Science and Technology in Everyday Life PDF

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Lecture notes used for discussions for synchronous meetings. STS, Science, Technology and Society. GE subject....

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The Social Dimension of Science and Technology Overview of Society and Culture Humans, as do some animals, belong to specific groups in society. Individuals belong to a , , ,c , , , among others. In general, the term refers to an autonomous group of people interacting with others in a distinct geographic territory and sharing a common culture. Different groups to which individuals belong are part of society. The ways in which people in specific societies are expected and are taught to behave largely depends on culture. are diverse and thus vary across different places. How children are nurtured in one culture may not be the same in another culture. Child rearing practices vary across cultures. Types of families, the r and s associated with , the types of f d, l ,s , among others vary across cultures.

There are a number of factors contributing to such diversity including the nd how people manage to utilize what is found in their . These processes of harnessing resources in order to respond to society’s needs are collectively referred to as . The knowledge utilized to harness such resources is referred to as . These processes and knowledges also vary across cultures as they are exposed to different . Thus, the of culture are those objects produced as a result of technology. But how these were produced and what are the processes and functions involved in these processes form part of the non-material aspect of culture, which also includes the knowledge utilized to create the technology which created the objects or artifacts utilized by people in society.

Science in Society The term refers to the body of knowledge utilized to understand the world. Generally, the term science is used to refer to understanding natural phenomena including the world of , , how composition of substances, among others. These are the foci of the natural sciences such as , , , y, meteorology, and others. However, as society became more complex, rational thinkers began to scrutinize society itself trying to understand its various processes and components. Early social thinkers utilized the methods of the natural sciences to understand the social world.

These sciences are now known as the social sciences including s ,e , ,p and others.

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has been instrumental in the development of technologies. Even during prehistoric times, the knowledge of early humans has been utilized to harness available resources in the environment. , for example, is a product of the knowledge of early humans utilized to produce something that could respond to their needs. In recent times, science has been utilized to develop more advanced technologies to make life more convenient. A lot of electronic gadgets now flood contemporary human societies. These shall be discussed in more detail in the succeeding chapters. By the term “science” we do not only mean the formal natural and social sciences, .

Technology as Component of Culture In sociology and anthropology,

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The objects produced by technology are referred to as or material With this definition, technology is not confined to the so-called modern technology involving machines and computers. also “technology”. Even the use of plants for healing purposes by indigenous peoples

, based on the existing knowledge systems, now referred to as “science”, of specific societies. As an aspect of culture, it is related to other aspects including The succeeding chapters will utilize this perspective in looking at science and technology in society. Linking Science, Technology and Society

In general, sociology provides various theoretical perspectives to the analysis of society and culture. The major perspectives are , and

view society from a more macro-level perspective as it focuses on the interconnection between systems in society which have functions that maintain the functioning of the whole society. One social institution affects all other institutions, thus if there is a dysfunction in one aspect, the entire system is affected. For example if the economy is in crisis, it affects the ,

Similarly, the conflict perspective views society from a macro-level perspective but instead of focusing on functions, it focuses on unequal relationships among groups or categories of people to explain what is happening in society. For example, it views poverty as a result of exploitation of the lower class (workers) by the powerful class (capitalists). These sociological perspectives shall be utilized in analyzing science and technology in society.

– Although all these look at the relationship between technology and society, they have different views of this relationship. The first view, although we shall not utilize this in our discussion and analysis, is called Technological Somnambulism which, as explained by Langdon Winner, a political scientist, denies the various ways by which technology provides structure and meaning for human life. This perspective contends that human relationship to technology consists of merely “making” and “using” technology. In this view, – good nor bad. In other words. Technology’s impact on society depends on how it is utilized. Generally, this view ignores how technology can shape social structure; and how social structure shapes technology. Thus, technologies are seen to operate beyond the control of humans and seem to be results of automatic, unavoidable

processes. This is in contrast to the two other perspectives discussed in the succeeding paragraphs.

Technological Determinism generally contends that a society’s technology largely determines its social structure and culture. The term “technological determinism” was coined by Thorstein Veblen, an American sociologist and economist. Technology is viewed as the main determinant of a society’s history and the driving force of its culture. This view posits that the introduction of newer technologies leads to changes in society and culture which may lead to the loss of existing knowledge and technologies as well. For example, the mechanization of agriculture has led to the loss of traditional farming methods. The same is true with communication technologies. People nowadays communicate through the internet by sending emails and no longer through handwritten letters sent via the post office. Over the course of human history, there are a number of examples that could be cited, such as the invention of irrigation systems, the wheel and gunpowder. For every new discovery or invention, there is a corresponding transition or change in society. The discovery of steam power, for example, led to the development of industrial society; while the invention of computers ushered in the information age in contemporary societies. This shall be discussed in more detail in the next chapters.

The Social Construction of Technology (SCOT) perspective arose as a contrasting view to technological determinism introduced by Wiebe Bijker and Trevor Pinch in 1984. It emphasizes the importance of social context in the development of new technologies viewed as a product of social processes involving several social groups. SCOT argues that technological innovation is a complex process wherein both technology and society negotiate the meaning of new technologies; then make changes to technology through resistance; and lastly construct social and technological frameworks, actions and practices. For example, the social context of science and technology in third world countries like the Philippines is different from that of first world countries like the United States and Japan. Thus, the development of new technologies in first world countries is more rapid compared to those in the third world. There are differences in terms of government support, financial support, and educational system in these countries. On the other hand, specific situations in different societies also lead to the development of different types of technologies that are appropriate to the given context.

In this book, students shall exercise critical thinking skills using the various perspectives in linking science and technology with society and culture. The next chapter shall look at science and technology in our everyday lives, including the

physical environment, food, household utilities, simple machines, communication, information and transportation.\

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