COLLEGE DEPARTMENT

GE 6
Maedel Joy Ventura – Escote, Ph.D.
Mobile Number: 09085282839
Email: escotemaedeljoy86@[Link]

July 6, 2020
Dear Student,
Please find enclosed the course materials for the course titled:
GE 6: SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY

Welcome to Assumption College of Nabunturan, thank you for choosing ACN as your
institution for academic development. It is our fervent hope that we will be able to provide
the support and information you need in your college journey.
I am Ms. Maedel and I will be your instructor for this subject Science, Technology, and
Society. STS is a required core subject under the New General Education Curriculum
pursuant to CHED Memorandum Order No. 20, s.2013.
As a core subject, the lessons and activities in this resource materials are outcome based,
interdisciplinary and holistic toward broad or widening understanding to comply with such
mandate. The learning content in the subject introduces you to appreciate the societal
impact of science and technology development at the national and global levels in order
to produce graduates possessed with values reflective of “humanist orientation,” skilled
in analytical and problem solving and practically competent in science and technology so
that you can live meaningfully throughout life in this rapidly changing globalized society.
This course will require your full cooperation and resourcefulness. Be updated always on
our Microsoft teams for information and activities that you need to comply.
I truly believe that even in these trying times, learning will continue if we have the
perseverance and determination.
Once again welcome to Science, Technology, and Society class. I look forward to working
with you throughout the semester.

Sincerely.

Maedel Joy Ventura – Escote, Ph.D.

1
 GE 6: SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY
Course Outline

Professor : Maedel Joy Ventura – Escote, Ph.D.

Semester : Summer 2020 - 2021
Course Credits : 3

Course Description:
This course deals with interactions between science and technology and social,
cultural, political, and economic contexts that shaped by them. 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. Scientific knowledge and
technological development happen in the context of society with all its socio-political,
cultural, economic, and philosophical underpinnings at play. This course seeks to instill
reflective knowledge in the students that they are to live the good life and display ethical
decision making in the face of scientific and technological advancement.
This course includes mandatory topics on climate change and environmental
awareness.
Contact Hours: 2 hours online class and 1-hour consultation per week
Course Objectives:
1. Articulate the impacts of science and technology on society, specifically
Philippine society
2. Explain how science and technology affect society and the environment and
its role in nation-building
3. Analyze the human condition to deeply reflect and express philosophical
ramifications that are meaningful to the student as a part of society.
4. Define and demonstrate the impact of social media on the students’ life and
Philippine society in general
5. Imbibe the importance of science and technology in preservation of the
environmental and the development of the Filipino

2
 6. Critique human flourishing vis-à-vis the progress of science and technology
such that the student may be able to define for themselves the meaning of
good life
7. Foster the value of healthy lifestyle toward the holistic and sustainable
development of society and the environment.
8. Creatively present the importance and contributions of science and
technology to society
9. Examine shared concerns that make up the good life in order to come up
with innovative and creative solutions to contemporary issues guided by
ethical standards
10. Illustrate how the social media and information age impact their lives and
their understanding of climate change
Course Content:
1. Historical Antecedents in which social considerations changed the course of
science and technology
2. Intellectual revolutions that defined society
3. Science and Technology and nation building
4. The human Person flourishing in terms of science and technology
5. The Good Life
6. Why the future does not need us
7. The information Age
8. Biodiversity and healthy society
9. The nano world
10. Gene Therapy
Course Requirement
1. Activity Sheets, Assignments, Projects - 35%
2. Attendance/ Participation - 25%
3. Final Examination - 45%

3
LESSON 1: Historical Antecedents in which Social Considerations Changed the
Course of Science and Technology

Learning Outcome:
At the end of the lesson, you will be able to:
1. Discuss the interactions between S & T and Society throughout history
2. Describe how scientific and technological developments affect society
and the environment
3. Identify the paradigm shifts in history
4. Create a collage of inventions through time

Legacy of Science
“Change is one of mankind’s most mysterious creations. The factors that operate to cause
it came into play when man produced his first tool. With it he changed the world forever
and bound himself to the artifacts he would create in order, always, to make tomorrow
better than today. But how does change operate? What triggers an invention, a different?
philosophy, an altered society? The interactive network of man’s activities links the
strangest, most disparate elements, bringing together the most unlikely combinations in
unexpected ways to create a new world. Is there a pattern to change in different times
and separate places in our history? Can change be forecast? How doe society live with
perpetual innovation that, in changing the shape of its environment, also transforms its
attitudes, morals, values? If the prime effect of change is more change, is there a limit
beyond which we will not be able to go without anarchy, or have we adaptive abilities, as
yet only minimally activated, which wall make of our future a place very different from
anything we have ever experienced before?” James Burke

4
Introduction of Science, Technology and Society (STS)
The struggle of man to survive in his environment necessitates the development
of a body of knowledge and skills which from man’s early beginning was basic. Following
developments through various epochs, science and technology organized as endeavor
which can be used to cater for a wider range of human activities.
What is Science and Technology?
Science is a systematic and organized body of knowledge that explains or predicts
nature and the universe. Technology is the collection of methods, techniques, and
processes used in the production of goods or services, or the accomplishment of
objectives, such as scientific investigation, or anu other consumer demands. Science may
drive technological development by generating demand for new instruments to address
a scientific question about the underlying principles that new technology relies on.
How does Science and Technology affect the Society?
Science and technology have had a major impact on society, and their impact is
growing. By drastically changing our means of communication, the way we work, our
housing, clothes, and food, our methods of transportation, and, indeed, even the length
and quality of life itself, science has generated changes in the moral values and basic
philosophies of mankind. Beginning with the plow, science has changed how we live and
what we believe. 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. But it has also placed us in the unique position of being
able to destroy ourselves.
Historical Development of Science and Technology in the World
Science and technology had been around from the beginning of time. They can be
traced from the origin of human life million years ago when man first used stones for
chopping and scraping in Eastern Africa where these stone primarily found. Other
scientific records were traced from the Mesopotamian Cultures around 400 BC. The
medieval ages began after the fall of Western Roman Empire in 476 A.D were intellectual
scientific, and technological activities were mainly concentrated on Christian faith while
the modern period began in the 16th to present. Scientific revolution started in Europe and
spread later to other parts of the globe.

5
Below shows the timeline of the development of science and technology through time.
Source: Erik Gregersen, History of Technology Timeline, Encyclopedia Britannica
3.3 million years ago: The first tools
The history of technology begins even before the beginning of our own species.
Sharp flakes of stone used as knives and larger unshaped stones used as hammers and
anvils have been uncovered at Lake Turkana in Kenya. The tools were made 3.3 million
years ago and thus were likely used by an ancestor such as Australopithecus.
1 million years ago: Fire
When humanity first used fire is still not definitively known, but, like the first tools,
it was probably invented by an ancestor of Homo sapiens. Evidence of burnt material can
be found in caves used by Homo erectus beginning about 1 million (and maybe even 1.5
million) years ago.
20,000 to 15,000 years ago: Neolithic Revolution
During the Neolithic Period, several key technologies arose together. Humans
moved from getting their food by foraging to getting it through agriculture. People came
together in larger groups. Clay was used for pottery and bricks. Clothing began to be
made of woven fabrics. The wheel was also likely invented at this time.
6000 BCE: Irrigation
The first irrigation systems arose roughly simultaneously in the civilizations of the
Tigris-Euphrates river valley in Mesopotamia and the Nile River valley in Egypt. Since
irrigation requires an extensive amount of work, it shows a high level of social
organization.
4000 BCE: Sailing
The first sailing ships were used on the Nile River. Since the Nile does not allow
as much space for free sailing as the ocean, these ships also had oars for navigation.
1200 BCE: Iron
About this time, the production of iron became widespread as that metal
supplanted bronze. Iron was much more abundant than copper and tin, the two metals
that make up bronze, and thus put metal tools into more hands than ever before.
850 CE: Gunpowder

6
 Alchemists in China invented gunpowder as a result of their search for life-
extending elixirs. It was used to propel rockets attached to arrows. The knowledge of
gunpowder spread to Europe in the 13th century.
950: Windmill
Nearly 5,000 years after the first sailing ships, the wind was first used to operate a
mill. The first windmills were in Persia. They were horizontal windmills in which the blades
were set on a vertical shaft. Later, European windmills were of the vertical type. It has
been speculated that the windmill may have been invented independently in Persia and
in Europe.
1044: Compass
The first definitive mention of a magnetic compass dates from a Chinese book
finished in 1044. It describes how soldiers found their way by using a fish-shaped piece
of magnetized iron floating in a bowl of water when the sky was too cloudy to see the
stars.
1250–1300: Mechanical clock
Hourglass and water clocks had been around for centuries, but the first mechanical
clocks began to appear in Europe toward the end of the 13th century and were used in
cathedrals to mark the time when services would be held.
1455: Printing
Johannes Gutenberg completed the printing of the Bible, which was the first book printed
in the West using movable type. Gutenberg’s printing press led to an information
explosion in Europe.
1765: Steam engine
James Watt improved the Newcomen steam engine by adding a condenser that
turned the steam back into liquid water. This condenser was separate from the cylinder
that moved the piston, which meant that the engine was much more efficient. The steam
engine became one of the most important inventions of the Industrial Revolution.
1804: Railways
English engineer Richard Trevithick improved James Watt’s steam engine and
used it for transport. He built the first railway locomotive at an ironworks in Wales.
1807: Steamboat

7
 Robert Fulton put the steam engine on water. His steamboat that was eventually
called the Clermont took 32 hours to go up the Hudson River from New York City to
Albany. Sailing ships took four days.
1826/27: Photography
In the early 1820s, Nicéphore Niépce became interested in using a light-sensitive
solution to make copies of lithographs onto glass, zinc, and finally a pewter plate. He then
had the great idea to use his solution to make a copy of an image in a camera obscura
(a room or box with a small hole in one end through which an image of the outside is
projected). In 1826 or 1827, he made an eight-hour-long exposure of the courtyard of his
house, the first known photograph.
1831: Reaper
For thousands of years, harvesting crops was very labor-intensive. That changed
with Cyrus McCormick’s invention of the mechanical reaper. The earliest reaper had
some mechanical problems, but later versions spread throughout the world.
1844: Telegraph
Samuel Morse was a successful painter who became interested in the possibility
of an electric telegraph in the 1830s. He patented a prototype in 1837. In 1844 he sent
the first message over the first long-distance telegraph line, which stretched between
Washington, D.C., and Baltimore. The message: “What hath God wrought.”
1876: Telephone
Once it was possible to send information through a wire in the form of dots and
dashes, the next step was actual voice communication. Alexander Graham Bell made the
first telephone call, on March 10, 1876, when he asked his assistant Tom Watson to come
to him: “Mr Watson—come here—I want to see you.”
1876: Internal-combustion engine
German engineer Nikolaus Otto built an engine that, unlike the steam engine, used
the burning of fuel inside the engine to move a piston. This type of engine would later be
used to power automobiles.
1879: Electric light
After thousands of trials, American inventor Thomas Edison got a carbon-filament
light bulb to burn for 13½ hours. Edison and others in his laboratory were also working on

8
an electrical power distribution system to light homes and businesses, and in 1882 the
Edison Electric Illuminating Company opened the first power plant.
1885: Automobile
The internal-combustion engine improved, becoming smaller and more efficient.
Karl Benz used a one-cylinder engine to power the first modern automobile, a three-
wheeled car that he drove around a track. However, the automobile did not make a
commercial splash until 1888, when his wife, Bertha, exasperated with Karl’s slow
methodical pace, took an automobile without his knowledge on a 64-mile trip to see her
mother.
1901: Radio
Guglielmo Marconi had been experimenting with radio since 1894 and was
sending transmissions over longer and longer distances. In 1901 his reported
transmission of the Morse code letter S across the Atlantic from Cornwall to
Newfoundland excited the world.
1903: Airplane
On December 17 Orville Wright made the first airplane flight, of 120 feet, near Kitty
Hawk, North Carolina. He and his brother Wilbur made four flights that day. On the last,
Wilbur flew 852 feet.
1926: Rocketry
As a young boy in the late 1890s, Robert Goddard was inspired by H.G. Wells’ The War
of the Worlds and the possibilities of space travel. As a middle-aged man in the mid-
1920s, he achieved the first test flight of a liquid-fueled rocket, from his aunt’s farm in
Auburn, Massachusetts. The rocket flew 12.5 meters (41 feet) in the air.
1927: Television
After the development of radio, the transmission of an image was the next logical
step. Early television used a mechanical disk to scan an image. As a teenager in Utah,
Philo T. Farnsworth became convinced that a mechanical system would not be able to
scan and assemble images multiple times a second. Only an electronic system would do
that. In 1922 the 16-year-old Farnsworth worked out a plan for such a system, but it was
not until 1927 that he made the first electronic television transmission, a horizontal line.

9
1937: Computer
Iowa State mathematician and physicist John Atanasoff designed the first
electronic digital computer. It would use binary numbers (base 2, in which all numbers
are expressed with the digits 0 and 1), and its data would be stored in capacitors. In 1939
he and his student Clifford Berry began building the Atanasoff-Berry Computer (ABC).
1942: Nuclear power
As part of the Manhattan Project to build the first atomic bomb, it was necessary
to understand nuclear reactions in detail. On December 2 underneath the football stands
at the University of Chicago, a team of physicists led by Enrico Fermi used uranium to
produce the first self-sustaining chain reaction.
1947: Transistor
On December 23 Bell Labs engineers John Bardeen, Walter Brattain, and William
Shockley gave the first public demonstration of the transistor, an electrical component
that could control, amplify, and generate current. The transistor was much smaller and
used less power than vacuum tubes and ushered in an era of cheap small electronic
devices.
1957: Spaceflight
The Soviet Union surprised the world on October 4, when it launched the first
artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, a small 83.6-kg (184.3-pound) metal sphere. The space race
began between the Soviet Union and the United States, opening up a new front in the
Cold War.
1974: Personal computer
The first computers that emerged after World War II were gigantic, but, with
advances in technology, especially in putting many transistors on a semiconductor chip,
computers became both smaller and more powerful. Finally, they became small enough
for home use. The first such personal computer was the Altair, which was soon
supplanted in 1977 by the Apple II, the TRS-80, and the Commodore PET.
1974: Internet
Vinton Cerf and Robert Kahn produced the TCP/IP (Transmission Control
Protocol/Internet Protocol), which describes how data can be broken down into smaller

10
pieces called packets and how these packets can be transmitted to the right destination.
TCP/IP became the basis for how data is transmitted over the Internet.
2012: CRISPR
American biochemist Jennifer Doudna and French microbiologist Emmanuelle
Charpentier developed CRISPR-Cas9, a method for editing genes—that is, making
changes to DNA sequences. Gene editing has the potential to treat many diseases but
also opens the ethical gray area of creating designer humans.
2017: Artificial intelligence
The team behind the AlphaGo artificial intelligence program announced that it had
become the world’s best go player. Go is a game with very simple rules but many possible
positions. The previous year AlphaGo had defeated the great player Lee Sedol in a match
4–1. AlphaGo then played itself and, through continual improvement, was able to defeat
the version that had defeated Lee, 100–0. Through machine learning, AlphaGo had
become better at the game than any human
For further readings on the historical development of Science and Technology in the world
read Science, Technology and Society reference book page 2-4 and the Smithsonian
Science Year by Year which will be provided to you as an e Book.

ACTIVITY 1
MIND HONING
Direction: Enumerate at least 5 important technologies developed in Classical, Medieval
and Modern ages. Choose 1 technology and describe the possible impact of the
technology to society and environment during the time.

1st Industrial Revolution

Discussion (5pts)
1. ___________________
2. ___________________
3. ___________________
4. ___________________
5. ___________________

11
2nd Industrial Revolution
1. ___________________ Discussion (5pts)

2. ___________________
3. ___________________
4. ___________________
5. ___________________

3rd Scientific-Technical Revolution

1. ___________________
Discussion (5pts)
2. ___________________
3. ___________________
4. ___________________
5. ___________________

Historical Development of Science and Technology in the Philippines

Pre-Colonial Period
Philippines has already indigenous technology even before the coming of the
Spaniards. Filipinos already practiced pottery, weaving, handicrafts making, metal ware
making and even boat making. They are knowledgeable of medicinal herbs for certain
diseases and master therapeutic properties of plants and methods of preparing them for
medication.
Filipinos in the early ages has already existing alphabet, number system,
measuring system and a calendar. The most notable, sophisticated product of
engineering in pre-Spanish era was the Banaue Rice Terraces which was also part of the
seven wonders of the world.

12
Spanish Colonial Period

The arrival and colonization of the Spaniards in the Philippines brough enormous
change to the lives of every native Filipino. Moreover, their presence contributed to the
growth of science and technology in the archipelago. The Spaniards introduced formal
education, they converted early settlers to Christians, built Parish schools to support
religion teachings as well as reading, writing, arithmetic and music. In later years of their
occupation, they built colleges and universities known to us today.

The study of medicine in the Philippines was given priority in the Spanish era,
especially in the later years. The Spanish also contributed to the field of engineering in
the islands by constructing government buildings, churches, roads, bridges, and forts.
Biology is given focus. Contributors to science in the archipelago during the 19th century
were botanists, Fr. Ignacio Mercado., Dr. Trinidad Pardo de Tavera and Dr. Leon Ma
Guerrero, chemist Anaclento del Rosario, and medicine scholars Dr. Manuel Guerrero,
Dr, Jose Montes, and Dr. Elrodario Mercado.

The Galleon Trade have accounted in the Philippine colonial economy. Trade was
given more focus by the Spaniard colonial authorities due to the prospects of big profits.
Agriculture and industrial development on the other hand were relatively neglected.[4] The
opening of the Suez Canal saw the influx of European visitors to the Spanish colony and
some Filipinos were able to study in Europe who were probably influenced by the rapid
development of scientific ideals brought by the Age of Enlightenment.

American Period and Post Commonwealth Era.

Science during the American period was inclined towards agriculture, food
processing, medicine, and pharmacy. Not much focus was given on the development of
industrial technology due to free trade policy with the United States which nurtured an
economy geared towards agriculture and trade. During the American regime, the low
technological impact of Philippine raw materials was traded for high technological input
of foreign finished products. Due to the lesser value of our product the trade was basically
unequal, the imbalance caused the country to incurred loans for trade deficit. That
incapacitate the country to grow economically as well as in science and technology.

13
Present Day

Even after more than 100 years of “independence” the country is still struggling to
rid itself on the poor systems created by the colonial rulers and later by succeeding
Philippine governments. Until the end of President Aquino’s term, his administration did
not serve well the scientific knowledge and technological needs of the Filipino masses. In
the leadership of President Duterte he already passed the law of the Balik Scientist law
last 15 June 2018. Republic Act No. 11035, also known as an “Act Institutionalizing the
Balik Scientist Program,” would give more incentives to returning Filipino experts,
scientists, inventors, and engineers who would share their expertise in the country.
however, we have yet to find out what would President Duterte’s administration, through
DOST, would improve to serve best the Filipino people in terms of scientific and
technological benefits especially with the pandemic crippling our government today
(2020) to move forward toward growth and development.

ACTIVITY 2
Research on the projects of President Rodrigo Duterte on the improvement of Science
and Technology in the Philippines.
Write a 3-paragraph essay on this research. (20 pts)

14
ACTIVITY 3
ENRICHED YOUR MIND
Direction: Research pictures online, if you have no access to the internet, you can draw
important inventions that has great impact on the lives of the people during the classical,
medieval, and modern periods. Create a collage showing the paradigm shifts of periods
through inventions of science and technology. Place your collage in a black side of an
illustration board and cover it with a cover cellophane. You can design your frame. At the
back of the frame post your discussion. If you do not have illustration board, you can
recycle cardboards available to you. (100 pts)
Date of Submission: August 24, 2020
Criteria:
Content - 50 pts
Collage - 30 pts
Neatness and creativity - 20 pts

15