MODULE 1
MODULE 1.1 - Introduction to Science, Technology, and Society
This section introduces Science, Technology, and Society (STS) as a field of study. After defining
science and technology, the section traces the historical roots of STS as an academic field. It also enumerates
emerging ethical dilemmas that reinforce the importance of the study of STS in an age of scientific progress
and technological development.
Intended Learning Outcomes
At the end of this section, the students should be able to:
1. Discuss the general concepts related to science and technology;
2. Explain the scope of the study of STS; and
3. Demonstrate preparedness and readiness in the study of STS.
Science comes from the Latin word scientia, meaning 'knowledge.' It 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. It 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 a technological tool-one historical definition-is
something that 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. In his landmark paper, The Medawar Lecture 1998: Is Science
Dangerous?
Wolpert explained that reliable scientific knowledge has no
moral or ethical value. It 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.
Scientists are 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.
While scientists are responsible for the reliable conduct of 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.
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 an 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 of scientific and technological progress also pose challenges
and drawbacks to the way humans live. The introduction of machines tremendously cut the need for 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 a 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 more 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.
It 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.
In general, STS applies methods drawn from history,
philosophy, and sociology to study the nature of science and
technology and ultimately judge their value and place in society.
As an interdisciplinary field, the emergence of STS 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 cultures-humanities (interpretive) 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. Reilly 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. Bless U-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 plays 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.
Reference: Quinto, E. J. M., & Nieva, A. D. (2019). Science, technology, and society: Outcome-based module (courseware ready) (1st ed.). C & E Publishing, Inc.