A.

OVERVIEW

The course deals with interactions between science and technology and
social, cultural, political, and economic contexts that shape and are shaped by
them. (CMO No. 20, series of 2013)

This interdisciplinary course engages students to confront the realities

brought about by science and technology in society. Such realities pervade the
personal, the public, and the global aspects of our living and are integral to human
development.

This course will revolve around four (4) major themes. In the first theme,
the students will be introduced to the basics of STS. In the second theme, the
students will be introduced to the development of science and technology from the
ancient Egyptian society to the First Industrial Revolution to see how politics,
economics, and cultural factors shaped and were shaped by science and
technology. In the third theme, the students will be introduced to the current issues
and problems being confronted by science and technology. Lastly, mandatory
topics such as climate change and environmental awareness (4th theme) will be
explored to assist the students to become scientifically informed and active
citizens.

B. DESIRED LEARNING OUTOMES

At the end of this course subject, you can:

1. Identify the goals of STS education.

2. Explain the challenges and opportunities of science education.
3. Differentiate science, technology, and society.
4. Explain the nature and limitations of science and technology.
5. Identify the major roles of technology in improving the quality of human life.
6. Describe how the Greek philosophers viewed the origin of everything in the
universe.
7. Describe how science and technology flourished in ancient Greece.
8. Describe how science and technology flourished in ancient Egypt.
9. Describe how science and technology flourished in ancient China.
10. Describe how science and technology flourished in the First Industrial
Revolution.
 11. Propose concrete solutions to some of the current problems of science and
technology in the Philippines.
12. Provide some important solutions for the problems of climate change.

C. Course Coverage

Weeks Topic/lessons
1 Orientation
a. Vision
b. Mission
c. Values
d. Program Outcomes
e. Course Objectives/Outcomes
2 INTRODUCTION TO SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY
Goals of STS Education
Challenges and opportunities of Science Education
3 Differentiating science, technology, and society

4 Nature and limitations of science and technology

5 Major roles of technology in improving the quality of human life

6 Preliminary Examination

7-8 SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY THROUGH TIMES

Some notable views of ancient Greek philosophers on the origin of
everything in the universe

9 The development of science and technology in ancient Egypt

10-11 The development of science and technology in ancient China

12 Midterm Examination

13-14 Climate Change (Mandated Topic)

15-17 Environmental Awareness (Mandated Topic)

 18 Final Examination

[Link] Readings and References

Prieto, N. G., Vega, V. A., Felipe, E. F. & Meneses, J. L. (2019). Science, technology,
and society. Lorimar Publishing. Philippines
Quinto, E. J. & Nieva, A. D. (2019) Science, technology, and society. C & E.
Publishing, Inc. Manila, Philippines
Serafica, J. P., Pawilen, G. T., Caslib, B N., & Alata, E. J. (2017). Science,
technology, and society. Rex Book Store. Metro Manila, Philippines.

[Link] Requirements
a. Quizzes
b. Major Examinations
c. Recitation
d. Situational Activities

[Link] System

Course work is weighted as follows:

Major Examination 25%
Quizzes 20%
Performance Output 40%
Recitation/ Class Participation 15%
--------
100%
[Link] Policies

a. Requirements for the subject should be submitted on time, unless there

are circumstances that may delay the submission. Online and offline
submissions will be accepted. Courier may also be used in the submission
of requirements.
b. Students who are cheating or plagiarizing materials in the course will not
receive credit for assignment, projects or tests, which will likely lead to
failure in the course.
c. Students are not allowed to do any other activities 9eating, sleeping, etc0
that may distract the instructor and other students during online classes.
In case of emergency, kindly notify the lecturer about the situation.
 d. Before you start doing the tasks, read and be mindful of the assessment
tool and the instructions. Always aim for the highest standard.
e. If you have concerns, problems, or feedback regarding our classes, do not
hesitate to reach the instructor through his email address
(jaydeloreto@[Link]).

[Link] Hours

Consultations will be scheduled upon meeting the students to determine the

availability of online resources.

JAY M. DE LORETO
Instructor
PRELIMINARY PERIOD: INTRODUCTION TO SCIENCE,
TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY
 MIDTERM: SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY THROUGH
TIMES

Overview of the History of Science in the Ancient Greece

The history of science is a broad academic field that includes topics including
technology, mathematics, medicine, and astronomy. Studying these fields via a
Classical perspective reveals how intimately the sciences and humanities are
intertwined, and how all of our many areas of expertise fit into a single
examination of the world and our experiences in it.
Through exploring the history of science in the ancient Greece, students will learn
about the early roots of several scientific fields and their impact on culture and
society, as well as crucial concerns such as what does it mean to exist, what are
the fundamental building blocks of the world, and what does it mean to live a
happy life.
THE MILESIANS
The Milesians dealt both with natural phenomena, such as earthquakes and
lightning, and with the structure of the cosmos, for instance how the earth is
supported. Their explanations refer to the physical properties of things, but often
rely on reasoning rather than observation.
Source: Encyclopedia Britannica
THALES OF MILETUS
Thales of Miletus, who lived in the 6th century BCE, was the first natural
philosopher according to Hellenic tradition.
 Source: Encyclopedia Britannica

Contribution to the development of science: He attempted to explain all

natural events in terms of variations in a single material, water, which exists in
solid, liquid, and gaseous phases.
His explanations: The innate divinity in all things, according to Thales,
ensured the world's regularity and logic by directing them to their divinely
destined goals. Two aspects of classical Greek science arose from these notions.
The first was the idea of the universe as a well-ordered structure
(kósmos is Greek for "order"). The second was the belief that this
order was organic rather than mechanical: all components of the universe
served a role in the grand scheme of things, and objects moved naturally toward
the goals they were meant to serve. This movement toward goals is known as
teleology, and it pervaded Greek as well as much later science, with only a few
exceptions.
ANAXIMANDER
Anaximander (born 610 BCE, Miletus [now in Turkey]—died 546 BCE) is a Greek
philosopher who was the first to develop a cosmology, or systematic philosophical
view of the world. He is a follower of Thales of Miletus.

Source: Encyclopedia Britannica

Contribution to the development of science: Anaximander was eager to
point out that water couldn't possibly be the fundamental ingredient.
His explanations: His logic was straightforward: water, if it is anything, is
basically wet; nothing can be contradictory to itself. As a result, if Thales
is true, the opposite of moist cannot exist in a substance, which rules out all of the
dry objects we see in the world. As a result, Thales was mistaken.
This was the beginning of the critical tradition, which is crucial to
scientific progress.
Thales' hypotheses sparked a wave of intellectual activity, the majority of which
was devoted to refining critiques of his idea of fundamental matter. Various
single substances were postulated and then rejected, eventually leading to the
discovery of a plethora of elements that could account for such diametrically
opposed properties as wet and dry, hot and cold. Most natural philosophers
embraced a philosophy of four elements two centuries after Thales:
earth (cold and dry), fire (hot and dry), water (cold and wet), and air
(hot and wet). All bodies were made from these four.

ANAXIMENES
Anaximenes Of Miletus, (flourished c. 545 BC), was a Greek philosopher of
nature and one of three thinkers of Miletus traditionally considered to be the first
philosophers in the Western world.
 Source: Encyclopedia Britannica

Anaximenes used the words aer (“mist,” “vapour,” “air”). He believed that the
densities of various types of materials corresponded to the degrees of
condensation of moisture. It appears as mist or cloud, then as water, and
eventually as solid stuff like soil or stones as a result of condensation. It turns to
fire if it is rarefied any further. Anaximenes' belief that aer is eternally in motion
implies that he believed it to be alive. Because it was forever alive, aer took on
heavenly characteristics and became the cause of all gods and matter.
The transition from one physical condition of the aer to another is explained by
the same motion. There is evidence that he made the common analogy between
the divine air that maintains the universe and the human "air," or soul, that
animates individuals. Such a comparison between a macrocosm and a microcosm
would also allow him to preserve a sense of unity despite difference, as well as to
reaffirm his contemporaries' belief that all life and behavior is governed by an
overarching principle.

ARISTOTLE
Aristotle (born 384 BCE, Stagira, Chalcidice, Greece—died 322, Chalcis, Euboea),
was an ancient Greek philosopher and scientist and one of the greatest
intellectual figures of Western history.
 Source: Encyclopedia Britannica

Contribution to the development of science: Aristotle was able to make

sense of observed nature by asking the following questions of anything or
process: what is the material involved, what is its form and how did it achieve
that form, and most importantly, what is its purpose?
All substance on Earth, according to Aristotle's conception of the world, is made
up of combinations of four elements: earth, water, fire, and air. Each element
moves in a natural direction: downward for the first two, and upward for the
third. As a result, the Earth is in the center of the universe, with air and fire
moving outward to the stars.
It is worth noting that Aristotle considered all spontaneous activity to be natural.
As a result, observation was the right method of study. Experimenting with
natural settings in order to expose hidden features and activities of items was
unnatural and, as a result, could not be anticipated to reveal the essence of
things. Experimentation was thus unnecessary in Greek science.

ARISTOTELIAN LOGIC and THE PROBLEMS OF GREEK SCIENCE

The first philosopher to develop a systematic study of logic was Aristotle. For
nearly two thousand years, his framework would be regarded as the gold
standard in logical reasoning. Despite acknowledging the significance of
induction, he preferred to develop information by deduction. It was eventually
discovered that his impact exacerbated the overvaluation of deduction in science
and syllogisms in logic.
His most influential contribution to logic is the syllogism idea. He described a
syllogism as a discourse in which, after certain things have been stated,
something else follows by necessity. The following is a well-known example:
1st All men are mortal. (major premise)
2nd Socrates is a man. (minor premise)
3rd Socrates is mortal. (conclusion)
This approach to science has at least two flaws. First and foremost, the manner
the main premise operates. Why should we take the major premise without a
question. A key premise can only be accepted if an obvious statement is made,
such as "all men are mortal," which is taken as self-evident. This suggests that the
conclusion of this argument is not a new revelation, but rather something that
was already implicit in the fundamental premise, either directly or indirectly.
Second, it does not appear that going through all of this is essential to
demonstrate logically that Socrates is mortal.
Another issue with this method of knowledge construction is that if we want to
deal with fields of knowledge outside of everyday life, we run the risk of selecting
incorrect self-evident generalizations as a starting point for reasoning. Two of the
assumptions upon which all Greek astronomy was founded are as follows:
 (1) At the center of the cosmos, the earth is immobile.
(2) The world is sinful and imperfect, whereas the skies are perfect,
everlasting, and changeless.
These two axioms appear to be self-evident, and our intuitive experience backs
them up. Scientific theories, on the other hand, can seem paradoxical. Today, we
know that intuition should never be used as the sole source of knowledge, and
that all intuition should be questioned. Errors in thinking can be difficult to spot,
and the Greeks didn't seem to notice anything wrong with their approach to
science. Isaac Asimov provides a clear example of this:
...if brandy and water, whiskey and water, vodka and water, and rum and water
are all intoxicating beverages, one may jump to the conclusion that the
intoxicating factor must be the ingredient these drinks hold in common-namely,
water. There is something wrong with this reasoning, but the fault in the logic is
not immediately obvious; and in more subtle cases, the error may be hard indeed
to discover. (Asimov, 7)
Aristotle's contribution to logic and science became established and
unquestioned until the contemporary era. The shortcomings in Aristotle's
approach to science took generations to notice. Plato's philosophy believed the
world to be simply an imperfect image of the ideal truth sitting in the world of
ideas, which contributed to undervaluing inference and testing.

The concept of an "ultimate truth" was another roadblock for Greek science.
Further advancement looked unattainable after the Greeks had thought out all
the ramifications of their axioms. Some areas of knowledge appeared to them to
be 'complete,' and some of their ideas were made into dogmas that could not be
questioned further. Today, we recognize that there are never enough observations
to elevate a concept to the status of 'ultimate.' No amount of inductive testing can
guarantee that a generalization is absolutely correct. A single observation that
contradicts a hypothesis necessitates a re-evaluation of the theory.
Many prominent scholars have criticized Plato and Aristotle for
impeding scientific progress because their theories were transformed
into dogmas, and no one could challenge their work without
jeopardizing their reputation, especially throughout the Middle Ages.
It is highly likely that science would have progressed much faster if these ideas
had been subjected to scrutiny, but this in no way diminishes the creativity of
these two gifted Greeks.
A gifted mind's errors can appear to be real and be tolerated for
generations. A fool's errors are revealed sooner rather than later.