Module 1_Overview of History of Science and Technology.pdf

1. An Overview of the History of the Relationship of Science and Technology and Culture (Weeks 1 and 2) There are number of lenses with which we can look at the development of sciences. Due to this, we might highlight some perception more over other ways of viewing things. As we cite some examples i...

1. An Overview of the History of the Relationship of Science and Technology and Culture (Weeks 1 and 2) There are number of lenses with which we can look at the development of sciences. Due to this, we might highlight some perception more over other ways of viewing things. As we cite some examples in history, we emphasize the interaction of science and culture and vice-versa. At the end of this module you should be able to: 1. Relate the concept of technological determinism and creative destruction in some events in the development of science and technology throughout history. 2. Explain the role of institutions and institutionalization of knowledge in the development of the sciences. 3. Discuss the impact of the spread of Western Science on colonies of previous imperialist states. Technological Determinism The main idea behind technological determinism is that advances in technology is the driver of change in social values and norms in society. The development of this thinking is associated with the philosopher Thomas Veiblen under the some influence from the ideas of Karl Marx. Figure 1 summarizes some of the main ideas from Marx with the discussion of the base and the superstructure. The figure incorporates some of the aspect of the interaction of technology (means of production) with culture and society (superstructure). The diagram highlights that new tools (i.e. means of production) shapes (maintains) how the superstructure is manifested. The superstructure then as shown below attempts to maintain (shapes) the means of production. The process is seen to behave spirally in that new technology influences the superstructure which in turn influences development of new technology moving on and on indefinitely in time. Figure 1: Summary of the Idea of the Base and the Superstructure. The means of production (technology) shapes the superstructure. The Relationship of Tool Creation/New Technology with the Formation of New Social order. The role of an individual to their society is related to their standing and class with respect to their societies. As in Figure 1, we highlight the creation of new tools/technology and how it may have impacted the early social groups of our ancestors. The point of asking some of these questions below is to emphasize how framework in Figure 1 could be interpreted and applied at various points in our human history. Based on the framework in Figure 1, attempt to draw out the possible impact in history of how the new tool affected our social structures then. Stone Age to Early Bronze Age to Dawn of Agriculture. (Attempt answering the following questions in your head before proceeding to the next parts) 1. Discuss how difference in skill level of using hunting tools might have impacted social structures in early human society. 2. Relate how the development of food preservation techniques (e.g. creation of pots, salt mining, discovery of fire) might have impacted distribution of food in early society. 3. Discuss how the establishment of agriculture, resulting to greater food security further created new roles in our society. As one can see, food distribution may be central to the creation of new social structure. It can be argued that those who are skilled hunters would more likely be assigned to the distribution of food in the early social groups, making those hunters take on leadership roles in the early society. New food preservation techniques may have further reinforced the idea of ownership of food and the ability of controlling its distribution. The need of less people in food production may have resulted in the need to create new roles in our past societies. The success of agriculture gave rise to early city-states and larger empire which create new roles and creation of newer social structures to regulate the increasing population. Bronze Age and Iron Age Cities and Empires Advances in agricultures led to social stratification and the emergence of classes whose main task is in the administration of people. There is a need to control our food supply, maintain order in the society, protect the population from calamities and catastrophes and so on. Going back as in Figure 1, one may see that the new ways of controlling the population (e.g. politics, emerging forms of government) from the rise of development of tools would attempt to maintain the earlier modes of production. The slavery system seen in large iron age empires (e.g. Rome) may be means to maintain control of food production and building creation. The creation of laws resulting in the creation of soldiers, warriors, administrators, scribes, and politicians can also be ways of maintaining means of production that are seen to stabilize existing social order. The emergence of an elite class in our early societies can also be linked to the establishment of some social order to maintain existing modes of production. One such class are some of your well-known philosophers. In the Greek and Roman times, one can argue that ideas from Greek and Roman Philosophers (Abstraction of Thought) eventually led to the development of formalized way thinking and doing science, thereby significantly shaping our current science and technology. The Middle Ages in Europe and Renaissance The Fall of Rome may have resulted in the fall of administrative of a large part of the Europe. This also led to the fall of the elite and wealthy class dependent on the slave labor in the Roman Empire. Feudalism emerged within this period and the rise of the Catholic Church in Europe was seen. The general thinking in this period in Europe of Science and Technology is that the sciences did not develop as much. Focus is on technological development for practical purposes (e.g. better windmills, watermills vs. advances in mathematics, chemistry, and physics). Developments in abstract thought and sciences were seen more in the Islamic and Chinese empires in this period. Technological and scientific advances are more or less spearheaded through the Catholic church by the clergy in the monasteries e.g. (Roger Bacon (a Franciscan Friar), Nicolaus Copernicus (Polish monk)). Advances in shipbuilding in the late Middle Ages and better trade administration (e.g. emergence of new trade concepts such as bonds, securities, stocks) gave rise to the Italian city states (e.g. Florence, Rome, Pisa, Genoa, etc.). The increase in concentration of wealth in these city-states resulted in the emergence of a more powerful wealthy class that can challenge previous dominant social structures (e.g. monarchy and the Catholic Church). The new wealthy families (e.g. Medicis, Borgias, etc.) with their extreme wealth were able to patronize “Renaissance Men” which led to further developments in arts, sciences, and technology during that time. Institutionalization of Science and Towards Industrialization. The institutionalization of science would not have been formalized without the works of Rene Descartes and Francis Bacon. Rene Descartes formalized deductive reasoning in his Discourse on Methods. Francis Bacon on the other hand, emphasized the need of rigorous data collection to prove or disprove a proposition. Bacon also warned scientists of the four idols (Tribe, Cave, Marketplace, Theater). The Royal Academy of London and French Royal Academy of Sciences were both established in the 1660s. The formalization of the sciences can be argued to have greatly impact the generation of larger bodies of knowledge culminating in the Industrial Revolution. Formalizing a group and instituting an organization consolidates certain common goals and vision among its members. The group maybe exclusive to outsiders yet at the same time promote prestige and eventually gain authority over their fields of pursuit. Industrial Revolution and Culture The industrial revolution was a period initially seen in Britain of rapid production of goods largely driven by advances in science and technology, finance, and politics. It has brought rapid social change that made lives of people a little more complex. Below are tables that highlight differences in society prior to industrialization and after industrialization. Table 1: Summary of Some Differences in an Industry-based and Agriculture- based Mode of Production Component Agriculture-based Industry-based Formal Education Not Needed Needed (e.g.Operation of Machines, Basic transactions requires some level of literacy) Production of Good Single Production of Mass Production of Goods Goods (Factories)_ Time (Synchronization) Relaxed time frame Tasks requires specific times in the minute/second scale. (Why time is important in those cultures that first industrialized?) Standardization Goods are not Goods should follow certain standardized. standards. (e.g. standard size of parts to construct a car, muskets, guns, etc.) Concentration/Specialization In creating goods, In the factory setting, division of efforts are diffused. labor means that people focus on doing specific tasks. Professionalization In doing work, Doing standardized work degrees may not be resulted in the need of considered necessary certification from an institution to do a specific task. (e.g. teaching, medicine, engineering) Business Structure More horizontal. More top-down. The need to control larger amounts of people The sudden change in modes of production would be argued to have impacted society. For one, labor related issues emerged resulting in the need to address worker rights. Another example is the need for formalized education to thrive in world that becomes more and more industry based. The way at looking at capitalism as a world view which manifested more in the industrial revolution also made way to new ways of thinking in the changing social structures. Creative Destruction and Life and Death of Industries Creative destruction is a concept coined by Austrian economist Joseph Schumpeter. The main idea is that to have innovation and create new things, old structures are needed to be destroyed. This idea could be argued to be first manifested in the case of the Luddites and was recently observed in the case of Blockbuster, CDs to USB to Cloud Storage, etc. Case of the Luddites. The Luddites are members of a movement in industrial revolution England in the 1800s. They were textile worker that began burning textile factories. Their main motivation would be that the new textile machines would replace the workers. [create: new machines that are efficient in making new textiles, destroy: livelihood of workers]. Other examples of Creative Destruction. 1. Cars → More efficient transport than horses; impact on the work of coachmen, stable persons, and horse manure street cleaners. 2. Discovery of Kerosene → More efficient gas for lighting; less work for whalers that hunt whales for their oil. 3. Email → better and faster way to communicate readable material to other people; eventual destruction of postal system. 4. Internet and Online Learning → more efficient and free way to disseminate knowledge; possible destruction of the current educational system. In the lens of creative destruction as a philosophy, we can look at how new tools shaped our society and simultaneously look at old structures that were left behind. Revisiting our framework in Figure 1, the word “shapes” can be seen both as creating new ways and destroying old ways. Spread of Western Sciences The changes experienced by Britain, Europe, and the United States from industrialization and from advances from the sciences and technology were eventually spread by the Western powers to other parts of the world mostly through their colonies and via trade. George Basalla proposed three phases in the spread of Western Science to their colonies. The three phases are namely: 1. The colonies as source of scientific knowledge for the colonizers. 2. The colonies are dependent on the colonizers for their scientific training and lastly. 3. The former colonies have an independent scientific tradition. One of the main issues worth discussing is whether colonies would be better off without the colonizers’ influence and spread of Western Science. Case of India and the Philippines in the Basalla Framework of Spread of Western Science. Phases Development of Railway Establishment of Public System in India (British) Health System in Philippines (American) 1st phase India is a source of Philippines is a source of knowledge for crops (e.g. studying tropical diseases tea and cotton) for the for the American British Scientists (e.g. Leprosy, Tuberculosis, Malaria, Dengue, etc.) 2nd phase Training of Engineers to Establishment of the construct railway system Public Health System in in India. the Philippines. Possible Motivation for Possible Motivation for the British: Lack of the American: Control of personnel from England diseases to protect the that will help in American colonizers construction of railway assigned in the that can hasten transport Philippines. of raw materials from India. 3rd phase Presence of universities Existence of a Department and training of engineers of Health and public health independent from Great system independent from Britain. the influence of the Americans. References 1. Social Aspects of Science and Technology: https://cseweb.ucsd.edu/~goguen/courses/275f00/s2.html 2. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Base-superstructure_Dialectic.png 3. Toffler, Alvin. 1981. The third wave. New York: Bantam Books. 4. Reinert, Hugo; Reinert, Erik S. (2006). Creative Destruction in Economics: Nietzsche, Sombart, Schumpeter. The European Heritage in Economics and the Social Sciences. Springer. pp. 55–85 5. Basalla, G., 1967. The Spread of Western Science. Science, 156(3775), pp.611- 622. 6. Tiglao, T. 1997, A Century of Public Health in the Philippines, https://bit.ly/2Z8k60v