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Module 3 Lesson 2 The Value of Science

Rizal promoted the importance of science despite it being suppressed during Spanish colonial rule. Students were expected to memorize lessons from religious orders rather than think critically. However, Rizal believed science could help understand God and society. While in exile, he studied shells, naming three new species, and explored archaeology, geology and anthropology through correspondence. He made significant contributions to various fields of science through his detailed studies of the local environment.

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1K views2 pages

Module 3 Lesson 2 The Value of Science

Rizal promoted the importance of science despite it being suppressed during Spanish colonial rule. Students were expected to memorize lessons from religious orders rather than think critically. However, Rizal believed science could help understand God and society. While in exile, he studied shells, naming three new species, and explored archaeology, geology and anthropology through correspondence. He made significant contributions to various fields of science through his detailed studies of the local environment.

Uploaded by

Jale Bie
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Module 3 Lesson 2: The Value of Science

Science was not at the forefront of the Spanish colonial


Philippines in the 19th century. It was merely introduced as a
required subject to be taken to fulfill the much needed courses
to attain a degree. The El Filibustirismo described a student
enrolled in a class of Physics to be “reciting lessons from
memory”, which was a usual predicament back then. Students were
to mimic, like parrots, the lessons laid out by their
professors from the religious orders. When students showed a
sign of distaste for the subject, the atmosphere transformed
into "a sermon about lessons on humility, submissiveness, and
respect for the religious." That was the context by which
science was suppressed in the 19th century. But in one of his
essays, the Religiosity of the Filipinos, Rizal asserted that
science is helpful in understanding the Creator.
As a propagandist writing in the La Solidaridad, Rizal would
invoke the importance of science in laying out reforms and in
improving the state of the country. In the Indolence of the
Filipinos, Rizal argued the important use of physical sciences
to understand current social reality. In The Philippines a
Century Hence, he compared science with history.
"History does not record in its annals any lasting domination by
a group of people...the existence of a foreign body within
another endowed with strength and activity is contrary to all
natural and ethical laws. Science teaches us that it is either
assimilated, destroys the organism, is eliminated or becomes
encysted."

An ardent admirer of the physical sciences, Rizal had to prove


his knowledge a the subject when he was in exile in Dapitan.
The solitude and tranquility of the place provided him with
resplendent natural surroundings and he believed that
scientific pursuit would be within his grasp. In his four-year
exile, he fostered fascination for conchology or the study or
collection of shells, estimated to be around 346 shells from
203 species. Rizal became a familiar name for at least three
species named after him: Draco rizali (lizard), Apogonia rizali
(beetle), and Rhacophorus rizali (frog). Furthermore, he delved
into archaeological, geological, geographical and
anthropological studies based on his correspondences with his
fellow scientists.
Rizal was also in touch with his scientific side and never
relinquished his thirst for knowledge.
The species named after him clearly displayed his contributions
to botany and zoology. His inquiries into the local environment
provided detailed accounts of his different contributions to
society. A man of his caliber, born in the East,
educated in the West, and still was able to focus and look on
the greater side of man makes you take a second look on his

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