Lesson 1

Historical Antecedents of Science and Technology

Lesson Objectives:
1. Discuss the interactions between S&T and society throughout the history
2. Relate how scientific and technological developments affect society and the environment
3. Trace the paradigm shifts in history.

Science
Science is a concerted human effort to understand, or to understand better, the history
of the natural world and how the natural world works with observable physical evidence as the
basis of that understanding. It is done through observation of natural phenomena, and/or
through experimentation that tries to simulate natural processes under controlled conditions.
Science can be defined as knowledge about or study of the natural world based on facts
learned through experiments and observation. While technology is the science or knowledge put
into practical use to solve problems or invent useful tools.

How Is Science Used In Technology?

Science is the pursuit of knowledge about the natural world through systematic
observation and experiments. Through science, we develop new technologies. Technology is
the application of scientifically gained knowledge for practical purpose. Scientists use
technology in all their experiments.
Technology uses science to solve problems, and science uses technology to make new
discoveries. Scientific knowledge is used to create new technologies such as the space
telescope. New technologies often allow scientists to explore nature in new ways.

What YOU will do…

Activity 1.1
Can you give atleast 5 examples on how science is used in technology?

It is well-known fact that through science, new technologies are developed. Is it

possible that technology can also develop science?

The Role of Science and Technology

Developments in science and technology are fundamentally altering the way people live,
connect, communicate and transact, with profound effects on economic development. To
promote tech advance, developing countries should invest in quality education for youth, and
continuous skills training for workers and managers.
Science and technology are key drivers to development, because technological and
scientific revolutions underpin economic advances, improvements in health systems, education
and infrastructure.
The technological revolutions of the 21st century are emerging from entirely new
sectors, based on micro-processors, tele-communications, bio-technology and nano-technology.
Products are transforming business practices across the economy, as well as the lives of all
who have access to their effects. The most remarkable breakthroughs will come from the
interaction of insights and applications arising when these technologies converge.
Through breakthroughs in health services and education, these technologies have the
power to better the lives of poor people in developing countries. Eradicating malaria, a scourge
of the African continent for centuries, is now possible. Cures for other diseases which are
endemic in developing countries are also now possible, allowing people with debilitating
conditions to live healthy and productive lives.
Access and application are critical. Service and technology are the differentiators
between countries that are able to tackle poverty effectively by growing and developing their
economies, and those that are not. The extent to which developing economies emerge as
economic powerhouses depends on their ability to grasp and apply insights from science and
technology and use them creatively. Innovation is the primary driver of technological growth and
drives higher living standards.
As an engine of growth, the potential of technology is endless, and still largely untapped
in Africa and other developing world regions across the globe. Less developed countries not
only lack skilled labour and capital, but also use these less efficiently. Inputs account for less
than half of the differences in per capita income across nations. The rest is due to the inability to
adopt and adapt technologies to raise productivity.

Society
Society is the sum total of our interactions as humans, including the interactions that we
engage in to figure things out and to make things. It also refers to a group of individuals involved
in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same geographical or social
territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations.

What Does Science, Technology, and Society Mean?

Science and technology studies, or science, technology and society studies (STS) is the
study of how society, politics, and culture affect scientific research and technological innovation,
and how these, in turn, affect society, politics and culture.
It is an interdisciplinary field that studies the conditions under which the production,
distribution and utilization of scientific knowledge and technological systems occur; and the
consequences of these activities upon different groups of people.
STS is a relatively recent discipline, originating in the 60s and 70s, following Kuhn’s The
Structure of Scientific Revolutions (1962). It was the result of a “sociological turn” in science
studies and it makes the assumption that science and technology are essentially intertwined
and that they are each profoundly social and profoundly political.
How Science and Technology Affect Society?
Science and technology have had a major impact on society, and their impact is
growing. By making life easier, science has given man the chance to pursue societal concerns
such as ethics, aesthetics, education, and justice; to create cultures; and to improve human
conditions.
Science influences society through its knowledge and world view. Scientific knowledge
and the procedures used by scientists influence the way many individuals in society think about
themselves, others, and the environment. The effect of science on society is neither entirely
beneficial nor entirely detrimental.

What Is the Relationship Between Science and Society?

The impact of science and technology on society is evident. But society also influences
science.
There are social influences on the direction and emphasis of scientific and technological
development, through pressure groups on specific issues, and through generally accepted
social views, values and priorities

What YOU will do…

Activity 1.2

Answer the questions below intelligently:

1. How do scientific and technological developments affect society and the environment?
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2. Sketch a simple paradigm on the interrelationship between science, technology and society.
Give a short description below

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History of Science

It was in the 15th century, with the accelerated pace of developments that many
inventions evolved. Such period radically changed the so-called conventional way of life of the
western world.

Science is as old as the world itself. There is no individual that can exactly identify when
and where science has begun. From the genesis of time, science has existed. It is always
interwoven with the society.

Science can be defined in several aspects:

1. Science as an idea. It includes ideas, theories and all available systematic explanations
and observations about the natural and physical world.
2. Science as an intellectual activity. It encompasses a systematic and practical study of the
natural and physical world. This process of study involves systematic observation and
experimentation.
3. Science as a body of knowledge. It is a subject or discipline, a field of study, or a body of
knowledge that deals with the process of learning about the natural world. This is what we
refer to as school science.
4. Science 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.

Survey of Scientific Development

Ancient Greek
The ancient Greeks are the first culture to undertake true scientific inquiry. After the
evident upheavals caused by the discovery and use of iron weapons, the Greeks began to
explain the universe and themselves in a deeper way.
The earliest Greeks settled along the western cost of Asia Minor, in Sicily and South Italy
where the following have been fully developed: basic elements of mathematics, astronomy,
mechanics, physics, geography and medicine.

The First Five Centuries, B.C.

The political ruin of Hellenic Greece caused such deep changes all around that scholars
agreed in using a new name to designate the new culture, which developed chiefly from the
third century.
During this time, the center was no longer Athens but in Alexandra and other Greek
cities which were established outside of Europe.
The golden age of the Greeks in Science coincided with their golden age in Literature
and Arts which took place primarily in Athens on the 4th and 5th centuries, B.C and brought to
close by the political murder of Socrates in 399 BC.
 The fourth century was even richer in science achievement and was dominated by two
great personalities in history. Plato, the founder of the Academy of Athens dominated the first
half of the 4th century and Aristotle for the second half of the century founded the Lyceum of
Athens

15th Century
 Major developments happened in the 15th century
 Some notable changes that radically change the course of Western World are as
follows:
a. Invention of typography – about the middle of the 15th century
b. Geographic discoveries – initiated by the Navigator which reached its climax at
the end of the century with the voyage of Columbus and others
c. Printing – opened the productions of standard texts and illustrations
 For the first time, the progress of knowledge could be registered as soon as it was
standardized and transmitted to every corner of the civilized world. East and West
worked together but the Muslims inhibited by religious beliefs and rejected printing and
ceased to cooperate
 The discovery of the printing was so important that it is well to consider it the beginning
of the new period, the so called Renaissance, which was exclusively Western as far as
Science is concerned

Renaissance
 the recovery of the text of the Greek classics, most of which had been known only
through Latin translation of Arabic writings
 considered as the continuation of the Middle Age

Growth of Academics
 During the Renaissance, printing shops became numerous, and the number of printed
books increased immeasurably thereafter

Improved Communication of Scientific Knowledge

 Rise of learned societies and academics in various countries that provided the principal
opportunities for the publication and discussion of scientific results during and after the
scientific revolution
1. Earliest were in Italy and Germany (short-lived)
2. Royal Society in England (1660) – a private institution in London, included
scientists such as Robert Hooke, John Wallis, William Brouncker, Thomas
Sydenham, John Mayow, and Christopher Wren (Architecture, astronomy and
anatomy)
3. The Academy of Sciences in France (1666) – government institution and
included Dutchman Huygens.
4. Royal Academics in Berlin (1700)
5. Royal Academics at St. Petersburg (1724)
  The rebirth and development of science began with the publications of books considered
as the main monuments of modern science, to with:
1. On the Revolution of Heavenly Spheres by Nicolaus Copernicus (1500)
2. On the Fabric of the Human Body by Andreas Vesalius (1543)
3. Principia Mathematica of Sir Isaac Newton (1687)
4. Traite de la Lumiere of Christian Huygens (1690)

Rejection of Traditional Paradigms

The following early scientists had brought new ideas and methods that rejected the
traditional paradigms
1. Copernicus – broke with the traditional belief, supported by both scientists and theologians,
that the earth was the center of the universe. Proposed that the earth and other planets
move in circular orbits around the sun (1543)
2. Paracelsus – rejected the older alchemy and medical theories and founded iatrochemistry,
the forerunner of modern medical chemistry
3. Andreas Vesalius – turned away from the medicinal teachings of Galen. Through his
anatomical studies helped found modern medicine and biology
4. Francis bacon – urged that experimental method plays the key role in the development of
scientific theories
5. Rene Descartes – held that the universe is a mechanical system that can be described in
mathematical terms
6. Galileo Galilei, Simon Stevin, et al. – established the science of mechanics
7. Johannes Kepler – used the accurate observation of Tycho Brahe to show that the planetary
orbits are elliptical rather than circular
8. Galileo – based his arguments on his own medical theories and observations with the newly
invented telescope
9. Zacharias Jansen – built the first simple microscope
10. Christian Huygens – perfected the mechanical clock in 16 th century and improved the
telescope
11. Sir Isaac Newton – unified view of the forces of the universe. He formulated the law of
universal gravitation in his book Principia (1687). He also laid the foundation for the modern
study of optics
12. William Harvey (1660s) – an English physician who performed careful experiments and used
simple mathematics to show how blood circulates
13. Robert Hooke (mid 1600s) – pioneered the use of microscope to study plantt and animal
cells
14. Robert Boyle (mid 1600s) – Irish scientist, helped established experimental method in
chemistry

The Study of the History of Science

 The historian of science appreciates the fruits of present knowledge, but he wants to
know the tree of knowledge with all its roots and branches
Development of the History of Science
 At first, historians were mainly concerned with political and military history, but gradually
they learned to attach more attention to arts and letters, religion and economics. Thus,
the old political history was transformed to history of culture
  Auguste Comte – first man to introduce history of science in a broder context and to
increase its circulation in his Course of Positive Philosophy
 Paul Tannery – real inheritor of Comte’s thought and the first great teacher of the
history of science. During his time, it became a full-pledged discipline
Methods of a Science Historian
1. Apply scientific facts and theories
2. Have scientific and historical preparations
3. Adequate knowledge and proper educational expertise
4. The main point is that knowledge of any kind is worthless unless it is as accurate as
conditions permit

What YOU will do…

Activity 1.3

It’s time to check how far you have learned in this lesson…

1. With a graphic organizer, trace the history of science from birth to the development of
modern science.
2. Enumerate the main monument of modern science.
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