GENERAL CONCEPTS

AND HISTORICAL
DEVELOPMENT
PREPARED BY: RACHELLE SOLIMAN-HUMIWAT
LEARNING OUTCOMES

• At the end of this module, the students should be able to:

1. Demonstrate proficient and effective communication on the history and evolution of
technology and intellectual revolutions that defined society
2. Articulate major development programs and agenda of Science and Technology in the
Philippines
INTRODUCTION TO SCIENCE,TECHNOLOGY,
AND SOCIETY: AN OVERVIEW

• Science:
-Comes from the Latin word scientia, meaning “knowledge.”
- Refers to a systematic and methodical activity of building and organizing
knowledge about how the universe behaves through observation, experimentation, or both.
- Involves solving problems through the scientific method.
WHAT ARE THE STEPS OF SCIENTIFIC METHOD?
 “Modern science is a
discovery as well as an
invention

John Heilbron
- Famous American science historian
- Considered science as a discovery of regularity in
nature, enough for phenomena to be described by
principles and laws.
- Also explained that science required invention to
devise techniques, abstractions, apparatuses, and
organizations to describe these natural
regularities and their law-like descriptions.
TECHNOLOGY

• -Application of scientific knowledge, laws, and principles to produce services, materials,

tools, and machines aimed at solving real-world problems.
• - Comes from the Greek word techne, meaning “art, skill, or cunning of hand.”
• - Things that fulfil our needs and desires, or perform certain functions
• - Involves creating and inventing things
 “What defines a technological tool – one
historical definition – is
something that takes a human’s sense or ability
and augments it and
makes it more powerful. So, for example, I wear
contact lenses or
glasses; that is a technology that enhances my
human ability of vision
and makes it better .”
- Mark Zuckerberg
IS SCIENCE DANGEROUS? (LEWIS WOLPERT)

-Reliable scientific knowledge has no moral or ethical value

- It is meant simply to explain how nature and the universe work and that the
obligations of scientists, besides studying the nature of the universe, is to
explain the possible uses and applications of such scientific knowledge.
- Science is not the same as technology.
- The very nature of science is that it is not possible to predict scientific
discoveries and how these discoveries may be applied.
 New Source of
Knowledge tools and
serves as a techniques
direct source efficient
of ideas for engineering
new design and
technological knowledge
base.
possibilities.
Practice of
Research as
source of
Research
development
instrumentation
and
and Laboratory
assimilation of
techniques
new human
skills and
capabilities
More efficient
Assessment of strategies
Technology in applied
terms of its research
wider social and development
environmental and refinement
impacts of new
technologies
SO HOW ARE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
RELATED?
• Provides fertile source of novel scientific question > justifies the allocation
of resources needed to address these questions in an efficient and timely
manner, extending the agenda of science

• Source of otherwise unavailable instrumentation and techniques needed

to address novel and more difficult scientific questions more efficiently
SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY

• A relatively young field that combines previously independent and older

disciplines, such as the history of science, philosophy of science, and
sociology of science.
• Generally, applies methods drawn from history, philosophy, and sociology
to study the nature of science and technology and ultimately judge their
value and place in the society
WHAT IS THE ROLE OF SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY IN YOUR LIFE?
• As an interdisciplinary field, the emergence of STS was a result of questions
about science and technology’s dynamic interaction with various aspects
of society and was thus viewed as a socially embedded enterprise.
• STS seeks to bridge the gap between two traditionally exclusive cultures –
humanities (interpretative) and natural sciences (rational) – so thathumans will be able to
confront the moral, ethical, and existential dilemmas brought about by continued
developments in science andtechnology.
 EVEN IF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY HAS BROUGHT
ABOUT MANY USEFUL AND EXCITING THINGS,
THERE ARE STILL DRAWBACKS TO THESE

USE OF ANTIBIOTICS
ANTIBIOTICS RESISTANCE
MISUSE/ OVERUSE
 TOP 10 ETHICAL DILEMMAS (2020)
• The pseudoscience of skincare.
• AI and Gamification in Hiring
• Predatory Journals
• The HARPA SAFEHOME Proposal
• Class Dojo and Classroom
• Surveillance
• Grinch Bots
• Project Nightingale
• Student Tracking Software
• The Corruption of Tech Ethics
• Deep Fakes
 ACTIVITY#2: REFLECTION (POSTER MAKING)

• Instructions. Draw an image that depicts an issue or problem in science and

technology. Then, answer the following questions.
1. What is the issue or problem depicted in the image?
2. How does this particular issue or problem impact the well-being of humans
today?
3. Why is it important for people to study and learn about STS as an
academic field, especially in addressing the issue or problem depicted in
the image?
REFERENCES

• Quinto, EJM & Nieva, AD. 2019. Science, Technology and Society –Outcome-Based
Module. C & E Publishing , Inc. pp 1-pp217.