Chapter 1.

2
History of Science &
Technology
(Historical antecedents in which social
considerations changed the course of
science
and technology)

To merely understand the

discoveries and inventions Learning Outcomes:
that scientists and  Discuss the interactions
technologists have made is between S&T and society
not enough. Beyond scientific
research, we must see its
throughout history.
benefits and consequences  Discuss how scientific and
affecting our way of life here technological developments
and now and in the future. affect society and the
Throughout history, science environment.
can be viewed as a
1 continuous expansion at the  Identify the paradigm shifts
expense of religion, in history
philosophy and the
humanities. Hence, the ways
and processes science
undertake to produce
changes and transformations
must be conscientiously
scrutinized.

15
 In the World: Ancient,
Middle and Modern Ages
Prehistoric Period
Although recorded as the
longest period in the history of men, this
period of history is the least we know
about. Time and circumstances
practically left no historical evidences of
how people lived here and there.
Because written records of any kind
began from only 5,000 years ago,
chronological events were documented
largely based on deductions from
archaeological findings. Therefore,
anything prior to the first written
accounts of history is prehistoric.
 First civilizations emerged independently
along the river valleys of Mesopotamia
(Tigris-Euphrates Valley), Egypt (Nile
Valley), China (Huang Ho Valley) and
India (Indus Valley)
 People of the first civilizations developed
science and technology as implements in
their search for food and other survival
needs.
 Early hominids and primitive human used
stone tools
 Stone Age and Metal Age

Stone Age (Paleolithic Age, Mesolithic

Age and Neolithic Age) – prehistoric
period in which stone was widely
used as implements for hunting.
Started during the 6000 BC and
ended 2000 BC.

Paleolithic Age – consisted of

hunter-gatherer civilizations that
utilized primitive stone tools
• H. erectus utilized and controlled
fire. It was generated through
percussion method and used to Metal Age
produce heat for warmth and for Bronze Age – characterized by the use of
cooking. copper and tin as the chief materials
• Evidences of clothing, painting, in the production of implements such as
sculptures and carvings/engravings weapons and utensils. Wheel was used
as implement for transportation mechanics.
Mesolithic Age – transitional period
that gave way to the rise of shifting- Iron Age – characterized by the widespread use
farming civilizations of iron and steel which was used and modified
2 • Usage of microliths, small stone for use such as in religious practices,
tools made of flint used as agricultural usage, artistic tools and weapons
spearheads and arrowheads. and armors.
• Evidences of construction such as
that of Stonehenge in England.
Neolithic Age – the first agricultural
revolution, making way for
agricultural-mining civilizations
• Developed complex evidences of
numeric counting
• Development of metallurgy and
metalworking, the art and science
of extracting mineral ores and
modifying them for practical use.
• Invention of the wheel, primarily
introduced in making pottery.

16
 Ancient Period

The ancient times saw the rise of the world’s first great
civilizations. Science and technology during this period have diverted from
being solely for survival needs but also to satisfy curiosity. During this period,
knowledge became increasingly available due to the creation of proper writing
systems and record keeping.

Sumerian Civilization
• Invented the world’s first writing
system called cuneiform; a set of
word pictures depicted in symbols
made of triangular marks.
• Standardized measuring following
the sexagesimal (60 as base) system
of counting, e.g. 60 mins is 60
seconds.
Egyptian Civilization
• Developed the first crude and early
version of paper from the plant
papyrus.
• Writing was in the form of pictorial
symbols known as hieroglyphics.
• The Pyramids of Giza (wonder of the
Ancient World) was built during the
Golden Age of Egypt.
Roman Civilization
Emperor Hadrian designed the
Pantheon. The Colosseum was built
during the reign of Vespasian for
gladiatorial contests. Vespasian also
implemented a public urinal system
called vespasiano.
Arabic/Islamic Civilization
3 The Arabic cities prospered by
exploiting their strategic location.
Muhammad founded the religion Islam
at the Holy City of Mecca. In
technology, the Arabs were the first to
use glass lens for magnification.
Chinese Civilization
• Acupuncture was used to treat
illnesses
• Royal astronomer Chang Heng
invented the earthquake
weathercock (which is now the
modern-day seismograph)
• Cai Lun invent the paper and the
paper-making process.
Babylonian Civilization
Babylonia was the ancient region bordering
Tigris and Euphrates river, which once served
as the center of commerce and religion in the
valley. During the rule of Nebuchadnezzar II,
the Hanging Gardens of Babylon (one of the 7
wonders of the ancient world) was built.
Minoan Civilization
Situated in the Island of Crete with Knossos as
its capital. The Minoan’s script system was
called Linear A, which has not been fully
deciphered.
Greek Civilization
Greece served as the foundation of cultural and
philosophical development in the west.
Thales of Miletus – Father of Philosophy, said that
nature was composed of or convertible to water
Anaxagoras – argued that matter was composed
of countless tiny particles
Empedocles – stated that nature was a mixture of
earth, fire, air and water.
Hippocrates – Father of Greek Medicine, was first
to regard medicine as science apart from religion.
Galen – Greek physician, made the first steps for
the advancement of anatomy.
Aristotle – regarded as Father of many sciences,
pioneered and discovered information on variety,
structure and behavior of animals and plants.
Archimedes – performed experiments which led to
the discovery of the laws of levers and pulleys
that resulted in the invention of machines
thereof.

17

MEDIEVAL ERA
The Middle Ages is generally known as the
period between the Ancient Times and the
Modern Times. It witnessed the rise of the
Christian empire of Byzantium; the Islamic
empire of the Arabs; the T’ang dynasty in
China; Nara culture in Japan; and the
Mayans in Central America.
The power of the Catholic Church served as
a unifying force in Europe. The most notable
invention during the Medieval Era was the
Printing Press of Johannes Gutenberg in
Germany. It was the first movable metal type
printing press. The Gutenberg Bible, was
recorded as the world’s oldest mechanically
printed book.
RENASSAINCE ERA
Renaissance is the history of western Europe
which served as the period of rebirth. This
period regarded the publication of books and
the technology of printing most impactful.
The rebirth began with the publication of two
books which shook the ancient foundations
of knowledge.
Nicolaus Copernicus – Polish astronomer
who published On the Revolutions of
Heavenly Spheres. It challenged the
centuries-old geocentric universe of Ptolemy.
Copernicus proposed the heliocentric
theory of the universe, which was not
readily accepted and actually rejected by the
Catholic Church.
Andreas Vesalius – recognized as the
founder of modern medicine, surgeon and
anatomist Vesalius published On the Fabric
4of the Human Body. Vesalius laid out in
detail the first scientifically accurate
description of human anatomy.
Leonardo da Vinci – was a great Italian
artist and inventor. He anticipated and drew
up plans of future inventions such as the
helicopter, submarine, machine gun and
motor car.
Galileo Galilei – was a major scientist
prosecuted by the Church for heavily
supporting the heliocentric system. He
conducted scientific experiments on gravity
and falling objects, improved the telescope
and discovered celestial bodies.
SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION (17th Century)
One legacy of the Renaissance that pushed
forward the spread of scientific knowledge was
the emphasis on the supremacy of reason over
religion. And while no conflict existed between
science and religion, Galileo’s defense of the
Copernican Theory launched the Scientific
Revolution.
Francis Bacon – English statesman who
promoted observation and experimentation as
the proper way of deductive reasoning in the
conduct of scientific method.
Tycho Brahe – Danish astronomer who studied
geometric calculations and mathematical
precisions on celestial observations.
Johannes Kepler – German astronomer who
made the crucial discovery that orbits of planets
were not circular but elliptical, based on the
works of Brahe.
John Napier – Scottish mathematician who
discovered logarithms, which shortened the
laborious process of multiplying, dividing and
finding square roots.
Rene Descartes – French mathematician who
strengthened the power of reason against the
philosophy of Aristotle and Ptolemy. He worked
out analytical geometry.
Isaac Newton – English physicist who arrived at
theories on revolutionary hypotheses on
astronomy and physics. Invented calculus.
Explained the properties of light in the book The
Optiks.
Gottfried von Leibniz – simultaneously and
independently invented calculus with Newton.
Christian Huygens – Dutch physicist who
started the use of pendulum as time-controller
in clocks.
Hans Lippershey – improved the magnification
of telescopes.
Jan Swammerdam – invented microscope and
discovered red blood corpuscles.
Anthony van Leeuwenhoek – invented
microscope and discovered animalcules.
William Harvey – published diagrams of
human circulatory system.
Robert Hooke – discovered cells, a term that he
used to refer to thin layers of cork under his
microscope.
18
 Evangelista Toricelli – Italian Guglielmo Marconi – adapted Hertz’s works
mathematician who invented the and created a system of radiotelegraphy,
barometer. which became basis of the modern radio.
George Stephenson – developed the first
INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION (18th steam-powered locomotive.
Century)
19TH CENTURY
From the dawn of history, people relied on
physical labor, either directly or with tools 19th century witnessed the rise of modern
held or with animals guided by human industry. An unending stream of new products
hands. Gradually, power of production drove the emerging world. This century was
was supplied by human muscle with considered as the age of machine tools.
assistance from simple machines. The
phenomenal process of doing work from John Dalton – published the atomic theory.
human muscles to machines was aptly Louis Pasteur – developed pasteurization, a
called Industrial Revolution. method of food preservation by killing bacteria.
James Watt – Scottish engineer who Dmitri Mendeleev – formulated the Periodic
invented the first satisfactory condensing Table of Elements
steam engine. Hermann von Helmholtz – invented the
Benjamin Franklin – American statesman ophthalmoscope.
who experimented on electricy. Henri Becquerel – discovered radioactivity.
Luigi Galvani – pioneered Marie Curie & Pierre Curie – discovered the
bioelectromagnetic by putting two element radium.
different metals in contact with frog Joseph Thomson – discovered electron.
muscle. Karl Benz – made the first automobile.
Alessandro Volta – Italian physicist who Rudolf Diesel – developed the first diesel
successfully invented electric battery. engine.
Michael Faraday – British physicist who
conducted experiments on 20TH CENTURY
electromagnetism and in accordance
with Oersted and Ampere’s works, 20th century is one of the most noticeable in
eventually inventing the first dynamo. history in terms of technological advancements
Hans Oersted – Danish scientist who and scientific discoveries. With extensive use of
confirmed and expanded Faraday’s works the scientific method and research funding,
leading to the invention of electric motor. science and technology progressed rapidly. The
Andre Ampere – French physicist who Space Race between USA and Soviet Union
explained magnetic effects. proved that the sky is not the limit, with
Samuel Morse – used electromagnets and expeditions of men reaching as far as the
practically produced the first telegraph moon.
and developed the Morse Code system of
5 signals. Astronomy
Alexander Graham Bell – invented the Big Bang and Steady State Theory –
telephone and carried out the first explained the origin and evolution of the
telephone conversation. universe.
Thomas Edison – invented the Space probes closely observed the planets and
incandescent light bulb, phonograph, moons of the solar system.
motion picture equipment among Sputnik 1 – the first orbiting space probe
others. launched by the Soviet Union in 1957
Heinrich Hertz – produced Yuri Gagarin – the first man to journey in
electromagnetic waves through space and outer space
utilized them to broadcast and receive Neil Armstrong – first human to walk in
radio waves. another celestial body, the moon, through the
Apollo 11 mission.

19
 Biology
DNA Structure – the double helix was
determined and elucidated by the Rosalind
Franklin, Maurice Wilkins, James Watson
and Francis Crick.
Vaccine – the first vaccine was developed
by Jonas Salk for polio.
Spanish Flu – killed an approximate of 20
Technology
to 100 million people from 1918-1919.
Computers were developed and improved
HIV – a viral disease which arose in Africa
from the classical abacus.
and results in AIDS
Intel developed a microprocessor that made
computers smaller, cheaper, and more
Engineering and Production
user-friendly.
Home appliances increased dramatically
Bill Gates founded Microsoft, which would
due to the availability of electricity.
eventually turn out to be one of the biggest
Washing machines, dryers, refrigerators,
corporations in techno-science.
electric stoves and vacuum cleaners
Steve Jobs & Steve Wozniak introduced
became popular. Cassette tapes, transistor
Apple in 1976.
radio, CDs, VCRs and VHS were made. New
Internet was created for defense-related
materials such as stainless steel, Velcro,
research known as ARPANet or Advanced
silicone, Teflon, polyethylene, nylon, PVC
Research Projects Agency Network.
became widespread in application.
Tim Berners Lee invented the World Wide
Thousands of chemicals were developed for
Web.
industry and home application.
Henry Ford devised a system of mass
production for Model T in 1908 which
Physics and Chemistry
made cars available and affordable to the
Albert Einstein – explained physical
masses.
phenomena and published his Theory of
Artificial Intelligence was invented that
Relativity.
gave computers the capacity to perform
Wolfgang Pauli – developed the Pauli
human-like intellectual processes. Modern
Exclusion principle, explaining the state of
AI features specifically designed computers
electrons in an atom in quantum state.
that can respond similarly to humans.
Werner Heisenberg – key creator of
quantum mechanics and published
6 Uncertainty Principle
Gilbert Lewis – suggested that a chemical
bond is a pair of electrons shared by two
atoms. Lewis Structures.
Niels Bohr – proposed the Bohr model of
the atom.

Social Sciences
Ivan Pavlov – proposed the theory of
Classical Conditioning.

20
 History of STS in the
Philippines
PRECOLONIAL S&T
There is a very little reliable written
information about Philippine society, culture
and technology before the arrival of the
Spaniards in 1521. The early Filipinos had
attained a generally simple level of
technological development, compared with
those of the Chinese and Japanese, but this
was sufficient for their needs at that period
of time.
Archaeological findings indicate that modern
men from the Asian mainland first came
over-land and across narrow channels to
live in Palawan and Batangas around
50,000 years ago. For about 40,000 years,
they made simple tools or weapons of stone
flakes but eventually developed techniques
for sawing, drilling and polishing hard
stones.
Filipinos had also learned to build boats for
the coastal trade. By the tenth century A.D.,
this had become a highly developed
technology. In fact, the early Spanish
chroniclers took note of the refined plank-
built warship called caracoa. These boats
were well suited for inter-island trade raids.
By the tenth century A.D., the inhabitants
of Butuan were trading with Champa
(Vietnam); those of Ma-i (Mindoro) with
China. These indicate that regular trade
relations and barter between the two
countries had been well established during
the tenth to the fifteenth centuries.
7 By the time the Spaniards came to colonies
the Philippines in 1565; they found many
scattered, autonomous village communities
(called barangays) all over the archipelago.
These were kinship groups or social units
rather than political units.
On the whole, the pre-colonial Filipinos were
still highly superstitious. The Spaniards
found no temples or places of worship.
Although the Filipinos knew how to read
and write in their own system of baybayin,
this was mainly used for messages and
letters. They seem not to have developed a
written literary tradition at that time.
SPANISH COLONIAL PERIOD (1521-1898)
In 1521, Ferdinand Magellan discovered the
Philippines for Spain. The colonization has
largely contributed to the development of
S&T in the country. The beginnings of
modern science and technology in the
Philippines can be traced to the Spanish
regime. The Spaniards established schools,
hospitals and started scientific research and
these had important consequences for the
rise of the country’s professions. Several
expeditions from Mexico have been sent for
religious conversion. In 1571, Manila was
established as the capital of the central
government of the Governor-general.
There was very little development in
Philippine agriculture and industry during
the first two centuries of Spanish rule. This
was largely due to the dependence of the
Spanish colonizers on the profits from the
Galleon or Manila-Acapulco trade, which
lasted from 1565 to 1813.
Roads for horses and coaches were built to
connect provinces and towns. Stone
churches were built as religious centers.
Stone walls and fortifications were also built.
San Lazaro Hospital in Manila is considered
the oldest in the Far East, established in
1578 and still exists today. In 1602, Roman
alphabet was introduced and Spanish and
Tagalog texts were published.
Academic institutions were mandated to be
built, and this sparked the progress of
science in the country. The first educational
institutions offering courses above primary
levels were:
Colegio de San Ildefonso (University of
San Carlos) 1595, Colegio de Nuestra
Senora del Rosario (University of Santo
Tomas) 1611, Colegio de San Juan de
Letran 1706, Ateneo Municipal de Manila
1859
In 1802, Escuela de Nautica was organized
and offered courses in navigation,
meteorology and cosmology.
21

Throughout the Spanish regime, the royal
and pontifical University of Santo Tomas
remained as the highest institution of
learning. Run by the Dominicans, it was
established as a college in 1611 by Fray
Miguel de Benavides. It initially granted
degrees in theology, philosophy and
humanities.
In 1876, the UST granted the bachelor's
degree in pharmacy to its first six
graduates in the school of pharmacy.
Among them was Leon Ma. Guerrero,
who is usually referred to as the "Father
of Philippine Pharmacy" because of his
extensive work on the medicinal plants of
the Philippines and their uses. Higher
education during the Spanish regime was
generally viewed with suspicion and
feared by the colonial authorities as
encouraging conspiracy and rebellion
among the native Filipinos. For this
reason, only the more daring and
persevering students were able to
undertake advantaged studies.
The prosperity that resulted from
increased commerce between the
Philippines and the rest of the world
through the Suez Canal enabled Filipino
students to go to Europe for professional
advanced studies. These included Jose
Rizal who was able to pursue studies in
Medicine and specialize in ophthalmology
in Spain and Germany; Graciano
Apacible who studied medicine in
Madrid; Antonio Luna who obtained his
Ph.D. in pharmacy in Madrid and later
worked with renowned scientists in
Ghent and Paris; Jose Alejandrino who
8 took up engineering in Belgium, and
others.
Meteorological studies were promoted by
Jesuits who founded the Manila
Observatory in 1865. The Observatory
collected and made available typhoon
and climatological observations. These
observations grew in number and
importance so that by 1879, it became
possible for Fr. Federico Faura to issue
the first public typhoon warning. In
1901, the Observatory was made a
central station of the Philippine Weather
Bureau which was set up by the
American colonial authorities.
AMERICAN COLONIAL PERIOD
S&T in the Philippines advanced rapidly during
the American regime. This was made possible by
the
simultaneous government encouragement and
support for an extensive public education
system.
The Americans introduced a system of
secularized public school education as soon as
civil government was set up in the islands. On
21 January 1901, the Philippine Commission,
which acted as the executive and legislative body
for the Philippines until 1907, promulgated Act
No. 74 creating a Department of Public
Instruction in the Philippines. It provided for the
establishment of schools that would give free
primary education, with English as the medium
of instruction. Subsequent establishment of
public educational institutions eventually led to
the creation of the first state university in the
country, University of the Philippines.
Act in 1933 creating the National Research
Council of the Philippine Islands (NRCP). Aside
from working for the promotion of scientific
research, the NRCP actively participated in the
deliberations and drafting of provisions affecting
science and industry in the 1934 Constitutional
Convention.
COMMONWEALTH ERA
In 1935, the Philippine Commonwealth was
inaugurated and ushered in a period of
transition to political independence. The
Constitution acknowledged the importance of
promoting scientific development for the
economic development by incorporating a
provision (Article XIII, Section 4) "The State shall
promote scientific research and invention, Arts
and Letters shall be under its patronage..."
The government, which was by this time
completely under Filipino management,
continued to expand its public school system to
accommodate the increasing number of
schoolchildren.
On the whole, higher education was provided
mainly by the private sector. By 1936, there
were 425 private schools recognized by the
government, 64 of which we institutions at the
College level and 7 were universities. These were
Centro Escolar University, Far Easter University,
National University,
22
 Philippine Women's University,
Silliman University, University of
Manila and the University of Santo
Tomas. Together with the University of
the Philippines these had a total of 19,575
college students in all universities in the
country.
In spite of all these efforts, the
Commonwealth government was unable to
achieve its goal of economic self-reliance.
This was primarily because foreign trade
and tariff policies remained under the
control of the American government.
Moreover, the Pacific War broke out in
1941 and the Philippines was occupied by
Japanese troops.
The occupation of the Philippines by the
Japanese during the War brought
educational and scientific activities
practically to a halt as able bodied citizens
joined the resistance movement. Manila,
which was the center of all educational
and scientific activities, was razed to the
ground, destroying everything that had
been built up before. It was in this
condition that the Philippines became an
independent state.
SINCE INDEPENDENCE
The Science Act created the National
Science Development Board (NSDB) to
formulate policies for the development of
science and coordinate the work of
science agencies. In 1982, NSDB was
further reorganized into a National
Science and Technology Authority
9 (NSTA) composed of four research and
Development Councils; Philippine Council
for Agriculture and Resources Research
and Development; Philippine Council for
Industry and Energy Research
Development; Philippine Council for
Health Research and Development and
the NRCP. In 1987, under Aquino’s
administration, the NSTA was reorganized
into the Department of Science and
Technology (DOST). DOST is a central
agency mandated to provide direction,
leadership and coordination of all
scientific and technological activities in
the country.
Science Education Institutions (SEI) was
created to accomplish the task of administering
scholarships, awards and grants in S&T and
formulating plans for the promotion and
development of S&T.
Science and Technology Information
Institute was created to establish and develop
a S&T databank and library.
Philippine Council for Advanced Science and
Technology Research and Development was
a sectoral council of the DOST tasked for the
coordination of a national system of advance
S&T.
Philippine Atmosphere Geophysical and
Astronaut Services Administration was
established to give environmental protection
and utilize scientific information to ensure
safety of the nation.
CURRENT STATE OF S&T IN THE
PHILIPPINES
According to the Technology Index of 1982,
the S&T in the Philippines is defined to be -0.1
compared to the U.S., the world's technology
leader, which is 100. The technology index is
defined as the average of the sum of the
number of patents and registration of new
designs, technology trade, value added in
manufacturing and the export of technology-
intensive goods.
The Philippines also ranks low in terms of
technological capacity. This is seen in the
shortage of scientists and engineers doing R&D
(research and development), and of the
inadequate national resources and budget
devoted to R&D. All these factors translate to
the minimal patents granted in the Philippines,
which likewise indicates little or no economic
significance.
With regards to the type of basic technologies--
Materials Technology, Equipment Technology,
Energy Technologies, Information Technologies,
Life Technologies and Management
Technologies, the Philippines has only a pre-
operative capability in the third-wave of
development in these technologies.
23