UNIT I

General Concepts in Science, Technology, and

Society
 HISTORICAL ANTECEDENTS IN THE COURSE
OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Science and technology indeed play major roles in the everyday life. They
make difficult a and complicated tasks easier and allow people to do me
with so little effort and time. The development in this field are not just
products of people’s imagination or a one-time thought process; there
are also brought about by gradual improvement to earlier works from
different time periods. The driving force behind this continuous progress
is the desire to raise the quality of life of the people.
 ANCIENT TIMES

In the ancient times, people were concerned with transportation and

navigation, communication and record keeping, mass production, security
and protection, as well as heath, aesthetics, and architecture.
 ANCIENT TIMES

Transportation was significant during that time because people were

trying to go places and discover new horizons. They travelled to search
for food and find better locations for their settlements. They also
travelled to trade their surplus goods in exchange for things that they
lacked. Navigation assisted them in their journeys to unfamiliar and
strange areas in the world. It allowed them to return home after they
discovered new places or completed an important trade with another
group of people.
 ANCIENT TIMES
Communication was also essential in their endeavors to discover and
occupy new places. They needed a way to communicate with the natives
of the areas they visited so as to facilitate trade and prevent possible
conflicts. Record-keeping was also important since they needed to
remember the places they had been to and document the trades they
made with each other. It was also vital to keep records of their history
and culture so they could establish their identities as they tried to relate
with other cultures and civilizations.
 ANCIENT TIMES

The increase in size and number of nations connoted increased demand

for food and other basic necessities. This condition also implied that
people must be able to produce food at a given time and space since
resources were getting scarcer as more people struggled to share the
basic necessities. The people thus needed a form of technology that
would enable them to increase food supplies and other survival needs
without them travelling more or working harder.
 ANCIENT TIMES

A primary challenge they faced was the conservation of life. The early
people might have been successful in harnessing the rich resources that
the world could provide, but their survival posed a great problem.
Different illnesses and diseases, both natural and man-made, hampered
the full potential of human being. Given this predicament, science and
technology played a major role in the discovery of cures to, if not the
prevention of illnesses.
 ANCIENT TIMES

With all these in mind, one can conclude that the developments in
science and technology, aside from affecting the lives of the people were
the results of many prior antecedents. Out of necessity, people in ancient
times were able to discover and invent things that would impact the Lives
of the modern people.
 SUMERIAN CIVILIZATION

Sumeria is located in the other test tip of ancient Mesopotamia.

Sumerians Known for their high degree of cooperation with one another
and their desire for great things. They are not contented with the base
things that life can offer. This desire pushed them to develop many things
connected with science and technology.
 MEDIEVAL/MIDDLE AGES
The start of the middle ages was marred by massive invasions and
migrations. Wars were prevalent during this time. As such, great
technology was needed in the fields of weaponry, navigation, mass food
and farm production, and health. The wars have resulted in population
decline, but during the latter part of the period, there was a significant
rise in population. Trade and commerce among nations increased, which
resulted in greater demands for transportation technology. Some of the
most innovative minds came from this period.
 MODERN TIMES
The booming world population during the nineteenth century onwards
demanded that more goods be produced at a faster rate. People needed
efficient means of transportation to trade more goods and cover a larger
distance. Machines that required animals to operate must thus be
upgraded. Faster and easier means to communicate and compute should
be developed to establish connections between and among nations. All
these needs resulted in the development of industries. However, due to
massive industrialization, the modern times again faced more
complicated problems. Food processing and medicine posed some of the
bigger challenges since health was of great concern.