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 Science, Technology and Society
INTRODUCTION TO SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND
SOCIETY
Course Code: SCITECH
Course Description:
The course deals with interactions between science and technology and
social, cultural, political, and economic contexts that shape and are shaped by them.
(CMO No. 20, series of 2013) This interdisciplinary course engages 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 with all its socio-political, cultural, economic, and
philosophical underpinnings at play. This course seeks to instill reflective knowledge
in the students that they are able to live the good life and display ethical decision
making in the face of scientific and technological advancement. Further, this course
includes mandatory topics on climate change and environmental awareness.
Learning Objectives:
1.State the meaning of science and Technology.
2.Describe some notable development of science and technology and its significant to
the society.
3.Describe some disadvantages of science and Technology.

INTRODUCTION

What is Science, Technology and society, and why should people want to study and
learn it? Why should students, teachers, researchers and other professionals have
interest in the subject? Primarily, we need some background and understanding of
the significance of science and technology in the living past and their importance in
the modern world (Mosteiro,2004)

A. The Meaning of science and Technology

• Science, Technology and Society (STS), also referred to as science and
technology and the study of how social, political, and cultural values affect
scientific research and technological innovation, and how these, in turn, affect
society. STS scholars are interested in a variety of problems including the
relationships between scientific and technological innovations and society- ty,

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and the directions and risks science and technology. The field of STS is related
to history and philosophy of science although with a much broader emphasis
on social aspects of science and technology.

• Science, Technology and Society refers to the interaction between

science and technology and social cultural, political and economic
contexts which shape and are shaped by them; spe- cific examples
throughout human history of scientific and technological
developments.

DEFINITIONS OF SCIENCE.

1. SCIENCE IS A PROCESS

A. Concerned with discovering

relationships between observable
phenomena in terms of theories.
B. Systematized theoretical inquiries
C. It seeks for truth about nature.
D. It is determined by observation,
hypothesis, measurement, analysis
and experimentation

E. It is the description and

explanation of the development of knowledge
F. It is the study of the beginning and end of everything that exist.
G. Conceptualization of new ideas, from the abstract to the particular.
H. Kind of human cultural activity.

1. SCIENCE IS A PRODUCT

a. Systematized, organized body of knowledge based on facts or

truths observations.
b. A set of logical and empirical methods which provide for the
systematic observation of empirical phenomena
c. Source of cognitive authority.
d. Concerned with verifiable concepts

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 e. A product of the mind
f. It is the variety of knowledge, people, skills, organizations,
facilities, techniques, physical resources, methods and
technologies that taken together and in relation with one another.

DEFINITIONS OF TECHNOLOGY

On the same view, technology is defined

as both a PROCESS and a PRODUCT.
1. TECHNOLOGY AS A PROCESS
a. It is the application of science.

b. The practice, description, and

terminology of applied sciences.

c. The intelligent organization and

manipulation of materials for useful
purposes.

d. The means employed to provide

for human needs and wants.
e. Focused on inventing new or better tools and materials or new and better ways
ofe.doing Focused
things. on inventing new or better
tools and materials or new and better
f. way of using findings of science to produce new things for a better way of living.
ways of doing things.
g. for concrete solutions that work and give wanted results.
f. A way of using findings of science
to produce
h.It is new things forcalculative
characteristically a better wayand
of imitative, tends to be dangerously
manipulative.
living.
i. g.
of human cultural
Search activity.solutions that
for concrete
work and give wanted results.
h. It is characteristically
TECHNOLOGY AS A PRODUCT calculative and
imitative, tends to be dangerously
a. A system of know-how, skills, techniques and processes.
manipulative.
i.b. its like
Forma of
language, rituals,activity.
human cultural values, commerce and arts, it is an intrinsic part of a
cultural system and it both shapes and reflects the system concept

c. is the product of the scientific concept.

d. complex combination of knowledge, materials and methods.

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 e. products of human making or fabrication.

f. societal enterprise.

Some of the notable human successes in the field of science and technology

Humans are ingenious species. Humans (Homo sapiens) have dreamed up and
created some amazing and far-out things. From the moment someone bashed a rock
on the ground to make the first sharp-edged tool, to the debut of the wheel to the
development of Mars rovers and the internet, several key advancement stand out as
particularly revolutionary. Here are some of most important invention of all times,
along with the science behind the invention and how they came about.

The Wheel

The concept of inventing the wheel came during

3500 BC. Humans were severely limited in how
much stuff they could transport over land, and
how far. The idea came to connect a non-moving
platform to a rolling cylinder. People then
invented the wheel and axle which is the concept
of making wheel. The holes at the center of the
wheels and the ends of the fixed axles had to be
nearly perfectly round and smooth for wheels to
work. Wheeled carts facilitated agriculture and
commerce by enabling transportation of goods to
and from markets, as well as easing the burden of
people traveling great distances.

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COMPASS

Before, mariners navigate with the star, but that

method didn’t work during the day or on cloudy
nights. The Chinese invented the first compass
sometime between the 9th and 11th century; it was
made of lodestone, a naturally- magnetized iron
ore, and the attractive properties of which they
had been studying for centuries. Soon after, the
technology passed on to the Europeans and Arabs
through nautical contact The compass enabled
mariners to navigate safely far from land,
increasing sea trade and contributing to the Age
of Discovery.

Printing press

It was Johannes Gutenberg, a German who invented the

press around 1440. Though others before him—
including inventors in China and a-have de- develop the
movable type made from metal, Gutenberg was have
created a mechanized process that transferred the ink
(which he made from linseed oil and soot) from the
movable type to paper. Printing presses exponentially
increased the speed with which book copies could be
made, and thus led to the rapid and widespread
dissemination of knowledge for the first time in history.

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The Internal combustion engine

In these engines, the combustion of fuel releases

high temperature gas, which, as it expands, applies,
force to a piston, thus, combustion engines convert
chemical energy into mechanical work. Decades
engineering by many scientists went into designing
the internal combustion engine, which took its
(essentially) modern form in the latter half of the
19th century. The engine steered in the Industrial
Age which enabled the invention of a huge variety
of machines, including modern cars.

The Telephone

Alexander Graham Bell was the first to be

awarded a patent for the electric telephone in
1876. Though several inventors did pioneering
work on electronic voice transmission, the
invention quickly took off, and revolutionized
global business and communication.

The Internet

Is the global system of interconnected

computer net- works used by billions of people
worldwide. It is impossible to credit the
invention of the Internet to a single person, as
countless people helped develop it. In the
1960s, a team of computer scientists working
for the U.S. Defense Department’s ARPA
(Advanced Research Projects Agency) built a
communications network to connect the
computers in the agency, called ARPANET. It
used a method of data transmission called
“packet switching”. ARPANET was the predecessor of the Internet that eventually
emerged to become the “information superhighway.

Eco-Friendly Technologies/Advantages:

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These are sustainable technologies. This technology utilizes resources from the
environment without causing negative effects to it. Some of these are:

• Solar Energy – use of solar panels to provide electricity

• Geothermal energy= Is the heat that comes from the sub-surface of the
earth., use steam to produce electricity.
• Wind power – wind mills as source of energy

Disadvantages and Ethical dilemmas of Science and Technology

1. Threats to human survival – the invention of nuclear weapons

in 1945, like the nuclear bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima
that caused deaths of many people. This was a product of
chemical and bio- logical warfare (bio-warfare); toxic wastes
produced by manufacturing companies that threaten human
survival and stability of the environment.

2. Ethical dilemmas – exploitation of advanced scientific

knowledge and technology devices and systems gave rise to
situations in which advances seem to have turned against their
beneficiaries, creating ethical dilemmas. The negative effects of
technology are numerous. In our march to progress we have
degraded the natural world. Forest are chopped down, topsoil
is washed away, rivers are pollut- ed and our waste is dumped
in the oceans.
3. Disparities in Human well being – there are advanced countries
enjoying Science and technology based successes and hold high
esteem in contemporary society (Economic strength), versus
millions of people in less developed countries who have not
partaken in these benefits.
4. Social and Cultural conflicts – Military power is vital for
national security of many governments; Su- perior and highly
technical weapons dictated the outcomes of some recent wars.
5. Innovating technologies can have negative consequences for
certain sectors or constituencies:
• Include pollution associated with production processes,
• Increased unemployment from labor-saving new technologies
• Conversion of agricultural land into urban areas

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 • Effect on humans psychologically and emotionally -the usage and
addiction of new gadgets effect of overused technologies in medical
industry that can cause fatal births and diseases.
• Global warming

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY: WORLD HISTORY

Outline:

•Science and Technology in different Periods

•Ancient Period (ca. 3000 B.C.- 500 A.D.)

•Medieval Period (ca. 500- 1500)

•Renaissance Period (14TH-17TH Century)

•Industrial Revolution (18TH Century)

•In the 19th Century

•In 20th Century

Learning Outcomes:

• Explain the historical timeline of science and technology;

• Analyze the difference between the different periods involved in the
development of Science and Technology; and
• Synthesize and create their own definition of Science and Technology
based on the discussion on this unit.

Science and technology is evident since the beginning of time. New knowledge made
it possible to create new things that would help people improve their everyday living.
Development in the field of science has helped humans to have a better life while
advancement in technology made the lives of the people much easier by developing
new machines that helped their way of living effortless.

In combination, science and technology transforms the lives of humans. It

helps provide growth in the field of medicine, transportation, engineering and even
entertainment that until today people are benefiting from.

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 The development of science and technology has gone so far, tracing how it all
began would give us a better idea on how it has developed since then and what are
the significant changes that has happened throughout time. By looking back at the
history of science and technology, we will be able to determine its progression.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN DIFFERENT PERIODS

Ancient Period (ca. 3,500 B.C. – 500 A D.)

Accumulation of knowledge and passing it

from generation to generation has begun when
the modern humans evolved from their
hominid ancestors. They used stones as tools,
and then learned how to shape stones co make
more efficient tools. As the tools improved, so
people were able to use them to fashion
weapons and other artifacts from bone, antler,
and wood. They also learned how to capture
fire from natural sources such as wild fires, and
later to make fire for themselves by using the
heat generated by friction or sparks from stones, or by concentrating the sun’s heat.

Here are some of the developments in science and technology during the ancient
period (Goddard, 2010):

EUROPE

• ca 750,000 Fire is used by Homo erectus.

• ca 45,000 Stone-headed spears are used in Europe.
• ca 20,000 The wooden bow and arrow are used in Spain and Saharan Africa.
People in Southern Europe use sewing needles made from bone.
• ca 2000 The Minoans build palaces in Crete.
• ca 1000 Ironworking is introduced in Greece.
• ca 1000 Etruscan craftsmen make false teeth from gold.

THE AMERICAS
• ca 8,500 North Americans make stone arrowheads.
• ca 8,000 The Folsom people living on eastern side of the Rocky Mountains
develop sophisticated tools.

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 • ca 6000 Pottery is made in South America.
• ca 2500 People in the Arctic makes flint tools.
• ca 1750 Peruvians build a long canal to irrigate their crops. ca 1200 Fishermen
in Peru makes rafts and boats from reeds.
• ca 1200 Olmec sculptors carve figurines and giant human heads.

ASIA AND OCEANIA

• ca 11,000 The earliest-known clay pots are made in Japan. Ca 5200

People in Iran make wine.
• Ca 4000 Bronze is first made in Thailand.
• Ca 3500 The plow is invented in both China and Mesopotamia.
• Ca 3000 Boats in China are equipped with anchors. Ca 2950 A lunar
calendar is developed in China
• Ca 2500 Clay pipes are used as drains in Pakistan ca 2500 Chinese
doctors begin using acupuncture.
• Ca 2296 Chinese astronomers record the sighting of a comet. Ca 1361
Chinese astronomers record a solar eclipse.
• Ca 1000 The Chinese begin writing on bamboo or paper made from
bark.
• Ca 1000 The Hindu calendar of 360 days is introduced in India.
• Ca 850 The Chinese use natural gas for lighting.
• Ca 6000 The world’s first known city is built by the people of Catal
Huyuk in Anatolia (modern Turkey).
• Ca 4236 Ancient Egyptians devise a 365-day calendar.
• Ca 3500 The wheel is invented •n Mesopotamia. Ca 3100 Egyptians
begin using hieroglyphics.
• Ca 3000 The Sumerians introduce a 360-day calendar.
• Ca 3000 Egyptians dam the Garawi River. Ca 2630 Egyptians begin
building pyramids. Ca 2600 Mesopotamians make glass.
• Ca 2300 Babylonian astronomers study comets.
• Ca 2300 The earliest known maps are produced in Mesopotamia.
• Ca 2000 Babylonian mathematicians introduce a positional number
system.
• Ca 2000 Medicine becomes an important science in Syria and Babylon.
• Ca 1800 Mesopotamian mathematicians discover the “Pythagorean
Theorem”.

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 • Ca 1750 Babylonian astronomers compile lists of planets and stars. Ca
1550 Egyptians are using about 700 drugs and medications. Ca 1350 The
symptoms of leprosy are described in Egyptian text.
• Ca 1200 The Egyptians dig a canal to join the Nile River to the Red Sea.
• Ca 1000 The Phoenicians develop an alphabeth.
• Ca 900 Farmers in Mesopotamia use an irrigation system to water crops.

Medieval Period (ca. 500-1500)

The Medieval Period also known as

“Dark Ages” is considered to be one of
the creative periods in the history of
humans and said to be the start of the first
industrial revolution. The term “Dark
Ages” came up because there are few
written records remained from the said
era. There is very little evidence that will
support that there was progress in the society during the periods 500 to 1500.

In the years immediately after the fall ofR01ne, there was e period of readjustment,
where medieval society was more concerned with keeping peace and empire building
than nurturing centers of learning. Despite this. Charlemagne (742-814) a medieval
emperor who ruled Western Europe in 800-814, tried to establish a scholastic tradition.
The later Middle Ages (around 1250-1500 A.D.) saw advancements in the philosophy
of science and the refinement of the scientific method. Far from being a backwards-
medieval society, overshadowed by Islam and Byzantium, scholasticism acted as a
nucleus for the Renaissance and the Enlightenment.

This was the time for discovering great new inventions in science and technology.
There was greater advancement in technology and adaptation of Eastern technologies
in the west, including the invention of vertical windmills, spectacles, mechanical
clocks, greatly improved water mills, building techniques like the Gothic style, and
three-field crop rotation.

One of the greatest inventions during, the Middle Ages the printing press of
Johannes Gutenberg (ca. 1395-1468) in the 15th century. It was Gutenberg who made
printing mechanized. The invention of the printing press itself obviously owed much
to the medieval paper press, in turn modeled after the ancient wine-and-olive Press
of the Mediterranean area. A long handle was used to turn heavy wooden screw,

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exerting downward pressure against the paper, which was laid over the type
mounted on a wooden platen. In its essentials, the wooden press reigned supreme for
more than 300 years, with a hardly varying rate of 250 sheets per hour printed on one
side.

Renaissance Period (14th-17th Century)

The term Renaissance is used to refer to the

period of rebirth as age of preparation for
the 17th century scientific development and
achievements. One of the greatest
achievements in Western Europe during
this period was the technology of printing
books and other documents which

Helped the rapid spread of knowledge and information as well as the preservation of
culture. The technology of the Chinese in preparing printed materials was followed
and used by the Muslims and later introduced in Europe.

Renaissance connects the period of Middle Ages to modern history. It is closely

connected with Italy, where it began in the 14th century, although some European
countries also went into same cultural changes and phenomena.

Many historians prefer to think of the Renaissance as primarily an intellectual

and cultural movement rather than a historical period. Robert Wilde, U.K. based
historian born April 30, 1977 said that interpreting the Renaissance as a time period,
though convenient for historians, “masks the long roots of the Renaissance (para. 2).I

According to Wilde in his interview with livescierce.com, the demand for

perfect reproductions of texts and the renewed focus on studying them helped trigger
one of the biggest discoveries in the whole of human history: printing with movable
type. It allowed Bibles, secular books, printed music and more to be made in larger
amounts and reach more people. On the other hand, people and e lot of steps were
involved. Wood printing first came to the West from China in 12501350, papermaking
originated from China has reached 12th century Spain’ and the new printers’ ink
originated from Flemish oil painting. In Mainz, Germany, Gutenberg made final steps
in wooden press by casting a metal type and locking into it. The invention spread fast,
reaching European countries from 1467-1483. By 1500, Europe had already produced
SIX million copies of books. Without the printing press, communications revolution
would not happen and it would not transform the condition of life. The
communications revolution greatly made an impact in human opportunities for

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enlightenment and pleasure and created unimaginable possibilities tor manipulation
and control on the other. The consideration of these contradictory effects may shield
us against a ready acceptance of triumphalist conceptions of the Renaissance or
historical change in general.

Also, Polish mathematician and astronomer, Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543)

made one of science’s greatest achievement. He presented the theory of heliocentric
where he said that the sun is the center of the solar system instead of the earth. It was
a major breakthrough in the history of science, though the Catholic Church banned
Copernicus’ book.

Galileo Galilei (1664-1642) was also a major Renaissance scientist persecuted for
his scientific experiments. Galileo improved the telescope, discovered new celestial
bodies, and found support for a heliocentric solar system. He conducted motion
experiments on pendulums and falling objects that paved the way for Isaac Newton’s
(1643-1727) discoveries about gravity.

Industrial Revolution (18th Century)

People rely on their hands in doing

labor works even before the machines
have emerged after a century that
significantly increases of production
output. The phenomenal process in the
transfer of doing work by human hands
and feet to the use of machines was called
The Industrial Revolution.

It began in Great Britain and spread

across Europe, America, and even Asia from 1760 to 1840. It was a fundamental
change in the way goods were produced and altered the way people lived. The
Industrial Revolution was a time of scientific and technological advancement which
spanned the period during late 18th century to early 19th century. Partly through good
fortune and partly through conscious effort,

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 Britain by the early 18th century came to possess the combination of social needs
and social resources that provided the necessary preconditions for a commercially
successful innovation and a social system capable of sustaining a rid institutionalizing
the processes of rapid technological change.

One of the major setbacks of the Industrial Revolution was skilled workers were
set aside because operation 01 new machines were used. The companies also hired
women and children increasingly which cost lower than of +he skilled workers.
Manual/physical labor was changed into machine-operated devices, even
tradesperson replaced the craftsmen and the applied scientists replaced the amateur
inventors.

Aside from these, three important technologies formed the foundations of the first
Industrial revolution, namely, iron production, steam engine, and textiles.

The steam engine has been around but on improved by Scottish James watt (1736-
1819) and other investors after 1778. It was used to run machines and made a major
contribution to the first Industrial Revolution. The steam-powered machine was
improved gradually and was adapted for many uses and the use of more complex
machinery was made possible. The development and refinement of machine tools by
British engineers Henry Maudsley (1771-1831) and Joseph Whit (1803-1887) played a
key and crucial part in the later phase of the first Industrial Revolution as machine
tool technology enabled standardized manufacturing machines to be fabricated.

Some of the greatest inventions were introduced by American scientist, such as

during this period Was Robert Fulton’s (1765-1815) steamboat that used one of Watt’s
engines. Thomas Edison (1847-1931) who invented the light bulb. Alexander Graham
Bell (1847-1922) who Invented the telephone. English engineer George Stephenson
(1781-1848) developed the first steam-powered locomotive.

In the 19th century

In the 19th century, witnessed the rise of modern industry, from agriculture to
industrial manufacturing and technology intensive services. An unending stream of
new products turned out by factories employing radically new technologies, skills
and organization drove this emerging modern world.

Based on the Gregorian calendar, 19th century lasted from 1801 to 1900. The invention
of useable electricity, steel and petroleum products led to into second industrial.
Revolution during the 18th century. This century was considered to be the age of

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machine tools. Tools were made for tools; machine were made for other parts of
another machine.

During `19th century, science also made great progress

• John Dalton (1766-1844) published hit atomic theory in 1803. Dalton also
studied color blindness.
• Dmitir Mendeleev (1834-1907) formulated the periodic table.
• Herman von Helmholz (1821-1894) formulated the law of the
conversation of energy in 1847, he invited the ophthalmoscope.

In the late 19th century, physics made great strides.

• James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879) showed that light is an electromagnetic wave

in 1873and was later on proved by Heinrich Hertz (1857-1894) in 1888. Henri
Becquerel (1852-1908) discovered radioactivity in 1896.
• Marie Curie (1867- 1934) and Pierre Curie (1859-1906) discovered radium in
1898.
• Joseph Thompson discovered the electron in 1897.

In 19th century in factories were usually operated by steam engines. At the end of the
19th century, they began to convert to electricity. In the mid- 19th century, railways
revolution travelling and made travel much faster. Stream locomotives pulled the
carriages.

• Karl Benz (1844-1929) ang Gottlieb Daimler (1834-1910) made the first cars in
1885 and 1886.

Meanwhile, the steamship revolutionized travelling at sea. By 1815, steamships were

crossing the English Channel. Furthermore, it took several weeks to cross the Atlantic.
Then in 1838, a steamship called the, Sirius the journey across the Atlantic. However,
steam did not completely replace sail until the end of the 19th century when the steam
turbine was used on ships.

In the 20th century

It is not skeptical that the 20th century is one of the most noticeable in the history
in the history of humans for its incomparable technological advances and scientific
discoveries. There were a lot of new technologies made and science discoveries.

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 Technology was rapidly developed in the 20th century. With the use of scientific
methods and funding for research, it helped the advancement of modern science and
technology. With the ascension of new technology, it enhanced of modern science and
technology.

With the ascension of new technology, it enhanced the communication and

transportation system of humans and brought it closer to people. Military research
and development brought about the rise of electronics computing and jet engines.
Radio and telephony enriched greatly and reached a Wider population of users,
through near-universal access was impossible until mobile phones became affordable
for the people in the people in the late 2000s and early 2010s.

The relationship between science and technology has become more

problematic on several levels in the 20th century. In the face of an ever-growing
complexity, technology has become more scientific and the natural science more
technological, as the social scientific concept of ‘’techno science’’ indicates. At the same
time, many technological innovations since the 1970s have only slowly resulted in job-
creating products.

Some of the greatest technological advancement during this period was the creation
of personal computer. In 1971, intel developed a microprocessor that computer
smaller, easier to use and cheaper which replaced the early hat were bulky and had a
tube -powered behemoths. Computer has become dominant tool in the global
economy and as a necessity in many homes that until today we greatly rely on them.
Steven Jobs (1995-2011) and Steve Wozniak (1950) have redefined the meaning of
computer by introducing Apple in 1976. While in connection with the invention of
personal computers, the internet was also created in for defense- related research
known as ARPANet or ADVANCED PROJECT AGENCY NETWORK. It helped us
in term s of global communication, gathering through searching, conducting business
matters and on our everyday affairs through the Wide web which created in1989.

Another one is the automobiles or cars, which were considered to be one of

most revolutionary technological advancements in the century. Explanation of the
said technology was made possible because of Henry Ford (1863-1947) devising a
system of mass production for the Model T in 1908. It made cars affordable for the
people and also made a dramatic change in the society. Using automobiles as a form
of transformation have connected people together including in rural areas to urban
centers.

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 One of the break through during the century was the invention of Artificial
Intelligence that has the capacity for a computer to perform human like intellectual
processes that can ‘’think’’ similarly to humans. A.1 is also being used to assist doctors
in making medical diagnose. While there are no any program or computer existing
today that can match the man’s full intellectual capacity.

Philippines History

• Pre-Spanish period
• Spanish Colonial Period
• American Period and Post Commonwealth Era
• Marcos era
• Fifth Republic

The Philippines todays is known to be a third world country. The development

of science and technology will determine the socio-economic growth of the
country it is also fact that the national progress will relate the capacity of a
country produce local industrial goods for domestic needs.

It will greatly our economic growth through increasing the chances of foreign
investors coming to our country and investing the products developed and
invented by our local inventors. It could also indicate an increase by the foreign
people to try the products that our country has developed.

The continuous development in the field science and technology could make
a different history for the country. Supporting the programs that our government
has built a better chance for the country to regain our status and glory to the
global competition.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN THE

PHILIPPINES

PRE-SPANISH PERIOD

The Philippines has few written information with regards to its society, culture
and technology before the Spanish and technology before the Spanish arrived. We
relied on archeological findings to trace the beginning of how the Filipinos lived with
the use of science and technology. These archeological findings showed that modern
man form Asian mainland first came over land on across narrow channels to live in
Batangas and Palawan about 48 00 B.C. they settled in different areas across the

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country and made simple tools and weapons of stone flakes and later developed new
skills like sawing and polishing stones.

During 3,000 B.C they learned to produce adzes ornament of seashells and
pottery that prosper for 2,000 years until competition arrived with the Chinese
porcelains. Eventually they’ve learned how to use metal as their tools and so-called
Iron Age lasted until the 3rd century B.C the 11th century A.D. during this time,
Filipinos were involved in ore mining such as copper, gold, bronze and iron.

Early Filipinos have also engaged themselves into weaving ship building,
mining and farming that led them in creating one of the finest products of engineering
which is the Banaue Terraces. Early Spanish chronicles also noted that early

Filipinos built a refined plank-built warship called caracoa that well suited for
inter-island trade.

Locals from Butuan were trading with Champa (VIETNAM) and those from
Ma-I (MINDORO) with Chinese as seen on the Chinese records that contain several
references to the Philippines. These records indicate that relationship have existed and
established between the Philippines, China and Vietnam.

Before the Spaniards came, Filipinos were already aware of activities and
practices related to science and technology. They learned the curative values of plants
and able to exact the medicine out of it. They had alphabet, counting methods, weight
and measurements system and calendar that they based on the period of the moon.

Spanish Colonial Period

When the Spaniards colonized the Philippines, it has contributed to the growth
of science and technology in the country. They have introduced formal education and
founded scientific institution. Parish schools were established where taught a more
advances method in agriculture. Later on, they have established colleges and
universities around the country including the oldest university in Asia, which is the
University of St. Tomas.

Medicine was prioritized during the Spanish colonization, especially in the

later years. The Spaniards made contributions in the fields of engineering by
constructing government establishments, churches roads, bridges and forts. Biology
was highlighted during this period. Botanist, chemists and medical scholars all gave
contribution to the field of science.

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 The galleon trade made a big impact in the economic growth of the Philippines.
Spaniards gave priority made a big impact in the economic growth of the galleon
trade due to its potential to make huge profits. That is why agriculture and industrial
development were not given focus and were neglected during this time. When Suez
Canal was built, visiting each other countries for Europeans and Filipinos was made
possible and probably influenced by the rapid development of scientific ideals
brought by the Age of Enlightenment.

American Periods and Post-Commonwealth Era

The Americans replaced Spaniards after they ruled the country and the
progress of science and technology has contained under their rule. The establishment
of Bureau of Government Laboratories was made in July 1, 1901 by the Philippines
commission, which serves a purpose to study the tropical diseases and laboratory
projects in the country, and was later on replaced by the Bureau of science in 1905 that
became the primary research center of the country. While on December 8, 1933, the
National Research Council of the Philippines was established.

Its was during the American period when science was inclined towards
agriculture, food processing, forestry, medicine and pharmacy and not much focus
were given on the development of industrial technology due to free trade policy with
the United States that nurtured an economy geared towards agriculture and trade.

The Bureau of Science was replaced by the Institute of Science in 1946. In 1950
there was reports made by the US Economic Survey about the Philippines problem
with regards to science and technology such as lack of basic information, no support,
minimal budget and low compensation. During the regimen of Carlos P. Garcia in
1958 the Philippines Congress passed the bill entitled “The Science Act of 1958’’ which
goal is to established the National Science Development Board.

Marcos Era

It as only during the Marcos presidency where science was given importance.
It was clearly stated by the said former President in the Philippine Constitution,
amended in 1973 that in terms of national development, priority shall be given in the
advancement of science technology.

In his State of the Nation Address, Marcos declared that there is a need for
science in public high school and with the help of Department of Education in
partnership from the National Science Development Board it aims to provide science
teaching equipment for a period of 4 years.

20
 In 1968, he also recognized that technology was the top reason in economic
development, and gave extra funds to support project in applied science and science
education. While in 1969, he allotted large amount of war damage funds to private
universities to encourage them to create courses that focus on science and technology
and research. In 1970, he emphasized that by upgrading the science curriculum and
teaching equipment is crucial to the science development program.

Furthermore, he declared Presidential Decree NO.49, series of 1972 as a

support for promoting the scientific research and invention. Aside from that, one of
his greatest contributions is the establishment of PAGASA which is to give
environmental protection and utilize scientific to ensure safety of the nation. He also
established the National Academy of Science and Technology in 1976 to have a
scientist whose experts in science and technology.

In 1986, he also established campuses of the Philippine science high school in

the Visayas and Mindanao. It encourages the youth in these areas to choose a career
in fences and technology. It aims to tap the potential students on the said regions.

Fifth Republic

After the terms of President Marcos, Corazon Aquino replaced him in the term
of presidential seat and on her term in 1986, she replaced the National Science and
Technology Authority to Department of Science and Technology, giving the science
and technology a seat in the government cabinet. It was during the Philippines
Development Plan for the years 1987-1992 where the role of science and technology
in the nature economy was highlighted. In 1990, state of the Nation Address of
President Corazon Aquino said that science and technology development should be
on the top three priorities of the government to implement the development plan they
have made.

In 1989 the budget allocation and technology were increased amounting into
1.054 billion pesos. But due to Asian financial crisis between the years 1990-1991, it
was cut down by 14% and 1992, it was increased again by 50%. She also encouraged
Filipino scientist and inventors to put back the Philippines and second japan when it
comes to the filed of science and technology. It was one of her goals to make the
country industrialized by the year 2000.

In July 1992 President Fidel Ramos reported his first State of the Nation Address that
there was improvement with regards to science and technology. In his third SONA in
1994 he reported that there were significant increases in the people who specialize in

21
the field of science and technology. By the year 1998, it was an estimated that the
Philippines had 3,000 competent scientists and engineers.

It was during the 5th Republic where the government provided 3,500
scholarships for student who are interested in taking up courses related to science and
technology. Schools became modernized and updated by having additional high-tech
equipment. It was also during this time when science and technology personnel were
priority by the government by approving the Republic Act. No. 8439 in 1997 which
entitled “Magna Carta for science and technology Personnel ‘’. Its purpose is to give
incentives and rewards to people who made and impact and influential in the field of
science and technology.

In 1998, during President Joseph Estrada’s term, the internet age was pushed
for the advancement of schools and technology reached its golden age.

Numerous laws and projects related to science were made to push technology
forward to increase the economic level of the country like R.A 9367 or the “biofuels ‘’
act that promotes the development and usage of biofuels throughout the country. In
2014, President Benigno Aquino honors four scientist who gave huge contributions in
the scientific field that geared towards the advancement of science and technology of
the country.

INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION IN THE 17TH CENTURY

• The ages of enlightenment (18TH Century)

• Copernican Revolution
• Darwinian Revolution
• Information Revolution
• Information Age
• Mesoamerican Period (1200 B.C- 3RD Century A.D)
• Middle East (17th century)
• African Revolution

The world is in constant flux. Everything, including all the material things and ideas
may change accordingly based on the facts which are an output of human curiosity.
Seeking answers to human questions added scientific facts, evidence and concept in
the network of knowledge understandable by man. It means that the more questions
asked, the more knowledgeable humans become.

In order for us to enumerate and understand the major shifts in the history of
science and technology we must be familiar with the most important scientific events

22
that changed and shaped our society during the time of Nicolaus Copernicus, Charles
Darwin and Sigmund Freud. In addition, we have to study the intellectual changes in
Mesoamerica, middle east and Africa.

THE AGE OF ENLIGHTMENT (18th century)

The age of enlightenment is period in Europe in the 18th century when many
writers and thinkers began to question established beliefs. These beliefs include the
authority of kings of the church, in favors of reason and scientific proof. The idea
developed that everyone was of equal value and had equal rights.

Copernican revolution

The theories and ideas form ancient thinkers about the natural world and the universe
laid a foundation of how we understand astronomy today. Through there is only a
small number of extraordinary thinkers during the time of antiquity, there is always
divergence of theories and ideas of philosophers during that time.

The fact that the fact Earth is not the center of the center of the solar system is only of
the result of scientific revolution. Mathematics was the common tool used by ancient
astronomers to explain the motion of celestial bodies and on the later combined with
actual observation that provided enough evidences proving that the sun is the center
of the solar system. The remarkable contribution of the ancient astronomers to the
development from Geocentric to Heliocentric model of the Universe is listed in the
table below.

Table 4.1 notable contributions of ancient astronomers to the development of the

universe.

Aristotle (384-322 B.C. Greek) Provided that the earth is spherical. Earth
was at the center of the universe, i.e. sun
planets and starts were located in sphere
that revolved around the earth.
Aristarchus (310-230 B.C, Greek) The first to prose the idea that sun was the
center of the universe.
Hipparchus (109-120 B.C. Greek)
Considered to be the greatest astronomer
of ancient times.
Measured earths distance to the moon.
Discovered the wobbling of the earth.

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 Concluded that the sun and not the earth
Nicolas Copernicus (1571-1642, Italian) is the center of the universe.
Supported Copernican model of the
Galileo Galilei (1564-1642, Italian)
universe.
Johannes Kepler (1571-1630, German) Formulated the three laws of Planetary
Motion.

Darwinian Revolution

Charles Robert Darwin (1890-1882) is a biologist who was famously know for
his works on evolution and the process of natural selection. He studied Divinity in
Cambridge where he met Adam Sedgwick (1785-1973) and the naturalist John
Henslow (1796-1861) who brought back his interest in biology and geology.

With the teaching of the church and the influenced of Henslow, Darwin also
rejected the idea of Latnarck that acquired characteristics are inheritable. His faith
altered after his five years mapping expedition with the British army in 1831 headed
by Vice- Admiral Robert Fitzroy (1805-1865) of the ship named H.M.S. Beagle. He
made observation on diversity of organisms, fossils, comparison to South American
organism, comparison among the organisms in the Galapagos Islands and adaptation
which laid the foundation to develop his theory of evolution and natural selection.

Evolution as explained by Darwin, occurs by means of natural selection. In

addition, natural selection might occur because of the following reasons.

a. Overproduction and variation some species produce many offspring out not
all of these young survive. It means that not all of the offspring not have the
characteristics to survive in the environment.
b. Competition and selection- competition may or may not be direct but the idea
is always on the survival of organism. The organism that survived more likely
reproduce which transfer their characteristics to their offspring.
c. Environmental change the environment will not adjust for the organism but
rather it is always the organism that will change to adapt to the environment.

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Freudian Revolution
Sigmund Freud (1856—1939) explained how
human mind works and cure its mild mental
illness. He call this method psychoanalysis
and its main goal is to make unconscious
conscious. He also developed topographical
and structural model of the mind to basically
explain the sources of human behavior.

The Topographical Model of the Mind

According to the topographical model Freud, the mind is divided into three regions. These are
the subconscious, preconscious, and conscious mind.

a. Conscious mind -consists of thoughts that focus on the present state of the mind.
b. Preconscious mind -consists of what can be retrieved from the memory.
c. Subconscious mind -consists of primitive desires, wishes or impulse which is mediated by
the preconscious mind

The Structural Model of the Mind

The structural model of Freud elaborates his topographical model which preconscious mind is
then divided into superego, ego and id.
a. Ego-drives a socially acceptable way to satisfy the demands of id as it operates the
conscious and unconscious mind.
b. Id-comprises Eros, the life or survival instinct of man and Thanatos the death or
destructive instinct of man.
c. Super-ego-operates based on the principles of morality that drive man to become socially
responsible and behave in an acceptable manner. It basically means that super-ego drives a man
to follow the rules and resolves the conflict between the ego and the id.

INFORMATION AGE

People view communication as one of the most important tools in

understanding society. Communication is defined as the act or process of using
words, sounds, signs, or behaviors to express or exchange information or to express
ideas, thoughts, feelings etc., to someone else. It took a lot of time for communication
to prosper and develop to what is being used today. Along with the development of
technology, the impacts of distance, location, and time were eradicated.

25
Most of us believe that the beginning of the Information Age is the time when
computer was made available to people since computer is the greatest tool used to
access the world wide web. Information Age, according to Alberts and Papp (1997) in
their paper entitled The Information Age: An Anthology on Its Impact and
Consequences, is divided into three modern information revolution: First Modern
information Revolution, Second Modern Information Revolution and Third Modern
Information Revolution.

These are the most important events during the modern information revolution:

First Modern Information Revolution (Mid -century)

The invention of telegraph by Samuel Morse (179) -1872).

Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922) patented the first telephone.

Guglielmo Marconi (1874-19.37) proved the feasibility of radio

communications, i.e. sending and receiving of radio signals.

Second Modern Information Revolution (Mid-20th century)

Lee DeForest (1873-1961) Early generation computers were made available to

everyone.

Philo Taylor Farnsworth (1926-1931) Television as one of the best

communication tools.

Sergei Korolev (1957) Artificial satellites were built and linked the world.

Claude E. Shannon (1916-2001) quantified information and measured it in bits.

Third Modern Information Revolution (1980's)

The third modem information is labeled as "knowledge revolution." This period is

only about the development of communication-related technologies that improved
society.

Mesoamerican Period

(1200 B.C.-3 rd Century A.D.)

The term Mesoamerica comes from the Greek word mesos meaning "in the middle."
This period is characterized by the following civilizations:

Olmecs (1500 B.C.-400 B.C.)

The top of the society are priests and nobles who lived in ceremonial centers.

26
 • Normal people lived in farming villages volcanic rocks around the elites.

• Carved colossai heads from volcanic rocks as portraicvs of rulers.

• Invented calendar ard carved hieroglyphic writing into stone.

• The mother culture of Mesoamerica.

Mayans (300 B.C.-YOO A.D.)

Developed methods of farming such as shifting agriculture and raised bed farming.

• Organized into city-state without political unity but bounded a economically

• Developed numbering system including place value and the concept of zero.

• Developed hieroglyphic form of writing that were used for recording

astronomical observations, rituals and religious matter but was burnt during
the invasion of Spanish conquerors.

• Developed a solar calendar with 365 days and ritual calendar with 260 days.

Aztecs (12th-15th Century)

• Built chinampas or "floating gardens" to plant crops.

• Built empire which has a ruler with his council consisting of nobless priest, and
military leaders.

• Developed a calendar with 365 days and a ritual calendar with 260 days.

• Believed that illness is a punishment from the gods but stiil uses he:bs and
medicine for treatments.

Middle East (17th Century)

Middle East is a term used to describe a geographic location that extends from
Egypt to Afghanistan where Islam arose. Islam, however is a religion of right actions
rules, and laws that began in the 7th century and follows the teachings of Muhammad
who was believed by Muslims as the messenger of God. Islam is also an Arabic word
meaning "submission to God." Islamic rules are symbolized by five obligatory acts the
five pillars of Islam: Witness (Shahada), Worship (Salat), Fasting (Sawm), Tithing
(Zakat), and Pilgrimage (Hajj). If the Roman Catholic Church has the "Bible," Islam on
the other hand, also has its holy book called Qur'an ('Koran').

27
 Seemingly different to other ancient civilizations like Europe, Islam as religion
plays an important role not only in Arab ways of living but also in the advancement
oi science. The pursuit of knowledge is included in the teachings of prophet
Muhammad. These practicality of Islam and openness to embracing knowledge
resulted to some advancement in the field of geography, medicine, and mathematics

Contributions to Geography

• Salat prayers require knowledge in geography to know the direction of

Qublah, i.e., the direction that should be faced when Muslims pray.

• In 1166, Al Idrisi produced very accurate maps including a world map that has
continents, mountains, rivers and famous cities.

• Al-Muqdishi, a geographer, also produced an accurate colored map.

• Muslims are great navigators for the expedition’s footer countries. Ferdinand
Magellan and Christopher Columbus imported Muslim navigators.

Contributions to Mathematics

• Muslims invented symbols to express an unknown quantity.

• Made use of zero and decimal system.

• Muhammad ibn Müsä al-Khwärizmi (early 9th century), one of the first
directors of the House of Wisdom, introduced algebra in solving equation.

Medical Contributions

• Arabs made use of human cadaver to study and understand its anatomy and
physiology.

• Abü-'Ali al-Husayn ibn-CAbdalläh Ibn-Sinä or Avicenna (ca. 970-1037) wrote

an encyclopedia of medical knowledge. This work was translated into Latin
and was used as a textbook in Europe up to seventieth century.

• Abü Bakr Muhammad ibn Zakariyyä al-Räzi (854-925 CE) spearheaded the
construction of the first Islamic Bimaristans (hospital).

African Revolution

Africans like other Eastern civilizations are pioneers of some advancement in

science and technology. They worked independently without any influence of
European science. Some remarkable works of Africans were in the field of

28
mathematics, metallurgy, architecture and engineering, astronomy, medicine, and
navigation. The remarkable contributions of Africans are the following:

• Africans made use of the first method of counting.

• The modern concepts of mathematics that is globally accepted and used today
in high schools was first developed in Africa.

• Used advanced techniques for furnace that made it fuel efficient which was 200
to 4000C hotter compared to 16000C-furnace used by the Romans.

• Created the building of Zimbabwe and the 11 interconnected rock-hewn

churches of Lalibela in Echiopia which are considered as wonders of the world.

• Observations on Sirius and B by Dogon people.

• Cushitic people used their knowledge of stars and constellations to calculate

and establish an accurate calendar.

• Pioneered some medical practices like installation of false teeth, filling of dental
cavities, broken bone setting, bone traction, vaccination, brain surgery, skin
grafting, and autopsy.

• Made use of plants like the bark of salix capensis as source of aspirin,
kaopectate for treating diarrhea and Rauwolfia vomitoria as source of
reserpine for hypertension and snakebite.

Built boats in varying sizes with the largest that can carry a load of 80 tons.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND NATION BUILDING

Outline:

➢ The Concept of Nation Building

➢ Science and Technology in Nation Building: Global Perspective

➢ Science and Technology in Philippine Nation Building

➢ The Philippine Government Science and Technology Agenda

➢ Major Development Programs and Personalities in Science and Technology in

the Philippines

➢ Science Education in the Philippines

➢ Selected Indigenous Science and Technologies

29
Learning Outcomes:

At the end of this chapter, students should be able to:

1. discuss the concept of nation building and its importance;

2. explain the relationship between development and nation-building;

3. discuss the role of Science and Technology in Philippine Nation Building;

4. evaluate government policies pertaining to science and technology in terms of

their contributions to nation building; and

5. identify actual science and technology policies of the government and appraise
their impact on the development of the Filipino nation.

Content

Historical development in science and its

application showed the rapid pace of
changes. Natural resources with their
limitations were supplemented through
revealing its optimum capacity and role in the
society. In the beginning of the 20th century,
the Progress in the society has been closely
linked with technological advancement and
the linkage continuously intensified in the
following decades. (nap.edu, 2017). The role of individual Inventors which triggered
the great introduction of organized scientific researches and technological
innovations flourished from then on. The accumulation of scientific knowledge and
the application of it has transformed human life and provided help in addressing
human needs and standards of society towards development.

Development is always associated with technology and the latter "happens

When there is advancement in science". (Pujari, 2016, pal) Development is required in
every individual to every nation in all aspects. Accordingly, it is a requirement that
science and technology goes hand in hand to make development happen and nation
building possible. On the other hand, difficult questions on to how to use science and
technology most effectively for addressing not only the human but the society, has
been introduced.

30
 Thus, this chapter will recognize the importance of providing profound
understanding of the science and technology in nation-building. Specifically, it aims
to discuss the impact of scientific knowledge, efforts and even other influences in the
context of Philippine nation-building.

THE CONCEPT OF NATION BUILDING

Understanding the concept of nation building requires a prior concept the

term nation. Early conceptions of nation defined it as a group or race of people who
shared history, traditions, and culture, sometimes religion, and usually language.
Generally, people of a specific nation share a common national identity. It may
include identity based on race or ethnicity, loyalty to a set of political ideas, and
nationality.

Fagoyinbo (2013) explained that the word nation is often used

synonymously with state, as in the United Nations. But a state is more properly the
governmental apparatus by which a nation rules itself" (p.411). In approaching the
question of nation-building, and its relationship to state-building, it is important to
keep in mind that this definition specifies the "legitimate use of force". (Stephenson,
2005) Many aspects shall be considered in achieving a strong nation. As Prof. Gambari
(2008) enumerated, these aspects include:

• building a political entity (territory, rules, norms, principles and common

citizenship);

• building institutions (symbolizes political entity- institutions such as a

bureaucracy, an economy, the judiciary, universities, a civil service, and civil
society organizations); and

• building a common sense of purpose, a sense of shared destiny, a collective

imagination of belonging. (para.l)

The impact of a welfare-centered developments aimed to address the basic

needs of the people to be free from poverty, inequality, unemployment, on the one
hand, or by desire to compete for resources and power either internally or in the
international system, is indeed necessary. Thus, it doesn't only include developments
in terms of human rights but also most importantly, development of education
towards democratic state to promote welfare. (Barbanti, 2005)

Development in Relation to Nation Building

31
 In the 19th century, development was philosophically understood as the
improvement of humankind. Likewise, it can be understood, in a more practical way,
by political elites as social engineering of emerging national societies. (McMichael,
2004)

Reisman (2008) distinguished development as "decision processes and

decision outcomes" which makes it effective in influencing in all ways the values and
culture of global communities. This makes changes and dynamism in the society as
important distinguishing feature of development. On the other hand, he further
explained that development, implies specific scope values with respect to which
strategies for securing selective changes are invented and against which change-flows
in decision structures and in the production and distribution of values are constantly
evaluated. Thus, from a policy-oriented perspective, not all change is development;
changes incompatible with human dignity can be characterized as retrogressions or
as "dis developmental" (para.l).

(Reisman, 2008)

Key Drivers to Development

In the contemporary world, science and development, since economic

advances, improvements in key systems education and infrastructures) are being
reinforced through technology scientific insurgencies. Basically, developments in
science and technology greatly affects -the conditions of the people specifically in their
way to live connect, communicate and transact, with profound effects on economic
development. It is imperative that every state should invest in equipping their people
towards emerging national society.

Promoting scientific and technological advances is seen essential instrument

for building a strong nation. On the other hand, the rise of science and technology in
this aspect could be the fall of other related aspects for it could be a potential
contributor to the dehumanization of man and to the degradation of his environment.

Thus, Cowan and Shenton as cited in McMichae1, (2004) elucidate

development meant balancing the apparent inevitability of technological ch that with
social intervention (p.2). Idealistically, it means "assisting human society in its
development and perhaps realistically as managing citizen-subjects experiencinin
"wrenching social transformations (p.2).

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN NATION BUILDING: GLOBAL

PERSPECTIVE

32
 Science and technology have an overwhelming impact to rapid
development Implementation of science and technology in every nation in every
aspect of life is the greatest evidence of modernization. Convenience, simplicity, and
easiness in everyday living has been offered by the introduction of modern gadgets.
The absence of modern equipment, in all sectors and or any other field, the
advancement and benefits that being experienced today would not have been
possible. (Pujari, 2016)

In a global perspective, moving on with the flow of modernity determines

the nation's capability to sustain its people's lives. Such is the influence of science and
technology for the development of a nation. The question now is how shall a nation
be assessed on its capability?

Countries are being categorized today based on economy and the

application of science and technology. It can be analyzed from various reports that
that countries which have a strong base in science and technology are the ones that
developed faster.

Economic Situation

The development field has always been highly influenced by economic

thought, as exemplified by the fact that development has been primarily measured by
increases in Gross National Product (GNP) and or the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The global economic situation has become a basis for determining the
classification of countries. The United Nations Department of Economic and Social
Affairs (UN/DESA), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
(UNCTAD) and the five United Nations regional commissions, including Economic
and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) launched the World
Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) reports. This provides annual reports on
world economic trends in different dimensions. It also serves as basis for classifying
countries around the world as to developed economies, economies in transition and
developing economies. Many nations continuously strive to attain "developed"
category which motivates them to strengthen their own economic dimensions. The
WESP report 2018 stated that an "improved global economic situation" offer the best
chance for countries to address "longer-term issues" which hinders development. The
said issues include low carbon economic growth, reducing inequalities, economic
diversification and eliminating deep-rooted barriers. (United Nations, 2018)

33
 UN GROUPS BY BASIC ECONOMIC COUNTRY CONDITIONS

The major developed economies include Canada, Japan, France, Germany, Italy,
United Kingdom, and United States. Moreover, developing countries can be found at
the regions of Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Conversely, least
developed countries can also be found in those regions.

Science and Technology Application

Determining the competency of a country in science is not an easy task

Certain criterion must be considered in evaluating this aspect. Parameters involving
management of scientific knowledge and implementation of these knowledge are
given focus in this sense. The Scientific American published its Global Science
Scorecard which serves as the basis for ranking the performances of various Countries
in the field of science. Along with the launching is an interactive table of top 40
countries ranking in 2012, the Global Science Scorecard. United States got the top most
rank then by Germany, China, Japan, the U.K., France, Canada, South Korea Italy, and
Spain. The said scorecard necessitates not only the scientific outputs but also the
process of utilizing this scientific knowledge directly affecting the lives of the people
in real world. (Guterl, 2012)

Evidently, most of those countries, which are categorized by the United

Nations as "developed", perform well in the field of science as well. This somehow
gives the idea that economic development can be sustained through an effective
science and technology applications-innovations.

34
 Science and Technology for the Advancement of Developing Countries

In many developing countries, science and technology plays an

important role in social and economic progress. The importance of science and
technology in addressing the national and international issues necessitates the
promotion of various science and technology program throughout the developing
countries.

Accordingly, developing countries realize the importance of

benchmarking and learning best practices from the developed nations to eventually
produce a localized science and technology programs. (National Academy of
Sciences, 2006)

Ateneo de Manila University (2008) quoted former Senator Edgardo J.

Angara who stressed that "investments on research and development (R&D) and
education", related to the "emerging trends" in various field of applied sciences,
evidently considers "Science and Technology Innovation (STI) as a driving force
behind the success of the Asian neighboring countries"(para.2). He further
enumerated the factors which contribute to the economic successes of these Asian
countries:

• government investment in public goods and services such as roads, clean

water, health and education;

• support for small and medium-scale enterprises;

• support for higher education institutions, science and engineering sectors, and
industry and trade associations;

• inter-institutional linkages between universities, industries, government

agencies and non-government organizations; and

• good governance (para.3.)

Generally, it is recognized that nations and communities who aim fcr a good standing
in the world economy must either possess or seek to acquire a home-grown, self-
generating capability in science and technology. Citizens, government and every
individual effort in advancing the status of science and technology in a nation are
important towards promoting a nation to a more advanced level of competency,
competitiveness and capability.

35
 SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY PHILIPPINE NATION BUILDING

Philippines is one of the developing countries that is continuously addressing the

persistent problems of inequality and poverty. How the Philippines responds to these
challenges will determine whether the country will experience rapid, inclusive, and
sustained growth and development.

The Philippine government, as early as the 1980s, prioritize the initiatives on

promoting the role of science and technology in the national development. The
declarations in the 1987 Constitution, Article XIV acknowledges the significant role of
science and technology:

Section 10. Science and technology are essential for national development and progress. The
State shall give priority to research and development, invention, innovation, and their
utilization; and to science and technology education, training, and services. It shall support
indigenous, appropriate, and self-reliant scientific and technological capabilities, and their
application to the country's productive systems and national life.

Section 11. The Congress may provide for incentives, including tax deductions, to encourage
private participation in programs of basic and applied scientific research. Scholarships, grants-
in-aid, or other forms of incentives shall be provided to deserving science students, researchers,
scientists, inventors, technologists, and specially gifted citizens.

Section 12. The State shall regulate the transfer and promote the adaptation of technology
from all sources for the national benefit. It shall encourage the widest participation of private
groups, local governments, and community-based organizations in the generation and
utilization of science and technology.

Section 13. The State shall protect and secure the exclusive rights of scientists, inventors,
artists, and other gifted citizens to their intellectual property and creations, particularly when
beneficial to the people, for such period as may be provided by law.

This mandate necessitates the assurance of implementing efforts in utilizing science

and technology as a tool for advancing the capability and capacity of t} nation for the
welfare and condition of its people. Hence, The Philippine government agencies play
significant role, in sustaining and promoting science and technology for the progress
of the country.

The Department of Science and Technology

The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) is the primary science and
technology body in the country responsible for providing central direction leadership

36
and coordination of all scientific and technological activities, and of formulating
policies, programs and projects to support national development.

The development of DOST can be traced to the National Science

Development Board, created on June 13, 1958, later reorganized on March 17, 1982
into the National Science and Technology Authority. NSTA was eventually elevated
to cabinet level based on Executive Order No. 128$igned by President Corazon
Aquino on January 30, 1987. This marked the mainstreaming of science and
technology in the governments' policymaking and service delivery processes.

DOST is composed of councils and agencies with specific scope and responsibilities
as well. The said councils and agencies are:

• sectoral planning councils

• research and development institutes

• S&T service institutes

• collegial bodies

• regional offices

• provincial S&T centers

Congressional Commission on Science, Technology, and Engineering

Jointly created by the senate and the House of representatives, this commission serves
as an advisory and the policy making body that aims to strengthen the linkage with
all sectors related to science and technology in pursuit of its objectives.

Department of Trade and Industry

It is responsible for implementing industry-focused policies and with DOST cofounds

programs (with DOST as the coordinating agent).

Commission on Higher Education

This agency is responsible for formulation of policies, plans, and programs for the
development of higher education system in the country. It has been mandated to
promote quality education and ensures the implementation of educational policies
relevant to continuous advancement of learning.

37
The National Economic and Development Authority

The National Economic and Development Authority is a government agency

responsible to formulate development plans and ensure that plan implementation
achieves the goals of national development. It is regarded as the country's premier
socioeconomic planning body, an authority in macroeconomic forecasting and policy
analysis and research. It provides high-level advice to policymakers in Congress and
the Executive Branch.

Science and Technology Competitiveness of the Philippines

To determine the capability and competitiveness of a country, the World Economic

Forum's Global Competitiveness Report Indicators includes 12 pillars .to be.
considered which can be seen

In this figure below

Pillars of Competitiveness

Basic Requirements

• Institutions Key for factor-driven

• Infrastructure economies
• Macroeconomic
environment Health and
primaryeducation

Efficiency enhancers
• Higher
• Goods market
efficiency Key for efficiencydriven
• Labor market efficiency economies
• Financial market
development
• Technological
readiness
• Market size

Innovation and sophistication factors Key for innovation driven

• Business sophistication economies
• Innovation

38
Pillars Related to Science and Technology:

1. Technological Readiness (9th pillar) under Efficiency Enhancers;

2. Business Sophistication (11th pillar)

3. Innovation (12th pillar) under Innovation and Sophistication Factors.

THE PHILIPPINE GOVERNMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AGENDA

In the previous chapter, we've seen that science and technology are the vital
force for the development of our nation. Consequently, this benefit can be unfavorable
by becoming the potential contributor of dehumanization of man and to the
degradation of the environment. Being aware of these opposing influences of
influences of S&T in the development, it requires major effort of promoting harmony
among these aspects to balance the effects to the state. Thus, significance of
formulating effective plans, policies and programs to boost advancements while
maintaining conservational and socio-cultural cohesion in the Philippines shall be
considered.

PDP OVERALL FRAMEWORK

The National Development Agenda

Philippine Development Plan (PDP) serves as the blueprint of programs

and Administration’s plans for progress. NEDA recently launched in 2016, the PDP
2017-2022 which is part of four medium-term plans anchored on the Ambisyon Natin
040. It aims to realize the collective vision of Filipinos over the next 25 years thus
articulating that. By 2040, the Philippines is a prosperous middle-class society where

39
no one is poor. People live long, and healthy lives, and are smart, and innovative. The
country is a high-trust society where families thrive in vibrant, culturally diverse, tid
resilient communities" (NEDA, 2016). To visualize such plan, take a look at the 'overall
Framework of the PDP 2017-2022 in Figure 5.3.

This long-term aim may be too ideal for many since this will not
automatically inform our country into becoming one of the so called "developed
country” In amity, global transformation will require long time frame and more
tedious process and would, therefore, play a minimal effect in the national
development. This is because transformation is a gradual process undertaken through
holistic strategies for national development. (Borbon, V; Dela Cruz, Ma.w Flores, R.
;Gerona_ Medina, Zand Lee, A.,2000).

Furthermore, these strategies shall be translated down to local efforts which have been
realized to have greater effect on the socioeconomic progress. Hence, how relevant
are the following pillars to the aim of the government's plan?

Leyco (2018) in his article shared the three main pillars from which the PDP 2017-
2022 is founded:

Pillars of Development

1.Malasakit.

Regain people's trust in public institutions and cultivate trust among fellow
Filipinos.

2.Pagbabago.

Inequality-reducing transformation through increasing opportunities for growth of

output and

Income.

3.Patuloy na Pag-unlad.

Increasing potential growth through sustaining and accelerating economic growth.

(para.3.)

The Philippine Science and Technology Agenda

How should the S&T agenda be directed towards attaining national development
goals and objectives? Borbon, et al. (2000) declared that major efforts in science and
technology shall be pursued and firmly done to attain the transformation aimed by

40
the country. Sagasti (as cited in Borbon, et al., 2000) enumerated specific peculiarities
which shall be considered in generation and development of local science and
technology capabilities designed for particular national conditions includes:

a. a well-defined national science and technology plan and its relation to global
socioeconomic development strategies;

b. science and technology interaction with the nation's sociopolitical, economic,

educational, and cultural aspects;

c. development of institutional science and technology infrastructure;

d. local generation of science and technology capacity; and

e. resource availability for science and technology.

In this connection, the DOST ensures that policies, efforts, and plans include in the
science and technology agenda is closely linked to the national development plan. The
DOST prepared the Harmonized National R&D Agenda (HNRDA) 20172022 to
ensure that results of science and technology endeavors are geared towards and
utilized in areas of maximum economic and social benefit for the people. What re the
priority areas included in the S&T agenda 20!7-2022? Take a look at the NRDA 2017-
2022 framework in the figure below.

The Harmonized National Research and

Development Agenda (HNRDA) is divided
into five sectors. The agenda Is founded on
the three pillars of development which is
aligned with the AmBisyon Natin 2040 and
each sector has six issue-based National
Integrated Basic Research Agenda (NIBRA)
programs respectively.

Issue-Based NIBRA Programs

1. Water Security—TUBIG Program (Tubig ay Buhayin at Ingatan)

2. Food and Nutrition Security—SAPAT Program (Saganang Pagkain Para sa

Lahat)

3. Health Sufficiency=LIKAS Program (Likas Yaman sa Kalusugan)

41
4. Clean Energy—ALERT Program (Alternative Energy Research Trends)

5. Sustainable Community-SAKLAW Program (Saklolo sa Lawa)

6. Inciusive Nation-builåingLATIN program (Ang Tinig Natin)

Specific priority programs, to promote and support the NIBRA programs, were also
included in the HNRDA 2017-2018.

MAJOR DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS AND PERSONALITIES IN SCIENCE

AND TECHNOLOGY IN THE PHILIPPINES

The Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2017-2040 includes S&T related

enabling mechanisms toward achieving strong pillars for development. Considering
several fundamental weaknesses in terms of S&T competitiveness, the PDP 2017-2040
emphasizes strategies that shall be pursued to help raise the S&T related pillars (see
the previous section on 12 Pillars of Competitiveness) of the country.

The DOST launched in its "8-point action agenda", initially in 2006, to better promote
and support science, technology, and innovation. The strategy is relevant in the
Philippine's policy system, and were hoped to be sustained with Commitment and
better integration into national policies. As generalized in the SEA-ECT-NET (n.d.),
this includes:

1. Science-based know-how and tools that enable the agriculture sector to raise
productivity to world-class standards;

2. Innovative, cost-effective and appropriate technologies that enable MSMEs to develop

and produce competitive products that meet world-class standards.

3. State-of-the-art facilities and capabilities that enable local industries to move up the
value chain and attain global competitiveness.

4. Idea of the Philippines as a global leader in Information Technology Business Process

Management Services generating direct employment of

1.3million (520,000 of which in the countryside).

5. ICT-based transformation of governance broadening access to government services (i.e.

health and education) for those in the countryside (to bring the Philippines in the top 50 global
ranking of e-government by 2016).

6. Improved quality healthcare and quality of life thru science, technology, and
innovation.

42
7. Highly skilled and globally competitive S&T human resources in support of the
national S&T programs.

8. Science-based weather information and climate change scenarios with associated

impact assessments that enable concerned agencies to develop appropriate mitigation strategies
for a disaster and climate change resiliency Philippines.

A number of DOST programs are being enhanced and continued as mandated

by enabling laws and executive orders up to this time. Implementation of these
programs are being made possible programs in partnership with other related
government agencies. In summarized scope this includes program in R&D, S&T
human resource development, agriculture development, health, and nutrition
environment sustainability, and disaster preparedness and hazard mitigation.

The Philippine's Science and Technology Human Resources

One of the most promising strategy in breaking the barriers that' hinder
Philippines progress, in terms of Science, Technology., and Innovation (STI), is
enhancing the competitiveness of the country's science and technology home
resources. This strategy recognizes the role of every individual inventor whose
works became the womb of new and innovated scientific knowledge honed towards
sustaining the advancements necessary for building the nation.

The National Scientists

DOST had launched programs to encourage Filipino scientists, technologists,

experts and professionals to continuously share their expertise towards accelerating
the STI development system and economic development of the country. Hence, S&T
personalities who contributed significantly in the development of the country, as well
as their works, deserved to be recognized.

The highest honor given by the President to an individual who had contributed
significantly to the fields of science and technology in the country is the order of the
National Scientists. A National Scientist receives an annual gratuity and other
privileges similar to those enjoyed by National Artists (Presidential Decree 1003A).
Currently, there are 41 National Scientists, four of them were the most recently
conferred (2014) S&T personalities who were featured by Sabillo (2014) of Philippine
Daily Inquirer.

43
Angel C. Alcala, Ph.D.

"He was recognized for his research on the ecology and diversity of Philippine
amphibians and reptiles, as well as marine biodiversity and conservation of marine-
protected areas. His work has led to a national policy on marine no-take zones or
protective areas, which has become a model of coastal resource management that has
been adopted by other countries".

Ramon C. Barba, Ph.D.

"He was recognized for his achievements in the field of plant physiology, especially
the induction of flowering of mango and micro propagation or the rapid multiplying
of stock plant of important crop species".

Edgardo D. Gomez, Ph.D

"He is known for his research and conservation efforts in invertebrate biology and
ecology. He was pivotal in the world's first national-scale assessment of damage to
coral reefs, resulting in international conservation initiatives such as the Global reefs
and Risk Analysis, Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network and the International Coral
Reef Action".

Gavino C. Trono Jr., Ph.D.

"He was cited for his outstanding contributions in the field of tropical marine
phycology, focusing on seaweed biodiversity.

He published extensive studies on the culture of seaweed species that benefited the
livelihood of coastal populations and was the first to report the occurrence of "ice-ice"
disease that affected many seaweed farms.

SCIENCE EDUCATION IN THE PHILIPPINES

Keeping up with the rapid advancement of science and technology all over the
world is crucial. Advancement nowadays cannot be limited to acquiring advance
facilities and technologies but more on the acquisition and enhancement of
knowledge and skills essential in meeting the demands of the highly competitive and
scientific-based society.

In the Philippines and around the world, science, and technology-based and a
knowledge-based economy are the common concerns. Living in such an environment
requires expectations and skills to survive. (SEI-DOST & UP NISMED, 2011) The effort
of investing in science, technology, and innovation, shall be supported and sustained

44
through breaking resource gaps, specifically in the education sector. As John F.
Kennedy, former US President, said, "Our progress as a nation can be no swifter than
our progress in education. The human mind is our fundamental resource." That is, in
meeting the demands of the 21st century world, what should be the direction of
science education?

In all fairness with the Philippine government, efforts to improve quality

education have always been part of its plan of action. The Department of Education,
through the for All Committee (NEC), engaged in benchmarking strategy with the
Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization Regional Center for Educational
Innovation and Technology (SEÅMEO INNOTECH). The said undertaking stated on
February 2011 is to secure affirmation of basic education reforms (curriculum
structures and contents) towards meeting the demands of 21st.

Take a 100k at the Science Education Curriculum Framework in the figure

below. Does it support the achievement of the 21st century demands?

Fensham (2006) (as cited in SEI-DOST&UP NISMED, 2011) explained that

traditionally, science content areas such as life science, physical science, and earth and
space science, are presented as "separate subjects" to achieve mastery on concepts,

45
principles, and processes. The new science education curriculum shows a
revolutionized inclusion of the three content areas to accentuate the "understanding
of the connections and interrelationship" of various science concepts. Added to this
are the themes which are valued in "real-life contexts" namely, "maintaining good
health and living safely; utilizing energy and coping with changes and conserving
and protecting the environment". This implies that learning how to apply the concepts
shall be pursued further towards more meaningful learning.

Such arrangement of the curriculum been founded in the true aim of education. Itt
can be traced back in 1996, when- the International Commission on Education for
the 21 Century to UNESCO, headed by Jacques Delors, identified learning throughout
life as a key to meet the challenges of the 21st century.

Delors further presented the framework based on the the"Four Pillars of Education-
learning to know, learning to live together, learning to do, and learning to be". The
report, highlighted the need for individuals to "learn how to learn" for them to manage
the rapid changes and challenges of the present and the future. Thus. suggesting
lifelong learning that involves the development of knowledge, skills, attitudes, and
values throughout one's life—from early childhood through adulthood. (SEAMEO
INNOTECH, 2012)

SELECTED INDIGENOUS SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGIES

Can you still imagine how your life be without electricity? How about riding using
carabaos or barely walking along the street instead of riding cars or jeepneys? Or
being engaged in traditional ways of living?

Many people would appreciate the advancements in science and technology for
providing them with comforts and conveniences in everyday living. Lives have been
saved by medical breakthroughs and people enjoy good productions of food, clothing
and the materials that they need in building shelters. Behind these advancements,
S&T products and innovations are developed in countries known for their excellent
application of science. can you think of some inventions that have its genesis due to
Filipino creativity and scientific initiatives?

The following are some of the latest Filipino inventions:

46
 Aerogas Catalytic Combustor (ACC) is an
anti-pollution, eco-friendly invention made
by Engr. Marinto C. Martinez. It is a fuel
saver and power booster engine device
which can be practically used on all types of internal combustion engines like engines
of Jeeps, Cars, Trucks, Ships and Motorcycles and even Gas Fired Power Plants. Aside
from its economic cost, it also supports the Aero Gas Cata;ytic Combustor (ACC)
implementation of Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999. Agencies like DENR-EMB, DOST
- PICIERD, ITDI, LTO certified its effectiveness in reducing pollution by as much as
82%, fuel saving by as much as 32% and increase horse power and torque by as much
as 7.95%. (Filipino Discoveries, Inventions, Innovations & Products, 2017)

SALT (Sustainable Alternative Lighting)

Lamp is created by a Filipina scientist, Aisa Mijenc. It is an

environment-friendly lamp that runs with just two table
spoons of salt and one glass of tap water. This invention
made it possible for those who live in coastal areas and
remote barrios to have light source. As explained by
Mijeno, the lamp is made of improved chemical compounds, catalysts, Aisa Mijeno:
The inventor of salt lamp and metal alloys that generates electricity source ABS-
CBNnews.com when submerged in electrolytes. (Buccat, 2015)

SALAMANDER Aamphibious Tricycle

Was featured in Top Gear.com.ph in 2015. Atoy

Llave, who's engaged in car customization and
desired to address the problems of many computers
in a flood prone country, invented this tricycle. It can
travel both on land and in water. The Salamander has
two power plant choices: one electric and one internal-combustion. Boasting a six-
person seating capacity (four in water), the amphibious tricycle is powered The
Salamander, Amphibious Tricycle by either a 5kW electric engine or a 250cc gasoline
motor. He made this partnership with a new company called H20 Technologies,

47
developing it in particular with the firm’s technical head. Lambertp. Armada (Sarne,
2015)

All these and many other Filipino inventions are coming. It reflects the wisdom of
Filipinos in dealing with scientific knowledge and environment. These are not only
products of influence from other Western cultures.

Indigenous technologies and practice reflect not just ways of working but the ways of
knowing and thinking of people in the community. people are amazed by how these
indigenous systems, which have no equivalent in the modern science empowered
other societies or even nation to live quite successfully for many generations. Indeed,
the role of indigenous science and technology in nation building shall not be
neglected and overshadowed by the other kind of modernity introduced in the world
today.

REFERENCE:

Bautista, D. H. S., Burce, N. S., Garcia, C. S., Imson, J. B., Labog, R. A., Salazar, F. J. B.,
& Santos, J. L. (2018). Science, Technology And Society. MaxCor Publishing House,
INC.

THE HUMAN PERSON FLOURISHING IN TERMS OF SCIENCE AND

TECHNOLOGY

➢ Selected Views on Technology

➢ Martin Heidegger on Science and Technology

➢ The Society in the Face of Science and Technology

Learning Outcomes:

At the end of this chapter, students should be able to:

1.define and explain what technology is and its essence;

2.understand the human condition and analyze the effects of science and technology
to this condition; and

3.perceive the danger of the controlling power technology has over humans.

48
Content

Technology has always been defined as a means to an end and being a human
activity. It has long filled the world. Everyday routines are marked with technological
advances-that reflect what a society is good or known for. Technology has well
advanced since the middle of the 20th century especially after the end of World War
ll. It is not unexpected for technology to involve question of knowledge which lead to
its formation as one of the branches of philosophy. This also led to the furtherance of
technology based on how it is viewed and understood. But there is more to that.
Aristotle, was born 304 B.C. an ancient Greek philosophy scientist and one of the most
significant thinkers and who contributed so much to science, technology, political
theory, and aesthetics world; followed that knowledge of the world begins by looking
and examining that which exists. To understand the human person flourishing in
terms of science and technology, it is good to first examine technology in its essence.

SELECTED VIEWS ON TECHNOLOGY

It has been said that there are many views or ways as to how technology is
understood. These philosophies contributed on how technology is understood and
utilized by the society. Some of it will be discussed briefly below.

Aristotelianism

This views technology as basically a means to an end. To

Aristotle, technology is the organizing of techniques in order
to meet the demand that is being posed by humans. This may
seem that technology will be primarily concerned with the
product. Technology will be judged as either good or bad
based on the value given to the product based on its use and
effect to the society.

Technological Pessimism

This view is extremely

supported by French philosopher
Jacques Ellul (1912-1994).
Technological Pessimism holds that
technology is progressive and
beneficial in many ways, it is also
doubtful in many ways. It is said that
technology is means to an end but

49
this view, technology has become a way of life. Technique has become a framework
which cannot escape. It has introduced ways on how to make things easy. Ellul's
pessimistic

arguments are (1) technological progress has a price, (2) technological progress creates
more problems, (3) technological progress creates damaging effects, and (4)
technological progress creates unpredictable devastating effects.

Although Ellul has strongly spoken of his arguments, they are still found to be
weak and not true at all times. Like when he said that technological progress can
create more problems than it solves, he seems to have underestimated the objective
decisions a technician, and other technological agencies makes regarding the
technology where they weigh the good and bad effects it can have in the society.

Technological Optimism

This view is strongly supported by technologists and engineers and also by

ordinary people who believe that technology can alleviate all the difficulties and
provide solutions for problems that may come. It holds that even though
technological problems may arise; technology will still be the solutions to it. The
extreme version of this philosophy is technocratic which holds technology as the
supreme authority on everything.

Existentialism

The main concern of this view is the

existence or the mode of being of someone or
something which is governed by the norm of
authenticity. This view basically investigates
the meaning of existence or being and is always
faced with the selection must make with which
the existent will commit himself to.

Martin Heidegger, a philosopher who

was briefly introduced in Unit 1 is one of the
most known supporters of this philosophy. He did not stop defining what technology
is but dealt with its essence. To Heidegger, the real essence technology lies in
enflaming, the gathering of the setting upon which challenges, man to bring the
unconcealed to concealment and this is a continuous revealing. The next section will
further discuss the view of Heidegger that technology is a way of revealing.

50
MARTIN HEIDEGGER ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Martin Heidegger (1889-1996), a well-known German

philosopher, examined the two usual definitions of
technology: means to an end and a human activity,
because he believed that this kind of confusing and there
are questions to it that we easily overlook. These two
definitions cannot be separated from each other. He
called it the instrumental and anthropological definition
of technology or simply means by which the human ends
are realized. To Heidegger, this may not be a false
definition but it is a misleading one because this limits
our thinking.

The Instrumental Definition of Technology

According to Heidegger, the instrumental definition of technology encourages

us to view technology from different periods of time as not having fundamental
differences. But he claimed that this does not show the true essence of technology. He
explained that while technology is geared towards meeting a human need, still there
is a difference between older handicraft technologies with modern technology. As it
is, "a saw million a secluded valley of the Black Forest is a primitive means compare
with the hydroelectric plant on the Rhine River" (Heidegger, 1977, p.1). Heidegger
also argued that "technology is by no means technological" and should not be as
merely neutral. The problem begins when humans see it only as a means to an end
and disregard the fact that there is a good technology and a bad technology.

Another problem Heidegger saw in the instrumental definition of technology

is that it only invites man to a continual desire to master it which unconsciously may
be making technology go out of hand. Heidegger said, "Everything depends on our
manipulating technology in the proper manner as a means. We will, as we say, ‘get’
technology 'spiritually in hand'. We will master it. The will to mastery becomes the
more urgent the more technology threatens to slip from human control." (Heidegger,
1977, p.1) With this, he argued that the problem does not fall on making technology
better but on how man sets upon technology, his thoughts that makes him blind to
the real essence of technology.

For Heidegger, this correct definition of technology is insufficient as it does not bring
out its real essence. He said, "In order that we may arrive at this, or at least come close

51
to it, we must seek the true by way of the correct. We must ask: What is the
instrumental itself? Within what do such things as means and end belong? (1977, p.2)
In answering these questions, Heidegger arrived at a discussion of causality which to
him in reality initially involves four ways that leads for something to exist or to be
"caused".

Aristotle's Four Causes

Heidegger further studied Aristotle's Four Causes and illustrated it using a

silver chalice which he said owes it make up from the four
causes.

1. Causa Materialis or the Material Cause

The material by which the silver chalice was made of:

silver.

2. Causa Formalis or the Formal Cause

The form or the shape that gave the silver chalice its
image.

3. Causa Finalis or the Final Cause

The purpose or the primary use by which the silver chalice was made for: to be
used during the Holy Communion as a vessel for the wine that represents the blood
of Christ.

4. Causa Efficiens or the Efficient Cause

The agent that has caused for the silver chalice to come about: the silversmith.

The four causes are all deemed responsible for the bringing forth of the silver chalice.
This bringing forth of something is termed as poesies and this is Characterized by an
external force. It is bringing something concealed to concealment which then makes
technology as not only a means to an end but also a mode of revealing. The silver
chalice was brought forth by the silver, by its form, for its purpose, by the silversmith.
External factors have caused for the silver chalice to be brought forth.

On the other hand, something that came about without any external force, like
a flower blooming in the field or a tree bearing its fruit is termed physis. The flower
blossomed and the tree bore fruit even without external help.

52
Heidegger's Technology as a Way of Revealing

Heidegger believed that the genuine

substance or the real essence of technology is
found in unframing. This is the continuous
bringing forth into concealment that which
is concealed. This is a non-stop revealing.
Heidegger saw technology as a way of
revealing and continues to demand for
something to be brought out into the open.
This bringing forth into the open is a two-
way relationship: the concealed is calling out
for someone to set upon it and bring it to concealment and the one who receives the
call sets upon and acts upon to unconcealed the concealed.

To further illustrate this, he gave some

examples through contrasting ancient and
modern technology. First, he talked about the
ancient windmill which only relies on the wind
blowing and does not store energy while the
modern windmill unlocks the energy which can
be for immediate use and can also be stored up
for future use. Second, was about the peasant
planting seeds who only waits for the bringing
forth of the planted seed because there is no
challenge set upon the soil. Modern technology of cultivation on the other hand,
challenged the field that has caused for agriculture
to be revolutionized. Now, food is not only
produced for immediate use but can be stored as
well for future use and could cater more
population. Third, is about the wooded bridge that
is built to join river banks for hundreds of years
without challenge being set upon the river. While
on the other hand, the hydroelectric plant that was
set on Rhine River dammed the river into the
hydroelectric plant so that electrical energy can be
stored and distributed.

53
Because of this continuous revealing, Heidegger also pointed out the danger that
comes with technology. The call to unconcealed that which is concealed is also causing
something to be concealed even more. And as one tries to understand something,
there is the tendency to be closed to the counter part of which is being opened to him.
There is also tendency for man to misunderstand the thing that is being unconcealed
before him. Here, Heidegger calls for man to be more discerning and considerate of
the things that is being unconcealed before him and those that have relationship with
that thing being unconcealed.

The Mode of Revealing in modern Technology

Heidegger explained that technology as a mode of

revealing does not stop and continues to be seen in
modern technology but not in the bringing-forth
sense. This is a nonstop revealing, Modern
technology is revealed by challenging nature, instead
of bringing forth, it is setting upon challenge or
demands on nature in order to:

Unlock and expose. It carries the idea that nature

will not reveal itself unless challenge is set upon it. This is true with the hydroelectric
plant set upon the Rhine River which unlocked the electricity concealed in it.

Stock piles for future use. As technology is a means to an end, it aims to meet
future demands. The electricity produced by the hydroelectric plant set upon the
Rhine River is being stored for future use in the community.

Modern technology is now able to get more from nature by challenging it. As
Heidegger (1977) said, “Such challenging happens in that energy concealed in nature
is unlocked, what is unlocked is transformed, what is transformed is stored up, what
is stored up is in turn distributed, and what is distributed is switched about ever
anew" (p. 5).

The Essence of Technology

The continuous revealing takes place as man allows himself to be an agent in

the setting upon of challenges to nature but Heidegger (1977) argues that this is not
mere human doing. Man is able to set upon which was already unconcealed as he
responds to the call of concealment but "when man, investigating, observing, pursues
nature as an area of his own conceiving, he has already been claimed by a way of

54
revealing that challenges him to approach nature as an object of research, until even
the object disappears into the object lessness of standing reserve (p. 6)."

This gathering of the setting-upon which challenges man to bring the

unconcealed to concealment is called enframing with which according to Heidegger,
also shows the essence of modern technology. Enflaming is basically putting in order
whatever is presented to the man who sets upon the unconcealed but it is a two-way
relationship:

man cannot set himself upon concealment without concealment’s call and the
unconcealed will not go into concealment without the man responding to its call. This
makes modern technology not a mere human doing and with this Heidegger argued
that the essence of technology lies in unframing.

The Danger of the Nonstop Revealing

As said earlier, the mode of revealing does not stop in modern technology. It
continually calls man to respond to what is presented to him or to the demand for a
better and efficient means to an end. With this comes the continuous challenging forth
for the unconcealed to be unconcealed even more. Here lies the danger that Heidegger
talked about.

Revealing opens up a relationship between man and the world but an opening
up of something means a closing down of something which means as something is
revealed, another is concealed. An example given by Heidegger on this "the rise of a
cause-effect understanding of reality closes off an understanding of God as something
mysterious and holy: God is reduced to 'the god of the philosophers'" (Cerbone, 2008).

Another danger is when man falls into a misinterpretation of that which is

presented to him. That is when he sees himself in the object before him rather than
seeing the object itself. There is also the tendency for man to be fully engrossed with
the enframing that he fails to weigh the results and consequences of his setting upon
an object which may be destructive not only to himself but even to the surroundings
and other people. This happens when he starts to believe that everything in the human
condition can be answered by technology and that even man's happiness is dependent
on the continuous modernization of technology.

THE SOCIETY IN THE FACE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

When one looks around him now, he will see that man tends to find his
happiness in the works of modern technology. Smart phones, tablets, laptops that
come in different shapes and sizes with distinct features seem to be the measure of

55
man's value. Social media has also affected the life of many. Face to face social
interactions are being lessened and people keep working hard to update their gadgets.
There seems to be no contentment as every time a new product is released, man finds
another need that can only be answered by a new product. These new products also
tend to replace man in the society as the demand for manual labor is becoming less
and less because of the availability of machineries.

This human condition is not of without hope. Heidegger argued that this can
be prevented if man will not allow himself to be overwhelmed with the enframing
that he was set upon, but he pauses for a while and reflect on the value of what is
presented before him. A balance has to be struck between technology being
instrumental and anthropological. One has to understand that technology does not
only concern the means but also the end as one proverb goes, "The end does not justify
the means." For Heidegger, the solution for this is that man would not be controlling
and manipulative of what he was set upon but to also allow nature to reveal itself to
him. With this, according to Heidegger, man will have a free relationship with
technology.

REFERENCE:

Bautista, D. H. S., Burce, N. S., Garcia, C. S., Imson, J. B., Labog, R. A., Salazar, F. J. B.,
& Santos, J. L. (2018). Science, Technology and Society. MaxCor Publishing House, INC.

THE GOOD LIFE

Outline:

➢ The Concept of Being Good

➢ The Good Life

Learning Outcomes:

At the end of this chapter, students should be able to:

1. describe what good life is; and

2. examine shared concerns that make up the good life considering ethical
standards in order to determine appropriate decisions to contemporary
issues.

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 Content

"What do you want out of life?" is an interesting question posed by Mark Manson
that everyone could probably answer in the simplest common way: “I want to be happy
and have a great family and a job I like". As discussed in previous chapter, Aristotle's
view that the ultimate goal of man is to flourish, that is, to find happiness. Martin
(2012) defined happiness as loving one's life and valuing it in ways manifested by
sufficient enjoyment and a robust sense of meaning. Achieving happiness and man's
own desire and needs commonly gives essence for living a good life. In particular,
moral decency and goodness, authenticity, mental health, self-fulfillments, and
meaningfulness describes it.

On the other hand, the concept of how good life would be, depends in the
personal decision of man. It is evident in our modern society that man's personal
decision and ideas- idea of progress, happiness, beliefs, expectations, attitudes and
feelings- are directly affected by convenience and benefits brought about by science
and technology. (Dotson, 2012) Every human being aspires to live a good life.
Conversely, man's idea of "good life" differs in many dimensions.

THE CONCEPT OF BEING GOOD

The term "good" is commonly used interchangeably with the term
"right". Traer (2007) explained that the adjectives good and right are
related in meaning, but are not synonyms. It makes no sense to speak of
a "right person" when we mean a "good person; or the right action as a
meaning for good action. How can we differentiate the two term then?

DUTY

RIGHT ACTION

RIGHTS

Taking the right action means correctly applying a norm, premise,

presupposition, rule, standard, or law. This explains that the term "right"
reasons are being used to justify the principle and its application.

57
Being good involves having the character and personal qualities that were justified by
reason as having moral worth. (Traer, 2007) Morals refer to an individual’s own
principles regarding right and wrong.

In Aristotelean view, "the understandability of the good is based on the idea of

what is good for the specific entity under consideration". As Younkins (n.d.)
expounded, that this view of Aristotle states that the good is what is good.

For Aristotle, the good is what is good for purposeful, goal-directed entities. He
defines the good proper to human being as the activities in which the life functions
specific to human beings are most fully realized.

It acknowledges the fact that human being is endowed with his own rational
mind and free will. Timbreza (2008), as elucidated by Gripaldo (2013), explained that
in natural technician’s view, "good is that which is suitable to and proper for human
nature. Whenever it is not proper for human nature, it is bad and must be avoided."
Acting rightly means doing the right thing based on the voice of conscience,
otherwise, feeling of guilt, self-reproach, and remorse will be felt. It

follows that a person, as a human being, has his own consciousness of function,
survival, and means of having the life he envisioned.

Thus, considering the aspect of human nature, the term "good' denotes a more
objective meaning of "a state or way of being"

THE GOOD LIFE

The meaning of this term up to present times remains vague. Wise men of the
past argued with the nature and prerequisites of the good life. Similarly, questions
such as, "Is a meaningful life also a happy one?" and "Is living with happiness means
living a good life?" are still part of the debates even of the philosophers.

Socrates declared that, "the unexamined life is not worth living for", the idea of
worthwhile living should be filtered with experience and vice versa. Aristotle, being
the student of Socrates, viewed the good life as a life of relationships. It is the nature
of man to seek good life with and for others rather than experiencing it by himself.
Aristotle further elucidated the idea of relating the essence of happiness to achieving
well-being and experiencing good life. In relation to psychological foundations, Steve
Mueller (2016), the founder of Planet of Success defined the term as:

…a (desirable) state that is primarily characterized by a high standard of living

or the adherence to ethical and moral laws...As such, the term can both be understood

58
as the quest for wealth, material possessions or luxuries and the quest to create a
worthwhile, honest and meaningful existence. (Paragraph 5)

Martin Heidegger, an existentialist philosopher, also has a different view on

the aspect of life. He dealt more on how we live an "authentic life" rather dealing with
the "good life". For Heidegger, living an authentic life means living with deep
acceptance on the facticity of "death" and resulting to a "life lived according to what
it has clearly decided as its meaning and purpose". (Corpuz, B.; Corpuz,R,; Corpuz-
Paclibar M.L.; Paclibar, S. (2016).

These declarations and definition of good life somehow establishes the idea of
asking, "How to attain meaningful existence?" which will cyclically route to asking for
the meaning of good life. Despite the fact that philosophers dealt with these questions
for many years, modern world tend to answer the problem of what constitutes the
good life through modern science. Various scientific disciplines have devised
empirical methods for assessing subjective states of happiness and well-being and
providing innovative and advanced technology which promotes happy and
meaningful life for modern society.

No one can deny the

fact that science and
technology have a
profound impact on
how modern man
thinks and appreciates
matter. It can be
concretely seen in the
present conditions of
man in the society. The
desire to feel satisfaction of research and development through genetic engineering,
cloning, and the likes opened endless doors for skeptics. The unending desire for
perfection of altering human condition and productivity, which is somehow
questionable, continues to flourish. In addition, the introduction of cybernetics and
nanotechnology which are considered to be the pillars for the success of harmonizing
the function of machines and living organisms exposed the idea of achieving precise
and accurate function through it. Lastly, the promotion of wireless technology
revolutionized the way how humans communicate and interact. These are just some
of the conditions which suggested material things and continuous path towards
achieving indefinite level of happiness and good living.

59
 On the other hand, man's varied ethical foundations may also differentiate the
idea of good life. Some may define it through attaining pleasure (hedonism); others
may relate it to peace of mind through minimizing desires and passions (stoicism)
and some views are based on professing moderate pleasure, which for them,
"anything that is taken in excess is bad" (epicureanism). (Timbreza, 2013)

Thus, it's up to the various intellectual traditions, perspective or ethical

preferences on what the so-called good life is. And the question, "What good life is?
remains a question for everyone.”

REFERENCE:

Bautista, D. H. S., Burce, N. S., Garcia, C. S., Imson, J. B., Labog, R. A., Salazar, F. J. B.,
& Santos, J. L. (2018). Science, Technology and Society. MaxCor Publishing House, INC.

WHEN TECHNOLOGY AND HUMANITY CROSS

Outline:

➢ Advantages, Disadvantages, and Limitations of Technology

➢ Humanity

➢ Policies and Technological Advancement

➢ Ethical Dilemmas

Learning Outcomes:

At the end of this chapter, students should be able to:

1. rationalize the advantages, disadvantages, and limitation of applying

technology to humanity.

2. Identify and examine international/local government policies and human

rights that protect the well-being of the person in the face of new
technologies; and

3. Discuss some examples of ethical dilemmas and conflicts wherein

technology affects humanity in terms of moral issues and social conflicts.

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CONTENT

What is technology? What is humanity? Our world is truly entering a period

of transformative modification that most people will be surprised by the measure and
unavoidable step of developments that we merely had not expected. There are so
many inquiries regarding the positive and negative effects, limitations of
developments and the ethical dilemmas thaw we will face in the future.

In order to find the answer to these questions, we have to be able to understand and
rationalize what is humanity, the human nature, and its condition, the ethics that will
and should govern each application of technology to humanity. It also requires an
understanding that these technological advances offer tremendous potential, and
with these technological advances offer tremendous potential, and with these
opportunities come tremendous new responsibilities.

Technology, a word with Greek roots, is defined as, “the practical application of
knowledge especially in a particular area” by Merriam-Webster. Technology is a word
used to define or portray the progressions, abilities, creations, happenings,
interpretations, and knowledge of a singular group of persons and as humans we
execute certain functions for man and society.

Technology is the external part of science and to understand technology,

academic or internal science shall be treated like a black box. The inner workings are
no importance at the moment for as long as they are responding to the needs of
technology.

What is primary purpose of technology to humanity?

This chapter will enumerate multiple advancement in technology and an

assessment of its potential impacts and its implications to humanity this will serve as
an Assessment guide in our decision-making that will change, shape, and transform
the future’s human nature in adapting ever changing evolution of technological
advances.

Advantages, Disadvantages, and Limitations of Technology

Importance of Technology to Humanity

To learn the importance of technology in our everyday lives, it shows that

technology has profound impact on every aspect of lives. The way we live,
communicate, and interact changes through technology in the different fields of
education, medicine, transportation, economy, communications, and politics. This

61
chapter will provide you a clear picture of this impact and highlight the negative and
positive aspects as well as its limitations.

Advantages of Technology

1. Life has become easy through science and technology.

2. Travelling has become faster than before.

3. Communication becomes easier, faster and cheaper.

4. Innovations in technology increased the standard living.

5. Using various technology, man become advanced.

6. The impossible have become possible due to the progress in science and
technology.

7. Science and technology made a lot of things easy to do and comfortable for
man.

Disadvantages of Technology

1. Human had misused the technology and used in damaging purpose.

2. By the use of technology, man is doing illegal things.

3. New technology like mobile are generating bad consequences on children.

4. By means of modern technology, terrorists use it for destructive purpose.

5. Many illnesses are created due to the development of atomic energy and atom
bomb.

6. Modern technology like nuclear energy have not only affected man but it also
affected plants and other creatures.

7. Natural beauty is decreasing due to the development of modern technology.

Limitations of Technology to Humanity

According to Booch (2003), Technology has many advantages to humanity. One

cannot live without these advancements but there are certain limitations as to what
humanity can apply it to almost everything they do. Technology is the application of
the laws of the theory in science, to discuss its limitations, one need to answer these
questions: Is there a specific limitation in these Technological Advancement? Or can

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Humanity limit the use of these technology? These are the factors that define the limits
of technology:

1. The laws of physics

2. The laws of software

3. The challenge of algorithms

4. The difficulty of distribution

5. The problems of design

6. The problems of functionality

7. The importance of organization

8. The impact of economics

9. The influence of politics

The Laws of Physics

Software, Quantum effects, and Thermodynamic plays an important role when it

comes to the law of physics and technology. Software is a flexible medium.
Specifically, the speed of light is a given, and that fact has practical implications for
throughout systems. Quantum effects have theoretical and practical limits to
information capacity: you cannot store more memory than there are numbers of
elementary particles in the universe. Thermodynamic effects happen when the
containers that will dissipate heat, that limits the use of technology.

The Laws of Software and Algorithms

Fundamental laws of software: An example of software limitations is when there is a

given computation, there are times we can't do it, and there are times we can't afford
to do it, and sometimes we just don't know how to do it (these categories and their
examples come from David Harel's delightful book, Computers, Ltd.).Limitations for
algorithms is that there are also certain classes of problems that are on a reasonable
algorithm: data compression and photorealistic which renders two such problems like
theoretical limits of compressing an image, a waveform, video, or some raw stream of
bits, some degree of information loss, hairy mathematics, some trial and error, lack of
perfect knowledge adds complexity and compromise to our systems.

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The Difficulty of Distribution

Leslie Lamport an American computer scientist who observed, "A distributed system
is one in which the failure of a computer you didn't even know 'existed can render
your computer unusable." Building distributed systems is only moderately harder
than building a non-distributed one, but it is decidedly not, because the reality of the
real world intrudes. Peter Deutsch is an American politician who noted that there are
eight fallacies of distributed computing: we'd like to believe that these are all true, but
they are definitely not.

The Problems of Design

The design of any relevant Web-centric system consists of tens of thousands of lines
of custom code on top of hundreds of thousands of lines of middleware code on top
of several million lines of operating system code. William Occam, a 14th-century
logician and Franciscan friar stated, “Entities should not be multiplied unnecessarily."
Isaac Newton an English physicist & mathematician projected Occam's work into
physics by noting, "We are to admit no more causes of natural things than such are
both true and sufficient to explain their appearances." Put in contemporary terms,
physicists often observe, “When you have two competing theories which make
exactly the same predictions, the one that is simpler is the better." Finally, Albert
Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist declared that "Everything should be
made as simple as possible, but not simpler."

The Problems of Functionality

Brooks writes: To consider the requirements, functionality, and non-functionality of a

machine-like multi-engine aircraft, a cellular phone, or an autonomous robot, has
these limitations such as usability, survivability, and adaptability has these
unrestrained, potentially contradictory, external requirements are too complexity to
design.

The Importance of Organization

According to Booch (2003), No one person can ever understand such a system
completely. It demands that we use a team of developers, and ideally, as small a team
as possible but software systems that drive an entire enterprise, one typically must
manage teams of teams, each of which may be geographically distributed from one
another. More developers mean more complex communication and hence more
difficult coordination, particularly if the team is geographically dispersed. With a

64
team of developers, the key management challenge is always to maintain a unity and
integrity of design.

The Impact of Economics

Technological Advancement costs money. According to Barry Boehm (1981), in his

classic work on: Software Engineering Economics, based upon 20 years of empirical
evidence, concludes that the performance of a project can be predicted according to
the following equation:

Performance = (Complexity**Process) * Team * Tools

Where:

Performance means effort or time

Complexity means volume of human-generated code

Process means maturity of process and notation

Team means skill set, experience, and motivation

Tools means software tools automation

From this equation, we can observe that the complexity of a system can either be
amplified by a bad process or dampened by a good process and that the nature of a
team and its tools are equal contributors to the performance of a project.

The Influence of Politics

Investment in software development is the key to success, the political organization

can influence its progress and its limitations. Great things could have provided if the
influence in politics are on a positive side.

HUMANITY

Humanity is the human race, which includes everybody on earth. It is also a term for
the qualities that make us human, such as the capacity to love, to sympathize, to be
creative, and not to be a robot or alien.

Humanity is from the Latin word "humanitas" which means "human nature, kindness."
Humanity comprises all the humans, also refer to the kind of emotions humans
frequently feel for each other. But when people talk about humanity, it is talking about
people as a whole. When people do wrong things, it challenges your faith in
humanity. When people request for money to help feed hungry children, they are
appealing to the sense of humanity.

65
The human race or the humaneness, the quality of life or state of being, its attributes
and qualities of being a human being. Humankind is highly dependent on technology.
With the development and constant technological changes, humans change their way
of life to improve standards in life.

In this chapter, we can see how humanity changed due to technological advancement,
in terms of medical and health care, communication, agriculture, and education.
Today, humanity is advanced. Humans have come a long way from the cave but how
far can they still go? Is there a limit to technological progress? What does this mean
for humanity's distant future? The answer to that is: As part of these technological
advancement, it hinges on the longevity of human species. To advance far ahead in
science and technology and the wisdom to use these, human beings need time.

The history of life on earth is a history of extinction. Despite that there is advancement,
human beings are STILL quite vulnerable to both nature and to themselves as human
beings. To measure how advance the human beings, it is relatively linked to the ability
of the human being to avoid extinction. According to Sagan, (2004) today is a period
where he called it "technological adolescence". Human beings are still delivering
technological advancement and it all depends on how wisely they will use these
"technological advancement", to reach into a mature human being with a reasonable
chance of reaching and enjoy the quality of life until old age. Sagan also stated that he
is worried that human being will likely to mature fast enough to escape the
destruction by the own hands of human beings.

The capabilities of human beings in terms of technology will depend on how they can
improve the quality of life. Nobody can say for sure how will it affect the. humanity
but with its benefits - it does look hopeful, and when the human beings got to that
state of advancement, there are still quite a lot left to invent.

Life of humanity has become easy through technology and still progressing through
continuous invention, thus improving the quality of life, and surprising themselves
in ways that they can never imagine before.

The two roads to take in humanity are ascension of all mankind and the other is a complete and
total destruction.

POLICIES AND TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENT

Unites States of America

According to the US, Industrial Competitiveness, and Technological Advancement

article in 2012: U.S industry technological advancement frequently has been

66
reinforced by congressional initiatives over the past 30 and more. Direct measures that
concern budget outlays and the provision of services by government and indirect
measures that include financial incentives and legal changes.

However, many of these efforts have been revisited over the past several congresses.
Congressional legislation seems to have preferred indirect strategies such as tax
policies, intellectual property right protection, and antitrust laws to promote
technological advancement and government support for basic research over direct
federal funding for private sector technology commercialization initiatives. From:
Industrial Competitiveness and Technological Advancement Debate over
Government Policy, page 2, by Wendy H. Schacht, December 3, 2012.

Increase in economic growth in the contribution to the creation of new goods, new
services, new jobs, and new capital is because of the advances in technology.
Technology application can improve productivity and quality of products. The
development and use of technology also play a vital role in determining patterns of
international trade by affecting the comparative advantages of industrial sectors.
Since technological progress is not necessarily determined by economic conditions
but can be influenced by advances in science. The organization and management of
firms, and government activity can have effects on trade independent of changes in
macroeconomic factors. New technologies also help reward for possible
disadvantages in the cost of capital and labor handled by firms.

Canada, USA, North, and South America to Europe and Asia-Pacific

The origins of Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development OECD' is

date back to 1960, when 18 European countries, United States, and Canada merged to
create an organization dedicated to economic development.

Today there are 35 countries that are members around the world, from North and
South America to Europe and Asia-Pacific. They include many of the world's most
advanced countries as well the emerging economies like Mexico, Chile, and Turkey.

Scientific developments and technological changes are important drivers of current

economic performance. The ability to create, distribute, and exploit. knowledge has
become a big source of competitive advantage, wealth creation and improvements in
the quality of life. Some features of this transformation are the growing impact of
information and communications technologies (ICT) on the economy and on society;
the rapid application of new scientific advances in new products and processes; a high
rate of innovation across OECD countries; a change to more knowledge-intensive
industries and services; and rising skill requirements.

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Philippines

According to the Research and Development and Technology in the Philippines,

Industrial strategy: The technology market is facing crisis since the economic
environment of the developing countries are opposing technology-based institutions.
Thus, the Philippines is taking actions in reforming the technology market by focusing
on 23 industries as priority areas.

The Philippines can follow the technological innovation strategies imposed by Japan
and South Korea. With synchronize and consistent overall industrial strategy, the
Philippines can move up to economic reforms. Government should also focus on
expansion of manpower, infrastructure, incentives, and research institutions to assist
the growth of this system.

ETHICAL DILEMMAS

The control over nature and the control of other people by the use of technology is
completely another story. Science and technology as well as research and
development enjoy and must continue to enjoy autonomy from the state and society.
They may draw inspiration from them, but they are not necessarily determined and
directed by them. However, the application, use and distribution of technology
require ethical standards and even legal provisions set by the local and international
government

Technology permeates every aspect of human life and activity. Inevitably, ethics will
also evolve into a burning, un-ignorable issue for every individual and organization.
At present, we do not have common global ethics to technological advancement to
discuss different issues, let alone agreement or accepted legal rights and
responsibilities.

The most important question of the century is: What will be our ethics be? Some of
the vexing worries about the coming age of mechanically – enhanced thought is: Are
there "win-win ways to gain the advantages without sacrificing our humanity? Can
we bio-minds teach newer kind of ethics? Is it time to regulate mass technology
application? Do we need to mainstream in our media, our schools, our locals, and
international government to simply face the numerous ethical, economic, social, and
biological issues in application of technology?

The ethical dilemmas and policy issues for 2015 (presented in no particular order) are:

1. Real-time satellite surveillance video

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2. Astronaut bioethics (of colonizing Mars)

3. Wearable technology

4. State sponsored hacktivism and "soft war

5. Enhanced pathogens

6. Non-lethal weapons

7. Robot swarms

8. Artificial life forms

9. Resilient social-ecological systems

10. Brain-to-brain interfaces

Real-Time Satellite Surveillance Video

What if Google Earth offered you real-time images instead of a snapshot 1-3 years
old? Companies such as Planet Labs, Skybox Imaging (recently purchased by Google),
have launched lots of satellites in the last year with the purpose of recording the status
of the entire earth in real time. The satellites themselves are getting cheaper, smaller
and more sophisticated (with resolutions up to 1 foot) than before. Commercial
satellite companies make this data available to the corporations (or, potentially,
private citizens with enough cash), letting customers to see useful images of areas
handling with natural disasters and humanitarian emergencies, but also the data on
the comings and goings of private citizens.

How do we choose what should be observed and how frequent? Should we use this
information to solve criminalities? What is the possible for misuse by corporations,
governments, police departments, private citizens, or terrorists and other "bad
actors"?

Astronaut Bioethics (Of Colonizing Mars)

The colonization of Mars and plans for long-term space missions are already ongoing.
On December 5, NASA launched the Orion spacecraft and NASA Administrator
Charles Bolden declared it "Day One of the Mars era." The company Mars One (along
with Lockheed Martin and Surrey Satellite Technology) is preparing to launch a
robotic mission to Mars in 2018, with succeeding humans in 2025. The 418 men and
287 women from around the world are presently competing for the four spots on the
first one-way human settlement mission. But as we watch with interest as this
clarifies, we might ask ourselves the following:

69
Is it moral to expose people to unknown levels of human separation and physical
danger (including exposure to radiation) for such a purpose? Will these pioneers lack
privacy for the rest of their lives so that we might watch what happens? is it moral to
consider a birth of child in space or on Mars? And, if so, who protects the rights of a
child not born on Earth and who did not consent to the risks? If we say no to children
in space, does that mean we sterilize all astronauts who volunteer for the mission?
Given the potential dangers of setting up a new colony strictly lacking in resources,
how would sick colonists be cared for? And beyond bioethics, we might ask how an
off- Earth colony would be administered.

Wearable Technology

We are presently involved to (literally and figuratively) multiple technologies that

monitor our behaviors. The development of dozens of bracelets and clip on devices
that monitor steps taken, activity levels, heart rate, etc., not to mention the advent of
organic electronics that can be layered, printed, painted, or grown on human skin has
led by the fitness tracking craze. Google is partnering with Novartis to create a contact
lens that monitors blood sugar levels in diabetics and leads the information to
healthcare providers. Wearables have the potential to teach us, protect our health, as
well as violate our privacy in any amount of ways.

State-Sponsored Hacktivism and 'Soft War'

"Soft war" is a concept used to explain rights and duties of insurgents (and even
terrorists) during armed struggle. Soft war incorporates tactics other than armed force
to achieve political ends. Cyber war and hacktivism could be tools of soft war, through
certain ways by states in inter-state conflict, as opposed to isolated individuals or
groups (like "Anonymous"). We already live in a state of low-intensity cyber conflict.

How do we fight back if these activities become more aggressive, damaging

infrastructure? Docs a nation have a right to defend itself against, or retaliate for, a
cyber-attack, and if so, under what situations? What if the aggressors are non-state
actors? If a group of Chinese hackers launched an attack on the US, does that give the
US government the right to react against the Chinese government? In a soft war, what
are the circumstances of self- defense? May that self- defense be preventative? Who
can be attacked in a cyber-war? We've already perceived operations that hack into
corporations and steal private citizens' data. What's to stop attackers from hacking
into our personal wearable devices? Are private citizens attacked by cyber warriors
just another form of collateral damage?

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Enhanced Pathogens

White House suspended research on October 17, 2014 that would enhance the
pathogenicity of viruses such as influenza, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)
and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) (often referred to as gain-of-function
(GOF research). Gain-of-function research, in itself, is not detrimental; in fact, it is
used to provide vital understandings into viruses and how to treat them. But when it
is used to increase mammalian transmissibility and virulence, the altered viruses pose
serious security and biosafety risks.

Non-Lethal Weapons

Primarily it may seem ridiculous that kinds of weapons that have been around since
WWI and not designed to kill could be an evolving ethical or policy dilemma.
Considering the recent development and production of non-lethal weapons such as
laser missiles, blinding weapons, pain rays, sonic weapons, electric weapons, heat
rays, disabling malodor ants, as well as the use of gases and sprays in both the military
and domestic police forces (which are often the beneficiaries of older military
equipment). These weapons may not kill then again, there have been fatalities from
non-lethal weapons), but they can cause serious pain, physical injuries, and long term
health costs (the latter has not been fully investigated).

Robot Swarms

Harvard University researchers newly created a group of 1000 robots, capable of

communicating with each other to perform simple tasks such as ordering themselves
into shapes and patterns. No human intervention is required in these "kilobots"
beyond the original set of instructions and work together to complete tasks. These tiny
bots are based on the group behavior of insects also can be used to perform
environmental cleanups or answer to disasters where humans fear to tread. The
concept of driverless cars also relies on this system, where the cars themselves would
communicate with each other to obey traffic laws and transport people safely to their
destinations.

Should we be worried about the ethical and policy consequences of letting robots
work collected without human interference? if a robot malfunctions and causes harm
what will happen? Who would be blamed for such an accident? What if tiny swarms
of robots could be set up to spy or sabotage?

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Artificial Life Forms

Research on artificial life forms is a range of synthetic biology focused on custom-

building life forms to address specific purposes. Announced by Craig Venter and
colleagues the first synthetic life form in 2010, made from a present organism by
introducing synthetic DNA. Synthetic life allows scientists to study the origins of life
by building it rather than breaking it down, but this technique blurs the line between
life, and machines, and scientists foresee the ability to program organisms. The ethical
and policy issues surrounding innovations in synthetic biology renew concerns raised
previously with other biological breakthroughs and includes safety issues and risk
factors connected with releasing artificial life forms into the environment.

Making artificial life forms has been deemed "playing God" because it allows
individuals to create life that does not exist naturally. Gene patents have been a
concern for several years now and synthetic organisms suggest a new dimension of
this policy issue. While customized organisms may one day cure cancer, they may
also be used as biological weapons.

Resilient Social-Ecological Systems

Resilient social and ecological systems is what we need to build. Tolerantly being
pushed to an extreme while maintaining their functionality either by returning to the
earlier state or by operating in a new state. Resilient systems endure external
pressures such caused by climate change, natural disasters, and economic
globalization. A resilient electrical system is able to stand extreme weather events or
regain functionality quickly afterwards is an example. A resilient ecosystem can
maintain a complex web of life when one or more organism is over exploited. The
system is stressed by climate change.

To what way is it the responsibility of the federal government to assure that civil
infrastructure is resilient to environmental changes? When individuals act in their
self-interest, there is the unique possibility that their individual actions fail to
maintain infrastructure and processes that are essential for all of society. This can lead
to what Garret Hardin in 1968 called the "tragedy of the commons." in which many
individuals ranking rational decisions based on their own interest undermine the
collective's best and long-term interests. To what extent is it the responsibility of the
federal government to enact regulations that can prevent a "tragedy of the commons"?

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Brain-to-Brain Interfaces

It's no Vulcan mind meld, but brain-to-brain interfaces (BBI) have been achieved,
allowing for direct communication from one brain to another without speech. The
interactions can be between humans or between humans and animals. In 2014,
University of Washington researchers performed a BBI experiment that allowed a
person command over another person about half a mile away, the goal being the
simple task of moving their hand (communication so far has been one - way in that
one person sends the commands and the other receives them). Using an
electroencephalography (EEG) machine that detects brain activity in the sender and a
transcranial magnetic stimulation coil that controls movement in the receiver we've
achieved a BBI twice - this year scientists also transmitted words from brain-to-brain
across 5,000 miles.

The ethical issues are countless. What kind of neuro security can we put in place to
protect individuals from having accidental information shared or removed from their
brains (especially by hackers)? If two individuals share an idea, who is entitled to
claim ownership: Who is responsible for the actions devoted by the recipient of a
thought if a separate thinker is dictating the actions?

WHY DOES THE FUTURE NOT NEED US?

Outline:

• Human and Society

• Relation of Technology with Humanity

• How Technology Is Transforming the Human Experience

• Post Humanity Theory

Learning Outcomes:

At the end of this chapter, students should be able to:

1. rationalize the human experience in order to strengthen and enlighten the

human functioning in society; and

2. Identify and examine what the future of humanity and the future of
technology.

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Content

Experience of human in technology? Where are we now? Wearable technology.

Sensors all over the place. We have now the power to monitor, in real time, just about
everything, giving it to these new trends. We can improve every aspect of our life --
from our health, our time, and various aspects of our family lives.

Human interests on technology allows them to expand the range of human

experiences. These are qualified experiences and what's more, they can share these
experiences with other human beings, injecting the technology into their lives, thus,
the future of technology is based on how the human will use it.

Technology, is a double-edged sword, like most human things, involving gain and
loss, also merit and demerit. It links us to those far away, but confuses us from those
that are close, and hospitals save lives, but takes them on battlegrounds. Most of all,
technology is a choice. We use it for our own reasons. As stated above, those people
want to monitor their every heartbeat and others do not.

But most significantly, what makes us incomparably better off is technology but, in
the end, the true value of technology is not about replacing human experience, but
mitigate its deficiencies

HUMAN AND SOCIETY

Most of the time in a simple hunter-gatherer society's human species life. Agrarian
societies advanced less than 5,000 years ago and it is only in the last 200 years that a
'modern' industrial society has come into being. Today this industrial society is
quickly converting into a global information society.

Is this societal progress a change for the better? There always been controversy over
this question, and presently the disagreement seems more intense than ever, possibly
for the reason that we are more conscious today that society is making. Because social
change is taking place at an ever-increasing rate. One of the issues in this current
debate is the quality-of-life in modern society. Progress optimists have confidence in
that we live better now than earlier generations, while pessimists’ question that life is
getting worse.

Technology and Humanity: A Positive Side

As the old saying goes, “NECESSITIES IS THE MOTHER OF INVENTION" i.e

necessities have a tendency to issue inventions as each invention is invaded with the
need of betterment and transmogrification.

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In a day there are newer and newer advances are happening. Technological change
has a large responsibility for many of the secular trends in such basic parameters of the
human condition as the size of the world population, life expectancy, education levels,
material standards of living, and the nature of work, communication, health care, war,
and the effects of human activities on the natural environment. Technology influences
other aspects of society and our individual lives in many direct and indirect ways,
including governance, entertainment, human relationships, and our views on
morality, mind, matter, and human nature.

Human history with a kind of directionality was provided by technological

development.

As technology advances, it backs the characteristics of every situation over and over
again. The age of automation is going to be the age of "Do it yourself".

The Positive View

• Material Standard of Living. Several achievements of modern society draw

through the idea that life is getting better. One is the unparalleled rise in the material
standard of living: the average citizen lives more easily now than kings did centuries
ago.

• Untimely Death is reduced. Another development that strikes the eye is the
unintended of an untimely death is greatly reduced; fewer people die in accidents,
epidemics, and murder. A number of social evils have been decreased, such as
poverty, inequality, ignorance, and oppression. A recent statement of this view can be
found in 'It's getting better all the time by Moore and Simon (2000).

• Improvement in Evolutionary View. This view of development is typically part of

an evolutionary view, in which society is seen as a human tool that is gradually
perfected. This idea established during the period of enlightenment in the 18th
century and lives today. The idea that we can progress society by ‘social engineering’
is part of this belief and forms the ideological foundation of many major
contemporary institutions, such as the welfare state and development aid
organizations. This journal of ‘Social Indicators Research’ roots in that movement.

•Reduced Suffering. This is a traditional religious view of earthly life as a phase of

penance awaiting paradise in the afterlife breaks the knowledge that life is getting
better. It deems the possibility to reduce suffering by creating a better world and
societal development seen to head in that way, be it with some ups and downs.

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These advancements are also together with the reduction in time, effort, and cost for
production of any material extending from the microchips to the state-of-the-art
automobiles or from the classy devices to the mega structures coupled with ease in
design and development

These developments also invigorate economic development as effective use of

technology. Reduces the material production cost and the above changes that produce
savings in the economy and lead to national development.

The Negative View

Problems and potentials often go hand in hand; problems can be twisted into
opportunities. Elements of the universe exhibits two faces, constructive side, and
destructive side.

Society had become more and more reliant on technology. So that we sometimes lack
the willingness to think before we act. We become intolerant if it takes more than a
second to download a copy of the morning newspaper. We expect instant response to
our email, and we expect someone to answer their cell phone whenever and wherever
we call.

Technology is making us so broken that cannot even find time to spend with close
friends. It would be shocking to know that people are in contact through chat and
online messaging though they are in the same city because they think it is faster and
more effective but they are forgot that meeting personally cannot be replace by online
chatting.

Science and technology gifts have been knowingly abused by the powerful humanity,
and time. There are natural side-effects of these gifts, but their deliberately misuse,
abuse, and cut weigh and evils of the side-effects, which could have been improved
or at least minimized to a large extent otherwise. Human greed, selfish interest, lack
of planning and myopic vision has all led to the abuse of science and technology.

• Contemporary Social Problems. Life is getting worse is typically fueled by concern

about contemporary social problems. One of the kind problems is deviant behavior,
such as criminality, drug use, and school refusal. Another group of problems seen to
lessen the quality of life such as social conflicts, labor disputes, ethnic troubles, and
political terrorism. The decline of the influence of the church, family and local
community are also seen to deprive the quality of life of modern people. A recent
statement of this view is found in Easterbrook (2003) ‘The progress paradox’.

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• Society Drifting away from Human Nature. This view of deterioration in often part
of the idea of society drifting away from human nature, because society has changed
a lot, while human nature has not. Not a piece of equipment, but rather an
uncontrollable force that presses humans into way of life that does not really fit them
in society view. The idea that life is getting poorer fits a long tradition of social
criticism and apocalyptic prophecies. In this view, paradise is lost and doubtful to be
restored.

According to Bill Joy's: "Why the Future Doesn't Need Us" from Wired Magazine Issue
8.04; Apr 2000: He said that:

The machines that do our work for us and will achieve immortality by downloading
ourselves into them is all about robotics. But Joy does not believe we will be human
after the downloads or the robots would be our kids. Genetic engineering will create
new crops, plants, and eventually new species including many variations of human
species. Joy has many fears about genetics but especially how easy it would be to mess
up and create some new epidemic. And nanotechnology has its "gray goo" problem-
self-replicating nanobots out of control.

So, it is the power of damaging self-replication in GNR that should give us pause. He
thinks we are on the edge of killing ourselves and this might be common to species
that reach the level of power and intelligence we have. He thinks it arrogant to design
a robot as a replacement species when we mess up with things.

The length of progress of nuclear weapons. The weapons were built and then a kind
of momentum happened leading, over ensuing decades, to a continual build up that
put us at the brink of nuclear disaster. Believes there is less than 50% chance of making
it thru the next century (I'm reading between the lines.). And solutions like moving
into space, nuclear defense shields, and nanotechnology shields won't work, since
every new defensive system simply brings on another round of offensive capability.
The side effects of defense shields may be as unsafe as what they were designed to
protect. Thus, the only truthful substitute I see is relinquishment.

There are few tell us not to open this Pandora's box, not to let our tech take control of
us. Especially since we have no plan and no control. We still have a chance to stop
chasing the course, but soon it will be late. We do have a guide for stopping all this
stuff to the arms race. We did begin to sign treatises and ban and reduce weapons
because we comprehended that we were all at risk. Confirmation of bans against GNR
will be difficult it is possible. GNR may bring happiness and immortality, but should
we risk the survival or the species for such goals? Like eternity, liberty, and equality

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are worthwhile goals but another utopian vision is based on fraternity (altruism.) For
an ethical basis for the future J looks to the Dalai Lama who advocates love,
compassion, and universal responsibility. It is not material development or the
pursuit of knowledge that will ultimately make us happy.

Joy continues to speak passionately for his position and thinks he may be morally
obliged to stop this [software dev] work. All of this leaves him not angry but at least
a bit unhappy. Henceforth, for me, progress will be somewhat bittersweet.

Relevance of the Issue

This discussion is not just some academic matter to be reasoned over in ivory towers:
it has profound policy implications. If modernization makes society less livable, we
should try to stop the process, or at least to slow it down. Conservatives have a strong
point in this case and can convincingly argue for restorative policies However, if
modernization tends to improve the quality-of-life, we better go along. which would
rather fit the liberal political agenda In the latter case there is also ground to further
modernization, which would support various reformist tendencies in advanced
nations and justifies missionary activities such as development aid' for under
developed nations.

Societal Collapse

There are several attempts to explain the society collapse. This includes the following
words: Gibbons' classic Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire also Joseph Tainter's
Collapse of Complex Societies, and Jared Diamond's more recent Collapse: How Societies
Choose to Fail or Succeed.

Tainter (1990), notes that societies need to protect certain resources such as food,
energy, and natural resources in order to sustain their populations. In their attempts
to solve this supply problem, societies may grow in complexity in the form of
bureaucracy, infrastructure, social class distinction, military operations, and colonies.
Sometimes, the marginal returns on these investments in social complexity become
unfavorable, and societies that do not manage to scale back when their organizational
overheads become too large finally face breakdown.

Diamond says that many past cases of societal collapse have elaborate environmental
factors such as deforestation and habitat destruction, soil problems, water
management problems, overhunting and overfishing, the effects of introduced
species, human population growth, and increased per- capita impact of people.

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Four new factors that may contribute to the collapse of present and future societies
was also suggested by him such as human-caused climate change, but also build-up
of toxic chemicals in the environment, energy shortages, and the full utilization of the
Earth's photosynthetic capacity. Diamond draws attention to the danger of creeping
normalcy, stating to the phenomenon of a slow trend being concealed within noisy
fluctuations, so that a detrimental outcome that occurs in small, almost unnoticeable
steps may be accepted or come about without resistance even if the same outcome,
had it come about in one sudden leap, would have evoked a vigorous response.

Different classes of scenarios involving societal collapse:

a. Local Societal Collapse:

Individual societies can collapse, but this is doubtful to have a determining effect on
the future of humanity if other advanced societies survive and take up where the
failed societies left off. All historical cases of collapse have been of this kind.

b. Global Societal Collapse:

We suppose new kinds of threat (e.g. nuclear holocaust or catastrophic changes in the
global environment) or the trend towards globalization increased interdependence of
different parts of the world and create a - vulnerability to human civilization as a
whole.

Assume that a global societal collapse was to occur. What happens next? If the
collapse is a nature that a new advanced global civilization can never be rebuilt, the
outcome would succeed as an existential disaster. Though, it is hard to think of a
reasonable collapse which the human species survives but makes it permanently
impossible to rebuild civilization.

Supposing, that a new technologically advanced civilization is eventually rebuilt,

what is the fate of this increasing civilization? Again, there are two possibilities. The
new civilization might neglect collapse; and in the succeeding! two sections we will
examine what could happen to a sustainable global civilization. Otherwise, the new
civilization collapses again, and the cycle repeats. If a sustainable civilization arises,
we reach the kind of situation that the following sections will discuss. Instead one of
the collapses leads to extinction, then we have the kind of scenario that was discussed
in the previous section. The remaining case that we face a cycle of indefinitely
repeating collapse and regeneration.

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Different Conclusions for Different Situations

There are many conceivable explanations why an advanced society might collapse,
only a subgroup of these explanations could probably account for an unending
pattern of collapse and regeneration. Cycle could not depend on some dependent
factor that would apply to some advanced civilizations and not others, or to a factor
that an advanced civilization would have a realistic chance of counteracting; for such
a factor were responsible, one would expect that the collapse-regeneration pattern
would at some point be broken when the right circumstances finally enabled an
advanced civilization to overcome the obstacles to sustainability.

The postulated cause for collapse could not be so powerful as to the cause of extinction
of the human species.

Humanity has progressed from the essence that separate from beasts: the mind has
the ability to reason. Reason is the ability to analyze, create, deduce, and formulate. It
is reason that allows human beings to strive and to invent; it is through invention that
mankind developed society and created better world

Technology now, we can say that it is the sum total of instrumentally useful culturally
transmissible information

Technology a term with Greek origins, is defined as "the practical application of

knowledge especially in a specific part". Technology sued to collectively describe
portray the advancements, abilities, creations, undertakings, views, and knowledge
of a singular group of persons we as humankind.

RELATION OF TECHNOLOGY WITH HUMANITY

When we talk about the relationships between technology and humanity it is obvious
that we have to deal with the interrelations between a very complex phenomena:
technology, science, society, and systems of rights of a universal nature. A large
number of powerful energy sources-coal, petroleum, electricity etc. have enabled
humanity to conquer the barriers of nature as part of discovery and development. All
this has facilitated the growth of fast modes of transports, which in turn has
transformed the world into a global village.

The Future of Humanity

What was dissimilar in the 20 century? Surely, the technologies underlying the
Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) - Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical (NBC) -
were powerful weapons had an enormous risk. But building nuclear weapons!

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required, at least for a time, access to both rare - indeed, effectively unavailable raw
materials and highly protected information; biological and chemical weapons
programs also inclined to require large-scale activities.

Technologies in the 21" century such as Genetics, Nanotechnology, and Robotics

(GNR) - are so powerful that they can spawn whole new classes of accidents and
abuses. Most dangerous for the first time are these accidents and abuses. These are
widely seen within the reach of individuals or small groups. They will not require
large facilities or rare raw materials. Knowledge alone will allow the use of them.

Therefore, we have the possibility not only to those weapons of mass destruction but
also to those knowledge and enabled mass destruction (KMD), this destructiveness
hugely amplified by the power of self-replication.

Plateau mentions that two possible paths depicts for the future of humanity, one
representing an increase followed by a permanent plateau, the other representing
stasis at (or close to) the current status quo.

STATIC VIEW

Implausible is the static view. It would imply that we have just arrived at the final
human condition even at a time when change is exceptionally fast.

The static view would also imply a radical break with numerous trends.

a. If the economy of the world continues to raise at the same pace as in the last half
century, at that time of 2050 the world will be seven times richer than it

is today:

b. Population of the world is predicted to increase over 9 billion in 2050, so

usual wealth would also increase vividly.

c. Additionally by 2100 the world would be almost 50 times richer than today.

A single modest-sized country might then have as much wealth as the entire world
has at the present.

Over the course of human history, doubling time of the world economy has been
extremely reduced on several occasions, such as agricultural transition and the
Industrial Revolution. Such transition should occur in this century, the world
economy might be numerous orders of magnitudes larger by the end of the century.

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Another purpose for conveying a low probability to the static view is that we can
foresee various specific technological advances that will give humans important new
capacities.

d. Virtual reality surroundings will constitute an increasing fraction of our

experience. The capability of recording, surveillance, biometrics, and data mining

technologies will grow, making it gradually feasible to keep track of where people go,
whom they meet, what they do, and what goes on inside

their bodies.

e. Among the most significant potential growth are ones that would enable

us to alter our biology directly through technological means. Interventions could

affect us more deeply than modification of beliefs, habits, culture, and education. If
we learn to control the biochemical processes of human senescence, healthy lifespan
could be radically prolonged. A person with the age-specific mortality of a 20-year-
old would have a life expectancy about a thousand years. The ancient but hither to
mostly useless quest for happiness could meet with success if scientists could develop
safe and effective methods of controlling the brain circuitry responsible for subjective
well-being.

f. Drugs and other neuro technologies could make it progressively feasible

for users to shape themselves into the kind of people they want to be by correcting
their personality, emotional character, mental energy, romantic attachments, and
moral character. Cognitive enhancements might deepen our intellectual lives.

g. Wide range consequences for manufacturing, medicine, and computing

came from nanotechnology.

h. Machine intelligence, is additional potential revolutionary technology.

i. Prediction markets might improve the capability of human groups to forecast

future developments, and other technological or institutional developments might

lead to new ways for humans to organize more effective institutional innovations.

The influences of these and other technological growths on the character of human
lives are hard to predict, but that they will have such impacts seems a safe bet. Those
who believe that developments such as those listed will not occur should consider

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whether their skepticism is really about ultimate feasibility or merely about
timescales. Some of these technologies will be difficult to develop.

Does that give us reason to think that they will never be developed Not even in 50
years? 200 years? 10,000 years? In the past, growths such as language, agriculture, and
Industrial Revolution may be said to have knowingly changed the human condition.
There are at least a thousand times more of us now; and with present world average
life expectancy at 67 years, we live possibly three times longer than our Pleistocene
ancestors.

The human being’s mental life has been transformed by developments such as
language literacy, urbanization, and division of labor, industrialization science,
communications, transport, and media technology.

Prediction of Artificial Intelligence

Good (1965). The idea of a technological singularity tied specifically to artificial

intelligence and stated:

"Let an ultra- intelligent machine be defined as a machine that can far surpass all the
intellectual activities of any man however clever. Since the design of machines is one
of these intellectual activities, an ultra-intelligent machine could design even better
machines, there would then unquestionably be an 'intelligence explosion, and the
intelligence of man would be left far behind. Thus, the first ultra-intelligent machine
is the last invention that man need ever make... It is more probable than not that,
within the twentieth century, an ultra-intelligent machine will be built."

Vernor Vinge elaborated the idea in the coming technological singularity, adjusting
the timing of Good's prediction:

"Within thirty years, we will have the technological means to create superhuman
intelligence. Shortly thereafter, the human era will be ended”

Technology and Its Usability

Technology future will be determined by its usability, its relevance to the needs future
and combined with the simplicity. Technology has evolved since 1990, a used to work
before can seem out aged by now. Year by year new technologies appear and it is up
to the users to hold and learn how to use these technologies in their everyday lives.

Technology has transformed the way we communicate, the way we travel, the way
we socialize, it makes the way easy to learn, it has changed our homes and lifestyles,
and it has formed many opportunities. Future technology will bring more

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opportunities to those who are willing to learn, how to use it, and exploit it to the
maximum.

Technology is good and it can change our society, but the way we use it will measure
if it is beneficial or not. Future technologies have to be planned to serve people and
society, and they have to be user friendly. The society has to use future technologies
with good intentions.

The design and use of future technology. Human have a unique capability of
imagining the impossible and creating new ideas and this will determine the type of
technology to be used tomorrow will determine through imagination and creative
thinking.

1. Computer technology future

2. Next generation wearable computer is HOLO

3. Watch technology upcoming

4. The forthcoming of home technology

5. The coming of classroom technology

HOW TECHNOLOGY IS TRANSFORMING THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE

The sci-fi genre has imagined all sorts of groundbreaking inventions, but reality holds
as many captivating examples of advance technology that is changing people's human
everyday lives which could impact them in the future. Technology is really
transforming the human experience, helping people to achieve things that would
have only been previously dreamt in fiction, though some of the new inventions
should potentially stay there.

a. Hearing colors/Hearing at Arm's Length

b. Eye-Camera/Smart Contact Lens/ Eyeball Jewelry Implant

c. Human compass

d. Password Pill

e. Electronic Throat Tattoo

f. Interaction with Devices

g. Robot Arm/Controlling Wheelchair

h. Bionic Limp

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i. Artificial Vision System

j. Terminator Arm/Titan Arm

k. USB finger/Mind Uploading

The New Pandora's Box - also known as "TECHNOLOGY"

The new Pandora's boxes of genetics, nanotechnology, and robotics are almost open,
yet we seen hardly to have noticed. Ideas can't be put back in a box, unlike uranium
or plutonium, they don't need to be mined and refined, and they can be freely copied.
Once they are out, they are out. Churchill remarked, in a famous left! handed
compliment, that the American people and their leaders "invariably do the right thing,
after they have examined every other alternative."

In this case, we must act more presciently to do the right thing at last may lose the
chance to do it at all. As Thoreau said. "We do not ride on the railroad it rides upon
us"; and this is what we must fight, in our time.

The question is, indeed, which is to be master? Will we survive our technologies?

According to Nick Bostrom (2004), there are four future scenarios for the Humanity
and Technology:

1. The extinction scenario perhaps the least affected by spreading the

timeframe of consideration. If humanity goes extinct, it stays extinct. The cumulative

probability of extinction increases monotonically over time. One argues, that the
current century or the next times, will be a critical phase for humanity, if we make it
through this period then the life expectancy of human civilization could become
extremely high. Several possible lines of argument would support this view. For
example, one might believe that super intelligence will be developed within a few
centuries, and that, while the creation of super intelligence will pose grave risks, once
that creation and its immediate aftermath have been survived, the new civilization
would have vastly improved survival prospects since it would be guided by super
intelligent foresight and planning. Furthermore, one might believe that self-sustaining
space colonies may have been established within such a timeframe, and that once a
human or post human civilization becomes dispersed over multiple planets and solar
systems, the risk of extinction declines. One might also believe that many of the
possible revolutionary technologies (not only super intelligence) that can be
developed within the next several hundred years; and these technological revolutions
are destined to cause existential disaster, they would already have done so by then.

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2. The recurrent collapse scenario becomes progressively unlikely the longer he
timescale, for reasons that are apparent from figure. The scenario assumes that
technological civilization will hesitate continuously within a relatively narrow band
of progress. If there is any chance that a cycle will either break through to the post
human level or plummet into extinction, then there is for each period a chance that
the oscillation will end. Unless the chance of such a breakout meets to zero at an
appropriately rapid rate, then with probability one the pattern will finally be broken.
At that point the pattern might degenerate into one of the other ones we have
considered.

3. The plateau scenarios are the recurrent collapse scenario in the level of

civilization is theorized to remain confined within a narrow range; and the longer the
timeframe considered, the smaller the probability that the level of technological
growth will remain within this range. But compared to the recurrent collapse pattern,
the plateau pattern might be thought to have a bit more staying power. The reason is
that the plateau pattern is reliable with a situation of complete motionlessness such as
result from the rise of a very stable political system, propped up by greatly increased
powers of surveillance and population control, and which for one reason or another
chooses to preserve its status quo. Such stability is inconsistent with the recurrent
collapse scenario.

4. The cumulative probability of post humanity, like extinction, increases

monotonically over time. Contrast to extinction scenarios there is a possibility that a
civilization that has achieved a post human condition will later return to a human
condition. The reasons paralleling those suggested earlier for the idea that the annual
risk of extinction will decline significantly after certain critical technologies have been
developed and after self-sustaining space colonies have been created, one might
maintain that the annual likelihood that a post human condition would revert to a
human condition will similarly decline over time.

POSTHUMANITY THEORY

A clarification of what has been referred to as "post human condition" is overdue. It

is used to mention to a condition which has at least one of the following features:

1. Population bigger than 1 trillion persons.

2. Larger than 500 years life expectancy.

3. Large fraction of the population has cognitive capacities more than two

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standard deviations over the present human maximum

4. Near-complete control over the sensory input, for the majority of people for

most of the time

5. Human psychological suffer become rare occurrence.

6. Any change of magnitude or profundity comparable to that of one of the

above.

Post humanity - is a theory/concept that is of an advance level of technological or

economic development that would involve a radical change in the human condition,
whether the change was brought by biological enhancement or other causes.

The Longer Term

The four families of scenarios we have considered such as extinction, recurrent

collapse, plateau, and post humanity, it could be controlled by varying the period
over hypothesized occur. A few hundred years or a few thousand years might already
be plenty time for the scenarios to have an opportunity to play themselves out. Yet
such an interval is a blip compared to the lifetime of the universe. Let us therefore
zoom out and consider the longer-term prospects for humanity.

They notice first is that the longer the time scale it is less likely technological
civilization will remain within the zone we termed "the human condition throughout.

The scenarios presented reveals how "human condition" is among all the possible
levels of organismic and technological development. The "human condition" will
reveal a much more of the larger picture.

Message to Humanity

It is needless to say that like any other aspect of development, the technological
development is similar to a double edge sword which on one side can kill someone
and on the other side can lead to one's own protection. However, the decision to use
it proficiently in proper perspective is one's own decision and choice.

If technological advancements are put in the best uses, it further inspires the
development in related and non-related areas but at the same time its negative use
can create havoc in the humanity or the world. Technology has and will change the
moral fabric of humanity; it is up to the present generation to heed this warning and
not allow such societal travesties of immense proportions ever to occur again.

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Technological advancements will continue to advance rapidly as we move into the
next millennium. What important is to ensure that these advances benefit humanity
as a whole...

REFERENCE:

Bautista, D. H. S., Burce, N. S., Garcia, C. S., Imson, J. B., Labog, R. A., Salazar, F. J. B.,
& Santos, J. L. (2018). Science, Technology And Society. MaxCor Publishing House,
INC.

BIODIVERSITY AND HEALTHY SOCIETY

Outline:

➢ What is Biodiversity

➢ The Importance of Biodiversity

➢ Threats to Biodiversity

➢ Earth’s Biodiversity Hot Spots

➢ Genetic Modified Organism

Learning Outcomes:

At the end of this chapter, students should be able to:

1. determine the interrelatedness of society, environment, and health;

2. identify human-caused species loss as one of the major current threats to

biodiversity;

3. define biodiversity hotspots and explain where most of the world’s

biodiversity hotspots are located; and

4. familiarize with Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs).

Content

WHAT IS BIODIVERSITY

Biodiversity, a condensed phrase of "biological diversity" is a multifaceted topic

covering many aspects of biological differences. Biodiversity supports all life on earth.
It is the variety of life forms at structural levels (genetic, species, and ecosystem). In a
broader view, it could be defined as "life on earth". Biodiversity can be defined as
follows:

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The measure of the number of species on the planet or in a specified area is called
Biodiversity (Clarke, 2013). It is the variation of living things making the world
beautiful and exciting place to live (Cunningham & Cunningham, 2013). It is the
variety of life on earth at all its levels, from genes to ecosystems, and the ecological
and evolutionary processes that sustain it (Bynum, 2012).

However, scientists made a clear description designed to embrace not only living
organisms and their complex interactions, but also interactions with the abiotic (non-
living) aspects of their environment. Over-all the greatest biodiversity is found in
tropical region and decreases as one moves towards the poles.

Biodiversity is More Than Just Species

Most people recognize biodiversity by species. Species are the building blocks of earth
that supports systems. Without species, there would be no air to breathe, no food to
eat, no water to drink. There would be no human society at all.

Three kinds of biodiversity are essential to preserve

ecological systems and functions: (1) genetic
biodiversity is a measure of the variety of versions
of the same genes within individual species; (2)
species biodiversity describes the number of
different kinds of organisms within individual
communities or ecosystems; and (3) ecological
biodiversity specifies the number of niches, trophic
levels, and ecological processes that capture, sustain
food webs and recycle materials within this system.

Species by the Numbers

Approximately 1.75 million different species have

been documented by scientists. These include
950,000 species of insects, 270,000 species of plants, 19.000 species of fish, 9,000 species
of birds, and 4,000 species of mammals. This figure only shows of a small percentage
of the total species on Earth. There are still millions yet to be classified and named.
(National Geographic Society). Insects and other vertebrates make up more than half
of all known species. Few of them are still unknown.

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THE IMPORTANCE OF BIODIVERSITY

Biodiversity is extremely important to people, society, and the health of the

ecosystems. It can aid ecosystem stability and because we rely on many different
organisms. A few of the reasons are:

• Biodiversity provides food and medicines

Plant and animal species make important contributions to human food supplies. Some
pharmaceutical products are derived from plants, animals, and microbes.

In an article of Montenegro
(2015), a newly discovered
PHL medicinal plant was
featured in honor of Pope
Francis.

Researchers from the

University of Sto. Tomas
discovered a new species
of flowering plant in the
central province of Hedyotis papafranciscoi
Antique. A team from
UST Graduate School and
Research Cluster for the
Natural and Applied
Sciences headed by Dr.
Grecebio Alejandro have
named the plant Hedyotis
papafranciscoi Alejandro,
sp. nov. In honor of Pope Francis
who visited the Philippines in 2015. The new plant has medicinal properties that the
researchers say could be used to treat cancer, fever, malaria, and rheumatism.

• No one do not know what kinds of undiscovered species may provide

medicine in the future.

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 • Biodiversity can aid ecosystem stability

Maintaining biodiversity can be

essential in existence of other
species and other ecological
functions.

In a documentary video of I-
Witness (July 2017), "Around 100
Philippine Crocodile (Crocodylus
Mindorensis) are left in the world.
Their disappearance is linked to the
destruction of Mangrove's Forest.
Crocodiles are important in the
river's ecosystem. Their excretions
fertilize the riverbeds. These helps
propagate planktons, which fishes
eat".

• Aesthetic and existence values are important

Nature appreciation is economically important. It provides job opportunities to local

communities. Nature-based activities like fishing, hunting, camping and hiking also
have cultural value. Contact with significance. nature can be emotionally uplifting.
For some, it has religious and moral significance.

THREATS TO BIODIVERSITY

Extinction the elimination of species, can be a normal process of the natural world as
species out-compete or kill off others or as environmental conditions change as during
the Ice Ages. In evolutionary history, extinctions are common. It also shows that
during there have been five mass extinction events. These are referred as “bottlenecks"
in biodiversity. These events have been documented by fossil records most of the
species that ever existed die out and are replaced by others, often by descendants as
part of evolutionary change.

Over the past 150 years, species are going extinct at an accelerated and dangerous rate
because of human activities. From a natural extinction rate of one to five per year, the

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extinction rate has increased to thousands per decade. Conservation biologists call
this as the "sixth mass extinction". But this time, it is not because of asteroids, ice age
or volcanoes, but human impact. Some of these activities have direct effects on species
and ecosystems.

E.O Wilson summarizes human threats to

biodiversity as HIPPO, which stands for

• Habitat destruction

• Invasive species

• Pollution

• Population of humans, and

• Overharvesting

A pair of stuffed passenger pigeons

(Ectopistes migratorius) an endemic to North
America. The last member of this species
died in the Cincinnati Zoo in 1914. Human
actions may have caused the species
populations to grow huge as well as led to
its demise.

EARTH'S BIODIVERSITY HOT SPOTS

The areas that support natural ecosystems that are largely intact and where native
species and communities associated with these ecosystems are well represented are
called biodiversity hotspots. The concept was given in 1988 by Norman Myers of
Oxford University. To qualify as biodiversity hotspot, according to Myers, 2000
edition of hotspots, a region must meet two strict criteria: First, it must have at least
1,500 species of vascular plants as endemic (endemism). Secondly, it must contain 30%
or less of its original natural vegetation (loss of biodiversity). There are areas with a
high diversity of locally endemic species not found or found outside the hotspots. It
is marked by human serious threat to biodiversity. In other words, these are areas that
cover both extraordinary biologically rich endemic plants and animals and are highly
threatened by human actions. Forest habitat is an example of Biodiversity hotspot as
they persistently face devastation and degradation due to illegal logging, pollution,
and deforestation.

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World's Most Threatened Biodiversity Hotspots

As identified by Conservation International, approximately there are 35 areas around

the world that qualify as hotspots. They represent just 2.3% of Earth's land surface
that support nearly 60% of the world's plant, bird, mammal, reptile, and amphibian
species which majority of these are endemics. Hrdina and Romportl (2017point out
the most important hotspots are Madagascar and the Indian Ocean Islands and
Sundaland.

The Philippines is one of the most mega diverse countries in the world when it comes
to variety of genetic, species, and ecological biodiversity. Due to continue experience
of destruction to these resources made by human activities (deforestation, land
degradation, and pollution) the country is also considered a biodiversity hotspot. The
hotspot is a habitat for 6,000 endemic species and a large indefinite number of bird
species including the Philippine eagle and the Cebu flowerpecker.

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GENETIC MODIFIED ORGANISM (GMO)

While selective breeding has existed for thousands of years, modern biotechnology is
more efficient, and effective because seed developers are able to directly modify the
genome of the crop. This process is called "Genetic Modified Organism (GMO). It is
also known as "genetic engineering", where in selective bred of plants were being
enhanced with the genes if another plant. Some example of these plants is Wheat
which cannot be easily drought, Maize which can survive pesticides, and Cassava
which has additional nutrients than normal Cassava. Genetic Modified crops can help
farming a lot. It can produce higher number of yields than usual. By this, GMO can
strengthen farming especially against the unpredictable factors of nature. But,
controversy remains on how to get an access to this biotechnology and regarding to
the safety of genetic Modified foods.

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THE IMPACT OF GMO TO BIODIVERSITY AND ENVIRONMENT

The basic goal of biotechnology is to provide the means to feed the world's hungry.
Moreover, the benefit of GMO in the increase of the crop yield is well established. But
recent researches and studies have also revealed the adverse effect of GMO to health,
environment and most importantly in biodiversity. Long term studies about the
potential risks of GMO must be first evaluated and dealt with. Alarming results have
been produced in several recent studies indicating the toxicity and harm to health and
ecology. The following summarizes the effect:

• An insect resistant GM crop could have direct toxic effect on non-target

species.

• A GM crop could have an indirect effect to other species by reducing the

source of food for other wildlife such as birds.

• Pest resurgence could be resulted from insects which become resistant to

chemicals when used on pest tolerant GM crops repeatedly and may
increase the number of insect pest.

• Creating an imbalance in nature by changing the predator/prey ratio.

So where are we directed?

This is the big question that has to be answered. The data given in this chapter are
presented for us to see and study. There are several laws in place to help protect
biodiversity and need for enforcement. Ecotourism is also a sustainable option for the
Philippines. But how can everyone move forward for preservation of the Earth on its
riches? As the saying sounds, "the change must start within us". The change that will
ultimately save everyone's home- the Earth

REF.ERENCE:

Bautista, D. H. S., Burce, N. S., Garcia, C. S., Imson, J. B., Labog, R. A., Salazar, F. J. B.,
& Santos, J. L. (2018). Science, Technology And Society. MaxCor Publishing House,
INC.

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