Science, Technology, and Society PDF

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY A Reading Material Prepared by: Christine Polyanna Zabariza Department of Biological Sciences I. INTRODUCTION TO SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY A. The Nature of Science, Technology, and Society WHAT IS SCIENCE? 1. S...

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY A Reading Material Prepared by: Christine Polyanna Zabariza Department of Biological Sciences I. INTRODUCTION TO SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY A. The Nature of Science, Technology, and Society WHAT IS SCIENCE? 1. Science is an empirical field. From the Greek word empeirikos meaning "experienced’, the term empirical was originally used in medicine for doctors making choices based on observation and experiment rather than theoretical ideas. Today, it is used to refer to any kind of knowledge that comes from experience. Taking these into context, science as an empirical field simply means that it is a body of knowledge built up out of the elements of experience. You need to use your senses- seeing, hearing, tasting touching, and smelling. But most importantly, we use our common sense above all! Simply put, science is not science without proof. 2. Science is a Systematic Field When we say something is systematic, it follows specific steps in order to reach a certain conclusion. The same goes with science as it requires a system so it can work. At its core lies a problem-solving approach called the scientific method. Everything starts with an observation and naturally, questions will pop-up, making you curious of something. That’s when you create potential answers or educated guesses, scientifically known as hypothesis. Next, you plan out methods on how you may be able to prove/disprove your hypothesis. Then, you start collecting data to test its validity. Once all the data are gathered, it is time to examine the information and draw conclusions about what has been found. The last step is to share your findings with others. It is through communicating that science is advanced. 3. Science Covers General Truths and Facts In this day of fake news and conspiracy theories, it’s quite difficult to know the truth about almost anything. So how do you get truths and facts? Fortunately, science is there! Proper application of the scientific method allows us to get to the truth through careful observation and rigorous testing and re-examination of data. Without these steps and just simply concluding things, we will all be left with nothing but empty claims. 4. Science is a Total Societal Enterprise What does it mean when you say societal enterprise? From the term itself, science achieves social impact alongside a financial return. So it is a balance between profit and social value. Let’s take medical treatments as an example. While the hospital benefits from the patients asking for treatment, the hospital’s main goal is to heal and help people. Science should not be seen as just for the advancement of knowledge, nor as a mere economic activity, providing products and services to generate income, no. Science is mainly there to develop relevant, effective, and accessible solutions according to the needs of the community. Science generally means state of knowing or possessing knowledge that is sufficiently general, clearly conceptualized, carefully reasoned, systematically organized, critically examined, and empirically tested.  WHAT IS TECHNOLOGY? 1. Technology is an Applied Science Applied science is a discipline that is used to apply existing scientific method and knowledge drawn from conclusions to develop more practical goals and applications. Technology is one of the fruits of studies and discoveries in scientific history. Do you ever wonder how rockets were formed and soared into space? The design of a flight vehicle demands a knowledge of many technology/engineering disciplines and complex scientific concepts and processes. Technological advancement is made possible because of scientific research, knowledge, and discoveries. Technology, in essence, is one of the many applications of science. 2. Technology is a Body of Knowledge and Skills by which We Control and Modify the World We already know that science is a body of knowledge – a collection of valuable information about a certain phenomenon. But we should realize that technology is also the same. From intelligent robots and self- driving cars to gene editing and 3D printing, dramatic technological change is happening at lightning speed all around us with the use of systematized knowledge and skills. With the rise of the digital age, technology has the power to do many things, and changing the world is one of them. Long time ago, air travel was way too vague a concept to grasp but now, we can even go to the space! Communication was made unbelievably fast and convenient. Computers are increasingly faster, more portable, and higher-powered than ever before. With all of these revolutions, technology has also made our lives easier, faster, better, and more fun. 3. Technology is a Total Societal Enterprise Just like science, technology is supposedly a total societal enterprise. Again, that means that social welfare or benefit of the community must always be in the picture. But with the rise of capitalism, the financial value is now being considered more than the social value. Definition of Society Society is a group of people with common interests, traditions, purpose, and/or activity. Human societies are characterized by patterns of relationships (social relations) between individuals who share a distinctive culture and institutions. A society can enable its members to benefit in ways that would not otherwise be possible on an individual basis Interconnections of S-T-S Let us see the interplay among these three terms. Science aims to improve society. When society improves, it develops hunger for further improvement and so demands more from science. Society also benefits from technology because technology makes life easier for society. When technology is newly created, society enjoys its benefits, but as further problem arises, some technology needs to be improved and so technology demands from science because in most cases science informs technology. This is the ideal setting. Of course in a real-life setting, there are also other factors that come into play. The influence of the government, the capitalists, and other sectors in the society on these interconnections make it complicated. Emergence of STS as a New Field of Study Science and Technology Studies (STS) is a relatively new academic field. Its roots lie in the interwar period and continue into the start of the Cold War, when historians and sociologists of science, and scientists themselves, became interested in the relationship between scientific knowledge, technological systems, and society. The best-known product of this interest was Thomas Kuhn’s classic 1962 study, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. This influential work helped crystallize a new approach to historical and social studies of science, in which scientific facts were seen as products of scientists’ socially conditioned investigations rather than as objective representations of nature. Originally, STS is only offered at the University of the Philippines Diliman but in 2013, the Commission on Higher Education adopted the course and included STS in the list of General Education subject offerings of colleges and universities in the entire country. Science, Technology and Society (STS) is an interdisciplinary field that studies the conditions under which the production, distribution and utilization of scientific knowledge and technological systems occur; the consequences of these activities upon different groups of people. It tracks the history of disciplines, the dynamics of science as a social institution and the philosophical basis for scientific knowledge.