MODULE IN GEd 109

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY

Abegail L. Gonzales
Erma D. Maalihan
Sherryl M. Montalbo
 Table of Contents

TOPIC PAGE No.

PART I
General Concepts and STS Historical Developments

Chapter 1 – Historical Antecedents

A. Historical Antecedents in Which Social
Considerations Changed the Course of Science and Technology
What is Science, Technology and Society 1
Historical Antecedents in the World 5
From Ancient Times to 600 BC 5
The Advent of Science 6
Islamic Golden Age 6
Ancient China 7
The Renaissance 8
The Enlightenment Period 9
Industrial Revolution 10
20th Century Science 11
Fourth Industrial Revolution 12
Activities 14

B. Historical Development of Science and Technology in

the Philippines
Pre-Spanish Era 18
Spanish Colonial Era 19
American Period 20
Commonwealth Period 21
S&T Since Independence 21
S&T in the 60s to 90s 22
Hopes in Philippines S&T 25
Current Initiatives in Philippine S&T 26

C. Paradigm Shifts
What is a paradigm? 28
What is a paradigm shift? 29

Chapter 2 – Intellectual Revolutions that Defined Society

A. What is an Intellectual Revolution? 31
B. The Birth of Modern Science 31
C. Copernican Revolution 32
D. Darwinian Revolution 35
E. Freudian Revolution 36
F. Scientific Revolution in MesoAmerica 38
 G. Asian Scientific Revolution 39
H. Scientific Revolution in Middle East 39
I. Scientific Revolution in Africa 41
J. Information Revolution 43
K. Activity: Standing on the Shoulders of Giants 45

Chapter 3 - Science and Technology, and Nation Building

A. The Philippine Government S&T Agenda 48
B. In Focus: Batangas State University KIST Park 51
C. Major Development Programs in Science and Technology 52
D. Personalities in Science and Technology in the Philippines 54
E. Science Education in the Philippines 58

Part II
Science and Technology and the Human Condition

Chapter 4 - The Human Person Flourishing in terms of Science and Technology

A. Technology as a Way of Revealing 62
B. Human Flourishing 64

Chapter 5 – The Good Life

A. What is a Good Life? 69
B. What is Human Existence? 72
C. What is a Public Good? 73

Chapter 6 - When Technology and Humanity Cross

A. The Ethical Dilemmas of Robotics 76
B. Human, Morals and Machines 79
C. Why the Future Does Not Need Us? 81
D. Activity 86

Part III
Specific Issues in Science, Technology and Society

Chapter 7 - The Information Age

A. Pre-Gutenberg Period 89
B. Gutenberg Revolution 90
C. Printed Materials as Agents of Change 91
D. Post-Gutenberg Period
E. Activity 94
Chapter 8 – Biodiversity and Healthy Society
A. Biodiversity and Healthy Society 96
B. Threats to Biodiversity 97
C. GMOs 99
D. Risk Related to the Use of GMOs 104
E. Activity 106

Chapter 9 – The Nano World

A. What is Nanotechnology 108
B. Environmental Aspects of Nanotechnology 111
C. Nanotechnology in the Philippines 112
D. Nanotechnology and Education 113
E. Activity 115

Chapter 10 – Gene Therapy

A. Approaches to Gene Therapy 117
B. Stem Cell Therapy 118
C. Activity 119

Chapter 11 - Climate Change, Energy Crisis and Environmental Awareness

A. What is Climate Change 121
B. Causes of Climate Change 121
C. Impacts of Climate Change 122
D. Activity 125
 Chapter 1
Historical Antecedents in Which Social Considerations Changed
the Course of Science and Technology

Introduction
This section presents an overview of how science and technology evolved from ancient
times to the present. It shows how man was able to develop crude technological tools and
eventually improve them through time to make his way of living more convenient and the
society more progressive.

Intended Learning Outcomes:

1. Discuss the interactions between science and technology and society throughout history
2. Discuss how scientific and technological developments affect society and the
environment
3. Identify the paradigm shifts in history

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.

2
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

3
Reflective Question:
With the whole world suffering from CoViD-19 pandemic, discuss the interplay
between science, technology and society in mitigating this problem.

4
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.

5
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

6
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

7
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

8
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

9
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.

10
 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

11
(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

12
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.

13
 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.

Activity:

1. List down the scientific discoveries and technological breakthroughs in each

period. You may conduct additional researches and share what you have found in the
class.

a. Ancient Times to 600 BC

b. Advent of Science (600 BC to 500 AD)

c. Islamic Golden Age

d. Ancient China and the Far East

14
 e. Renaissance

f. Enlightenment Period

g. Industrial Revolution

h. 20th century

i. Fourth Industrial Revolution

2. If given a chance to live back in time and considering the influence of science and
technology in the society and the environment, which period would you choose and why?
Would you prefer a less technologically driven society or you wouldn’t trade the
comforts of modern life?

15
Assignment:

Film Viewing.

1. Watch the World’s Greatest Invention

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYYyfAl9Usc) and then answer the following guide
questions.
a. Among the mentioned greatest invention in the video, which do you think created the
most impact in your life now? Why?

b. Name one invention and discuss how it transformed the society.

2. Watch Stephen Colbert’s interview with Neil Tyson on YouTube

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXh9RQCvxmg&noredirect=1) and then answer
the following guide questions.

Guide Questions:

1. Stephen Colbert starts the interview by asking Dr. Neil de Grasse Tyson, “Is it better
to know or not to know?” Ponder on this question and decide which one is better.
Give as many reasons as to why.

16
2. Enumerate the various statements that Dr. Neil de Grasse Tyson said about the
importance of science literacy and its relationship to society.

17
 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.

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

18
 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

19
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

20
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.

21
 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

22
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

23
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.

24
 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.

25
 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

26
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.

Activity:

Identify a contemporary Filipino invention and discuss how it improved the lives of our
countrymen. (Example: SALt lamp or “sustainable alternative lighting” lamp powered by
galvanic reaction of an anode with saline water invented by Aisa Mijeno)

27
 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.

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.

28
 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

29
 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.

Activity:

Create a poster or caricature that depicts a paradigm shift in science history. Share and
explain your work in the class.

30
 Chapter 2
Intellectual Revolutions that Defined Society

Introduction

This section provides students with background on the different intellectuals who made
great contributions to science that propelled scientific and technological revolutions. Emphasis is
given on how these intellectual revolutions shape and transform society.

Intended Learning Outcomes:

1. Articulate ways by which society is transformed by science and technology.

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.

31
 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

32
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

33
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

34
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.

35
 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

36
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

37
 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

38
 (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

39
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.

40
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

41
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.

42
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

43
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.

44
Activity: Standing on the Shoulders of Giants

Motivation:
Please refer to the following quote in answering the given questions below.

“If I have seen further than others, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”
- Sir Isaac Newton

1. What do you think Newton has seen?

2. Who do you think Newton refers to as giants?

3. What do you think this quote tells you about Newton’s character?

Pre-Activity Discussion
Scientists today build on the knowledge and discoveries made by others. It might be that
they continue and grow the work of the scientists who have mentored and supervised them or
that they build on prior discoveries – both recent and historical.

Tying in stories of science in history and scientific breakthroughs can offer engaging
opportunities for further exploration and learning. For example, the periodic table that we know
today was actually a result of numerous experiments and discoveries that spanned for centuries
starting from 1669 when the first scientific discovery of an element was made by Hennig Brand.
Over the next 200 years, a great deal of knowledge about elements and compounds was gained.
By the middle of the 19th century, about 60 elements had been discovered. Scientists began to
recognize patterns in the properties of these elements and set about developing classification
schemes.

45
 Scientists are constantly working on discovering new materials and further investigating
the properties of existing elements. The periodic table can be reviewed and new elements can be
added, but only added after rigorous scientific examination. The International Union of Pure and
Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) verifies the additions of new elements and at the end of 2015 the
7th period of the periodic table of elements was completed with the addition of four new
elements.

Activity Task:

The following timeline summarizes the development of the periodic table. Using the brief
history of the periodic table as an example and applying what you have learned about intellectual
revolutions, select any topic (can be an object or theory) and present its historical evolution to its
present day form. Identify the key persons who are instrumental in its development and how
each key person worked on the findings of his/her predecessors in the field to further improve
the work. Be creative in presenting your timeline and in presenting your work.

46
 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.

47
 Chapter 3
Science, Technology and Nation Building

Introduction

This section presents the policies of the government regarding science and technology,
how it is being implemented through its various departments and agencies, and its role in nation
building. It also includes a list of Filipino inventors and their inventions.

Intended Learning Outcomes

1. Discuss the role of science and technology in Philippine nation building.
2. Evaluate government policies on science and technology in terms of their
contributions to nation building.
3. Identify actual science and technology government policies and appraise their impact
on the development of the Filipino nation.

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.

48
 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

49
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.

50
 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.

51
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

52
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.

53
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.

54
Ramon C. Barba

He is a Filipino scientist, inventor and

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
https://joinpase.weebly.com/pases-­of-­success/ramon-­cabanos-­barba
groups of workers related to mango industry have
benefitted from his invention. This technology
has also been
successfully applied on other fruit trees including cashew.

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

55
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

56
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.

57
Activity: Small Group Activity
Work with your three (3) classmates and discuss your answers to the following questions.
1. What are the best and the most useful inventions in the 20th and 21st centuries?

2. What do you think is the worst invention of mankind?

3. What kinds of things do inventors need to think about before they try to build
something? Why?

4. Can you name some inventions you are looking forward to?

5. What would you invent if you are a scientist?

.
C. Science Education in the Philippines
The role and goal of science in education should always be the same. Since science is
considered both knowledge and method, operating independent of time and place, the benefits of
science anywhere can only be the same. The value of science lies not only in the knowledge
that it imparts and bequeaths to the learner but also in its

58
methods and techniques that inculcate in the learner’s scientific habits, skills, and attitudes.
Science, even as it is considered a body of knowledge, it is also taken as methodology. It has
given a tangible method and system to what would otherwise be by chance and accident. From
the utilization of scientific methods and techniques, one is able to very possibly explain the past
and predict what the future holds.
The general benefits of science have greatly challenged education of the Philippines.
While the country might have been a beneficiary of the methods of science even before the
program of formal education, it was during the American period that brought about a most
significant and essential change in the nature of education. There has been a corresponding
increase in knowledge and understanding of natural and social phenomena covered by all the
disciplines of science available now. It is this education that has been largely credited for the
development of science in the Philippines.

Early Efforts to Improve Science Education

As early as the decade of the 1950s, scientists were concerned with the state of science
education in the schools. Leading scientists made Philippine authorities aware that the teaching
of science from grade school level to college levels in both public and private schools was very
inadequate. The inadequacies and weaknesses of science teaching were recognized as those
relating to undertrained teachers, the inadequate science curriculum in schools and colleges, the
minimum allotted to science, the lack of books, equipment and teaching aids. In 1957, the
Philippine government made the teaching of science compulsory in all elementary and secondary
schools. A National Committee for Science Education was set up in 1958 to formulate objectives
for the teaching of science education at all levels and to recommend steps that would upgrade the
teaching of science. The committee identified the areas to which improvement efforts were
needed such as integration of science with classroom instruction, acquisition of more science
equipment and tools, coordination of efforts with other agencies, negotiations for a science
institute for teachers, national science talent search and fellowships, higher salaries of science
and mathematics teachers and promotion of science teachers competence.

The BSCS Adaptation Project

In1959, biological sciences curriculum study (BSCS) project was launched by American
Institute of Biological Science, university of Colorado in order to improve biology education in
secondary schools. A steering committee of biological scientists, teachers and educators was
constituted. The project was financed by National Science Foundation, USA.
The BSCS project was started to design high school biology course with the objectives
to: provide recent and latest knowledge in biological sciences;; develop understanding of
the conceptual structure of biological sciences;; develop skills and processes of biology
among the students;; create an opportunity to use inquiry approach in teaching and learning of
biology;; prepare rich supplementary or support materials to enrich learning experiences in
biological sciences and present current status of biological sciences

59
 The organization of the BSCS project necessitated because of the inadequacies and
defects felt in the ongoing or conventional biological sciences teaching. Defects were observed
in conventional biological science teaching such as inclusion of dead or useless contents in
syllabus, little practical work, no correlation of biological sciences and physical science, lack of
integrated approach and no proper consideration of psychological aspects of teaching learning.

The Science Education Project

These were the total efforts of SEP TO improve science education in the Philippines.
First, the dissemination of improved curricula, teaching techniques and approaches in science
and mathematics on basic levels of education through the introduction of new curriculum and the
application of new teaching techniques and approaches by the returned Master of Arts in
Teaching trainees and the teachers that they teach. On the other hand, these institutions
disseminated many of the curriculum materials by the UP Science Education Center.
Second, quality science and math education programs in the recipient-sponsor institutions
through new and/or improved course offerings and a generally improved teacher education
program.

Activity:
Answer the following questions:
1. What are the current trends in Science Education in the Programme for
International Student Assessment (PISA) results?

2. What are the science-related issues and problems in the Philippines?

3. How do new information technologies change the science education process?

60
 PART II
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND THE HUMAN CONDITION

Introduction
Society applauds the recent advancements of scientific technology in fields such
as medicine, energy, and communication. While humankind profits in many ways from this
technology, a few voices are heard cautioning society to consider the implications of this
developments.
This section provides students deeper appreciation of man’s existence and his
purpose in a world of technology. It also discusses the concept of a good life and how it can
be attained. Moreover, it also focuses on the ethical and moral dilemma brought about by the
emergence of the robotic industry.

Learning Outcomes
At the end of this section, the students are expected to:
1. Examine the human condition to deeply reflect and express philosophical
ramifications that are meaningful to the student as a part of society.
2. Critique human flourishing vis-a vis the progress of Science and Technology to define
the meaning of the good life.
3. Examine shared concerns that make up the good life in order to come up with
innovative and creative solutions to the contemporary issues guided by ethical
standards
4. Examine human rights in order to uphold such rights in technological
dilemnas.
 CHAPTER 4 The Human Person Flourishing in terms of
Science and Technology

A. Technology as a Way of Revealing

A German philosopher Martin Heidegger wrote an essay entitled “The Question

Concerning Technology” which addresses modern technology and its essence as an instrumental
way of revealing the world. He goes beyond the traditional view of technology as machines and
technical procedures. Moreover, he tries to think through the essence of technology as a way in
which humans encounter entities such as nature, self, and, indeed, everything. That is to say, that
modern technology is conceived as means to achieve ends. As instrumental, the essence of
technology concerns causality. A deeper look into causality reveals that the end is the beginning;;
a cause is that to which something is indebted and the purpose for which an instrument is
designed is the primary cause of its coming into being.

Heidegger’s understanding of technology was based on its essence. First, the essence of
technology is not something we make;; it is a mode of being, or of revealing. This means that
technological things have their own novel kind of presence, endurance, and connections among
parts and wholes. They have their own way of presenting themselves and the world in which
they operate. The essence of technology is, for Heidegger, not the best or most characteristic
instance of technology, nor is it a nebulous generality, a form or idea. Rather, to consider
technology essentially is to see it as an event to which we belong: the structuring, ordering, and
“requisitioning” of everything around us, and of ourselves. The second point is that technology
even holds sway over beings that we do not normally think of as technological, such as gods and
history. Third, the essence of technology as Heidegger discusses it is primarily a matter of
modern and industrial technology. He is less concerned with the ancient and old tools and
techniques that antedate modernity;; the essence of technology is revealed in factories and
industrial processes, not in hammers and plows. And fourth, for Heidegger, technology is not
simply the practical application of natural science. Instead, modern natural science can
understand nature in the characteristically scientific manner only because nature has already, in
advance, come to light as a set of calculable, orderable forces — that is to say, technologically.

According to him there are two characteristics of modern technology as a revealing

process. First, the mode of revealing of modern technology is a challenging. Things are revealed
or brought forth by challenging or demanding them. It is putting to nature the unreasonable
demand that it supply energy that can be extracted and stored. The mining technology today is a
good example for this mode of revealing things. Tracks of land reveal as something challenged
because man sees them as objects where coal and ore can be demanded. Man sees them as source
of energy. These energies can be stored so that man can summon them at his bidding. Shortly,
nature reveals itself in modern technology as things of manipulation, as things that yield energy
whenever man demands them to do so. “Challenging” as a mode of revealing nature could be
sharply contrasted “Physis” which is the arising of something from itself, a bringing-forth or
poieses. A flower

6
blossoming or fading in the changes of the season is an example of this form of revealing. The
revelation has its own autonomy and, at best, man can only witness. This is a natural way of
revealing.

The mode of revealing in modern technology brought about new world ordering. This
kind of ordering is best described as “artificial” in contrast to “natural ordering. It sees nature as
an object of manipulation and not anymore as an autonomous reality demanding respect and
admiration. The network of things is now reduced into the network of manipulation. The second
characteristic of modern technology as a revealing process is that the challenging that brings
forth the energy of nature is an “expediting”. In the modern use of word, expediting means to
hasten the movement of something. However, in its original sense, expediting is also a process of
revealing inasmuch as it “unlocks” and “exposes” something. But what is exposed is still
directed towards something else,
i.e. toward the maximum yield at the minimum expense. In short, things that are revealed in an
expedited manner are brought forth as resources that must be used efficiently. In mining for
example, man digs coal not simply to know what coals are. Yes, man “exposes” these coals but
not simply to know them. They uncover them because he wants to use them. Coals are mined
from track loads of land so as to use their energy. This is the characteristic of the things revealed
in modern technology. They are there “for” something.

Heidegger uses a technical word to name the things that are revealed in modern
technology as “standing in reserve”. Things as standing in reserve are not “objects”. Objects on
the other hand, are things that “stand against us” as things with autonomy. They are revealed
mainly in human thinking and do not allow further manipulations. Things as standing in reserve,
on the other hand, are called to come forth in challenging and expediting. They are reduced into
the objectlessness of modern technology. Nothing anymore “stands against us” as objects of
autonomy and wonder. Everything is regressed into an interlocking of things that yield what man
wants whenever he demands them to do so. Even nature is now revealed as standing in reserve
and not anymore objects of autonomy.

Unlike the modern technologies, the old technology still respects nature as an object of
autonomy. The modern and the old technologies are of different modes of revealing, the former
artificial and the latter natural. Take for example, the contrast between how the modern
technology of the hydropower plant and the old technology of a wooden bridge reveal the
presence of a river. However, the hydropower plant reveals the river that supplies it energy
simply as another thing standing in reserve. It is a source of energy which completes the
interlocking of things in the system of hydropower generation. The river is not anymore
seen as an object with autonomy but an object on call to be used. Conversely, the technology of
building a wooden bridge reveals the river not as a key link in completing the bridge.it rather
respects it as a part of nature, a “landscape” using Heidegger’s own term, that is somewhat
permanent and stand against us as another entity. We move “around” it so to say and we only see
what we can do to overcome its dominating presence, in other words, we do not manipulate it,
but rather, we act according to its rules.

6
 For Heidegger enframing is the “essence” of modern technology. Enframing simply
means putting into the frame of modern technology everything in nature. This “frame” of
modern technology is the network or interlocking things standing in reserve. It is the world
centered on man’s caprices and demands. It is a world of manipulation and demystification. In
here nothing is mysterious anymore. This is what Heidegger was afraid of, that the process of
truth will revert back into the realm of erring. It must be remembered that for truth to be, it must
retain its sense of mystery. Truth is for the most part untruth. To disregard this essentially limited
process of revelation is also to disregard the entirety of its essence. We cannot have absolute
knowledge of reality, more so, we cannot have full dominion over it. As they say, we are only
“guardians” of creation. To disregard this nature of reality is also putting ourselves into the brink
of danger.

Because of man’s arrogance, nature is in the verge of destruction. He thinks he knows

how nature works and tends to hasten or “expedite” its processes. He demands too much from it
and in turn disrupts its natural flow. Nature is beyond our control. Its truth is beyond our grips.
For all we know, it is the one that controls us. If we ever try to dominate it, nature will surely
revolt against us in a very humbling manner.

Activity: Question for Reflection

Is there something unusual about the pace and nature of technological change today? Should we be
more worried about the world we are creating?

B. Human Flourishing

Human flourishing is said to be the best translation for the Greek word Eudaimonia,
which for both Plato and Aristotle, means not only good fortune and material prosperity but a
situation achieved through virtue, knowledge and excellence. Learning to be human is central to
Confucian humanism and its “creative transformation” of the self through an “ever-expanding
network of relationships encompassing the family, community, nation, world and beyond. It is
thus inseparable from self-awareness and self-cultivation, and this “self” far from being an isolated
individual, is experientially and practically a center of relationships.

6
 The affirmation that human flourishing implies development of the individual in his
intellectual, affective, moral and spiritual dimensions obviously needs elaboration. Plato in the
Republic, contends that the soul, or mind, has three motivating parts: rational, spirited or
emotional and appetitive. Each of these have their own desired ends, and Eudomenia or human
flourishing requires an ordering of this tripartite structure of the soul: the rational and spirited
parts. Virtue ensues. In the same vein, Aristotle, in the Nicomachean Ethics, states that
Eudaimonia is constituted not by honor, or wealth power, but by rational activity in accordance
with excellence in the virtues of character including courage, honesty, pride, friendliness and
wittiness, the intellectual virtues notably rationality and judgment, as well as mutually
beneficial friendships and scientific knowledge, particularly of things that are fundamental and
unchanging.

According to Aristotle, all humans seek to flourish. It’s the proper and desired end of all
of our actions. Flourishing, however, is a functional definition. To understand something’s
function, you have to understand its nature. In Aristotle’s schema, there are four aspects of
human nature: physical, emotional, social and rational. As physical beings, we require
nourishment, exercise, rest and all the other things that it takes to keep our bodies functioning
properly. As emotional beings, we have wants, desires, urges and reactions. We perceive
something in the world that we want and we have the power of volition to get it;; likewise, we
have the power to avoid the things we don’t want. For humans, these wants can get pretty
complex, but at rock bottom we all have emotional needs and wants that spring from rather basic
sources. As social beings, we must live and function in particular societies. Our social nature
stacks on top of our emotional nature, such that we have wants and needs that we would not have
were we not social creatures. As rational beings, we are creative, expressive, knowledge-seeking
and able to obey reason. We might not always obey reason and we may sometimes not want to
exercise our minds, but a large part of our existence relate to our being rational animals. An
individual cannot truly flourish if he is not flourishing in one of the four aspects of human nature.

Human flourishing also known as personal flourishing involves the rational use of one’s
individual potentialities, including talents, abilities and virtues in the pursuit of his freely and
rationally chosen values and goals. An action is considered to be proper if it leads to the
flourishing of the person performing the action. Human flourishing is, at the same time, a moral
accomplishment and a fulfillment of human capacities, and it is one through being the other.
Self-actualization is moral growth and vice-versa.

Not an abstraction, human flourishing is real and highly personal by nature, consists in
the fulfillment of both a man’s human nature and unique potentialities, and is concerned with
choices and actions that necessarily deal with the particular and the contingent. One man’s self –
realization is not the same as another’s. What is called for in terms of concrete actions such as
choice of career, education, friends, home and others, varies from person to person. Human
flourishing becomes an actuality when one uses his practical reason to consider his unique needs,
circumstances and capabilities, and so on, to determine which concrete instantiations of human
values and virtues will comprise

6
his well-being. The idea of human flourishing is inclusive and can encompass a wide variety of
constitutive ends such as knowledge, the development of character traits, productive work,
religious pursuits, community building, love, charitable activities, allegiance to persons and
causes, self-efficacy, material well-being, pleasurable sensations, etc.

To flourish, a man must pursue goals that are both rational for him individually and also
as a human being. Whereas the former will vary depending upon one’s particular circumstances,
the latter are common to man’s distinctive nature – man has the unique capacity to live
rationally. The use of reason is a necessary, but not a sufficient, condition for human flourishing.
Living rationally ( i.e., consciously ) means dealing with the world conceptually. Living
consciously implies respect for the facts of reality. The principle of living consciously is not
affected by the degree of one’s intelligence not the extent of one’s knowledge;; rather, it is the
acceptance of use of one’s reason in the recognition and perception of reality and in his
choice of values and actions to the best of his ability, whatever that ability may be. To pursue
rational goals through rational means is the only way to cope successfully with reality and
achieve one’s goals. Although rationality is not always rewarded, the fact remains that it is
through the use of one’s mind that a man not only discovers the values required for personal
flourishing, he attains them. Values can be achieved in reality if a man recognizes and adheres to
the reality of his unique personal endowments and contingent circumstances. Human flourishing
is positively related to a rational man’s attempts to externalize his values and actualize his
internal views of how things ought to be in the outside world. Practical reason can be used to
choose, create, and integrate all the values and virtues that comprise personal flourishing.

Activity: Film Viewing

Watch the movie clip (You tube) The Magician’s Twin: CS Lewis and the Case against
Scientism. Answer the following questions:

1. What is scientism according to the magician’s twin?

2. Why did CS Lewis think that modern science is far more dangerous than
magic?

6
 3. How can you prevent good from being twisted into evil ends? How can you
prevent science from becoming scientism? Share and explain your answer.

4. Do you agree or disagree with the different quotes cited in the movie? Explain your
answer.

 Only science can save us from natural catastrophe – John Gray

 Forget faith, only science can save us – Melanie Gosling

Activity: Questions for Reflection

1. Does the idea of human flourishing reflect in progress and

development?

6
2. As you look at your daily life and in the past years, what are the
aspects of your life that have been the most rewarding and enriching? When was the
happiest?

6
 CHAPTER 5
The Good Life

A. What is a Good Life?

This is one of the oldest philosophical questions. It has been posed in different ways—
How should one live? What does it mean to “live well”?—but these are really just the same
question. After all, everyone wants to live well, and no one wants “the bad life.” But the question
isn’t as simple as it sounds. Philosophers specialize in unpacking hidden complexities, and the
concept of the good life is one of those that needs quite a bit of unpacking.

One basic way we use the word “good” is to express moral approval. So when we say
someone is living well or that they have lived a good life, we may simply mean that they are a
good person, someone who is courageous, honest, trustworthy, kind, selfless, generous, helpful,
loyal, principled, and so on. They possess and practice many of the most important virtues. And
they don’t spend all their time merely pursuing their own pleasure;; they devote a certain amount
of time to activities that benefit others, perhaps through their engagement with family and
friends, or through their work, or through various voluntary activities. This moral conception of
the good life has had plenty of champions. Socrates and Plato both gave absolute priority to
being a virtuous person over all other supposedly good things such as pleasure, wealth, or power.

In Plato’s dialogue Gorgias, Socrates takes this position to an extreme. He argues that it
is much better to suffer wrong than to do it;; that a good man who has his eyes gouged out and
is tortured to death is more fortunate than a corrupt person who has used wealth and power
dishonorably. In his masterpiece, the Republic, Plato develops this argument in greater detail.
The morally good person, he claims, enjoys a sort of inner harmony, whereas the wicked person,
no matter how rich and powerful he may be or how many pleasure he enjoys, is disharmonious,
fundamentally at odds with himself and the world.

It is worth noting, though, that in both the Gorgias and the Republic, Plato bolsters his
argument with a speculative account of an afterlife in which virtuous people are rewarded and
wicked people are punished. Many religions also conceive of the good life in moral terms as a
life lived according to God’s laws. A person who lives this way— obeying the commandments
and performing the proper rituals—is pious. And in most religions, such piety will be rewarded.
Obviously, many people do not receive their reward in this life. But devout believers are
confident that their piety will not be in vain. Christian martyrs went singing to their deaths
confident that they would soon be in heaven. Hindus expect that the law of karma will ensure
that their good deeds and intentions will be rewarded, while evil actions and desires will be
punished, either in this life or in future lives.

6
 The ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus was one of the first to declare, bluntly, that what
makes life worth living is that we can experience pleasure. Pleasure is enjoyable, it’s fun,
it’s...well...pleasant! The view that pleasure is the good, or, to put I another way, that pleasure is
what makes life worth living, is known as hedonism. The word “hedonist,” when applied to a
person, has slightly negative connotations. It suggests that they are devoted to what some have
called the “lower” pleasures such as sex, food, drink, and sensual indulgence in general.

Epicurus was thought by some of his contemporaries to be advocating and

practicing this sort of lifestyle, and even today an “epicure” is someone who is especially
appreciative of food and drink. But this is a misrepresentation of Epicureanism. Epicurus
certainly praised all kinds of pleasures. The good life has to be virtuous. Although Epicurus
disagreed with Plato about the value of pleasure, he fully agreed with him on this point.

Today, this hedonistic conception of the good life is arguably dominant in Western
culture. Even in everyday speech, if we say someone is “living the good life,” we probably mean
that they enjoying lots of recreational pleasures: good food, good wine, skiing, scuba diving,
lounging by the pool in the sun with a cocktail and a beautiful partner.

What is key to this hedonistic conception of the good life is that it emphasizes subjective
experiences. On this view, to describe a person as “happy” means that they “feel good,” and a
happy life is one that contains many “feel good” experiences.

If Socrates emphasizes virtue and Epicurus emphasizes pleasure, another great Greek
thinker, Aristotle, views the good life in a more comprehensive way. According to Aristotle, we
all want to be happy. We value many things because they are a means to other things. For
instance, we value money because it enables us to buy things we want;; we value leisure because it
gives us time to pursue our interests. But happiness is something we value not as a means to
some other end but for its own sake. It has intrinsic value rather than instrumental value.

So for Aristotle, the good life is a happy life. But what does that mean? Today, many
people automatically think of happiness in subjectivist terms: To them, a person is happy if they
are enjoying a positive state of mind, and their life is happy if this is true for them most of the
time.
Aristotle agrees with Socrates that to live the good life one must be a morally good
person. He also agrees with Epicurus that a happy life will involve many and varied pleasurable
experiences. We can’t really say someone is living the good life if they are often miserable or
constantly suffering.

Michael Soupios and Panos Mourdoukoutas wrote a book entitled The Ten Golden Rules
on Living a Good Life where they extracted “ancient wisdom from the Greek philosophers on
living the good life” and mapped it into modern times. Here is a summary of what they wrote,
extracted from a Forbes article written by Dr. Mourdoukoutas:

7
 1. Examine life, engage life with a vengeance;; always search for new pleasures and
new destinies to reach with your mind.
2. Worry only about the things that are in your control, the things that can be influenced
and changed by your actions, not about the things that are beyond your capacity to direct or alter.

3. Treasure Friendship, the reciprocal attachment that fills the need for affiliation.
Friendship cannot be acquired in the market place, but must be nurtured and treasured in
relations imbued with trust and amity.

4. Experience True Pleasure. Avoid shallow and transient pleasures. Keep your life
simple. Seek calming pleasures that contribute to peace of mind. True pleasure is disciplined and
restrained.

5. Master Yourself. Resist any external force that might delimit thought and action;; stop
deceiving yourself, believing only what is personally useful and convenient;; complete liberty
necessitates a struggle within, a battle to subdue negative psychological and spiritual forces that
preclude a healthy existence;; self-mastery requires ruthless candor.

6. Avoid Excess. Live life in harmony and balance. Avoid excesses. Even good things,
pursued or attained without moderation, can become a source of misery and suffering.

7. Be a Responsible Human Being. Approach yourself with honesty and thoroughness;;

maintain a kind of spiritual hygiene;; stop the blame-shifting for your errors and shortcomings.

8. Don’t Be a Prosperous Fool. Prosperity by itself is not a cure-all against an ill- led life
and may be a source of dangerous foolishness. Money is a necessary but not a sufficient
condition for the good life, for happiness and wisdom.

9. Don’t Do Evil to Others. Evildoing is a dangerous habit, a kind of reflex too quickly
resorted to and too easily justified that has a lasting and damaging effect upon the quest for the
good life. Harming others claims two victims—the receiver of the harm, and the victimizer, the
one who does harm.

10. Kindness towards others tends to be rewarded. Kindness to others is a good habit that
supports and reinforces the quest for the good life. Helping others bestows a sense of satisfaction
that has two beneficiaries—the beneficiary, the receiver of the help, and the benefactor, the one
who provides the help.

7
Activity: Questions for Reflection
1. In your opinion, what constitutes a good life?

2. What does Aristotle say about the good life? Does it still stand in the contemporary
world?

3. How is the process in science and technology a movement towards the good life?

A. What is Human Existence?

The meaning of existence is derived from philosophical and religious contemplation and
scientific inquiries about, social ties, consciousness and happiness. Many other issues are also
involved, such as symbolic meaning, ontology, value, purpose, ethics, good and evil, free will,
the existence of one and multiple Gods, conceptions of God, the soul and the afterlife.

Philosophers have tried to find the secret of existence, the meaning of it all. Aristotle
teaches that each man's life has a purpose and that the function of one's life is to attain that
purpose. He explains that the purpose of life is earthly happiness or flourishing that can be
achieved via reason and the acquisition of virtue. Articulating an explicit and clear understanding
of the end toward which a person's life aims, Aristotle states that each human being should use
his abilities to their fullest potential and should obtain happiness and enjoyment through the
exercise of their realized capacities. He contends that human achievements are animated by
purpose and autonomy and that people should take pride in being excellent at what they do.
According to Aristotle, human beings have a natural desire and capacity to know and understand
the truth, to pursue moral excellence, and to instantiate their ideals in the world through action.

7
 Plato’s reputation comes from his idealism of believing in the existence of universalis.
His Theory of Forms proposes that universals do not physically exist, like objects, but as
heavenly forms. In the dialogue of Republic, the character of Socrates describes the Form of the
Good. His theory on justice in the soul relates to the idea of happiness relevant to the question of
the meaning of life. In Platonism, the meaning of life is in attaining the highest form of
knowledge, which is the Idea of the Good, from which all good and just things derive utility and
value.

B. What is a Public Good?

Rolando Gripaldo, a Filipino philosopher, argues that the concept of the public
good carries largely the politico-ethical sense, which subsumes the politico- ethical senses.
The public good is public in the sense that the beneficiaries are the general public. The
government or state pursues it with a service orientation while private corporations
pursue it with a profit orientation. He also cites mixed public goods which are pursued by
private organizations with a service motivation. Government corporations are basically
motivated by service through having profit is not precluded. He also talks about public
bads, such as corruption, pollution and crimes.

A public good is that which benefits by its use, the communal or national public.
This can be perceived in two levels. The first level comes from the people themselves.
They perceive the public good to be beneficial to most if not to all of them. This
utilitarian consideration is important in that, on the other hand, it serves as the ethical
standard by which the public-through a civil society-unify themselves in consideration of
their individual and social benefits. As individuals, they may of course think in terms of
their own selfish benefits from a public good, but there is also a recognition that unless
they work together for their common welfare, the public good aspired for may not
materialistic. They as individuals may suffer as beneficiaries from its nonrealization. In
this regard, then elements of unity (bonding together for individual interests) and
subsidiarity (working together for the common good) are significant aspects of a national
public good from the communal or national people’s point of view. The second level
comes from the local or national government, which believes or assumes with the
utilitarian perspective that a particular project or service is desired by the populace as
necessary for their common welfare. As such, the local or national government views it
as a public good. Examples of these assumed necessary public services or public goods
are national defense, education, public health, public ports/airports and highways, social
services, postal services, and the like.

7
Activity: Film Viewing

Watch the documentary “That Sugar Film” directed by Damon Gameau (

http://thatsugarfilm.com/ ). Do the following tasks:
1. Discuss your initial reaction to the film.

2. Did you find the information offered up in the film to be shocking, or

were you aware of the role sugar plays in contemporary life?

3. What is your relationship to sugar? Do you know how much sugar do you
consume on a daily basis? Do you consider yourself to be a healthy eater?

4. Why do you believe Americans have such a disproportionately

unbalanced relationship to sugar, as compared to the rest of the
world? What is it about American culture/life that feeds the
unhealthy overconsumption of the sweet stuff?

7
5. Discuss the notion that “sugar is the new tobacco.” Do you believe sugar
should be taxed, as cigarettes and other nicotine products are today?

7
 CHAPTER 6
When Technology and Humanity Cross

A. The Ethical Dilemmas of Robotics

The rapid advancements in technology that the world has witnessed over the past century
have made a reality of many of mankind’s wildest dreams. From being able to cross the earth,
air, and sea at extreme speeds to being able to send and receive information instantly via the
Internet, the technological advancements in recent years have become cornerstones of modern
society. One dream that is still yet to be perfectly fulfilled by advancements in technology is the
development of human-like and self-aware robots, often referred to as androids. While robotic
technology has come a long way since its initial attempts, the robot which is largely
indistinguishable from a human is still far from a reality. However, as technology continues to
develop and evolve exponentially, many people believe it is only a matter of time. If and when
truly "living" robots were to come about, one can foresee a slew of ethical dilemmas developing.

A complete consensus on the definition of the word “robot” has yet to be reached.
However, it is commonly accepted that robots contain some combination of the following
attributes such as mobility, intelligent behavior, sense and manipulation of environment. The
term “robot” truly extends to more than just androids. The commonly accepted first use of the
word was in 1920 in the form of a play written by Karel Capek. The play was entitled R.U.R.
(Rossum's Universal Robots) and involves the development of artificial people. These people are
referred to as robots and while they are given the ability to think, they are designed to be happy
as servants. The use of the word “robot” in Capek's play comes from the Slavic languages‟ word
for “work,” which is robota.
While the word “robot” was not used until 1920, the idea of mechanical humans has
been around as far back as Greek mythology. One example that closely relates to the servant
robots seen in Capek's play is the servants of the Greek god Hephaestus, the god of fire and the
forge. It is recorded that Hephaestus had built robots out of gold which were “his helpers,
including a complete set of life-size golden handmaidens who helped around the house”. Another
example of robots in Greek mythology comes from the stories of Pygmalion, who is said to have
crafted a statue of Galatea that would come to life.

Beyond the ancient myths which speak of humanoid robots, one of the milestones in the
design and development of such robots came with the discovery of Leonardo Da Vinci's journals
which contained detailed plans for the construction of a humanoid robot. Inspired by the ancient
myths, the robot was designed in the form of an armored knight and was to possess the ability to
sit up, wave its arms, move its head, and open its mouth. The journals in which the plans were
found date back to 1495. It is unknown if this robot was ever built by Da Vinci, but merely
conceiving it was a milestone in the timeline of robotic history. The Modern State of Robots
From Da Vinci to the current day the development of humanoid robots has continued to
approach the goal of a robot that is indistinguishable from a human. However, despite the
massive recent advancements in technology and even the exponential growth of computing
power of the past decades, this dream is still far from a reality.

7
 In a comprehensive article in the New York Times, Robin Marantz Henig discusses her
experiences with what are often labeled “social robots.” These robots are by no means what the
servant robots of Greek mythology have led many people to hope for;; rather they are infant
versions, at best, of the long-hoped-for androids. Henig said these machines are not the docile
companions of the collective dreams, robots designed to flawlessly serve dinners, fold clothes
and do the dull or dangerous jobs that human do not want to do. Nor are they the villains of the
collective nightmares, poised for robotic rebellion against humans whose machine creations have
become smarter than the humans themselves. They are, instead, hunks of metal tethered to
computers, which need their human designers to get them going and to smooth the hiccups along
the way.

Despite the disappointment that many people feel when they are given the chance to
interact with the latest robots, some major players in the robotic industry are quite optimistic.
Rodney Brooks is an expert in robotics and artificial intelligence. In an article written in 2008,
Brooks explains that it is no longer a question of whether human-level artificial intelligence will
be developed, but rather how and when. While it is true that androids are not the only robots
which have a great impact on man’s lives, their development introduces a set of unique ethical
issues which industrial robots do not evoke. Working under the assumption that it is only a
matter of time until androids are an everyday reality, it is proper to begin thinking about what
these ethical issues are and how they may be dealt with in the coming years. The overarching
question that results is what exactly these robots are. Are they simply piles of electronics running
advanced algorithms, or are they a new form of life? What Is Life? The question of what
constitutes life is one on which the world may never come to a consensus.

From the ancient philosophers to the common man on the street, it seems that everyone
has an opinion on what a living organism consists of. One of the more prevailing views
throughout history has been that of Aristotle. The basic tenets of Aristotle’s view are that an
organism has both “matter” and “form.” This differs from the philosophical position known as
materialism, which has become popular in modern times and finds its roots among the ancient
Indians. Materialism does not entertain any notion of organisms having a “form” or “soul”;; rather,
organisms are made simply of various types of “matter.” These two views are at odds with one
another and the philosophical position society adopts will inevitably have a huge impact on how
humans interact with robots. Aristotle The view articulated by Aristotle and his modern-day
followers describes life in terms of unity, a composite of both “matter” and “form.” One type of
“matter” which Aristotle speaks of could be biological material such as what plants, animals, and
humans consist of. Another type of “matter” could also be the mechanical and electronic
components which make up modern-day robots. Clearly it is not the “matter” alone which
distinguishes whether an object is a living organism, for if it were, Aristotle‟s view would differ little
from materialism. The distinguishing characteristic of Aristotle is his inclusion of “form.” The
term simply means whatever it is that makes a human a human, a plant a plant, and an animal an
animal. Each of these have a specific “form” which is not the same as its “matter,” but is a
functioning unity which is essential to each living organism in order for it to be just that, living.
The word used to describe the “form” of a living organism is “psyche” or “soul.”

7
 Unlike Aristotle's philosophical view, which was embraced by various religions, perhaps
most notably by the Roman Catholic Church and more specifically by St. Thomas Aquinas,
materialism often finds itself at odds with most religious views in the world. Catholicism being a
prime example of this, one will not find a favorable description of materialism when looking at
the opening lines of its definition in the Catholic Encyclopedia. The encyclopedia's entry begins
by defining materialism as “a philosophical system which regards matter as the only reality in
the world, which undertakes to explain every event in the universe as resulting from the
conditions and activity of matter, and which thus denies the existence of God and the soul.” Why
does it matter that materialism is at odds with Catholicism and most other religions? More
specifically, what does this have to do with robots and androids? It is relevant because if
materialism is correct, then humans should have the power to develop new forms of life. If it is
true that everything in the universe is simply material and the result of material interactions, then
nothing should be stopping us from creating androids and recognizing them as just as valid a life
form as humans.

The decision of what level of life robots are to be considered is an essential one. In 1942
Isaac 7 Asimov introduced to the world of science fiction what are known as the Three Laws of
Robotics, which were published in his short story “Runaround.” The laws Asimov formulated
are: First, a robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to
come to harm. Second, a robot must obey any orders given to it by human beings, except where
such orders would conflict with the First Law. Third, a robot must protect its own existence as
long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law. While these laws are part
of science fiction history, the current state of robotic technology demands that they be considered
in a new light. As with many ideas once confined to the world of science fiction, Asimov‟s laws
are now able to make the transition into reality. At first glance these three laws seem to be an
excellent way to ensure the safe development of this supposed new life form. However,
Asimov‟s laws presuppose that human life is of greater value than that of the androids being
developed. If we work under the assumption that androids should be considered just below
humans, Asimov‟s laws may hold true. But what if we hold to the conclusion materialism
reaches, that androids should be placed at or above the level of humans? If this is the case,
Asimov‟s laws will not be able to be applied. The main reason is that we could not see androids
as equal forms of life and implement Asimov‟s laws, which place androids in direct submission
to humans. How can it be that an android should give its life for a human if an android has a right
to life equal to that of a human? Imagine an army made up of both androids and humans. Should
the android always give its life to save a human‟s life? Would human soldiers be willing to die for
an android? As much as people may believe in materialism and come to conclusions that robots
will one day be a life form equal to humans, I find it hard to believe that many people would
actually die for a robot. Robot Code of Ethics While it remains true that robotics technology is
not at a place where ethical codes for robots are necessary, it is not stopping some countries from
being proactive and taking the beginning steps in the development of a robot code of ethics.

South Korea is considered one of the most high-tech countries in the world and they are
leading the way in the development of such a code. Known officially as the Robot

7
Ethics Charter, it is being drawn up “to prevent human abuse of robots—and vice versa”. The
main focus of the charter is said to be on the social problems the mass integration of robots into
society is bound to create. In particular it aims to define how people are to properly interact with
robots, in Stefan Lovgren‟s words, “human control over robots and humans becoming addicted
to robot interaction”. Beyond the social problems robots may bring with them, there also is an
array of legal issues, the primary one in the charter being what and how information is collected
and distributed by robots. To many it seems as though South Korea‟s Robot Ethics Charter is the
beginning of a modern-day implementation of Asimov‟s Three Laws of Robotics. However,
many robot designers such as Mark Tilden think this is all a bit premature. Tilden claims that we
are simply not at a point where robots can be given morals and compares it to “teaching an ant to
yodel”. Tilden goes on to claim that when we do reach that point, the interactions will be less
than pleasant, stating that “as many of Asimov's stories show, the conundrums robots and
humans would face would result in more tragedy than utility”. Despite Tilden‟s and others‟
pessimistic view of what the future holds for the human-robot relationship, technology will slow
down for no one. It is only a matter of time before other countries will follow in South Korea’s
footsteps and create their own code of ethics for robots and their interactions with humans.

B. Human, Morals and Machines

Technology has begun to change our species’long-standing experiences with nature.

Now,we have technological nature—technologies that in various ways mediate, augment, or
simulate the natural world. Entire television networks, such as the Discovery Channel and
Animal Planet, provide us with mediated digital experiences of nature: the lion’s hunt, the
Monarch’s migration, or a climb high into the Himalayan peaks. Video games, like Zoo Tycoon,
engage children with animal life. Zoos themselves are bringing technologies, such as webcams
into their exhibits so that we can, for example, watch animals from the leisure of our home or a
cafe. Inexpensive robot pets have been big sellers in the Wal-Marts and Targets of the world.
Sony’s higher-end robot dog AIBO sold well. Real people now spend substantial time in virtual
environments (e.g., Second Life). In terms of the physical and psychological wellbeing of our
species, does it matter that we are replacing actual nature with technological nature? To support
our provisional answer that it does matter, we draw on evolutionary and cross-cultural
developmental accounts of the human relation with the natural world and then consider some
recent psychological research on the effects of technological nature.

Scientists are already beginning to think seriously about the new ethical problems posed
by current developments in robotics. Experts in South Korea were drawing up an ethical code to
prevent humans abusing robots, and vice versa. A group of leading roboticists called the Chapter
2 81 European Robotics Network (Euron) has even started lobbying governments for legislation.
At the top of their list of concerns is safety. Robots were once confined to specialist applications
in industry and the military, where users received extensive training on their use, but they are
increasingly being used by ordinary people. Robot vacuum cleaners and lawn mowers are
already in many homes, and robotic toys are increasingly popular with children. As these robots
become more

7
intelligent, it will become harder to decide who is responsible if they injure someone. Is the
designer to blame, or the user, or the robot itself? The ethical or moral sense for machines canbe
built on a utilitarian base. There are special cases that will require modifications of the core rules
that are based on the circumstances of their use. Doctors, for example, don not euthanize patients
to spread the wealth of their organs, even if it means that there is a net positive with regard to
survivors. They have to conform to a separate code of ethics designed around the needs of
patients and their rights that restricts their actions. The same holds for lawyers, religious leaders,
and military personnel who establish special relationships with individuals who are protected by
specific ethical codes. The simple utilitarian model will certainly have overlays depending on the
role that these robots play. They will act in accord with whatever moral or ethical code we
provide them and the value determinations that we set. They will run the numbers and do the
right thing. In emergency situations, our autonomous cars will sacrifice the few to protect the
many. When faced with dilemmas, they will seek the best outcomes independent of whether they
themselves are comfortable with the actions. So, as with all other aspects of machine
intelligence, it is crucial that these systems are able to explain their moral decisions to us. They
will need to be able to reach into their silicon souls and explain the reasoning that supports their
actions. We need them to be able to explain themselves in all aspects of their reasoning and
actions. Their moral reasoning will be subject to the same explanatory requirements that we
would demand of explaining any action they take.

Today’s emerging technologies, like Artificial Intelligence (AI), augmented and virtual
reality, home robots, and cloud computing, to name only a few of the sophisticated technologies
in development today, are capturing the imaginations of many. The advanced capabilities of
today’s emerging technologies are driving many academics, entrepreneurs, and enterprises to
envision futures in which their impacts on society will be nothing short of transformative.
Whether these emerging technologies will realize these ambitious possibilities is uncertain. What
is certain is that they will intersect and interact with powerful demographic, economic, and
cultural forces to upend the conditions of everyday life.

The article “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” by Nicholas Carrs discusses the effects that
the Internet may be having on our ability to focus, the difference in knowledge that we now
have, and our reliance on the Internet. The points that are made throughout Carrs’ article are very
thought-provoking, but his sources make them seem invaluable. Carr discusses the effects that
the Internet has on our minds. He feels that the Internet is bad for the brain. Nicholas Carr writes
that he spends much of his leisure time from the Net. Carr feels like he cannot concentrate on the
long passages of reading because his brain is used to the fast millisecond flow of the Net. “For
more than a decade now, I’ve been spending a lot of time online, searching and surfing.” The
supporting idea is that his mind now “expects to take in information the way the Net distributes
it--in a swiftly moving streams of particles.” His brain wants to think as fast as the Internet goes.
In summary, the article is split into two pieces. The first is Nicholas Carr’s longing for his brain
to be one with the Internet, a man-made machine. The second part of the article is Google’s
standpoint on how our brains should be replaced by artificial intelligence.

8
C. Why the Future Does Not Need Us?

With the accelerating improvements of technology, computer scientists succeed in

developing intelligent machines that can do all things better than human beings. In that case
presumably all work will be done by vast, highly organized systems of machines, and no human
effort will be necessary. Either of two cases might occur. The machines might be permitted to
make all of their own decisions without human oversight, or else human control over the
machines might be retained.

If the machines are permitted to make all their own decisions, we cannot make any
conjectures about the results because it is impossible to guess how such machines might behave.
We only point out that the fate of the human race would be at the mercy of the machines. It
might be argued that the human race would never be foolish enough to hand over all the power to
the machines. But human race would voluntarily turn power over to the machines or the
machines would willfully seize power. Human race might easily permit itself to drift into a
position of such dependence on the machines that it would have no practical choice but to accept
all of the machines’ decisions.

As society and the problems that it faces become more and more complex and machines
become more and more intelligent, people will let machines make more of their decisions for
them, simply because machine-made decisions will bring better results than man-made ones.
Eventually a stage may be reached at which the decisions necessary to keep the system running
will be so complex that human beings will be incapable of making them intelligently. At that
stage the machines will be in effective control. People will not be able to just turn the machines
off because they will be so dependent on them that turning them off would amount to suicide.

On the other hand, it is possible that human control over the machines may be retained. In
that case the average man may have control over certain private machines of his own, such as his
car or his personal computer, but control over large systems of machines will be in the hands of
the tiny elite - just as it is today, but with two differences. Because of improved techniques the
elite will have a greater control over the masses and because human work will no longer be
necessary, the masses will be superfluous, a useless burden on the system. If the elite are
ruthless, they may simply decide to exterminate the mass of humanity. If they are humane they
may use propaganda or any other psychological or biological techniques to reduce the birth rate
until the mass of humanity becomes extinct, leaving the world to the elite. Or, if the elite consist
of soft- hearted liberals, they may decide to play the role of good shepherds to the rest of the
human race. They will see to it that everyone’s physical needs are satisfied, that all children are
raised under psychologically hygienic conditions, that everyone has a wholesome hobby to keep
him busy, and that anyone who may become dissatisfied undergoes “treatment” to cure his
“problem.” Life will be so purposeless that people will have to be biologically or psychologically
engineered either to remove their need for the power process or make them “sublimate” their
drive for power into some harmless hobby. These engineered human beings may be happy in
such a society, but they will most certainly not be free. They will have been reduced to the status
of domestic animals.

8
 Theodore Kaczynskian American domestic terrorist,also known as the Unabomber, killed
three people during a nationwide bombing campaign targeting those involved with modern
technology and wounded many others. One of his bombs gravely injured David Gelernter, one of
the most brilliant and visionary computer scientists. His actions were murderous and criminally
insane, but his vision describes unintended consequences, a well-known problem with the design
and use of technology, and one that is clearly related to Murphy’s law–“Anything that can go
wrong, will.” Our overuse of antibiotics has led to what may be the biggest such problem so far:
the emergence of antibiotic-resistant and much more dangerous bacteria. Similar things
happened when attempts to eliminate malarial mosquitoes using DDT caused them to acquire
DDT resistance;; malarial parasites, likewise, acquired multi-drug-resistant genes.

The cause of many such surprises seems clear: The systems involved are complex,
involving interaction among and feedback between many parts. Any changes to such a system
will cascade in ways that are difficult to predict;; this is especially true when human actions are
involved. Biological species almost never survive encounters with superior competitors. Ten
million years ago, South and North America were separated by a sunken Panama isthmus. South
America, like Australia today, was populated by marsupial mammals, including pouched
equivalents of rats, deers, and tigers. When the isthmus connecting North and South America
rose, it took only a few thousand years for the northern placental species, with slightly more
effective metabolisms and reproductive and nervous systems, to displace and eliminate almost all
the southern marsupials.

In a completely free marketplace, superior robots would surely affect humans as North
American placentals affected South American marsupials (and as humans have affected
countless species). Robotic industries would compete vigorously among themselves for matter,
energy, and space, incidentally driving their price beyond human reach. Unable to afford the
necessities of life, biological humans would be squeezed out of existence.

A textbook on dystopia and Moravec discuss how our main job in the 21st century will
be “ensuring continued cooperation from the robot industries” by passing laws decreeing
that they be “nice,” and describing how seriously dangerous a human can be once transformed
into an unbounded superintelligent robot. Moravec’s view is that the robots will eventually
succeed us that humans clearly face extinction.

Accustomed to living with almost routine scientific breakthroughs, we have yet to come
to terms with the fact that the most compelling 21st-century technologies–robotics, genetic
engineering, and nanotechnology–pose a threat different from the technologies that have come
before. Specifically, robots, engineered organisms, and nanobots share a dangerous amplifying
factor: They can self-replicate. A bomb is blown up only once– but one bot can become many,
and quickly get out of control. For instance, the sending and receiving of messages through
computer networking creates the opportunity for out- of-control replication. But while replication
in a computer or a computer network can be a nuisance, at worst it disables a machine or takes
down a network or network service.

8
Uncontrolled self-replication in these newer technologies runs a much greater risk: a risk of
substantial damage in the physical world. Each of these technologies also offers untold promise:
The vision of near immortality that Kurzweil sees in his robot dreams drives us forward;; genetic
engineering may soon provide treatments, if not outright cures, for most diseases;; and
nanotechnology and nanomedicine can address more ills. Together, they could significantly
extend our average life span and improve the quality of our lives. With each of these
technologies, a sequence of small, individually sensible advances leads to an accumulation of
great power and, concomitantly, great danger. What was different in the 20th century? Certainly,
the technologies underlying the weapons of mass destruction (WMD)–nuclear, biological, and
chemical (NBC)–were powerful, and the weapons an enormous threat. But building nuclear
weapons required, at least for a time, access to both rare– indeed, effectively unavailable–raw
materials and highly protected information;; biological and chemical weapons programs also
tended to require large-scale activities. The 21st-century technologies–genetics, nanotechnology,
and robotics (GNR)–are so powerful that they can spawn whole new classes of accidents and
abuses. Most dangerously, for the first time, these accidents and abuses are widely within the
reach of individuals or small groups. They will not require large facilities or rare raw materials.
Knowledge alone will enable their use;; thus, we have the possibility not just of weapons of mass
destruction but of knowledge-enabled mass destruction (KMD), this destructiveness hugely
amplified by the power of self-replication. Failing to understand the consequences of our
inventions while we are in the rapture of discovery and innovation seems to be a common fault
of scientists and technologists;; we have long been driven by the overarching desire to know that
is the nature of science’s quest, not stopping to notice that the progress to newer and more
powerful technologies can take on a life of its own. Because of the recent rapid and radical
progress in molecular electronics–where individual atoms and molecules replace lithographically
drawn transistors–and related nanoscale technologies, we should be able to meet or exceed the
Moore’s law rate of progress for another 30 years. By 2030, we are likely to be able to build
machines, in quantity, a million times as powerful as the personal computers of today. As this
enormous computing power is combined with the manipulative advances of the physical sciences
and the new, deep understandings in genetics, enormous transformative power is being
unleashed. These combinations open up the opportunity to completely redesign the world, for
better or worse: The replicating and evolving processes that have been confined to the natural
world are about to become realms of human endeavor. Given the incredible power of these new
technologies, should we not be asking how we can best coexist with them? And if our own
extinction is a likely, or even possible, outcome of our technological development, should we not
proceed with great caution? How soon could such an intelligent robot be built? The coming
advances in computing power seem to make it possible by 2030. Once an intelligent robot exists,
it is only a small step to a robot species–to an intelligent robot that can make evolved copies of
itself. Genetic engineering promises to revolutionize agriculture by increasing crop yields while
reducing the use of pesticides;; to create tens of thousands of novel species of bacteria, plants,
viruses, and animals;; to replace reproduction, or supplement it, with cloning;; to create cures for
many diseases, increasing our life span and our quality of life;; and much, much more. We now
know with certainty that these profound changes in the biological sciences are imminent and
will challenge all our notions of what life is. Technologies,

8
such as human cloning, have in particular raised our awareness of the profound ethical and moral
issues we face. If, for example, we were to reengineer ourselves into several separate and
unequal species using the power of genetic engineering, then we would threaten the notion of
equality that is the very cornerstone of our democracy. Awareness of the dangers inherent in
genetic engineering is beginning to grow, as reflected in the Lovins’ editorial. The general public
is aware of, and uneasy about, genetically modified foods, and seems to be rejecting the notion
that such foods should be permitted to be unlabeled. But genetic engineering technology is
already very far along. As the Lovins’ note, the USDA has already approved about 50 genetically
engineered crops for unlimited release;; more than half of the world’s soybeans and a third of its
corn now contain genes spliced in from some other forms of life. Unfortunately, as with nuclear
technology, it is far easier to create destructive uses for nanotechnology than constructive ones.
Nanotechnology has clear military and terrorist uses, and you need not be suicidal to release a
massively destructive nanotechnological device–such devices can be built to be selectively
destructive, affecting, for example, only a certain geographical area or a group of people who are
genetically distinct. The effort to build the first atomic bomb was led by the brilliant physicist J.
Robert Oppenheimer. Oppenheimer was not naturally interested in politics but became painfully
aware of what he perceived as the grave threat to Western civilization from the Third Reich,
a threat surely grave because of the possibility that Hitler might obtain nuclear weapons.
Energized by this concern, he brought his strong intellect, passion for physics, and charismatic
leadership skills to Los Alamos and led a rapid and successful effort by an incredible collection
of great minds to quickly invent the bomb. Physicists proceeded with the preparation of the first
atomic test called Trinity despite a large number of possible dangers. They were initially
worried, based on a calculation by Edward Teller, that an atomic explosion might set fire to the
atmosphere. A revised calculation reduced the danger of destroying the world to a three- ina--
million chance. Oppenheimer, though, was sufficiently concerned about the result of Trinity that
he arranged for a possible evacuation of the southwest part of the state of New Mexico. There
was the clear danger of starting a nuclear arms race. Within a month of that first, successful test,
two atomic bombs destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Some scientists had suggested that the
bomb simply be demonstrated rather than dropped on Japanese cities–saying that this would
greatly improve the chances for arms control after the war–but to no avail. With the tragedy of
Pearl Harbor still fresh in Americans’ minds, it would have been very difficult for President
Truman to order a demonstration of the weapons rather than use them as he did–the desire to
quickly end the war and save the lives that would have been lost in any invasion of Japan was
very strong. The overriding truth was probably very simple: As the physicist Freeman Dyson
later said, “The reason that it was dropped was just that nobody had the courage or the foresight
to say no.” It is important to realize how shocked the physicists were in the aftermath of the
bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. They described a series of waves of emotion: first, a
sense of fulfillment that the bomb worked, then horror at all the people that had been killed, and
then a convincing feeling that on no account should another bomb be dropped. Another bomb
was dropped, on Nagasaki, only three days after the bombing of Hiroshima. In November 1945,
three months after the atomic bombings, Oppenheimer stood firmly behind the scientific attitude,
saying, “It is not possible to be a scientist unless you believe that the knowledge of the world,
and the power which this gives, is a thing which is of

8
intrinsic value to humanity, and that you are using it to help in the spread of knowledge and are
willing to take the consequences.” In our time, how much danger do we face not just from
nuclear weapons but from all of these technologies? How high are the extinction risks? The
philosopher John Leslie has studied this question and concluded that the risk of human extinction
is at least 30 percent while Ray Kurzweil believes we have a better than even chance of making
it through, with the caveat that he has always been accused of being an optimist. Not only are
these estimates not encouraging, but they do not include the probability of many horrid outcomes
that lie short of extinction. Faced with such assessments, some serious people are already
suggesting that we simply move beyond the Earth as quickly as possible. We would colonize the
galaxy using von Neumann probes, which hop from star system to star system, replicating as
they go. This step will almost certainly be necessary billion years from now (or sooner if our
solar system is disastrously impacted by the impending collision of our galaxy with the
Andromeda galaxy within the next three billion years), but if we take Kurzweil and Moravec at
their word, it might be necessary by the middle of this century. What are the moral implications
here? If we must move beyond Earth this quickly for the species to survive, who accepts the
responsibility for the fate of those who are left behind? And even if we scatter to the stars, is it
not likely that we may take our problems with us or find, later, that they have followed us? The
fate of our species on earth and our fate in the galaxy seem inextricably linked. Another idea is to
erect a series of shields to defend against each of the dangerous technologies. The Strategic
Defense Initiative, proposed by the Reagan administration, was anattempt to design such a shield
against the threat of a nuclear attack from the Soviet Union. But as Arthur C. Clarke, who was
privy to discussions about the project, observed: “Though it might be possible, at vast expense,
to construct local defense systems that would only let through a few percent of ballistic missiles,
the much-touted idea of a national umbrella was nonsense.” Luis Alvarez, the greatest
experimental physicist, remarked that the advocates of such schemes were very bright guys with
no common sense. Similar difficulties apply to the construction of shields against robotics and
genetic engineering. These technologies are too powerful to be shielded against in the time
frame of interest;; even if it were possible to implement defensive shields, the side effects of
their development would be at least as dangerous as the technologies we are trying to protect
against. These possibilities are all, thus, either undesirable or unachievable or both. The only
realistic alternative to limit the development of the technologies that are too dangerous is by
limiting our pursuit of certain kinds of knowledge. We have been seeking knowledge since
ancient times. Aristotle opened his Metaphysics with the simple statement: “All men by nature
desire to know.” We have, as a bedrock value in our society, long agreed on the value of open
access to information and recognize the problems that arise with attempts to restrict access to and
development of knowledge. In recent times, we have come to revere scientific knowledge. It was
Nietzsche who warned us, at the end of the 19th century, not only that God is dead but that “faith
in science, which after all exists undeniably, cannot owe its origin to a calculus of utility;; it must
have originated in spite of the fact that the disutility and dangerousness of the ‘will to truth,’ of
‘truth at any price’ is proved to it constantly.” It is this further danger that we now fully face the
consequences of our truth-seeking. The truth that science seeks can certainly be considered a
dangerous substitute for God if it is likely to lead to our extinction. Our Western notion of
happiness seems to come from the Greeks, who defined

8
it as “the exercise of vital powers along lines of excellence in a life affording them scope.”
Clearly, we need to find meaningful challenges and sufficient scope in our lives if we are to be
happy in whatever is to come. We must find alternative outlets for our creative forces, beyond
the culture of perpetual economic growth;; this growth has largely been a blessing for several
hundred years, but it has not brought us unalloyed happiness, and we must now choose between
the pursuit of unrestricted and undirected growth through science and technology and the clear
accompanying dangers

Activity: Film Viewing

Watch the movie “Artificial Intelligence” also known as “A.I.” by Steven Spielberg.
Answer the following questions.

1. At the beginning of the movie, Professor Hobby states that “to create an artificial being
has been the dream of man since the birth of science.” There’s probably an element of
truth to this. Why do we have this fascination?

2. One of the scientists at Cybertronics asks, “If a robot could genuinely love a person, what
responsibility does that person hold toward that mecha in return?” Professor Hobby
responds, “In the beginning, didn’t God create Adam to love him?” What is implied by
Professor Hobby’s answer?

8
3. Consider some of the imagery the Flesh Fair: motorcycles, cowboy hats, heavy metal
music, flannel shirts. What statement does this make about the kind of humans that
opposed robots?

4. The owner of the Flesh Fair states that child mechas like David, were built to disarm
humans by playing on human emotions. Nevertheless, the human spectators feel
sympathy with David, particularly because he pleads for his life. What abilities would a
robot have to exhibit before we would consider it an equal with humans?

5. Gigolo Joe tells David that his mother does not love him, but only loves what he does for
her. Is it plausible to think that a normal human could love a robot as though it were a
real human?

8
 PART III.
SPECIFIC ISSUES IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY

Introduction

This section provides overview on how writing evolved through time and internet came
into being. Discussion on how information became accessible and inexpensive thru the discovery
of printing press by Johannes Gutenburg is also presented on this part. Emphasis is given on the
influence of social media to people’s lives.

Further, this section of the module discusses different issues that concern society’s health
and well-being. Basic concepts and ideas on biodiversity, climate change, use of gene therapy
and nanotechnology are also presented here.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of this section, the students are expected to:

1. illustrate how information age and social media have made an impact to our lives.
2. explain the interrelatedness of society, environment, and health.
3. discuss the costs and benefits (both potential and realized) of nanotechnology to society.
4. describe gene therapy, its various forms and potential benefits and detriments to global
health.
5. identify the causes of climate change and discuss how to apply concepts of STS in this
specific environmental issue.
 Chapter 7
The Information Age

The Information Age began around the 1970s and still going on today. It is also known as
the Computer Age, Digital Age, or New Media Age. This era brought about a time period in
which people could access information and knowledge easily.

Pre-Gutenberg Period

During the Middle Ages in Europe, most people lived in small, isolated villages. If
people travelled at all, they typically ventured only a few miles from where they were born. For
most people, the only source of both religious and worldly information was the village Catholic
priest in the pulpit. News passed from one person to another, often in the form of rumor.

Written documents were rare and often doubted by the common people as forgeries.
What counted in important matters was oral testimony based on oaths taken in the name of God
to tell the truth.

Almost no one could read or write the language they spoke. Those few who were literate
usually went on to master Latin, the universal language of scholarship, the law, and the Roman
Catholic Church. Books, all hand-copied, were rare, expensive, and almost always in Latin. They
were so valuable that universities chained them to reading tables. Most people passed their
lifetime without ever gazing at a book, a calendar, a map, or written work of any sort.

Memory and memorization ruled daily life and learning. Poets, actors and story tellers
relied on rhyming lines to remember vast amounts of material. Craftsmen memorized the secrets
of their trades to pass on orally to apprentices. Mechanics kept their accounts in their heads.
Even scholars literate in Latin used memory devices to remember what they had learned. One
device involved visualizing a building with various rooms and architectural features, each
representing different store of knowledge. A university scholar imagined walking through this
virtual building along a certain pathway to recall the contents of entire books for his lectures.

Scribes, often monks living in monasteries, each labored for up to a year to copy a single
book, usually in Latin. The scribes copied books on processed calfskin called velum and later on
paper. Specialists or the scribes themselves “illuminated’ (painted0 large capital letters and the
margins of many books with colorful designs were very costly.

Before the discovery of printing press, books in Europe were typically handwritten
manuscripts while paper money, playing cards, posters, and the like were block-printed from
hand-carved wooden blocks, inked and transferred to paper. This earlier method of reproduction
was expensive and time consuming.

89
Gutenberg Revolution

Johannes Gutenberg turned the printing world upside down and brought on a new era of
print with his revolutionary innovation of movable type in 1445. Movable type printing used
metal stamps of single letters that could be arranged into words, sentences and pages of text.
Using a large manually operated, the stamps would be arranged to read a page of text so that
when covered with ink, it would print out a page of text. Before Gutenberg, all texts had been
printed with woodblocks or fixed text stamps, both of which were complex and time-consuming
processes. Movable type kept the metal stamp letters separate, which allowed printers to reuse
the letters quickly on succeeding pages. As a result, more pages could be efficiently printed in a
shorter amount of time with much less effort. From here, the opportunity to share ideas and
knowledge brought on a new era of change and enlightenment never seen before.

Gutenberg’s amazing invention made books the internet of the time. The printing press
made it possible to produce books much more quickly and cheaper than ever before. By 1463,
printed Bibles cost one-tenth of hand-copied Bibles. The demand for books exploded. By 1500,
Europe had more than 1,000 printers and 7,000 books in print.

Like the internet, books spread new ideas quickly and sped up the process of change. For
example, as a young sailor in Genoa, Christopher Columbus read Marco Polo’s famous Travels,
in which he described his journeys to China. Columbus was thrilled by Polo’s descriptions.
Books also planted the seeds of democracy and human rights in the next generation of thinkers.
Newspapers and pamphlets generated information and ideas even faster.

The impact of the printing press is, almost, impossible to really quantify. On the surface it
allowed for the much more rapid spread of accurate information but, more elusively, it had an
enormous impact on the nations and population in Europe at large. Literacy began to rise as well
as the types of information people could be exposed to.

When Europe was recovering from the devastating impact of the Black Death, the impact
of printing press decimated the population and had led to the decline in the rise of the church, the
rise of the money economy, and subsequent birth of the Renaissance.

As it became easier to produce books and pamphlets, information started to spread.

Previously, only religious leaders and royalty had access to books, and few people were literate.
The printing Renaissance opened the realm of learning and reading to the local populations as
schools were built and books about education were written and print published. The printing
press had dramatic effects on European civilization and its more immediate effect was to spread
information quickly and accurately and this gradually helped to create a much wider literate
reading public.

The arrival of mechanical movable type printing introduced the era of mass
communication, which permanently altered the structure of society. The relatively unrestricted
circulation of information and revolutionary ideas transcended borders,

90
captured the masses in the Reformation, and threatened the power of political and religious
authorities;; the sharp increase in literacy broke the monopoly of the literate elite on education and
learning and bolstered the emerging middle class. Across Europe, the increasing cultural self--
awareness of its people led to the rise of proto-nationalism, accelerated by the flowering of the
European vernacular languages to the detriment of Latin’s status as lingua franca.

The printing press was also a factor in the establishment of a community of scientists
who could easily communicate their discoveries through widely disseminated scholarly journals,
helping to bring on the scientific revolution. Because of the printing press, authorship became
more meaningful and profitable. It was suddenly important who had said or written what, and
what the precise formulation and time of information. Before, the author was less important,
since a copy of Aristotle made in Paris would not be exactly identical to one made in Bologna.
For many works prior to the printing press, the name of the author has been entirely lost.

Printed Materials as Agents of Change

Gutenberg’s movable type printing press was a disruptive innovation in more ways than one. In
addition to making printed materials more accessible, it allowed for the spread of knowledge
both within elite communities, like the Catholic Church and the scientific community, and also to
the rest of the general population. It brought about new innovations and ideas that lead to
changes in power and standards in both religious and scientific areas of European culture. These
included a shift in religious power from the church authority to the general population,
standardization of scientific reporting, and an influx of new scientific discoveries. Although it
may seem like the printing press affected the European science and religious community
differently, the changes between the two are actually intricately intertwined. Both scientific and
religious works were subject to a language change from Latin to vernacular languages. All of
these changes were possible because of the printing press. Even more, it allowed for greater
accessibility and spread of all kinds of knowledge throughout a wider population never before
seen, bringing about several new social dynamics that will lead to several social revolutions.

Post-Gutenberg Period

The impact of the Gutenberg printing press was immeasurable. It caused nothing less
than a dramatic social and cultural revolution. The sudden widespread dissemination of printed
works – books, tracts, posters and papers – gave direct rise to the European Renaissance.

While Gutenberg’s famous Bible was printed in Latin, his invention of the movable type
press meant that Protestant tracts and the arguments between Martin Luther and the Catholic
Church which led to the Reformation could be widely disseminated.

91
 The Reformation that began in Germany in the early 16 th century, led to the Bible being
printed in the languages common to people. Gutenberg’s invention led inevitably to the
Protestant revolution, the Age of Enlightenment, the development of Modern Science and
Universal Education. In other words, everything that has led to human progress and the
advancement of the modern world.

At present, people are beginning to look for secure and accurate and believable news
portals but, the traditional trusted publishing outlets have less public beliefs as many people
believe governments are manipulating them. The local press are in sharp circulation decline, and
the online advertising businesses have moved to Google and Facebook and others. The result has
caused newspaper closures and large-scale downsizings and redundancies. Many people now
prefer to believe people from their social environment, instead of turning to “the media”. The
collateral damage caused by the digitization is increasing amounts of information and currently
this is not going to stop.

The emergence of the internet and the World Wide Web in the 1990s was initially hailed
by many as ushering in new democratic age, driven by much greater access to information. In
reality, while the internet had a dramatic impact, the revolutionary shifts predicted did not occur.
This is because, in its earliest days, the World Wide Web still conformed to the Gutenberg
principle. Building a website, accessing server space and publishing information required both
money and technical expertise and was therefore still the preserve of institutions rather than
individuals. The reality of much greater access to information was not matched by a greater
ability to publish it.

92
 Paradoxes of Technology

New technologies allow us to be connected to and reachable by everyone.

However, as a result, our privacy is threatened and technology starts
Empowerment vs Enslavement controlling us. Whether we want or not, we feel socially obliged to take
phone calls, answer emails, and send responses to messages on Facebook.

New gadgets such as cell phones allow us to do many things on our own.
However, this situation creates dependency, as we can’t go even one day
Independent vs Dependence
without our phones and we feel helpless when the Internet is down.

Technology resolves some problems but also introduces new ones,

Fulfills needs vs Creates needs e.g. we need devices with longer battery life, we need antivirus software to be
safe, we need to learn new skills, etc.

We can get any information we want and reach anyone we want with the help
Competence vs Incompetence of new technologies. However, we lose our ability to remember phone
numbers and our ability to articulate thoughts.

When we are engaged in an activity that involves the use of new technology,
we need to disengage from whatever we are doing. We directly interact with
Engaging vs Disengaging
our family and loved ones less frequently because we tend to engage more in
new portable technology tools.

New technologies blur the line between what is public and what is private.
Public vs Private People may talk on the phone or message someone among a circle of
acquaintances, which may be disturbing.

We tend to think new communication technologies make our lives better.

However, the more we communicate, the more trivial our conversations
Illusion vs Disillusion
become. In other words, more communication does not always equal better
communication.

Source: Sirkka L. Jarvenpaa and Karl R. Lang as cited by Acar, 2014

Speed of access also limited the ability of the internet to be a channel for all forms of
media, restricting its use to text based and transactional forms. As a result, much of the initial
investment in the web went into servicing and creating institutional opportunities, with e--
commerce emerging as the major new web-based phenomena.

This changed with two developments. First, the spread of broadband internet access made
it possible to easily both upload and download all forms of media: video, images and audio as
well as just text and transactions. Second, tools emerged which made it simple for people to
publish or spread information. Blogging was the first example, followed by social networking
and distribution and sharing sites like YouTube and Flickr.

93
 There has been a third trend which is gathering significance, based around
attaching relevance and content to all of the otherwise random pieces of information now being
published. This concerns practices such as tagging, rating and commenting, as well as services
such as social bookmarking and news-sharing sites which allow individuals to store and share
information. This trend is responsible for creating forms of collective intelligence and what has
been called ‘crowd wisdom’ and is probably the most important area to watch going forwards
because of its ability to allow individuals to create the trust and connections necessary to transact
and communicate amongst themselves without any institutionalized intervention.

Activity I. Activity Report: A day without Technology

1. Identify and interview 3 persons with the following description.

a. an elderly who is not using cellphone and other gadgets

b. a teenager who is into different social media platforms
c. a professional who is busy with his/her career

2. Prepare guide questions and ask them how they live a day

a. with/without technology.
b. when there is no internet connection.
c. when there is power interruption.

3. Synthesize their responses and make your own reflection. Prepare a written report.

Activity II. Fake Spotted!

Read news articles and reports from the internet. Identify specific issue that surfaced on
different social media platforms which later found out as fake news. Discuss with the class the
importance of verifying reliable and accurate information.

Discussion Guide

1. How does “fake news” come to exist and spread so rapidly? Why do you think this
happens?

94
2. How is “fake news” harmful?

3. What are the long and short term effects and consequences of being a consumer of “fake
news”?

4. How social media affect your personal life?

5. How social media affect the society as a whole?

95
 Chapter 8
Biodiversity and Healthy Society

What is Biodiversity?

Biological diversity or biodiversity is the variety of life, and refers collectively to

variation at all levels of biological organization. The term biodiversity refers to the full
abundance or variety of life – plant, animal and microbial. This variety of life occurs at all levels
of ecological organization, but biodiversity generally refers to genetic, species and ecosystem
diversity. This is the diversity of life upon which the health of the environment depends. Genetic,
species and ecosystem diversity are convenient terms but because the universe is a continuum,
some practical difficulties exist in precisely defining each of them.

Biodiversity and Healthy Society

Biodiversity is the foundation of human health. By securing the life-sustaining goods and
services which biodiversity provides to us, the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity
can provide significant benefits for human health. In contrast, the continuing loss of biodiversity
on a global scale represents a direct threat to our health and well-being. Without a global
environment that is healthy and capable of supporting a diversity of life, no human population
can exist.

 Biodiversity supports food security, dietary health, livelihood sustainability Genetic

diversity in food systems provides the foundation of crop

development and food security, and promotes resistance and resilience to environmental
stresses including pests and diseases of crops and livestock. Diets based on a diversity of
food species promote health, and can help to protect against disease by addressing the
problem of micronutrient and vitamin deficiencies. Loss of agricultural biodiversity can
therefore threaten health, livelihood sustainability and our future security of food and
nutrition.

 Biodiversity provides important resources for medical research

Studies of wildlife anatomy, physiology and biochemistry can lead to important

developments in human medicine. Examples of species of interest to medical science
include bears (for insights into osteoporosis, cardio-vascular disorders, renal disease and
diabetes), sharks (osmoregulation and immunology), cetaceans (respiration and
treatments for divers suffering from decompression sickness) and horse-shoe crabs
(optometry/ophthalmology and molecular biology).

96
  Biodiversity provides important resources for traditional and modern medicine

Biodiversity loss can impact on community traditions and livelihoods

centered on traditional medicinal practices that utilize wild animals and plants,
particularly for indigenous and local communities. Millions of people depend upon
traditional medicines for their primary health care.

 Biodiversity plays a role in the regulation and control of infectious diseases Biodiversity

loss and ecosystem change can increase the risk of emergence

or spread of infectious diseases in animals, plants and humans, including economically
important livestock diseases, zoonotic outbreaks and global pandemics. In recent years
outbreaks of SARS, Ebola, Marburg, Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, avian influenza
and malaria have been attributed to human impacts on biodiversity, the wildlife trade or
unsustainable land use change. Without a greater understanding of disease ecology, there
is also a risk that programmes to tackle infectious diseases may impact negatively on
biodiversity, through use of biocides and other chemicals and wildlife culls.

 Biodiversity has social, cultural and spiritual importance within communities Ecosystem

change can result in disconnection of populations from open

spaces or the wider countryside, with negative implications for physical and mental
well-being and loss of “sense of place”. This has been linked to an increased prevalence
of ‘disease of affluence’ (diabetes, obesity, cardio-pulmonary illness) and psychological
disorders in many communities. Conversely, access to ‘greenspace’ (natural and
artificial) are associated with better health outcomes, shorter hospital visits and reduced
convalescence time for patients than purely urban environments. An awareness of
environmental values and respect for other species has been associated with reduced
propensity towards anti-social behavior in children and young adults.

Threats to Biodiversity

 Habitat loss

Humans rely on technology to modify their environment and make it habitable. Other
species cannot do this. Elimination of their habitat—whether it is a forest, coral reef,
grassland, or flowing river—will kill the individuals in the species. Remove the entire
habitat and the species will become extinct, unless they are among the few species that do
well in human-built environments.

97
 Overharvesting
Overhunting, overfishing and over-harvesting contribute greatly to the loss of
biodiversity, killing off numerous species over the past several hundred years. Poaching
and other forms of hunting for profit increase the risk of extinction;; the extinction of an
apex predator — or, a predator at the top of a food chain — can result in catastrophic
consequences for ecosystems.

 Invasive species

Exotic species are species that have been intentionally or unintentionally introduced
by humans into an ecosystem in which they did not evolve. Most exotic species
introductions probably fail because of the low number of individuals introduced or poor
adaptation to the ecosystem they enter. Some species, however, have characteristics that
can make them especially successful in a new ecosystem. These exotic species often
undergo dramatic population increases in their new habitat and reset the ecological
conditions in the new environment, threatening the species that exist there. When this
happens, the exotic species also becomes an invasive species. Invasive species can
threaten other species through competition for resources, predation, or disease.

 Climate change

Climate change, and specifically the anthropogenic warming trend presently underway, is
recognized as a major extinction threat, particularly when combined with other threats
such as habitat loss. Anthropogenic warming of the planet has been observed and is due
to past and continuing emission of greenhouse gases, primarily carbon dioxide and
methane, into the atmosphere caused by the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation.
Scientists overwhelmingly agree the present warming trend is caused by humans and
some of the likely effects include dramatic and dangerous climate changes in the
coming decades.

The warming trend will shift colder climates toward the north and south poles, forcing
species to move (if possible) with their adapted climate norms. The shifting ranges will
impose new competitive regimes on species as they find themselves in contact with other
species not present in their historic range. One such unexpected species contact is
between polar bears and grizzly bears. Previously, these two species had separate ranges.
Now, their ranges are overlapping and there are documented cases of these two species
mating and producing viable offspring. Changing climates also throw off the delicate
timing adaptations that species have to seasonal food resources and breeding times.
Scientists have already documented many contemporary mismatches to shifts in resource
availability and timing.

98
Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)

Biotechnology is a set of techniques that involves the use of biological processes and
living organisms for industry, agricultural or other activities. Its purpose is to modify the natural
and biological processes of living organisms without necessarily altering the genes or genetic
construct of the living organisms. It has four major industrial processes based on biological
systems, namely cell and tissue culture, fermentation, enzyme technology, and genetic
engineering – also referred to as modern technology.

Genetic engineering or recombinant DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) technology differs

from other forms of biotechnology as it allows the isolation and transfer of genes coding specific
characteristics between living organisms to produce a new living organism that expresses the
desired characteristics of both organisms. Genetically modified organisms or GMOs is the
common term used for genetically engineered organisms.

For thousands of years, humans have been using traditional modification methods like
selective breeding and cross-breeding to breed plants and animals with more desirable traits.
Most of the foods today were created through traditional breeding methods. But changing
plants and animals through traditional breeding can take a long time, and it is difficult to make
very specific changes. After scientists developed genetic engineering, they were able to make
similar changes in a more specific way and in a shorter amount of time.
(https://www.fda.gov/food/agricultural-biotechnology/science- and-history-gmos-and-other--
food-modification-processes)

Intended Uses of GMOs

Used as specific models for many different human diseases, including multiple
Biomedical infectious diseases, such as HIV, immune system defects, blood and metabolic
disorders, muscular dystrophy, cancer immunotherapies among others.

Engineering of animals used for food. Examples include, chickens producing only
female offspring for egg laying, cows producing only male offspring for better meat
yield, pigs who can be fattened with less food, cashmere goats for producing more meat
Farm/Food Animals
from greater muscle mass and longer hair for wool yield;; and efforts to facilitate
greater stocking density, such as cattle without horns and animals with greater
resistance to disease.

Genetic engineering provides a quicker and more precise way to achieve the same
goal in one generation. Genetically modified crops offer improved yields, enhanced
Agriculture
nutritional value, longer shelf life, and resistance to drought, frost, or insect pests.
Examples of GM crops include corn varieties containing a gene for a bacterial
pesticide that kills larval pests, and soybeans with an inserted gene that renders them
resistant to weed-killers.

99
Source: Bailey, 2019

“GMO” (genetically modified organism) has become the common term consumers and popular
media use to describe foods that have been created through genetic engineering. Genetic
engineering is a process that involves:

 Identifying the genetic information – or “gene” – that gives an organism (plant,

animal or microorganism) a desired trait.
 Copying the information from the organism that has the trait
 Inserting that information into the DNA of another organism

Some Genetically Modified Organisms developed in the Philippines

o Longer-lasting papayas

Institute of Plant Breeding in UPLB developed delayed-ripening papaya that is resistant

to ring-spot virus (PRSV). The initial project assisted by the Australian government developed a
papaya variety with a 14-day shelf life, or double the usual 6 days. The scientists achieved this
by suppressing the generation of key enzyme in the ethylene biosynthesis pathway –ACC
synthase – through genetic manipulation. ACC synthase triggers ethylene production, which
causes ripening of fruits.

o Protein enriched copra meal (PECM) as feed protein for tilapia, milkfish and
shrimp aquaculture

Primarily used as animal feed, copra meal is an important feed resource in the
Philippines. In 2014, the Philippines produced about 750,000 metric tons of copra meal as
coconut by-product. About 60% of this was locally utilized mainly as animal feed. There are,
however, several concerns on the use of soybean meals as feeding ingredient. This

10
includes its fluctuating market price, its being expensive import commodity, its erratic supply,
and the fact that it even competes for human food.

To address the issue on high cost of soybean importation and to ensure the quality of
animal feeds, the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research
and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST- PCARRD) supported
research and development (R&D) programs on feed resources under its Industry Strategic
Science and Technology (S&T) Program (ISP).
One of the program’s accomplishments is the use of formulated feeds for swine, poultry
and aquatic animals with Protein Enriched Copra Meal (PECM) that was developed by the
National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology of the University of the Philippines
Los Banos (UPLB-BIOTECH). Through solid-state fermentation technology, the PECM is
enriched with microorganisms that increase the protein content of copra meal to about 36 to 44%
crude protein content, comparable to the 46% of soybean meal. A group of researchers from the
Institute of Aquaculture, College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences of the University of the
Philippines Visayas studied the possibility of substituting 50% soybean meal, as a major feed
protein source, with PECM.

Protein enriched copra meal (PECM) used for tilapia, milkfish, Milkfish and tilapia when fed with commercial feed and
and shrimp aquaculture (photo courtesy of UP Visayas, Miagao, PECM (photo courtesy of UP Visayas, Miagao, Iloilo)
Iloilo)

o Tomato Leaf Curve Virus (ToLCV)- resistant Variety

The Institute of Plant Breeding (IPB) of the University of the Philippines Los Banos
(UPLB) has developed tomato breeding line resistant to tomato leaf curl virus (ToLCV) in the
hope of reviving tomato’s robust production in the country.

10
 https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph

The two-year project was completed by a team composed mainly of local scientist at the
IPB-UPLB with financial support from the Department of Agriculture Biotech Program. The
research team developed the candidate ToLCV-resistant lines from the local tomato varieties by
interbreeding local varieties with ToLCV-resistant tomato lines acquired from the Asian
Vegetable Research and Development Center (AVRDC) – The World Vegetable Center.

ToLCV-resistance in the donor parental lines, hybrids and the derived lines from the
initial hybrids was verified by exposing the plants to the ToLCV-Laguna isolate and by marker--
assisted selection (MAS). MAS can predict even at early seedling stage whether a plant will
grow to express a trait of interest based on the mere presence or absence of gene markers. Gene
markers are short unique DNA sequences located near the DNA sequence of the gene
responsible for a desired physical characteristic/trait in each generation of plants produced. In
this case, markers for genes responsible for the resistance to ToLCV confirmed successful
transfer of the resistance gene in the genetic make-up of the developed tomato lines. Lines rated
as highly resistant due to absence or very minimal observed symptoms of infection and detected
for presence of ToLCV resistance genes through gene markers were considered candidate
ToLCV resistant breeding materials.

Tomato was the leading vegetable crop in the country in terms of area planted until 1990.
The peak of decline in the area of production in 1997 was primarily due to pests and diseases as
well as unfavorable climatic conditions especially during off-season months. Virus diseases,
including ToLCV, are considered the most damaging to tomato production worldwide causing
50-100% yield loss. Use of chemicals to stop the vector insect proved to be costly and does not
warrant sustainable protection. Moreover, the strategy can be hazardous both to human health
and environment. The use of resistant varieties offers the most effective and practical strategy to
overcome the disease. While breeding initiatives to virus resistant varieties have been going on,
the lack of varieties with durable resistance against multiple virus diseases remains a concern to
farmers. At present, there are no commercial varieties grown in the Philippines with durable
resistance to major virus diseases such as ToLCV. Use of the promising resistant breeding
materials may improve production yield and income of more than 18,000 tomato growers.

10
Bt corn
Bt corn in the Philippines was engineered to be specifically resistant to the Asian corn
borer (ACB), Ostrinia furnacalis (Guenee), the most devastating corn pests in the industry. It
was introduced as a “practical and ecologically sustainable solution” for poor corn farmers, a
major bullet to combat poverty and improve livelihood.

https://www.sunstar.com
Adoption rate of biotech maize in 2015 is at 63 percent. In the period 2003 to 2015, there were
13 years of consecutive growth in hectarage of Bt corn, except for 2015 due to drought.

Potential benefits of GM crops

1. Better nutritional qualities---rice with provitamin A and iron;; corn with high lysine and
tryptophan;; vegetables with higher ~-carotene and lycopene;; legumes with higher sulfur
containing amino acids: sweet potato with higher protein content.

2. Engineering pest or disease resistance in important crops such as rice and corn, various
vegetables. sweet potato and others especially those important for developing countries.

3. Edible vaccines ---aimed at providing low cost immunization strategy for developing countries;;
banana with antigen of causal organism of diarrhea is now at clinical trial stage. Vaccine
corn for gastroenteritis in hogs, hepatitis B in humans, etc.

4. Antibodies engineered and produced in plants---expressed antibodies in potato, tobacco and

rapeseed were stable and active;; need to increase expression level.

5. Crops which can extract and detoxify pollutants from the environment such as heavy metals--
--this research is hampered by the lack of basic knowledge on the molecular mechanism
involved in the uptake and storage of inorganics in plants.

6. Crops which produce less toxic residues such as corn with low phytate, 15 Phytate

10
 complexes phosphorus and thus the latter becomes unavailable and cannot released by
nonruminants. A large amount of phosphate is excreted and contributes to water pollution.

7. Production of alternative polymers which can replace o substitute plastics and other
petrochemical products in plants and thus are renewable and biodegradable.

Risk Related to the Use of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)

Genetic Contamination/Interbreeding. Introduced GMOs may interbreed with the wild-

type or sexually compatible relatives. The novel trait may disappear in wild types unless it
confers a selective advantage to the recipient. However, tolerance abilities of wild types may also
develop, thus altering the native species’ ecological relationship and behavior.

Competition with Natural Species. Faster growth of GMOs can enable them to have a
competitive advantage over the native organisms. This may allow them become invasive, to
spread into new habitats, and cause ecological and economic damage.

Increased Selection Pressure on Target and Non-target Organisms. Pressure may

increase on target and non-target species to adapt to the introduced changes as if to a geological
change or a natural selection pressure causing them to evolve distinct resistant populations.

Ecosystem Impacts. The effects of changes in a single species may extend well beyond to the
ecosystem. Single impacts are always joined by the risk of ecosystem damage and destruction.

Impossibility of Follow-up. Once the GMOs have been introduced into the environment and
some problems arise, it is impossible to eliminate them. Many of these risks are identical to those
incurred with regards to the introduction of naturally or conventionally bred species. But still this
does not suggest that GMOs are safe or beneficial, nor that they should be less scrutinized.
Horizontal Transfer of Recombinant Genes to other Microorganisms. One risk of particular
concern relating to GMOs is the risk of horizontal gene transfer (HGT). HGT is the acquisition
of foreign genes (via transformation, transduction, and conjugation) by organisms in a variety of
environmental situations. It occurs especially in response to changing environments and provides
organisms, especially prokaryotes, with access to genes other than those that can be inherited.
HGT of an introduced gene from a GMO may confer a novel trait in another organism, which
could be a source of potential harm to the health of people or the environment.

Loss of Management Control Measures. Regulatory approvals for field trials of GMOs
often require measures to limit and control the release in space and time. With the spread of the
introduced gene(s) to another species by HGT, a new GMO is created. This new GMO may give
rise to adverse effects which are not controlled by management measures imposed by the original
license or permit.

10
Long-term Effects. Sometimes the impact of HGT may be more severe in the long term. Even
under relatively strong selection pressure, it may take thousands of generations for a recipient
organism to become the dominant form in the population. In addition, other factors such as
timing of appropriate biotic or abiotic environmental conditions and additional changes in
the recipient organism could delay adverse effects.
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/isrn/2011/369573/

Antibiotic Resistance and Horizontal Gene Transfer. Most of the first generation of GM
crops have antibiotic resistance gene as selectable marker. It has been hypothesized that such
antibiotic resistance genes could lead to the innovation of oral doses of the antibiotic, or that
these genes could be transferred to pathogenic microorganism in the gut or the soil which will
render them resistant to such antibiotics.

GMOs and Biodiversity

The impact of GMOs on biodiversity is widely debated. Pro-GMO researchers maintain

that if crops are genetically modified for pest resistance, farmers can reduce their reliance on
insecticides, so that local fauna, such as birds, rodents, and insects, can flourish in the area.
Secondary pests that would have been eliminated through widespread insecticide application are
not suppressed by the scaled-back insecticide use permitted GMOs. Because these secondary
pests remain, other small predator – the birds and rodents that feed on the secondary pests-remain
viable. In addition, the development of drought-resistant or flood-resistant crops allows arid or
flood-prone land to be used for growing crops. This means that less high-biodiversity terrain needs
to be converted for farming.

On the other side of the debate, GMO skeptics have argued that up to 75% of plant
genetic diversity has been lost since farmers switched to uniform GM crop varieties. In this view,
less popular, non-GM seed varieties are being neglected. Moreover, widely used GM crop
varieties can spread to neighboring fields and eventually mix in with non- GM crops. A farmer
who wishes to continue using a non-GM seed variety, or who desires to maintain the organic
status of his crops, must adopt potentially expensive measures to protect his crops from
contamination or cross-pollination with his neighbor’s GM crops. It has also been argued that the
over-popularity of certain GM crops may lead to greater susceptibility to pests and disease. Pests
may evolve to target the monoculture of popular and overused crop varieties. Moreover, it has
been argued that the evolution of glyphosate-resistant weeds has required farmers to make ever
greater use of glyphosate, the toxicity of which poses dangers for human health.

It has been hypothesized that GM crops can harm insect species that are not pests. Insects
that feed on GM crops will carry GM pollen, which may prove toxic in the long term and result
in depletion or even extinction of insect populations. The genetic integrity of any plant or insect
that lives in close proximity to GM crops can be compromised because gene transfer from one
organism to another can occur, and such genes may

10
pose unanticipated risks. GM traits have been found transferred to insects, water life and soil.

Activity 1: Article Review

1. Read the Adrian Dubock’s “The Politics of Golden Rice” available online at
http://www.goldenrice.org/PDFs/Dubock-Politics_of_GR-2014.pdf.

2. Answer the following questions:

a. What is the article all about?

b. What is Cartagena Protocol? Why it is said that the foundation of its opposition to
GMO crops was initially considered “rock”, but actually “sands”?

c. What are the points mentioned by the author why golden rice was politicized?

d. What are your thoughts about the article? Do you agree or disagree that
“politics” somehow impede the development of GMO-crop technology?

e. Do you agree to its conclusion that society incurs pain, environmental damage and
deaths due to the delays in advancement in agricultural science caused by national
and international regulations?

10
Activity 2. Reflective Essay

Look at the picture below. Make a 300-word essay about in relation to the ideas
presented to you during the discussion. Provide a title for your essay.

Environment

Health

Society

10
 Chapter 9
The Nano World

What is Nanotechnology?

Nano is a prefix used in the metric scale to represent one billionth. A nanometer (nm) is one
billionth of a meter. Nano comes from the Greek word for dwarf, so in combination with
technology, it becomes dwarf technology. Technology applies science and materials for human
uses, and nanotechnology applies science and materials at the nanoscale. People refer to
nanotechnology as “tiny tech” or “nanotech”. It represents the scaling down of technology to a
new scale, generally agreed to be in the range of 1 to 100 nm.

One of the main reasons for the explosion of interest in nanotechnology is the unique properties
and behavior of matter at the nanoscale. When particles are synthesized at the nanoscale, their
properties change. For one thing, nanoparticles have much more surface area compared to their
weight than larger particles. This single property means that much less material can be used for
application, allowing us to save natural resources, energy and money, provided that it does not
cost more to produce. Using less material in products can offer both economic and
environmental benefits.

Working with matter on such a small scale represents a revolution in technology because, at this
scale, materials reveal uniquely novel physical, chemical, and biological (including
toxicological) properties when compared to their bulk counterpart. It is akin to discovering a
world of new materials emerging out of existing materials.

Applications of Nanotechnology in All Fields of Science

The early 2000’s saw the beginning of commercial applications of nanotechnology,

although these were limited to bulk applications of nanomaterial rather than the transformative
applications envisioned by the field. With thousands of researchers across the globe focusing on
the applications of nanomaterials and the mushrooming of many industries, it is now difficult to
say who did what first. The realization by scientists and industrialists of the ability of the
materials to dramatically change their properties as nanoscale has opened up the possibility of
making new devices, instruments and consumer goods, etc, to function in a much better way than
was possible earlier. Rapid progress in the synthesis and understanding of nanomaterials in just a
few years has led to their entry into the world in a big way. Various fields in which
nanomaterials have already entered or about to enter can be overviewed.

10
 Application of Nanotechnology in all fields of Science
Single electron transistor (SET), spin valves and magnetic tunnel junctions (MT)s are based on
nanotechnology. Spin valve-type devices are already being used in personal computers to “read
discs,” which has enabled the increase of data storage capacity of hard discs.

Electronics Flat-panel television or computer monitors are products of nanotechnology. Even the coatings
used on screens of TVs or monitors can be made of nanoparticles, which have better properties
in terms of color quality and resolution than microparticle coatings.

Some metal hydride nanoparticles like nickel hydrides or high surface area, ultra-
lightweight materials like aerogels are found to be better options than the conventional materials
in improved batteries. Carbon nanomaterial (CNM) has been used in improving the efficacy of
Energy
lithium secondary batteries, supercapacitors and in hydrogen storage.

Efficient production of nanomaterials following the low temperature synthesis route would help
to reduce industrial pollution. Use of nanomaterials as hydrogen storage or efficient oil filters
may reduce pollution from vehicles. Efficient nanomaterials are lightweight and needed only in
small quantities. This may help reduce the price of many products, making them commonly
affordable.
Environment Some of the nanoparticle-based sensors are much more novel and sensitive
compounds to those being used. Nanomaterials-based sensors would be smart sensors,
i.e., they will be able to detect and rectify problems. Such sensors are being developed for water
purification systems, detection of toxic ions, metal ions, pesticides, etc., and their remediation on
a larger scale.

Nanosensors will help in assessing emissions from the vehicle and help in controlling pollutants.

Car paints/coatings using nanoparticle are being used to provide smooth, thin attractive coatings
that are scratch resistant, can repel dirt and are anti-reflective. Biocide paints and anti-fogging
coatings are even being developed.

“Self-cleaning” glass for windows is being fabricated by dissolving a small amount of titania
(TiO2) nanoparticles while manufacturing it and melting it together with other ingredients like
silica (SiO2), CaO, Ba2O3, etc. Titania is able to dissociate organic dust in the presence of UV
light available in sunlight. Once dissociated, it may fall down or simply evaporate.
Automobiles
To combat population caused by vehicles, use of efficient nanomaterial catalysts is one solution
that can convert harmful emissions into less harmful gases.

To overcome the pollution problem, cars using hydrogen as fuel are being marketed. Hydrogen
gas is normally stored in a metal cylinder under high pressure not only can add weight to the
vehicle but is also dangerous. To overcome this problem, storing hydrogen in “nanocylinders”
of carbon nanotubes is being tried.

Application in combating plant diseases:

Agriculture and Food

 Controlled delivery of functional molecules
Nanoparticles used as Trojan horse for delivery of active ingredients.

10
  As a diagnostic tool for disease detection
For detection purpose, both nanoparticles and quantum dots (QDs) have emerged as
pivotal tools for detection of biological markers. Nanotechnology can play important
role in treatment by diagnosing a disease at its very early stage.

Application of Nanotechnology in all fields of Science

Semiconductors and magnetic nanostructures have found maximum use in industries pertaining to
semiconductor fabrication, electronics and nanostructure-based electro- optical devices. Based
on the nanomagnetic properties of nanostructure, photoinduced magnetism, spintronics,
nanomagnetic probes, electronic magneto-transport and micromagnetic modeling are being
developed by various industries. Nanosensors and actuators for various applications are one
of the major activities of nano-based industries. Another area being concentrated on by
industries is molecular electronics, such as for liquid crystal displays.
Industries
Industries are involved in developing and producing nanomaterials to obtain nano-
bioproducts for bone substitutes and dentistry;; antimicrobial applications in various
products;; food and cosmetic applications;; applications in textiles, paints, catalysis,
lubricants, fuel cells and batteries;; all of which are part of major industrial production.

Special threads and dyes used in the textile industry are products of nanotechnology. These
clothes do not require ironing or frequent cleaning. Use of silver (Ag) nanoparticles in washing
machines remove the germs from clothes while washing. Masks made of fabrics coated with
nanoparticles for protection against microbes are already on the market. There are piezoelectric
Textiles fibers that could allow clothing to generate electricity through normal conditions. Fabrics
composed of proteins are capable of stretching as much as 1500 percent from their original size
and can be used form-fitting clothing.

Nanoliposomes are used as vesicular delivery systems. Liposomes are concentric bilayer
vesicles. The first liposomal cosmetic was the anti-aging cream “Capture” manufactured by
Dior.

Solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) are nm-sized particles with a solid lipid matrix. SLNs are tested
Cosmetics
in perfume formulations. Chanel’s Allure perfume was incorporated into SLNs and
nanoemulsions.

Dendrimers were used in a formula patented by L’Oreal that forms a thin film when deposited
on a substrate. They are used in mascara and nail polish.

Nanoporous aerogel insulator is excellent for insulating walls.

Flame-retardant furniture coatings are on the market which are synthesized carbon
nanofibers.

Domestic Appliances Fishing rods are made stronger and lighter using silica nanoparticles to fill spaces between
carbon fibers.

Antimicrobial titanium oxide nanoparticles are used in various applications as part of a film that
uses energy in light to kill bacteria on surfaces by photocatalytic activity.

Nanomedicine researchers are looking at ways that nanotechnology can improve vaccines,
including vaccine delivery without the use of needles. Researchers also are working to create a
Diagnostics and universal vaccine scaffold for the annual flu vaccine that would cover more strains and require
Therapeutics fewer resources to develop each year.

11
 Commercial applications have adapted gold nanoparticles as probes for the detection of
targeted sequences of nucleic acids, and gold nanoparticles are being clinically investigated as
potential treatments for cancer and other diseases.

Nanotechnology is being studied for both the diagnosis and treatment of atherosclerosis. In one
technique, researchers created a nanoparticle that mimics the body’s “good” cholesterol,
known as HDL (high-density lipoprotein), which helps to shrink plaque.

Source: Sharon, 2019

Environmental Aspects of Nanotechnology

Many applications of nanotechnology benefits the environment, for example, treating

drinking water, eliminating toxic chemicals, increasing water and energy efficiency, and
harnessing cleaner energy technologies. How can the applications of nanoscience affect the
environment? It is not clear today what the potential impacts are from nanoscale materials in the
air, water and soil. For example, it is not known to what extent nanomaterials might enter the
food supply and become part of human diet, or whether and how they can affect forests, coral
reefs, or air quality

Will there be a nano-environmental legacy? Are nanomaterials already entering the

environment in ways that will allow them to persist and enter or upset the food chain? Will
nanomaterials follow the path of other legacy pollutants, such as lead? How will this be
determined if data are not being collected? One could argue that the amounts will be small, and
in the near future, it is true that there are few applications of nanotechnology likely to allow free
nanoparticles to enter the environment in significant amounts. However, as more and more
applications adopt nanotechnology, the production, uses, and releases of nanoparticles will
dramatically increase.

By way of example, in a hospital environment, it is very important to keep surfaces

sanitary and free from contamination, and many cleaning equipment or washing floors and
surfaces to help prevent the spread of germs. Using a product containing a nanomaterial as a
disinfectant might mean it would be sprayed, wiped, poured into buckets and on floors, and
washed down drains. An obvious question arises: Where could the nanomaterial end up?
Anytime, chemicals are washed away with water or flushed down the drain, they are released
into the environment. From drain pipes, the materials enter the groundwater and eventually can
move to the nearest river and streams, of course, these may affect drinking water sources and
oceans.

Triclosan, commonly found in antimicrobial soaps and cleaning products, is among many
consumer-used chemicals found in the river and drinking water sources. Some population of
bacteria routinely exposed to substances designed to eradicate them (e.g. pesticides and medical
antibiotics) are now found in the environment and have become resistant to antibiotics used in
agriculture and to treat human diseases. Antimicrobial resistance is a big problem because
bacteria are no longer susceptible to the treatments developed to kill them, and outbreaks can
occur that cannot be managed.

11
Nanotechnology in the Philippines

In 2011, the government announced a 10-year strategic plan/road map for the
development of the R&D strategy of nanotechnology covering at least six industrial sectors – the
semiconductor, information technology, energy, agriculture, medicine, and environmental
protection. Nanotechnology has been identified as one of the priority areas of research identified
by the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Advanced Science and
Technology Research and Development (DOST-PCASTRD). PCASTRD’s mandate is to
develop, integrate, and coordinate national research. Flagship projects include chemical sensors
and biosensors based on nanostructured solar energy devices. PCASTRD also provides funds for
scholarships and research fellowships. PCASTRD has also proposed to include nanotechnology
as part of all science and engineering degrees.

In the area of agriculture, funded nano projects include rapid and early pest and pathogen
detection;; precision agriculture – monitoring of agricultural growth parameters;; and post-harvest
quality monitoring, nano-sized feedstock, nano-sized fertilizers/nutrients, and pesticides.
Research into nanocomposite films and membranes aims to extend the shelf-life of fresh and
processed produce, aid the clarification of juices, and improve whey protein production. Projects
concerning nanotechnology for water purification and environmental remediation are also being
funded. Seedgrowth, a plant supplement consisting of nano-sized fruit extracts and
microorganisms, was developed in the Philippines and apparently reduces the need for chemical
fertilizers and increases crop yield. Scientists from DOST have also developed a low-cost water
purification system in the form of a ceramic filter coated with silver nanoparticles. There appears
to be no nano specific regulation in the Philippines.

Risks

Historical evidence supported by scientific findings show that all new technologies come
with risks to human health and the environment, and nanotechnology is no exception. The
increasing number of engineered nanomaterials and nanoproducts gives rise to increasing breadth
and extent of the potential risks posed to human health and the environment. For example,
engineered nanomaterials are of similar size range as exhaustion particles from engines
combustion, and certain carbon nanotubes are in many ways similar to asbestos fibers,
substances that are known to cause adverse effects to human health, namely, cancer and
asbestosis.

Genetics/Medicine/Healthcare

Artifacts based on nanotechnology incorporate genetic material or have genetic

modification or repair as an objective.

If the artifact incorporates some kind of computing and sensing element, say for the
controlled delivery of a drug, additional risks arise for the patient if these elements should
malfunction.

11
 Invasion of privacy and of the human body through the planting and implanting of
computing-cum-communication devices without the knowledge of those affected has
been done.

The security and safety of a person is a problematic issue, since it will be difficult
initially to detect the presence of nanosize artifacts that are capable of breaching security
and harming the individual. In warfare, controlled distribution of biological and nerve
agents may become feasible.

Materials/Composites

The general problem with composite materials is that they are more difficult to recycle
and consume more energy during recycling than pure materials.

Wide-scale introduction of composite materials can increase environmental problems.

In the manufacturing area, many processes will need to be redesigned to embody new
principles, particularly relating to containment of active or waste products.

Nanotechnology and Education

Education and training in nanotechnology require special laboratory facilities that can be
quite expensive. The cost of creating and maintaining nanotechnology facilities is a major
challenge for educational institutions. But by using innovative approaches such as inter-university
collaboration, academia-industry partnerships, and Web-based remote access to nanofabrication
facilities, educational institutions can overcome innovative nanotechnology researches.

To address these demands of the global marketplace, a skilled workforce is required that
can move from industry to industry without retraining. The new workforce will consist of
researchers, technicians, and educators. To develop this workforce, new interdisciplinary
educational programs need to be developed and revised.

Economic and political implications of potential technology

These issues include the economic value of a new materials and new industries created
through nanotechnology, as well as economic dislocations caused by shifts in investment and the
decline of industries and companies tied to displaced technologies. Other implications might
include increased lifespans made possible through nano-based medicines or diagnostic
techniques, leading to greater numbers of active senior citizens seeking employment and active
participation in the political process.

Nanotechnology and Employment

11
 The question of impacts on employment has not yet entered into the research agenda on
the social implications of nanotechnology. Even though there are currently relatively few
products, industries, and workers involved in nanotechnology compared to other industries, it
appears clear that this technology is high tech and highly sophisticated, which deepens the
trend to reducing workforces and automating the processes of production and services – a
trend which began with the microelectric revolution and resulted in a dramatic reduction of
employment in many sectors of the economy.

Nanotechnology products that are already on the market allow us to identify three
common characteristics: the products have multiple functions that previously required more than
one product (multifunctional), the products remain useful longer, and the products use fewer raw
materials. Some products combine two or three of these characteristics. Taken together, this
means that manufacturing these products will lead to decreased demand for workers. In addition,
these innovations reduce the demand for traditional products that compete them.

Social, Ethical, Legal and Cultural Implications

The list of social, ethical, legal and cultural implications includes such issues as privacy,
avoiding a ‘nano-divide’, unintended consequences, university/industry relationships and
potential conflicts of interest, research ethics, and so on. It is widely acknowledged that,
precisely because the applications of nanotechnology are not yet clear, neither are the ethical
issues clear. And yet, many argue, the nano community must begin to address these issues now,
before they overwhelm nanotechnology and derail potential benefits.

11
Activity 1. Answer the following questions.

1. Compare the benefits and disadvantages of nanotechnology.

2. Do research on different nanotechnology products. Identify 5 examples and choose one that
surprised and fascinated you the most.

3. State in your own words why nanotechnology research and development of

application are important.

4. Using the internet or other sources, research alternative definitions of nanotechnology and
environment. How could these differences in definitions change the conversation or perception
about the interaction of nanotechnology and the environment?

5. What can be done to reduce uncertainty in developing new nanotechnology product? What
are some of the ethical implications that should be considered?

11
Activity 2. Mind Map

Summarize your learnings of new ideas about nanotechnology and information presented in this
topic by completing the following flowchart.

11
Chapter 10. Gene Therapy

The genes in the body’s cells play an important role in your health – indeed, a defective
gene or genes can make someone sick. Recognizing this, scientists have been working for
decades on ways to modify genes or replace faulty genes with healthy one to treat, cure or
prevent a disease or medical condition.

Cells are the basic building blocks of all living things. The human body is composed of
trillions of them. Within our cells there are thousands of genes that provide the information for
the production of specific proteins and enzymes that make muscles, bones, and blood, which in
turn support most of our body’s functions, such as digestion, making energy and growing.

Sometimes the whole or part of a gene is defective or missing from birth, or a gene can
change or mutate during adult life. Any of these variations can disrupt how proteins are made,
which can contribute to health problems or diseases.

In gene therapy, scientist can do one of several things depending on the problem that is
present. They can replace a gene that causes a medical problem with one that doesn’t, add genes
to help the body to fight or treat disease, or turn off genes that are causing problems. In order to
insert new genes directly into cells, scientists use a vehicle called a “vector” which is genetically
engineered to deliver the gene. Viruses, for example, have a natural ability to deliver genetic
material into cells, and therefore, can be used as vectors. Before a virus can be used to carry
therapeutic genes into human cells, however, is modified to remove its ability to cause an
infectious disease. Gene therapy can be used to modify cells inside or outside the body. When
it’s done inside the body, a doctor will inject the vector carrying the gene directly into the part of
the body that has defective cells.

In gene therapy that is used to modify cells outside the body, blood, bone marrow, or
another tissue can be taken from the patient, and specific types of cells can be separated out in
the lab. The vector containing the desired gene is introduced into these cells. The cells are left to
multiply in the laboratory and then injected back into the patient where they continue to multiply
and eventually produce the desired effect.

Approaches to Gene Therapy

1. Gene Modification
Researchers have used the following methods to modify defective genes:

 Replacement treatment: Replacing a natural gene with a non-natural gene through

homologous recombination.

11
  Modifier gene therapy: Restoring natural function to a defective gene through
selective reverse mutation.
 Adjustment of the expression of a specific gene.

2. Gene transfer method

There are 3 physical, chemical, and biological methods of gene transfer.

3. Gene transfer to specific cell line

This line is divided into 2 general categories of somatic gene therapy, and sex cell gene
therapy.

4. The adoption of the most appropriate genetic engineering (gene injection)

Other forms of genetic engineering include gene targeting and the elimination of
specific genes through nuclease engineering.

Stem Cell Therapy

A stem cell therapy is any treatment that uses stem cells as the primary way of curing or reducing
the severity of a disease or disorder. There are two main ways stem cells can be used:

1. as a transplant, where the desired stem cells are harvested either from the patient or a donor
and refined or modified in some way before being injected or grafted into the patient, or

2. as a target for a drug or other biologic where the drug or biologic is intended to activate a
desired response from the stem cells that already exist in the patient’s tissues or organs.

Ethical Dilemma

The possibility of destructive embryo research, particularly embryonic stem cell research,
presents us with a moral problem because it appears to bring into tension two fundamental moral
principles that people esteem very highly: one principle enjoins the prevention or alleviation of
suffering, and other enjoins us to respect the value of human life. The harvesting and culturing of
embryonic stem cells has considerable potential to bring about remarkable potential benefits in
the way of alleviating debilitating medical conditions. It satisfies the first principle to a very
great degree.

On the other hand, there is a case to be made that the harvesting of human embryonic
stem cells violates the second principle in that it results in the destruction of human life with
value (i.e. human embryos). Accordingly, both principles apparently cannot simultaneously be
respected in the case of embryonic stem cell research. The question then is which principle ought
to be given precedence in this conflict situation. If weight is given more to the first and permit
destructive embryonic stem cell research because of its remarkable benefits? Or should be given
more to the second and prohibit

11
destructive embryonic research because it violates respect for the value of the embryo as the very
beginnings of a possible human life? This, at bottom, is the ethical problem generated by
destructive embryo research.

Activity. Video Presentation

A. Transplant Cells not Organs

1. Watch TED Talk featuring Susan Lim entitled “Transplant Cells not Organs”. It is
available online at https://www.ted.com.

2. Answer the following questions:

a. What is the main topic of the Dr. Lim’s speech?

b. What do you think prompted scientists like Susan Lim to inject changes that lead
to development of medical practice?

c. In your opinion, how far should science go to save lives?

B. The Next Species of Human

1. Watch TED Talk featuring Juan Enriquez entitled “The Next Species of Human”. It is
available online at https://www.ted.com.

2. Answer the following questions:

a. What are the three trends that have taken place for the last 25 years?

11
b. Identify three instances mentioned by Enriquez in his speech related to
evolution.

c. Do you believe that we will evolve into Homo evolutis?

d. What ideas did u get from the speech? Discuss.

12
 Chapter 11
Climate Change, Energy Crisis and Environmental Awareness

What is climate change and what are the causes?

Climate change is a broad range of global phenomena created predominantly by burning

fossil fuels, which add heat-trapping gases to Earth’s atmosphere. These phenomena include the
increased temperature trends described by global warming, but also encompass changes such
as sea level rise;; ice mass loss;; shifts in flower/plant blooming;; and extreme weather events.

Causes

On Earth, human activities are changing the natural greenhouse. Over the last century the
burning of fossil fuels like coal and oil has increased the concentration of atmospheric carbon
dioxide (CO2). This happens because the coal or oil burning process combines carbon with
oxygen in the air to make CO 2. To a lesser extent, the clearing of land for agriculture, industry,
and other human activities has increased concentrations of greenhouse gases.

o Greenhouse gas emissions

Evidence that CO2 emissions are the cause of global warming is very robust. Scientists
have known since the early 1800s that greenhouse gases in the atmosphere trap heat.
Global CO2 emissions from human activity have increased by over 400% since 1960. As
a result, the concentration of CO 2 in the air has reached more than 400 parts per million
by volume (ppm), compared to about 280 ppm in 1750 (around the start of the Industrial
Revolution).

o Earth’s natural climate cycle

Over the last 800,000 years, there have been natural cycles in the Earth’s climate,
between ice ages and warmer interglacial periods. After the last ice age 20,000 years ago,
average global temperature rose by about 3°C to 8°C, over a period of about 10, 000
years.

o Solar influences
The sun is the primary source of Earth’s heat, so relatively small changes in solar output
can affect our climate. Satellite observations since the late 1970s have shown a slight
decrease in the sun’s total energy output. However, instead of cooling, the Earth has
warmed over this period.

Also, warming from the sun would heat all of the atmosphere, including the lowest few
kilometers (the troposphere) and the layer above (the stratosphere). Observations show
that the stratosphere is in fact cooling while the troposphere warms. This is consistent
with greenhouse gas heating and not solar heating.

12
Impacts

Climate change could affect our society through impacts on a number of different social,
cultural, and natural resources. Some groups of people will likely face greater challenges than
others. Climate change my especially impact people who live in areas that are vulnerable to
coastal storms, drought, and sea level rise or people who live in poverty, older adults, and
immigrant communities. Similarly, some types of professions and industries may face
considerable challenges from climate change. Professions that are closely linked to weather, such
as outdoor tourism, commerce, and agriculture, will likely be especially affected.

Impacts on Vulnerability and Equity

1. Geographic Location
 Population in coastal areas are more sensitive to storms, drought, air pollution and heat
waves.
 Population in mountainous areas will likely face water shortages and increased
wildfires in the future.
 Arctic residents will likely experience problems caused by thawing permafrost

2. Ability to cope
 People who live in poverty may have a difficult time coping with changes. These people
have limited financial resources to cope with heat, relocate or evacuate, or respond to
increases in the cost of food.
 Older adults may be among the least able to cope with impacts of climate change.
 Elderly people are particularly prone to heat stress.
 Young children are another sensitive age group, since their immune system and other
bodily systems are still developing and they rely on others to care for them in disaster
situations.

3. Indigenous people
 Climate change will make it harder for tribes to access safe and nutritious food,
including traditional foods important to many tribes’ cultural practices. Many tribes
already lack access to safe drinking water and wastewater treatment in their
communities. Climate change is expected to increase health risks associated with water
quality problems like contamination and may reduce availability of water, particularly
during droughts. By affecting the environment and natural resources of tribal
communities, climate change also threatens the cultural identities of indigenous people.
As plants and animals used in traditional practices or sacred

12
 ceremonies become less available, tribal culture and ways of life can be greatly
affected.

4. Urban People
 City residents and urban infrastructure have distinct sensitivities to climate change
impacts. For example, heat waves may be amplified in cities because cities absorb more
heat during the day than suburban and rural areas. Cities are more densely populated
than suburban or rural areas. As a result, increases in heat waves, drought, or violent
storms in cities would affect a larger number of people than in suburban or rural areas.
Higher temperatures and more extreme events will likely affect the cost of energy, air
and water quality, and human comfort and health in cities. City dwellers may also be
particularly susceptible to vulnerabilities in aging infrastructure. This includes drainage
and sewer systems, flood and storm protection assets, transportation systems, and power
supply during periods of peak demand, which typically occur during summer heat
waves.

5. Impacts on Economic Activities and Services

 Communities that developed around the production of different agricultural crops, such
as corn, wheat or cotton, depend on the climate to support their way of life. Climate
change will likely cause the ideal climate for these crops to shift. Certain agricultural
products may decline dramatically. These crops would then have to be imported.

 Climate change will also likely affect tourism and recreational activities. A warming
climate and changes in precipitation patterns will likely decrease the number of days
when recreational snow activities such as skiing and snowmobiling can take place.
Increasing number of wildfires could affect hiking and recreation in parks. Beaches
could suffer erosion due to sea level rise and storm surge. Changes in migration
patterns of fish and animals would affect fishing and hunting. Communities that
support themselves through these recreational activities would feel economic
impacts as tourism patternsbegin to
change.(https://climatechange.chicago.gov/climate-impacts/climate-impacts- society)

In 1992, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) was
adopted as the basis for a global response to the problem. The Philippines signed the UNFCCC
on 12 June 1992 and ratified the international treaty on 2 August 1994. Presently, the Convention
enjoys near universal membership with 194 Country Parties.

Recognizing that the climate system is a shared resource which is greatly affected by
anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases, the UNFCC has set out an overall

12
framework for intergovernmental efforts to consider what can be done to reduce global warming
and to cope with whatever temperature increases are inevitable. Its ultimate objective is to
stabilize greenhouse concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that will prevent dangerous
human interference with the climate system.

Countries are actively discussing and negotiating ways to deal with the climate change
problem within the UNFCCC using two central approaches. The first task is to address the root
cause by reducing greenhouse gas emissions from human activity. The means to achieve this are
very contentious, as it will require radical changes in the way many societies are organized,
especially in respect to fossil fuel use, industry operations, land use, and development. Within
the climate change arena, the reduction of greenhouse gas is called mitigation.

The second task in responding to climate change is to manage its impacts. Future impacts
on the environment and society are now inevitable, owing to the amount of greenhouse gases
already in the atmosphere from past decades of industrial and other human activities, and to the
added amounts from continued emissions over the next few decades until such time as mitigation
policies and actions become effective. Taking steps to cope with the changed climate conditions
both in terms of reducing adverse impacts and taking advantage of potential benefits is called
adaptation.

12
Activity 1: Photo Essay

Select any photo depicting the struggles of Filipino people due to the impacts of climate change.
Write a reflective essay about it. Follow the format provided below. Provide a title for your
photo essay.

12
Activity 2. Action Plan
Prepare an action plan to address specific environmental problem in your community. Use the
format below.

Background:
(Provide here brief information regarding your community and an
existing problem which may be related to climate change).

Objectives Activities Time Frame Persons Involved Success

Indicators

Note:
1. Identify the coverage of the plan (e.g. 1, 2 or 3 years)
2. Suggested activities should consider your course/area of specialization and the degree you are pursuing.

12
References:

Acar, Adam. “Culture and Social Media: An Elementary Textbook”. Cambridge Scholars
Publishing. 12 Back Chapman Street, New Castle upon Tyne, NE6 2XX, UK, 2014

Address of His Holiness Benedict XVI to the Members of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences on
the Occasion of their Plenary Session and Statement by the PAS Extra Series 36 Vatican
City, 2010 pp. 12

Albright, W. F. (2014). Ancient Middle East. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Encyclopaedia

Britannica Inc. Date accessed: July 25, 2020. URL: https://www.britannica.com/place/ancient--
Middle-East

Ayala, F. (n.d.) The Darwinian Evolution. Counter Balance. URL:

https://counterbalance.org/evolution/revo-frame.html

Azoulay, David, Senjen, Rye, Foladori, Guillermo. “Social and Environmental Implications of
Nanotechnology Development in Asia-Pacific”. September 2013

Bill, Joy. “Why the Future Doesn’t Need Us?” https://www.wired.com/2000/04/joy-2/ January 4,
2000

Bote, Lia Angela. “Dr. Angel C. Alcala: A Pinoy Pioneer in Marine Biodiversity and Reef
Conservation”. https://www.flipscience.ph/news/features-news/features/national-
scientist-angel-alcala/ March 27, 2019.

BRIA 243b Gutenberg and the Printing Revolution in Europe, Bills of Rights in Action.
Constitutional Rights Foundation. Retrieved from https://www.crf-usa.org/bill-of-rights-in-
action/bria-24-3-b-gutenberg-and-the-printing-revolution-in-europe, July 22, 2020.

Carr, Nicholas. ”Is Google Making US Stupid?” Retrieved from

https://www.bartleby.com/essay/Is-Google-Making-Us-Stupid-by-Nicholas- P3CZREFYTJ
August 3. 2020.

Caoili, Olivia C. (1983). A history of higher education in science and technology in the
Philippines. Philippine Social Sciences and Humanities Review 47 (January-December): 302-3.

Ching, Leonard. “Asia’s Rising Scientist: Scientists: Aisa Mijeno”.

https://www.asianscientist.com/asias-rising-scientists-aisa-mijeno May 6, 2015.

12
Cohabinitative Co-operation of Health and Biodiversity. Retrieved from
https://www.cbd.int/doc/health/cohab-policy-brief1-en.pdf. Japan, 2010.

Copernican Revolution. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Copernican-Revolution

Cybersecurity Intelligence. Social Media is the New Gutenberg.

https://www.cybersecurityintelligence.com/blog/social-media-is-the-new-gutenberg- 4280.html.

DOST: Advancing science, technology agenda best option for PHL growth. 27 February 2018
URL: http://www.region2.dost.gov.ph/index.php/292-dost-advancing-science- technology--
agenda-best-option-for-phl-growth

Emeagwali, G. T. (n.d.). History of Science in Non-Western Tradition: Africa. History of

Science Society. Retrieved July 25, 2020, from
https://hssonline.org/resources/teaching/teaching_nonwestern/teaching_nonwestern_afr ica/

Francisco, Mikael Anelo. “5Phenomenal Facts about Dr. Fe del Mundo”

https://www.flipscience.ph/technology/5-phenomenal-facts-about-dr-fe-del- mundo/November
27, 2018

From Gutenberg to the Internet. Retrieved from

https://clic.cengage.com/uploads/257973c20cbe13051c53b02b93fa0ed7_1_7060.pdf, July 23,
2020.

Gaston, K.J. and Spicer, J.I. (2004) Biodiversity: An Introduction. Wiley-Blackwell, Hoboken.

George Saliba(1994). A History of Arabic Astronomy: Planetary Theories During the Golden
Age of Islam, pp. 245, 250, 256–57. New York University Press, ISBN 0-8147- 8023-7.

Giges, Nancy. “Johannes Gutenberg.”. The American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

Retrieved at https://www.asme.org/topics-resources/content/johannes-gutenberg. July 26, 2020
Gripaldo, R. M.. (2007). The Concept of the Public Good: A View from a Filipino
Philosopher. Φιλοσοφια: International Journal of Philosophy, 36(2). Retrieved from
http://ejournals.ph/form/cite.php?id=4340

Hassan, Ahmad Y (1996). "Factors Behind the Decline of Islamic Science After the Sixteenth
Century". In Sharifah Shifa Al-Attas (ed.). Islam and the Challenge of Modernity, Proceedings of the
Inaugural Symposium on Islam and the Challenge of Modernity: Historical and Contemporary
Contexts, Kuala Lumpur, 1–5 August 1994. International

12
Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization (ISTAC). pp. 351–99. Archived from the original
on 2 April 2015.

Hernandez, Dolores F. (1996). History and Philosophy of Science Education: Quezon City:
Institute of Science and Mathematics Education Development, University of the Philippines.

History.com editors. Enlightenment. URL: https://www.history.com/topics/british-

history/enlightenment

Ho, Rodney J.Y., Gibaldi, Milo, and Ho, Rodney J.Y., Biotechnology and Biopharmaceuticals:
Transforming Proteins and Genes into Drugs. Gene and Cell Therapy. John Wiley and Sons,
Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey. 2013.

Jakubowski, A.;; Łukasiak, L. (2010). History of Semiconductors. Journal of

Telecommunications and Information Technology. nr 1: 3–9.

Khan, Ahmed S. “Nanotechnology Ethical and Social Implications”. CRC Press, Taylor and
Francis Group, 6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW Suite 300, Boca Raton, FL 33487- 2742.

Khened, S.M. (2010). Presenting Indian S&T Heritage in Science Museums, Propagation.
Journal of science communication 1(1). January 2010, National Council of Science Museums,
Kolkata, India

King, David A. (1983). "The Astronomy of the Mamluks". Isis. 74 (4): 531–
55. doi:10.1086/353360.
Lewenstein, Bruce V. “What Counts as a ‘Social and Ethical Issue’ in Nanotechnology?
Retrieved at http://www.hyle.org/journal/issues/11-1/lewenstein.pdf on August 9, 2020.
Littlejohn, Amanda. Johannes Gutenberg and the Printing Press: Social and Cultural Impact.
Retrieved from https://owlcation.com/humanities/Johannes-Gutenberg-and-the- Printing-Press--
Revolution, September 4, 2019.

Malmström, V. H. (1976) Knowledge of magnetism in pre-Columbian

Mesoamerica. Nature259 (5542), 390 - 391.

Malmström, V. H. and P. E. Dunn (1979) Pre-Columbian magnetic sculptures in western

Guatemala. Time Magazine 3 September 1979.
Mandapat, Louie, Carl. “DOST Science Change Program”. https://dost.gov.ph/9- programs--
and-projects. May 5, 2017

Martyn Shuttleworth, Lyndsay T Wilson (Oct 24, 2008). What Is A Paradigm?. Retrieved Jul 29,
2020 URL: Explorable.com: https://explorable.com/what-is-a-paradigm

12
McCarthy, D. (2019). The American Conservative URL:
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/the-intellectual-revolution-that-made- the--
modern-western-world/

McDaniel, Richelle. “The Spread of Knowledge via Print.” Disrupting Society from Tablet to
Tablet. 2015. CC BY-NC.

McFadden, Christopher. “The Invention and History of the Printing Press”.

https://interestingengineering.com/the-invention-and-history-of-the-printing-press. September 12,
2018.

Modern Biotechnology and Philippine Agriculture. NAST Monograph Series No. 1. The National
Academy of Science and Technology, 2001.

Mourdoukoutas, Panos. “The Ten Golden Rules on Living the Good Life.”
https://www.forbes.com/sites/panosmourdoukoutas/2012/01/14/the-ten-golden-rules-on- living-the--
good-life/#5eee0e7033fc

Orton, John W. (2009). Semiconductors and the Information Revolution: Magic Crystals that
made IT Happen. Academic Press. pp. 103–5. ISBN 978-0-08-096390-7.

Pioneering Food Technologist and Inventor: Maria Y. Orosa Retrieved from

http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.504.4716&rep=rep1&type=pdf July
28, 2020

Rickard, Maurice. Key Ethical Issues in Embryonic Stem Cell Research. Retrieved from
https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_L
ibrary/Publications_Archive/CIB/cib0203/03cib05

Rosch, A. (2014). The Progress of Science – Past, Present and Future. Humanities. 3 pp. 442 –
516. doi: 10.3390/h3040442

Science and technology in Medieval Islam. History of Science Museum. August 5, 2020.

Sharon, Madhuri. “History of Nanotechnology From Prehistoric to Modern Times”. Scrivener

Publishing LLC. Wiley Global Headquarters 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, USA
The Printing Revolution. OER Services. Retrieved from
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-hccc-worldhistory/chapter/the-printing- revolution/, July
27, 2020.

The Science and Impacts of Climate Change. Committee on Climate Change. Retrieved at
https://www.theccc.org.uk/the-science-of-climate-change/climate-variations-natural- and-human--
factors/, August 9, 2020.

13
Threats to Biodiversity, Environmental Biology. Retrieved from
https://openoregon.pressbooks.pub/envirobiology/chapter/21-2-threats-to-biodiversity/, June 30,
2020.

Toby E. Huff, The Rise of Early Modern Science: Islam, China, and the West (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 2003, ISBN 0-521-52994-8) pp 303.

Tomczak (2004). Science in pre-Columbian America. The South Pacific URL:

https://www.mt- oceanography.info/science+society/lecture18.html#:~:text=In%20Meso
%2DAmerica%2 0the%20Maya,rubber%20and%20the%20corbelled%20arch.

Transistors - an overview. ScienceDirect. Retrieved 4 August 2020.

von Hagen, V. W. (1957) The Ancient Sun Kingdoms of the Americas. The World
Publishing Company, Cleveland & New York.

Westacott, Emrys. "What Does It Mean to Live the Good Life?" ThoughtCo, Feb. 26, 2020,
thoughtco.com/what-is-the-good-life-4038226.

Yazdani, Azam, Alirezaie, Zahra, Motamedi, Mohammad Javad, and Amani, Jafar, “Gene
Therapy: A New Approach in Modern Medicine”. International Journal of Medical Reviews,
Narrative Review

13