STS Prelimm
STS Prelimm
STS Prelimm
Science - the word came from the Latin "scientia," meaning "knowledge." It refers to the
systematic and methodical activity of building and organizing knowledge about how the universe
behaves through observation, experimentation, or both.
According to famous American science historian, John Heilbron (2003), " Modern science is a
discovery of regularity in nature, enough for natural phenomena to be described by principles and
laws. he also explained that science required invention to devise techniques, abstractions,
apparatuses, and organizations to describe these natural regularities and their law-like
descriptions.
Technology - it is the application of scientific knowledge, laws, and principles to produce services,
materials, tools, and machines aimed at solving real-world problems. It came from the Greek word
techne, meaning 'art, skill, or cunning of hand.'
Society - is composed of a group of people living together in a more or less ordered community.
Wolpert (2005) made an interesting comparison between science and technology that is helpful in
the study of their interaction with society, Wolpert explained that reliable scientific knowledge has
no moral or ethical value. It is meant simply to explain how nature and the universe work and that
the obligation of the scientists, besides studying the nature of the universe, is to explain the
possible uses and applications of such scientific knowledge. Along this line, Wolpert made it clear
that science is not the same as technology. Scientists are not responsible for the application of
knowledge in technology. He further explained that the very nature of science is that it is not
possible to predict scientific discoveries and how these discoveries may be applied. While
scientists are not responsible for the reliable conduct of the scientific inquiry and its honest
interpretation and dissemination, technological applications of science are influenced by other
sectors such as politics and governance, religion, and business.
Ethical Dilemmas
What is a Dilemma? It is a situation where a person is forced to choose between two or more
conflicting options neither of which is acceptable.
What are Ethical Dilemmas? Ethical/Moral Dilemmas - are situations where persons, who are
called "moral agents" in ethics, are forced to choose between two or more conflicting options,
neither of which resolves the situation in a morally acceptable manner.
The social implications of an event or action are the results, on society or part of society, of the
event or the action. The idea of social implications can also be extended to a law or a policy, that
is, a planned set of repeated actions.
● Personalized genetic tests/personalized medicine - Within the last 10 years, the creation
of fast, low-cost genetic sequencing has given the public direct access to genome
sequencing and analysis, with little or no guidance from physicians or genetic counselors on
how to process the information. What are the potential privacy issues, and how do we protect
this very personal and private information? Are we headed toward a new era of therapeutic
intervention to increase the quality of life or a new era of eugenics?
● Hacking into medical devices - Implanted medical devices, such as pacemakers, are
susceptible to hackers. Barnaby Jack, of security vendor IOActive, recently demonstrated the
vulnerability of a pacemaker by breaching the security of the wireless device from his laptop
and reprogramming it to deliver an 830-volt shock. How do we make sure these devices are
secure?
● Driverless Zipcars - In three states -- Nevada, Florida, and California -- it is now legal for
Google to operate its driverless cars. Google's goal is to create a fully automated vehicle that
is safer and more effective than a human-operated vehicle, and the company plans to marry
this idea with the concept of the Zipcar. The ethics of automation and equality of access for
people of different income levels are just a taste of the difficult ethical, legal, and policy
questions that will need to be addressed.
● 3-D printing - Scientists are attempting to use 3-D printing to create everything from
architectural models to human organs, but we could be looking at a future in which we can
print personalized pharmaceuticals or home-printed guns and explosives. For now, 3-D
printing is largely the realm of artists and designers, but we can easily envision a future in
which 3-D printers are affordable and patterns abound for products both benign and
malicious, and that cut out the manufacturing sector completely.
● Adaptation to climate change - The differential susceptibility of people around the world to
climate change warrants an ethical discussion. We need to identify effective and safe ways to
help people deal with the effects of climate change, as well as learn to manage and
manipulate wild species and nature in order to preserve biodiversity. Some of these
adaptation strategies might be highly technical (e.g. building sea walls to stem off sea-level
rise), but others are social and cultural (e.g., changing agricultural practices).
● Low-quality and counterfeit pharmaceuticals - Until recently, detecting low-quality and
counterfeit pharmaceuticals required access to complex testing equipment, often unavailable
in developing countries where these problems abound. The enormous amount of trade in
pharmaceutical intermediaries and active ingredients raise a number of issues, from the
technical (improvement in manufacturing practices and analytical capabilities) to the ethical
and legal (for example, India ruled in favor of manufacturing life-saving drugs, even if it
violates U.S. patent law).
● Autonomous systems - Machines (both for peaceful purposes and for warfighting) are
increasingly evolving from human-controlled to automated, to autonomous, with the ability to
act on their own without human input. As these systems operate without human control and
are designed to function and make decisions on their own, the ethical, legal, social and policy
implications have grown exponentially. Who is responsible for the actions undertaken by
autonomous systems? If robotic technology can potentially reduce the number of human
fatalities, is it the responsibility of scientists to design these systems?
● Human-animal hybrids (chimeras) - So far scientists have kept human-animal hybrids on
the cellular level. According to some, even more modest experiments involving animal
embryos and human stem cells violate human dignity and blur the line between species. Is
interspecies research the next frontier in understanding humanity and curing disease, or a
slippery slope, rife with ethical dilemmas, toward creating new species?
● Ensuring access to wireless and spectrum - Mobile wireless connectivity is having a
profound effect on society in both developed and developing countries. These technologies
are completely transforming how we communicate, conduct business, learn, form
relationships, navigate, and entertain ourselves. At the same time, government agencies
increasingly rely on the radio spectrum for their critical missions. This confluence of wireless
technology developments and societal needs presents numerous challenges and
opportunities for making the most effective use of the radio spectrum. We now need to have
a policy conversation about how to make the most effective use of the precious radio
spectrum, and to close the digital access divide for underserved (rural, low-income,
developing areas) populations.
● Data collection and privacy - How often do we consider the massive amounts of data we
give to commercial entities when we use social media, store discount cards, or order goods
via the Internet? Now that microprocessors and permanent memory are inexpensive
technology, we need to think about the kinds of information that should be collected and
retained. Should we create a diabetic insulin implant that could notify your doctor or
insurance company when you make poor diet choices, and should that decision make you
ineligible for certain types of medical treatment? Should cars be equipped to monitor speed
and other measures of good driving, and should this data be subpoenaed by authorities
following a crash? These issues require appropriate policy discussions in order to bridge the
gap between data collection and meaningful outcomes.
● Human enhancements - Pharmaceutical, surgical, mechanical, and neurological
enhancements are already available for therapeutic purposes. But these same
enhancements can be used to magnify human biological function beyond the societal norm.
Where do we draw the line between therapy and enhancement? How do we justify
enhancing human bodies when so many individuals still lack access to basic therapeutic
medicine?
Historical Antecedents
Intellectual Revolutions and Society - The intellectual revolution changed the way people
perceive the influence of science on society in general. It focuses on three of the most important
intellectual revolutions in history: Copernican, Darwinian, and Freudian. By discussing these
intellectual revolutions in the context of science, technology, and society, the attention of students
is drawn again toward the complex interplay of the various social contexts and the development of
modern science.
The idea that the sun is at the center of the universe instead of the earth proved to be
unsettling to many when Copernicus first introduced his model. In fact, the heliocentric model was
met with huge resistance, primarily from the church, accusing Copernicus of heresy. At the time,
the idea that it was not the earth, and, by extension, not
man, that was at the center of all creation was
unthinkable. Copernicus faced persecution from the
church because of this. However, despite the persecution
and the problems with the model, the heliocentric model
was soon accepted by other scientists of the time, most
profoundly by Galileo Galilei.
As you can see from the image, the sun is at the center of the solar system instead of the earth as
postulated by Ptolemy.
Charles Darwin
Famous for his theory of evolution, which posited that populations pass through a process of
natural selection in which only the fittest would survive. He published his book The Origin of
Species in 1589. His book presented evidence of how species evolved over time and presented
traits and adaptations that differentiate species.
In his book The Descent of Man, he introduced the idea of all organic life, including human beings,
under the realm of evolutionary thinking. His unorthodox way of pursuing science gave more value
to evidence-based science. It is a science marked by observation and experiment.
Sigmund Freud is known for his school of thought known as "Psychoanalysis." This school of
thought is a scientific method of understanding inner and unconscious conflicts embedded within
one's personality, springing from free associations, dreams, and fantasies of the individual. Below
is Freud's comparison of the mind to an iceberg.
Psychoanalysis immediately shot into controversy for it emphasized the existence of the
unconscious where feelings, thoughts, urges, emotions, and memories are contained outside of
one's conscious mind. Psychoanalytic concepts of psychosexual development, libido, and ego
were met with both support and resistance from many scholars. Freud suggested that humans
are inherently pleasure-seeking individuals. These notions were particularly caught in the crossfire
of whether Freud's psychoanalysis fit in the study of the brain and mind.
The video explains Sigmund Freud's psychoanalysis. He discussed the three mental structures of
the mind which are the id, ego, and superego. These three structures are continuously in conflict
with one another. Also, he mentioned the stages of psychosexual development of individuals. The
first is the oral stage where the child gets its satisfaction from the mouth; the second is the anal
stage, the child undergoes toilet training; the third stage is the phallic stage where the child
develops complexes, the Electra complex (the girl is attracted to the father) and the Oedipal
complex ( the young boy is attracted to the mother); the fourth stage is the latency stage where
the child's focus is on education or learning, and the last stage is the genital stage where there is
a recurrence of the sex organs as the source of satisfaction.
Role of Science and Technology in Nation Building
The development of science and technology in the Philippines has already come a long way.
Many significant inventions and discoveries have been accomplished by or attributed to Filipinos.
The following time periods show the development of science and technology in the world:
● Pre-Colonial Period
● Colonial Period
● Post-Colonial Period
Pre-Colonial Period
Scientific and technological development in the Philippines began in the pre-colonial period. Even
before the Spaniards came to the Philippine islands, early Filipino settlers were already using
certain plants and herbs as medicines. Systems of farming and animal raising were also
implemented. Moreover, early Filipinos had also developed different modes of transportation,
whether terrestrial or maritime.
A complicated engineering feat was achieved by the natives of the Cordilleras when they built rice
terraces by hand. Through these terraces, the people were able to cultivate crops on the
mountain sides in cold temperatures. They incorporated an irrigation system that uses water from
the forests and mountain tops to achieve an elaborate fishing system. The rice terraces of the
Cordilleras, which are still functional, show the innovative and ingenious way of the natives to
survive in an otherwise unfriendly environment.
Colonial Period
Colonization by the Spaniards provided the Philippines with modern means of construction. Walls,
roads, bridges, and other large infrastructures were built using some of the engineering skills and
tools brought by the Spaniards. In addition, the Spanish government developed health and
education systems that were enjoyed by the principalia class.
The American occupation modernized almost all aspects of life in the Philippines. They
established a government agency, the Bureau of Science, for the sole purpose of nurturing
development in the field of science and technology.
Post-Colonial Period
After achieving independence from the colonizers, the Philippines, under different administrations,
continued to pursue programs in science and technology. Each leadership had its own science
and technology agenda.
Pres. Ferdinand Marcos - One of the presidents who ushered in advancements in science and
technology was the former president and dictator Ferdinand Marcos.
● He mandated the Department of Education and Culture (DECS) to promote science and
technology courses in public schools.
● He established the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST)
● Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration
(PAGASA) in place of the abolished Weather Bureau;
● Agencies and organizations
● Philippines Coconut Research Institute (PHILCORIN),
● Philippine Textile Research Institute (PTRI),
● Philippines Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC)/Philippine Nuclear Institute
(PNI),
● National Grain Authority(PGA) /National Food Authority (NFA),
● Philippine Council for Agricultural Research (PCAR) /Philippine Council for
Agriculture, Aquatic, and Natural Resources and Development) (PCAANRD)
● Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC),
● Plant Breeding Institute (PBI),
● International Rice Research Institute (IRRI),
● Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI),
● Bureau of Forest Products (BFP), and
● National Committee on Geological Sciences (NCGS)
Pres. Corazon Aquino - National Science and Technology Authority (NSTA) was renamed to
Department of Science and Technology (DOST). DOST aimed to update the production sector,
improve research activities and develop infrastructures.
The National Research Council of the Philippines (NCRP) clustered these policies into four,
namely:
● Social Sciences, Humanities, Education, International Policies and Governanc
● Physics, Engineering and Industrial Research, Earth and Space Sciences, and
Mathematics
● Medical, Chemical, and Pharmaceutical Sciences
● Biological Sciences, Agriculture, and Forestry
DOST Projects
There are also other existing programs supported by the Philippine government through the
Department of Science and Technology (DOST).
Special Science Elementary Schools (SSES) Project - This project started in June 2007 with
57 (or 60 since its inception) identified elementary schools that participated or were identified as
science elementary schools in the country.
The SSES Project aims to develop Filipino children equipped with scientific and technological
knowledge, skills, and values. Its mission is to:
● provide a learning environment to science-inclined children through a special curriculum
that recognizes the multiple intelligences of the learners;
● promote the development of lifelong learning skills; and
● foster the holistic development of the learners.
● Quezon City Regional Science High School
The school envisions serving as a venue for providing maximum opportunities for science-gifted
students to develop a spirit of inquiry and creativity.
● The focus of its curriculum is on science and technology
● It is well-supported by the local government unit and by the Parents and Teachers
Association (PTA).
DLP is a synthesis of classical and modern pedagogical theories adapted to foster the highest
level of learning, creativity, and productivity.
- The school takes pride in its Research Center for Theoretical Physics (RCTP).