Module 1

Introduction to Science, Technology & Society

LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of this module, you should be able to
 Define science and technology;
 Explain the interactions between science, technology and society; and
 Discuss the importance of science and technology throughout history.

This module teaches you how Science, Technology and Society (STS) helps individuals to
determine the impacts of development and innovation in their lives as well as in their
community. Here, you will learn not only the development and advances in S&T but also
the
1 emerging ethical dilemmas and the disadvantages they bring upon to our society.
ENGAGEMENT
To better understand the lesson, answer the following.

TRUE OR FALSE
On the spaces provided, write TRUE if the statement is correct and FALSE if it is not.

1. Science is a methodical way of acquiring knowledge.

2. Technology is the use of scientific knowledge for practical purposes.
3. Science and technology can be dangerous.
4. Science, Technology and Society (STS) is the study of how science and
technology shape and are shaped by social influences.
5. STS deals with the historical development of science and technology
but does not cover their philosophical underpinnings.
6. The study of STS primarily concerns students of science and
technology programs, and not non-science students as much.
7. STS is an important area of study because science and technology
permeate every aspect of everyday life.
8. Science and Technology are not crucial factors in nation building.
9. History cannot teach people about evaluating present-day science and
technology.
10. STS draws from other disciplines, such as history, sociology,
philosophy, economics, political science and international relations, and
science policy.

EXPLORATION
To better understand the terms in the lesson, read and watch the following texts.

Watch Lewis Wolpert, “Is Science Dangerous?” on YouTube. Click the link below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCZO4A-P2og

Read Lewis Wolpert’s “The Medawar Lecture 1998 Is Science Dangerous?”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1569503/

Science, technology, and society (STS) is an essential course for tertiary education in the
General Education Curriculum. It was conceived to develop a deep appreciation and critical
understanding of the role of science and technology in human and social development. It
deals with the social, cultural, political and economic interactions between science and
technology.

Science comes from the Latin word, scientia, meaning “knowledge”. Science refers to a
systematic and methodical activity of building and organizing knowledge about how the
universe behaves through observation and experimentation.

Technology comes from Greek words tekhne, meaning “art or craft” and logia, meaning a
“subject or interest”.
2Society
A society is a group of individuals sharing a common culture geographical location, and
 government. It enables these individuals to acquire necessary survival skills, maximize their
potential, and share resources. It enables individuals to acquire necessary survival skills,
maximize their potential, and share resources. It is also characterized by the presence of the
following elements:

 A common language
 Definite geographical area
 Political, economic, and social  Social solidarity, whereby members
organization of the community live together for
 A large population and the ability to mutual benefit
sustain succeeding generations of  Shared identity and culture among
members members that serve as basis for their
patterns of action and behavior
What is Science, Technology & Society?

As described in the CHED Memorandum Order No. 20, Science Technology and Society is
an interdisciplinary course that involves students to confront the realities brought about by
science and technology in society, with all its socio-political, cultural, economic, and
philosophical underpinnings at play.

Figure 1
The Relationship of Science, Technology and Society

Science, technology, and society (STS) is an essential course for tertiary education
in the General Education Curriculum. It was conceived to develop a deep appreciation and
critical understanding of the role of science and technology in human and social
development. It deals with the social, cultural, political, and economic interactions between
science and technology.

Science and technology were the greatest things society will ever hope for. In reality,
science has remained in progress since the industrial revolution of the 18th century. Some
of the sectors that have actually been improved by science and technology are electricity,
3physical science, information, and interaction. In reality, society has made significant
progress with the advancement of technology.
 Without society, however, there would be no science and technology, and that is
why the creation of unique tools and technologies has actually helped us do great things.
Society should refrain from doing so without the markets that we have today.

Science and technology related issues have gone all over the world today. Progress
in this regard has been dealt with in terms of the ability to manufacture a range of product
styles. Responding to the questions about whether science and technology belong to
society, let us first discuss each terms.

A. WHAT IS SCIENCE?

Science comes from the Latin word, scientia, meaning “knowledge”. Science refers
to a systematic and methodical activity of building and organizing knowledge about how
the universe behaves through observation and experimentation.

According to the famous American science historian, John Heilbron (2003, p. vii),
modern science is a discovery as well as invention.

Science can be defined as:

1. IDEA to collect facts (data). An ultimate

Science is a systematic way of purpose of science is to discern the
observing the world and doing order that exists between and
experiments to understand its amongst the various facts.
structure and behavior. So a
scientific idea is an explanation for 3. BODY OF KNOWLEDGE
how something works, or the truth Science consists of a body of
about some aspect of the world, that knowledge and the process by which
was figured out using the scientific that knowledge is developed.
process.
4. PERSONAL AND
2. INTELLECTUAL ACTIVITY INTELLECTUAL ACTIVITY
Science is an intellectual activity Science influences society through
carried on by humans that is its knowledge and worldview.
designed to discover information Scientific knowledge and the
about the natural world in which procedures used by scientists
humans live and to discover the influence the way many individuals
ways in which this information can in society think about themselves,
be organized into meaningful others and the environment.
patterns. A primary aim of science is

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 B. WHAT IS TECHNOLOGY?

Technology comes from Greek words tekhne, meaning “art or craft” and logia, meaning a
“subject or interest”. It is the “practical applications of what we know about nature”
using scientific principles for the betterment of the human situation.”

Technology, for its part, is the application of scientific knowledge, laws, and principles to
produce services, materials, tols, and machines aimed at solving real – world problems.
During a live public Q&A in December 2014, one member of the audience ask Mark
Zuckerberg what his definition of a technological tool is, and 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.”

TECHNOLOGY CAN BE VIEWED AS

TOOLS technology in a similarly broad way as “a

The simplest form of technology is the means to fulfill a human purpose.”
development and use of basic tools. The
prehistoric discovery of how to control fire TECHNIQUES
and the later Neolithic Revolution Technology is the sum of techniques,
increased the available sources of food, skills, methods, and processes used in the
and the invention of the wheel helped production of goods or services or in the
humans to travel in and control their accomplishment of objectives, such as
environment. Developments in historic scientific investigation. Technology can be
times, including the printing press, the the knowledge of techniques, processes,
telephone, and the Internet, have lessened and the like, or it can be embedded in
physical barriers to communication and machines to allow for operation without
allowed humans to interact freely on a detailed knowledge of their workings.
global scale. Systems (e.g. machines) applying
technology by taking an input, changing it
Technology can be most broadly according to the system’s use, and then
defined as the entities, both material and producing an outcome are referred to as
immaterial, created by the application of technology systems or technological
mental and physical effort in order to systems.
achieve some value. In this usage,
technology refers to tools and machines The word “technology” can also be
that may be used to solve real-world used to refer to a collection of techniques.
problems. It is a far-reaching term that In this context, it is the current state of
may include simple tools, such as a humanity’s knowledge of how to combine
crowbar or wooden spoon, or more resources to produce desired products, to
complex machines, such as a space station solve problems, fulfill needs, or satisfy
or particle accelerator. Tools and machines wants; it includes technical methods,
need not be material; virtual technology, skills, processes, techniques, tools and raw
such as computer software and business materials. When combined with another
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methods, fall under this definition of term, such as “medical technology” or
technology. W. Brian Arthur defines “space technology,” it refers to the state of
the respective field’s knowledge and tools. culture in a creative way; technology can
“State-of-the-art technology” refers to the also help facilitate political oppression and
high technology available to humanity in war via tools such as guns. As a cultural
any field. activity, technology predates both science
and engineering, each of which formalize
AN ACTIVITY THAT FORMS OR some aspects of technological endeavor.
CHANGES CULTURE
Technology can be viewed as an activity Technology has many effects.
that forms or changes culture. It has helped develop more advanced
Additionally, technology is the application economies (including today’s global
of mathematics, science, and the arts for economy) and has allowed the rise of a
the benefit of life as it is known. A modern leisure class. Many technological
example is the rise of communication processes produce unwanted by-
technology, which has lessened barriers to products known as pollution and deplete
human interaction and as a result has natural resources to the detriment of
helped spawn new subcultures; the rise of Earth’s environment. Innovations have
cyber culture has at its basis the always influenced the values of a society
development of the Internet and the and raised new questions in the ethics of
computer. Not all technology enhances technology.

Examples include the rise of the notion of efficiency in terms of human productivity,
and the challenges of bioethics.

C. INTERCONNECTIONS BETWEEN SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

While Science explores for the purpose of knowing; technology explores for the purpose of
making something useful from that knowledge.

Lewis 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 and studying the nature of 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.
Scientist 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 this discoveries may be applied.

“Science drives technology by making new technology possible through

scientific breakthroughs.”

Today, advancements in science and technology have become widespread. They

manifest themselves in the activities that humans pursue and the tools they use every day.
The introduction of machines, the invention of drugs, and the rise of social media are some
only of the few advancements of science and technology that people use every day, which
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changes people’s appreciation about life.
 According to the 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 cleverly
arranged things so that almost no one understands science and technology. That’ s a
clear prescription for disaster.”

As science and technology problems continue to rise and become more noticeable,
the need to pay attention to their interactions with various aspects of human life, e.g. social,
political and economic, is increasingly needed.

D. DISADVANTAGES AND DILEMMAS OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

1. Threats to Human Survival

2. Ethical Dilemmas
3. Disparities in Human Well-Being
4. Social Conflicts and Cultural Conflicts
5. Innovating Technologies Can Have Negative Consequences for Certain Sectors
a. Conversion of Agricultural Land into Urban Areas
b. Effects of Overused Technologies in Medical Industry
c. Global Warming
d. Increased Pollution associated with Production Processes
e. Increased Unemployment from Labor-saving New Technologies
f. Psychologically and Emotional Effects on Humans

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SEATWORK

Post a magazine or newspaper cut-out of any photograph that depicts an issue or

problem in science and technology. Then, answer the questions that follow.

1. What issue or problem is being depicted in the photograph? (5 points)

2. How does this particular issue or problem impact the well-being of humans today?
(5 points)

3. Why is it important for people to study and learn about STS as an academic field,
especially in addressing the issue or problem depicted in the photograph? (5 points)

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Read the questions carefully and plan what will you say and write.
Your essay should be as well organized and as carefully written as you can make it.

1. What was your initial reaction about the Lecture of Lewis Wolpert’s “Is Science
Dangerous?” Is it really dangerous? Discuss. (5 points)

2. Are science and technology part of your everyday living? Cite an example and
explain how each affects your everyday living. (5 points)

3. Why is it important to question the moral and ethical issues surrounding

innovations in science and technology? Elaborate. (5 points)

4. In the face of this dilemma, why is it important to study STS? Discuss. (5 points)

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REFERENCES

“How Scientific Ideas Change.” (n.d.). Study.com.

https://study.com/academy/lesson/how-scientific-ideas-change.html
Science, Technology and Society by Daniel Joseph McNamara, S.J., et.al. C&E
Publishing.
Science, Technology and Society by Edward Jay Mansarate, PhD,LPT and Aileen
Domondon Nieva, Meng, ChE, Rche. C&E Publishing.
Science, Technology, and Society by Janice Patria Javier Serafica, et.al. REX
Bookstore. 2019
Science, Technology, and Society: Outcome-based Module by Edward Jay Mansarate
Quinto, Ph.D. LPT and Aileen Domondon Nieva, Meng, ChE, Rche. C & E Publishing, Inc.
2019
“The harbinger: what is science?” (n.d.). The Harbinger. Mobile, Alabama.
https://www.theharbinger.org/articles/rel_sci/gottlieb.html
Mansour, N., & Wegerif, R. (2013). Science education for diversity: Theory and
practice. Springer Science & Business Media.
“Technology.” (2001, November 8). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology

ASSIGNMENT
Research the historical antecedents in science and technology from prehistoric period, middle
period (renaissance age) and modern period.

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