SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY without ultimate certainty”.

It only means that the facts

that are verified as true now can be replaced if it is
CHAPTER 1-General Concepts and Historical overthrown by a competent theory in the future. For
Events in Science, Technology and Society example, the phlogiston theory of George Ernst Stahl, at
Nature of Science his period it is believed that a certain substance called
phlogiston is present in a substance during combustion
According to Carl Sagan, science is a way of thinking and is released in the process. But today this theory is
much more than it is a body of knowledge. We are very already obsolete since the combustion theory was
familiar with the etymology of the term science which proposed by Antoine Lavoisier. The theory explained
defines it as a body of knowledge. The word science that oxygen is needed in the process of combustion not a
came from the Latin term “Scientia” that means certain substance called phlogiston. Today combustion
knowledge and “scire” which means to know. To look theory is still accepted unless it is challenged by another
for the baseline definition of science it will lead us to competent theory.
human knowledge. Science is an understanding and
awareness of something. But beyond this definition, Science is a tool in order for us to appreciate how
science should also be emphasized as a verb as the latter omniscient (all-knowing) is our creator. The role of
etymology suggests it is to know or the act of acquiring science is just to understand how well ordered the
this knowledge. Studying science is not just collections creations are and before we realize it, it is already made
of facts but also involves analysis, problem solving, by a Supreme Being. To quote Albert Einstein, he said
critical thinking, testing, observing and predicting. These that “the more I study science, the more I believe in
are different essential processes in “doing” science. Just God.”
like Sagan had described science as a way of thinking. Branches of Science
So as human beings we should not only acquire
knowledge but also involve ourselves in the processes of There are three major branches of science, these are:
gaining the facts that came from our observations,
experiments and experiences. 1. Social Science – concerned with the society and the
relationships among the individuals within the society.
If we try to trace the genesis of the discipline of Sociology, philosophy, humanities, political science,
science, we will have to consider the basic reasons why demography, economics, anthropology, history, law,
the field emerged. By nature human beings are curious archaeology and linguistics are among the disciplines
and this eagerness to know or to learn something will under social science.
lead to discovery and exploration of the world we are
living and its inhabitants. We sometimes ask questions 2. Applied Science - is a discipline of science that
such as why are clouds formed? What causes tsunamis? applies existing scientific knowledge to develop more
Why are skies blue? These are some queries in our mind practical applications, like technology or inventions.
that we need to satisfy. Science played its niche in Engineering sciences, medical sciences, industrial
giving answers to these questions. Human beings also technology and architecture are fields of applied science.
have certain needs for them to survive. Science aided 3. Natural Science - is a branch of science concerned
man to satisfy these necessities by providing the basis of with the description, prediction, and understanding of
constructing tools, gadgets and processes. Activities natural phenomena, based on observational and
such as hunting, fishing, farming, cooking, constructing empirical evidence. Natural science is further subdivided
shelters and clothes making are the processes that satisfy into Biological Sciences and Physical Sciences. The
human necessities and involves science in its biological sciences pertain to the study of living things
development. As man explore on satisfying their that include biology, botany, zoology, anatomy,
necessities certain problems also evolved such as physiology, ornithology, parasitology, and many others.
pollution, overpopulation, climate change, diseases and While physical sciences deal with the study of the
natural disasters. Science also offers solutions to these nonliving things that include physics, chemistry,
predicaments. geology, meteorology, metallurgy and many others.
Science is an organized body of knowledge based on Scientific Attitudes and Skills Here are some attitudes
facts, gathered through observations, experiments and that someone who studies science must possess: ]
experiences. Science can also be used to construct and
verify laws, conclusions, and theories about nature. As 1. The desire to know.
well, science can also serve as a basis of developing
2. Patience
technology for the benefit of man and the environment.
Science is powerful but we also have to remember that it 3. Perseverance
has its limitations too. And to cite these are some.
4. Objective
Science can’t answer questions about value. For
example, it is beyond the determination of science which 5. Don’t easily jump into conclusion.
dress is prettier for you. Or which is valuable an ounce 6. Open-mindedness
of gold or an ounce of steel. Our culture sets values to it.
Also, the values of these metals depend on how it will be 7. Systematic and orderly
used. Furthermore, science can’t answer questions of
morality. For example, science can explain the 8. Critical thinkers
mechanism of contraceptives why it can hinder the 9. Honesty
process of fertilization, but it can’t decide for you
whether the use of such is right or wrong. Morality is 10. Humility
dictated by social rules and culture. Supernatural events
can’t be explained by science. Adding the prefix “super” The figure below suggests the skills one must have to do
it entails that it is beyond the natural laws of the science.
universe, in which science is limited to. The Scientific Method In order for science to be
Another definition of science that may help us systematic, scientists and other people who study and do
understand its nature is “Science is present verification science follow a step by step procedure in gathering,
investigating and analyzing information to come up with the problem. But if it does not, the hypothesis is rejected
conclusions and theories. The systematic approach in or can be modified.
solving a problem is called the scientific method. To
summarize the procedures to be followed in scientific 7. Replicating your work. Experiments should not only
investigations here are the six basic steps. be done once but several times. That is why a good
scientific experiment requires being reproducible or can
1. Observing and stating the problem. Observation is a be replicated. In this manner others can test the
process of utilizing your five senses. There are two types reliability of your results.
of observation, first is qualitative observation which
does not involve measurements. For example, your Famous People and their Contributions to Science
friend asked you to observe the color of an apple and Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1726) Newton was a polymath
you said green. So, color, taste, texture and odor can be who made investigations into a whole range of subjects
classified as qualitative observations because you don’t including mathematics, optics, physics, and astronomy.
need to measure anything. The second type of In his Principia Mathematica, published in 1687, he laid
observation is quantitative observation which involves the foundations for classical mechanics, explaining law
the process of measuring. For example, you have of gravity and the Laws of Motion.
observed by using a speedometer that your car runs 40
kph faster than your friend’s car. Quantitative Louis Pasteur (1822 – 1895) Contributed greatly
observations are aided by measuring tools for you to get towards the advancement of medical sciences
a collection of quantitative data. In stating the problem developing cures for rabies, anthrax, and other infectious
make sure that it is clear and specific. Without a clear diseases. Also enabled process of pasteurization to make
and specific statement, you will find it difficult to milk safer to drink. Probably saved more lives than any
answer your problem as it may be broad and unclear to other person.
you.
Galileo (1564 – 1642) Creating one of the first modern
2. Gathering data on related problems. This is an telescope, Galileo revolutionized our understanding of
important part of the scientific process to make sure that the world successfully proving the earth revolved around
what you are doing is objective. Collecting information the sun and not the other way around. His work Two
from relevant studies may also ensure that what you are New Sciences laid groundwork for science of Kinetics
doing is not a duplication of a previous work of others. and strength of materials.
This gathered information can serve as basis for
Marie Curie (1867 – 1934) Polish physicist and
tentatively answering your problem. To do conduct this
chemist. Discovered radiation and helped to apply it in
step you can read research papers, scientific journals,
the field of X ray. She won Nobel Prize in both
and books. You may also interview experts, as credible
Chemistry and Physics.
sources, about your problem.
Albert Einstein (1879 – 1955) Revolutionized modern
3. Forming a hypothesis. After gathering pertinent
physics with his general theory of relativity. Won Nobel
information, based on the researched facts you may now
Prize in Physics (1921) for his discovery of the
formulate a hypothesis which is a tentative solution to
Photoelectric effect, which formed basis of Quantum
your problem. A hypothesis is said to be an educated
Theory.
guess since it is based on the researched information
done in step two. A hypothesis is said to be tentative and Charles Darwin (1809 – 1882) Developed theory of
not final because it is still subjected to a test. To have a evolution against a backdrop of disbelief and skepticism.
good statement of a hypothesis it should also be clear, Collected evidence over 20 years, and published
specific and can be easily tested. conclusions in On the Origin of Species (1859).
4. Testing the hypothesis. To find out whether your Otto Hahn (1879-1968) German Chemist who
hypothesis is correct or not you will conduct an discovered nuclear fission (1939). Pioneering scientist in
experiment. An experimental set up is usually composed the field of radiochemistry. Discovered radio-active
of two groups, an experimental group, and a control elements and nuclear isomerism (1921). Awarded Nobel
group. The difference of the two groups is only one Prize for Chemistry (1944)
factor. In a control group all factors are held constant.
This set-up is important for comparison with the Nikola Tesla (1856 –1943) Work on electro-magnetism
experimental group. The group in which one factor or and AC current. Credited with many patents from
treatment is varied is the experimental group. A variable electricity to radio transmission.
is any factor, trait, or condition that can exist in differing James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879) Made great strides
amounts or types. An experiment usually has three kinds in understanding electro-magnetism. His research in
of variables: independent, dependent, and controlled. electricity and kinetics, laid foundation for quantum
The independent variable is the one that is changed by physics. Einstein said of Maxwell, “The work of James
the scientist. The scientist focuses his or her Clerk Maxwell changed the world forever.”
observations on the dependent variable to see how it
responds to the change made to the independent Aristotle (384BC – 322BC) Great early Greek scientist
variable. Controlled variables are quantities that a who made much research in the natural sciences
scientist wants to remain constant, and he must observe including botany, zoology, physics, astronomy,
them as carefully as the dependent variables. chemistry, and meteorology, geometry.
5. Recording and analyzing data. The results of your Nature of Technology
experiment should be recorded carefully. Observations
and information, called as data, can be presented in Technology is defined as “purposeful intervention by
tables and graphs. In this manner analysis of the result design”, and technological practice as the activity
will be easy to conduct. through which technological outcomes are created and
have impact in the world. Technological outcomes are
6. Formulating a conclusion. A conclusion is the final designed to enhance the capabilities of people and
answer to the problem. If the conclusion supports the expand human possibilities. They change the mad world
hypothesis it is considered as a scientific explanation to in ways that have positive and/or negative impacts on
the social and natural world. Technology uses and
produces technological knowledge. Technological to roughly 1750. Further, as we shall see below, some
communities endorse technological knowledge as valid historians have cut back the earlier period. Some have all
when it is shown to support the successful development but removed Copernicus from their chronological
of technological outcomes. definition, claiming that the 'Copernican Revolution'
virtually began and ended in 1610 with the work of
All technology exists within a historical context, Galileo and Kepler. Historians have consistently
influenced by and influencing society and culture. disputed the presumed beginning and ending dates of the
Technological practice is becoming increasingly much-disputed 'Scientific Revolution'.
interdisciplinary, relying more than ever on
collaboration between the technology community and Most historians agree, however, that the traditional
people from other disciplines. interpretation (which has its own history) was based on
(http://technology.tki.org.nz/Technology-in-the-NZC/Na belief in a core transformation which began in
ture-of-technology/Characteristics-of technology) cosmology and astronomy and then shifted to physics
(some historians have argued that there were parallel
LESSON 2-INTEELECTUAL REVOLUTIONS developments in anatomy and physiology, represented
THAT DEFINED SOCIETY by Vesalius and Harvey).
SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTION Most profoundly, some historians have argued, these
The age of the earth was once, and still is, a matter of changes in "natural philosophy" (= science) brought
great debate. In 1650, Archbishop Ussher used the Bible important transformations in what came to held as "real"
to calculate that the earth was created in 4004 BC. Later, (ontology) and how Europeans justified their claims to
in the mid nineteenth century Charles Darwin believed knowledge (epistemology).
that the earth must be extremely old because he The learned view of things in 16th-century thought was
recognized that natural selection and evolution required that the world was composed of Four Qualities
vast amounts of time. It was not until the discovery of (Aristotle's Earth, Water, Air, Fire). By contrast,
radioactivity began to put a timescale on the history of Newton's learned contemporaries believed that the world
the earth. Rocks often contain heavy radioactive was made of atoms or corpuscles (small material
elements which decay over a long period of time, the bodies). By Newton's day most of learned Europe
decay is unaffected. By the physical and chemical believed the earth moved, that there was no such thing as
conditions and different elements decay at different rates demonic possession, that claims to knowledge (so the
(these rates are slow and half –lives of several hundred story goes) should be based on the authority of our
million years are not uncommon) that scientists could individual experience, that is, on argument and sensory
give an actual estimate of the age of the earth. And so, evidence. The motto of the Royal Society of London was
throughout this century the race has been on to discover Nullius in Verbal, roughly, Accept nothing on the basis
the oldest rocks in the world. The oldest volcanic rock of words (or someone else's authority).
found so far has been dated at 3.75 billion years old.
(Aldean, M., et al. 2017) The Copernican Revolution
Science is a broad field of study focused on discovering Figure 3- The Copernican Planisphere, illustrated in
how nature works and using that knowledge to describe 1661 by Andreas Cellarium.
what is likely to happen in nature. While the immediate
goal of science is to build knowledge of the natural The story of Copernican Revolution is the classic
world, that knowledge can be applied in several ways. example of a major shift in worldview. This view of the
universe, cumbersome as it was, survived, virtually
1. Science as an idea- It is an assumption that events in unchallenged, for thirteen hundred years, until the early
the physical world follow orderly cause-and-effect sixteenth century when the Polish astronomer, Nicolaus
patterns that can understood through careful observation, Copernicus, put forward a radically different model. The
measurements, and experimentations. reason the stars appeared to orbit the earth was, he
suggested, because the earth itself was moving, rotating
2. Science as an intellectual activity. It is a possible on its own axis once every twenty-four hours. The
and testable answer to a scientific question or apparent movement of the heavens was an illusion,
explanation of what scientists observe in nature. caused by the movement of the observer.
3. Science as a body of knowledge. Science is a subject Suggesting that the earth moved was heresy enough.
of discipline, a field of study, describe the scientific But Copernicus went on to argue that the wandering
methods and the importance of observation, motion of the planets could be explained if they were
experimentation, and models. orbiting the sun rather than the earth. This led to the
4. Science as a personal and social activity. Important theory that the earth was itself just another planet also in
and certain results of science done by human beings to orbit around the sun. (This was not a totally new theory.
develop better understanding of the world around us is A little know Greek philosopher, Aristarchus, had
based on the large body of evidence. This will lead to advanced the idea that the earth and the other planets
scientific theory to improve life and to survive in life. moved around the sun in 270 BC. If his views, rather
than those of Plato and Ptolemy, had held sway, history
In European history the term 'Scientific Revolution' might have taken a very different course.)
refers to the period between Copernicus and Newton.
But the chronological period has varied dramatically Being a distinguished churchman, Copernicus knew the
over the last 50 years. The broadest period views of the Vatican on the earth's all-important position
acknowledged usually runs from Nicholas Copernicus at the center of the universe, and how tenaciously it held
(1473- 1543) and his De Revolutionists to Isaac Newton to that view. In proposing his theory, he was not just
(1642-1727). Some historians have cut this back, challenging orthodox science; he was challenging the
claiming that it properly extends only to the publication established religious view of reality -- which in those
of Newton's Principia (1687) or to his Optics (1704) or days held even greater sway than the scientific view. So,
to Newton's death (1727). More radical proposals have fearing the wrath of the church, he kept his ideas to
suggested that the Scientific Revolution might apply to himself for thirty years. Only as he was nearing death
the so-called Enlightenment 'Newtonians' thus extending and feeling that he did not want to take this important
knowledge with him to the grave, did he finally decide purely naturalistic (undirected) "descent with
to publish his little book On the Revolutions of the modification". That is, complex creatures evolve from
Celestial Spheres. When it was eventually published, in more simplistic ancestors naturally over time. In a
1543, (Copernicus first saw a copy on the day he died) it nutshell, as random genetic mutations occur within an
was immediately placed on the papal index of forbidden organism's genetic code, the beneficial mutations are
books. preserved because they aid survival -- a process known
as "natural selection." These beneficial mutations are
So, it remained, ignored and forgotten, for nearly passed on to the next generation. Over time, beneficial
eighty years, until the Italian scientist Galileo Galilei mutations accumulate, and the result is an entirely
took up an interest in planetary motions. Utilizing the different organism (not just a variation of the original,
newly invented telescope, he found convincing evidence but an entirely different creature).
in favor of the Copernican model. He saw that Venus
had phases, just like the moon, when only half, or just a Charles Darwin simply brought something new to the
crescent, of it would be lit -- which is what would old philosophy -- a plausible mechanism called "natural
happen if Venus orbited the sun. He also found that selection." Natural selection acts to preserve and
Jupiter had its own moons in orbit around it, dispelling accumulate minor advantageous genetic mutations.
the idea that everything went around the earth. Suppose a member of a species developed a functional
advantage (it grew wings and learned to fly), its
After publishing his findings, b was contacted by Pope offspring would inherit that advantage and pass it on to
Paul V, who demanded he retract his heretical ideas. their offspring. The inferior (disadvantaged) members of
Fearing for his life, he did so. But a few years later, the same species would gradually die out, leaving only
unhappy that so important a truth should remain the superior (advantaged) members of the species.
suppressed, he published a brilliantly composed dialogue Natural selection is the preservation of a functional
in which he defended and supported the Copernican advantage that enables a species to compete better in the
theory. Again, under threat of torture, he was forced to wild. Natural selection is the naturalistic equivalent to
"abjure, curse, and detest" the absurd view that the earth domestic breeding. Over the centuries, human breeders
moves around the sun. He was then put under house- have produced dramatic changes in domestic animal
arrest so that he could be watched and prevented from populations by selecting individuals to breed. Breeders
causing any further trouble -- and remained there till his eliminate undesirable traits gradually over time.
death. Similarly, natural selection eliminates inferior species
At the same time as Galileo was making his critical gradually overtime.
observations of the planets, a German mathematician, Darwin's Theory of Evolution is a slow gradual
Johannes Kepler, was putting into place another key process. Darwin wrote, "…Natural selection acts only by
piece of the puzzle. Copernicus had argued that the sun, taking advantage of slight successive variations; it can
not the earth, lay at the center of things, but he still never take a great and sudden leap, but must advance by
adhered to the Platonic ideal of circular motion, and short and sure, though slow steps." Thus, Darwin
although his model explained planetary movements conceded that, "If it could be demonstrated that any
much better than the old geocentric model, there were complex organ existed, which could not possibly have
still unexplained irregularities, which Copernicus tried to been formed by numerous, successive, slight
account for with various epicycles. Kepler had the good modifications, my theory would absolutely break down."
fortune to be a student of the Danish astronomer Tycho Such a complex organ would be known as an
Brahe, who had accumulated volumes of accurate "irreducibly complex system". An irreducibly complex
astronomical observations. Brahe set Kepler to work on system is one composed of multiple parts, all of which
the motion of Mars, the planet with the most are necessary for the system to function. If even one part
troublesome orbit. Kepler’s breakthrough was the is missing, the entire system will fail to function. Every
discovery that the movements of Mars, and all the other individual part is integral. Thus, such a system could not
planets, could be accounted for, without any need for have evolved slowly, piece by piece. The common
epicycles, if their orbits were ellipses rather than circles. mousetrap is an everyday non-biological example of
But as to why the orbits should be circles rather than irreducible complexity. It is composed of five basic
ellipses, he had no idea. parts: a catch (to hold the bait), a powerful spring, a thin
The final piece of the puzzle was put in place some 50 rod called "the hammer," a holding bar to secure the
years later by the English mathematician, Sir Isaac hammer in place, and a platform to mount the trap. If
Newton. He realized that heavenly bodies were governed any one of these parts is missing, the mechanism will not
by the same laws as earthly objects; the force that causes work. Each individual part is integral. The mousetrap is
an apple to fall is the same force that holds the moon in irreducibly complex.
its orbit around the earth. Working out the resulting And we don't need a microscope to observe irreducible
equations of motion he established that any orbiting complexity. The eye, the ear and the heart are all
body would indeed move in an ellipse -- just as Kepler examples of irreducible complexity, though they were
had discovered. not recognized as such in Darwin's day. Nevertheless,
The revolution was now complete. The journey had Darwin confessed, "To suppose that the eye with all its
been started by Copernicus but putting it all together had inimitable contrivances for adjusting the focus to
involved other equally significant breakthroughs in different distances, for admitting different amounts of
thinking and had taken nearly 150 years to complete. light, and for the correction of spherical and chromatic
(Although it was not until 1992 that the Vatican finally aberration, could have been formed by natural selection,
admitted Galileo been right.) seems, I freely confess, absurd in the highest degree."

B. Darwinian Revolution C. Freudian Revolution

Darwin's Theory of Evolution is the widely held notion According to Freud’s psychoanalytic theory,
that all life is related and has descended from a common personality develops through a series of stages, each
ancestor: the birds and the bananas, the fishes, and the characterized by a certain internal psychological
flowers -- all related. Darwin's general theory presumes conflict. According to Freud, personality develops
the development of life from non-life and stresses a during childhood and is critically shaped through a series
of five psychosexual stages, which he called his superego in the practical context of reality. So, if you
psychosexual theory of development. During each stage, walked past the stranger with ice cream one more time,
a child is presented with a conflict between biological your ego would mediate the conflict between your id (“I
drives and social expectations; successful navigation of want that ice cream right now”) and superego (“It’s
these internal conflicts will lead to mastery of each wrong to take someone else’s ice cream”) and decide to
developmental stage, and ultimately to a fully mature go buy your own ice cream. While this may mean you
personality. Freud’s ideas have since been met with have to wait 10 more minutes, which would frustrate
criticism, in part because of his singular focus on your id, your ego decides to make that sacrifice as part
sexuality as the main driver of human personality of the compromise– satisfying your desire for ice cream
development. while also avoiding an unpleasant social situation and
potential feelings of shame. Freud believed that the id,
Freud’s Structure of the Human Mind ego, and superego are in constant conflict and that adult
According to Freud, our personality develops from the personality and behavior are rooted in the results of
interactions among what he proposed as the three these internal struggles throughout childhood. He
fundamental structures of the human mind: the id, ego, believed that a person who has a strong ego has a
and superego. This theory, known as Freud’s structural healthy personality and that imbalances in this system
theory of personality, places great emphasis on the role can lead to neurosis (what we now think of as anxiety
of unconscious psychological conflicts in shaping and depression) and unhealthy behaviors.
behavior and personality. Conflicts among these three Cradles of Ancient Science
structures, and our efforts to find balance among what
each of them “desires,” determines how we behave and Mesoamerican Contributions to Science Mesoamerica-
approach the world. What balance we strike in any given refers to the diverse civilizations that shared similar
situation determines how we will resolve the conflict cultural characteristics in the geographic areas
between two overarching behavioral tendencies: our comprising the modern-day countries of Mexico,
biological aggressive and pleasure-seeking drives vs. our Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, El Salvador, Nicaragua,
socialized internal control over those drives. and Costa Rica. Some of the shared cultural traits among
Mesoamerican peoples included a complex pantheon of
The id, ego, and superego: According to Freud’s deities, architectural features, a ballgame, the 260-day
structural model, the personality is divided into the id, calendar, trade, food (especially a reliance on maize,
ego, and superego. On this diagram, the smaller portion beans, and squash), dress, and accoutrements (additional
above the water signifies the conscious mind, while the items that are worn or used by a person, such as
much larger portion below the water illustrates the earspools).
unconscious mind. Many psychologists, scientists, and
philosophers have made meaningful additions to the Some of the most well-known Mesoamerican cultures
psychoanalytic study of personality. Four particularly are the Olmec, Maya, Zapotec, Teotihuacan, Mixtec, and
notable Neo-Freudians are Alfred Adler, Erik Erikson, Mexica (or Aztec). The geography of Mesoamerica is
Carl Jung, and Karen Horney. incredibly diverse—it includes humid tropical areas, dry
deserts, high mountainous terrain, and low coastal
Conflict within the mind: plains. An anthropologist named Paul Kirchhoff first
According to Freud, the job of the ego is to balance the used the term “Mesoamerica” (mesa is Greek for
aggressive/pleasure-seeking drives of the id with the “middle” or “intermediate”) in 1943 to designate these
moral control of the superego. geographical areas as having shared cultural traits prior
to the invasion of Europeans, and the term has remained.
The Id
Typically, when we discuss Mesoamerican art we are
The id, the most primitive of the three structures, is referring to art made by peoples in Mexico and much of
concerned with instant gratification of basic physical Central America. When people mention Native North
needs and urges. It operates entirely unconsciously American art, they are usually referring to indigenous
(outside of conscious thought). For example, if your id peoples in the U.S. and Canada, even though these
walked past a stranger eating ice cream, it would most countries are technically all part of North America. More
likely take the ice cream for itself. It doesn’t know, or recently, archaeologists and art historians have
care, that it is rude to take something belonging to considered connections between the Southwestern and
someone else; it would care only that you wanted the ice Southeastern U.S. and Mesoamerica, an area sometimes
cream. called either the Greater Southwest or Greater
Mesoamerica. Focusing on these connections
The Superego
demonstrates how people were in contact with one
The superego is concerned with social rules and morals another through trade, shared beliefs, migration, or
—similar to what many people call their” conscience” or conflict. Ball courts, for instance, are found in Arizona
their “moral compass.” It develops as a child learns what sites such as the Pueblo Grande of the Hohokam. It is
their culture considers right and wrong. If your superego important to remember that modern-day geographic
walked past the same stranger, it would not take their ice terms— like Mesoamerica or the Southwestern U.S.—
cream because it would know that that would be rude. are recent designations.
However, if both your id and your superego were
The Olmecs
involved, and your id was strong enough to override
your superego’s concern, you would still take the ice The Olmec were the earliest known major civilization
cream, but afterward you would most likely feel guilt of Mesoamerica or Pre-Columbian America. It is
and shame over your actions. thought that early Olmec culture appeared around 1600
BC, and it flourished from 1200 BC to 400 BC in the
The Ego
tropical lowlands of south-central Mexico, in the
In contrast to the instinctual id and the moral superego, present-day states of Veracruz and Tabasco. Much of
the ego is the rational, pragmatic part of our personality. what we know about the Olmec civilization is dependent
It is less primitive than the id and is partly conscious and solely on archaeological evidence. As a result, not much
partly unconscious. It’s what Freud considered to be the is known about the Olmec and, though evidence points
“self,” and its job is to balance the demands of the id and at several possibilities, most of the things have not been
established with certainty. What is known is that the introduction of diseases for which they had no
Olmec produced some of the greatest Mesoamerican immunity, the Aztec civilization of Mesoamerica was
artworks including colossal sculpture in volcanic stone almost completely eradicated.
and intricate works in jade; they built the earliest known
Mesoamerican pyramid; and laid the foundations for all Development of Science in Asia India
subsequent Mesoamerican cultures such as the Maya and The Indus Valley Civilization starts around 3300 BC
the Aztec. Due to lack of concrete evidence, several with what is referred to as the Early Harappan Phase
points regarding the contribution of the Olmec (3300 to 2600 BC). The earliest examples of the Indus
civilization are still debated and this is mentioned in the Script date to this period, as well as the emergence of
article wherever it is applicable. citadels representing centralized authority and an
The Mayans increasingly urban quality of life. Trade networks linked
this culture with related regional cultures and distant
The ancient Mayan civilization existed in the milieu of sources of raw materials, including lapis lazuli and other
present-day Mexico and Central America from 2600 BC materials for bead-making. By this time, villagers had
till the Spanish success in the sixteenth century. domesticated numerous crops, including peas, sesame
Considered a piece of the Mesoamerican human seeds, dates, and cotton, as well as animals, including
progress, which included various indigenous societies in the water buffalo.2600 BC marks the Mature Harappan
the district, the Mayans made most prestigious Phase during which Early Harappan communities turned
discoveries in sectors of science and cosmology that into large urban centers including Harappa, Dholakia,
enabled them to make a profoundly complex date-book. Mohenjo-Daro, Lothal, Rupar, and Raphigraphy, and
They were exceptionally gifted designers and architects more than 1,000 towns and villages, often of relatively
who constructed grand structures including royal small size. Mature Harappans evolved new techniques in
residences; galactic observatories; sanctuary pyramids; metallurgy and produced copper, bronze, lead, and tin
astoundingly straight lifted streets; and reservoir and displayed advanced levels of engineering. As seen in
conduits utilizing water weight innovation. The Mayans Harappa, Mohenjo-Daro and the recently partially
additionally built up the main finish-composing excavated Raphigraphy, this urban plan included the
framework in Mesoamerica and created elastic a few world's first known urban sanitation systems: see
centuries before vulcanization. Moreover, they made hydraulic engineering of the Indus Valley Civilization.
innovations of their own, creations like the immense Within the city, individual homes or groups of homes
underground repositories that held new water securely obtained water from wells. Houses opened only to inner
during the dry season. courtyards and smaller lanes. The house-building in
some villages in the region still resembles in some
The Aztecs respects the house-building of the Harappans. The
The Aztecs were a Mesoamerican people of central advanced architecture of the Harappans is shown by
Mexico in the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth their impressive dockyards, granaries, warehouses, brick
centuries. They were a civilization with a rich cultural platforms, and protective walls. The massive walls of
heritage whose capital, Tenochtitlan, rivaled the greatest Indus cities most likely protected the Harappans from
cities of Europe in size and grandeur. floods and may have dissuaded military conflicts.

The nucleus of the Aztec Empire was the Valley of The people of the Indus Civilization achieved great
Mexico, where the capital of the Aztec Triple Alliance accuracy in measuring length, mass, and time. They
was built upon raised islets in Lake Texcoco. After the were among the first to develop a system of uniform
1521 conquest of Tenochtitlan by Spanish forces and weights and measures. A comparison of available
their allies which brought about the effective end of objects indicates large scale variation across the Indus
Aztec dominion, the Spanish founded the new settlement territories. Their smallest division, which is marked on
of Mexico City on the site of the now-ruined Aztec an ivory scale found in Lothal in Gujarat, was
capital. The greater metropolitan area of Mexico City approximately 1.704 mm, the smallest division ever
now covers much of the Valley of Mexico and the now- recorded on a scale of the Bronze Age. Harappan
drained Lake of Texcoco. engineers followed the decimal division of measurement
for all practical purposes, including the measurement of
Aztec culture had complex mythological and religious mass as revealed by their hexahedron weights. These
traditions. The most alarming aspect of the Aztec culture chert weights were in a ratio of 5:2:1 with weights of
was the practice of human sacrifice, which was known 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, and 500
throughout Mesoamerica prior to the Spanish conquest. units, with each unit weighing approximately 28 grams,
A hegemonic power, the Aztecs sacrificed human beings like the English Imperial ounce or Greek uncia, and
on a massive scale in bloody religious rituals, enslaved smaller objects were weighed in similar ratios with the
subject peoples, and, by Spanish accounts, practiced units of 0.871. However, as in other cultures, actual
cannibalism. Spanish invaders, led by Hernan Cortés, weights were not uniform throughout the area. The
sought both to claim the new lands and resources for the weights and measures later used in Kausalya’s
Spanish Crown and to promulgate Christianity, and Natyashastra (4th century BC) are the same as those
demanded that local native allies forswear human used in Lothal.
sacrifice and cannibalism.
Around 1800 BC, signs of a gradual decline began to
Aztec civilization sustained millions of people and emerge, and by around 1700 BC most of the cities had
developed from a history of thousands of years in been abandoned. Suggested contributory causes for the
complete isolation from European and Asian cultures. localization of the IVC include changes in the course of
Aztec agriculture, transportation, economy, architecture, the river, and climate change that is also signaled for the
arts, and political institutions bear extraordinary witness neighboring areas of the Middle East. As of 2016 many
to the creative and collaborative capability of scholars believe that drought lead to a decline in trade
humankind, and of the universal inclination to find with Egypt and Mesopotamia contributing to the
transcendent meaning to human life. Spanish conquerors collapse of the Indus Civilization. The Hagiwara system
and later occupiers largely ignored Aztec cultural was rain-fed, and water-supply depended on the
achievements, and through a policy of subjugation by monsoons. The Indus Valley climate grew significantly
Spanish colonial authorities, and the inadvertent cooler and drier from about 1800 BC, linked to a general
weakening of the monsoon at that time. The Indian Bronze Age Eliot culture. The earliest bronze artifacts
monsoon declined and aridity increased, with the have been found in the Mamiya culture site (3100 to
Hagiwara retracting its reach towards the foothills of the 2700 BC).
Himalaya, leading to erratic and less extensive floods
that made inundation agriculture less sustainable. The earliest traditional Chinese dynasty for which there
Aridification reduced the water supply enough to cause is both archeological and written evidence is the Shang
the civilization’s demise, and to scatter its population dynasty (1600 to 1046 BC). Shang sites have yielded the
eastward. As the monsoons kept shifting south, the earliest known body of Chinese writing, the oracle bone
floods grew too erratic for sustainable agricultural script, mostly divinations inscribed on bones. These
activities. The residents then migrated towards the inscriptions provide critical insight into many topics
Ganges basin in the east, where they established smaller from the politics, economy, and religious practices to the
villages and isolated farms. However, trade with the old art and medicine of this early stage of Chinese
cities did not flourish. The small surplus produced in civilization. Some historians argue that Eliot should be
these small communities did not allow development of considered an early phase of the Shang dynasty. The
trade, and the cities died out. The Indo-Aryan peoples U.S. National Gallery of Art defines the Chinese Bronze
migrated into the Indus River Valley during this period Age as the period between about 2000 and 771 BC; a
and began the Vedic age of India. The Indus Valley period that begins with the Eliot culture and ends
Civilization did not disappear suddenly, and many abruptly with the disintegration of Western Zhou rule.
elements of the civilization continued in later Indian The Sanxingdui culture is another Chinese Bronze Age
subcontinent and Vedic cultures. society, contemporaneous to the Shang dynasty,
however they developed a different method of bronze-
China Figure 10 -Traditional Xia sites (black) and making from the Shang.
Eliot sites (red)
Mesopotamia
Drawing on archaeology, geology and anthropology,
modern scholars do not see the origins of the Chinese In Mesopotamia, the convergence of the Tigris and
civilization or history as a linear story but rather the Euphrates rivers produced rich fertile soil and a supply
history of the interactions of different and distinct of water for irrigation. The civilizations that emerged
cultures and ethnic groups that influenced each other's around these rivers are among the earliest known non-
development. The two specific cultural regions that nomadic agrarian societies. It is because of this that the
developed Chinese civilization was the Yellow River Fertile Crescent region, and Mesopotamia in particular,
civilization and the Yangtze civilization. Early evidence are often referred to as the cradle of civilization. The
for Chinese millet agriculture is dated to around 7000 period known as the Ubaid period (c. 6500 to 3800 BC)
BC, with the earliest evidence of cultivated rice found at is the earliest known period on the alluvial plain,
Chitosan near the Yangtze River, dated to 6500 BC. although it is likely earlier periods exist obscured under
Chitosan may also be the site of the first walled city in the alluvium. It was during the Ubaid period that the
China. By the beginning of the Neolithic Revolution, the movement towards urbanization began. Agriculture and
Yellow River valley began to establish itself as a center animal husbandry were widely practiced in sedentary
of the Pillaging culture which flourished from 7000 to communities, particularly in Northern Mesopotamia, and
5000 BC, with evidence of agriculture, constructed intensive irrigated hydraulic agriculture began to be
buildings, pottery, and burial of the dead. With practiced in the south. Around 6000 BC, Neolithic
agriculture came increased population, the ability to settlements appear all over Egypt. Studies based on
store and redistribute crops, and the potential to support morphological, genetic, and archaeological data have
specialist craftsmen and administrators. Its most attributed these settlements to migrants from the Fertile
prominent site is Jianhua. Some scholars have suggested Crescent in the Near East returning during the Egyptian
that the Jianhua symbols (6600 BC) are the earliest form and North African Neolithic, bringing agriculture to the
of proto writing in China. However, it is likely that they region. Sumerian civilization coalesces in the subsequent
should not be understood as writing itself, but as features Urus period (4000 to 3100 BC).Named after the
of a lengthy period of sign-use which led eventually to a Sumerian city of Urus, this period saw the emergence of
fully-fledged system of writing. Archaeologists believe urban life in Mesopotamia and, during its later phase, the
that the Pillaging culture was egalitarian, with little gradual emergence of the cuneiform script. Proto-writing
political organization. It would eventually evolve into in the region dates to around 3500 BC, with the earliest
the Yang Shao culture(5000 to 3000 BC), and their stone texts dating to 3300 BC; early cuneiform writing
tools were polished and highly specialized. They may emerged in 3000 BC.] It was also during this period that
also have practiced an early form of silkworm pottery painting declined as copper started to become
cultivation. The main food of the Yang Shao people was popular, along with cylinder seals. Sumerian cities
millet, with some sites using foxtail millet and others during the Urus period were probably theocratic and
broom-corn millet, though some evidence of rice has were most likely headed by a priest-king (Ensi), assisted
been found. The exact nature of Yang Shao agriculture, by a council of elders, including both men and women. It
small-scale slash-and burn cultivation versus intensive is quite possible that the later Sumerian pantheon was
agriculture in permanent fields, is currently a matter of modeled upon this political structure. Urus trade
debate. Once the soil was exhausted, residents picked up networks started to expand to other parts of
their belongings, moved to new lands, and constructed Mesopotamia and as far as North Caucasus, and strong
new villages. However, Middle Yang Shao settlements signs of governmental organization and social
such as Jianzhi contain raised floor buildings that may stratification began to emerge leading to the Early
have been used for the storage of surplus grains. Dynastic Period (c. 2900 BC.
Grinding stones for making flour were also found. Later,
Yang Shao culture was superseded by the Longshan
culture, which was also centered on the Yellow River
from about 3000 to 1900 BC, its most prominent site
being Tosi. The population expanded dramatically
during the 3rd millennium BC, with many settlements
having rammed earth walls. It decreased in most areas
around 2000 BC until the central area evolved into the
 CHAPTER 2 LESSON 1 Whether “natural” or human-derived, every aspect of a
student’s life is filled with science — from their own
S.T.S AND THE HUMAN CONDITION internal biology to the flat-screen TV in the living room.
LESSON 1- HUMAN FLOURISHING In the fields of hard science, the process of inquiry is
Science, Technology and Human Flourishing more direct and finite: Take a question; use evidence to
form an explanation; connect that explanation to existing
Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) is the most significant thinker knowledge; and communicate that evidence-based
and the most accomplished individual who has ever explanation. Experimentation based on the scientific
lived. Every person currently living in Western method follows a similar course: Combine a scientific
civilization owes an enormous debt to Aristotle who is question with research to construct a hypothesis; conduct
the fountain head behind every achievement of science, experiments to test that hypothesis; evaluate the results
technology, political theory, and aesthetics(especially to draw conclusions; and communicate those
Romantic art) in today's world. Aristotle bases the conclusions.
understandability of the good in the idea of what is good
for the specific entity under consideration. For whatever The Importance of Science in Early Education
has a natural function, the good is therefore thought to Governmental guidelines and tests often focus on
reside in the function. The natural function of a thing is middle and high school-level STEM (science,
determined by its natural end. With respect to living technology, engineering and math) education. Yet, many
things, there are particular ways of being that constitute educators believe science education should begin much
the perfection of the living thing's nature. earlier. Not only does science education teach young
According to Aristotle, there is an end of all of the learners problem-solving skills that will help them
actions that we perform which we desire for itself. This throughout their schooling, it also engages them in
is what is known as eudaimonia, flourishing, or science from the start.
happiness, which is desired for its own sake with all Kids usually form a basic opinion about the sciences
other things being desired on its account. Eudaimonia is shortly after beginning school. If this is a negative
a property of one's life when considered as a whole. opinion, it can be hard to engage those students in
Flourishing is the highest good of human endeavors and science as they grow older. Engaging young students
that toward which all actions aim. It is success as a with exciting material and experiences motivates them to
human being. The best life is one of excellent human learn and pursue the sciences throughout school.
activity. For Aristotle, the good is what is good for
purposeful, goal-directed entities. He defines the good Science education is one of the most important subjects
proper to human beings as the activities in which the life in school due to its relevance to students’ lives and the
functions specific to human beings are most fully universally applicable problem-solving and critical
realized. thinking skills it uses and develops. These are lifelong
skills that allow students to generate ideas, weigh
For Aristotle, the good of each species is teleologically decisions intelligently and even understand the evidence
immanent to that species. A person's nature as a human behind public policy-making. Teaching technological
being provides him with guidance with respect to how literacy, critical thinking and problem-solving through
he should live his life. One's own life is the only life that science education gives students the skills and
a person has to live. It follows that, for Aristotle, the knowledge they need to succeed in school and beyond.
"good" is what is objectively good for a particular man.
Because self-interest is flourishing, the good in human Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
conduct is connected to the self-interest of the acting
person. Good means "good for" the individual moral The United Nations Millennium Development Goals
agent. Egoism is an integral part of Aristotle's ethics. (MDGs) are 8 goals that UN Member States have agreed
to try to achieve by the year 2015. The United Nations
Importance of Science Education in Schools Millennium Declaration, signed in September 2000,
commits world leaders to combat poverty, hunger,
We are surrounded by technology and the products of disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation, and
science every day. Public policy decisions that affect discrimination against women. The MDGs are derived
every aspect of our lives are based in scientific evidence. from this Declaration. Each MDG has targets set for
And, of course, the immensely complex natural world 2015 and indicators to monitor progress from 1990
that surrounds us illustrates infinite scientific concepts. levels. Several of these relate directly to health.
As children grow up in an increasingly technologically
and scientifically advanced world, they need to be While some countries have made impressive gains in
scientifically literate to succeed. achieving health-related targets, others are falling
behind. Often the countries making the least progress are
Ideally, teaching the scientific method to students is those affected by high levels of HIV/AIDS, economic
teaching them how to think, learn, solve problems and hardship or conflict.
make informed decisions. These skills are integral to
every aspect of a student’s education and life, from Millennium Development Goal 1: eradicate extreme
school to career. poverty and hunger
Science is everywhere. A student rides to school on a Under nutrition which includes fetal growth restriction,
bus, and in that instance alone, there are many examples stunting, wasting and deficiencies of vitamin A and zinc,
of technology based on the scientific method. The school along with suboptimal breastfeeding; is the underlying
bus is a product of many areas of science and cause of death in an estimated 45% of all deaths among
technology, including mechanical engineering and children under 5 years of age. The proportion of
innovation. The systems of roads, lights, sidewalks and underweight children in developing countries has
other infrastructure are carefully designed by civil declined from 28% to 17% between 1990 and 2013. This
engineers and planners. The smartphone in the student’s rate of progress is close to the rate required to meet the
hand is a miracle of modern computer engineering. MDG target, however improvements have been
unevenly distributed between and within different
Outside the window, trees turn sunlight into stored regions.
energy and create the oxygen we need to survive.
Millenium Development Goal 2: Achieve universal by 2015 and beginning to reverse the incidence of
primary education malaria has already been met.
Ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and Tuberculosis
girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of
primary schooling. Literacy rates of 15-24 years old, The annual global number of new cases of tuberculosis
both sexes, percentage. has been slowly falling for a decade thus achieving
MDG target 6.C to reverse the spread of the disease by
Millenium, Development Goal 3: Promote gender 2015. In 2013, there were an estimated 9 million new
equality and empower women cases and 1.5 million deaths (including 360 000 deaths
among HIV positive people). Globally, treatment
Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary success rates have been sustained at high levels since
education, preferably by 2005, and to all levels of 2007, at or above the target of 85%. However, multi-
education no later than 2015. drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB), which emerged
Millennium Development Goal 4: reduce child primarily as a result of inadequate treatment, continues
mortality to pose problems.

Reduce by two-thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the Other diseases

under-five mortality rate Globally, significant progress MDG Target 6.C also includes neglected tropical
has been made in reducing mortality in children under 5 diseases – a medically diverse group of infectious
years of age. In 2013, 6.3 million children under 5 died, conditions caused by a variety of pathogens. In 2013
compared with 12.7 million in 1990. Between 1990 and only 6314 cases of human African trypanosomiasis were
2013, under-5 mortality declined by 49%, from an reported, representing the lowest levels of recorded cases
estimated rate of 90 deaths per 1000 live births to 46. in 50 years. This disease is now targeted for elimination
The global rate of decline has also accelerated in recent as a public health problem by 2020. Dracunculiasis is
years – from 1.2% per annum during 1990–1995 to 4.0% also on the verge of eradication with an historic low of
during 2005–2013. Despite this improvement, the world 126 cases reported in 2014 and an ongoing WHO target
is unlikely to achieve the MDG target of a two-thirds of interrupting its transmission by the end of 2015. Plans
reduction in 1990 mortality levels by the year 2015. to eliminate leprosy as a public health problem
More countries are now achieving high levels of worldwide by 2020 have also been prepared and are
immunization coverage; in 2013, 66% of Member States being implemented. The elimination of visceral
reached at least 90% coverage. In 2013, global measles leishmaniasis as a public health problem in the Indian
immunization coverage was 84% among children aged subcontinent by 2020 is on track with a greater than 75%
12–23 months. During 2000–2013, estimated measles reduction in incident cases recorded since the launch of
deaths decreased by 74% from 481 000 to 124 000. the programme in 2005. In the case of lymphatic
Millennium Development Goal 5: improve Maternal filariasis, more than 5 billion treatments have been
health delivered since 2000 to stop its spread and of the 73
known endemic countries 39 are on track to achieve its
Reduce by three quarters, between 1990 and 2015, the elimination as a public health problem by 2020.
maternal mortality ratio. Achieve, by 2015, universal
access to reproductive health. To reduce the number of Millennium Development Goal 7: ensure
maternal deaths, women need access to good-quality environmental sustainability
reproductive health care and effective interventions. In By 2015, halve the proportion of people without
2012, 64% of women aged 15–49 years who were sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic
married or in a consensual union were using some form sanitation. The world has now met the MDG target
of contraception, while 12% wanted to stop or postpone relating to access to safe drinking-water. In 2012, 90%
childbearing but were not using contraception. The of the population used an improved source of drinking-
proportion of women receiving antenatal care at least water compared with 76% in 1990. Progress has
once during pregnancy was about 83% for the period however been uneven across different regions, between
2007–2014, but for the recommended minimum of 4 or urban and rural areas, and between rich and poor.
more visits the corresponding figure drops to around
64%. With regard to basic sanitation, current rates of
progress are too slow for the MDG target to be met
Millennium Development Goal 6: combat HIV/AIDS, globally. In 2012, 2.5 billion people did not have access
malaria and other diseases to improved sanitation facilities, with 1 billion these
Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the spread of people still practicing open defecation. The number of
HIV/AIDS . Achieve, by 2010, universal access to people living in urban areas without access to improved
treatment for HIV/AIDS for all those who need it. In sanitation is increasing because of rapid growth in the
2013 an estimated 2.1 million people were newly size of urban populations.
infected with HIV – down from 3.4 million in 2001. By Millennium Development Goal 8: develop a global
the end of 2013 about 12.9 million people were partnership for development
receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) globally. Of
these, 11.7 million lived in low- and middle-income In cooperation with pharmaceutical companies, provide
countries, representing 36% of the estimated 32.6 access to affordable essential medicines in developing
million people living with HIV in these countries. countries. Many people continue to face a scarcity of
Should current trends continue the target of placing 15 medicines in the public sector, forcing them to the
million people on ART by 2015 will be exceeded. private sector where prices can be substantially higher.
Surveys undertaken from 2007-2013 show the average
The coverage of interventions such as the distribution availability of selected generic medicines in 21 low and
of insecticide-treated nets and indoor residual spraying middle-income countries was only 55% in the public
has greatly increased, and will need to be sustained in sector.
order to prevent the resurgence of disease and deaths
caused by malaria. Globally, the MDG target of halting Even the lowest-priced generics can put common
treatments beyond the reach of low-income households
in developing countries. The greatest price is paid by 2. Average Lifespan. Aside from the reason that people
patients suffering chronic diseases. Effective treatments engage less in combat and are less likely to die in
for the majority of the global chronic disease burden treatable diseases now as opposed to then, science is able
exist, yet universal access remains out-of-reach. to prolong lives by enhancing living status and
discovering different remedies to most diseases.
WHO Response Distribution of medicines is also made easier and faster.
WHO works with partners to support national efforts to 3. Literacy Rate. Access to education provided to more
achieve the health-related MDGs. WHO’s activities individuals generally creates a more informed public that
include: setting prevention and treatment guidelines and could determine a more just society.
other global norms and standards; providing technical
support to countries to implement guidelines; analyzing 4. Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Although not an
social and economic factors and highlighting the broader indicator of an average person lifestyle in a certain
risks and opportunities for health. WHO assists national country, it is often used to determine the value of the
authorities as they develop health policies and plans, and country’s goods and services produced within the
helps governments work with development partners to territory given a certain time period. Higher country
align external assistance with domestic priorities. WHO income is brought upon by high productivity, often an
also collects and disseminates data on health so countries indicator of presence of technology
can plan health spending and track progress.
Backtracking the Human Condition
LESSON 2 TECHNOLOGY AS A WAY OF
REVEALING The human condition improved only if by improving
we measure the level of comfort, various scientific
The Human Condition Before Common Era breakthrough, and improved lifestyles of those who had
the luxury to afford to do so. Different machineries aid
The term “generation gap” is attributed mainly to the in prolonging lives-assisting those with disabilities,
changes brought about by technology. Although the honing efficiency in industrial workplaces, and even
original idea is for technology to help everyone, it exploring the universe for places we can thrive once all
cannot be denied that until today , not everyone is the Earth’s resources are depleted. Whether science or
comfortable in using the different kinds of technologies. religion, people are trying to make sense of events
Most those who belong to the older generation think that happening in the world on the basis of either of these
these technologies are too complicated to operate. They two paradigm. They are still trying to discover and
have been used to the simple living in the past and these rediscover things that would give meaning to their lives-
available technological devices, though very appealing whether it would be honor, strength or merit. People are
are a difficult puzzle in them. still trying to make sense of their existence in the world,
However, this gap is not something to be worried and technology does little to aid in their pursuit of life’s
about. This does not in any way make technology a meaning.
villain. Instead it is challenge for people in the field of Technological advancements are seemingly occurring
science and technology to make these technological in a rapid pace that our morality cannot quite keep up;
advancement more accessible and less confusing for no such consideration was given in this approach in
people who are not as young anymore. This is also a achieving the good life.
challenge for the younger generation to take the older
generation to an exciting journey in science and LESSON 3 THE GOOD LIFE
technology. In this way, everyone can experience what it
is like to live with ease and comfort because of the Aristotle and Good Life
availability of modern technology. Among the theoretical disciplines: Aristotle included
People who live in the past and people who live in the logic, biology, physics, and metaphysics, among others.
present all have different views of what it means to Among the practical ones, Aristotle counted ethics and
flourish primarily due to the kind of environment and the politics. Whereas “truth” is the aim of the theoretical
period one is in. Since there have been drastic changes in sciences, the “good” is the end goal of the practical ones.
people’s way of life it can be inferred that there have Every attempt to know is connected in some way in an
been drastic changes not only in the conception of attempt to find the “good” or as said in the previous
human flourishing but to people’s actual human lesson, the attainment of human flourishing. Rightly so,
condition. These changes were brought about by the one must find the truth about what the good is before
interplay of different factors but essentially, it was one can even try to locate that which is good.
brought about by science and technology. Aristotle is the first thinker into the problematization of
Technology has been instrumental in all of these the end of goal of life: happiness. Change is a process
because in searching for the good life, people were able that is inherent in things. We, along with the other
to come up with creations that would make life easier, entities in the world, start as potentialities and move
more comfortable and more enriching. Position wise, the toward actualities. Every human being moves according
humans of today are much better off compared to to some end. Every action that emanates from a human
humans several centuries ago. Advancements in person is a function of the purpose (telos) that the person
medicine, technology, health, and education ushered in has. Every human person, according to Aristotle, aspires
humanity’s best yet, and show no sign of stopping. The for an end. This end, we have learned is happiness or
following are some of the notable comparisons then and human flourishing.
now: No individual resists happiness. We all want to be
1. Mortality Rate. Due to technology, lesser women happy. Aristotle claims that happiness is the be all and
and children die during birth, assuring robust population end all of everything that we do. We may not realize it
and strong workforce. Medical care for pre mature but the end goal of everything that we do is happiness. If
infants allows them to survive and develop normally, you asks one person why he is doing what he is doing,
while proper maternal care ensures that mothers can he may not readily say that it is happiness that motivate
fully recover and remain empowered. him. When Aristotle claims that we want to be happy he
does not necessarily mean the everyday happiness that
we obtain when we win a competition. What Aristotle We agree or not technological advancements, these are
actually mean is human flourishing, a kind of all undertaken in the hopes of achieving good life.
contentment in knowing that one is getting the best out Balance between the good life, ethics, and technology
of life. A kind of feeling that one has maxed out his has to be attained.
potentials in the world, that he has attained the crux of
his humanity. LESSON 4- WHEN TECHNOLOGY AND
HUMANITY CROSS
Happiness as the Goal of a Good Life
History of technology
In the 18th century, John Stuart mill, declared the
Greatest happiness principle by saying that an action is The development over time of systematic techniques
right as far as it maximizes the attainment of happiness for making and doing things. The term technology, a
for the greatest number of people. combination of the Greek technē, “art, craft,” with logos,
“word, speech,” meant in Greece a discourse on the arts,
Materialism both fine and applied. When it first appeared in English
in the 17th century, it was used to mean a discussion of
The first materialists are the atomists in Ancient the applied arts only, and gradually these “arts”
Greece. Democritus and Leucippus led a school whose themselves came to be the object of the designation. By
primary belief is that the world is made up of and is the early 20th century, the term embraced a growing
controlled by the tiny indivisible units in the world range of means, processes, and ideas in addition to tools
called atomos or seeds. For Democritus and his and machines. By mid-century, technology was defined
disciples, the world, including human beings, is made up by such phrases as “the means or activity by which man
of matter. Atomos simply comes together randomly to seeks to change or manipulate his environment.” Even
form the things in the world. Only material entities such broad definitions have been criticized by observers
matter. In terms of human flourishing, matter is what who point out the increasing difficulty of distinguishing
makes us attain happiness. We see this at work with between scientific inquiry and technological activity.
most people who are clinging on to material wealth as
the primary source of the meaning of their existence. Modes of technological transmission
Hedonism Another aspect of the cumulative character of
technology that will require further investigation is the
The Hedonists, for their part, see the end goal of life in manner of transmission of technological innovations.
acquiring pleasure. Pleasure has always been the priority This is an elusive problem, and it is necessary to accept
of hedonists. For them, life is about obtaining and the phenomenon of simultaneous or parallel invention in
indulging in pleasure because life is limited. The mantra cases in which there is insufficient evidence to show the
of this school of thought is the famous, “Eat, drink, and transmission of ideas in one direction or another. The
be merry for tomorrow we die.” Led by Epicurus, this mechanics of their transmission have been enormously
school of thought also does not buy any notion of improved in recent centuries by the printing press and
afterlife just like the materialists. other means of communication and also by the increased
Stoicism facility with which travelers visit the sources of
innovation and carry ideas back to their own homes.
Another school of thought led by Epicurus, the stoics Traditionally, however, the major mode of transmission
espoused the idea that to generate happiness, one must has been the movement of artifacts and craftsmen. Trade
learn to distance oneself and be apathetic. The original in artifacts has ensured their widespread distribution and
term apatheia, precisely means to be indifferent. The encouraged imitation. Even more important, the
stoics, happiness can only be attained by a careful migration of craftsmen—whether the itinerant
practice of apathy. Adopt the fact that some things are metalworkers of early civilizations or the German rocket
not within our control. The sooner we realized this, the engineers whose expert knowledge was acquired by both
happier we can be. the Soviet Union and the United States after World War
II—has promoted the spread of new technologies.
Theism Many people find the meaning of their lives
using God as a fulcrum of their existence. The The evidence for such processes of technological
Philippines as a predominantly Catholic country is transmission is a reminder that the material for the study
witness to how people base their life goals on beliefs that of the history of technology comes from a variety of
hinged on some form of supernatural reality called sources. Much of it relies, like any historical
heaven. The ultimate basis of happiness for theists is the examination, on documentary matter, although this is
communication with God. The world where we are in is sparse for the early civilizations because of the general
only just a temporary reality where we have to maneuver lack of interest in technology on the part of scribes and
around while waiting for the ultimate return to the hands chroniclers. For these societies, therefore, and for the
of God. many millennia of earlier unrecorded history in which
slow but substantial technological advances were made,
Humanism
it is necessary to rely heavily upon archaeological
Another school of thought is humanism where it evidence. Even in connection with the recent past, the
espouses the freedom of man to carve his own destiny historical understanding of the processes of rapid
and to legislate his own laws, free from the shackles of a industrialization can be made deeper and more vivid by
God that monitors and controls. The humanist, man is the study of “industrial archaeology.” Much valuable
literally the captain of his own ship. Inspired by the material of this nature has been accumulated in
enlightenment In seventeenth century, humanists see museums, and even more remains in the place of its use
themselves not merely as stewards of the creation but as for the observation of the field worker. The historian of
individuals who are in control of themselves and the technology must be prepared to use all these sources,
world outside them. This is the spirit of most scientists and to call upon the skills of the archaeologist, the
who thought that the world is a place and space for engineer, the architect, and other specialists as
freely unearthing the world in seeking for ways on how appropriate.
to improve the lives of its inhabitants.
Ethical Dilemma Faced by Technological
Advancements
 Given below are few clear examples of technological “moral machine” (http://moralmachine.mit.edu/hl/fr) in
innovations, which require an ethical thought process order to collect data on the points of view of people. The
about their possible consequences. ∙ conclusion so far is that we face what he calls a social
dilemma, which solution will require trade-offs.
The biology field is a particularly impacted domain by
ethical questions. Indeed, the manipulation of cells and Thus, let’s not just rush on new technologies and
organisms relies to life, death and procreation, which are innovations just because they are new and fashionable,
extremely sensitive subjects as they are the essence of all but let’s think about the limits to set in order to preserve
living beings. Some example, such as the control of the their benefic effects and banish their possible excesses.
IVF (In Vitro Fertilization), show that some technologies
have led to tremendous improvement of the quality of Robotics and Humanity
life for many families, even if they raised ethical The International Organization for Standardization
questions at the very beginning. But sometimes, defines a “service robot” as a robot “that performs useful
technical progress leads to disturbing applications, tasks for humans or equipment excluding industrial
which makes us wonder: should we accept everything? automation applications”. (ISO 8373)
Examples of “designed animals” are given in the TED
talk (Root Wolpe, 2010): can we accept bioluminescent According to ISO 8373 robots require “a degree of
monkeys or human ears grafted on rats in the name of autonomy”, which is the “ability to perform intended
technological progress? ∙ tasks based on current state and sensing, without human
intervention”. For service robots this ranges from partial
In the field of genetic manipulation, another polemic is autonomy — including human robot interaction — to
ongoing for a year or two about a relatively new full autonomy — without active human robot
technique, called CRISPR/Cas9. This technology is intervention. The IFR statistics for service robots
often compared to molecular scissors as it allows to cut a therefore include systems based on some degree of
pre-selected chosen gene, and potentially replace it with human robot interaction or even full tele operation as
another one. Scientists are very excited about it, as it has well as fully autonomous systems.
many applications in the comprehension and cure of
diseases. Nevertheless it inevitably raises the question: Service robots are categorized according to personal or
where should we stop? If we are able to manipulate an professional use. They have many forms and structures
embryo’s genome (which has been tried by a Chinese as well as application areas.
team in 2015 but not yet succeeded), why not create
Robots are now widely used the so called service
designer babies? Of course, we remember the film
robots do specific tasks but focus mainly in assisting
“Gattaca” and cannot help wondering: is it good or bad
their masters in their everyday tasks. A preliminary
to create perfect babies? If it is acceptable to remove the
extract of the relevant definition is (IFR, 2012).
gene responsible for a disease, should all the diseases be
affected? Do we have to fear eugenics (of which we 1. A robot is an actuated mechanism programmable in
remember as having extremely serious consequences)? two or more axes with a degree of autonomy , moving
(Knoepfler, 2015) (Jalinière, 2015)(Chneiweiss, 2004). ∙ within each environment, to perform intended task.
Autonomy in the context means the ability to perform
Artificial Intelligence - and its applications is also at a
intended tasks based on current state and sensing without
central point when it comes to ethical questions.
human intervention.
Collecting data and doing machine learning is supposed
to help machines learn about the human behavior, but as 2. A service robot is a robot that performs useful tasks
it is explain in the TED talk (Tufekci, 2016), machine for humans or equipment excluding industrial
learning systems are a black box, and we don’t exactly automation application.
understand how it works. Thus, even if the system is
able to achieve impressive exercises, as to predict 3. A personal service robot or a service robot for a
months in advance the beginning of a depression or a personal use is a service robot is use for non commercial
pregnancy, what consequences can it have when used in task, usually by laypersons. Examples are domestic
a hiring algorithm? The latter are supposed to be free servant robot, automated wheelchair, personal mobility
from human biases, but are they really? Same problems assist robot and per exercising robot.
appear with insurances, which could refuse the 4. A professional service robot or service robot for
subscription of a new client because the algorithm said professional use is a service robot used for commercial
he has a higher probability to have a disease in the next task usually operated by a properly trained operator.
few years. And what about the algorithms used for some Examples are the cleaning robot for public places,
decisions of justice sentences, which appear to be gender delivery robot in offices or hospitals fire fighting robot,
and race biased? The conclusion is that we cannot rehabilitation robot, and surgery robot in hospitals, fire
outsource our moral responsibilities to machines, and fighting robot, rehabilitation robot, ad surgery robot in
artificial intelligence does not give us a “get out of ethics hospitals. In this context, an operator is a person
free card”. ∙ designated to start, monitor, and stop the intended
As a last example, let’s talk about driverless cars, operation of a robot.
which seem to be the next big innovation of the next few
years: the big stakes are to create a technology, which
will allow to eliminate 90% of the accidents, as the latter
are always due to human error. What about the 10% left?
Imagine different scenarios where the car is unable to
stop, and has to “decide” where to stop: in a group of
pedestrians (killing them), swerving in a wall killing one
pedestrian, or swerving in a wall killing you and your
passenger(s)? Who should decide? Shall we wait until
the technology is 100% safe? Is it even possible? And if
it is possible but requires more 50 years of research,
should we not adopt the technology? The author of the
TED talk (Rahwan, 2016) about this issue created a