CHAPTER 1
GENERAL CONCEPTS AND HISTORICAL EVENTS IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY
Lesson 1: Intellectual Revolutions That Defined Society
Lesson Objectives:
At the end of this lesson, the students should
Discuss how the ideas postulated by Copernicus, Darwin and Freud contributed to the spark of
scientific revolution;
Analyze how scientific revolution is done in various parts but the world like Latin America, East
Asia, Middle East, and Africa.
Scientific Revolution
Science is as old as the world itself. There is no individual that can exactly identify when and
where science began. From the genesis of time, science has existed. It is always interwoven with the
society. So, how can science be defined?
[Link] as an idea -It includes ideas, theories, and all available systematic explanations and
observations about the natural and physical world.
[Link] as an intellectual activity - It encompasses a systematic and practical study of the natural and
physical world. This involves systematic observation and experimentation.
[Link] as a body of knowledge - It is a subject or a discipline, a field of study; or a body of knowledge
that deals with the process of learning about the natural and physical world. It is referred to as school
science.
[Link] as a personal and social activity – This explains that science is both knowledge and activities
done by human beings to develop better understanding of the world around them. It is a means to
improve life and to survive in life. It is interwoven with people's lives.
Human beings have embarked in scientific activities in order to know and understand everything
around them. They observed and studied the natural and the physical world to find meanings and seek
answers to many questions. They developed noble ideas, later known as philosophy, to provide possible
explanations to certain phenomena. Humans also used religion to rationalize the origins of life and all
lifeless forms.
The idea of scientific revolution is claimed to have started in the early 16 th century up to the 18th
century in Europe. This was the period of enlightenment when the developments in the field of
mathematics, physics, astronomy, biology, and chemistry transformed the views of society about
nature. The ideas generated during this period enabled the people to reflect, rethink and reexamine
their beliefs and their way of life.
Scientific revolution was the golden age for people committed to scholarly life in science but it
was also deeply trying moment to some scientific men that led to their painful death or condemnation
from the religious institutions who tried to preserve their faith, religion, and theological views.
Scientific revolution is very significant in the development of human beings, transformation of
the society, and in the formulation of scientific ideas. It significantly improved the conduct of scientific
investigations, experiments and observations. It also led to the creation of a new research fields in
science. It transformed the natural world and the world of ideas.
SOME INTELLECTUALS and their REVOLUTIONARY IDEAS
NICOLAUS COPERNICUS
One of Renaissance men, particularly in the field of science, is Nicolaus Copernicus. Knowledge
about the nature of the universe had been essentially unchanged since the great days of ancient Greece,
some 1,500 years before Copernicus came on the scene (Gribbin, 2003). He resembled the Greek
ancient philosophers or thinkers. His ideas were an example of what is presently called as a thought
experiment.
He developed a model of the universe in which everything moved around a single center at
unvarying rates. He placed the Sun as the center of the Universe and all the planets were orbiting
around it. Copernicus’s model of planets orbiting around the Sun automatically positioned the planets
into a logical sequence. Copernicus’s idea and model of the universe was essentially complete in 1510.
He circulated a summary of his ideas to his close friends in a manuscript called Commentariolus (Little
Commentary).
The publication of his book De revolutionibus orbium coelestrium (On the Revolutions of the
Heavenly Spheres) in 1543 is often cited as the start of the scientific revolution. In his book, he wanted
a model of the universe in which everything moved around a single center at unvarying rates. He placed
the Sun to be the centerpiece of the universe. The Earth and all the planets are orbiting the Sun.
Copernicus is also a courageous man. Although the Copernican model makes sense now, during
those times, it was judged to be heretic and therefore it was unacceptable idea to be taught to
Catholics. The catholic church banned the Copernican model and was ignored by Rome for the rest of
the 16th century.
CHARLES DARWIN
Charles Darwin is famous for his Theory of Evolution. He changed our concept of the world's
creation and its evolution. Johnson(2012) described Darwin as a genius who came from a line of
intellectually gifted and wealthy family.
Darwin published his book The Origin Of Species in 1589. This book is considered as one of the
most important works in scientific literature. His book presented evidence on how species evolved over
time and presented traits and adaptation that differentiate species.
Darwin’s observational skills as a scientist were extraordinary that moved beyond the realms of
plants and animals into the realms of humans. His book, The Descent Of Man was so impressive, yet
very controversial. He introduced the idea of all organic life, including human beings, under the realm of
evolutionary thinking.
His book The Descent of Man was so impressive yet very controversial. He introduced the idea of
all organic life, including human beings, under the realm of evolutionary thinking. This replaced
the dominant views of a religious or biblical design that places human beings in a privileged of
having been created by God.
Darwin’s accomplishments were so diverse that it is useful to distinguish two fields to
which he made major contributions: evolutionary biology and philosophy of science. What made
him truly remarkable was his courage to challenge religious and unscientific ideas that are
deemed to be prominent during those days. Darwin provided a different framework for doing
scientific activities. It is a science marked by observation and experiment.
SIGMUND FREUD
Freud is a famous figure in the field of psychology. Rosenfels (1980) also described him
as a towering literary figure and a very talented communicator who did his share to raise the
consciousness of the civilized world in psychological matters.
Freud made a significant contribution in the scientific world through the development of
an important observational method to gather reliable data to study human’s inner life,
psychoanalysis. For Freud, this method of psychoanalysis is a scientific way to study the human
mind and neurotic illness. This method had great impact on the scientific way of understanding
human nature.
Freud is not a traditional thinker. His method of psychoanalysis was proven to be
effective in understanding some neurological conditions that were not understood by medicine
at that time. His method was unorthodox - focusing on human sexuality and the evil nature of
man.
Freud’s contribution to knowledge can be seen in many aspects of the human scene,
including art, literature, philosophy, politics and psychotherapy. Freudian ideas and theories are
still considered nowadays as a great inspiration to examine human mind and behavior in a more
scientifically accepted way.
CRADLES OF EARLY SCIENCES
Development of Science in Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica includes the entire area of Central America from Southern Mexico up to
the border of South America. This region is rich in culture and knowledge prior to the arrival
of its European colonizers.
The Maya civilization is one of the famous civilizations that lasted for approximately
2,000 years. They are known for their works in astronomy. They incorporated their
advanced knowledge of astronomy into their temples and other religious structures. Ex. the
pyramid at Chichen Itza in Mexico is situated at the location of the sun during the spring and
fall equinoxes.
Mayan knowledge and understanding about celestial bodies was advanced for their
time as evidence by their knowledge of predicting eclipse and using astrological cycles in
planting and harvesting. They were also known for measuring time using two complicated
calendar systems, useful for their life especially in planting activities and in observing their
religious rituals and cultural celebrations.
The Mayans also developed technology for growing different crops and building
elaborate cities using ordinary machineries and tools. They built hydraulic systems with
sophisticated waterways to supply water to different communities.
They used various tools and adopt themselves to innovations especially in the field of
arts. They built looms for weaving cloth and devised a rainbow of glittery paints made from
a mineral called mica. They are also believed to be one of the first people to produce rubber
products 3,000 years before Goodyear received its patent in 1844.
The Mayans are considered one of the most scientifically advanced societies in
Mesoamerica. They are also famous as one of the world’s first civilizations to use a writing
system known as the Mayan hieroglyphics. They were also skilled in mathematics and
created a number system based on the numeral 20. They independently developed the
concept of zero and positional value, even before the Romans did.
MAYAN HIEROGLYPHICS
The Inca civilization is also famous in Mesoamerica. They made advanced scientific ideas
considering their limitations as an old civilization.
The following were scientific ideas and tools that they developed to help them in everyday life.
1. Roads paved with stones
2. stone buildings that surmounted earthquake and other disasters.
3. irrigation systems and techniques for storing water for their crops to grow in all types of
land.
4. calendar with 12 months to mark their religious festivals and prepare them for planting
season.
5. the first suspension bridge
6. quipu, a system of knotted ropes to keep record that only experts can interpret; and
[Link] textiles since cloth was one of the specially prized artistic achievements.
INCA FIRST SUSPENSION BRIDGE
Aztec Civilization
The Aztec civilization has also made substantial contributions to science and technology and to
the society as a whole. Some of their contributions are the following;
1. Mandatory education-The Aztec puts value on education that is why their children are
mandated to get education regardless of their social class, gender, or age. It is an early form of
universal or inclusive education.
[Link]-The Aztec in Mexico developed chocolate during their time. In the Mayan culture,
they used it as currency. They valued the cacao beans highly and made it as part of their tribute
to their gods.
3. Antispasmodic medication - They used type of antispasmodic medications that could prevent
muscle spasms and relax muscles, which could help during surgery.
[Link]-It is form of Aztec technology for agricultural farming in which the land was divided
into rectangular areas and surrounded by canals.
[Link] calendar - This enabled them to plan their activities, rituals, and planting season.
[Link] of the canoe-A light narrow boat used for traveling in water systems.
AZTEC CHINAMPA
Development of Science in Asia
Asia is the biggest continent in the world and the home of many ancient civilizations. It
is a host to many cultural, economic, scientific and political activities of all ages. Kin the
fields of science, technology and mathematics, great civilizations have stood out: India,
China, and the Middle East civilizations. These civilizations were incomparable in terms of
their contributions of the development of knowledge during their time.
India
India is a huge peninsula surrounded by vast bodies of water and fortified by huge
mountain in its northern boarders. The Indians creatively developed various ideas and
technologies useful in their everyday lives. They are known for manufacturing iron and
metallurgical works. Their iron steel is considered to be the best and held with high regard
in the whole of Roman Empire.
India is also famous in medicine. For example, Ayurveda, a system of traditional
medicine that originated in ancient India before 2500 BC, is still practiced as a form of
alternative medicine. They discovered medicinal properties of plants that led them to
develop medicines to cure various illness. Some ancient texts, like the Susruta Samhita
describes different surgical and other medical procedures famous in ancient India. Ancient
India is also notable in the field of astronomy. They developed theories on the configuration
of the universe. India is also known for their mathematics. The people of the Indus Valley
Civilization tried to standardize measurement of length to a high degree of accuracy and
designed a ruler, the Mohenjodaro ruler.
Clifford(2008) and Bose(1998) pointed out that Indian astronomer and mathematician
Aryabhata (476-550), in his Aryabhatiya, introduced a number of trigonometric functions,
tables and techniques, as well as algorithms of algebra. In 628 AD, another Indian,
Brahmagupta, also suggested that gravity was a force of attraction, and lucidly explained
the use of zero as a placeholder and a decimal digit, along with the Hindu-Arabic numeral
system now used universally throughout the world. Another Indian named Madhava of
Sangamagrama is also considered as the founder of mathematical analysis (Joseph,1991).
China
China is one of the ancient civilizations with substantial contributions in many areas of
life like medicine, astronomy, science, mathematics, arts, philosophy, and music, among
others.
The Chinese are known for traditional medicines. They discovered various medical
properties and uses of different plants and animals to cure human illness. An example is the
practice of acupuncture.
In terms of technology, the Chinese are known to develop many tools. Among the
famous discoveries and inventions of the Chinese civilizations were compass, papermaking,
gunpowder, and printing tools. They also invented other tools like iron plough,
wheelbarrow, and propeller among others. They developed a design of different models of
bridges, invented the first seismological detector, and develop a dry dock facility (Needham
et al., 1971).
In the field of astronomy, the Chinese also made significant records of supernovas, lunar
and solar eclipses, and comets which were carefully recorded and preserved to understand
better the heavenly bodies and their effects to our world (Mayall, 1939). They observed the
heavenly bodies to understand weather changes and seasons that may affect their daily
activities. They used lunar calendars, too. They are also known in seismology. This made
them more prepared in times of natural calamities.
China made substantial contributions in various fields. The list of their discoveries and
inventions is overwhelming. These contributions were made along with mathematics, logic,
philosophy, and medicine.
PAPER MAKING
COMPASS
Middle East Countries
The Middle East countries are dominantly occupied by Muslims. With the spread of
Islam in the 7th and 8th centuries, a period of Muslim scholarship, or what is called the
Golden Age of Islam lasted until the 13th century. The common language of Arabic, access
to Greek texts from the Byzantine Empire, and their proximity to India were contributory to
the intellectualization of the Muslims and provided their scholars knowledge to create
innovations and develop new ideas. But contrary to the Greeks, Muslim scientists placed
greater value on science experiments rather than plain thought experiments. This led to the
development of the scientific method in the Muslim world and make significant
improvements by using experiments to distinguish between competing scientific theories
set within a generally empirical orientation. A Muslim scientist named Ibn al-Haytham is also
regarded as the Father of Optics, especially for the empirical proof of the intromission
theory of light.
In Mathematics, Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi gave his name to the concept of
the algorithm while the term algebra is derived from al-jabar, the beginning of the title of
one of his publications. What is now known as the Arabic Numeral System originally came
from India, but Muslim mathematicians did make several refinements to the number
system, such as the introduction of decimal point notation.
Muslim chemists and alchemists also played an important role in the foundation of
modern chemistry. In particular, some scholars considered Jabir ibn Hayyan to be the
”Father of Chemistry”.
In the field of medicine, Ibn Sina pioneered the science of experimental medicine and
was the first physician to conduct clinical trials. His two most notable works in medicine, the
Book of Healing and The Canon of Medicine was used as standard medicinal texts in both
the Muslim world and in Europe during the 17 th century. Among his many contributions are
the discovery of the contagious nature of infectious diseases and the introduction of clinical
pharmacology.