All life on Earth is connected and related to each
other," and this diversity of life is a product of "modifications

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Juan dela Cruz Street, Toril, Davao City
Landline No. (082) 291 1882
Accredited by ACSCU-ACI

of populations by natural selection, where some traits were favored

in and environment over others," he said.

The last shore-dwelling ancestor of modern whales was Sinonyx, top left, a hyena-like animal. Over 60 million years,
several transitional forms evolved: from top to bottom, Indohyus, Ambulocetus, Rodhocetus, Basilosaurus, Dorudon,
and finally, the modern humpback whale.
(Image: © NOAA)

More simply put, the theory can be described as "descent with

modification," said Briana Pobiner, an anthropologist and educator
at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History
in Washington, D.C., who specializes in the study of human origins.
The theory is sometimes described as "survival of the fittest,"
but that can be misleading, Pobiner said. Here, "fitness" refers
not to an organism's strength or athletic ability, but rather the
ability to survive and reproduce.
However, this theory became very controversial as people perceived
it to be contradictory to the church’s teachings that the source
of life is a powerful creator. They emerged at a time when most of
the population believed and accepted the biblical version of the
Earth’s creation. Because of this conflict, the people were
divided- some believed that the theory explained the origin of
life, but the religious and the faithful strongly refuted it. It
even sparked a massive debate between science and religion. It was
only after some time that people came to understand that Darwin’s
theory of evolution was not in fact against the teachings of the
church and both can coexist.

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Juan dela Cruz Street, Toril, Davao City
Landline No. (082) 291 1882
Accredited by ACSCU-ACI

FREUDIAN REVOLUTION
In the past, the field of psychology was always
classified under philosophy. Psychology was
considered more of an art rather than science. In
the late 19th century, Sigmund Freud was able to
change people’s perception psychology with his
revolutionary theory of psychoanalysis.
Psychoanalysis is the study that explains human
behaviour. In his theory, Freud explained that
there are many conscious and unconscious factors
that can influence behaviour and emotions. He also argued that
personality is a product of three conflicting elements: id, ego,
and superego. Science hardliners brushed off the legitimacy of
psychoanalysis as a science since its concepts were more
philosophical and supernatural. Many believed that Freud’s theory
had no scientific data could support it.

Perhaps Freud's single most enduring and important idea was that
the human psyche (personality) has more than one aspect.
Freud's personality theory (1923) saw the psyche structured into
three parts (i.e., tripartite), the id, ego and superego, all
developing at different stages in our lives. These are systems,
not parts of the brain, or in any way physical.
According to Freud psychoanalytic theory, the id is the primitive
and instinctual part of the mind that contains sexual and
aggressive drives and hidden memories, the super-ego operates as
a moral conscience, and the ego is the realistic part that mediates
between the desires of the id and the super-ego.

What is the id?

The id is the primitive and instinctive component of personality.
It consists of all the inherited (i.e., biological) components of
personality present at birth, including the sex (life) instinct –
Eros (which contains the libido), and the aggressive (death)
instinct - Thanatos.

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Juan dela Cruz Street, Toril, Davao City
Landline No. (082) 291 1882
Accredited by ACSCU-ACI

The id is the impulsive (and unconscious) part of our psyche which

responds directly and immediately to basic urges, needs, and
desires. The personality of the new born child is all id and only
later does it develop an ego and super-ego.
The id operates on the pleasure principle (Freud, 1920) which is
the idea that every wishful impulse should be satisfied
immediately, regardless of the consequences. When the id achieves
its demands, we experience pleasure when it is denied we experience
‘unpleasure’ or tension.

What is the Ego?

The ego is 'that part of the id which has been modified by the
direct influence of the external world.'
(Freud, 1923, p. 25)
The ego develops to mediate between the unrealistic id and the
external real world. It is the decision-making component of
personality. Ideally, the ego works by reason, whereas the id is
chaotic and unreasonable.
The ego operates according to the reality principle, working out
realistic ways of satisfying the id’s demands, often compromising
or postponing satisfaction to avoid negative consequences of
society. The ego considers social realities and norms, etiquette
and rules in deciding how to behave.
If the ego fails in its attempt to use the reality principle, and
anxiety is experienced, unconscious defense mechanisms are
employed, to help ward off unpleasant feelings (i.e., anxiety) or
make good things feel better for the individual.

What is the superego?

The superego incorporates the values and morals of society which
are learned from one's parents and others. It develops around the
age of 3 – 5 years during the phallic stage of psychosexual
development.

The superego's function is to control the id's impulses, especially

those which society forbids, such as sex and aggression. It also
has the function of persuading the ego to turn to moralistic goals
rather than simply realistic ones and to strive for perfection.

The superego consists of two systems: The conscience and the ideal
self. The conscience can punish the ego through causing feelings
of guilt. For example, if the ego gives in to the id's demands,
the superego may make the person feel bad through guilt.
The ideal self (or ego-ideal) is an imaginary picture of how you
ought to be, and represents career aspirations, how to treat other
people, and how to behave as a member of society.
Behaviour which falls short of the ideal self may be punished by
the superego through guilt. The super-ego can also reward us

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Juan dela Cruz Street, Toril, Davao City
Landline No. (082) 291 1882
Accredited by ACSCU-ACI

through the ideal self when we behave ‘properly’ by making us feel

proud.
Despite criticisms, Freud still continued to work on refining his
theory and in fact tried to explain how psychoanalysis can be a
clinical method in treating some mental disorders. Soon enough,
people were able to understand the concepts of psychoanalysis,
which eventually resulted in classifying psychology as a science.
These three revolutionizing theories are just some of the many
scientific ideas that transformed and molded societies and beliefs.
The changes they brought to the perspectives and perceptions of
the scientific community and the public are evidence of science
and technology’s link to humanity. Through scientific research and
experimentations, people will continue to deepen their
understanding of the world and the universe.

References:
Daniel Joseph McNamara, S., Valverde, V. M., & Beleno, R. (2018).
Science, Technology, Society. Quezon: C & E Publishing, Inc.
Serafica, Janice Patricia J. et. al (2018) Science, Technology,
and Society. Manila: Rex Book Store
Freud, S. (1920). Beyond the pleasure principle. SE, 18: 1-64.
Freud, S. (1923). The ego and the id. SE, 19: 1-66.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigmund_Freud
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolaus_Copernicus
https://www.thoughtco.com/interesting-facts-about-charles-darwin-
1224479
https://people.highline.edu/iglozman/classes/astronotes/history.h
tm
https://www.simplypsychology.org/psyche.html