Science 100: Science, Technology, and Society

Introduction to Science, Technology, and Society

• Science, Technology, and Society (STS) is the study of the interactions between scientific, technological, and social phenomena.
• STS is a dynamic process that involves the acquisition of new knowledge and the utilization of such knowledge to devise new or improved products and processes.

The Nature of Science

• Science is the description, understanding, and prediction of physical phenomena through the use and generation of verifiable theories, laws, and principles.
• Research and development are usual activities associated with science as a process.

The Nature of Technology

• Technology is the use of scientific knowledge and/or empirical know-how for the production, improvement, and distribution of goods and services, as well as the satisfaction of other material needs.
• Technology is a broad concept that deals with a species' usage and knowledge of tools and crafts, and how it affects a species' ability to control and adapt to its environment.

The Nature of Society

• Society is an organized group of individuals who work together because of common interests, beliefs, or practices in order to achieve a common goal.
• The functional unit of society is the individual or man, who is basically responsible for the intellectual concerns of the society.
• Society is concerned with any area where the individual benefits from the knowledge of science and technology.

The Role of Man's Mind in Society

• Man is described as a physically vulnerable entity because his survival depends on how he makes practical use of his mind.
• Man is free from physical danger and from elements of nature for as long as he employs the ideas of others or generates his own ideas.
• Society is concerned with any area where the individual benefits from the knowledge of science and technology.

The Importance of Science and Technology

• Science and technology have played a crucial role in increasing the scope and efficacy of medical care in this century.
• Science and technology have also played a major role in increasing the country's productivity (amount of output generated per unit of input).
• The substantial individual and public health benefits afforded by technical advances achieved in recent years are widely recognized and highly valued in contemporary industrial societies.

Impacts of Science and Technology

• The development and use of potent products such as nuclear weapons, products designed for chemical or biological warfare, and products that threaten the sustainability of the ecosystem pose a threat to human survival.
• The exploitation of advanced scientific knowledge and technological devices and systems sometimes gives rise to situations in which these advances seem to have turned upon their beneficiaries, creating ethical and legal dilemmas.
• Science and technology have made possible the possession of a cornucopia of sophisticated material goods by millions of people of the industrialized countries, but there is a big gap on the level of material affluence between the less developed and developed nations.

Interrelationship and Dynamics between Science and Technology

• Science and technology are not independent variables; they interact and interpenetrate with each other.
• Science cannot develop without the required technology infrastructure needed for research and development.
• Technology cannot advance without continuing inputs from science.

Differences between Science and Technology

• Science seeks to discover the workings of nature, while technology seeks to invent new or improve tools and materials or better ways of doing things.
• Science is concerned with knowing why, while technology is concerned with knowing how.
• The results of science are new knowledge, which may be theory-based or theory-related, while the results of technology are new products or processes.

Limitations of Science and Technology

• Science cannot answer questions of morality, values, or aesthetics.
• Science cannot prove the existence of a supernatural being.
• Science cannot answer all categories of questions.
• Science cannot guarantee immediate solutions to problems.
• Scientific laws ultimately rest on past observations, but future predictions cannot be absolutely certain.
• Many events occur simultaneously, but we cannot be certain that the same situation will lead to the same results.
• Technology has natural, ethical, and economic limitations.