Chapter 1

Historical Antecedents in Which Social Considerations Changed

the Course of Science and Technology

A. General Concepts

What is Science, Technology and Society?

Science and Technology and Society is an interdisciplinary course designed to examine

the ways that science and technology shape, and are shaped by, our society, politics, and culture.
It explores the conditions under which production, distribution and utilization of scientific
knowledge and technological systems occur;; and the effects of these processes upon the
entire society. History and philosophy of science and technology, sociology and anthropology
are greatly interconnected to the discussion of STS because these are the very factors that
molded the development of science and technology as we know it today.

Science is an evolving body of knowledge that is based on theoretical expositions and

experimental and empirical activities that generates universal truths. Technology, on the other
hand is the application of science and creation of systems, processes and objects designed to help
humans in their daily activities. The development of science and technology has brought
immense progress in society and men. Scientific knowledge and technology influences
individuals and society. Better understanding of science and technology is essential to know the
unique attributes of each enterprise, then addressing their implications for society.
 Society is the sum total of our interactions as humans, including the interactions that we
engage in to understand the nature of things and to create things. It is also defined as a group of
individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same
geographical or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant
cultural expectations (Science Daily).

Science, technology and society is important to the public because it helps address issues
and problems that are of concern to the general population. Scientific and technological
principles have been and continue to be applied to solve problems that people experience in their
day-to-day aspects of living. But scientific findings must be applied at the right scales. The
impact of technological breakthroughs on people, society and the environment must be critically
assessed to preserve its value.

Figure 1 The Interrelationship of science, technology and society

Source: Ihueze et al., 2015. researchgate.net

A lot of our problems in modern society involve not only technology but also human
values, social organization, environmental concerns, economic resources, political decisions, and
a myriad of other factors. These things sits at the interface between the three fields and can also
be solved (if they can be solved at all) by the application of scientific knowledge, technical
expertise, social understanding, and humane compassion.

In the past, science is learned as an independent study from other fields. It focuses on the
scientific methods, natural processes and understanding nature. But in the current global
scenario, science is studied holistically, often in an interdisciplinary method, emphasizing
systems rather than processes, synthesis more than analysis and predicting nature’s behavior in
order to have useful application in solving contemporary problems.

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The scientific data that have built up a considerable base of knowledge led to a vast portfolio of
useful technologies, especially in the 21 st century, to solve many of the problems now facing
humankind (UNESCO, 1999).

To solve our contemporary problems, science needs to become more multidisciplinary

and its practitioners should continue to promote cooperation and integration between the social
and natural sciences. A holistic approach also demands that science draw on the contributions of
the humanities (such as history and philosophy), local knowledge systems, aboriginal wisdom,
and the wide variety of cultural values.

The influence of science and technology on people’s lives is expanding. While recent
benefits to humanity are unparalleled in the history of the human species, in some instances the
impact has been harmful or the long-term effects give causes for serious concerns. A
considerable measure of public mistrust of science and fear of technology exists today. In part,
this stems from the belief by some individuals and communities that they will be the ones to
suffer the indirect negative consequences of technical innovations introduced to benefit only a
privileged minority. The power of science to bring about change places a duty on scientists to
proceed with great caution both in what they do and what they say. Scientists should reflect on
the social consequences of the technological applications or dissemination of partial information
of their work and explain to the public and policy makers alike the degree of scientific
uncertainty or incompleteness in their findings. At the same time, though, they should not
hesitate to fully exploit the predictive power of science, duly qualified, to help people cope with
environmental change, especially in cases of direct threats like natural disasters or water
shortages.

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 21st 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

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B. Historical Antecedents in the World

Just like with any other discipline, the best way to truly understand where we are
in science today is to look back at what happened in the past. The history of science can
teach us many lessons about the way scientists think and understand the world around us.
A historical perspective will make us appreciate more what science really is.

From Ancient Times to 600 BC

Science during ancient times involved practical arts like healing practices and
metal tradition. Some of the earliest records from history indicate that 3,000 years before
Christ, the ancient Egyptians already had reasonably sophisticated medical practices.
Sometime around 2650 B.C., for example, a man named Imhotep was renowned for
his knowledge of medicine. Most historians agree that the heart of Egyptian medicine
was trial and error. Egyptian doctors would try one remedy, and if it worked, they would
continue to use it. If a remedy they tried didn’t work, the patient might die, but at least
the doctors learned that next time they should try a different remedy. Despite the fact that
such practices sound primitive, the results were, sometimes, surprisingly effective.

The Egyptian medicine was considered advanced as compared with other ancient
nations because of one of the early inventions of Egyptian civilization – the papyrus.
The papyrus is an ancient form of paper, made from the papyrus plant, a reed which
grows in the marshy areas around the Nile river. As early as 3,000 years before Christ,
Egyptians took thin slices of the stem of the papyrus plant, laid them crosswise on top of
each other, moistened them, and then pressed and dried them. The result was a form of
paper that was reasonably easy to write on and store. The invention of this ancient form
of paper revolutionized the way information was transmitted from person to person and
generation to generation. Before papyrus, Egyptians, Sumerians, and other races wrote on
clay tablets or smooth rocks. This was a time-consuming process, and the products were
not easy to store or transport. When Egyptians began writing on papyrus, all of that
changed. Papyrus was easy to roll into scrolls. Thus, Egyptian writings became easy to
store and transport. As a result, the knowledge of one scholar could be easily transferred
to other scholars. As this accumulated knowledge was passed down from generation to
generation, Egyptian medicine became the most respected form of medicine in the known
world. Papyrus was used as a writing material as early as 3,000 BC in ancient Egypt, and
continued to be used to some extent until around 1100 AD.

Although the Egyptians were renowned for their medicine and for papyrus, other
cultures had impressive inventions of their own. Around the time that papyrus was first
being used in Egypt, the Mesopotamians were making pottery using the first known
potter’s wheel. Not long after, horse-drawn chariots were being used.

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As early as 1,000 years before Christ, the Chinese were using compasses to aid
themselves in their travels. The ancient world, then, was filled with inventions that,
although they sound commonplace today, revolutionized life during those times. These
inventions are history’s first inklings of science.

The Advent of Science (600 BC to 500 AD)

The ancient Greeks were the early thinkers and as far as historians can tell, they
were the first true scientists. They collected facts and observations and then used those
observations to explain the natural world. Although many cultures like the ancient
Egyptians, Mesopotamians, and Chinese had collected observations and facts, they had
not tried to use those facts to develop explanations of the world around them.

Scientific thought in Classical Antiquity becomes tangible from the 6th century
BC in pre-Socratic philosophy (Thales, Pythagoras). In circa 385 BC, Plato founded
the Academy. With Plato's student Aristotle begins the "scientific revolution" of the
Hellenistic period culminating in the 3rd to 2nd centuries with scholars such as
Eratosthenes, Euclid, Aristarchus of Samos, Hipparchus and Archimedes.

This period produced substantial advances in scientific knowledge, especially in

anatomy, zoology, botany, mineralogy, geography, mathematics and astronomy;; an
awareness of the importance of certain scientific problems, especially those related
to the problem of change and its cause;; and a recognition of the methodological
importance of applying mathematics to natural phenomena and of undertaking empirical
research.

The scholars frequently employed the principles developed in earlier Greek

thought: the application of mathematics and deliberate empirical research, in their
scientific investigations. This was passed on from ancient Greek philosophers to
medieval Muslim philosophers and scientists, to the European Renaissance and
Enlightenment, to the secular sciences of the modern day.

Islamic Golden Age

The Islamic Golden Age was a period of cultural, economic and scientific
flourishing in the history of Islam, traditionally dated from the eighth century to the
fourteenth century, with several contemporary scholars dating the end of the era to the
fifteenth or sixteenth century. This period is traditionally understood to have begun
during the reign of the Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid (786 to 809) with the
inauguration of the House of Wisdom in Baghdad, where scholars from various parts of
the world with different cultural backgrounds were mandated to gather and translate all of
the world's classical knowledge into the Arabic language and subsequently development
in various fields of sciences began. Science and

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technology in the Islamic world adopted and preserved knowledge and technologies from
contemporary and earlier civilizations, including Persia, Egypt, India, China, and Greco--
Roman antiquity, while making numerous improvements, innovations and inventions.

Islamic scientific achievements encompassed a wide range of subject areas,

especially astronomy, mathematics, and medicine. Scientific inquiry was practiced in
other subjects like alchemy and chemistry, botany and agronomy, geography and
cartography, ophthalmology, pharmacology, physics and zoology.

Islamic science was characterized by having practical purposes as well as the goal
of understanding. Astronomy was useful in determining the Qibla, which is the direction
in which to pray, botany is applied in agriculture and geography enabled scientists to
make accurate maps. Mathematics also flourished during the Islamic Golden Age with
the works of Al-Khwarizmi, Avicenna and Jamshid al Kashi that led to advanced in
algebra, trigonometry, geometry and Arabic numerals.

There was also great progress in medicine during this period. Al-Biruni, and
Avicenna produced books that contain descriptions of the preparation of hundred of drugs
made from medicinal plants and chemical compounds. Islamic doctors describe diseases
like smallpox and measles, and challenged classical Greek medical knowledge.

Likewise, Islamic physicists such as Ibn Al-Haytham, Al-Biruni and others

studied optics and mechanics as well as astronomy, and criticized Aristotle’s view of
motion.

The significance of medieval Islamic science has been debated by historians. The
traditionalist view holds that it lacked innovation, and was mainly important for handing
on ancient knowledge to medieval Europe. The revisionist view holds that it constituted a
scientific revolution. Whatever the case, science flourished across a wide area around the
Mediterranean and further afield, for several centuries, in a wide range of institutions.

Science and Technology in Ancient China

Ancient Chinese scientists and engineers made significant scientific innovations,

findings and technological advances across various scientific disciplines including the
natural sciences, engineering, medicine, military technology, mathematics, geology and
astronomy.

Ancient China gave the world the Four Great Inventions that include the
compass, gunpowder, papermaking and printing. These were considered as
among the most important technological advances and were only known to Europe

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1000 years later or during the end of the Middle ages. These four inventions had a
profound impact on the development of civilization throughout the world. However,
some modern Chinese scholars have opined that other Chinese inventions were perhaps
more sophisticated and had a greater impact on Chinese civilization – the Four Great
Inventions serve merely to highlight the technological interaction between East and West.

As stated by Karl Marx, "Gunpowder, the compass, and the printing press were
the three great inventions which ushered in bourgeois society. Gunpowder blew up the
knightly class, the compass discovered the world market and found the colonies, and the
printing press was the instrument of Protestantism and the regeneration of science in
general;; the most powerful lever for creating the intellectual prerequisites.”

The Renaissance (1300 AD – 1600AD)

The 14th century was the beginning of the cultural movement of the Renaissance,
which was considered by many as the Golden Age of Science. During the
Renaissance period, great advances occurred in geography, astronomy,
chemistry, physics, mathematics, anatomy, manufacturing, and engineering. The
rediscovery of ancient scientific texts was accelerated after the Fall of
Constantinople in 1453, and the invention of printing democratized learning and
allowed a faster propagation of new ideas.

Marie Boas Hall coined the term Scientific Renaissance to designate the early
phase of the Scientific Revolution, 1450–1630. More recently, Peter Dear has argued for
a two-phase model of early modern science: a Scientific Renaissance of the 15th and 16th
centuries, focused on the restoration of the natural knowledge of the ancients;; and a
Scientific Revolution of the 17th century, when scientists shifted from recovery to
innovation.

But this initial period is usually seen as one of scientific backwardness. There
were no new developments in physics or astronomy, and the reverence for classical
sources further enshrined the Aristotelian and Ptolemaic views of the universe.
Renaissance philosophy lost much of its rigour as the rules of logic and deduction were
seen as secondary to intuition and emotion. At the same time, Renaissance
humanism stressed that nature came to be viewed as an animate spiritual creation that
was not governed by laws or mathematics. Science would only be revived later, with
such figures as Copernicus, Gerolamo Cardano, Francis Bacon, and Descartes.

The most important technological advance of all in this period was the
development of printing, with movable metal type, about the mid-15th century in
Germany. Johannes Gutenberg is usually called its inventor, but in fact many people and
many steps were involved. Block printing on wood came to the West

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from China between 1250 and 1350, papermaking came from China by way of the Arabs
to 12th-century Spain, whereas the Flemish technique of oil painting was the origin of the
new printers’ ink. Three men of Mainz—Gutenberg and his contemporaries Johann Fust
and Peter Schöffer—seem to have taken the final steps, casting metal type and locking it
into a wooden press. The invention spread like the wind, reaching Italy by 1467, Hungary
and Poland in the 1470s, and Scandinavia by 1483. By 1500 the presses of Europe had
produced some six million books. Without the printing press it is impossible to conceive
that the Reformation would have ever been more than a monkish quarrel or that the rise
of a new science, which was a cooperative effort of an international community, would
have occurred at all. In short, the development of printing amounted to a communications
revolution of the order of the invention of writing;; and, like that prehistoric discovery,
it transformed the conditions of life. The communications revolution immeasurably
enhanced human opportunities for enlightenment and pleasure on one hand and created
previously undreamed-of possibilities for manipulation and control on the other. The
consideration of such contradictory effects may guard us against a ready acceptance of
triumphalist conceptions of the Renaissance or of historical change in general.

The Enlightenment Period (1715 A.D. to 1789 A.D.)

The Enlightenment Period or the Age of Reason was characterized by radical

reorientation in science, which emphasized reason over superstition and science over
blind faith. This period produced numerous books, essays, inventions, scientific
discoveries, laws, wars and revolutions. The American and French Revolutions were
directly inspired by Enlightenment ideals and respectively marked the peak of its
influence and the beginning of its decline. The Enlightenment ultimately gave way to
19th-century Romanticism.

The Enlightenment’s important 17th-century precursors included the key natural

philosophers of the Scientific Revolution, including Galileo Galilei, Johannes Kepler and
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. Its roots are usually traced to 1680s England, where in the
span of three years Isaac Newton published his “Principia Mathematica” (1686) and John
Locke his “Essay Concerning Human Understanding” (1689)—two works that provided
the scientific, mathematical and philosophical toolkit for the Enlightenment’s major
advances.

In this era dedicated to human progress, the advancement of the natural sciences
is regarded as the main exemplification of, and fuel for, such progress. Isaac Newton’s
epochal accomplishment in his Principia Mathematica consists in the comprehension of
a diversity of physical phenomena – in particular the motions of heavenly bodies,
together with the motions of sublunary bodies – in few relatively simple,
universally applicable, mathematical laws, was a great stimulus to the intellectual activity
of the eighteenth century and served as a model and inspiration for the researches of a
number of Enlightenment thinkers. Newton’s

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system strongly encourages the Enlightenment conception of nature as an orderly domain
governed by strict mathematical-dynamical laws and the conception of ourselves as
capable of knowing those laws and of plumbing the secrets of nature through the exercise
of our unaided faculties. – The conception of nature, and of how we know it, changes
significantly with the rise of modern science. It belongs centrally to the agenda of
Enlightenment philosophy to contribute to the new knowledge of nature, and to provide a
metaphysical framework within which to place and interpret this new knowledge.

Industrial Revolution (1760 - 1840)

The rise of modern science and the Industrial Revolution were closely connected.
It is difficult to show any direct effect of scientific discoveries upon the rise of the textile
or even the metallurgical industry in Great Britain, the home of the Industrial Revolution,
but there certainly was a similarity in attitude to be found in science and nascent industry.
Close observation and careful generalization leading to practical utilization were
characteristic of both industrialists and experimentalists alike in the 18th century.

What science offered in the 18th century was the hope that careful observation
and experimentation might improve industrial production significantly. The science of
metallurgy permitted the tailoring of alloy steels to industrial specifications, the science
of chemistry permitted the creation of new substances, like the aniline dyes, of
fundamental industrial importance, and that electricity and magnetism were harnessed in
the electric dynamo and motor. Until that period science probably profited more from
industry than the other way around. It was the steam engine that posed the problems that
led, by way of a search for a theory of steam power, to the creation of thermodynamics.
Most importantly, as industry required ever more complicated and intricate machinery,
the machine tool industry developed to provide it and, in the process, made possible the
construction of ever more delicate and refined instruments for science. As science turned
from the everyday world to the worlds of atoms and molecules, electric currents and
magnetic fields, microbes and viruses, and nebulae and galaxies, instruments increasingly
provided the sole contact with phenomena. A large refracting telescope driven by
intricate clockwork to observe nebulae was as much a product of 19th-century heavy
industry as were the steam locomotive and the steamship.

The Industrial Revolution had one further important effect on the development of
modern science. The prospect of applying science to the problems of industry served to
stimulate public support for science. Governments, in varying degrees and at different
rates, began supporting science even more directly, by making financial grants to
scientists, by founding research institutes, and by bestowing honors and official posts on
great scientists. By the end of the 19th century the natural philosopher following his
private interests had given way to the professional scientist with a public role.

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 The main features involved in the Industrial Revolution were technological,
socioeconomic, and cultural. The technological changes included the following: (1) the
use of new basic materials, chiefly iron and steel, (2) the use of new energy
sources, including both fuels and motive power, such as coal, the steam engine,
electricity, petroleum, and the internal-combustion engine, (3) the invention of new
machines, such as the spinning jenny and the power loom that permitted increased
production with a smaller expenditure of human energy, (4) a new organization of work
known as the factory system, which entailed increased division of labor and
specialization of function, (5) important developments in transportation and
communication, including the steam locomotive, steamship, automobile, airplane,
telegraph, and radio, and (6) the increasing application of science to industry. These
technological changes made possible a tremendously increased use of natural resources
and the mass production of manufactured goods.

20th Century Science: Physics and Information Age

The 20th century was an important century in the history of the sciences. It
generated entirely novel insights in all areas of research – often thanks to the introduction
of novel research methods – and it established an intimate connection between science
and technology. With this connection, science is dealing now with the complexity of the
real world. The scientific legacy of the 20th Century gave proof of the revolutionary
changes in many areas of the sciences – in particular, physics, biology, astronomy,
chemistry, neurosciences and earth and environmental sciences – and how they
contributed to these changes.

The epistemological and methodological questions as well as the interdisciplinary

aspects become ever more important in scientific research. The common denominator of
the sciences is the notion of discovery, and discovery is an organised mode of observing
nature. Twentieth century cosmology greatly improved our knowledge of the place that
man and his planet occupy in the universe. The “wonder” that Plato and Aristotle put
at the origin of thought, today extends to science itself. Questions now arise on the
origin and on the whole, its history and its laws.

The start of the 20th century was strongly marked by Einstein’s formulation of the
theory of relativity (1905) including the unifying concept of energy related to mass and
the speed of light: E = mc2 . He made many more contributions, notably to statistical
mechanics, and he provided a great inspiring influence for many other physicists.

In the second half of the 20th century several branches of science continued to
make great progress and we here list physics, chemistry, biology, geology and astronomy.
For example, there was the development of the semi-conductor

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(transistor), followed by developments in nanotechnology that led to great advances in
information technology. In nuclear physics the discovery of sub-atomic particles provided a
great leap forward.

Modern physics grew in the 20th into a primary discipline contributing to all
today’s basic natural sciences, astronomy, chemistry and biology. Although it took a
hundred years since Clausius’s time for it to be fully recognized that all biological
processes have also to obey the laws of thermodynamics, the border between the origin of
the living and the non-living worlds has now at last been blurred. The year 1953 was an
important landmark for biology with the description by Crick and Watson of the structure
of DNA, the carrier of genetic information (Rosch, 2014).

Physics has enabled us to understand the basic components of matter and we are
well on the way to an ever more consistent and unitary understanding of the entire
structure of natural reality, which we discover as being made up not only of matter and
energy but also of information and forms. The latest developments in astrophysics are
also particularly surprising: they further confirm the great unity of physics that manifests
itself clearly at each new stage of the understanding of reality.

Biology too, with the discovery of DNA and the development of genetics, allows
us to penetrate the fundamental processes of life and to intervene in the gene pool of
certain organisms by imitating some of these natural mechanisms. Information
technology and the digital processing of information have transformed our lifestyle and
our way of communicating in the space of very few decades. The 20th century has seen
medicine find a cure for many life-threatening diseases and the beginning of organ
transplants.

It is impossible to list the many other discoveries and results that have
broadened our knowledge and influenced our world outlook: from progress in
computational logic to the chemistry of materials, from the neurosciences to robotics.
Scientific research not only gives expression to the strength of rationality in explaining
the world and the way in which this is done. The application of scientific knowledge can
induce changes of environmental and thus living conditions. It is these aspects, the
interrelations between scientific progress and social development, which together with
insights into the epistemological structure and the ethical implications of science play an
important role in the life and the work of scientists.

Science and Technology in the Fourth Industrial Revolution

The Fourth Industrial Revolution is a way of describing the blurring of boundaries

between the physical, digital, and biological worlds. It’s a fusion of advances in artificial
intelligence (AI), robotics, the Internet of Things (IoT), 3D printing, genetic engineering,
quantum computing, and other technologies. It’s the collective force behind many
products and services that are fast becoming

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indispensable to modern life. Think GPS systems that suggest the fastest route to a
destination, voice-activated virtual assistants such as Apple’s Siri, personalized Netflix
recommendations, and Facebook’s ability to recognize your face and tag you in a friend’s
photo (https://www.salesforce.com/blog/2018/12/what-is-the- fourth-industrial--
revolution-4IR.html).

As a result of this perfect storm of technologies, the Fourth Industrial Revolution

is paving the way for transformative changes in the way we live and radically disrupting
almost every business sector. It’s all happening at an unprecedented, whirlwind pace.

The easiest way to understand the Fourth Industrial Revolution is to focus on the
technologies driving it. Artificial intelligence (AI) describes computers that can “think” like
humans — recognizing complex patterns, processing information, drawing conclusions, and
making recommendations. AI is used in many ways, from spotting patterns in huge piles of
unstructured data to powering the autocorrect on your phone.
New computational technologies are making computers smarter. They enable
computers to process vast amounts of data faster than ever before, while the advent of the
“cloud” has allowed businesses to safely store and access their information from anywhere with
internet access, at any time. Quantum computing technologies now in development will
eventually make computers millions of times more powerful. These computers will have the
potential to supercharge AI, create highly complex data models in seconds, and speed up the
discovery of new materials.
Virtual reality (VR) offers immersive digital experiences (using a VR headset) that
simulate the real world, while augmented reality merges the digital and physical worlds.
Examples include L’Oréal’s makeup app, which allows users to digitally experiment with
makeup products before buying them, and the Google Translate phone app, which allows
users to scan and instantly translate street signs, menus, and other text.
Biotechnology harnesses cellular and biomolecular processes to develop new
technologies and products for a range of uses, including developing new pharmaceuticals and
materials, more efficient industrial manufacturing processes, and cleaner, more efficient energy
sources. Researchers in Stockholm, for example, are working on what is being touted as the
strongest biomaterial ever produced.
Robotics refers to the design, manufacture, and use of robots for personal and
commercial use. While we’re yet to see robot assistants in every home, technological
advances have made robots increasingly complex and sophisticated. They are used in fields
as wide-ranging as manufacturing, health and safety, and human assistance.
3D printing allows manufacturing businesses to print their own parts, with less
tooling, at a lower cost, and faster than via traditional processes. Plus, designs can be customized
to ensure a perfect fit.

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 Innovative materials, including plastics, metal alloys, and biomaterials, promise to
shake up sectors including manufacturing, renewable energy, construction, and healthcare.
The IoT describes the idea of everyday items — from medical wearables that
monitor users’ physical condition to cars and tracking devices inserted into parcels — being
connected to the internet and identifiable by other devices. A big plus for businesses is that
they can collect customer data from constantly connected products, allowing them to better
gauge how customers use products and tailor marketing campaigns accordingly. There are
also many industrial applications, such as farmers putting IoT sensors into fields to monitor
soil attributes and inform decisions such as when to fertilize.
Energy capture, storage, and transmission represent a growing market sector, spurred by
the falling cost of renewable energy technologies and improvements in battery storage
capacity.

C. Historical Development of Science and Technology in the Philippines

The current state of science and technology in the country can be traced back to its
historical development and the latent events that helped shape it since the pre-colonial period to
contemporary time. What we have or lack today in terms of science and technology is very much
an effect of the government policies that had been enacted by past public officials in trying to
develop a technological society that is responsive to the needs of time.

Pre-Spanish Era.

There is not much written about the Philippines during pre-colonial time but analysis from
archeological artifacts revealed that the first inhabitants in the archipelago who settled in
Palawan and Batangas around 40 000 years ago have made simple tools or weapons of stone
which eventually developed techniques for sawing, drilling and polishing hard stones. This very
primitive technology was brought by primal needs of survival by hunting wild animals and
gathering fruits and vegetables in the forest. They learned that by polishing hard stones, they can
develop sharp objects that are useful in their day to day activities. From this early, we can see
that technology was developed because of a great necessity.

Still on its primitive state, the first inhabitants in the country are learning what can be
harnessed from the environment. They have come to understand that when clay is mixed with 2
water and then shaped into something before sun drying, it hardens to an object that can also be
useful to them. And because clay is moldable, it can be shaped into various objects.

As the early Filipinos flourished, they have learned how to extract, smelt and refine metals
like copper, gold, bronze and iron from nature and consequently fashion them into tools and
implements. At this point, the inhabitants of the country are showing a deeper understanding of
their nature because they were able to obtain valuable resources from nature.
As the inhabitants shifted from wandering from one place to another and learned to settle
in areas near the water source, they also learned how to weave cotton, engaged themselves in
agriculture and are knowledgeable on building boats for coastal trade.
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 From the above mentioned facts, it can be concluded that primitive Filipinos are practicing
science and technology in their everyday lives. The ancient crafts of stone carving, pottery and
smelting of metals involves a lot of science, which is understanding the nature of matter
involved. The ingenuity of the Ifugaos in building the Banaue Rice Terraces The smelting of
metals exhibited the primitive Filipino’s knowledge on the composition of alloy and the
optimum temperature that will produce the metal with acceptable tensile strength. All in all, the
primitive Filipinos were living in perfect harmony with nature and they obtain from it what is
just needed in their everyday life through a very simple science of understanding how mother
nature operates

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 Spanish Colonial Era.

As claimed by Caoili (1983), the beginnings of modern science and technology in the
country can be traced back to the Spanish regime because they established schools, hospitals and
started scientific research that had important consequences in the development of the country.
These schools, which are mostly run by Spanish friars, formed the first Filipino professionals.
The The 3 highest institution of learning during this time was the Royal and Pontifical University
of Santo Tomas.

But the very strict hold of the church among citizens and its intervention and meddling to
the government propelled by fear of intellectual awakening among Filipinos have greatly
hindered the progress of these professionals to further enhance their knowledge, conduct
scientific investigations and contribute to the advancement of society. But a few of persistent
Filipino scientists succeeded by educating themselves abroad. One notable example of course is
our national hero, the great Dr. Jose P. Rizal. Dr. Jose Rizal is the epitome of the Renaissance
man in the Philippine context. He is a scientist, a doctor, an engineer (he designed and built a
water system in Dapitan), a journalist, a novelist, an urban planner and a hero. Being a doctor
and scientist, he had extensive knowledge on medicine and was able to operate his mother’s
blinding eye. When he was deported in Dapitan, his knowledge on science and engineering was
translated into technology by creating a water system that improved the sanitation of households
in the area. Dr. Jose

Dr. Jose Rizal was a brilliant man and his life stood out among his contemporaries. But it
cannot be said that there is no contribution to science and technology among the Filipino men
and women during the Spanish era. The charity hospitals became the breeding ground for
scientific researches on pharmacy and medicine, with great focus on problems of infectious
diseases, their causes and possible remedies. And in 1887, the Laboratorio Municipal de Ciudad
de Manila was created and whose functions were to conduct biochemical analyses for public
health and to undertake specimen examinations for clinical and medico-legal cases. Its
publication, probably the first scientific journal in the country was titled Cronica de Ciencias
Medicas de Filipinas showed the studies undertaken during that time.

As the colonization of the Spaniards lengthened, they began to exploit the natural resources
of the country through agriculture, mining of metals and minerals and establishing various kinds
of industries to further promote economic growth. As such, scientific research on these fields
were encouraged by the government. By the nineteenth century, Manila has become a
cosmopolitan center and modern amenities were introduced to the city. However, little is known
about the accomplishments of scientific bodies commissioned by the Spanish government during
this time. Because of limited scientific research and its consequent translation to technology
during the Spanish regime, none of the industries prosper. The Philippines had evolved into a
primary agricultural exporting economy, and this is not because of the researches undertaken on

15
this field, but was largely because of the influx of foreign capital and technology which
brought modernization of some sectors, notably sugar and hemp production.

American Period

If the development in science and technology was very slow during the Spanish regime, the
Philippines saw a rapid growth during the American occupation and was made possible by the
government’s extensive public education system from elementary to tertiary schools. The
establishment of various public tertiary schools like the Philippine Normal School and University
of the Philippines provided the needs for professionally trained Filipinos in building the
government’s organization and programs. The growth and application of science were still
concentrated on the health sector in the form of biochemical analyses in hospitals. The
government supported basic and applied research in the medical, agricultural and related
sciences. The University of the Philippines Los Baños opened the College of Agriculture in 1909
while the University of the Philippines – Diliman opened the Colleges of Arts, Engineering and
Veterinary Medicine in 1910. The College of Medicine was opened four years later.

During this time, there were already quite a number of qualified Filipino physicians who
held teaching positions in the College of Medicine, whereas most of the early instructors and
professors in other colleges such as in the sciences and engineering were Americans and
foreigners. Capacity building programs that include sending qualified Filipinos abroad for
advanced training were conducted to eventually fill up the teaching positions in Philippine
universities. Moreover, the American colonial government sent Filipino youths to be educated as
teachers, engineers, physicians and lawyers in American colleges to further capacitate the
Filipinos in various fields.

However, there was difficulty in recruiting students for science and technology courses like
veterinary medicine, engineering, agriculture, applied sciences and industrial-vocational courses.
The enrollment in these courses were dismal that the government had to offer scholarships to
attract students. The unpopularity of these courses stemmed from the Filipinos’ disdain toward
manual work that developed from the 400 years under Spanish colonization. The Filipinos then
prefer prestigious professions at that time like priesthood, law and medicine.

The government provided more support for the development of science and created the
Bureau of Government Laboratories in and was later changed to Bureau of Science. It was
composed of a biological laboratory, chemical laboratory, serum laboratory for the production of
virus vaccine, serums and prophylactics, and a library. The bureau was initially managed by
American senior scientists but as more Filipinos were trained and acquire the necessary
knowledge and skills, they eventually took over their positions. The Bureau of Science served as
the primary training ground for Filipino scientists and paved the way for pioneering scientific
research, most especially on the study of various tropical diseases that were prevalent during
those times like leprosy, tuberculosis, cholera, dengue fever, malaria and beri-beri. Another great
contribution of the Bureau of Science to the development of science and technology in the
country was the publication of the

16
Philippine Journal of Science. This scientific journal published researches done in local
laboratories and reported global scientific developments that had relevance to the Philippine
society. The Bureau of Science became the primary research center of the Philippines until
World War II. Lastly, on December 8, 1933, the National Research Council of the Philippines
was established.

Commonwealth Period

When the Americans granted independence and the Commonwealth government was
established, the Filipinos were busy in working towards economic reliance but acknowledge the
importance and vital role of science and technology for the economic development of the country
by declaring that “The State shall promote scientific research and invention…” The short-lived
Commonwealth Government was succeeded by the Japanese occupation when the Pacific war
broke out in 1941. The prevailing situations during the time of Commonwealth period to the
Japanese regime had made developments in science and technology practically impossible. This
is also true when World War II ended and left Manila, the country’s capital, in ruins. The
government had to rebuild again and normalize the operations in the whole country.

Science and Technology since Independence

In 1946 the Bureau of Science was replaced by the Institute of Science and was placed
under the Office of the President of the Philippines. However, the agency faced lack of financial
support from the government and experienced planning and coordination problems. In a report
by the US Economic Survey to the Philippines in 1950, there is a lack of basic information which
were necessities to the country's industries, lack of support of experimental work and minimal
budget for scientific research and low salaries of scientists employed by the government. In
1958, during the regime of President Carlos
P. Garcia, the Philippine Congress passed the Science Act of 1958 which established the
National Science Development Board (NSDB).

The Philippine government focused on science and technology institutional capacity--

building which were undertaken by establishing infrastructure-support facilities such as new
research agencies and development trainings. However good these projects were, it produced
insignificant effects because of lack of coordination and planning, specifically technology
planning, between concerned agencies which hindered them from performing their assigned
functions effectively. This was aptly illustrated in the unplanned activities of the researchers
within the agencies. Most areas of research were naively left to the discretion of the researchers
under the assumption that they were working for the interests of the country. They were
instructed to look for technologies and scientific studies with good commercialization potential.
Without clear research policy guidelines, researches were done for their own sake, leaving to
chance the commercialization of the results.

17
 Likewise, during this time, rebuilding the country involved establishing more state funded
manual and trading schools which would eventually become the current state universities and
colleges. The trade schools produced craftsmen, tradesmen and technicians that helped in
shaping a more technological Philippines while still being an agricultural based nation.
Eventually, when these trade schools were elevated to college and university status, they
produced much of the country’s professionals, although there was a great disparity on the low
proportion of those in agriculture, medical and natural sciences with those from teacher training
and commerce/business administration courses which had higher number of graduates. The
increase in the number of graduates led to the rise of professional organizations of scientists and
engineers. These organizations were formed to promote professional interests and create and
monitor the standards of practice.

As summarized by Caoili, “There has been little innovation in the education and
training of scientists and engineers since independence in 1946. This is in part due to
the conservative nature of self-regulation by the professional associations. Because of
specialized training, vertical organizations by disciplines and lack of liaison between
professions, professional associations have been unable to perceive the dynamic
relationship between science, technology and society and the relevance of
their training to Philippine conditions.

Science and Technology in the 1960s to 1990s

During these years, the government gave greater importance to science and technology.
The government declared in Section 9(1) of the 1973 Philippine Constitution that the
“advancement of science and technology shall have priority in the national development.”

On April 6, 1968, Pres. Ferdinand Marcos proclaimed the 35-hectare land in Bicutan, Taguig as
the site of the Philippine Science Community. Then in 1969, the government provided funds to
private universities to encourage them to conduct research and create courses in science and
technology. The government also conducted seminars for public and private high school and
college science teachers, training programs and scholarships for graduate and undergraduate
science scholars, and workshops on fisheries and oceanography.

In the 1970s, focus on science and technology was given to applied research and the main
objective was to generate products and processes that were supposed to have a greater beneficial
impact to the society. Relative to this, several research institutes were established under the
National Science Development Board (NSDB) which includes the Philippine Coconut Research
Institute and Philippine Textile Research Institute. Moreover, the Philippine Atomic Energy
Commission, another agency under NSDB, explored the uses of atomic energy for economic
development. To prepare the pool of scientists who will work on Philippine Atomic
Commission, Pres. Marcos assisted 107

18
institutions in undertaking nuclear energy work by sending scientists abroad to study nuclear
science and technology, and providing basic training to 482 scientists, doctors, engineers and
technicians. Then in 1972, by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 4, the National Grains Authority
was created and it was tasked to improve the rice and corn industry and thereby help in the
economic development of the country. This was followed by the creation of Philippine Council
for Agricultural Research to support the progressive development of agriculture, forestry, and
fisheries in the country. The Marcos administration also established the Philippine Atmospheric
Geophysical and Astronomical Service Administration (PAGASA) under the Department of
National Defense to provide environmental protection and to utilize scientific knowledge to
ensure the safety of the people through Presidential Decree No. 78, s. 1972. On the following
year, the Philippine National Oil Company was created by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 334,
s. 1973, to promote industrial and economic development through effective and efficient use of
energy sources. To strengthen the scientific culture in the country, the National Academy of
Science and Technology was established under Presidential Decree No. 1003-A, s. 1976. The
National Academy of Science and Technology was composed of scientists with “innovative
achievement in the basic and applied sciences” who will serve as the reservoir of scientific and
technological expertise for the country.

In the 1980s, science and technology was still focused on applied research. In 1982, NSDB
was further reorganized into a National Science and Technology Authority (NSTA) composed of
four research and development Councils;; Philippine Council for Agriculture and Resources
Research and Development (PCARRD);; Philippine Council for Industry and Energy Research
Development (PCIERD);; Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (PCHRD)
and the National Research Council of the Philippines (NRCP). NSTA has also eight research and
development institutes and support agencies under it. These are actually the former organic and
attached agencies of NSDB which have themselves been reorganized.

The expanding number of science agencies has given rise to a demand for high calibre
scientists and engineers to undertake research and staff universities and colleges. Hence,
measures have also been taken towards the improvement of the country’s science and manpower.
In March 1983, Executive Order No. 889 was issued by the President which provided for the
establishment of a national network of centers of excellence in basic sciences. As a consequence,
six new institutes were created: The National Institutes of Physics, Geological Sciences, Natural
Sciences Research, Chemistry, Biology and Mathematical Sciences. Related to this efforts was
the establishment of a Scientific Career System in the Civil Service by Presidential Decree No.
901 on 19 July 1983. This is designed to attract more qualified scientists to work in government
and encourage young people to pursue science degrees and careers.

In 1986, under the Aquino administration, the National Science and Technology Authority
was replaced by the Department of Science and Technology, giving science and technology a
representation in the cabinet. Under the Medium Term Philippine Development Plan for the
years 1987-1992, science and technology's role in economic recovery and sustained economic
growth was highlighted. In this period, science and

19
technology was one of the top three priorities of the government towards economic
recovery.

With the agency's elevation to full cabinet stature by virtue of Executive Order 128 signed
on 30 January 1987, the functions and responsibilities of DOST expanded correspondingly to
include the following: (1) Pursue the declared state policy of supporting local scientific and
technological effort;; (2) Develop local capability to achieve technological self-reliance;;
(3) Encourage greater private sector participation in research and development. moreover,
funding for the science and technology sector was tripled from 464 million in 1986 to 1.7 billion
in 1992.

The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) is the premiere science and
technology body in the country charged with the twin mandate of providing central direction,
leadership and coordination of all scientific and technological activities, and of formulating
policies, programs and projects to support national development. The Science and Technology
Master Plan was formulated which aimed at the modernization of the production sector,
upgrading research activities, and development of infrastructure for science and technological
purposes. A Research and Development Plan was also formulated to examine and determine
which areas of research needed attention and must be given priority. The criteria for identifying
the program to be pursued were, development of local materials, probability of success, potential
of product in the export market, and the its strategic nature. The grants for the research and
development programs was included in the Omnibus Investment Law.

During President Fidel Ramos’s term, there was a significant increase in personnel
specializing in the science and technology field. In 1998, there was an estimated 3,000 competent
scientists and engineers in the Philippines. Adding to the increase of scientists would be the
result of the two newly built Philippine Science High Schools in Visayas and Mindanao which
promotes further development of young kids through advance S&T curriculum. The government
provided 3,500 scholarships for students who were taking up professions related to S&T. Priority
for S&T personnel increased when Magna Carta for Science and Technology Personnel
(Republic Act No. 8439) was established. The award was published in order to give incentives
and rewards for people who have been influential in the field of S&T.

Still under the Ramos administration, DOST established the “Science and Technology
Agenda for National Development (STAND)”, a program that was significant to the field of
S&T. It identified seven export products, 11 domestic needs, three other supporting industries,
and the coconut industry as priority investment areas. The seven identified export products were
computer software;; fashion accessories;; gifts, toys, and houseware;; marine products;; metal
fabrications;; furniture;; and dried fruits. The domestic needs identified were food, housing, health,
clothing, transportation, communication, disaster mitigation, defense, environment, manpower
development, and energy. Three additional support industries were included in the list of priority
sectors, namely, packaging, chemicals, and metals because of their linkages with the above
sectors.

20
 In the Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo administration, numerous laws and projects were
implemented which concerns both the environment and science to push technology as a tool to
increase the country’s economic level. This is to help increase the productivity from Science,
Technology and Innovations (STI) and help benefit the poor people. Moreover, the term
“Filipinnovation” was the coined term used in helping the Philippines to be an innovation hub in
Asia.

The STI was developed further by strengthening the schools and education system such as
the Philippine Science High School (PSHS), which focuses in science, technology and
mathematics in their curriculum. This helps schools produce get more involve in this sector.
Private sectors were also encouraged to participate in developing the schools through organizing
events and sponsorships. Future Filipino scientists and innovators can be produced through this
system.

Recently, the Philippines ranked 73rd out of 128 economies in terms of Science and
Technology and Innovation (STI) index, citing the country’s strength in research and
commercialization of STI ideas (DOST, 2018). However, a study by the Philippine Institute for
Development Studies highlighted the weak ties between innovation-driven firms and the
government, and it also identified the country’s low expenditure in research and development
(R&D). This is the reason the government is now extending all its efforts to reach out with the
private sector, explaining that STI plays an important role in economic and social progress and is
a key driver for a long-term growth of an economy. Technology adoption allows a country’s
firms and citizens to benefit from innovations created in other countries, and allows it to catch up
and even leap-frog obsolete technologies. Technology adoption, the official said, allows a country’s
firms and citizens to benefit from innovations created in other countries, and allows it to
catch up and even leap-frog obsolete technologies.

Hopes in Philippine Science and Technology

Despite the many inadequacies, from funding to human capital, there are some science
and technology-intensive research and capacity-building projects which resulted in products
which are currently being used successfully and benefits the society.

One of these is the micro-satellite. In April 2016, the country launched into space its first
micro-satellite called Diwata-1. It was designed, developed and assembled by Filipino
researchers and engineers under the guidance of Japanese experts. The Diwata (deity in English)
satellite provides real-time, high-resolution and multi-color infrared images for various
applications, including meteorological imaging, crop and ocean productivity measurement and
high-resolution imaging of natural and man-made features. It enables a more precise estimate of
the country’s agricultural production, provides images of watersheds and floodplains for a better
understanding of water available for irrigation, power and domestic consumption. The satellite
also provides accurate information on any disturbance and degradation of forest and upland
areas.

21
 The country also has the Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards (NOAH), which
uses the Lidar (light detection and ranging) technology. Project NOAH was initiated in June
2012 to help manage risks associated with natural hazards and disasters. The project developed
hydromet sensors and high-resolution geo-hazard maps, which were generated by light detection
and ranging technology for flood modeling. Noah helps the government in providing timely
warning with a lead time of at least six hours in the wake of impending floods. The country is
now training the Cambodians on this technology, as part of the partnerships among ASEAN
countries, just like in the case of Japan which assisted the country’s scientists and engineers in
building its first micro-satellite.

Another hope lies in the so-called Intelligent Operation Center Platform. Established
through a collaboration between the local government of Davao City and IBM Philippines Inc.,
the center resulted in the creation of a dashboard that allows authorized government agencies,
such as police, fire and anti-terrorism task force, to use analytics software for monitoring events
and operations in real time.

Current Initiatives in Science and Technology in the Country

DOST, in cooperation with HEIs and research institutions, established advanced facilities
that seek to spur R&D activities and provide MSMEs access to testing services needed to
increase their productivity and competitive advantage.

One is the Advanced Device and Materials Testing Laboratories. The center houses
advanced equipment for failure analysis and materials characterization to address advanced
analytical needs for quality control, materials identification and R&D. Closely related to this
facility is the Electronics Products Development Center, used to design, develop and test
hardware and software for electronic products.

There are also high-performance computing facilities that perform tests and run
computationally intensive applications for numerical weather prediction, climate modeling, as
well as analytics and data modeling and archiving.

The Philippines could also boast of its Genome Center, a core facility that combines
basic and applied research for the development of health diagnostics, therapeutics, DNA
forensics and preventive products, and improved crop varieties.

The country also has drug-discovery facilities, which address the requirements for
producing high-quality and globally acceptable drug candidates. She said the Philippines also has
nanotechnology centers, which provide technical services and enabling environment for
interdisciplinary and collaborative R&D in various nanotechnology applications.

There are also radiation processing facilities that are used to degrade, graft, or crosslink
polymers, monomers, or chemical compounds for industrial, agricultural, environmental and
medical applications. The Philippines could also boast of its Die and

22
Mold Solutions Center, which enhances the competitiveness of the local tool and die sector
through the localization of currently imported dies and molds.

These are reflections that we are advancing, albeit slowly, to a culture that embraces
STI as a sure path to growth.

D. Paradigm Shift

What is a paradigm?

A scientific paradigm is a framework containing all the commonly accepted views

about a subject, conventions about what direction research should take and how it should be
performed.

The philosopher Thomas Kuhn suggested that a paradigm includes “the practices that
define a scientific discipline at a certain point in time." Paradigms contain all the distinct,
established patterns, theories, common methods and standards that allow us to recognize an
experimental result as belonging to a field or not.

Science proceeds by accumulating support for hypotheses which in time become models
and theories. But those models and theories themselves exist within a larger theoretical
framework. The vocabulary and concepts in Newton’s three laws or the central dogma in biology
are examples of scientific “open resources" that scientists have adopted and which now form part
of the scientific paradigm.

Paradigms are historically and culturally bound. For example, a modern Chinese medical
researcher with a background in eastern medicine, will operate within a different paradigm than a
western doctor from the 1800s.

A paradigm dictates:

what is observed and measured

the questions we ask about those observations
how the questions are formulated
how the results are interpreted
how research is carried out
what equipment is appropriate

Many students who opt to study science do so with the belief that they are undertaking
the most rational path to learning about objective reality. But science, much like any other
discipline, is subject to ideological idiosyncrasies, preconceptions and hidden assumptions.

In fact, Kuhn strongly suggested that research in a deeply entrenched paradigm invariably
ends up reinforcing that paradigm, since anything that contradicts it is ignored or else pressed
through the preset methods until it conforms to already established dogma.

23
 The body of pre-existing evidence in a field conditions and shapes the collection and
interpretation of all subsequent evidence. The certainty that the current paradigm is reality itself
is precisely what makes it so difficult to accept alternatives.

24
 What is a Paradigm Shift?

"The successive transition from one paradigm to another via revolution is the usual
developmental pattern of mature science" - Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions.

Figure 1 Paradigm shift. Source: https://thesaurus.plus/

The shift from one paradigm to another occurs when enough anomalies to the current
paradigm build up, causing scientists to question the foundational principles upon which their
worldview rests. During “normal science,” when the current paradigm is in place, these
anomalies are discounted as acceptable levels of error. However, during “revolutionary science”
or a paradigm shift, these anomalies become the center of attention as scientists attempt to
construct a new world view that incorporates and explains them. This period of intense focus on
explaining anomalies and developing a new paradigm is considered “revolutionary science,”
and it is sparked by a “crisis” where the old paradigm fails explain key anomalies or outliers.
Once a new paradigm is developed, however, there is a return to “normal science” under the new
worldview.

Figure 2 Paradigm Shift

Source: https://edtosavetheworld.com

25
 An Example of a Paradigm Shift

Many physicists in the 19th century were convinced that the Newtonian paradigm that
had reigned for 200 years was the pinnacle of discovery and that scientific progress was more or
less a question of refinement. When Einstein published his theories on General Relativity, it was
not just another idea that could fit comfortably into the existing paradigm. Instead, Newtonian
Physics itself was relegated to being a special subclass of the greater paradigm ushered in by
General Relativity. Newton’s three laws are still faithfully taught in schools, however we now
operate within a paradigm that puts those laws into a much broader context.

Interestingly, Kuhn’s theory itself was something of a game changer at the time, since
scientists were not accustomed to thinking of what they were doing in such metaphysical terms.
Kuhn’s theories are today understood to be part of a greater paradigm shift in the social
sciences, and have also been modified since their original publication.

Kuhn later conceded that the process of scientific advancement might be more gradual.
For example, Relativity did not completely prove Newton wrong, but merely reframed his
theory. Even the Copernican revolution was a little more gradual in replacing Ptolemy's beliefs.

The concept of paradigm is closely related to the Platonic and Aristotelian views of
knowledge. Aristotle believed that knowledge could only be based upon what is already known,
the basis of the scientific method. Plato believed that knowledge should be judged by what
something could become, the end result, or final purpose. Plato's philosophy is more like the
intuitive leaps that cause scientific revolution;; Aristotle's the patient gathering of data.

Chapter 2
Intellectual Revolutions that Defined Society

26
What is an Intellectual Revolution?

An intellectual revolution is a period where paradigm shifts occurred and where scientific
beliefs that have been widely embraced and accepted by the people were challenged and
opposed. Historically, this intellectual revolution can be summed up as the “replacement of
Aristotelian ethics and Christian morality by a new type of decision making which may be
termed instrumental reasoning or cost-benefit analysis” (Wootton as cited by McCarthy, 2019).

The Birth of Modern Science

Western science, like so many other aspects of Western Civilization, was born with the
ancient Greeks. They were the first to explain the world in terms of natural laws rather than
myths about gods and heroes. They also passed on the idea of the value of math and experiment
in science, although they usually thought only in terms of one to the exclusion of the other.

The most influential figure in Western science until the 1600's, was the philosopher,
Aristotle, who created a body of scientific theory that towered like a colossus over Western
Civilization for some 2000 years. Given the limitations under which the Greeks were working
compared to now, Aristotle's theories made sense when taken in a logical order.

However, there were several factors that worked both to overthrow Aristotle's theories
and to preserve it. First of all, Aristotle's theories relied very little on experiment, which left them
vulnerable to anyone who chose to perform such experiments. But attacking one part of
Aristotle's system involved attacking the whole thing, which made it a daunting task for even the
greatest thinkers of the day. Secondly, the Church had grafted Aristotle's theories onto its
theology, thus making any attack on Aristotle an attack on the tradition and the Church itself.

27
 Finally, there were the Renaissance scholars who were uncovering other Greek authors
who contradicted Aristotle. This was unsettling, since these scholars had a reverence for all
ancient knowledge as being nearly infallible. However, finding contradicting authorities forced
the Renaissance scholars to try to figure out which ones were right. When their findings showed
that neither theory was right, they had to think for themselves and find a new theory that worked.
This encouraged skepticism, freethinking, and experimentation, all of which are essential parts of
modern science.

Pattern of development

The combination of these factors generated a cycle that undermined Aristotle, but also
slowed down the creation of a new set of theories. New observations would be made that seemed
to contradict Aristotle's theories. This would lead to new explanations, but always framed in the
context of the old beliefs, thus patching up the Aristotelian system. However, more observations
would take place, leading to more patching of the old system, and so on. The first person who
started this slow process of dismantling Aristotle's cosmology was Copernicus. His findings
would reinforce the process of finding new explanations, which would lead to the work of Kepler
and Galileo. The work of these three men would lead to many new questions and theories about
the universe until Isaac Newton would take the new data and synthesize it into a new set of
theories that more accurately explained the universe.

A. Copernican Revolution

Nicolas Copernicus was a Polish scholar working at the University of Padua in

northern Italy. The problem he wrestled with was the paths of planetary orbits. Through the
centuries close observations had shown that the heavens do not always appear to move in
perfect, uninterrupted circles. Rather, they sometimes seem to move backwards in what are
known as retrogradations. In order to account for these irregularities, astronomers did not do
away with Aristotle's theory of perfectly circular orbits around the earth. Instead, they
expanded upon it, adding smaller circular orbits (epicycles) that spun off the main orbits.
These more or less accounted for the retrogradations seen in orbits. Each time a new
irregularity was observed, a new epicycle was added. By the 1500's, the model of the
universe had some 80 epicycles attached to ten crystalline spheres (one for the moon, sun,
each of the five known planets, the totality of the stars, a sphere to move the other spheres,
and heaven). The second century Greek astronomer, Ptolemy was the main authority who
put order to and passed this cumbersome system of epicycles to posterity.

Copernicus' solution was basically geometric. By placing the sun at the center of the
universe and having the earth orbit it, he reduced the unwieldy number of epicycles from 80
to 34. His book, Concerning the Revolutions of the Celestial Worlds, published in 1543, laid
the foundations for a revolution in how Europeans would view the world and its place in the
universe. However, Copernicus' intention was not to create a radically new theory, but to get
back to even older ideas by such Greeks as

28
Plato and Pythagoras who believed in a heliocentric (sun centered) universe. Once again,
ancient authorities were set against one another, leaving it for others to develop their own
theories.

It took some 150 years after Copernicus' death in 1543 to achieve a new model of the
universe that worked. The first step was compiling more data that tarnished the perfection of
the Ptolemaic universe and forced men to re-evaluate their beliefs.

Johannes Kepler

At this time, Tycho Brahe, using only the naked eye, tracked the entire orbits of
various stars and planets. Previously, astronomers would only track part of an orbit at a time
and assume that orbit was in a perfect circle. Brahe kept extensive records of his
observations, but did not really know what to do with them. That task was left to his
successor, Johannes Kepler.

Kepler was a brilliant mathematician who had a mystical vision of the mathematical
perfection of the universe that owed a great deal to the ancient Greek mathematician
Pythagoras. Despite these preoccupations, Kepler was open minded enough to realize that
Brahe's data showed the planetary orbits were not circular. Finally, his calculations showed
that those orbits were elliptical.

Galileo

As important as Kepler's conclusions was his method of arriving at it. He was the
first to successfully use math to define the workings of the cosmos. Although such a
conclusion as elliptical orbits inevitably met with fierce opposition, the combination of
Brahe's observations and Kepler's math helped break the perfection of the Aristotelian
universe. However, it was the work of an Italian astronomer, Galileo Galilei (1564-1642),
armed with a new invention, the telescope, which would further shatter the old theory and
lead the way to a new one.

Using his telescope, Galileo saw the sun's perfection marred by sunspots and the
moon's perfection marred by craters. He also saw four moons orbiting Jupiter. In his book,
The Starry Messenger (1611), he reported these disturbing findings and spread the news
across Europe. Most people could not understand Kepler's math, but anyone could look
through a telescope and see for himself the moon's craters and Jupiter's moons.

The Church tried to preserve the Aristotelian and Ptolemaic view of the
universe by clamping down on Galileo and his book and made him promise not to
preach his views. However, in 1632, Galileo published his next book, Dialogue on the Great
World Systems, which technically did not preach the Copernican theory (which Galileo
believed in), but was only a dialogue presenting both views "equally". Galileo got his point
across by having the advocate of the Church and Aristotelian view

29
named Simplicius (Simpleton). He was quickly faced with the Inquisition and the threat of
torture. Being an old man of 70, he recanted his views. However, it was too late. Word was
out, and the heliocentric heresy was gaining new followers daily.

Galileo's work was the first comprehensive attack on the Aristotelian/Ptolemaic

cosmic model. He treated celestial objects as being subject to the same laws as terrestrial
objects. However, Galileo was still enthralled with perfect circular motion and, as a result,
did not come up with the synthesis of all these new bits of information into a new
comprehensive model of the universe. This was left to the last, and probably greatest, giant
of the age, Isaac Newton.

Isaac Newton

The story of Newton being hit on the head by an apple may very well be true.
However, the significance of this popular tale is usually lost. People had seen apples fall out
of trees for thousands of years, but Newton realized, in a way no one else had realized, that
the same force pulling the apples to earth was keeping the moon in its orbit. In order to
prove this mathematically, Newton had to invent a whole new branch of math, calculus, for
figuring out rates of motion and change. The genius of Newton in physics, as well as
William Harvey in medicine and Mendeleev in chemistry, was not so much in his new
discoveries, as in his ability to take the isolated bits and pieces of the puzzle collected by his
predecessors and fit them together. In retrospect, his synthesis seems so simple, but it took
tremendous imagination and creativity to break the bonds of the old way of thinking and see
a radically different picture.

The implications of Newton's theory of gravity can easily escape us, since we now
take it for granted that physical laws apply the same throughout the universe. To the
mentality of the 1600’s, which saw a clear distinction between the laws governing the
terrestrial and celestial elements, it was a staggering revelation. His three laws of motion
were simple, could be applied everywhere, and could be used with calculus to solve any
problems of motion that came up.

The universe that emerged was radically different from that of Aristotle. Thanks to
Newton, it was within our grasp to understand, predict, and increasingly manipulate the laws
of the universe in ways no one had been able to do before. Newton's work also completed
the fusion of math promoted by Renaissance humanists, Aristotelian logic pushed by
medieval university professors, and experiment to test a hypothesis pioneered by such men
as Leonardo da Vinci and Galileo into what we call the scientific method. This fusion had
gradually been taking place since the Renaissance, but the invention of calculus made math a
much more dynamic tool in predicting and manipulating the laws of nature.

The printing of Newton's book, Principia Mathematica, in 1687 is often seen as the
start of the Enlightenment (1687-1789). It was a significant turning point in history, for,
armed with the tools of Newton's laws and calculus, scientists had an

30
unprecedented faith in their ability to understand, predict, and manipulate the laws of nature
for their own purposes. This sense of power popularized science for other intellectuals and
rulers in Europe, turning it into virtual religion for some in the Enlightenment. Even the
geometrically trimmed shrubbery of Versailles offers testimony to that faith in our power
over nature. Not until this century has that faith been seriously undermined or put into a
more realistic perspective.

B. The Darwinian Revolution

The publication in 1859 of The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin ushered in a

new era in the intellectual history of humanity. Darwin is deservedly given credit for the
theory of biological evolution: he accumulated evidence demonstrating that organisms
evolve and discovered the process, natural selection, by which they evolve. But the
importance of Darwin's achievement is that it completed the Copernican revolution
initiated three centuries earlier, and thereby radically changed our conception of the universe
and the place of humanity in it.

The discoveries of Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, and Newton in the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries, had gradually ushered in the notion that the workings of the universe
could be explained by human reason. It was shown that the earth is not the center of the
universe, but a small planet rotating around an average star;; that the universe is immense in
space and in time;; and that the motions of the planets around the sun can be explained by the
same simple laws that account for the motion of physical objects on our planet. These and
other discoveries greatly expanded human knowledge, but the intellectual revolution these
scientists brought about was more fundamental: a commitment to the postulate that the
universe obeys immanent laws that account for natural phenomena. The workings of the
universe were brought into the realm of science: explanation through natural laws. Physical
phenomena could be accounted for whenever the causes were adequately known.

Darwin completed the Copernican revolution by drawing out for biology the notion
of nature as a lawful system of matter in motion. The adaptations and diversity of organisms,
the origin of novel and highly organized forms, even the origin of humanity itself could now
be explained by an orderly process of change governed by natural laws.

The origin of organisms and their marvelous adaptations were, however, either left
unexplained or attributed to the design of an omniscient Creator. God had created the birds
and bees, the fish and corals, the trees in the forest, and best of all, man. God had given us
eyes so that we might see, and He had provided fish with gills to breathe in water.
Philosophers and theologians argued that the functional design of organisms manifests the
existence of an all-wise Creator. Wherever there is design, there is a designer;; the existence
of a watch evinces the existence of a watchmaker.

31
 The English theologian William Paley in his Natural Theology (1802) elaborated the
argument-from-design as forceful demonstration of the existence of the Creator. The
functional design of the human eye, argued Paley, provided conclusive evidence of an all--
wise Creator. It would be absurd to suppose, he wrote, that the human eye by mere chance
"should have consisted, first, of a series of transparent lenses ... secondly of a black cloth or
canvas spread out behind these lenses so as to receive the image formed by pencils of light
transmitted through them, and placed at the precise geometrical distance at which, and at
which alone, a distinct image could be formed ... thirdly of a large nerve communicating
between this membrane and the brain." The Bridgewater Treatises, published between 1833
and 1840, were written by eminent scientists and philosophers to set forth "the Power,
Wisdom, and Goodness of God as manifested in the Creation." The structure and
mechanisms of man's hand were, for example, cited as incontrovertible evidence that the
hand had been designed by the same omniscient Power that had created the world.

The advances of physical science had thus driven humanity's conception of the
universe to a split-personality state of affairs, which persisted well into the mid- nineteenth
century. Scientific explanations, derived from natural laws, dominated the world of
nonliving matter, on the earth as well as in the heavens. Supernatural explanations,
depending on the unfathomable deeds of the Creator, accounted for the origin and
configuration of living creatures—the most diversified, complex, and interesting realities of
the world. It was Darwin's genius to resolve this conceptual schizophrenia (Ayala, no date).

C. Freudian Revolution

Sigmund Freud was born in 1856, before the advent of telephones, radios,
automobiles, airplanes, and a host of other material and cultural changes that had taken
place by the time of his death in 1939. Freud saw the entirety of the first World War–a
war that destroyed the empire whose capital city was his home for more than seventy
years–and the beginning of the next. He began his career as an ambitious but isolated
neurologist;; by the end of it, he described himself, not inaccurately, as someone who
had had as great an impact on humanity's conception of itself as had Copernicus and
Darwin.

Freud's most obvious impact was to change the way society thought about and
dealt with mental illness. Before psychoanalysis, which Freud invented, mental illness
was almost universally considered 'organic';; that is, it was thought to come from some
kind of deterioration or disease of the brain. Research on treating mental illness was
primarily concerned–at least theoretically–with discovering exactly which kinds of
changes in the brain led to insanity. Many diseases did not manifest obvious signs of
physical difference between healthy and diseased

32
brains, but it was assumed that this was simply because the techniques for finding the
differences were not yet sufficient.

The conviction that physical diseases of the brain caused mental illness meant that
psychological causes–the kinds that Freud would insist on studying– were ignored. It also
meant that people drew a sharp dividing line between the "insane" and the "sane." Insane
people were those with physical diseases of the brain. Sane people were those without
diseased brains.

Freud changed all of this. Despite his background in physicalism (learned during
his stay in Ernst Brücke's laboratory), his theories explicitly rejected the purely organic
explanations of his predecessors. One of Freud's biggest influences during his early days
as a neurologist was Jean-Martin Charcot, the famous French psychiatrist. Charcot claimed
that hysteria had primarily organic causes, and that it had a regular, comprehensible
pattern of symptoms. Freud agreed with Charcot on the latter point, but he disagreed
entirely on the former. In essence, Freud claimed that neurotic people had working
hardware, but faulty software. Earlier psychiatrists like Charcot, in contrast, had claimed
that the problems were entirely in the hardware. As psychoanalysis became increasingly
popular, psychology and psychiatry turned away from the search for organic causes and
toward the search for inner psychic conflicts and early childhood traumas. As a
consequence, the line between sane and insane was blurred: everyone, according to
Freud, had an Oedipal crisis, and everyone could potentially become mentally ill.

Psychoanalysis has had an enormous impact on the practice of psychiatry,

particularly within the United States, but today it is regarded by most sources– medical,
academic, governmental, and others–as almost entirely incorrect in its conception of the
mind. This judgment is based on the crucial test of psychoanalysis: whether or not it
really helps patients with behavioral or psychological problems. The consensus is that is
does not. Psychoanalysis in its many varieties appears to have little or no efficacy in
treating mental illness. In contrast, psychopharmacology and cognitive- behavioral
therapies (therapies that simply try to change what the patient thinks and does rather than
analyzing the causes of the behavior), while far from perfect, do appear to help.

If this is true–and we have a great deal of evidence that it is–why is Freud still so
important? Why do we generally speak of him as a great figure in Western thought,
instead of as a strange and misguided figure of turn-of-the- century Europe?

There are at least two reasons. The first is purely practical: psychoanalysis has
enormous historical significance. Mental illness affects an large proportion of the
population, either directly or indirectly, so any curative scheme as widely accepted as
was Freud's is important to our history in general. The second, more important, reason is
that Freud gave people a new way of thinking about why they acted the way they did. He
created a whole new way of interpreting behaviors: one

33
 could now claim that a person had motives, desires, and beliefs–all buried in the
unconscious–which they knew nothing about but which nonetheless directly controlled
and motivated their conscious thought and behavior. This hypothesis, derived from but
independent of Freud's psychiatric work, was the truly radical part of his system of
thought.

D. Scientific Revolution in Mesoamerica

Meso-America is the region from Mexico to Guatemala, Belize and parts of

Honduras and El Salvador. There were no major ancient civilization that developed in
North America. The Mesoamerican civilization were isolated from the accumulated
scientific knowledge of Africa, Asia and Europe. They were confronted with much
harder conditions than the ancient civilizations of the Indus valley, Mesopotamia, and
Egypt which developed in parallel with each other and established contacts between each
other at a very early stage. This exchange of knowledge between these ancient
civilizations was critical in the development of their scientific knowledge. Because of this
isolation, Mesoamerican civilization developed on their own and became much more
self-reliant.

The most advanced Mesoamerican civilization was the Maya civilization that was
well on its way to develop true science. They knew how to make paper and had pictorial
script called Maya hieroglyphs that allowed them to record all knowledge on long strips
of paper folded harmonica-style into books. One of the three books recovered called The
Dresden Codex contains predictions of solar eclipses for centuries and a table of
predicted positions of Venus. Unlike the European scientists who used astronomical
instruments like telescopes, the Maya made predictions by aligning stars with two objects
that were separated by a large distance, a technique that achieved great accuracy of
angular measurement. As a result, the Maya developed the most accurate calendar ever
designed.

The Aztec followed the same road. They kept their own script and languages but
assimilated all they could learn from Maya society. Their manuscripts describe how the
Maya performed their astronomical observations.

Several outstanding achievements can be reported in the area of technology and

invention. The manufacture of rubber was one of the earliest inventions, documented by
the use of a rubber ball in the ball game tlachtli, a game played by Meso-American
civilizations from earliest times. In architecture the Maya were the first to use pitched
ceilings in their buildings after the invention of the corbelled vault. Aztec city builders
also understood the need for public sanitation;; public latrines were found along all
highways, and to prevent pollution of Lake Texcoco canoes transported the sewage from
Tenochtitlán to the mainland every morning. (von Hagen, 1957)

American people were gifted horticulturalists and cultivated crop plants from the
earliest times. Among the plants that originated in Meso-America are corn

34
 (maize), papaya, avocado and cocoa. Maize is the only cultivated plant that was
developed so early in human history that its wild ancestor is no longer known. It can,
however, still be crossed with two other plants found only on the Yucatan Peninsula.

Finally, several sculptures found at Meso-American sites in 1975, 1979 and 1983
and dating back to 2000 - 1500 BC have clear magnetic properties. In some of these
sculptures the north and south poles are in most conspicuous positions, for example at the
snout and at the back of the head of a frog or turtle. Another magnetic object found in
1966 was shaped as if it was to be used to indicate direction. These finds strongly suggest
that the early Meso-American civilizations knew about and used magnetism.
(Malmström, 1976, 1979)

E. Asian Scientific Revolution

Aside from China, there were other Asian countries that contributed to the
development of science and technology in the world, although it varied depending on
country and time, specially in the present times. Currently, Japan is probably the most
notable country in Asia in terms of scientific and technological achievement, particularly
in terms of its electronics and automobile products. Other countries are also notable in
other scientific fields such as chemical and physical achievements.
The general conception is that many of the cutting-edge technological
developments, and to a lesser extent scientific advancements, emanate from Asia. For
instance, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, and China together produce a staggering 90% of
the world’s digital gadgets. Aside from the region’s hardware dominance, nations across
Asia are becoming increasingly important to the global supply of digital content and
services, something which will only increase as the continent develops over the coming
decades.
South Korea’s cultural popularity around the world has caused a number of
startup’s to emerge working within the digital and technology sectors, including website
viki.com.
Taiwan is following a similar path to Japan meanwhile, moving away from hardware
production, instead turning to software and content development.
Together, the points raised throughout this article proves Asia is truly a crucible of
innovative technological development;; a continent that will play an incredibly
important role in the evolution of our digital age.

F. Scientific Revolution in Middle East

During the 3,000 years of urbanized life in Mesopotamia and Egypt tremendous strides
were made in various branches of science and technology. The greatest advances were made
in Mesopotamia—very possibly because of its constant shift of population and openness to
foreign influence, in contrast to the relative isolation of Egypt and the consequent stability
of its population. The Egyptians excelled in such

35
applied sciences as medicine, engineering, and surveying;; in Mesopotamia greater progress
was made in astronomy and mathematics. The development of astronomy seems to have
been greatly accelerated by that of astrology, which took the lead among the quasi-sciences
involved in divination. The Egyptians remained far behind the Babylonians in developing
astronomy, while Babylonian medicine, because of its chiefly magical character, was less
advanced than that of Egypt. In engineering and architecture Egyptians took an early lead,
owing largely to the stress they laid on the construction of such elaborate monuments as vast
pyramids and temples of granite and sandstone. On the other hand, the Babylonians led in
the development of such practical arts as irrigation (Albright, 2014).

Both sciences and pseudosciences spread from Egypt and Mesopotamia to

Phoenicia and Anatolia. The Phoenicians in particular transmitted much of this knowledge
to the various lands of the Mediterranean, especially to the Greeks. The direction taken by
these influences can be followed from Egypt to Syria, Phoenicia, and Cyprus, thanks to a
combination of excavated art forms that prove the direction of movement, as well as to
Greek tradition, which lays great stress on what the early Greek philosophers learned from
Egypt. Mesopotamian influence can be traced especially through the partial borrowing of
Babylonian science and divination by the Hittites and later by the transmission of
information through Phoenicia. The Egyptians and Mesopotamians wrote no theoretical
treatises;; information had to be transmitted piecemeal through personal contacts.

Of all the accomplishments of the ancient Middle East, the invention of the alphabet is
probably the greatest. While pre-alphabetic systems of writing in the Old World became
steadily more phonetic, they were still exceedingly cumbersome, and the syllabic systems
that gradually replaced them remained complex and difficult. In the early Hyksos period
(17th century BC) the Northwestern Semites living in Egypt adapted hieroglyphic characters
—in at least two slightly differing forms of letters—to their own purposes. Thus was
developed the earliest known purely consonantal alphabet, imitated in northern Syria, with
the addition of two letters to designate vowels used with the glottal catch.

This alphabet spread rapidly and was in quite common use among the Northwestern
Semites (Canaanites, Hebrews, Aramaeans, and especially the Phoenicians) soon after its
invention. By the 9th century BC the Phoenicians were using it in the western
Mediterranean, and the Greeks and Phrygians adopted it in the 8th. The alphabet contributed
vastly to the Greek cultural and literary revolution in the immediately following period.
From the Greeks it was transmitted to other Western peoples. Since language must always
remain the chief mode of communication for people, its union with hearing and vision in a
uniquely simple phonetic structure has probably revolutionized civilization more than any
other invention in history.

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G. Scientific Revolution in Africa

The history of the sciences in Africa is rich and diverse. The applied sciences of
agronomy, metallurgy, engineering and textile production, as well as medicine, dominated
the field of activity across Africa. So advanced was the culture of farming within West
Africa, that ‘New World‘ agricultural growth was spawned by the use of captives from these
African societies that had already made enormous strides in the field of agronomy. In her
work Black Rice, Judith Carnoy demonstrates the legacy of enslaved Africans to the
Americas in the sphere of rice cultivation. We know also that a variety of African plants
were adopted in Asia, including coffee, the oil palm, fonio or acha (digitaria exilis), African
rice (oryza glabberima), and sorghum (sorghum bicolor). Plants, whether in terms of
legumes, grain, vegetables, tubers, or, wild or cultivated fruits, also had medicinal
implications for Africans and were used as anesthetics or pain killers, analgesics for the
control of fever, antidotes to counter poisons, and anthelmints aimed at deworming. They
were used also in cardiovascular, gastro-intestinal, and dermatological contexts. Some of
these such as hoodia gordonii and combrettum caffrum are being integrated within
contemporary pharmaceutical systems (Emeagwali, n.d.).

Africa’s areas of scientific investigation include the fields of astronomy, physics, and
mathematics. Laird Scranton, making use of the extensive collections of Marcel Griaule, has
deepened our understanding of Malian cosmological myths and their perceptions of the
structure of matter and the physical world. Dogon knowledge systems have also been
explored in terms of their perceptions on astronomy. Dogon propositions about Sirius B
have been discussed by Charles Finch in The Star of Deep Beginnings. The solar calendar
that we use today evolved from the Egyptian calendar of twelve months, calibrated
according to the day on which the star Sirius rose on the horizon with the Sun. Scranton
suggests major interconnections between the thought of the ancient Egyptians and that of the
Malians of West Africa.

In the field of Mathematics, Nubian builders calculated the volumes of masonry and
building materials, as well as the slopes of pyramids, for construction purposes. Bianchi
points to a Nubian engraving at Meroe, in ancient Sudan, dated to the first century B.C.E.,
which reflects “a sophisticated understanding of mathematics.” Included in the engraving
were several lines, inclined at a 72-degree angle, running diagonally from the base of a
pyramid. Bianchi suggests that the Nubian King Amanikhabale of the first century BCE was
the owner of that pyramid. Interestingly, the Nubians of Meroe, who constructed more
pyramids than the Egyptians, built steep, flat-topped pyramids.

In the field of medicine, common patterns and trends emerged across the continent.
These included scientifically proven methods, as well as techniques and strategies which
were culturally specific and psychologically significant. Among the common principles and
procedures were hydrotherapy, heat therapy, spinal manipulation, quarantine, bone-setting
and surgery. Incantations and other psychotherapeutic devices sometimes accompanied
other techniques. The

37
knowledge of specific medicinal plants was quite extensive in some kingdoms,
empires, and city states such as Aksum, and Borgu (in Hausaland). The latter continues to be
well known for orthopedics (bone-setting), as is the case of Funtua in Northern Nigeria.
Many traditional techniques are still utilized in some areas. Others have undergone change
over time, have been revived in more recent periods, or have fallen into oblivion.

Various types of metal products have been used over time by Africans, ranging from
gold, tin, silver, bronze, brass, and iron/steel. The Sudanic empires of West Africa emerged
in the context of various commercial routes and activities involving the gold trade. In the
North and East, Ethiopia and Sudan were the major suppliers of gold, with Egypt a major
importer. In Southern Africa, the kingdom of Monomotapa (Munhumutapa) reigned
supreme as a major gold producer. In the various spheres of metal production, specific
techniques and scientific principles included: excavation and ore identification;; separation
of ore from non-ore bearing rock;; smelting by the use of bellows and heated furnaces;; and
smithing and further refinement.
The use of multishaft and open-shaft systems facilitated circulation of air in intense
heating processes, while the bellows principle produced strong currents of air in a chamber
expanded to draw in or expel air through a valve. The various metal products served a wide
range of purposes, including: armor (as in some northern Nigerian city-states), jewelry (of
gold, silver, iron, copper and brass), cooking utensils, cloth dyeing, sculpture, and agricultural
tools. The technical know-how and expertise of blacksmiths helped to enhance their status,
although they were also often associated with supernatural and psychic powers, as well.

In various parts of ancient, medieval, and contemporary Africa, building constructions

of various dimensions, shapes, and types emerged, reflecting various concepts, techniques,
raw material preferences, and decorative principles. Builders integrated the concepts of the
arch, the dome, and columns and aisles in their constructions. The underground vaults and
passages, as well as the rock-hewn churches, of Axum are matched in Nubia and Egypt with
pyramids of various dimensions. In the Sahelian region, adobe, or dried clay, was preferred
in the context of moulded contours, at times integrated with overall moulded sculpture.
Permanent scaffolding made of protruding planks characterized the Malian region. The
principle of evaporative cooling was integrated into building design. Mats were used as part
of the decor and also to be saturated repeatedly in order to cool the room. Derelict
ruins from walled cities—such as Kano, Zazzau, and other city-states of Hausaland in the
central Sudanic region of West Africa—complement structures such as the rock-hewn and
moulded churches of Lalibela in Ethiopia or the Zimbabwe enclosures. The structures of
ancient Nubia, as well as those of Egypt, are parallel structures in the northeast.

38
H. Information Revolution

Information revolution is a period of change that describes current economic,

social and technological trends beyond the Industrial Revolution. The information
revolution was fueled by advances in semiconductor technology, particularly the metal--
oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) and the integrated circuit (IC)
chip, leading to the Information Age in the early 21 st century (Lukasiak, 2010;; Orton,
2009).

Information revolution might prove as significant to the lives of people. Computer

technology is at the root of this change, and continuing advancements in that technology
seem to ensure that this revolution would touch the lives of people. Computers are
unique machines;; they help to extend the brain power. Computerized robots have been
replacing blue-collar workers;; they might soon be replacing white collar workers as well.
Computers are merely devices that follow sets of instructions called computer programs,
or software, that have been written by people called computer programmers. Computers
offer many benefits, but there are also many dangers. They could help others invade one's
privacy or wage war. They might turn one into button pusher and cause massive
unemployment. User- friendly systems can be easily used by untrained people. The key
development that made personal computers possible was the invention of the
microprocessor chip at Intel in 1971.

The information revolution led us to the age of the internet, where optical
communication networks play a key role in delivering massive amounts of data. The
world has experienced phenomenal network growth during the last decade, and further
growth is imminent. The internet will continue to expand due to user population
growth and internet penetration: previously inaccessible geographical regions in
Africa and Asia will come online. Network growth will only be accelerated by
improvements in integrated circuits. Transistor size has been halved every two years
since the middle of the last century. The new internet-based global economy requires a
worldwide network with high capacity and availability, which is
currently limited by submarine optical communication cables.

New ideas keep coming from the information transport community. Since the first
edition of Undersea Fiber Communication Systems in 2002, the optical fiber
communication industry moved into the “coherent” era. We transport an order of
magnitude more bits than just five years ago. We encode information into phase,
polarization, and amplitude of electromagnetic waves. Michael Faraday would be proud,
knowing that we send over 10,000,000,000,000 bits every second across the Atlantic
Ocean in a single strand of fiber. We would leave in awe Sir William Thomson (known
as Lord Kelvin), who was the scientific leader of an 1858 endeavor that built the first
submarine cable with a transmission speed of one word per minute. Sir Thomson and
Cyrus Field, an American businessman and telecommunications pioneer, would be
surprised to find out how many tools

39
developed during their first transatlantic expedition are still in use today. At first glance,
the modern cable looks similar to the 1858 cable, which was copper based with a gutta--
percha (trans-poly isoprene) isolator. In modern day cables, gutta- percha has been
replaced with polyethylene. We still use copper to power submarine repeaters, and have
added optical fibers during the last decade of the last century.

The uniqueness of this engineering marvel is a combination of information

science, nonlinear optics, electrical engineering, material science, engineering practices,
project management, marine expertise, and high reliability standard. Undersea fiber
communication systems will continue to serve society.

Impact of Information Revolution

The truly revolutionary impact of the Information Revolution is just beginning to

be felt. But it is not "information" that fuels this impact. It is not "artificial intelligence."
It is not the effect of computers and data processing on decision- making, policymaking,
or strategy. It is something that practically no one foresaw or, indeed, even talked about
ten or fifteen years ago: e-commerce—that is, the explosive emergence of the Internet as
a major, perhaps eventually the major, worldwide distribution channel for goods, for
services, and, surprisingly, for managerial and professional jobs. This is profoundly
changing economies, markets, and industry structures;; products and services and their
flow;; consumer segmentation, consumer values, and consumer behavior;; jobs and labor
markets. But the impact may be even greater on societies and politics and, above all, on
the way we see the world and ourselves in it.
At the same time, new and unexpected industries will no doubt emerge, and fast.
One is already here: biotechnology. And another: fish farming. Within the next fifty years
fish farming may change us from hunters and gatherers on the seas into "marine
pastoralists"—just as a similar innovation some 10,000 years ago changed our ancestors
from hunters and gatherers on the land into agriculturists and pastoralists.
It is likely that other new technologies will appear suddenly, leading to major new
industries. What they may be is impossible even to guess at. But it is highly probable—
indeed, nearly certain—that they will emerge, and fairly soon. And it is nearly certain that
few of them—and few industries based on them—will come out of computer and
information technology. Like biotechnology and fish farming, each will emerge from its
own unique and unexpected technology.
Of course, these are only predictions. But they are made on the assumption that
the Information Revolution will evolve as several earlier technology-based "revolutions"
have evolved over the past 500 years, since Gutenberg's printing revolution, around 1455.
In particular, the assumption is that the Information Revolution will be like the Industrial
Revolution of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. And that is indeed
exactly how the Information Revolution has been during its first fifty years.

40
41
 1862
Alexandre-Emile Béguyer de Chancourtois plotted
the atomic weights of elements on paper tape and
wound them, spiral like, around a cylinder. He
called his model the telluric helix or screw.

1864
English chemist John Newlands proposed
his Law of octaves based on the periodic
similarity every seventh element.
1868
Lothar Meyer compiled a periodic table based on
regular repeating pattern of physical property
such as molar volume. Once again the elements
were arranged in order of increasing atomic

1869
weights.

Dmitri Mendeleev produced a periodic table

based on atomic weights but arranged
“periodically”. Elements with similar
properties appeared under each other. Gaps

1894
were left for yet to be discovered elements.

William Ramsay discovered the noble gases

and realized that they represented a new
group in the periodic table. The noble gases
added further proof to the accuracy of
Mendeleev’s table.
1913
Henry Moseley determined the atomic number
of each of the known elements. He realized
that arranging the elements in order of
increasing atomic number rather than atomic
weight gave a better fit within the “periodic
table”.

1944
Glenn Seaborg proposed an ‘actinide hypothesis’
and published his version of the table in 1945.
The lanthanide and actinide series form the two
rows under the periodic table of elements.

42
 Chapter 3
Science, Technology and Nation Building

A. The Philippine Government Science and Technology Agenda

Scientists and technologists are the backbone of an industrialized nation that propels
socioeconomic gain and national progress. They are the key players and lifeblood of research
and innovation and plays an important role in the industry and manufacturing sector. As
such, it can be said that scientists and technologists are essential players in nation building.

In the Philippines, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) is tasked to

oversee and manage national technology development and acquisition, undertake
technological and scientific research and promote public consciousness of science and
technology. DOST is responsible for formulating and adopting a comprehensive National
Science and Technology plan for the Philippines and subsequently, to monitor and
coordinate its funding and implementation. It undertakes policy research, technology
assessment, feasibility and technical studies, and maintains a national information system and
databank on science and technology.

In 2017, DOST launched the Science for the People thru Administrative Order
No. 003 s. 2017. This is in response to the government’s call to address inequity in
developments within and among countries and is aligned with the national goals and plans. It
aims to make science and technology more relevant to the conditions, needs and opportunities
for contributing to regional development while keeping abreast with the trends and
development in the country and in the world. Likewise, the program intends to maximize the
use of science, enhance innovation and the creative capacity of the Filipinos towards the
achievement of inclusive and sustainable growth.

43
 Stipulated in the strategic plan are the seven outcomes that the agency strives to
achieve. These are as follows:

1. Innovation and stimulus

2. Technology and adoption promoted and accelerated
3. Critical mass of globally competitive STI human resources developed
4. Productivity and efficiency of communities and the production sector,
particularly MSMEs improved
5. Resiliency to disaster risks and climate change ensured
6. Inequality in STI capacities and opportunities reduced
7. Effective STI governance achieved

The strategies to attain these outcomes are embodied in the DOST Eleven Point
Agenda as follows:

1. Pursue R&D to address pressing national problems.

2. Conduct R&D to enhance productivity and improve management of resources.
3. Engage in R&D to generate and apply new knowledge and technologies across
sectors.
4. Strengthen and utilize regional R&D capabilities.
5. Maximize utilization of R&D results through technology transfer and
commercialization.
6. Develop STI human resources and build a strong STI culture.
7. Upgrade STI facilities and capacities to advance R&D activities and expand S&T
services.
8. Expand STI assistance to communities and the production sector, particularly
MSMEs.
9. Provide STI-based solutions for disaster risks and climate change adaptation
and mitigation.
10. Strengthen industry-academe-government and international STI
collaboration.
11. Enhance effectiveness of STI governance.

Agenda 1 highlights the latest advancements in research and development geared

towards the shared goal of improved nutrition and health for all. Focused on health
technology development, drug discovery and development remains to be the high-impact and
big ticket program supported by the Department in the area of health. Central to this R&D
program is the study of endemic resources, partnered with documentation of traditional
knowledge and practices in health, that could eventually lead to decreased cost of medicines
and health interventions for diseases that affect the quality of lives of many Filipinos.

Agenda 2 presents how R&D can be utilized to make key traditional industries
steadfast and competitive through technological innovations that can address gaps in
productivity and increase production yield. Enhancing the capacity of marginalized

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sub-sectors and people groups to use better and new technologies can expand their access to
participate in economic activities and progress. The primary industries that will benefit from
the featured major R&D programs include the agriculture, specifically coconut and rice
production, non-wood forest products, i.e., bamboo processing and utilization, and natural
textile among others.

Agenda 3 engages R&D in emerging scientific and technological platforms which lay
the inroads to the development of new products, services, and industries. Promising new
technologies may potentially disrupt and change the way things are done. Recognizing this,
the Department anticipates impact of new technologies in existing industries in the country by
supporting local capability programs in the areas of artificial intelligence for new industry
development and supporting research in nanotechnology for new materials development.

Agenda 4 focuses in strengthening institutional capacity to undertake research and

development and contribute to regional development. Utilizing local researchers equalize
opportunities in generating new knowledge and technologies suited for the specific need of
the region. The Department partners with Higher Education Institutions in the regions in
establishing niche R&D centers which may also serve as hubs for developing R&D capability
of adjacent localities.

Agenda 5 includes mechanisms to encourage technology transfer and avenues where

R&D results are promoted in the bid to maximize its utilization. The Department provided
support in bringing R&D results to its final stage of development up to commercialization.

Agenda 6 aims to build a critical mass of competitive researchers, scientists, and

engineers (RSEs) and promoting a culture of STI. Towards this goal, the Department
continues to provide scholarship programs to scale up the number of RSEs.

Agenda 7 features various S&T facilities that offer technical services for carrying out
research and development, as well as addressing the needs of the industry in terms of quality
assurance, adherence to standards, product development, and innovation. The electronics,
semi-conductor, automotive parts, gear assembly manufacturing, agriculture produce, and
food manufacturing industries can benefit from the various S&T facilities and technical
services.

Agenda 8 focuses on S&T assistance provided to upgrade the technological

capabilities and improve the productivity and efficiency of Micro, Small and Medium
Enterprises (MSMEs). The Department has continued to provide technological interventions
such as process and system improvement, technical consultancy, packaging and labelling,
training, testing and calibration, and product development to empower MSMEs to innovate,
move up the technology scale and become more competitive.

45
 Agenda 9 highlights the role of the Department in building a disaster-resilient
community through the provision of accurate and timely information. Specifically, progress
was made by establishing and upgrading observation and monitoring systems, efforts in
hazard and risk assessment, and researches for disaster risk management, as well as climate
change adaptation and mitigation.

Agenda 10 focuses on the linkages and networks being pursued by the Department in
terms of S&T collaboration. In 2017, the Department took part in 24 bilateral engagements
and participated in a number of activities which involved 14 international organizations.

Agenda 11 (Enhance effectiveness of STI governance) provides the policy framework

that governs the implementation of the programs, projects and activities of the Department in
contribution to national development and progress. Taking off from the National 0+10
Socioeconomic Agenda and Philippine Development Plan, the Department crafted the Science
for the People 11-point Agenda, Harmonized R&D Agenda, and Regional Offices Strategy
Map.

In Focus: Batangas State University KIST Park

Batangas State University made history as it officially launched the country’s first
Knowledge, Innovation and Science Technology (KIST) Park on July 20, 2020. This
milestone placed Batangas State University at the forefront of national development.
BatStateU KIST Park was designated as a Special Economic Zone under
Presidential Proclamation No. 947, s. 2020. The theme of the launching event was
“Towards a New Frontier of Knowledge-building and Innovation in Science and
Technology.”

BatStateU headed by Dr. Tirso A. Ronquillo became a key partner of the

government in fostering industry-academe linkages, knowledge and technology
transfer, and promoting the commercialization of innovations. The KIST Park will
serve as a catalyst for industrial productivity and increased economic growth in
CaLaBaRZon. This manifestation of the strong collaboration between government,
industry and academe is central to inclusive innovation strategy.

BatStateU KIST Park is now open and spearheads a long-term vision for “state
universities and colleges in the country to expand their programs for industry,
academe, market synergy, technopreneurship, [innovation-based] business incubation
and acceleration, and knowledge co-creation in science and technology.”
(http://batstateukistpark.com.ph/#/main/home)

Question: Which of the 11-point Agenda relates to the launching and operation of
BatStateU KIST Park? Expound your answer.

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B. Major Development Programs and Personalities in Science and
Technology in the Philippines

Major Development Programs in Science and Technology

The Science for Change Program (S4CP) was created by the Department of Science and
Technology (DOST) to accelerate STI in the country in order to keep up with the developments
in our time wherein technology and innovation are game changers. Through the Science for
Change Program (S4CP), the DOST can significantly accelerate STI in the country and create a
massive

S4CP focuses on Accelerated R&D Program for Capacity Building of R&D Institutions
and Industrial Competitiveness which is composed of four (4) programs namely: (1) Niche
Centers in the Regions for R&D (NICER) Program, (2) R&D Leadership (RDLead) Program, (3)
Collaborative R&D to Leverage PH Economy (CRADLE) for RDIs and Industry Program, (4)
Business Innovation through S&T (BIST) for Industry Program.

The NICER Program capacitates Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the regions to
make significant improvement in regional research by integrating its development needs with the
existing R&D capabilities and resources. It provides institutional grants for HEIs in the regions
for R&D capacity building to improve their S&T infrastructure. The NICER Program was
established in consultation with the academe and industry;; and endorsed by the Regional
Development Council (RDC). Hence, a NICER is a unique center for collaborative R&D to
address specific S&T needs of local communities and industries, thereby accelerating regional
development. It caters to the specific needs of the Regions, which include upgrading,
development, and acquisition of R&D equipment to undertake collaborative R&D activities.
Currently, there are 18 existing NICERs across 14 regions for a total funding of P641M.

The R&D Leadership Program complements the establishment of R&D Centers thru the
NICER Program. RDLead provides the mechanism to bring in experts and highly skilled
professionals with strong leadership, management and innovative policy-making proficiencies to
be in charge of strengthening the research capabilities of the HEIs, National Government
Agencies (NGAs) and Research Development Institutions (RDIs) in the regions. Together, the
RDLead and NICER Programs will capacitate HEIs to help improve and hasten the use of
research results that will contribute to the socio-economic development of the country and help
address pressing challenges. The NRCP is the implementing agency for this program.

The Collaborative Research and Development to Leverage Philippine Economy

(CRADLE) Program is specifically designed to foster collaboration between academe and local
companies to improve competitiveness and catalyze innovation. It aims to improve the country’s
innovation ecosystem by facilitating the smooth transition of new technologies from universities
and research and development institutes (RDI) to industries - from lab to market. The
framework of CRADLE is a trihelix partnership

47
between the government, the industry and the academe wherein the government finances the
collaboration of the private company and the partner university or RDI. The Program aims to
address a problem of a Filipino company using R&D to develop innovative solutions. To date,
the DOST has already provided almost Php 125 M of funding to 29 academe-industry
collaborations all over the country.

The Business Innovation through S&T (BIST) for Industry Program aims to level- up the
innovation capacity of the Philippine Industrial Sector through R&D by helping private
companies and industries acquire novel and strategic technologies, such as state- of-the-art equipment
and machinery, technology licenses and patent rights among others. The program will cover up to
70% of the total eligible cost of the needed technology at zero percent interest. To date, the BIST
Program has approved one project from an herbal company, Herbanext Laboratories Inc.,
providing a total financial assistance of Php11.7M.

A Steering committee for CRADLE and BIST Programs was created through the DOST
Special Order No. 0276 which was approved on 02 April 2018. The Steering Committee is
headed by Dr. Rowena Cristina L. Guevara, Undersecretary for R&D, and the members include
the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Federation of Philippine Industries (FPI),
Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), Philippine Council for Agriculture,
Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD), Philippine Council for
Health Research and Development (PCHRD) and Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and
Emerging Technology Research and Development (PCIEERD)

The committee performs the following functions: (1) Review/formulate policies relating
to the implementation of CRADLE and BIST Program;; (2) Provide advice and guidance in the
management and administration of the projects;; and (3) Other functions necessary for the
successful implementation of CRADLE and BIST Programs. Since the implementation of the
S4CP in 2017, the DOST has spent a total of Php 407,585,946.60 to the four programs.

48
Personalities in Science and Technology in the
Philippines Aisa Mijeno

To light up the rest of the Philippines

sustainably was the vision of Filipina
scientist Aisa Mijeno when she made the
Sustainable Alternative Lighting (SALt)
lamp. The product concept was formed after
living with the Butbut tribe for weeks relying
only on kerosene lamps and moonlight to do
evening chores. Her mission and advocacy is
to address the light inequality gap and end
the use of combustion based light sources
(kerosene lamps and candles) for the 16
Million Filipinos and 1.4 Billion people https://www.asianscientist.com/2015/05/features
across the world. /asias-rising-scientists-aisa-mijeno/

The SALt Lamp is an environment-friendly and sustainable alternative light source that
runs on saltwater, making it suitable to those who live in coastal areas. It can also function well
in remote barrios. With just two table spoons of salt and one glass of tap water, this ecologically
designed lamp can run for eight hours.

The idea behind the SALt lamp is the chemical conversion of energy. It utilizes the
scientific process behind the Galvanic cell, but instead of electrolytes, the SALt lamp uses saline
solution, making it harmless and non-toxic. Compared with kerosene lamp, the SALt lamp is
also a lot safer since it does not have components and compounds that may spark fire. Moreover,
it does not emit toxic gases and leaves minimal carbon footprint. Because of its inspiring vision
and ground-breaking innovation, the SALt lamp has received various awards and recognition
from organizations in the Philippines, Singapore, Japan, and South Korea. SALt have won
several awards including KOTRA Top 5 Best Global Startup at Startup Nations Summit 2014,
People's Choice at Startup Nations Summit 2014 and recognized by the ASEAN Corporate
Sustainability Summit and Awards 2015 giving them the SME Sustainability Commitment
Category.

One of Mijano’s career highlights was when she was invited as an APEC CEO Summit
panel member together with ex-President Barack Obama and Alibaba CEO Jack Ma. Looking
forward, she wishes to distribute more lanterns to communities across the Philippines and
possibly throughout South East Asia.

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Ramon C. Barba

He is a Filipino scientist, inventor and

https://joinpase.weebly.com/pases-of-
success/ramon-cabanos-barba
successfully applied on other fruit trees including cashew.
horticulturist who is known for his successful
experiment on the inducement of flowering of
mango trees by spraying them with ethrel and
potassium nitrate. He developed a process that
caused the flowering and fruiting of mango trees
three times a year, instead on once a year, so
dramatically improving yields. Since his
discovery, the mango industry in the Philippines
expanded. Apart from the mango producers
themselves, other business sectors such as the
producers of the pest control chemicals,
harvesters, sellers, and all the other smaller
groups of workers related to mango industry have
benefitted from his invention. This technology
has also been

Barba also developed a tissue culture procedure for the banana plant and sugar cane
which enabled production of large quantities of planting materials that were robust and disease--
free. With his research team, Barba devised micro propagation protocols for more than 40
important species of fruit crops, ornamental plants, plantation crops, aquarium plants, and forest
trees. In 2013, Ramon C. Barba was conferred the rank and title of National Scientist in the
Philippines for his distinguished achievements in the field of plant physiology.

Fe V. del Mundo
She is known as the Mother of Philippine
Pediatrics, a very great scientist and a symbol of
female empowerment in medicine, both in the
Philippines and abroad. The first Asian woman
admitted into Harvard, she pursued graduate degrees
in America after receiving her medical degree from the
University of the Philippines. Del Mundo pioneered
numerous inventions throughout her more than 70--
year medical career. She revolutionized Philippine
medicine, making major breakthroughs in
immunization and in the treatment of jaundice, and
providing healthcare to thousands of poor families.
She is credited with studies that led to the invention of
the incubator and a jaundice relieving device. Her https://www.thefamouspeople.com/pro
files/fe-del-mundo-25104.php
methods, like
the BRAT diet for curing diarrhea, have spread throughout the world and saved millions. Del
Mundo’s field of natural science and the field of public health was something she was

50
actively involved in. When she was not busy treating and taking care of children, she did some
pioneering work on infectious diseases in Philippine communities and authored the Textbook of
Pediatrics, as well as hundreds of articles and medical reports on diseases such as dengue, polio
and measles.
During her lifetime, del Mundo won numerous awards and recognition for her
outstanding work. Among these was the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service, which she
received in 1977. She became the Philippines’ first female National Scientist in 1980, in
recognition of her work in Pediatrics. The rank of National Scientist is awarded to science
practitioners with “distinguished individual or collaborative achievement in science and
technology.” In 2010, del Mundo was awarded the Order of Lakandula, rank of Bayani, as a
Filipina who lived a life “worthy of emulation.” Posthumously, she was conferred the Grand
Collar of the Order of the Golden Heart Award in 2011, by President Benigno Aquino III.

Maria Y. Orosa
Advances in modern Filipino food
technology owe a great deal to the creative
researches and salutary inventiveness of a woman
chemist and pharmacist from Batangas – Maria
Y. Orosa. The now- commercially available thirst
quencher, the calamansi juice, is just one of the
popular native food products in whose preparation
and preservation she had a hand. She produced
the “calamansi nip,” the desiccated and powdered
form of the fruit which could be made into juice.
The most notable of her food inventions, is
“Soyalac,” a powdered preparation of soya-beans,
which helped save the lives of thousands of
Filipinos, Americans, and other nationals who
ever held prisoners in different Japanese https://food52.com/blog/24700-maria-
concentration camps orosa-profile
during World War II. It became known to them as the “magic food.”
She is also credited with the making of the banana ketchup;; wines from native fruits,
like casuy and guava;; vinegar from pineapples;; banana starch;; soyamilk;; banana flour;; cassava
flour;; jelly from guava, santol, mango, and other fruits, as well as the invention of rice
cookies, known as ricebran or darak, which is effective in the treatment of patients with beri-beri.
Aside from making food preparations, Miss Orosa taught Filipinos how to preserve such native
delicacies as the adobo, dinuguan, kilawen and escabeche. Together with her associates in the
Bureau of Plant Industry, she invented “Oroval” and “Clarosa.”
In 1923, she helped organize the food preservation division under the Bureau of Science.
On June 3, 1927, she became the acting division head. Orosa also tried her hand in improving
household wares. She invented the “Orosa Palayok Oven” for cooking various dishes. In 1928,
the government, recognizing her dynamism and strong leadership, sent her to various countries
as a state scholar to specialize in food

51
processing and canning. To perpetuate her memory, the government has named after her a street
stretching from T.M. Kalaw to Padre Faura in Ermita, Manila, as well as a building in the Bureau
of Plants and Industry. She was one of the 19 scientists who were conferred awards on the
occasion of the 65th anniversary of the Institute of Science and Technology. On November 29,
1983, the National Historical Institute installed a marker in her honor at the Bureau of Plant
Industry in San Andres, Manila.

Angel Alcala
He is a Filipino scientist whose
biological contributions to the environment
and ecosystems have made him a hero for
natural sciences. During his
30 years of experience as a biologist, Alcala
made major contributions to marine biology
research efforts in the Philippines and
authored over 160 scientific papers as well as
books. Alcala was the first Filipino scientist
to engage in comprehensive studies
concerning Philippine reptiles and
amphibians and minor studies on mammals
and birds. From the 400 already known
species of reptiles and amphibians, 50 more http://heroes.aseanbiodiversity.org/2017/09/
species were identified due to his efforts. 07/asean-biodiversity-hero-dr-angel-c- alcala--
philippines/
Because of his work, conservation programs
in the Philippines are now well established.
Alcala also made a highly valuable and groundbreaking contribution to marine
ecosystems when he established the first artificial reef around the coastline of the Philippines,
greatly boosting the ecosystem's health and viability.
. In 1994, he was given the Field Museum Founders’ Council Award of Merit for
contributions to environmental biology. He is a recipient of the Magsaysay Award for Public
Service. In September 2011 he received the Gregorio Y. Zara Award for Basic Science from the
Philippine Association for the Advancement of Science Inc. In 2014, he was proclaimed
National Scientist by President Benigno S. Aquino III through Presidential Decree 782 on June
6, 2014.

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