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Chapter 1 Science Technology and Society

This document provides information about science, technology, and their relationship to society. It begins by defining science as an organized body of knowledge based on observation and experimentation. Technology is then defined as the application of scientific knowledge to solve practical problems and meet human needs. The document discusses how both science and technology have progressed over time through various historical periods like the Stone Age, Bronze Age, and Iron Age. It provides examples of how early civilizations used different tools made of stone, wood, and other materials during these eras. Overall, the document examines how science and technology have developed and influenced society throughout history.

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100% found this document useful (4 votes)
2K views65 pages

Chapter 1 Science Technology and Society

This document provides information about science, technology, and their relationship to society. It begins by defining science as an organized body of knowledge based on observation and experimentation. Technology is then defined as the application of scientific knowledge to solve practical problems and meet human needs. The document discusses how both science and technology have progressed over time through various historical periods like the Stone Age, Bronze Age, and Iron Age. It provides examples of how early civilizations used different tools made of stone, wood, and other materials during these eras. Overall, the document examines how science and technology have developed and influenced society throughout history.

Uploaded by

Aylie Pilobello
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY &

SOCIETY: An Introduction
Science
Science – derived from Latin word scientia
meaning knowledge.

Organized body of knowledge or facts


based upon methods of observation.
(Fischer’s def’n)
A way of thinking about or approaching a
topic.
Asks questions that aim to increase our
understanding of the physical universe
and our ability to explain nature.
How do we define science?
CONTENT Body of organized knowledge about nature
From Latin scientia - knowledge

METHOD Of obtaining that knowledge, experiment,


observation, hypothesis, theory, law

ATTITUDE Organized and systematic skepticism

GOALS Explanation, understanding, prediction, control

LANGUAGE Mathematics and technical vocabulary

TOOLS Uses Instruments and technologies

COMMUNITY Discipline, education, credentials,


careers, patrons, societies, “turf”

PROCESS Organized, but very diverse activity shaped by


social forces and historical change
In general:
 Science is an organized, hierarchical
activity that investigates nature and human
nature by experiment and observation.
 Its goals are explanation, understanding,
prediction, and control.
 It tests its theories by logical, mathematical,
and technological means.
 Science is shaped by social forces and
historical change.
 While seeking objectivity, science also
shapes culture.
What is Technology?
A discourse or treatise on an art or arts;
The scientific study of the practical or industrial arts.
Techne (art, craft, skill), Logos (word).

Some other attempts at definitions:


A system based on the application of knowledge, manifested in physical
objects and organizational forms, for the attainment of specific goals —
Volti
Cumulative sum of means used to satisfy human needs and desires and
to solve specific problems —Markert
The sum total of systems of machines and techniques that underlie a
civilization —Nye
Not merely a system of machines with certain functions, but an expression
of a social world —Nye
The production of superfluities – today as in the Paleolithic age —Ortega y
Gasset
“The seeping false-hearted death” —DeLillo
Technology
Applied science.
A topic involving the designing and use
of devices, processes, and materials to
solve practical problems and to satisfy
human needs and wants.
Science or Technology?
Fat and lye when heated will make a
yellow substance.
Soap is a good cleaning substance; it is
made from fats, oils, and lye.

Neon is a colorless gas.


Neon is used to make colorful signs.
Science or Technology?
Fat and lye when heated will make a
yellow substance.
Soap is a good cleaning substance; it is
made from fats, oils, and lye.

Neon is a colorless gas.


Neon is used to make colorful signs.
Aluminum is a light weight metal.
Airplanes are made from aluminum.

A glass lens will bend (refract) light.


Glass lenses are used to help make
telescopes.
Science or Technology?
Fat and lye when heated will make a
yellow substance. (S)
Soap is a good cleaning substance; it is
made from fats, oils, and lye. (T)

Neon is a colorless gas. (S)


Neon is used to make colorful signs. (T)
Aluminum is a light weight metal. (S)
Airplanes are made from aluminum. (T)

A glass lens will bend (refract) light. (S)


Glass lenses are used to help make
telescopes. (T)
Shopping for shoes
A Computer
Making Cookies
Photosynthesis
Planting Seeds
A Baseball
Discovering the Speed of Sound
A Factory
Playing a CD
Getting a hair cut
SOCIETY
A group, large or small, of people in a
particular place and time who are linked by
common goals and interests.
ENVIRONMENT
The natural world or ecosystem.
The area in which something exists or
lives.
The complex of physical, chemical, and
biological factors in which a living
organism or community exists.
History
The history of technology is the history of
the invention of tools and techniques.
These inventions have enabled people to
create and accomplish many new things.
Technological artifacts are products of a
society’s economy, a force for economic
growth, and a large part of everyday life.
Technological innovations affect, and are
affected by, a society's cultural traditions.
Why?
The invention of tools and techniques is
evidence of a society’s ability to solve
problems that were encountered in
every day life.
What is a tool?
A tool is a device or a piece of
equipment that typically provides a
mechanical advantage in accomplishing
a task or enables the accomplishment
of a task not otherwise possible. The
most basic tools are simple machines.
When particularly intended for domestic
use, a tool is often called a utensil.
Early Civilizations and tools
Many sociologists and anthropologists have
created social theories dealing with social
and cultural evolution. Some declare
technological progress to be the primary
factor driving the development of human
civilization.
In other words, societies advance when their
technologies advance.
There were three main time periods or
Ancient Ages when tools were the main
technological development: The Stone Age,
The Bronze Age and the Iron Age.
Ancient Age: Three- Age
System
it was introduced in the early 19th century
by Christian Jurgensen Thomsen, an
archeologist and a curator of the National
Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen.
This system was originally formulated to
classify artifacts in the possession of the
museum based on the three
chronologically successive prehistorical
periods, namely Stone, Bronze and Iron
Age.
The Stone Age (2.5 mya-3000 BC
The first tool-makers!
This period of time is called the Stone
Age because these very early men
created tools from stone. The Stone
Age ran from about 2.5 million years
ago to about 10,000 years ago.
The period of weapons made of
stone, wood, bone or some other
materials aside from metals.
Subdivisions of Stone Age according to John
Lubbock as presented in his book Prehistoric
Times
Palaeolithic (“Old Stone”) Period
Neolithic Period
Mesolithic Period- by John Allen
Brown in 1892. This Stone Periods are
based mainly on technological
advancement and not on actual date
ranges, thus their lengths varied in
different parts of the world.
Palaeolithic (“Old Stone”)
Period
it is known to be the longest phase of
human history which began
approximately two million years ago and
ended between 40,000 to 10,000 years
ago.
During this period, when humans were
suggested to evolve from an ape-like
creature to a true Homo sapiens.
They were hunter-gatherers who used
to hunt wild animals and harvest wild
plnts for survival.
These were achieved by using tools
made of stones, flints, bones and even
antlers which gradually developed from
a single, all purpose artifacts to a
collection of different highly specialized
tools each serving a specific function.
This period of early human development
was further given three successive
divisions, namely: Lower, Middle, and
Upper Palaeolithic periods, each
representing a distinguishable cultural
feature.
A. Lower Palaeolithic Period- marked
the age of human evolution and was
characterizedby the development of
simple tools. This included stone
choppers believed to be made more
than a million year ago by one of our
earliest ancestors, Australopithecus,
which were unearthed from Olduval
Gorge, Tanzania
It also compared those100,000-500,000
year old stone tools made by our Homo
erectus ancestors such as those
discovered from various African, Asian
and European sites.
This tools being used in hunting, and
food gathering were either of core or
flake types.
B. Middle Palaeolithic Period
It encompassed the cultural development
involving another early human ancestor,
the Neanderthal man, who existed
40,000-100,000 years ago.
Neanderthal man, were cavemen known
to use fire, stone tools of flakes for
hunting, and bone implements such as
needles for sewing body coverings made
of animal furs and skins.
Evidence of painting the dead before
burial also suggested the religious
practice during this period.
C. Upper Palaeolithic Period
A variety of cultures of Homo sapiens
groups (Cro-Magnon man, Grimaldi
man, etc). Dominated Upper
Palaeolithic period.
This period was known for communal
hunting, extensive fishing, supernatural
beliefs, cloth sewing, sculpture, painting
and making personal ornaments out of
bones, horns and ivory.
The first manmade dwellings called pit
houses were also built during this time.
Various late Palaeolithic tools were
discovered including flint and obsidian
projectile points and blades and other
highly refined weapons.
2. Mesolithic (“Middle Stone”) Period
 occuring between the end of
Palaeolithic period and the beginning of
Neolithic period.
.it involved the gradual change in the
way humans lived that could be
attributed to the retreat of glaciers and
growth of forests and deserts in different
parts of the world.
There were also a gradual transition
from food gathering to agriculture or
food production.
They made use of stone tools known as
microliths which were comparatively
smaller and more delicate than those of
Palaeoliths.
3. Neolithic (“New Stone”) Period
This stage of cultural and technological
development was based primarily on
agriculture.
It is characterized by wide domestication
of plants(rice, corn, beans, etc), and
animals(goats, cattles, sheeps,pigs, etc.),
use of stone tools, and pottery and
Weaving in numerous settled villages
Agriculture continued to expand across
most of the inhabited region of the world
giving rise to a variety of urban
civilizations.
The end of this period is marked by the
introduction of metal tools in these
cultures.
Bronze Age (3000 BC-1200 BC)
Started when tools and weapons were
already widely made with copper or bronze.
This was achieved through metal extraction
from ore ( a process known as smelting)
and melting and pouring it into a mold for
shaping.
Smelting was originally done with copper, a
soft metal.
This technological knowledge then slowly
moved from one place to place.
IRON AGE (1500 BC-450 AD)
Iron Age, as the name implies,
included those articles made of iron.
This began when smelting pits made
sufficient advancement to produce higher
temperatures that could smelt iron ore.
Same with bronze technology, iron
age also diffused in different regions
Slowly to North Africa, and then to sub-
Saharan Africa where diffusion of
bronze technology was halted by the
Sahara desert.
MIDDLE AGES (450-1450 AD)
This period in history began in 450
A.D. and lasted until 1450 A.D.
It is subdivided into two smaller
ages, Dark (450-1000 A.D.) and High
Middle (1000-1450 A.D.) Ages.
Major developments in Science &
Technology in some parts of the world
during this period are here.
Pre-Columbian America
It was thrived in by three groups of
people: Mayan, Aztec and Incas.
Scientific Revolution (1440-1690 A.D.)
This period refers to the great scientific
intellectual achievements that led to
radical changes in scientific inquiries.
Some of the important contributions to
this Scientific Revolution are the
following:
Universe Model (By Nicholas Copernicus)
Law of Planetary Motion (by Johannes
Kepler)
Work of Motion (by Galileo Galilei)
Law of Motion (by Isaac Newton)
Law of Universal Gravitation (by Isaac
Newton)
Industrial Revolution (1750-1895 AD)
It generally covers the complex
technological innovations that led to the
substitution of machines and inanimate
power for human skill and human and
animal forces, respectively.
Technological advancements:
-Textile Communication
-Coal, Iron and Steel Lighting
- Transportation Agriculture
18th to 19th Century
During this era, the connection between
science and technology was very
minimal.
This gradually shifted to development
stage during the 19th century when
science, technology and industry united
at a common ground and cause.
Significant scientific advances during
this period
1. Physics
2. Chemistry
3. Biology
20th Century to Date
 Science and technology had structurally
and methodologically changed.
 A number of scientific theories were
introduced and has influenced
technological works in this century.
Significant advances in
scientific knowledge:
Physics Energy
Astronomy Entertainment
Chemistry Information and
Biology Technology
Earth Science Medicine
Biotechnology Transportation
Communication
Defense
Information Age
The period of human history described
by changed from traditional industry to
an economy based on information
computerization is known as the
Information Age, Digital Age, or New
Media Age.
It is coupled with the birth of personal
computers. It is also the era with easy
access on any piece of information
Why did they need tools?
Humans did not have strong claws to
help them fight. They could not out run
saber-toothed tigers or cave lions. Man
had to get smart to survive! At this
time, man began creating stone tools to
help live more comfortably, and to better
protect themselves against the many
carnivore (meat eating) animals of the
time.
How did they live during the
Stone Age?
They followed food sources, and set up camp as
needed. They sheltered under cliffs, whenever possible.
You might think they would look for caves to spend the
night, but caves quite often had dangerous occupants,
just as they do today. Although this group made stone
tools and weapons, these weapons were still pretty
basic. Their main diet was probably fruits, roots, nuts
and vegetables that they found growing wild.

Small groups banded together for protection and


efficiency. The size of the group depended upon the
amount of food available. Groups would disband and
move on, as food required.
Since they did not have fire-making skills, they had to
wait until they found something burning from natural
causes, set aflame, for example, from a lightening strike.
A campfire had to be carefully watched, because if the
fire went out, they did not know how to start it again. The
area around the campfire was probably used as a
sleeping area. A roaring campfire would keep most wild
animals away, as most are afraid of fire. When they
broke camp, they probably attempted to bring their fire
with them by carrying several lit branches, with which to
start a new campfire when they stopped again. If their
branches went out, they did without fire until they found
something burning somewhere.
200,000 years later…

Man learns to
make FIRE!!!
They were probably a bit
startled when they saw what
they had created, little knowing
that the invention of fire would
change life dramatically!
DISCUSS: How do you think
the ability to make fire
changed life?
What’s the big deal?
Why was the ability to able to make fire so important? As
man had already discovered, most animals were afraid
of fire, so a roaring campfire gave protection to the group
or tribe. They no longer had to shelter out of the wind,
unless they chose to do so. If their fire went out, they
could relight it. They could choose where they camped.
On a hot night, if they could find a relatively safe place, a
breeze might feel good. Control of fire made moving into
colder regions possible, as fire they could count on
would provide them with warmth. It also changed the
way they prepared food.
These people began to cook their food consistently.
Food that is cooked is more secure from disease and
much softer to eat. As a result, it would have been easier
for the young and the old to survive.
A collection of stone age tools:

Can you guess which tools were used for


what?
Discuss…
How do you think it happened that the first
stone tool was used or made? What problem
do you think someone may have had that
they solved with a stone tool?
What kinds of things could be done with the
help of stone tools that could not be done
before?
How could stone tools be made better?
The Bronze Age
The Stone Age developed into the Bronze Age after
radical changes in agricultural technology which
included:
 development of agriculture (people began to grow crops),
 animal domestication (people began to raise animals),
 and the adoption of permanent settlements (people began to
stay in one area).

During this period in the development of technology


is when metals were first used regularly in the
manufacture of tools and weapons.
Mining, smelting, and casting became
organized efforts.
Bronze Age Tools

Can you guess which tools were used for


what?
Discuss…
Why would bronze tools not be possible
to develop in a nomadic society?
What made bronze tools better than
stone tools?
What kinds of things could be done
easier with bronze tools than with stone
tools?
What could improve bronze tools?
The Iron Age
The Iron Age involved the adoption of iron
smelting technology. It generally replaced
bronze, and made it possible to produce tools
which were stronger and cheaper to make
than bronze equivalents. In many Eurasian
cultures, the Iron Age was the last major step
before the development of written language.
Also developed during the Iron Age was a
coin system.
Iron Age Tools

Can you guess which tools were used for


what?
Ancient civilizations
It was the growth of the ancient
civilizations which produced the greatest
advances in technology and engineering,
advances which stimulated other societies
to adopt new ways of living and
governance.
Let’s see what these ancient civilizations
came up with: Egypt, China, Greece, and
India.
Ancient Egyptians
The Egyptians invented and used many
simple machines, such as the ramp to aid
construction processes.
How did this allow them to build bigger
and better buildings?
Ancient Egyptians
They were among the first to extract
gold by large-scale mining using fire-
setting, and the first recognizable map.
Egyptian paper, made from papyrus,
and pottery was mass produced and
exported throughout the Mediterranean
basin.
India
India is notable for its early application of city planning
and sanitation technologies. Cites in the Indus Valley
offer some of the first examples of closed gutters, public
baths, and communal granaries.

India was also at the forefront of seafaring technology .


Ship construction is vividly described in an ancient Indian
text on Shipbuilding.
India, cont’d.
Indian construction and architecture suggests an
understanding of materials engineering, hydrology,
and sanitation.
Ancient Indian culture was also pioneering in its use
of vegetable dyes, cultivating plants including indigo
and cinnabar. Many of the dyes were used in art and
sculpture.
The use of perfumes demonstrates some knowledge
of chemistry, particularly distillation and purification
processes.
China
The Chinese made many first-known discoveries and
developments. Major technological contributions from
China include early seismological detectors,
matches, paper, the double-action piston pump, cast
iron, the iron plough, the wheelbarrow, the
suspension bridge, the parachute, natural gas as
fuel, the magnetic compass, the raised-relief map,
the propeller, the crossbow, and gun powder.
Other Chinese discoveries and inventions include:
the paddle wheel boat, block printing and movable
type, phosphorescent paint, chain drive,
the spinning wheel, and solid rocket fuel!
Greece
Greek engineers invented many technologies and improved
upon pre-existing technologies. They were unique in their ability
to combine scientific research with the development of new
technologies.
Heron of Alexandria invented a basic steam engine, watermill
and windmill.
Archimedes invented several machines. One example is the
Archimedean screw.
Other technologies invented by Greek scientists include the
ballistae, and primitive analog computers like the Antikythera
mechanism and the piston pump.
Greek architects were responsible for the first true domes, and
were the first to explore the Golden ratio and its relationship with
geometry and architecture.
Greece, cont‘d.
Other Greek inventions include torsion catapults,
pneumatic catapults, crossbows, cranes, organs, the
keyboard mechanism, gears, differential gears, screws,
refined parchment, showers, dry docks, diving bells,
odometer and astrolabes.

In architecture, Greek engineers constructed


monumental lighthouses and devised the first central
heating systems. The Tunnel of Eupalinos is the earliest
tunnel in history which has been excavated with a
scientific approach from both ends.

Automata like vending machines, automatic doors and


many other ingenious devices were first built by Greeks.
Moving into current times…
From ancient civilizations until now, there
have been many inventions, discoveries, and
development of technologies. Many different
cultures have had significant impacts upon
technological advances.
In current society, when man is faced with a
problem, he naturally searches for an answer.
If he can not find one, he will create one
using current knowledge.
What about you?
What problem or situation do you
encounter in your life for which you
would like a tool?
Work? (do laundry?)
Transportation? (beam me up?)
Sickness? (an apple a day?)
Play? (what responsibilities?)
? (what do you dream about?)
Write about it:
Second Paragraph: Third Paragraph:
Describe the tool How does this tool “fix”
you’ve created. your problem?

Introductory Paragraph:
What problem do you
encounter for which you’d Conclusion Paragraph:
Fourth Paragraph:
create a tool to fix?
How does this tool Restate your problem
change life as you know and solution. End with
it? For example, would an expression of your
it be something lots of feelings of how it would
people would want, or be if you could really
just you? do this.
Resources
http://earlyhumans.mrdonn.org/index.html
http://www.kidspast.com/world-history/0001-prehistoric-humans.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_technology

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