INTRODUCTION TO SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY

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. According to the famous American
science historian, John Heilbron (2003), “Modern science is a discovery as well as an
invention.” Heilbron considered science as a discovery of regularity in nature, enough for natural
phenomena to be described by principles and laws. He also explained that science required
invention to devise techniques, abstractions, apparatuses, and organizations to describe these
natural regularities and their law-like descriptions.

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, is the application of scienctific knowledge, laws, and principles to produce

services, materials, tools and machines aimed at solving real-world problems. 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.

Mark Zuckerberg his definition of a technological tool is, and the CEO of facebook responded:
“What defines technological tool-one historical definition-is something that takes a human’s
sense or ability and augments it and makes it more powerful. So for example, I wear contact
lenses or glasses; that is a technology that enhances my human ability of vision and makes it
better.”

Wolpert (2005) made an interesting comparison between science and technology that is helpful
in the study of their interaction with society. In his landmark paper, The Medawar Lecture 1998:
Is science Dangerous? Wolpert explained that reliable scientific knowledge has no moral or
ethical value. It is meant simply to explain how nature and the universe work and that the
obligation of scientists, besides studying the nature of universe, is to explain the possible uses
and applications of such scientific knowledge. Along this line, Wolpert made it clear that science
is not the same as technology. Scientists are not responsible for the application of knowledge in
technology. He further explained that the very nature of science is that it is not possible to
predict scientific discoveries and how these discoveries may be applied. While scientists are
responsible for the reliable conduct of scientific inquiry and its honest interpretation and
dissemination, technological applications of science are influenced by other sectors such as
politics and governance, religion and business.

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

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.
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 ENFORCE THE IMPORTANCE 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 listing the ten
emerging ethical dilemmas and policy issues in science and technology every year.
1. Helix- a digital app store designed to read genomes
2. BlessU-2 and Pepper- first robot priest and monk
3. Emotion-Sensing Facial Recognition- a software being developed to assess your
reactions to anything such as shopping and playing games.
4. Ransomware- a way of holding data hostage through hacking and requiring a ransom
to be paid.
5. Textalyzer- a device that analyses whether a driver was using his or her phone during
an accident.
6. Social Credit System- a system of scoring citizens through their actions by placing
them under constant surveillance (which China plays to adopt)
7. Google Clips- a hands-free camera that lets the user capture every moment
effortlessly
8. Sentencing Software- a mysterious algorithm designed to aid courts in sentencing
decisions.
9. Friendbot-an app that stores the deceased’s digital footprint so one can still ”chat” with
them.
10. Citizen App- an app that notifies users of ongoing crimes or major events in a specific
area.