1 - INTRODUCTION TO SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY

Topics: General concepts related to science, technology, and society, historical roots of STS as an academic field, the
importance of the study of STS, and ethical dilemmas that reinforce of the study of STS.

General concepts related to science, technology, and society

What is Science?

Science and technology innovations are prevalent in our society. It permeates our everyday activities, as well as the tools
that we use, from the most simple to the most complex. In order for you to completely grasp the impact of science and
technology to our society, it is necessary to study some concepts related to science and technology.

Science comes from the Latin word scientia, meaning ‘knowledge’.

It refers to a systematic and methodical activity of building and organizing knowledge about how the universe behaves
through observation, experimentation or both..

The Nature of Science

It is important to understand the nature of science because it is a critical component of scientific literacy. It enhances your
understanding of science concepts and enables you to make informed decisions about scientifically-based personal and
societal issues. The following sums up the nature of science:

The World is Understandable

Science presumes that the things and events in the universe occur in consistent patterns that are comprehensible through
careful, systematic study. Scientists believe that through the use of the intellect, and with the aid of instruments that
extend the senses, people can discover patterns in all of nature.

Science Explains and Predicts

Scientists strive to make sense of observations of phenomena by constructing explanations that are consistent with
currently accepted scientific principles.

Such explanations or theories may be either broad or restricted, but they must be logically sound and incorporate a
significant body of scientifically valid observations.

The credibility of scientific theories often comes from their ability to show relationships among phenomena that previously
seemed unrelated.

For example, the theory of moving continents, has grown in credibility as it has shown relationships among diverse
phenomena such as earthquakes, volcanoes, the match between types of fossils on different continents, the shapes of
continents, and the contours of the ocean floors.

Science Demands Evidence

The validity of scientific claims is settled by referring to observations of phenomena. Hence, scientists concentrate on
getting accurate data. Such evidence is obtained by observations and measurements taken in situations that range from
natural settings (such as a forest) to completely contrived ones (such as the laboratory).

To make their observations, scientists use their own senses, instruments (such as microscopes) that enhance those
senses, and instruments that tap characteristics quite different from what humans can sense (such as magnetic fields).

Scientists observe passively (earthquakes, bird migrations), make collections (rocks, shells), and actively probe the world
(as by boring into the earth's crust or administering experimental medicines).

Scientific Ideas are Open to Change

Science is more of a process than a set body of knowledge. Scientists are always testing and revising their ideas, and as
new observations are made, existing ideas may be challenged.

Ideas may be replaced with new ideas that better fit the facts, but more often existing ideas are simply revised. For
example, when scientists discovered how genes control genetic traits, they didn't throw out Mendel's laws of inheritance.

The new discoveries helped to explain why Mendel's laws apply to certain traits but not others.

They showed that Mendel's laws are part of a bigger picture. Through many new discoveries over time, scientists
gradually build an increasingly accurate and detailed understanding of the natural world.

Science is a Complex Social Activity

Scientific work involves many individuals doing many different kinds of work and goes on to some degree in all nations of
the world. Men and women of all ethnic and national backgrounds participate in science and its applications.
These people --- scientists and engineers, mathematicians, physicians, technicians, computer programmers, librarians,
and others --- may focus on scientific knowledge either for its own sake or for a particular practical purpose, and they may
be concerned with data gathering, theory building, instrument building, or communicating.

Science Cannot Provide Complete Answers to All Questions

There are many matters that cannot usefully be examined in a scientific way.

There are, for instance, beliefs that --- by their very nature --- cannot be proved or disproved (such as the existence of
supernatural powers and beings, or the true purposes of life).

In other cases, a scientific approach that may be valid is likely to be rejected as irrelevant by people who hold to certain
beliefs (such as in miracles, fortune-telling, astrology, and superstition). Nor do scientists have the means to settle issues
concerning good and evil, although they can sometimes contribute to the discussion of such issues by identifying the likely
consequences of particular actions, which may be helpful in weighing alternatives.

What is Technology?

Technology, the word often attached side by side with science comes from the Greek word techne, meaning ‘art, skill or
cunning of hand’.

Technology involves the development and use of materials, tools, and approaches for solving human problems and
helping to fulfill human needs and desires.

Many of the products of technology help humans accomplish tasks that would otherwise be very difficult or impossible to
carry out. Although technology provides many benefits, it also produces associated costs and risks.

Technology is also a way of knowing, and is also a process of exploration and experimentation.

Technology is both a form of knowledge that uses concepts and skills from other disciplines and the application of this
knowledge to meet an identified need or to solve a specific problem using materials, energy, and tools.

Relationship between Science, Technology, and Society

Science, technology and society are closely linked, especially through scientific inquiry, technological problem solving,
and communication. Science frequently utilizes and requires tools and processes developed by technology, and
conversely, technology often employs principles, laws, theories, and processes developed by means of science. The
society as we know it today has been affected in many ways by science and technology.

For example, society demands for an easy-access, extensive and frequent communication. This leads to the research and
development of an ever widening array of mobile phone capabilities. Access to these capabilities, in turn, influenced the
way humans live. As the society relies more and more on mobile phones, additional features were continuously requested
to improve like increasing speed of phone processors, the use of touch-enabled screens, or the implementation of mobile
internet access, and the cycle continues.

Historical roots of STS as an academic field

As problems in science and technology continue to rise and become more observable, the need to pay attention to their
interactions with various aspects of human life, e.g. social, political, and economic, becomes ever more necessary. How
the different aspects of society shape and influence the progression and further development of science and technology is
the area of concern of a relatively new academic discipline called Science, Technology and Society.

Science, Technology, and Society (STS) is a relatively young field that combines previously independent and older
disciplines, such as the history of science, philosophy of science, and sociology of science. As an academic field, STS,
according to Harvard University’s Kennedy School (2018), traces its roots from the interwar period and the start of the
Cold War. It was during this period when historians and scientists found interest in the interconnections of scientific
knowledge, technological systems, and society. The rise of STS as an academic field resulted from the recognition that
many schools today do not really prepare students to respond critically, reflectively, and proactively to the challenges
posed by science and technology in the modern world.

The importance of the study of STS

STS seeks to bridge the gap between two traditionally exclusive cultures --- humanities (interpretive) and natural sciences
(rational) --- so that humans will be able to better confront the moral, ethical, and existential dilemmas brought by the
continued developments in science and technology.

STS also calls for educating you (our students) so that you will be able to apply science and technology (tools, knowledge,
process and products) to solve problems in your environment. STS is an important academic discipline to help you do
science so as to be functional and not just graduates who are alien to your own society.
For example, graduates should be able to apply science and technology while at school, say to be productive, to grow
your own food, to carry-out diseases preventive measures and to become self-reliant or employed.

STS aims to help students to develop adaptability, equipped with not only academic skills but with a range of practical
skills which will make you a functional citizen.

Ethical dilemmas that reinforce of the study of STS

Human beings are by no means perfect – we struggle with ethical dilemmas on a daily basis and fail in doing what we
think or believe to be the right thing more often than we would like to admit. Unfortunately, these failings are also
articulated in our technology.

To warn us of these failings, the John J. Reilly Center for Science, Technology, and Values at the University of Notre
Dame compiles an annual list of what it determines to be that year’s top 10 ethical dilemmas in science and technology.
The list points to the challenges, questions, and issues that need to be addressed and resolved when science, and
technology and humanity intertwine.

The top 10 ethical dilemmas of science and technology as identified by the John J. Reilly Center for Science, Technology,
and Values at the University of Notre Dame for 2020 can be viewed at this link: www.laboratoryequipment.com/558920-
Top-10-Ethical-Dilemmas-in-Science-for-2020/. You may also view the dilemmas from previous years as listed by the
said organization. Even if several items in the list may sound unfamiliar to you, it can be a useful springboard in the study
of science and technology.