SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY (STS)
Midterm Reviewers | 1ST YEAR
LESSON 2: INTELLECTUAL REVOLUTIONS THAT
DEFINED SOCIETY
How can Science be defined?
1. Science as an idea.
It includes ideas (thoughts, concepts),
theories, and all available systematic
explanations and observations about the
natural and physical world.
2.Science a body of knowledge
It is a subject or a discipline, a field of
study, or a body of knowledge that
deals with the process of learning SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION - a period of
about the natural and physical world. enlightenment when the developments in the
This is what we refer to as school science. fields of mathematics, physics, astronomy,
biology and chemistry transformed the views of
3.Science as an intellectual activity
society about nature.
It encompasses as systematic and practical
Started in the early 16th century up to
study of the natural and physical world.
This process of study involves systematic 18th century in Europe. Why in Europe?
observations and experimentation. 1. Probably because of the invention of
the printing press
4.Science as a personal and social activity 2. Blooming intellectual activities done in
This explains that science is both various places.
knowledge and activities done by 3. Growing number of scholars in various
human beings to develop better
understanding of the world around
them. It is a means to improve life and to
survive in life. It is interwoven with people’s
lives.
Science is as old as the world itself.
Science and Technology indeed play a major
roles in our everyday life.
They make difficult and complicated tasks easier
and allow people to do more with so little effort
and time.
fields of human interests.
The developments in this field are not just
SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION
products of people’s imagination or a one-time
thought process; they are also brought about by
gradual improvements to earlier works from different
PATTERN OF SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION
periods.
SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY (STS)
Midterm Reviewers | 1ST YEAR
into your approach to helping to solve the
sustainability problem is so critical there are glossary
entries for the pre-step of Pre-science and the five
main steps:
Figure 1: How an intellectually curious culture
seems necessary to foster scientific 0. PRE-SCIENCE - The field has no workable
revolutions. paradigm to successfully guide its work.
1. NORMAL SCIENCE - The normal step, where
the field has a scientifically based model of
understanding (a paradigm) that works.
2. MODEL DRIFT - The model of understanding
starts to drift, due to accumulation of anomalies,
phenomenon the model cannot explain.
3. MODEL CRISIS - The Model Drift becomes so
excessive the model is broken. It can no longer
serve as a reliable guide to problem solving.
Attempts to patch the model up to make it work
fail. The field is in anguish.
THE KUHN CYCLE
4. MODEL REVOLUTION - This begins when
serious candidates for a new model emerge.
It's a revolution because the new model is so
radically different from the old one.
5. PARADIGM CHANGE - A single new
paradigm emerges and the field changes from
the old to the new paradigm. When this step
ends the new paradigm becomes the new
Normal Science and the Kuhn Cycle is complete.
Technology and society or technology and
culture refers to cyclical co-dependence, co-
influence, co- production of technology and
society upon the other (technology upon culture,
and vice-versa).
This synergistic relationship occurred from the
The Kuhn Cycle is a simple cycle of dawn of humankind, with the invention of simple
progress described by Thomas Kuhn in tools and continues into modern technologies
1962 in his seminal work The Structure of such as the printing press and computers.
Scientific Revolutions. The academic discipline studying the impacts of
science, technology, and society and vice versa
is called (and can be found at) Science and
In Structure Kuhn challenged the world's technology studies.
current conception of science, which was The development in modern cellular phone
that it was a steady progression of the technology, like increasing speed of phone
accumulation of new ideas. processors, the use of touch-enabled screens,
In a brilliant series of reviews of past major THE STEPS OF THE KUHN CYCLE
scientific advances, Kuhn showed this
viewpoint was wrong. and the implementation of mobile internet
Science advanced the most by occasional access, are further examples of the cycle of co-
revolutionary explosions of new knowledge, production.
each revolution triggered by introduction of Society's desire for widespread, frequent, and
new ways of thought so large they must be easy access to communication lead to the
called new paradigms. research and development of an ever widening
From Kuhn's work came the popular use of terms array of mobile phone capabilities. Access to
like "paradigm," "paradigm shift," and "paradigm these capabilities, in turn, influenced the way
change." humans live.
As the populace relies more and more on mobile
Understanding the Kuhn Cycle and incorporating it phones, additional features were requested.
SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY (STS)
Midterm Reviewers | 1ST YEAR
Society also influenced changes to previous not the first to come up with the idea of a
generation media players. In the first personal heliocentric system, he was the first to
music players, cassettes stored music. However, combine mathematics, physics and
that method seemed fragile and relatively low cosmology to support his model. Even if his
fidelity when compact disks came along. contributions are not seen as revolutionary,
Later, availability of MP3 and other compact file they were in fact a large factor in the
formats made compact disks seem too large and advancement of astronomy and the view of
limited, so manufactures created MP3 players the universe and space.
which are small and hold large
amount of data.
b. CHARLES DARWIN (February 12, 1809 – April 19,
Societal preferences helped
1882)
determined the course of
Famous for his THEORY OF EVOLUTION.
events through predictable
He changed our concept of the world’s creation
preferences.
SOME INTELLECTUAL AND THEIR
REVOLUTIONARY IDEAS
and its evolution.
A genius who came from a line of intellectually
gifted and wealthy family.
Published his book “The Origin of Species by
means of Natural Selection” in 1589 (one of the
most important books in Scientific Literature.)
His theories marked by observation and
experiment.
The THEORY OF EVOLUTION has two (3) main points:
1. All life on Earth is connected and related to each
other.
2. This diversity of life came about because of the
modifications in populations that were driven by
natural selection.
1. Organisms produce more offspring than
a. NICOLAUS COPERNICUS NATURAL SELECTION
Life:
survive to reproduce.
Born February 19,
2. Their offspring vary slightly.
1473 in Torun, a town
3. Characteristics can be passed on from
under Polish crown.
generation to generation.
Went to live with
4. Those most suited to their environment survive
uncle Lucas Watzenrode,
at the expense of those less ‘fit’.
who became bishop of
Natural Selection is often described as survival of
Warmia after father’s
the fittest, where fitness refers to the ability to
death
survive and reproduce.
Studied mathematics, medicine, canon
law at the universities Cracow, Bologna,
Rome, Padua, and Ferrara.
c. SIGMUND FREUD (1856-1939)
Contributions to Astronomy:
Austrian, doctor
During Copernicus’ time, Aristotle’s ideas of
father of psychoanalysis
the geocentric system were followed by
One of the first psychologists
some Greek astronomers.
to study human motivation
Pythagoreans believed the earth moved
Psychiatry vs. Psychology
around a central fire that was not the sun.
Copernicus was not the first to support the up until 20th century frontal
heliocentric system theory, but he was lobotomies were performed
the first to include a complete system that on patients
combined mathematics, physics, and Freud-believed that mental
cosmology. illness is a result of nurture,
Overall, Copernicus’ writings and not nature.
contributions to astronomy and society as a He asked the question:
whole were very important. Although he was “What makes people do things?”
SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY (STS)
Midterm Reviewers | 1ST YEAR
Answer: MOTIVATION
Needs motivate human behavior (food, shelter,
clothing…)
People are born with a certain number of instincts
or DRIVES (human instinctive behavior)
The human mind has 3 aspects which influence
behaviour:
EGO
conscious part of the mind (Rational
Self). Decides what action to take for
positive means and what to do based on
what is believed is the right thing to do.
Aware of reality.
SUPEREGO
unconscious part of the mind that acts
as our conscience. Reminds us of what
we should do.
ID
unconscious part of the mind (this part of the
mind seeks to bring us pleasure)
primitive parts of our personality
including aggression and sexual drives
The ID and the SUPEREGO are in
constant conflict. Your DRIVE tells you to
do one thing, while SOCIETY tells you to
do something else.
If you don’t resolve this conflict between
the ID and the EGO, you may experience
unhappiness or mental distress.
Thus, in order to understand motivation,
you must understand what is in your
unconscious memory. This is the basis for
PSYCHOANALYSIS.
