Science, Technology, and Society (STS)

• The text provides a review of Science, Technology, and Society (STS), covering key concepts, historical events, Philippine S&T, and intellectual revolutions.

Science

• Science originates from the Latin word "Scientia," meaning knowledge.
• It seeks knowledge about general truths and fundamental laws.
• Science is a system of knowledge concerning the physical world and its phenomena.
• It requires unbiased observation and systematic experimentation.
• Branches of science include social sciences (psychology, sociology) and natural sciences.
• Natural science is further divided into pure science (for living things - biological science, for non-living things - physical science, earth science) and applied science.
• Four characteristics of science: focuses on the natural world, goes through experiments, relies on evidence, and passes through the scientific community.

Challenges in Science

• Geocentric model: Earth is the center of the universe, supported by Ptolemy.
• Heliocentric model: The sun is the center of the solar system, proposed by Nicolaus Copernicus and later proven by Galileo.
• Creationism: Life was created by a divine being (God).
• Evolution: Life evolved over time through natural selection and genetic mutations, developed by Charles Darwin.

Technology

• Technology is derived from the Greek words "Techne" (art, skill, or craft) and "Logos" (word, thought, principle, or speech).
• Technology is the application of scientific knowledge to improve human life and manipulate the environment.
• Examples of technology: Transportation (cars, airplanes), Food & Agriculture (irrigation, food processing), Work & Labor (computers, automation), Medicine & Health (vaccines, medical equipment), Pollution Control (renewable energy), Warfare (military technology).

Society

• Society is derived from the Latin word "Socius," meaning association or companionship.
• Society is a large group of individuals connected by culture, values, and social norms.
• Science, Technology, and Society (STS) studies the influence of social, political, and cultural values on scientific research and technological innovation, and vice versa.

Relationship of Science, Technology, and Society

• Science seeks to improve and develops new knowledge.
• Technology makes life easier and applies new knowledge.
• Society demands more and shapes research needs.
• Science relies on technology for experiments.
• Technology advances through scientific breakthroughs.
• Society benefits from innovations.
• Science drives technology by enabling new innovations.
• Technology improves scientific research through better tools and methods.
• Society shapes science and technology based on needs and ethical considerations.
• Science is essential for technology advancement, enabling some scientific experiments.
• Scientific questions evolve based on available technology.

Global Events in the History of Science & Technology

• Ancient Period:
  • Europe: Fire, stone-header spears, wooden bows and arrows, sewing needles from bones, ironworking, false teeth from gold.
  • Americas: Stone arrowheads, sophisticated tools, pottery, irrigation canals, reed boats, Olmec sculptures.
  • Asia & Oceania: Clay pots, wine, bronze, plow, boats with anchor, lunar calendar, clay pipes, acupuncture, comet and solar eclipse records, writing on bamboo, Hindu calendar, natural gas for lighting.
  • Africa & Middle East: Stone tools, sharpened stones, antlers for tools, bone harpoons, sun-dried bricks, clay tokens, wheel, glass, maps, irrigation, positional number system.
  • Egypt: 365-day calendar, hieroglyphic, Garawi river dam, pyramids, drugs, leprosy symptoms, Nile canal.
  • Mesopotamia: Wheel, glass, maps, irrigation, positional number system.
  • Sumerians: 360-day calendar, alphabet, comet studies, positional number system, medicine as a science, planet/star list.
• Medieval Period (c. 500-1500):
  • "Dark Ages": Minimal scientific progress and written records.
  • Charlemagne established a scholastic tradition.
  • Key inventions: Vertical windmills, spectacles, mechanical clocks, Gothic architecture.
  • Johannes Gutenberg (1440): Printing press.
• Renaissance Period (14th-17th Century):
  • Revival of scientific learning.
  • Printing with movable type.
  • Nicolaus Copernicus proposed the Heliocentric Model.
  • Galileo Galilei invented the telescope and confirmed heliocentrism.
• Industrial Revolution (18th-19th Century):
  • Shift from manual labor to machines.
  • Key development includes steam engine, iron production, textiles.
  • James Watt improved the steam engine; Robert Fulton invented the steamboat.
  • George Stephenson invented the steam-powered locomotive.
  • Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone; Thomas Edison invented the lightbulb.
• 19th Century – The Age of Machine Tools:
  • Lasted from 1801-1900.
  • Witnessed the rise of modern industry.
  • Useable electricity, steel, and petroleum products led to a second industrial revolution.

Scientific discoveries of the Machine Age

• John Dalton: Atomic Theory, and colorblindness studies (1803).
• Dmitri Mendeleev: Periodic Table.
• Marie & Pierre Curie: Radium.
• Hans Oersted discovered electric current affects magnets.
• Michael Faraday invented Dynamo (electric generator).
• Samuel Morse invented the telegraph; Karl Benz & Gottlieb Daimler invented the first cars.
• 20th Century – Modern Era: Rapid technological progress in communication, transportation, military research, development of personal computers and microprocessors, founding of Apple (Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak), creation of the Internet (ARPANET), and emergence of Artificial Intelligence.

Events in Philippine Science & Technology History

• Pre-Spanish Period: Stone tools, weapons, mining, pottery, rice terraces, warships, Baybayin alphabet, lunar calendar, herbal medicine.
• Spanish Period: Agriculture, infrastructure, Galleon Trade, University of Santo Tomas (UST) founded.
• Post-Colonial Period: Bureau of Government Laboratories, Science Act of 1958 → National Science Development Board.
• Marcos Period: Funding for science education, PAGASA, Philippine Science High Schools, Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) project.
• Fifth Republic (1986-Present): Department of Science & Technology (DOST) created, start of the Internet Age (1994), Biofuel Act, Balik Scientist Act.

Notable Filipino Inventions & Scientists

• Fe del Mundo: Bamboo incubator (1941).
• Gregorio Zara: Videophone (1955).
• De La Salle University: Solar-powered car (SINAG, 2007).
• Narciso Mosuela: Super Kalan (award-winning stove).
• Diosdado Banatao: Single-chip graphical user interface.
• Marc Loinaz: One-chip video camera.
• Roberto del Rosario: Karaoke Machine (1975).
• Abelardo Aguilar: Erythromycin antibiotic.
• Filipino Engineers: Fluorescent lamp, Lunar Rover.

Intellectual Revolutions

• Definition of Paradigm Shift: A fundamental change in basic concepts and practices of a scientific discipline (Thomas Kuhn).
• Quote: "Change is hardest at the beginning, messiest in the middle, and best at the end."

Age of Enlightenment (18th Century)

• A period in Europe when writers and thinkers questioned established beliefs in favor of reason and scientific proof.
• Major Intellectual Revolutions:

Copernican Revolution (Astronomical Paradigm Shift)

• Pre-Copernican Beliefs: Ancient civilizations believed the Earth was flat and Aristotle proved that Earth was spherical and at the center (Geocentric Model).
• Claudius Ptolemy's Geocentric Model used epicycles to explain planetary motion.
• Copernican Heliocentric Model: Aristarchus of Samos first attempted to create a heliocentric model.
• Nicolaus Copernicus revived the Heliocentric Model explained in his book.
• Retrograde motion was more easily explained with the heliocentric model.
• Challenges to the Copernican Model: The Church banned heliocentric books; it failed to explain stellar parallax.
• Galileo Galilei's telescope confirmed the Copernican model.
• Johannes Kepler's elliptical orbits Laws of Planetary Motion improved the heliocentric model.

Darwinian Revolution (Evolutionary Biology)

• Pre-Darwinian Beliefs: Creationism (Natural Theology): Life created by God.
• Assumptions: Fixed and unchanging species, Earth was 6,000 years old, species were perfectly designed.
• Lamarckism (Jean-Baptiste Lamarck): Theory of Use and Disuse and Inheritance of Acquired Characteristics (disproven).
• Charles Darwin's Theory of Evolution (Natural Selection) based on observations of finches in the Galápagos Islands.
• Wrote On the Origin of Species (1859), explaining descent with modification.
• Four Principles of Darwinian Evolution: Variation, Inheritance, Selective Pressure, Survival of the Fittest.
• Key Concept: Natural Selection = Evolution over time.

Freudian Revolution (Psychology & Human Mind)

• Sigmund Freud studied unconscious thoughts, desires, and memories, and developed Topographical & Structural Models of the Mind.
• Topographical Model of the Mind: Conscious, Preconscious, and Unconscious Mind.
• Structural Model of the Mind: Id (Pleasure Principle), Superego (Morality Principle), and Ego (Reality Principle).
• Key Concepts: Freud's Psychoanalysis explains mental disorders/human behavior and conflict in the mind leads to anxiety.

Concept of Nation-Building

• A nation is a group, people race that share history, traditions, culture, religion, they also have a unique language.
• People of a specific nation share a common national identity.
• A state is a territory organized under a political community with one government, composed of territory, population, government, and sovereignty.
• Nation-Building: Defining the process of constructing a national identity using the power of the state.
• The goal is to transform a violent society into a peaceful one.
• Providing: Security, food, shelter, and essential services, economic and political stability.
• Three Key Elements of Nation-Building:
  • Building a political entity.
  • Building institutions
  • Building a collective national identity

Development and National Building

• Development:
  • Philosophically the – Improvement of mankind.
  • Decision-making influences values and culture globally .
  • Development ≠ Change – Not all change is good; some changes can lead to retrogressions or as dis developmental.
• Development Requires: Balancing technological change with social intervention Ensuring that advancements in science and technology benefit the people.

Role of Science & Technology in Nation-Building

• Key Areas of Contribution: Agriculture, Healthcare, Environment, Economics (Production), Economics (Employment), Economics (Good Quality), Security, Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), Infrastructure, Social Services.
• Science & Technology for National and International Progress:
  • Countries with strong scientific and technological foundations develop faster.
  • Developing nations invest in science and technology. Benchmarking best practices from developed nations. Key Government Strategies for Science & Technology Advancement.
  • Science and Technology Innovation (STI) crucial.

Science & Technology in the 1987 Philippine Constitution:

• Recognizes the importance of science and technology in national development.
• Section in constitution addresses S&T priorities of Philippines.

Key S&T Government Agencies

• Commission on Higher Education (CHED) that oversees higher education institutions (HEls) to ensure quality and accessibility.
• Congressional Commission on Science, Technology, and Engineering (COMSTE).
• Department of Science and Technology (DOST) the Primary S&T body responsible for policies, leadership and coordination in scientific dev.
• Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) that works with DOST to find innovation and technological advancements.
• National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) that formulates national development plans to align economic groth with S&T policies.

Philippine Development Plan (PDP)

• Government's blueprint to economic growth driven by S&T.
• PDP includes Regaining trust (Malasakit), Reducing Inequality (Pagbabago), Accelerating economic advancement (Kaunnlaran).

Issue Based S&T Programs

• TUBIG Program is for water security
• SAPAT Program is for food security
• LIKAS program is for health sufficiency
• ALERT Program is for clean energy research
• SAKLAW Program is for environmental sustainability
• ATIN program is for nation-building
• PSHS system are for science-oriented students with strong aptitudes _ Science for Change Program (S4CP) focuses on R&D
• Balik Scientist Program encourages Filipino Scientists to return to national S&T
• STARBOOKS library provides access to S&T
• Tuklas Lunas program develops medicine from natural resources.

National Scientists of the Philippines:

• The Order of National Scientists is the highest award for Filipino scientists.
• Scientists and Fields mentioned.
• Aisa Mijeno - SALT which rums of saltwater.

Science Education & Regional Development

• ASEAN Economic Community
• United Nations Sustainable Development Goals include global goals targeting: poverty inequality, climate change and economis growth.
• DOST-NRCP's Role in Development research, development and fostering, enhacing and capacity.