STS REVIEWER • Johnson (2012) described Darwin

as a genius who came from a line

General Concepts
of intellectually gifted and
• conceptualized to develop deep wealthy family.
appreciation and critical • He developed his interest in
understanding of the role of natural history during his time as
science and technology in the a student Shrewsbury School.
development of people and • He would also spend time taking
society. long walks to observe his
• deals with the interaction surroundings while collecting
between science and technology specimens and poured over
in social, cultural and economic books in his father’s library
perspectives (Gribbin, 2005).
• It is an interdisciplinary course • Darwin went to the best schools
whereby students are engaged in but was observed to be a
learning numerous scientific mediocre student.
issues and technological • Darwin’s life soon changed when
advancement. one of his professors
recommended him to join a five-
Intellectual Revolutions that defined year voyage through the HMS
society Beagle on the Islands of
Galapagos.
• The idea of scientific revolution is
• Galapagos Islands - ‘living
claimed to have started in the 18th
museum and showcase of
century in Europe.
evolution’
• scientific revolution was the
• Darwin's study on Finches - all of
Period of Enlightenment.
them evolved from one ancestral
The Enlightenment – the great 'Age species, which colonized the
of Reason' is defined as the period islands only a few million years
of rigorous scientific, political and ago.
philosophical discourse. • Adaptive Radiation - this process,
whereby species evolve rapidly to
DARWIN, WALLACE, MENDEL exploit empty ecospace.
CHARLES DARWIN (1809 – 1882) Has Two Parts: (a) Concept of
• Darwin is famous for his theory on Evolutionary Change, (b) Concept of
evolution; he changed the Natural Selection
concept of the world’s creation
and its evolution.
(a) The Concept of Evolutionary showed that their ancestors existed
Change but bore little resemblance to
domesticated forms.
• Darwin maintained that
organisms descended from (b) The Concept of Natural Selection
ancient ancestors quite unlike
• It was easy for Darwin to see
themselves; that change
evolutionary change; but it took him
occurred, and, that natural
many years to figure out WHAT
selection determined the course
caused the Change.
of change.
• Evolutionary change must be caused
• In Darwin’s time things and
by some sort of natural selection.
events moved very slowly
• variation occurs in every population.
• It was a belief that everything was
placed by a Divine Being on Earth • Selection results from the fact that
& perpetuated themselves individuals with different inherited
without change. characteristics have unequal
chances of survival & reproduction.
Evidences of Darwin to Combat the • cause some inherited characteristics
View of a Static Universe to become more prominent in the
population.
1.) Discovery of Fossils – by
• the change is in the genes.
geologists, of species no longer
living in the present time What factors then cause natural
selection?
Fossils - the naturally preserved
remains or traces of animals or 1. survival and;
plants that lived in the geologic past
(two main types of fossils: body and 2. reproduction
trace)
If each individual in a large
typically, something must be older population had an equal chance of
than 10,000 years to be considered a survival and reproduction – there
fossil. would be no evolutionary change.

This is evidence that life on Earth ALFRED RUSSEL WALLACE (1823 – 1913)
was marked by change.
• Alfred Russel Wallace was a
2.) Resemblance between species - naturalist who independently
suggested that these species proposed the theory of evolution
descended from a common ancestor. by natural selection.
• a great admirer of Charles Darwin
3.) Darwin could point out changes in
domesticated plants and animals -
• Wallace worked around the world • He realized that just as animals
gathering evidence to support his are shaped by where they live,
evolutionary theory. regions can also be defined by
• best known for studying warning the animals that live there.
coloration in animals
Foretelling Future Threats
• as well as his theory of speciation
• Biodiversity provides the raw
Warning Coloration - conspicuous
material for natural selection to
markings or bright colors possessed
work on
by an animal that serve as a warning
• it also allowed Wallace to
to potential predators that it is toxic
compare and contrast the
or distasteful.
differences among many species
'On the Origin of Species' - prompted — differences as subtle as the
Darwin (collaboration with Wallace) graceful curve of a butterfly's
to publish in 1859, it shook mankind's wing.
assumptions about its origins, which
GREGOR MENDEL (1822 – 1884)
were heavily influenced by religion.

Principles of Evolution by Natural • Gregor Mendel was an Austrian

Selection monk who discovered the basic
principles of heredity through
• Wallace developed some of his experiments in his garden.
most important ideas about • Mendel's observations became
natural selection during an eight- the foundation of modern
year expedition to what was then genetics and the study of
the Dutch East Indies — modern- heredity, and he is widely
day Indonesia — to observe considered a pioneer in the field
wildlife and collect specimens. of genetics.
• by 1855, Wallace had come to the • Around 1854, Mendel began to
conclusion that living things research the transmission of
evolve, but he didn't figure out hereditary traits in plant hybrids.
how.
Law of Segregation
• It came to him that animals evolve
by adapting to their environment. • which established that there are
Discovering 'Wallacea' dominant and recessive traits
passed on randomly from parents
• Wallace's greatest contribution to to offspring.
the theory of natural selection • provided an alternative to
was simply to ask: Why do we find blending inheritance, the
this animal in this place? dominant theory of the time.
 • genes are located on
chromosomes and consist of
Law of Independent Assortment
DNA.
• which established that traits were • They are passed from parent to
passed on independently of other offspring through reproduction.
traits from parent to offspring. • these principles are now called
• He also proposed that this Mendel's law of segregation and
heredity followed basic statistical law of independent assortment.
laws.
Exceptions to Mendel’s Rules
• though Mendel’s experiments had
been conducted with pea plants, • The principle of independent
he put forth the theory that all assortment doesn’t apply if the
living things had such traits. genes are close together (or
linked) on a chromosome.
Experiments on Plant Hybrids (1865 -
• also, alleles do not always
Published by Natural Science
interact in a standard
Society in Brno)
dominant/recessive way,
Later Life and Legacy particularly if they are
codominant or have differences in
• Gregor Mendel died on January 6, expressivity or penetrance.
1884, at the age of 61.
• He was laid to rest in the
monastery’s burial plot and his
funeral was well attended; his work,
however, was still largely unknown.
• his research and theories are
considered fundamental to any
understanding of the field, and he is
thus, considered the "father of
modern genetics."

Genetic Theory

• Gene Theory is one of the basic

principles of biology.
• the main concept of this theory is
that traits are passed from
parents to offspring through gene
transmission.
NICOLAUS COPERNICUS interest in astronomy and was
strongly influenced by a book
• one of the Renaissance men published in 1496 by a German
whose idea and model of the author Johannes Mueller, entitled
universe was essentially Epitome.
completed in 1510. • the book contains Mueller’s
• knowledge about the nature of observation of the heavens and
the universe had been unchanged some commentary on the earlier
since the great days of Ancient works of Ptolemy.
Greece, 1,500 years before • Ptolemy was an astronomer and
Copernicus came to the scene. mathematician; he believed that
• he circulated a summary of his the Earth was the center of the
ideas to his few close friends in a Universe.
manuscript Commentariolus • the word for earth in Greek is geo,
(Little Commentary). so we call this idea a
Renaissance “Geocentric" theory.
• even starting with this incorrect
• The Renaissance Period is ranked theory, he was able to combine
among the most influential what he saw of the stars'
periods in the history of Europe. movements with mathematics,
• it took place between 1300 and especially geometry, to predict
1700; it is considered as the the movements of the planets.
cultural link from the Middle Ages • his famous work was called the
to modern history. Almagesti.
• the Renaissance period was • this flawed view of the Universe
marked by renewed interest in was accepted for many centuries.
science and the arts, and a • the publication of Copernicus's
section of historians view it as a book On the Revolution of the
cultural and intellectual Heavenly Spheres in 1543 is often
movement than as a historical cited as the start of the scientific
period. evolution.
• the period is mostly associated • in his book, he wanted a model of
with Italy where it originated from the universe in which everything
in the 14th century. moved around a single center at
• by the time Copernicus finished unvarying rates (Gribbin, 2003).
his doctorate degree he was • Copernicus placed the Sun as the
appointed as canon at Frombork centerpiece of the Universe; the
Cathedral in Poland. Earth and all the planets are
• despite his duty as canon, he had surrounding or orbiting the sun
plenty of time to sustain his each year.
• the moon, however, would still be in 1610, Galileo published The Starry
seen orbiting the Earth. Messenger, which reported his
discoveries of:
Copernicus outlined two kinds of
planetary motion. 1. four of Jupiter’s moons;

1. The orbits of Venus and Mercury 2. the roughness of the Moon’s

lay inside the orbit of the Earth, thus, surface;
closer to the Sun, and;
3. stars invisible to the naked eye;
2. the orbits of Mars, Saturn and and,
Jupiter lay outside the Earth’s orbit,
4. differences between the
thus, farther from the Sun
appearances of planets and fixed
• Although the Copernican model stars
makes sense now, during those
• Galileo’s theory was that tides
times, it was judged as heretic.
were caused by the sloshing back
• the Catholics banned the
and forth of water in the seas at a
Copernican model and was
point on Earth’s surface which
ignored by Rome for the rest of
speeded up at certain times of
the 16th century.
day due to the Earth’s rotation,
GALILEO GALILEI (1564 – 1642) however, this is incorrect (as the
tides are caused by the moon)
• built on the foundations of • Galileo also importantly put forth
Copernicus’s work; he was a firm the basic principle of relativity.
believer in the Heliocentric Model. • Galileo was one of the first to
• Galileo was placed under house observe a sunspot and not
arrest for much of his life for his mistakenly attribute it to a transit
beliefs after standing trial in of Mercury.
Rome. • Galileo also demonstrated that
• He was called a Heretic for falling bodies of similar material,
believing that the Sun, not the but different masses have similar
Earth, was the motionless center times of descent, in essence,
of the universe. descent time is independent of
• in recent years the Church has mass.
acknowledged that its handling of
the Galileo affair was regrettable. ARISTOTLE (385 – 323 BC)

Eudaimonia, literally “good spirited”,

is a term coined by the Greek
philosopher, Aristotle to describe the
pinnacle of happiness that is is the end goal of the practical
attainable by humans. ones.

Aristotle’s human flourishing arises Aristotle and the Good Life

as a result of different components
such as: phronesis, friendship, • Compared to his teacher and
wealth, power. predecessor, Plato, Aristotle
embarked on a different approach
• in the ancient Greek society, they in figuring out reality.
believe that acquiring these • Aristotle puts everything back to
qualities will surely bring one the ground in claiming that this
happiness, which allows one to world is all there is to it and that
partake in the greater notion of this world is the only reality we all
what we call the Good. can access.
• Aristotle extends his analysis
Phronesis - also written as Fronesis
from the external world into the
or Phronēsis is a Greek word for a
province of the human person
type of wisdom or intelligence, which
and declares that even human
is a common topic of discussion in
beings are potentialities who
philosophy.
aspire for their actuality.
• the concept of human flourishing • every action that emanates from a
today proved to be what Aristotle human person is a function of the
originally perceived then. purpose (telos) that the person
• competition as a means of has.
survival has become passe; • every human person, according
coordination is the new trend. to Aristotle, aspires for an end -
happiness or human flourishing.
It was Aristotle who gave a definite
distinction between the theoretical WESTERN AND EASTERN VIEWS
and practical sciences.
There exists a discrepancy between
• Among the theoretical disciplines, eastern and western conceptions
Aristotle included logic, biology, regarding society and human
physics and metaphysics, among flourishing.
others.
• Western civilization tends to be
• Among the practical ones, more focused on the individual,
Aristotle counted ethics and while those from the East are
politics. more community-centric.
• whereas, “truth” is the aim of • Human flourishing as an end then
theoretical sciences, the “good” is primarily more of a concern for
 western civilizations over eastern Maya Civilization
ones.
• the Maya civilization is one of the
• The view of those from the east,
famous civilizations that lasted
perhaps, is that the community
approximately 2,000 years –
takes the highest regard - that the
individual should sacrifice known for their works in
himself for the sake of society. astronomy.
• they incorporated their advanced
Verification Theory understanding of astronomy into
their temples and other religious
• The earliest criterion that structures.
distinguishes philosophy and
science is verification theory. Mayan knowledge and
• The idea proposes that a understanding about celestial
discipline is science if it can be (heavenly) bodies was advanced:
confirmed or interpreted in the
• predicting eclipse
event of an alternative hypothesis
being accepted. • using astrological cycles in
planting & harvesting
• gives premium to empiricism and
only takes into account those • measuring time using
results which are measurable and complicated calendar systems –
experiments which are in planning their activities &
repeatable. observing religious rituals &
cultural celebrations
• This was espoused by a
movement in the early 20th • Mayans developed technology in
century called Vienna Circle. growing different crops and
building elaborate cities using
Falsification Theory ordinary machineries and tools.
• they used various tools and
• Asserts that as long as an
innovations especially in the field
ideology is not proven to be false
of arts.
and can best explain a
• Mayans built looms for weaving
phenomenon over alternative
cloth and designed a rainbow of
theories, we should accept such
glittery paints from a mineral
ideology.
called mica.
• Due to its hospitable character,
• they are believed to be the first
the shift to this theory allowed
people to produce rubber
emergence of theories otherwise
products 3,000 years before
rejected by verification theory.
Goodyear received its patent in
1844.
 Scientific Ideas and Tools

• Mayans are the most scientifically • roads paved with stones

advanced societies in • stone buildings that surmounted
Mesoamerica. earthquakes & disasters
• they are the world’s first • irrigation system & techniques for
civilizations to use a writing storing water
system as the Mayan • calendar with 12 months to mark
hieroglyphics. religious festivals and planting
• they are skilled in mathematics & season
created a number system based • the first suspension bridge
on the numeral 20 & developed • quipu, a system of knotted ropes
the concept of zero before the to keep records only experts can
Romans did. interpret
• Inca textiles since cloth was one
Inca Civilization
of the specially artistic
• they made advance scientific achievements
ideas considering their limitation
Aztec Civilization
as an old civilization.
• flourished in ancient Peru Aztec, self-name Culhua-Mexica,
between 1400 and 1533 CE. Nahuatl-speaking people who in the
• their empire eventually extended 15th and early 16th centuries ruled a
across western South America large empire in what is now central
from Quito in the north to and southern Mexico.
Santiago in the south, making it
the largest empire ever seen in the Aztecs are so called from Aztlán
the Americas and the largest in (“White Land”), an allusion to their
the world at that time. origins, probably in northern Mexico.
• undaunted by the often harsh Nahuatl language, Spanish náhuatl,
Andean environment, the Incas Nahuatl
conquered people and exploited
landscapes in such diverse also spelled Nawatl, also called
settings as plains, mountains, Aztec, American Indian Language of
deserts, and tropical jungle. the Uto-Aztecan family, spoken in
• famed for their unique art and central and western Mexico
architecture they constructed
Contributions to Science and
finely-built and imposing buildings
Technology
wherever they conquered.
Mandatory education - children are
mandated to get education
regardless of social class, gender or these islands are placed
age. alongside each other, with a small
space between them—creating a
Chocolates - in the Mayan culture, it complex series of canals.
is used as currency, Aztecs value the
• creating also the illusion that the
cacao beans & made it part as
islands are floating.
tribute to their gods.
• the lake’s moisture irrigates the
Antispasmodic medication
- to soil through the canals and
prevent muscle spasms and relax organic waste fertilizes it.
muscles during surgery. • the result is a fruitful, intensive,
sustainable, and highly
Chinampa - a form of Aztec productive form of agriculture
technology for agricultural farming in that can readily support large
which the land is divided into populations.
rectangular areas and surrounded
by canals. Aztec calendar - enabled them to
plan their activities, rituals and
Chinampas or floating gardens, were planting season.
the primary agricultural method in
the Aztec empire—and they helped Invention of the canoe - a light
them sustain their ever-expanding narrow boat used for travelling in
population more than any other water systems, a small, light, narrow
cultivation system imaginable at the boat, pointed at both ends and
time. moved by a person using a paddle or
stick, usually built of wood and
Chinampas were artificial canvas.
agricultural islands built on
freshwater lakes throughout
Mesoamerica, particularly in the
region of Xochimilco, in the Valley of
Mexico.

• these “floating” islands are, in

fact, stationary.
• they consist of a small
rectangular area, about 10 to 20
meters wide (20 to 35 feet) and
100 to 200 meters long.
• many layers of vegetation, dirt,
and mud are piled up to create
these small rectangles, and then,