STS - Lesson 2 PDF

Lesson 2 - General Concepts and STS Historical Developments - INTRODUCTION ON INTELLECTUAL REVOLUTIONS Intellectual Revolutions ➔ historical changes in the thoughts, beliefs, and social institutions due to new ideas and principles Scientific Revolution ➔ science and...

Lesson 2 - General Concepts and STS Historical Developments - INTRODUCTION ON INTELLECTUAL REVOLUTIONS Intellectual Revolutions ➔ historical changes in the thoughts, beliefs, and social institutions due to new ideas and principles Scientific Revolution ➔ science and technology as the center of an intellectual revolution - INTELLECTUALS THAT SIGNIFICANTLY CHANGED THE VIEWS ABOUT THE WORLD AND HUMANITY Nicolaus Copernicus (1473 - 1543) ➔ Polish astronomer and mathematician ➔ proposed that the sun is the center of the universe in his heliocentric model of the universe opposed the geocentric model, which says that the earth is the center of the universe earth is just one of the planets revolving around it suggested that the earth is equal to the other planets and they all revolve around the sun when his heliocentric theory gained acceptance, society started to change ➔ before and during the time of Copernicus, astrology is more important than astronomy we know today that astrology is not a real science in astrology, earth was considered a powerful, extraordinary celestial body that is the center of the universe, which the geocentric model supported astrologers at that time needed to cast horoscopes and do other astrological activities to gain acceptance and support from the society and the church society was dependent on horoscopes and astrological outputs ➔ he questioned the ideas of Ptolemy and Aristotle ➔ laid the foundation for succeeding scientists to do revolutionary things his successors were: ○ Tycho Brahe ○ Johannes Kepler ○ Galileo Galilei their findings changed the society’s view about astronomy — it became more acceptable Galileo’s work made the telescope popular even for non-astronomers marked the beginnings of popular science and science fiction Charles Darwin (1809 - 1882) ➔ English scientist ➔ recognized as the pioneer of the field of evolutionary biology ➔ his works discussed ideas on the evolution of species and mankind his works: ○ Origin of Species ○ Decent of Man suggested that humans are natural and are subject to the laws of science proposed that natural selection is the main rational behind humans’ current existence and attributes suggested that humans evolved from pre-existing organisms as opposed to the creationist view that God created humans suggested that humans are not so different versus other organisms — humans, crabs, dogs, trees, worms, and other organisms are equal studies by other scientists supported or revised Darwin’s theory of evolution  Sigmund Freud (1856 - 1939) ➔ Austrian neurologist ➔ his works in psychology are considered revolutionary ➔ proposed psychoanalysis as a scientific method to understand the mind ➔ rejected the idea from ‘Enlightenment’ that humans are rational and can control emotions and drives through reasoning ➔ today, many scientists consider Freud’s works as pseudoscience because of insufficient evidence and failure to be proven accurately ➔ another field of work of Freud is the interpretation of dreams - OTHER REVOLUTIONS Intellectual Revolution in Meso-America ➔ Meso-America covers most of present-day Central America ➔ there were important scientific and technological developments in meso-america primarily done by: Maya civilization ○ known for its early studies in astronomy and engineering ○ have the know-how on paper-making ○ have their own writing system, the Maya hieroglyphics Inca civilization ○ known for their paved roads, irrigation systems, and quipo (record system using knotted ropes) Aztec civilization ○ known for the mandatory education of their children ○ also known for their Chinampas, a way of farming in canals Intellectual Revolution in Asia ➔ Indian civilization known for steel works also known for their system of traditional medicine known as Ayurveda ➔ Indonesians learned to construct Candis in the 8th century ○ Candis are religious structures with both Buddhist and Hindu heritage, mostly built from the 8th to 15th centuries ➔ Japanese developed the traditional Kampo medicine which had Chinese origins Intellectual Revolution in Middle East and Africa ➔ Ibn al-Haytham considered the ‘Father of Optics’ due to his studies on light ➔ Jabir ibn Hayyan known for his early works in alchemy and metallurgy ➔ Ibn Sina known for his works in medicine, especially in the area of infectious diseases and pharmacology ➔ Africa Egyptian civilization was the most advanced Alexandria ○ intellectual and scientific center during the Middle Ages in the rest of Africa, metallurgy was well-developed ○ mainly due to the region’s rich deposits of minerals like gold, copper, and iron  Information Revolution ➔ refers to the change in the social, economic, and political role of information ➔ generation and use of information has led to important developments in modern science ➔ affected all aspects of society: from individual lives to local and global economies and governments ➔ had a profound impact on economies, governments, and societies ➔ in politics and government, the information revolution made possible the increase in government transparency, the development of online campaigning, and automated elections, among others ➔ in the work environment, the information revolution decreased the ‘distance’ between employees and employers by enabling telecommuting telecommuting refers to working from home, using the internet, telephone, or email ➔ has both positive and negative impacts on society made it easier for people to access information and to communicate sometimes abused and some people are spreading irrelevant or incorrect information which leads to misinformation ➔ the start of the information revolution was made possible by the invention of language, writing, and printing language is associated with the beginning of humanity ○ one of the factors that differentiates humans from its evolutionary ancestors ○ the unifying factor for humanity ○ all humans use language to communicate or to exchange information writing is important in the rise of civilizations ○ the rise of civilizations in the Middle East is coupled with the invention of writing ○ enabled the documentation of early events, norms, and social and political activities, among others printing is significant to the rise of modern civilizations ○ important in the rise of modern civilizations ○ enabled the distribution of important scientific, religious, and historical texts such as Copernicus’ De revolutionibus orbium coelestium and the Bible ➔ computers allowed the processing and calculation of digital information ➔ the invention of storage devices enabled the storing and sharing of information or data ➔ optical communication allowed the establishment of communication networks and internet technology ➔ local grass root and global e-commerce are now possible through the use of mobile devices and the internet - SUMMARY four main scientific revolutions Copernican Darwinian Freudian Information Revolutions