SCIENCE

TECHNOLOGY
AND SOCIETY
PREPARED BY: RAQUEL D. ESTORQUE ,LPT
 COURSE The course deals with interactions between science and technology and

DESCRIPTIO
social, cultural, political, and economic contexts that shape and are shaped by

them. (CMO No. 20, series of 2013) This interdisciplinary course engages

N 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

they are able 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.
QUESTION
In 20, 50 or 100 years…
What do you think the
future will look like?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
•Discuss the interactions between S&T and
society throughout history
•Discuss how scientific and technological
developments affect society and the
environment
•Identify the paradigm shifts in history
GAME
TIME
RAMB
LE
IENCSCE
SCIENCE
ENELODEVPMT
DEVELOPMENT
MEANCADVENT
ADVANCEMENT
WHAT?
 SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY AND
SOCIETY
• is an interdisciplinary • Is the study of how
field that examines the society , politics and
creation, development, culture affect scientific
and consequences of research and
science and technology in technological innovation
their historical, cultural, and how these in turn
and social contexts. affects society, politics
and culture.
Is it important to study
STS?
STS is Designed To:
• it is designed to raise a generation of citizens who understand
the nature of things in the environment
• a generation of citizens who are aware of changes taking
place around them
• a generation who can adjust to the changes in the environment
• a generation who is equipped to deal with forces that
influence the future
• a generation who can take the future in her hands
Interactions Between
Science, Technology
and Society
SCIENCE
• Science can be define as a process of investigation
involving activities or processes known as science
skills; which include observation, hypothesizing
measuring, experimenting and so on.
• These activities lead to the production of body of
knowledge which are the product of science. This
body of knowledge comprises of principles facts,
theories, concepts and laws.
Nature of Science
• “Science is the interpretation of nature and man is
the interpreter.” (G. Gore 1878)
• “Nature, with all her irregularities, might have been
just as real even if there were no men to observe and
to study her. But there could have been no science
without human beings, or beings like them. It is the
spirit of man brooding over the stream of natural
events that has given birth to science.” (A Wolf 1925)
Why are we Curious?
• It is almost an instinct for us humans to try to understand
what our  senses perceived because of our highly developed
mental skills. These are the mental skills to observe, infer,
measure, classify, experiment, and to communicate.
• Through the ages, our ancestors learned to use these skills
in a methodical manner to investigate the ‘how,’ the ‘why,’
and the ‘when’ of natural events. This methodical manner
to our mental skills to satisfy human curiosity is the scientific
method.
Who is your favorite
Scientist?
How does science operate?
• Science is a self correcting and self-generating
human activity. Using the scientific method,
each generation of scientist develop
explanations of  natural phenomena but at the
same time, within the same generation, there
are scientists who question the validity of the
proposed explanations
Nature of science deals with the attitude and
behaviors of scientist:
• Rationality
• Objectivity
• Suspending judgement
• Critical mindedness
• Open – mindedness
• Honesty
• Humility
Nature of science deals with the attitude and
behaviors of scientist:
• Intense curiosity: A scientist is not a casual observer.
He asks question and seeks answers by carrying out
investigations
• Rationality: the search for plausible solution is not
influenced by superstitious explanation. The scientist
seeks natural events and is cautious not to permit
decision to the affected by personal likes or dislikes,
fear, anger or ignorance.
Nature of science deals with the attitude and
behaviors of scientist:
• Objectivity: the scientific is not guided by personal
feelings and does not let his feeling interface with the
impersonal judgement needed in collecting and
interpreting data.
• Suspending judgement: the scientist should be
reluctant to form a generalization based upon
inadequate evidence. Judgments are made only after
the accusation of sufficient evidence .
Nature of science deals with the attitude and
behaviors of scientist:
• Critical – mindedness: a scientist is not available
consumer of information but rather the questions the
source of information and its reliability.
• Open – mindedness: the scientist does not hold
tenaciously to his own ideas. He should exhibit a
willingeness to change his mind in light of new
evidence.
Nature of science deals with the attitude and
behaviors of scientist:
• Honesty: the scientist expresses a reluctance to
compromise with the truth. He consciously reports all
observation in a truthful manner.
• Humility: the scientist as he matures should develop a
recognition of his own limitations as well as the
limitations inherent in science itself.
Is technology a part of
science?
• The little we understood about nature we were able to
use to develop technologies that enabled us to survive
and progress; and to be the most dominant animal
species on earth.
• BUT TECHNOLOGY IS NOT SCIENCE. Science only seeks
to understand nature, no more no less; technology is
but the application of what science has discovered, for
better for worst. That is why usefulness is not a
prerequisite to the generation of knowledge; on the
contrary, usefulness is the primary prerequisite to the
generation of technology.
Technology
• Black and Harrison (1985) defined technology as a
disciplined process that uses the resources of matter,
energy and natural phenomena to achieve human purpose.
It is the practical application of scientific results for the
development of tools, equipment and techniques.
• Thus the invention of the telescope, of techniques of
cooking, canning, bottling or preservation, or of
medicaments to reduce body pains are seen as
technologies.
 History of Technology
• The history of technology is as old
as mankind. Tools are made and
used by archaeologists more than a
million years ago. The discovery and
utilization of fire, a simple energy
source with many uses was a
turning point in the technological
revolution.
 Purpose of SCIENCE AND Technology
1. To improve quality of human condition.
2. To provide solution to our practical problems.
3. To establish relevant institutional linkages and essential mechanisms
4. To develop individual knowledge.
5. To find order in the chaos of nature and deliver personal and social liberation
6. To give an information and explanation of the natural world
7. To develop new areas of knowledge
8. To combat irrationality.
9. To maintain the availability of natural resources
How important technology
in Economy?
Technology and Economy
1. Technology is the single most important determining factor in
sustained economic growth, estimated to account for as much as half
a nation’s growth over the past 50 years
2. Technology is transforming the very basis of competition-enabling
small  businesses to perform high-quality design and manufacturing
work that  previously required the resources of big business, while
allowing big  businesses to achieve the speed, flexibility, and proximity
to customers that were once the sole domain of smaller firms.
3. Technology provides the tools for creating a spectacular array of new
 products and new services.
How technology improve life?
SOCIETY
• Can be defined as a group of humans living together for self
maintenance and self perpetuating and sharing their own
institution and culture (Yager 1992)
• A long – standing group of people shaving cultural aspects
such as languages, dress, norms of behaviors and artistic
forms.
• A formal association of people with similar interest e.g
Medical Society, Science Teachers Society are all examples of
societies
IMPACT OF SOCIETY
ON SCIENCE
Negative Effects of Society on Science
• Effects of Cultural / Religious Beliefs and Values- For
nearly over two centuries, Scientists all over the world
faced the threat of the church. For example, findings
particularly in genetics which contradicted the Holy
books were considered abomination.
• Scientist such as Maxwell and Charles Darwin faced a
lot of societal condemnation based on Darwin’s
publication “ the origin of species.
Negative Effects of Society on Science
• The taboo and superstitious held by the society
have negatively affected the growth of Science in
Nigeria.
• The belief that Science is done by only those with
above average intelligence and the scare that
Science is abstract and mathematical has
stereotyped potential young men and women
against Science.
Positive Impact of Society on Science
• Supporting Science Research: With increasing awareness of
the role of Science in molding the world’s progress,
researchers are intensified in both pure and applied Science .
• Money needed for researches are provided principally by the
governments of several countries. In developed nations, like
United State of America, Germany, and England, the private
sectors contribution to scientific research is tremendous. In
this way the society affects Science positively with the support
for research.
Positive Impact of Society on Science
• Award of Prizes Universities and other related
institutions all over the world recognize the performance
of their students in the various pure and applied Scientific
disciplines.
• Individuals and corporate bodies provide prizes to the
best graduates in various disciplines or courses in science.
This has tremendously motivated college students to have
interest in Science and by implication the growth of
Scientific knowledge.
 INTERACTION OF
SCIENCE,
TECHNOLOGY AND
SOCIETY
QUALITATIVE CHANGES IN
SOCIETY
• Materials prosperity – Since industrial revolution science and
technology have shown accelerated progress in energy, physical
materials, information and communications, medicine, resulting into
improvement in people’s health, economic prosperity and living
conveniences.
QUALITATIVE CHANGES IN
SOCIETY
• Transport mode:- Progress in energy and material technology has
given rise to new transport modes, such as railways, automobile,
airplane and ships.
QUALITATIVE CHANGES IN
SOCIETY
• Communication – Development of telephone, radio and GSM
cellular phone broaden the range of human activities and scope of
human exchange.
QUALITATIVE CHANGES IN
SOCIETY
• Machine tools – Large-volume production of goods and
production of diverse types of material.
QUALITATIVE CHANGES IN
SOCIETY
• Medical technology – resulted in extension of peoples
average life span, infant and child mortality rate reduced leading
to rise in world population.
• Globalization – advocacy that political policies should take
worldwide issues into account before focusing on national or state.
• Information Technology (IT) – the internet revolution
combined with computer technology led to information revolution
which reduced cost; and time required for information
distribution.
 FACTOR THREATING
SOCIETAL SAFETY AND
SECURITY
FACTOR THREATING SOCIETAL
SAFETY AND SECURITY
• Despite the advances of science and technology making life more
prosperous, there are issues arising from science and technolgy
progress. Some of the issues include:
• Global warming
• Destruction of ozone layer
• Destruction of tropical forest
• Desertification v. Nuclear radiations
• Emerging and Re – emerging infections diseases such as ebola, HIV
• Tsunami (Toyama 2004)
WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED?
QUIZ
NEXT MEETING