SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY

MODULE 1
LESSON 1
INTRODUCTION TO SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY,
AND SOCIETY
Science comes from the Latin word scientia, meaning ‘knowledge.' Lt refers
to a systematic and methodical activity of building and organizing knowledge about
how the universe behaves through observation, experimentation or both. According
to the famous American science historian, John Heilbron (2003, p. vii), "Modern
science is a discovery as well as an invention." Heilbron considered science as a
discovery of regularity in nature, enough for natural phenomena to be described by
principles and laws. He also explained that science required invention to devise
techniques, abstractions, apparatuses, and organizations to describe these natural
regularities and their law-like descriptions.

Technology, for its part, is the application of scientific knowledge, laws,

and principles to produce services, materials, tools and machines aimed at solving
real-world problems. lt comes from the Greek root word techne, meaning 'art,
skill, or cunning of hand.' During a live public Q&A in December 2014, one member
of the audience asked Mark Zuckerberg what his definition of a technological tool
is, and the CEO of Facebook responded:
"What defines o technological tool- one historical definition – is something
thot takes a human’s sense or ability and augments it and makes it more
powerful, So, for example, I wear contact lenses or glasses; that is a
technology that enhances my human ability of vision and makes it better."

Wolpert (2005) made an interesting comparison between science and

technology that is helpful in the study of their interaction with society. Ln his
landmark paper, The Medawar Lectur 1998: ls Science Dangerous? Wolpert
explained that reliable knowledge has no moral or ethical value. Lt is meant simply
to explain how nature and the universe work and that the obligation of scientists,
besides studying the nature of the universe, is to explain the possible uses and
applications of such scientific knowledge. Along this line, Wolpert made it clear
that science is not the same as technology. The scientist is not responsible for the
application of knowledge in technology. He further explained that the very nature
of science is that it is not possible to predict scientific discoveries and how these
discoveries may be applied. White scientists are responsible for the reliable
conduct of the scientific inquiry and its honest interpretation and dissemination,
technological applications of science are influenced by other sectors such as
politics and governance, religion, and business. With this distinction, one can
surmise the need for the study of the various ways in which science and technology
act and are enacted in society. This is a particularly timely and relevant concern
because of the advancements in science and technology today.

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Nowadays, advancements in science and technology have become pervasive.

They are manifested in the activities that humans pursue and the tools they use
every day. The beauty of this is that advancement builds upon itself. As such,
humans today live more productive and more exciting lives than their
predecessors. With the way, things go it, could be expected that this generation’s
children and the children of their children have the chance to lead even better
lives than this generation already does.

However, the dynamism and immensity scientific and technological progress

also pose challenges and drawbacks to the way humans live. The introduction of
machine tremendously cut the need for the human workforce and gave rise to
questions about whether machines will eventually replace humans. The invention
of drugs that cured the previously incurable diseases introduced new strains of
bacteria and viruses that are resistant to the very same drugs that once fought
them - take an antibiotic resistant
strain of gonorrhea as an example' The rise of social media drastically changed the
way humans communicate, interact and share information; however, this tends to
put people’s privacy at risk. Indeed, science and technology have served a
predominantly double-edged function. This is succinctly captured in a famous line
of popular American scientist, Carl Sagan, quoted in Tom Head's (2006) book:

"We live in o society absolutely dependent on science and technology and

yet have cleverly arranged things so that almost no one understands science
and technology. That's a clear prescription for disaster. "

As problems in science and technology continue to rise and become more

observable, the need to pay attention to their interactions with various aspects of
human life, e.g., social, political, and economic, becomes ever necessary. How the
different aspects of society shape and influence the progression and further
development of science and technology is the area of concern of a relatively new
academic discipline called Science,
Technology, and Society.

Science, Technology, and Society (STS) is a relatively young field that

combines previously independent and older disciplines such as the history of
science, philosophy of science, and sociology of science. As an academic field,
STS, according to Harvard University's Kennedy School (2018), traces its roots from
the interwar period and the start of the Cold War. lt was during this period when
historians and scientists found interest in the interconnections of scientific
knowledge, technological systems and society. The rise of STS as an academic field
resulted from the recognition that many schools today do not really prepare
students to respond critically, reflectively, and proactively to the challenges posed
by science and technology in the contemporary world.

ln general, STS applies methods drawn from history, philosophy, and

sociology in the study the nature of science and technology and ultimately judge
their value and place in society. As an interdisciplinary field, the emergence of STS
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was a result of questions about science and technology’s dynamic interaction with
various aspects of society and was thus viewed as a socially embedded enterprise.
Thus, as the Kennedy School effectively encapsulates, STS seeks to bridge the gap
between two traditionally
exclusive - humanities (interpretative) and natural sciences (rational) – so that
humans will be able to better confront the moral, ethical, and existential
dilemmas brought by the continued developments in science and technology.

The John J. Relly Center for Science, Technology, and Values of the
University of Notre Dame is responsible for listing the ten-emerging ethical
dilemmas and policy issues in science and technology every year. Below is the list
for 2018:

1. Helix - a digital app store designed to read genomes

2. BtessU-2 and Pepper - first robot priest and monk
3. Emotion-Sensing Facial Recognition - a software being developed to
assess your reactions to anything such as shopping and playing games.
4. Ransomware - a way of holding data hostage through hacking and
requiring a ransom to be paid.
5. Textalyzer - a device that analyzes whether a driver was using his or
her phone during an accident.
6. Social Credit System - a system of scoring citizens through their
actions by placing them under constant surveillance (which China
plans to adopt)
7. Google Clips - a hands-free camera that lets the user capture every
moment effortlessly
8. Sentencing Software - a mysterious algorithm designed to aid courts
in sentencing decisions
9. Friendbot - an app that stores the deceased's digital footprint so one
can still "chat" with them
10. Citizen App - an app that notifies users of ongoing crimes or major
events in a specific area.

Even though several items in the list sound unfamiliar to many, it can be a
useful springboard in the study of science and technology. The list points to the
ever-growing challenges, questions, and issues that need to be addressed and
resolved when science and technology and humanity intertwine. However,
methods of critiquing these emerging ethical dilemmas may come from similar
methods used in previous critiques of science and technology issues. For example,
one can use methods used in critiquing the rise of clinical trials of gene therapy in
the 1990s. Today's approach in critiquing emerging science and technology issues,
such as the ones listed above, may be influenced by how scientists and non-
scientists evaluated the positive and negative implications of clinical trials of gene
therapy in the 1990s. For this purpose, one can continue to specifically draw from
the tenets of history, philosophy, and sociology in making informed and critical
judgments of the ethical and moral values of these innovations in science and
technology.

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LEARNING ACTIVITIES
Instructions: On the space below, paste a magazine or newspaper
cutout of any photograph that depicts an issue or problem in science and
technology. Then, answer the questions that follow.

1. What is the issue or problem depicted in the photograph?

2. How does this particular issue or problem impact the well-being of
humans today?
3. Why is it important for people to study and learn about STS as an
Academic field especially in addressing the issue or problems
depicted in the photograph?