Science, Technology and Society

Chapter 1

Introduction to Science
Gladys G. Edilo
Physics Division
 Learning Objectives
At the end of the lesson, the student should be able to:
• acquire knowledge and conceptual understanding about
science and the natural world;
• discuss how science and technology are interdependent
and assist each other in the development of knowledge
and technological applications;
• appreciate the benefits and limitations of science in our
daily life and its application in technological
developments.

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 Latin word “Scientia”:
knowledge

Ongoing process
SCIENCE
Unveiling nature

Global human
endeavor
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  The goal of science is – UNDERSTANDING
Phenomena: things that happen in the world.
Identify relationships and characteristics
Predict summaries and conclusions
Derive KNOWLEDGE and facts

Anchored on the root causes of Science: 1. Problems

2. Needs
3. Curiosity
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 Agta/Kapre

Are they real?

Diwata
What does YOUR KNOWLEDGE tell you?
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  Facts/informations or skills acquired by a person through
experience or education; the theoretical or practical
understanding of a subject

 It is a statement about what you accept as sufficiently

“real” to allow you to take action upon and thereby live
your life.

 a belief that is true and justified.

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 Types of Knowledge

Belief Knowledge
versus
Research Knowledge
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 Belief Knowledge
 Knowledge about the world is inherent and
unique in each human being.

 It is attained by individual revelation.

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 RESEARCH KNOWLEDGE
 A mini – hypothesis, subject to testing by
repeated observations.
 Perception of facts varies >>> doesn’t get
easily accepted.
 Some facts become dominant but others are
open to testing

“Do not say “this is true”, rather “this is the most likely
explanation in light of existing knowledge”.
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What then is a fact?

 Belief Knowledge
> The spirit of the individual who believes.

 Research Knowledge
> the methodology of observation and
testing allows one to choose one “fact” over
another.
 Research Knowledge Belief Knowledge

Even without a single

Even when you have
piece of evidence,
tons of evidence, doubt
believe in what you
what you see
can’t see.

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 WHY DO
WE STUDY INDIVIDUAL PERSPECTIVE
SCIENCE?
 discover new things
 collecting information to test new
ideas or to disprove old ones.
 explains some problems
previously not explained
 overturns some previously
accepted idea.
 Get pay checks or promotion
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 WHY DO
WE STUDY SOCIETY’S PERSPECTIVE
SCIENCE?
 the desire to improve people’s
lives
 economic development
 humanity’s increasing control over
the planet
 curiosity >>> the satisfaction and
enlightenment it brought from the
knowledge about the world
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 How Research becomes
Scientific Knowledge?

 Doing research is not necessarily a contribution to a

body of knowledge unless peer reviewed and
published.
 Science becomes knowledge by publication of
research results.
 Scientific Knowledge: can be modified, discarded and
statements are NOT ABSOLUTE (it can change).
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 APPROACHES
TO
SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE

FORMAL SCIENCE EMPIRICAL SCIENCE

• Contains only analytic • Contains synthetic

propositions propositions
• Absolute certainty is • Absolute certainty is
achievable unachievable
• e.g. logic, mathematics, • e.g. natural sciences,
information theory social sciences
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 Scientific Method  The process that scientists’
develop in order to answer
questions and solve
1. OBSERVE problems.

2. STATE QUESTION 7. ANALYZE

8. CONCLUDE
3. RESEARCH 6. RECORD DATA
9. REPORT
4. HYPOTHESIS 5. EXPERIMENT
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 Botany

Biological
Zoology
Science

Ecology

Natural Physics
Science Physical
Science
Chemistry
Science

Geology
Earth Science
Meteorology
Psychology

Social Science Sociology

Political
18 Science
 Branch of Science Area of study
Social Science Human behaviour
Psychology Human mind and behaviour
Sociology Society, social institutions and social relationships
Political Science Governments and how they work
Natural Science How the whole universe behave
Biological Science Science of the living world
Botany Study of plants
Zoology Study of animals
Ecology Study of the balance in nature
Physical Science Matter and energy
Physics Forces and energy
Chemistry Matter and its changes
Earth Science The science of our planet
Geology Earth’s physical nature and history
19 Meteorology Earth’s atmosphere and weather
Myth of Science
1. Science is a system of beliefs.
▪ Although we naturally look for evidence to support
ideas, scientific ideas are established only after
compelling evidence has accumulated from
observation of nature.
▪ Scientists use reasoning and imagination, study the
work of other scientist and collaborate with others,
always looking for evidence to support or disprove
their ideas.
▪ Rather than a belief system, science is based on
empirical evidence provided by observations of the
natural world.
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2. Most scientists are men because males
are better at scientific thinking.

 There is no evidence that men are inherently

better at science.
 This idea is a remnant of historical prejudice.
 Although women are still a minority in some fields,
women like Marie Curie, Rosalind Franklin and
many others stand among the giants of modern
science.

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 3. Scientists rely heavily on imagination to
carry out their work.

 There is no doubt that scientists rely heavily on

their imagination in carrying out their work.
 Creative imagination has always been important
part of science.
 Scientists draw upon their imagination and
creativity to visualize how nature works, using
analogies, metaphors, and mathematics.

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 4. Scientists are totally objective in their
work.
▪ They have been known to look for evidence to
support their favoured or promising ideas,
sometimes overlooking and even rejecting that are
contrary to their own beliefs.
▪ No indications that scientists actively practice
programs to search for disconfirming evidence.(As
Popper says Science can advance only through a
string of what he called conjectures and
refutations)
▪ theory-laden observation (a psychological
24 notion)>>the allegiance to the paradigm.
 5. The scientific method is the accepted
guide for conducting research.
▪ For many years scientists have tried to correct the
idea that the scientific method is the only correct
way to do science.
▪ This “a method of science” has a strong hold in
science teaching but is not science.
▪ Posters are still hang in science classrooms listing
the steps of the scientific method and are still used
to judge students’ procedures in science fair
competitions.
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  There is no logical or procedural method by
which the pattern is suggested because if
there is then it goes against the creative
nature and element of science.
 Scientific papers seem to follow the scientific
method but are reconstructed to account for
key elements of the study.
 The actual events for any investigations
varies considerably and may take many
wrong turns and dead ends.

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6. Experiments are carried out to prove
cause-and-effect relationships.

▪ In science, though nothing stands as proven or

completely true.
▪ Controlled experiments only provides evidence
that either supports or fails to add support to a
hypothesis, not absolute proof.
▪ these contribute to the cause and effect that can
be durable but tentative, always awaiting further
evidence.
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7. All scientific ideas are discovered and
tested by controlled experiments.
▪ Not all of the supports from theories comes from
experiments.
▪ Examples: Big Bang Theory, Plate Tectonic
Theory, The Expanding Universe, Darwin’s Theory
of Evolution, Heliocentric Theory were developed
through observation rather than experiments.
▪ Science uses all types of investigative procedures
and evidence gathering which are all subject
under the lens of scientific community.
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8. A hypothesis is an educated guess.
▪ A guess is usually thought of as a judgment with
little information.
▪ Scientist usually know a great deal of information
about a phenomenon before forming a hypothesis
to be subjected to test.
▪ “In the scientific world, the hypothesis typically is
formulated only after hours of observation, days of
calculating and studying, and sometimes years of
research into the phenomena of interest” (Galus
2003).
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 9. A theory becomes a law when it is
supported by a great deal of scientific
evidence.
▪ Laws describe a phenomenon or pattern in nature.
Laws hold true under most conditions, but can be
modified or discredited.
▪ A theory is used to explain a phenomenon.
▪ Theories pertain to complex events and combine
many facts, concepts, and laws to form scientific
understandings.
▪ A good example of this is the law of conservation of
mass in chemistry and the atomic theory used to
explain it.
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10.Scientific ideas are tentative and can be
modified or disproved but never proved.

▪ This is the reverse of item #6 and is a true.

▪ Although Scientific theories are anchored on
considerable amount of evidences and are
considered durable, they are considered provisional
and are subject to change and rejection.
▪ Theories are inferred explanations and science is a
way of knowing that does not represent absolute
truth. This way of thinking removes science from
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being an all-knowing human enterprise.
11. Technology preceded science in the
history of civilization.

▪ Technology preceded science in the history of

civilizations.
▪ Tool making for survival began long before man
understood how or why they worked.
▪ Technology invents devices and systems to aid in
human survival and to improve life.
▪ Science provides a better fundamental
understanding of nature.
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12. In time, science can solve most of
society’s problems.
▪ Science has improved life considerably for many
people on the planet but not everyone in the world.
▪ Many problems in the world are political in nature,
whereby individuals and governments promote or
suppress economic and scientific development in
their country.
▪ Science has provided us with the knowledge of how
to produce enough food to feed most of the world’s
hungry, but getting the food to their mouths is a
33 problem that transcends science.
13.All Work in Science is Reviewed to Keep
the Process Honest.
▪ Scientists are constantly reviewing each other's
experiments to check up on each other but
unfortunately, while such a check and balance
system would be useful, the number of findings
from one scientist checked by others is vanishingly
small.
▪ Most scientists are simply too busy
▪ Research funds too limited for this type of review.
▪ Scientists rarely report valid, but negative results
and the failure to report what did not work is a
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problem.
Science and Technology
 They work together and depend on one another.

 Science: observing, studying, &

experimenting to find the nature of things
 Technology: using science to make human
lives easier
▫ Computers
▫ cell phones
▫ Cars
▫ answering machines

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 How does
SCIENCE
impact your
everyday living?

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 THANKS!
Any questions?

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