S C I E N C E & T E C H N O LO GY

HISTORICAL ANTECEDENTS
MODULE 1

PROPERTY OF: MARIA JORDANA A. OLANO. MSCI, BIOLOGY DEPARTMENT, XAVIER UNIVERSITY, CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY.
W H AT I S S C I E N C E ?
LET’S LOOK AT THE VARIETY OF DEFINITIONS ACROSS THE
WEB…
SCIENCE CAN BE THOUGHT OF AS BOTH
A BODY OF KNOWLEDGE (THE THINGS
WE HAVE ALREADY DISCOVERED), AND
THE PROCESS OF ACQUIRING NEW
K N O W L E D GE ( T HR O U GH O B S E RVAT I ON
AN D E X PE R IM E NTATION — TE STING A N D
HYPOTHESIZING)
W W W . S C I E N C E . O R G . A U
S C I E N C E ( F R O M T H E L AT I N WO R D S C I E N T I A ,
M E A N I N G " K N O W L E D G E “ ) I S A SY ST E M AT I C
E N T E R P R I S E T H AT B U I L D S A N D O R G A N I Z E S
K N O W L E D G E I N T H E F O R M O F T E STA B L E
E X P L A N AT I O N S A N D P R E D I C T I O N S A B O U T
THE UNIVERSE
T R U S T Y , O L D W I K I P E D I A .
SCIENCE, ANY SYSTEM OF KNOWLEDGE THAT IS
CONCERNED WITH THE PHYSICAL WORLD AND
ITS PHENOMENA AND T HAT ENTAILS UNBIASED
OBSERVATIONS AND SY STEMATIC
EXPERIMENTATION.

IN GENERAL, A SCIENCE INVOLVES A PURSUIT

OF KNOWLEDGE COVERING GENERAL TRUTHS OR
THE OPERATIONS OF FUNDAMENTAL LAWS.

E N C Y C L O P E D I A B R I T A N N I C A .
W H AT I S T E C H N O LO GY ?
T H E A P P L I C AT I O N O F
SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE
FOR PRACTICAL PURPOSES,
E S P E C I A L LY I N I N D U S T R Y.
O X F O R D D I C T I O N A R Y
TECHNOLOGY ("SCIENCE OF CRAFT“ "ART, SKILL,
CUNNING OF HAND"; AND, -LOGIA) IS THE SUM
OF TECHNIQUES, SKILLS, METHODS, AND
PROCESSES USED IN THE PRODUCTION OF
GOODS OR SERVICES OR IN THE
ACCOMPLISHMENT OF OBJECTIVES, SUCH AS
SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION

W I K I P E D I A
T E C H N O LO GY, T H I N G S T H AT F U L F I L L O U R
NEEDS AND DESIRES OR PERFORM CERTAIN
FUNCTION, THE APPLICATION OF
UNDERSTANDING OF NATURAL LAWS TO
THE SOLUTION OF PRACTICAL PROBLEMS
A BRIEF HISTORY OF
MAJOR DISCOVERIES
 AN
OVERVIEW
S&T IN THE
ANCIENT TIMES
S&T IN THE
ANCIENT TIMES
• Stone tools have been the first recognized technology or
craft
• Used for:
✓ Hunting & gathering
✓ Use of fire (man’s earliest conquest)
✓ Agricultural revolution (farming) with the use of
metal, instead of stone tools, towards the end
• Civilization began to arise (manufacturing, trading,
villages have rulers, etc.)
RECENT RESEARCH HAS
SHOWN THAT OUR
ANCESTORS HUNTED
MAMMOTH, USING
TOOLS THEY CRAFTED.
During the Paleolithic, hominins
grouped together in small societies
such as bands, and subsisted by
gathering plants and fishing,
hunting or scavenging wild animals.
The Paleolithic is characterized by
the use of knapped stone tools,
although at the time humans also
used wood and bone tools
Long periods of cold with thick sheets of ice covering parts of Europe, Asia and North America. Paleolithic
people needed fire to survive. They had to change their diet, build sturdier shelters and make warmer clothing
from animal furs.

The Huldremose Woman's outer sheepskin cape found in a peat bog in East
Jutland. C. 350-41 f.Kr.
More than 20 shoes can be dated to the Early Iron Age. The shoes were found in a peat
bog at Rønbjerg in East Jutland in 1921, together with a male bog body. They are dated
to the centuries before the birth of Christ, between 355-47 BC.
WITH THE BEGINNINGS OF METALLURGY, THE
STONE AGE OF MAN COMES TO AN END; WITH
THE BEGINNINGS OF WRITING, PREHISTORY
COMES TO AN END; WITH THE BEGINNINGS OF
AG R I C U LT U R E , M A N ' S PA R A S I T I S M O N N AT U R E
GIVES WAY TO CO-OPERATION WITH NATURE”
– R.J. FORBES

S&T IN ANTIQUITY
( M I D D L E / M E D I E V A L
• Lasted from the 5th to the 15th century
• Started with the rise of Greek civilization
✓ Developed institutions such as the Academy, Lyceum, and Museum
A G E S ) ✓ Were the first to believe that humans could understand the universe
using reason alone rather than through mythology or religion
(philosophers)
• Characterized by war between religion and science (Dark Ages)
 MOVIE
R ECOM M EN DATI ON :
• If you want to fully immerse yourself to the Dark Ages
vibe, watch this movie! (one of my favorites, available on
Netflix).

• Or you can just watch the trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moNH4N44D28

You can see the tools crafted by blacksmiths, how resources

like metal was important in the wars fought during the dark
ages, etc.
 • Development of machines that would make work faster or more
efficient
THE INDUSTRIAL ➢ Interest in thermodynamics rose as a result of the steam
REVOLUTION engine
➢ Concepts of work and power began to be formalized
( 1 8 TH C E N T U R Y ) • Encyclopedias were the new form of publication
• The profession of engineer was one of the great inventions
S & T I N T H E 1 9 TH
CENTURY
(1820 THROUGH 1894)
• Much of the 19th century science started with the
discovery of electromagnetism by Hans Christian
Oersted.

• In a nutshell, he discovered that an electric current has a

magnetic field around it.
• What practical applications were developed from
this idea?
• This led to the creation of electromagnets,
motors, dynamos, transformers, etc.
 Scientific discoveries and
inventions were presented to the
Royal Institution which aimed to
S&T IN THE educate society through scientific
discourse.
19TH
CENTURY
(1820
THROUGH
1894)

• Science and the teaching of science

underwent several changes
• Many new fields of science were
born
• (Anthropology, Archaeology,
Cell biology, Psychology, Anything familiar? Yes? No?
Organic Chemistry)
S & T I N T H E 1 9 TH C E N T U R Y
(1820 THROUGH 1894)

• Science became professional

• Occupation of science became a paid profession
• Universities developed into centers where science
flourished
• Teaching of science became linked to scientific
research
• Publication of scientific information started
• Scientists started meeting at national scientific
congresses
• The idea that science could ultimately explain all
phenomena in nature became stronger
 S & T I N T H E 1 9 TH C E N T U R Y
(1820 THROUGH 1894)

• The relationship between scientific education and technological progress became fully understood
• Technical schools were founded
• Scientific thought was much more generally known by the public (faced general public criticism of some
scientific ideas, e.g. age of the Earth and the theory of evolution by Darwin)
 THE RISE OF
MODERN S&T
( 1 8 9 5 T H R O U G H 1 9 4 5 )

Science Photo Library

Lumiere cinema projector in action in 1895
 RISE OF MODERN S&T
(1895 THROUGH 1945)

LARGE NUMBER OF SCIENCE BECAME MUCH SCIENCE STARTED HAVING SCIENCE BECAME HIGHLY
SCIENTISTS MORE OF A COMMUNAL AN EFFECT ON SOCIETY SUCCESSFUL IN
EFFORT DIRECTLY EXPLAINING THE NATURE
OF MATTER, MECHANISMS
OF CHEMICAL REACTIONS,
(THE TIME SPAN BETWEEN A FUNDAMENTAL PROCESSES
DISCOVERY AND ITS OF LIFE, AND THE GENERAL
TECHNICAL APPLICATION STRUCTURE OF THE
BECAME SHORTER) UNIVERSE
• Quantum theory changed the
way philosophers think about
the universe
• Technology did not remain
confined to large enterprises
only but became an important
part of everyday life
• Enormous growth of
automobile industry
• Electricity revolutionized
technology
• Laboratories for testing and
development of new products
were established

RISE OF MODERN S&T

(1895 THROUGH 1945)
 BIG SCIENCE AND
T H E P O S T- I N D U S T R I A L
SOCIETY
(1946 THROUGH 1972)

D I S C O V E R I E S A N D I N V E N T I O N S R E A C H E D P R A C T I C A L A P P L I C AT I O N S A S A R E S U LT O F W W 2

( S Y N T H E T I C R U B B E R , R A DA R , D DT, P E N I C I L L I N , F U S I O N A N D F I S S I O N B O M B S , J E T
P O W E R E D A I R C R A F T, H E L I C O P T E R , B A L L I S T I C M I S S I L E S , N U C L E A R W E A P O N S , A N D T H E
E L E C T R O N I C D I G I TA L C O M P U T E R )
BIG SCIENCE AND
T H E P O S T- I N D U S T R I A L S O C I E T Y
(1946 THROUGH 1972)

Science became “big” Science changed society

Equipment/instruments were shared Availability of automobiles changed how
(interdisciplinary) people migrate

Even larger number of scientists, scientists Automation allowed many manufacturing

having specialization processes to be done by less skilled workers
T H E I N F O R M AT I O N A G E
(1973 THROUGH
PRESENT)

( W E W I L L H AV E A S E PA R AT E M O D U L E F O R T H E
I N F O R M AT I O N A G E _