GECSTS
• Science may be defined as the system of
knowledge of the natural world gained
through the scientific method.
• It was originally called “philosophy of the
natural world” since it stemmed from the
ancient Greeks’ desire to know about nature.
• The first scientists were called “philosophers
of nature”.
• In their quest for understanding the natural
world, the ability to name and classify the
objects found in nature was seen as the first
step towards knowledge.
• Technology comes from Greek words tekhnē
meaning “art or craft” and –logia, meaning a
“subject or interest”.
• Taken together, the term has come to mean
“practical applications of what we know
about nature”.
Historical Antecedents in the Course of
Science and Technology
❖ The Stone Ages: Stone tools have long been
the first control vital resources.
❖ Stone tools first found in the Olduvai Gorge in
Tanzania by Louis and Mary Leakey and
others, and since found elsewhere in Africa
as well.
❖ Knowledge among hunter-gatherers:
Hunting became increasingly important.
❖ People certainly learned the ways of their prey
animals. These people discovered how to
control fire and began to build substantial
structures with wood posts, although some
lived in caves and rock shelters.
❖ Hunting weapons such as the sling, the bow,
the bolo, the fish hook, and the spear thrower,
are among the technological innovations of this
period.
❖ Transportation was significant during that time
because people were trying to go places and
discover new horizons.
❖ Communication was also essential in their
endeavors to discover and occupy new places.
❖ Weapons and armors were important as well
in the discovery of new places or the
establishment of new alliances with other
tribes.
❖ A primary challenge they faced was the
conservation of life.
❖ Engineering - establishment of structures for
protection from human attacks and natural
disasters, and construction of bigger and stronger
infrastructures- people ventured into what is now.
❖ Architecture - mere style, but during the ancient
times, elaborate architectural designs were signs
of technological advancement of a particular
civilization
3 Major Technological Advancements
SUMERIAN CIVILIZATION
▪ Sumeria (Sumer) is located on the
southernmost tipoff ancient Mesopotamia.
▪ Sumerians are known for their high degree of
cooperation with one another and their desire for
great things.
CUNIEFORM - One of the major contributions of
the Sumerians is the development of the first writing
system. URUK CITY – first true city in the world
➢ The Sumerians were able to build the city
using only mud or clay from the river, which
they mixed with reeds, producing sunbaked
bricks – a true engineering feat.
THE GREAT ZIGGURAT OF UR – also called ‘the
mountain of god’
➢ was built in the same manner that
they constructed the City of Uruk.
➢ Only priests are allowed to enter
IRRIGATION AND DIKES - one of the most beneficial
engineering works. Through the dikes and canals, the
Sumerians were able to enjoy year –long farming and
harvesting, which increased their food production.
SAILBOATS - the main mode of transportation was
through waterways such as rivers and seas.
WHEEL – the first wheels were not made for
transportation but for farm work and food processing.
THE PLOW – dig the earth in a faster pace.
BABYLONIAN CIVILIZATION
▪ Babylonian civilization emerged near the Tigris
and Euphrates Rivers.
▪ The Babylonians were great builders, engineers,
and architects.
HANGING GARDENS OF BABYLON
➢ One of the major contributions of
Babylonian civilization.
➢ the great Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar
II built the gardens for his wife, Queen Amytis.
➢ May be considered as one of the greatest
engineering and architectural achievements of
the world that is almost impossible to replicate.
EGYPTIAN CIVILIZATION
▪ Egyptian civilization located in North Africa.
▪ The infrastructures established by the
pharaohs.
PAPER OR PAPYRUS - Papyrus was a plant
that grew abundantly along the Nile River in Egypt.
INK - the Egyptians invented ink by combining soot
with different chemicals to produce inks of different
colors. HEIROGLYPHICS – system of writing using
symbols.
COSMETICS
➢ The Egyptians also invented the use of
cosmetics. Although cosmetics in the
modern times are used to improve and
highlight the facial features of a person, their
function in ancient Egypt was for both health
and aesthetic reasons.
➢ Egyptians wore Kohl around the eyes to
prevent and even cure eye diseases.
➢ Kohl was created by mixing soot or
malachite with mineral galena.
WIG - during the ancient Egyptian times, wigs were
worn for health and wellness.
WATER CLOCK/CLEPSYDRA - This device
utilizes gravity that affects the flow of water from
one vessel to the other. It was widely used as a
timekeeping device during the ancient times.
GREEK CIVILIZATION
▪ Greece is an archipelago in the southeastern
part of Europe. Known as the birthplace of
western philosophy.
ALARM CLOCK - made use of water or (or
sometimes small stones or sand) that dropped into
drums which sounded the alarm.
WATER MILL - commonly used in agricultural
processes like milling of grains which was a
necessary form of food processing during that time.
ROMAN CIVILIZATION
▪ The Roman Empire was perceived to be the
strongest political and social entity in the west.
It was considered to be the cradle of politics and
governance during that period.
NEWSPAPER - The first newspapers, known as
gazettes, contained announcements of the Roman
Empire to the people.
BOUND BOOKS OR CODEX – Julius Caesar started the
tradition of stacking up papyrus to form pages of a book.
ROMAN ARCHITECTURE
➢ one of the most visual contributions of the ancient
Roman Empire to the world.
➢ This development in the field of engineering and
architecture was fully supported and funded by the
Roman government so they were able to
implement major projects such as large churches
(cathedrals and basilicas) aqueducts, coliseums,
amphitheaters, and even residential houses.
ROMAN NUMERALS - the Romans devised their own
number system specifically to address the need for a
standard counting method that would meet their
increasing communication and trade concerns.
CHINESE CIVILIZATION
▪ Considered to be the oldest civilization in Asia, if not
the world. Also known as ‘the middle kingdom’ and
was located on the far east of Asia.
▪ It was famous among other ancient civilizations
because of its silk trade.
SILK
➢ The silk trade opened China to the outside world
making way for cultural, economic, scientific
exchanges. It bridged the gap between the
western world and the middle kingdom.
➢ the Chinese were the ones who developed the
technology to harvest the silk and process it to
produce paper and clothing.
➢ Silk production resulted in the creation of a
product for trade.
TEA PRODUCTION - Tea is a beverage produced by
pouring hot or boiling water over crushed or shredded
dried tea leaves. It was believed that the first tea was
drunk by a Chinese emperor.
GREAT WALL OF CHINA - Once considered the only
man- made structure that could be seen from outer
space, the Great Wall of China is said to be the largest
and most extensive infrastructure that the nation built.
GUNPOWDER
➢ one of the most interesting inventions in China.
Originally, it was developed by Chinese
alchemists who aimed to achieve immortality.
➢ Instead of prolonging life, gunpowder is widely
used to propel bullets from guns and cannons
which cause countless deaths.
MEDIEVAL/MIDDLE AGES
Middle Ages was also known as Age of Exploration
PRINTING PRESS
➢ Johan Gutenberg was able to invent the printing
press, a more reliable way of printing using a cast
type.
MICROSCOPE - Zaccharias Janssen was able to develop
the first compound microscope.
TELESCOPE - The invention of the telescope, an optical
instrument that helps in the observation of remote objects,
was a great help for navigators during this time.
WAR WEAPONS - All sides must develop weaponries not
only as offensive tools but also as defensive instruments.
MODERN TIMES
PASTEURIZATION - Louis Pasteur, a French biologist,
microbiologist, and chemist, found a way to solve the
problem. He invented pasteurization, the process of
heating dairy products to kill the harmful bacteria that
allow them to spoil faster.
PETROLEUM REFINERY
➢ Samuel M. Kier was able to invent kerosene by
refining petroleum.
➢ Kerosene was latter on referred to as the
“illuminating oil” because it was used at first to
provide lighting to homes.
TELEPHONE – the development of the telephone by
Alexander Graham Bell
CALCULATOR - faster way to compute more complicated
equations.
CHAPTER 2
PRE-COLONIAL PERIOD
• Used plants and herbs as medicines
• Implemented farming and animal-raising systems
• Developed different modes of transportation
(terrestrial or maritime)
• Cordillera natives built rice terraces incorporating
complicated irrigation systems and elaborate
farming system
NEGRITOS
• Homes made of jungle leaves and branches of
trees
• Made fire by rubbing 2 sticks together
• Used bow and arrow as weapon and for hunting
INDONES
• Homes are grass-covered and built above ground
or top of trees
• Practiced dry agriculture
• Clothing made from beaten bark and decorated
designs
• Cooked food in bamboo tubes
• Implements: polished stone axes, adzes an chisels
• Weapons: bow and arrow, spears, shield and bow
guns (sumpit)
MALAYS
• Possessed the iron culture
• Lowland and highland methods of rice
cultivation and system of irrigation
• Domestication of animals like dogs,
fowls and carabaos
• Manufacture metal tools and weapons,
pottery and weaving
• Weapons: bows and arrows, spears,
bolos, daggers, krises (swords),
sumpits (blowguns), shields and armors
made of animal hide and hardwood,
lantakas (bronze cannons)
COLONIAL PERIOD
• Marked by the arrival of foreign
nationals lead by Magellan and Miguel
Lopez de Legazpi
• spread Christianity
SPANISH REGIME
• built walls, roads, churches, bridges,
and other large infrastructures
• started parochial schools which focused
on religion
• developed health and education
systems enjoyed by the principalia
class
AMERICAN REGIME
• modernized almost all aspects
• established government agency
• established formal education
• built Univ. Sto. Tomas; Thomasites
were the earliest teachers-soldiers
JAPANESE REGIME
• introduced their language Nihonggo
• Origami, culture and arts
• Left the country when the Americans,
lead by General McArthur, promised to
return then retake Philippines
POST-COLONIAL PERIOD
• Science and Technology evolved from most
basic to ‘environmentally sustainable’
• Established under Ferdinand Marcos Sr:
 ✓ PAGASA (Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical
and Astronomical Services Administration)
✓ NAST (National Academy of Science and
Technology)
✓ NSTA (National Science and Technology Authority)
✓ DOST (Department of Science and Technology)
MODERN PHILIPPINE INVENTIONS
SALAMANDER AMPHIBIOUS TRICYCLE
• Innovated motorcycle, a military vehicle,
by adding a sidecar transforming into tricycle
• H2O Technologies headed by Dominic N.
Chung, Lamberto Armanda and Chief
designer Victor ‘Atoy’ Llave
SALT LAMP
• Also known as ‘Sustainable Alternative
Lighting’
• Cheaper than solar panels powered by
solar energy
• Invented by Aisa Mijeno, utilizing saltwater
which is abundant, risk-free and no toxic gas
emissions
MEDICAL INCUBATOR
• Invented by Dr. Fe del Mundo, using non-
electric indigenous and cheap materials
• A native laundry basket inside a bigger one
with hot water bottles inserted in between
with a makeshift hood allowing oxygen
circulation
MOSQUITO LARVICIDAL TRAP SYSTEM
• Mosquito Ovicidal/Larvicidal Trap System
• A mitigation to dengue problem
• Introduced by DOST-ITDI in 2010
• Replaced insecticides which causes
harm to humans and environment
E-JEEPENEY
• Utilized electricity instead of more
expensive diesel
• No black smoke emissions and noise
CHAPTER 3
SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTIONS IN INTELLECTUAL
REVOLUTION
• Intellect means mind and knowledge
(reasoning and understanding)
• Intellectualism started when human
knowledge begun to be disseminated
BEFORE SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION
• Science was called ‘natural philosophy’
SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION (1542-1700)
• Development of new ways to study inverse
• Laid the foundations for Age of
Enlightenment
• the understanding of the way the
universe works is overthrown and
replaced by another different
understanding (Thomas Kuhn)
• presented by Thomas Kuhn in 1962 in
his book The Structure of Scientific
Revolutions comprising of theories or
models = paradigm
THOMAS SAMUEL KUHN (1922-1996)
• the man who changed the way the
world looked at science
• physicist from Harvard, Berkeley,
Princeton, Cambridge
PARADIGM
• guiding ideas of Scientific Revolutions
• function: to provide a structure through
which the phenomenon can be
understood
STRUCTURE OF SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION
• known as the Kuhn’s Cycle
• Pre-science = in the beginning
1. Normal Science – normal step, the
field has a scientifically based model of
understanding that works
2. Model Drift – accumulation of
anomalies or controversies
3. Model Crisis – anomalies become so
excessive; attempts to patch the model
up to make it work fail
4. Model Revolution – begins when
serious candidates for a new model
emerge
5. Paradigm Change/Shift – new
paradigm emerges and the field
changes from the old to the new
paradigm
ALTERNATIVE MODEL OF THE STRUCTURE
OF SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTIONS
1. Pre-Paradigm Stage
2. Paradigm Recognition Stage
3. Paradigm Reinforcement Stage
4. Paradigm Shift
EXAMPLES OF SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTIONS
COPERNICAN REVOLUTION
ARISTOTLE (384-322 BC)
• People questioned the creation of days and
nights
CLAUDIUS PTOLEMY (100-170 AD)
• Wrote that the planets as well as the sun and
the moon moved in a circular motion around
the earth
• Believed that the earth was at the center a
concept known as geocentrism
NICOLAUS COPERNICUS (1473-1543)
• A polish mathematician and astronomer
challenged the Ptolemic model
• Introduced a new concept the heliocentrism
suggesting that the center of the Solar
System was not the earth but actually the
sun
• Idea was rejected at first by the public
• Later supported by Tycho Brahe, 1546-
1601 JOHANNES KEPLER (1571-1630)
• It appalled many since their religious belief
had taught them than the earth was created
first before all other things
• After some time, astronomers realized that
the Copernicus model simplified the orbits of
the planets
COPERNICAN REVOLUTION – accepted by
people in a period called ‘the birth of modern
astronomy’
DARWINIAN REVOLUTION
• Most controversial intellectual revolution
• In 1859, Charles Darwin, an English
naturalist, biologist, published his book, On
the Origin of the Species
• Introduced the theory of evolution
• RENE DESCARTES, 1596-1650, I think,
therefore I am, (Rationalist) and
IMMANUEL KANT’S PHILOSOPHIES, The
Pragmatist, (Pragmatism)
FREUDIAN REVOLUTION
SIGMUND FREUD (1856-1936)
• Was able to change people’s perception of
psychology as a scientific endeavor with theory
of psychoanalysis
• Psychoanalysis is the study that explains
human behavior
• Science hardliners brushed off the legitimacy
of psychoanalysis as a science since its
concepts were philosophical and supernatural
• Many believed that Freud’s theory had no
scientific basis
CHAPTER 4
• Technology is a means to an end.
• Technology is a human activity.
• Technology itself is a contrivance, in Latin,
an instrumentum
• The current conception of technology,
according to which it is a means and a human
activity, can therefore be called the
instrumental and anthropological definition of
technology
MARTIN HEIDEGGER (1889-1976)
• One of the most controversial philosopher
What is brought forth is truth
❖ ALETHEIA – unhiddenness, truth,
disclosure, unconcealedness in Ancient
Greek philosophy
❖ TECHNE – skill, art or craft
❖ POIESIS – bringing forth, for Aristotle, it
means making or producing something for a
purpose
❖ AITION – indebtedness, not cause and effect
CHAPTER 5 JASON HICKEL
• Economic anthropologist and an author
FORGET ‘DEVELOPING’ POOR
COUNTRIES, IT’S
TIME TO ‘DE-DEVELOP’ RICH COUNTRIES
By: Jason Hickel
Heads of state are gathering in New York to
sign the UN’s new sustainable development
goals (SDGs). The main objective is to
eradicate poverty by 2030. Beyonce, One
Direction and Malala are on board. It’s set to be
monumental international celebration.
Given all the fanfare, one might think the SDGs are
about to offer a fresh plan for how to save the world,
but beneath all the hype, it’s business as usual. The
main strategy for eradicating poverty is the same:
growth.
Growth has been the main object of development for
the past 70 years, despite the fact that it is not
working. Since 1980, the global economy has grown
by 380%, but the number of people living in poverty on
less than $5 a day has increased by more that 1.1
billion. That’s 17 times the population of Britain. So
much for the trickle-down effect.
Orthodox economists insist that all we need in yet
more growth. More progressive types tell us that we
need to shift some of the yields of growth from the
richer segments of the population to the poorer ones,
evening things out a bit. Neither approach is
adequate. Why? Because even at current levels of
average global consumption, we’re overshooting out
planet’s bio-capacity by more than 50% each year.
In other words, growth isn’t an option any more –
we’ve already grown too much. Scientists are now
telling us that we’re blowing past planetary
boundaries at breakneck speed. And the had truth is
that this global crisis is due almost entirely to
overconsumption in rich countries.
Right now, our planet only has enough resources for
each of us to consume 1.8 ‘global hectares’ annually
– a standardized unit that measures resource use
and waste. This figure is roughly what the average
person in Ghana or Guatemala consumes. By
contrast, people in the US and Cananda consume
about 8 hectares per person, while Europeans
consume 4.7 hectares – many times their fair share.
What does this mean for our theory of development?
Economist Peter Edward argues that instead of
pushing poorer countries to ‘catch up’ with the rich
ones, we should be thinking of ways to get rich
countries to ‘catch down’ to more appropriate levels of
development. We should look at societies where
people live long and happy lives at relatively low
levels of income and consumption not as basket
cases that need to be developed towards western
models, bust as exemplars of efficient living.
How much do we really need to live long and
happy lives? In the US, life expectancy is 79
years and GDP per capita is $53,000. But many
countries have achieved similar life expectancy
with a mere fraction of this income. Cuba has
comparable life expectancy to the US and one
of the highest literacy rates in the world with
GDP per capita of only $6,000 and
consumption of only 1.9 hectares – right at the
threshold of ecological sustainability. Similar
claims can be made of Peru, Ecuador,
Honduras Nicaragua and Tunisia.
Yes, some of the excess income and
consumption we see in the rich world yields
improvements in quality of life that are not
captured by life expectancy, or even literacy
rates. But even if we look at measures of overall
happiness and well-being in addition to life
expectancy, a number of low and middle-
income countries rank highly. Costa Rica
manages to sustain one of the highest
happiness indicators and life expectancies in
the world with a per capita income one-fourth
that of the US.
In light of this, perhaps we should regard such
countries not as underdeveloped, but rather as
appropriately developed. And maybe we need
to start calling on rich countries to justify their
excesses.
The idea of ‘de-developing’ rich countries might
prove to be strong rallying cry in the global south,
but will be tricky to sell to westerners. Tricky but
not impossible. According to recent consumer
research, 70% of people in the middle and high-
income countries believe overconsumption is
putting our planet and society at risk. A similar
majority also believe we should strive to buy
and own less, and that doing so would not
comprise our happiness. People sense there is
something wrong with the dominant model of
economic progress and they are hungry for an
alternative narrative.
The problem is that the pundits promoting this
kind of transition are using the wrong language.
They use terms such as de-growth, zero-growth
or – worst of all – de-development, which are
technically accurate but off-putting for anyone
who’s not already on board.
Such terms are repulsive because they run against the
deepest frames we use to think about human progress,
and indeed, the purpose of life itself. It’s like asking
people to stop moving positively thorough life, to stop
learning, improving, and growing.

Negative formulations won’t get us anywhere. The idea

of ‘steady-state’ economics is a step in the right direction
and is growing in popularity, but it still doesn’t get the
framing right. We need to reorient ourselves toward a
positive future, a truer form of progress. One that is
geared toward quality instead of quantity. One that is
more sophisticated than just accumulating ever
increasing amounts of stuff, which doesn’t make anyone
happier anyway. What is certain is that GDP as a
measure is not going to get us there and we need to get
rid of it.

Perhaps we might take a cue from Latin Americans, who

are organizing alternative visions around the indigenous
concept of buen vivir, or good living. The west has its
own tradition of reflection on the good life and it’s time
we revive it. Robert and Edward Skidelsky take us down
this road in his book ‘How much is Enough?’ where they
lay out the possibility of interventions such as banning
advertising, a shorter working week and a basic income,
all of which would improve our lives while reducing
consumption.

Either we slow down voluntarily or climate change will do

it for us. We can’t go on ignoring the laws of nature. But
rethinking our theory of progress is not only an
ecological imperative, it is also a developmental one. If
we do not act soon, all our hard- won against poverty will
evaporate, as food systems collapse and mass famine
re-emerges to an extent not seen since 19th century.

This is not about giving anything up. And it’s certainly

not about living a life of voluntary misery or imposing
harsh limits on human potential. On the contrary, it’s
about reaching a higher level of understanding and
consciousness about what we’re doing here and why.