Science, Technology and Society

GECC 105a
BERNARD B. BALDERAS
Science, Technology and Society

• Society has always dependent on

technologies.
Science, Technology and Society
 Science

• comes from the Latin word

“scientia’”- meaning knowledge.
• Science is a system of knowledge of the NATURAL
WORLD gained through the SCIENTIFIC METHOD.
• Originally called “the philosophy of the natural
world”
• The first scientists were called “the philosophers of
the nature”
NATURAL WORLD
• natural world- consist of
biological life and surrounding
environment.
EXAMPLES OF NATURAL WORLD
• Volcanoes
• Atoms
• Plants
• ecosystems
• people
• societies
• galaxies
SUPERNATURAL
• supernatural-Not of the natural
world. Supernatural entities, forces,
and processes cannot be studied
with the methods of science.
 Science: is the pursuit and application of

knowledge and understanding of the natural and

social world following a systematic methodology

based on evidence.
• Science is a system of knowledge of the NATURAL
WORLD gained through the SCIENTIFIC METHOD.
• Originally called “the philosophy of the natural
world”
• The first scientists were called “the philosophers of
the nature”
“PHILOSOPHERS OF THE NATURE”
• Tasks of the philosophers of nature:
– Discover the truth behind material things and
natural things.
– Observe the world and beyond
– Observe what makes materials the same and what
makes them different (How is a tree not a flower
and a flower not a rock?)
 Science help us..
• develop our CRITICAL THINKING by engaging us in the use of scientific processes such us:
 identifying problems
 observing
 communicating
 using numbers and space-time
 relationships
 making operational definitions
 hypothesizing
 classifying
 experimenting
 describing a mechanism or a process
 inferencing
 predicting
 stating
 cause-effect relationships
 comparing and contrasting
 interpreting data
 making conclusions
In science we study..
• complexity, structures, and
behavior of the Physical World.
Scientific Attitudes and Values
Scientific Attitudes and Values
Scientific Attitudes and Values
Scientific Attitudes and Values
Scientific Attitudes and Values
Scientific Attitudes and Values
Scientific Attitudes and Values
Scientific Attitudes and Values
PATIENCE
Do not jump to conclusions.
Withhold your judgment until the tests have
been completed.
Do not accept ideas until after an exhaustive
investigation has been performed.
Scientific Attitudes and Values
Scientific Attitudes and Values
Scientific Attitudes and Values
Aversion to superstition
Give preference to scientific
explanation rather than to
superstition beliefs.
Always appreciate the power of
reality-based knowledge.
Scientific Attitudes and Values
Empathy for the human
condition
Be aware of, be understanding and
sensitive to the feelings,
thoughts, and experience of others
even without having the
feelings/thoughts/experience fully
communicated to you in an
In general:
• Science comes from the Latin word “scientia’”
meaning knowledge.
• Science continues to discover and increase
human knowledge and understanding through
the application of scientific research to specific
human needs.
 Technology is…
• Comes from the Greek words tekne meaning “art or
craft” and logia meaning a “subject or interest”
• “Practical application of what we know about
nature” using scientific principles for the
betterment of human situation
• the human attempt to change the world . . . By
creating products that can help people.
 Technology: the human attempt to
change the world . . . By creating
products that can help people.
Technology involves:
 Tools
 Techniques and
 Procedures for putting the findings of
science to use.
Two Components of Technology
1. Physical. consists of
• equipment (e.g., MRI, elevators, tractors, crane) tools (e.g.,
pliers, crowbar, hammer)
• complex machines (e.g., particle accelerator, electron
microscope, space station)
• blueprints (e.g., house blueprint, modern bridge blueprint)
• techniques (e.g., study and thinking techniques, manufacturing
techniques)
• system (e.g., air-conditioning
• system, enrolment management system)
• processes (e.g., banking, purifying water by distillation.
Two Components of Technology
2. Informational consists of
• know-how in management, marketing,
production, quality control, skilled labor, and
functional areas.
“Boseman (2000) said that the concept of
technology does not relate only to the finished
product; it is also associated with knowledge or
informational about the properties, benefits,
marketing, and efficient use of the developed
product.”
SOCIETY
• A society is a body of humans seen as a community
within the bounds of the same culture, socially united
and dependent on each other. Like other groups, a
society supports its members to attain their needs or
wishes that they alone cannot fulfill.
• More broadly, a society is made up of varied individuals.
It may also refer to an organized voluntary association of
people for religious, cultural, scientific or political
purposes
 Science, Technology and Society (STS)
• The intellectual roots of STS lie in the history, philosophy, and social
study of science and technology, an arena where often-controversial
issues and choices interface with values and influence public policy.
STS prepares students to understand both the technical and social
dimensions of science and technology, helps them become more
thoughtful and better-informed citizens of our high-tech society, and
develops their critical interdisciplinary thinking, research, and
communication skills. Students flourish intellectually in an
environment where critical questioning is encouraged and
opportunities for research are abundant. The STS program maintains
a full slate of guest speakers, often co-sponsored by other
departments, for the benefit of students and the larger community.
 On a personal level, STS is…
Interdisciplinary education for life.
Relevant to every field of study.
A great major or double major or “the minor for all majors”.
A way to improve your writing and communications skills, problem-
solving abilities, and ability to adapt to changes in science and
technology.
Attractive to potential employers.
Needed at all levels, in education, government, the private sector, and
internationally.
STS is…
Interdisciplinary study of the interaction of science and
technology with society and culture.
The realization that discoveries and inventions are
shaped by historical forces and in turn influence
values, aspirations, events, and institutions, thus
shaping the course of history.
 ACADEMIC STS
Scholarly Study of Science and Technology.
History, Philosophy, Sociology of S & T.
Interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary.
Perennial and structural problems of history, philosophy, and
human nature.
Science dynamics
Technological dynamics
Informs activist STS issues.
http://tech21stworld.blogspot.com/2014/08/science-technology-and-society.html
- From an expert