Module in

NSCI 110:
Science, Technology and Society

Prof. Richelle O. Tuvillo

Team Leader/Coordinator

Dr. Larry D. Buban

Team Editor

Authors/Contributors:
Dr. Larry D. Buban Dr. Stephen G. Sabinay
Dr. Harlan C. Dureza Ms. Vivien Mei C. Reyes
Dr. Anita Estela M. Prof. Eileen L. Loreno
Monroy
Dr. Grace A. Manajero Dr. Agatha Z. Senina

College of Arts and Sciences

Physical Science Department

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 Notes to the Student

This module is a part of the series of Self-Directed Module for Independent Learning
spearheaded by the Office of the Director of Instruction and the Center for Teaching
Excellence, West Visayas State University.

This is meant for the course NSCI 110-Science, Technology and Society. The is a 3.0-unit
course deals with interactions between science and technology and social, cultural,
political, and economic contexts that shape and are shaped by them. (CMO No. 20, series
of 2013). This interdisciplinary course engages students to confront the realities brought
about by science and technology in society. Such realities pervade the personal, the
public, and the global aspects of our living and are integral to human development.

Scientific knowledge and technological development happen in the context.

The learning outcomes for NSCI 110, specified below are unpacked by the specific
objectives in each lesson. Generally, at the end of this module, you must have:

1. articulated the impacts of science and technology on society, specifically the Philippine
society.

2. explained the effect of science and technology on society and the environment, and
its role in nation-building.

3. analyzed the human condition in order to deeply reflect and express philosophical
ramifications that are meaningful to the student as part of society.

4. defined and demonstrated the impact of social media on the student’s life and the
Philippine society in general.

5. imbibed the importance of science and technology and the environment and its role in
nation building.

6. critiqued human flourishing vis-a-vis the progress of science and technology such that
the student may be able to define for himself/herself the meaning of the good life.

7. fostered the value of a healthy lifestyle toward the holistic and sustainable
development of society and the environment.

8. presented creatively the importance and contributions of science and technology to

society.

9. examined shared concerns that make up the good life in order to come up with
innovative and creative solutions to contemporary issues guided by ethical standards.

10. illustrated how the social media and information age impact their and
understanding of climate change.

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Before you begin learning what the module is about, please be familiar with some icons to
guide you through this instructional tool. You are right now reading the introduction
entitled Notes to the Students. This will be followed by the Table of Contents. The Units
mentioned earlier will be introduced and the lessons within the unit will be presented.

Directions are found inside each lesson. You are to submit all requirements to your
instructors, as specified per lesson. Honesty is a school policy. Inquiries on some points
not fully understood will be made online via the Google Classroom.

X
Table of Contents
Grading Criteria 6
Orientation (Week 1) 7
Unit 1: Introduction to Science, Technology and Society 11
Lesson 1. Nature of Science (Week 2) 13
Lesson 2. Nature of Mathematics 33
Lesson 3. Nature of Technology (Week 3) 46
Lesson 4. The Physical Setting 63
Lesson 5. The Living Environment (Week 4) 83
Lesson 6. The Human Organism 101
Reference 113

Unit 2: General Concepts in Science, Technology and Society 123

Lesson 1: Historical Antecedents in Which Social Considerations Changed the Course 123
of Science and Technology (Week 5)
Lesson 2: Intellectual Revolutions (Week 6) 132
Lesson 3: Science, Technology, and Nation-Building (Week 7) 142
References 152

Midterm Examination and Submission of Outputs (Week 8) 152

Unit 3: Science, Technology, Society, and the Human Condition 158
Lesson 1. Human Flourishing in Science and Technology (Week 9) 158
Lesson 2. Human Flourishing as Reflected in Progress and Development (Week 10) 178
Lesson 3. The Good Life (Week 10) 187
Lesson 4. When Technology and Humanity Cross (Weeks 11-12) 199
References 217
Annexes for Group Task Performance 219

Unit 4: Special Topics in Science, Technology and Society 228

Lesson 1. Information Society (Weeks 13) 228
Lesson 2: Biodiversity (Weeks 14 -15)238 265
Lesson 3: The Nano World (Week 16) 294
Lesson 4: Gene Therapy and Stem Cell Therapy (Week 17) 294
Lesson 5: Climate Change (Week 17) 294
References 301
Final Examination and Submission of Outputs (Week 18) 305
About the Authors 306
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 Notes to the Students

The lesson will then unfold in this sequence.

How much do you know? This is a pre-test to check your knowledge

on this subject.

Activate Prior Knowledge. In here, you will do an activity that your

already know and is related to the lesson.

Acquire New Knowledge. This is where the lesson is presented.

It may have several topics as stipulated in the specific objectives.

Apply your Knowledge. In this part, you will practice what you have
learned.

Assess your Knowledge. You will be tested here and you will be able
to know the gaps in your understanding in this lesson. If you are not
satisfied with the feedback, you may then go back to some points that
you may have missed.

Answer Key. Shows the feedback that comes after assessment. It can
also be found in every break exercises within the lesson.

All I Know About this Module sums up what you would learn this
module is about, a box labelled follows.

Notes to the Students

References list down the resources and links from which the content of the
lesson was based from. These may take the form of books, internet sites, blogs,
videos, photographs, animations, Power point presentations, icons, etc.

How Much I Have Learned will found at the end of the module. This will
served as the Final examination of this course. Feedback will not be posted
here but will be discuss online with your Course Professor.

Directions are found inside each lesson that tell you long you are going to work on this
module. All formative activities must answer and counter-check with the feedback attached.
Honesty is a school policy. Be serious about the learning activities you are working on. It will
define who you are and what you will become in the future. Pre-test and Post-test must be
completed as well. At the end of the semester or as instructed otherwise, you are to submit
this module to your subject professor. Inquiries on some points not fully understood will be
made online via the Google Classroom on a schedule encounter. This module is a self-
contained learning kit with instructions that will guide to the end.

You are now ready to begin. Seize the day! Make your time count. Enjoy!

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Grading Criteria
Student are required to read the assigned topics in each unit and do the activity assigned by
the instructor. Additionally, the above table of content will be used as an outline and to be
used as a guide for the materials intended to be covered during the term. It may be
necessary, due to extenuating circumstances, to change the order or content of the
material. It is ultimately the responsibility of the student to keep up with class
activities/changes and attend class every scheduled lecture and group activities.

Grade Components

Grade Components Weight

1. Exams and Quizzes 40%
2. Class Outputs (at least 2 of the following) 40%
a. Performance – Recitation, Reporting, Debate, Role Play, etc
b. Written – Case Study, Reaction Paper, Portfolio, etc.
c. Community Immersions, STS Camps
d. Field Trips, Educational Tour, Stargazing, etc.
e. Others: Project
3. Attitude in Class 20%
a. Attendance
b. Punctuality
c. Behavior
d. etc
TOTAL 100%

Other Requirements

Every undergraduate student is expected to:

1. Read on each topic included in this module.

2. Submit activities, assignments, and seat works on or before the deadline.

3. Participate in class discussion

4. Be on time for classes and be present always.

For remote learning class:

5. Always visit the agreed platform (Google Classroom, Edmodo, etc.) for any
announcements or any new or additional uploaded learning materials.

6. Prepare your PC, Tablet and Smartphone 15 minutes before the scheduled time when
attending synchronous meetings. (Google Meet, Zoom, Messenger Rooms, etc.)

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 Orientation (Week 1)

Unit 0: Vision, Mission, Core Values and Outcomes

NSCI 110

A. University Vision and Mission

B. Goals of the College
C. Objectives of the Course Curriculum
D. Degree Outcomes
E. Course/Subject Outcomes
F. Overview of Course Topics
G. Course Requirements

*Notes for reference: Syllabus and students handbook

*Self-introduction
*On-line

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Unit 1: Introduction to Science, Technology and Society

NSCI 110

Dr. Harlan C. Dureza

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 Introduction to Unit 1

There are six (6) lessons in this unit listed as follows:

Lesson 1. Nature of Science
1.1. The Scientific World View
1.2. The Scientific Methods of Inquiry
1.3. The Nature of the Scientific Enterprise

Lesson 2. Nature of Mathematics

2.1 Patterns and Relationships
2.2 Mathematics, Science and Technology
2.3 Mathematical Inquiry

Lesson 3. Nature of Technology

3.1 Technology and Science
3.2 Designs and Systems
3.3 Issues in Technology

Lesson 4. The Physical Setting

4.1 The Universe
4.2 The Earth
4.3 Structure of Matter
4.4 Energy Transformations
4.5 Motion
4.6 Forces of Nature

Lesson 5. The Living Environment

5.1 Diversity of Life
5.2 Heredity
5.3 Cells
5.4 Interdependence of Life
5.5 Flow of Matter and Energy
5.6 Evolution of Life

Lesson 6. The Human Organism

6.1 Human Identity
6.2 Human Development
6.3 Basic Functions
6.4 Learning
6.5 Physical Health
6.6 Mental Health

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 UNIT 1. Introduction to Science, Technology and Society
Lesson 1. Nature of Science (Week 2)

Introduction:

Over the course of human history,

people have developed many
interconnected and validated ideas
about the physical, biological,
psychological, and social worlds.
Those ideas have enabled successive
generations to achieve an increasingly
comprehensive and reliable
understanding of the human species
and its environment. The means used
to develop these ideas are particular
ways of observing, thinking,
experimenting, and validating. These
ways represent a fundamental aspect
of the nature of science and reflect
how science tends to differ from
other modes of knowing.

It is the union of science, mathematics, and technology that forms the scientific endeavor
and that makes it so successful. Although each of these human enterprises has a character
and history of its own, each is dependent on and reinforces the others. Accordingly, the first
three chapters of recommendations draw portraits of science, mathematics, and technology
that emphasize their roles in the scientific endeavor and reveal some of the similarities and
connections among them.

This lesson lays out recommendations for what knowledge of the way science works is
requisite for scientific literacy. The chapter focuses on three principal subjects: the scientific
world view, scientific methods of inquiry, and the nature of the scientific enterprise. Further
discussions consider ways in which mathematics and technology differ from science in
general and views of the world as depicted by current science; Historical Perspectives,
covers key episodes in the development of science; and Common Themes, pulls together
ideas that cut across all these views of the world.

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 Learning Outcomes:

At the end of this lesson the students must have,

1. understood and explained how science works, what exactly science explained.
2. discussed where does science begin and end?
3. explained the development of many interconnected and validated ideas about
the physical, biological, psychological, and social worlds.
4. understood that the means used to develop ways of observing, thinking,
experimenting, and validating. These ways represent a fundamental aspect of
the nature of science and reflect how science tends to differ from other
modes of knowing.

Activate your Prior Knowledge

This time relate your prior knowledge to the lesson.

Read on the story of Galileo as a scientist who faced opposition for his science theories or
investigations.

Galileo’s story
Like almost everyone in sixteenth century
Italy, where Galileo was born, Galileo was
taught that Earth was the center of the Universe
and that other heavenly bodies were smooth,
shining spheres – perfect examples of God’s
creation. According to the Church, any other belief
would be contrary to what it said in the Bible, and
therefore heresy.

However, when Galileo used his telescope to study

the Moon, he observed no smoothness, but what
looked like mountains and valleys. By focusing on
the boundary between the dark part of the Moon

and the area lit by the Sun where shadows were longest, and measuring the shadows there,
he could calculate the heights of some of the mountains. He realized that the surface of the
Moon was very jagged and rocky. He also thought that the dark, smoother spots on the
Moon indicated seas. All these observations went right against current concepts about the
Moon – and they supported the forbidden belief that there were other worlds like the Earth,
a belief for which Bruno had been convicted and burnt to death.

As Galileo improved his telescopes, he was also able to observe Jupiter. He determined that
the four ‘stars’ that moved with it could not be fixed stars but were four moons.

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Now, reflect on the following questions:

1. What challenges or opposition did this person face in having their theories accepted?
Why?

2. Do you think those challenges/opposition are still there today?

3. What sort of challenges or opposition (for example, ethical or economic challenges) do

you think present-day scientists face?

4. How did prevailing world views affect the acceptance of scientific ideas in the past?

5. How might the general world view and/or the variety of world views today influence the
acceptance of science ideas now?

6. Do people recognize that they have a particular way of looking at the world?

7. Do you recognize that you have a particular way of looking at the world?

8. What questions do you need to ask to analyze your own world view?

Acquire New Knowledge

This part will present the ideas aligned with the objectives of the lesson.

THE SCIENTIFIC WORLD VIEW

Scientists share certain basic beliefs and attitudes about what they do and how they view
their work. These have to do with the nature of the world and what can be learned about it.

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 also assumes that the universe is, as its name implies, a vast single system in which
the basic rules are everywhere the same. Knowledge gained from studying one part of the
universe is applicable to other parts. For instance, the same principles of motion and
gravitation that explain the motion of falling objects on the surface of the earth also explain
the motion of the moon and the planets. With some modifications over the years, the same
principles of motion have applied to other forces—and to the motion of everything, from the
smallest nuclear particles to the most massive stars, from sailboats to space vehicles, from
bullets to light rays.

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 Scientific Ideas Are Subject To Change

Science is a process for producing knowledge. The process depends both on making careful
observations of phenomena and on inventing theories for making sense out of those
observations.

Change in knowledge is inevitable because new observations may challenge prevailing

theories. No matter how well one theory explains a set of observations, it is possible that
another theory may fit just as well or better, or may fit a still wider range of observations. In
science, the testing and improving and occasional discarding of theories, whether new or
old, go on all the time. Scientists assume that even if there is no way to secure complete
and absolute truth, increasingly accurate approximations can be made to account for the
world and how it works.

Scientific Knowledge Is Durable

Although scientists reject the notion of attaining absolute truth and accept some uncertainty
as part of nature, most scientific knowledge is durable. The modification of ideas, rather
than their outright rejection, is the norm in science, as powerful constructs tend to survive
and grow more precise and to become widely accepted. For example, in formulating the
theory of relativity, Albert Einstein did not discard the Newtonian laws of motion but rather
showed them to be only an approximation of limited application within a more general
concept. (The National Aeronautics and Space Administration uses Newtonian mechanics,
for instance, in calculating satellite trajectories.)

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Moreover, the growing ability of scientists to make accurate predictions about natural
phenomena provides convincing evidence that we really are gaining in our understanding of
how the world works. Continuity and stability are as characteristic of science as change is,
and confidence is as prevalent as tentativeness.

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.

SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY
Fundamentally, the various scientific disciplines are alike in their reliance on evidence, the
use of hypothesis and theories, the kinds of logic used, and much more. Nevertheless,
scientists differ greatly from one another in what phenomena they investigate and in how
they go about their work; in the reliance they place on historical data or on experimental
findings and on qualitative or quantitative methods; in their recourse to fundamental
principles; and in how much they draw on the findings of other sciences. Still, the exchange
of techniques, information, and concepts goes on all the time among scientists, and there
are common understandings among them about what constitutes an investigation that is
scientifically valid.

Scientific inquiry is not easily described apart from the context of particular investigations.
There simply is no fixed set of steps that scientists always follow, no one path that leads
them unerringly to scientific knowledge. There are, however, certain features of science that
give it a distinctive character as a mode of inquiry. Although those features are especially
characteristic of the work of professional scientists, everyone can exercise them in thinking
scientifically about many matters of interest in everyday life.

Science Demands Evidence

Sooner or later, 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).

In some circumstances, scientists can control conditions deliberately and precisely to obtain
their evidence. They may, for example, control the temperature, change the concentration
of chemicals, or choose which organisms mate with which others. By varying just one
condition at a time, they can hope to identify its exclusive effects on what happens,
uncomplicated by changes in other conditions.

Often, however, control of conditions may be impractical (as in studying stars), or unethical

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(as in studying people), or likely to distort the natural phenomena (as in studying wild
animals in captivity). In such cases, observations have to be made over a sufficiently wide
range of naturally occurring conditions to infer what the influence of various factors might
be. Because of this reliance on evidence, great value is placed on the development of better
instruments and techniques of observation, and the findings of any one investigator or
group are usually checked by others.

Science Is a Blend of Logic and Imagination

Although all sorts of imagination and thought may be used in coming up with hypotheses
and theories, sooner or later scientific arguments must conform to the principles of logical
reasoning— that is, to testing the validity of arguments by applying certain criteria of
inference, demonstration, and common sense. Scientists may often disagree about the
value of a particular piece of evidence, or about the appropriateness of particular
assumptions that are made—and therefore disagree about what conclusions are justified.
But they tend to agree about the principles of logical reasoning that connect evidence and
assumptions with conclusions.

Scientists do not work only with data and well-developed theories. Often, they have only
tentative hypotheses about the way things may be. Such hypotheses are widely used in
science for choosing what data to pay attention to and what additional data to seek, and for
guiding the interpretation of data. In fact, the process of formulating and testing
hypotheses is one of the core activities of scientists. To be useful, a hypothesis should
suggest what evidence would support it and what evidence would refute it. A hypothesis
that cannot in principle be put to the test of evidence may be interesting, but it is not likely
to be scientifically useful.

The use of logic and the close examination of evidence are necessary but not usually
sufficient for the advancement of science. Scientific concepts do not emerge automatically
from data or from any amount of analysis alone. Inventing hypotheses or theories to
imagine how the world works and then figuring out how they can be put to the test of
reality is as creative as writing poetry, composing music, or designing skyscrapers.
Sometimes discoveries in science are made unexpectedly, even by accident. But knowledge
and creative insight are usually required to recognize the meaning of the unexpected.
Aspects of data that have been ignored by one scientist may lead to new discoveries by
another.

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Science Explains and Predicts
Scientists strive to make sense of observations of phenomena by constructing explanations
for them that use, or are consistent with, currently accepted scientific principles. Such
explanations—theories—may be either sweeping 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. The theory of moving continents, for example, has grown
in credibility as it has shown relationships among such diverse phenomena as earthquakes,
volcanoes, and the match between types of fossils on different continents, the shapes of
continents, and the contours of the ocean floors.

The essence of science is validation by observation. But it is not enough for scientific
theories to fit only the observations that are already known. Theories should also fit
additional observations that were not used in formulating the theories in the first place; that
is, theories should have predictive power. Demonstrating the predictive power of a theory
does not necessarily require the prediction of events in the future. The predictions may be
about evidence from the past that has not yet been found or studied. A theory about the
origins of human beings, for example, can be tested by new discoveries of human-like fossil
remains. This approach is clearly necessary for reconstructing the events in the history of
the earth or of the life forms on it. It is also necessary for the study of processes that
usually occur very slowly, such as the building of mountains or the aging of stars. Stars, for
example, evolve more slowly than we can usually observe. Theories of the evolution of
stars, however, may predict unsuspected relationships between features of starlight that
can then be sought in existing collections of data about stars.

Scientists Try to Identify and Avoid Bias

When faced with a claim that something is true, scientists respond by asking what evidence
supports it. But scientific evidence can be biased in how the data are interpreted, in the
recording or reporting of the data, or even in the choice of what data to consider in the first
place. Scientists' nationality, sex, ethnic origin, age, political convictions, and so on may
incline them to look for or emphasize one or another kind of evidence or interpretation. For
example, for many years the study of primates—by male scientists—focused on the
competitive social behavior of males. Not until female scientists entered the field was the
importance of female primates' community-building behavior recognized. Bias attributable to
the investigator, the sample, the method, or the instrument may not be completely
avoidable in every instance, but scientists want to know the possible sources of bias and
how bias is likely to influence evidence. Scientists want, and are expected, to be as alert to
possible bias in their own work as in that of other scientists, although such objectivity is not
always achieved. One safeguard against undetected bias in an area of study is to have
many different investigators or groups of investigators working in it.

Science Is Not Authoritarian

It is appropriate in science, as elsewhere, to turn to knowledgeable sources of information
and opinion, usually people who specialize in relevant disciplines. But esteemed authorities
have been wrong many times in the history of science. In the long run, no scientist,
however famous or highly placed, is empowered to decide for other scientists what is true,
for none are believed by other scientists to have special access to the truth. There are no
pre-established conclusions that scientists must reach on the basis of their investigations.

In the short run, new ideas that do not mesh well with mainstream ideas may encounter
vigorous criticism, and scientists investigating such ideas may have difficulty obtaining
support for their research. Indeed, challenges to new ideas are the legitimate business of

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science in building valid knowledge. Even the most prestigious scientists have occasionally
refused to accept new theories despite there being enough accumulated evidence to
convince others. In the long run, however, theories are judged by their results: When
someone comes up with a new or improved version that explains more phenomena or
answers more important questions than the previous version of the scientific law, the newer
one eventually takes the place of the older one.

Nature of the Scientific Enterprise

Science as an enterprise has individual, social, and institutional dimensions. Scientific activity
is one of the main features of the contemporary world and, perhaps more than any other,
distinguishes our times from earlier centuries.

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.

As a social activity, science inevitably reflects social values and viewpoints. The history of
economic theory, for example, has paralleled the development of ideas of social justice—at
one time, economists considered the optimum wage for workers to be no more than what
would just barely allow the workers to survive. Before the twentieth century, and well into it,
women and people of different race were essentially excluded from most of science by
restrictions on their education and employment opportunities; the remarkable few who
overcame those obstacles were even then likely to have their work belittled by the science
establishment.

The direction of scientific research is affected by informal influences within the culture of
science itself, such as prevailing opinion on what questions are most interesting or what
methods of investigation are most likely to be fruitful. Elaborate processes involving
scientists themselves have been developed to decide which research proposals receive
funding, and committees of scientists regularly review progress in various disciplines to
recommend general priorities for funding.

Science goes on in many different settings. Scientists are employed by universities,

hospitals, business and industry, government, independent research organizations, and
scientific associations. They may work alone, in small groups, or as members of large
research teams. Their places of work include classrooms, offices, laboratories, and natural
field settings from space to the bottom of the sea.

Because of the social nature of science, the dissemination of scientific information is crucial
to its progress. Some scientists present their findings and theories in papers that are
delivered at meetings or published in scientific journals. Those papers enable scientists to
inform others about their work, to expose their ideas to criticism by other scientists, and, of
course, to stay abreast of scientific developments around the world. The advancement of
information science (knowledge of the nature of information and its manipulation) and the
development of information technologies (especially computer systems) affect all sciences.
Those technologies speed up data collection, compilation, and analysis; make new kinds of
analysis practical; and shorten the time between discovery and application.

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Science Is Organized Into Content Disciplines and Is Conducted in Various Institutions.
Organizationally, science can be thought of as the collection of all of the different scientific
fields, or from anthropology through zoology, there are dozens of such disciplines. They
differ from one another in many ways, including history, phenomena studied, techniques
and language used, and kinds of outcomes desired. With respect to purpose and philosophy,
however, all are equally scientific and together make up the same scientific endeavor. The
advantage of having disciplines is that they provide a conceptual structure for organizing
research and research findings.

The disadvantage is that their divisions do not necessarily match the way the world works,
and they can make communication difficult. In any case, scientific disciplines do not have
fixed borders.

Physics shades into chemistry, astronomy, and geology, as does chemistry into biology and
psychology, and so on. New scientific disciplines (astrophysics and socio-biology, for
instance) are continually being formed at the boundaries of others. Some disciplines grow
and break into sub disciplines, which then become disciplines in their own right. Universities,
industry, and government are also part of the structure of the scientific endeavor.

University research usually emphasizes knowledge for its own sake, although much of it is
also directed toward practical problems. Universities, of course, are also particularly
committed to educating successive generations of scientists, mathematicians, and
engineers. Industries and businesses usually emphasize research directed to practical ends,
but many also sponsor research that has no immediately obvious applications, partly on the
premise that it will be applied fruitfully in the long run. The federal government funds much
of the research in universities and in industry but also supports and conducts research in its
many national laboratories and research centers. Private foundations, public-interest groups,
and state governments also support research.

Funding agencies influence the direction of science by virtue of the decisions they make on
which research to support. Other deliberate controls on science result from federal (and
sometimes local) government regulations on research practices that are deemed to be
dangerous and on the treatment of the human and animal subjects used in experiments.

There Are Generally Accepted Ethical Principles in the Conduct of Science. Most scientists
conduct themselves according to the ethical norms of science. The strongly held traditions of
accurate record keeping, openness, and replication, buttressed by the critical review of one's
work by peers, serve to keep the vast majority of scientists well within the bounds of ethical
professional behavior.

Sometimes, however, the pressure to get credit for being the first to publish an idea or
observation leads some scientists to withhold information or even to falsify their findings.

Such a violation of the very nature of science impedes science. When discovered, it is
strongly condemned by the scientific community and the agencies that fund research.

Another domain of scientific ethics relates to possible harm that could result from scientific
experiments. One aspect is the treatment of live experimental subjects. Modern scientific
ethics require that due regard must be given to the health, comfort, and well-being of
animal subjects.

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Moreover, research involving human subjects may be conducted only with the informed
consent of the subjects, even if this constraint limits some kinds of potentially important
research or influences the results. Informed consent entails full disclosure of the risks and
intended benefits of the research and the right to refuse to participate. In addition,
scientists must not knowingly subject co-workers, students, the neighborhood, or the
community to health or property risks without their knowledge and consent.

The ethics of science also relates to the possible harmful effects of applying the results of
research. The long-term effects of science may be unpredictable, but some idea of what
applications are expected from scientific work can be ascertained by knowing who is
interested in funding it. If, for example, the Department of Defense offers contracts for
working on a line of theoretical mathematics, mathematicians may infer that it has
application to new military technology and therefore would likely be subject to secrecy
measures. Military or industrial secrecy is acceptable to some scientists but not to others.
Whether a scientist chooses to work on research of great potential risk to humanity, such as
nuclear weapons or germ warfare, is considered by many scientists to be a matter of
personal ethics, not one of professional ethics.

Scientists Participate in Public Affairs both as Specialists and as Citizens Scientists can bring
information, insights, and analytical skills to bear on matters of public concern. Often they
can help the public and its representatives to understand the likely causes of events (such
as natural and technological disasters) and to estimate the possible effects of projected
policies (such as ecological effects of various farming methods). Often they can testify to
what is not possible. In playing this advisory role, scientists are expected to be especially
careful in trying to distinguish fact from interpretation, and research findings from
speculation and opinion; that is, they are expected to make full use of the principles of
scientific inquiry.

Even so, scientists can seldom bring definitive answers to matters of public debate. Some
issues are too complex to fit within the current scope of science, or there may be little
reliable information available, or the values involved may lie outside of science. Moreover,
although there may be at any one time a broad consensus on the bulk of scientific
knowledge, the agreement does not extend to all scientific issues, let alone to all science-
related social issues. And of course, on issues outside of their expertise, the opinions of
scientists should enjoy no special credibility.

In their work, scientists go to great lengths to avoid bias—their own as well as that of
others. But in matters of public interest, scientists, like other people, can be expected to be
biased where their own personal, corporate, institutional, or community interests are at
stake. For example, because of their commitment to science, many scientists may
understandably be less than objective in their beliefs on how science is to be funded in
comparison to other social needs.

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 Apply your Knowledge
Now, let’s check what you have learned.

Reflect on the following questions, then answer the following questions logically.

1. How did the society shape science and how did science shape society?

2. How do the political and cultural landscapes of the society affect the development of
scientific culture?

3. Considering the current state of our society, do you think science literacy among people
has contributed to the growth of our society? How? How can Science you think,
influence government policies?

4. Why do we express “Science as a Falsification”? Explain.

5. How did religion influence the development of science?

6. In your own point of view, what important (Philosophical, Social, Technological

Psychological and Economic) factors influenced you in your studies?

7. Man had grown intelligently fast in the last three decades. However, this rapid growth
stirred a lot of controversies and demands from the society. Specifically, values and
cultures had changed a lot. In what way you think science shall be taught to help
alleviate the fast-degrading values of our students?

8. What is the Nature of Science? Explain.

9. Is there a need to reform Education? Why?

How do you feel about the test? Did it make you feel confident or insecure? Your feelings
will be your guide to go slow or breezy through this module.

Here is the answer key and category to your pre-test.

A perfect 10 makes you Science Enthusiast. Please continue to study this module as a
review. If you go lower than 10, studying this module is a must.

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 UNIT 1. Science and Its Conceptual Foundations

Lesson 2. Nature of Mathematics

Introduction:

Mathematics relies on both logic and creativity, and it is pursued both for a variety of
practical purposes and for its intrinsic interest. For some people, and not only professional
mathematicians, the essence of mathematics lies in its beauty and its intellectual challenge.

For others, including many scientists and engineers, the chief value of mathematics is how it
applies to their own work. Because mathematics plays such a central role in modern culture,
some basic understanding of the nature of mathematics is requisite for scientific literacy. To
achieve this, students need to perceive mathematics as part of the scientific endeavor,
comprehend the nature of mathematical thinking, and become familiar with key
mathematical ideas and skills. The discussion focuses on mathematics as part of the
scientific endeavor and then on mathematics as a process, or way of thinking.

Learning Outcome:

At the end of this lesson the students must have,

1. Understood the nature and importance of mathematics as an applied

science.

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 Activate your Prior Knowledge
This time relate your prior knowledge to the lesson.

Do you agree with the statement? Why or why not?

1. Leopold Kronecker once said:

2. Euclid once said:

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 Acquire New Knowledge
This part will present the ideas aligned with the objectives of the lesson.

PATTERNS AND RELATIONSHIPS

Mathematics is the science of patterns and relationships. As a theoretical discipline,

mathematics explores the possible relationships among abstractions without concern for
whether those abstractions have counterparts in the real world. The abstractions can be
anything from strings of numbers to geometric figures to sets of equations.

In addressing, say, "Does the interval between prime numbers form a pattern?" as a
theoretical question, mathematicians are interested only in finding a pattern or proving that
there is none, but not in what use such knowledge might have.

In deriving, for instance, an expression for the change in the surface area of any regular
solid as its volume approaches zero, mathematicians have no interest in any
correspondence between geometric solids and physical objects in the real world.

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A central line of investigation in theoretical mathematics is identifying in each field of study
a small set of basic ideas and rules from which all other interesting ideas and rules in that
field can be logically deduced. Mathematicians, like other scientists, are particularly pleased
when previously unrelated parts of mathematics are found to be derivable from one
another, or from some more general theory.

Part of the sense of beauty that many people have perceived in mathematics lies not in
finding the greatest elaborateness or complexity but on the contrary, in finding the greatest
economy and simplicity of representation and proof. As mathematics has progressed, more
and more relationships have been found between parts of it that have been developed
separately—for example, between the symbolic representations of algebra and the spatial
representations of geometry. These cross-connections enable insights to be developed into
the various parts; together, they strengthen belief in the correctness and underlying unity of
the whole structure.

Mathematics is also an applied science. Many mathematicians focus their attention on

solving problems that originate in the world of experience. They too search for patterns and
relationships, and in the process they use techniques that are similar to those used in doing
purely theoretical mathematics. The difference is largely one of intent. In contrast to
theoretical mathematicians, applied mathematicians, in the examples given above, might
study the interval pattern of prime numbers to develop a new system for coding numerical
information, rather than as an abstract problem. Or they might tackle the area/volume
problem as a step in producing a model for the study of crystal behavior.

The results of theoretical and applied mathematics often influence each other. The
discoveries of theoretical mathematicians frequently turn out—sometimes decades later—to
have unanticipated practical value. Studies on the mathematical properties of random
events, for example, led to knowledge that later made it possible to improve the design of
experiments in the social and natural sciences.

Conversely, in trying to solve the problem of billing long-distance telephone users fairly,
mathematicians made fundamental discoveries about the mathematics of complex
networks.

Theoretical mathematics, unlike the other sciences, is not constrained by the real world, but
in the long run it contributes to a better understanding of that world.

MATHEMATICS, SCIENCE, AND TECHNOLOGY

Because of its abstractness, mathematics is universal in a sense that other fields of human
thought are not. It finds useful applications in business, industry, music, historical
scholarship, politics, sports, medicine, agriculture, engineering, and the social and natural
sciences. The relationship between mathematics and the other fields of basic and applied
science is especially strong. This is so for several reasons, including the following: The
alliance between science and mathematics has a long history, dating back many centuries.

Science provides mathematics with interesting problems to investigate, and mathematics

provides science with powerful tools to use in analyzing data. Often, abstract patterns that
have been studied for their own sake by mathematicians have turned out much later to be
very useful in science. Science and mathematics are both trying to discover general patterns
and relationships, and in this sense they are part of the same endeavor.

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Mathematics is the chief language of science. The symbolic language of mathematics has
turned out to be extremely valuable for expressing scientific ideas unambiguously. The
statement that a=F/m is not simply a shorthand way of saying that the acceleration of an
object depends on the force applied to it and its mass; rather, it is a precise statement of
the quantitative relationship among those variables. More important, mathematics provides
the grammar of science—the rules for analyzing scientific ideas and data rigorously.

Mathematics and science have many features in common. These include a belief in
understandable order; an interplay of imagination and rigorous logic; ideals of honesty and
openness; the critical importance of peer criticism; the value placed on being the first to
make a key discovery; being international in scope; and even, with the development of
powerful electronic computers, being able to use technology to open up new fields of
investigation.

Mathematics and technology have also developed a fruitful relationship with each other. The
mathematics of connections and logical chains, for example, has contributed greatly to the
design of computer hardware and programming techniques. Mathematics also contributes
more generally to engineering, as in describing complex systems whose behavior can then
be simulated by computer.

In those simulations, design features and operating conditions can be varied as a means of
finding optimum designs. For its part, computer technology has opened up whole new areas
in mathematics, even in the very nature of proof, and it also continues to help solve
previously daunting problems.

Using mathematics to express ideas or to solve problems involves at least three phases: (1)
representing some aspects of things abstractly, (2) manipulating the abstractions by rules of
logic to find new relationships between them, and (3) seeing whether the new relationships
say something useful about the original things.

Abstraction and Symbolic Representation

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Mathematical thinking often begins with the process of abstraction—that is, noticing a
similarity between two or more objects or events. Aspects that they have in common,
whether concrete or hypothetical, can be represented by symbols such as numbers, letters,
other marks, diagrams, geometrical constructions, or even words. Whole numbers are
abstractions that represent the size of sets of things and events or the order of things within
a set. The circle as a concept is an abstraction derived from human faces, flowers, wheels,
or spreading ripples; the letter A may be an abstraction for the surface area of objects of
any shape, for the acceleration of all moving objects, or for all objects having some
specified property; the symbol + represents a process of addition, whether one is adding
apples or oranges, hours, or miles per hour. And abstractions are made not only from
concrete objects or processes; they can also be made from other abstractions, such as kinds
of numbers (the even numbers, for instance).

Such abstraction enables mathematicians to concentrate on some features of things and

relieves them of the need to keep other features continually in mind. As far as mathematics
is concerned, it does not matter whether a triangle represents the surface area of a sail or
the convergence of two lines of sight on a star; mathematicians can work with either
concept in the same way. The resulting economy of effort is very useful—provided that in
making an abstraction, care is taken not to ignore features that play a significant role in
determining the outcome of the events being studied.

Manipulating Mathematical Statements

After abstractions have been made and symbolic representations of them have been
selected, those symbols can be combined and recombined in various ways according to
precisely defined rules.

Sometimes that is done with a fixed goal in mind; at other times it is done in the context of
experiment or play to see what happens. Sometimes an appropriate manipulation can be
identified easily from the intuitive meaning of the constituent words and symbols; at other
times a useful series of manipulations has to be worked out by trial and error.

Typically, strings of symbols are combined into statements that express ideas or
propositions. For example, the symbol A for the area of any square may be used with the
symbol s for the length of the square's side to form the proposition A = s2. This equation
specifies how the area is related to the side—and also implies that it depends on nothing
else. The rules of ordinary algebra can then be used to discover that if the length of the
sides of a square is doubled, the square's area becomes four times as great. More generally,
this knowledge makes it possible to find out what happens to the area of a square no matter
how the length of its sides is changed, and conversely, how any change in the area affects
the sides.

Mathematical insights into abstract relationships have grown over thousands of years, and
they are still being extended—and sometimes revised. Although they began in the concrete
experience of counting and measuring, they have come through many layers of abstraction
and now depend much more on internal logic than on mechanical demonstration. In a
sense, then, the manipulation of abstractions is much like a game: Start with some basic
rules, then make any moves that fit those rules—which includes inventing additional rules
and finding new connections between old rules. The test for the validity of new ideas is
whether they are consistent and whether they relate logically to the other rules.

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 Apply your Knowledge
Now, let’s check what you have learned.

Explain the following statements and give your own example.

1. Mathematical processes can lead to a kind of model of a thing, from which insights can
be gained about the thing itself. Any mathematical relationships arrived at by
manipulating abstract statements may or may not convey something truthful about the
thing being modelled.

(For example, if 2 cups of water are added to 3 cups of water and the abstract
mathematical operation 2+3 = 5 is used to calculate the total, the correct answer is 5
cups of water. However, if 2 cups of sugar are added to 3 cups of hot tea and the same
operation is used, 5 is an incorrect answer.)

2. Sometimes common sense is enough to enable one to decide whether the results of the
mathematics are appropriate.

(For example, to estimate the height 20 years from now of a girl who is 5' 5" tall and
growing at the rate of an inch per year, common sense suggests rejecting the simple
"rate times time" answer of 7' 1" as highly unlikely.)

3. Often a single round of mathematical reasoning does not produce satisfactory

conclusions, and changes are tried in how the representation is made or in the
operations themselves.

(For example, jumps are commonly made back and forth between steps, and there are
no rules that determine how to proceed. The process typically proceeds in fits and starts,
with many wrong turns and dead ends. This process continues until the results are good
enough.
SCORING RUBRIC FOR ESSAY
Criteria 4 3 2 1
Organization Arguments and Arguments and support A few of the support Many of the support
support are provided are provided in a fairly details or arguments details or arguments
in a logical order that logical order that makes it are not in an expected are not in an
makes it easy and reasonably easy to follow or logical order, expected or logical
interesting to follow the author's train of distracting the reader order, distracting the
the author's train of thought. and making the essay reader and making
thought. seem a little confusing. the essay seem very
confusing.
Support All of the evidence Most of the evidence and At least one of the Evidence and
and and examples are examples are specific, pieces of evidence and examples are NOT
Examples specific, relevant and relevant and explanations examples is relevant relevant AND/OR are
explanations are are given that show how and has an explanation not explained.
given that show how each piece of evidence that shows how that
each piece of supports piece of evidence
evidence the author's supports the author's
supports the author's position. position.
position.
Mechanics Author makes no Author makes 1-2 errors Author makes 3-4 Author makes more
errors in grammar or in grammar or spelling errors in grammar or than 4 errors in
spelling that distract that distract the reader spelling that distract the grammar or spelling
the reader from the from the content. reader from the that distract the
content. content. reader from the
content.

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 UNIT 1. Science and Its Conceptual Foundations

Lesson 3. Nature of Technology (Week 3)

As long as there have been people, there has been technology. Indeed, the techniques of
shaping tools are taken as the chief evidence of the beginning of human culture. On the
whole, technology has been a powerful force in the development of civilization, all the more
so as its link with science has been forged. Technology—like language, ritual, values,
commerce, and the arts—is an intrinsic part of a cultural system and it both shapes and
reflects the system's values. In today's world, technology is a complex social enterprise that
includes not only research, design, and crafts but also finance, manufacturing,
management, labor, marketing, and maintenance.

In the broadest sense, technology extends our abilities to change the world: to cut, shape,
or put together materials; to move things from one place to another; to reach farther with
our hands, voices, and senses. We use technology to try to change the world to suit us
better. The changes may relate to survival needs such as food, shelter, or defense, or they
may relate to human aspirations such as knowledge, art, or control. But the results of
changing the world are often complicated and unpredictable. They can include unexpected
benefits, unexpected costs, and unexpected risks—any of which may fall on different social
groups at different times. Anticipating the effects of technology is therefore as important as
advancing its capabilities.

This discussion presents recommendations on what knowledge about the nature of

technology is required for scientific literacy and emphasizes ways of thinking about
technology that can contribute to using it wisely. The ideas are sorted into three sections:
the connection of science and technology, the principles of technology itself, and the
connection of technology and society.

Learning Outcomes:
At the end of this lesson the students must have:

1. explained the role of technology as a powerful force in the development of

civilization.
2. understood that all children need and deserve a basic education in science,
mathematics, and technology that prepares them to live interesting and
productive lives.

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 Activate your Prior Knowledge
This time relate your prior knowledge to the lesson.

Consider the downsides of the modern technology below.

1. Cell Phones

2. Virtual Reality Headset

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 Acquire New Knowledge
This part will present the ideas aligned with the objectives of the

TECHNOLOGY AND SCIENCE

Technology Draws on Science and Contributes to it. In earlier times, technology grew out of
personal experience with the properties of things and with the techniques for manipulating
them, out of know-how handed down from experts to apprentices over many generations.
The know-how handed down today is not only the craft of single practitioners but also a
vast literature of words, numbers, and pictures that describe and give directions. But just as
important as accumulated practical knowledge is the contribution to technology that comes
from understanding the principles that underlie how things behave—that is, from scientific
understanding.

Engineering, the systematic application of scientific knowledge in developing and applying

technology, has grown from a craft to become a science in itself.
Scientific knowledge provides a means of estimating what the behavior of things will be
even before we make them or observe them.

Moreover, science often suggests new kinds of behavior that had not even been imagined
before, and so leads to new technologies. Engineers use knowledge of science and
technology, together with strategies of design, to solve practical problems. In return,
technology provides the eyes and ears of science—and some of the muscle, too. The
electronic computer, for example, has led to substantial progress in the study of weather
systems, demographic patterns, gene structure, and other complex systems that would not
have been possible otherwise.

Technology is essential to science for purposes of measurement, data collection, treatment

of samples, computation, transportation to research sites (such as Antarctica, the moon,
and the ocean floor), sample collection, protection from hazardous materials, and
communication.

More and more, new instruments and techniques are being developed through technology
that make it possible to advance various lines of scientific research. Technology does not
just provide tools for science, however; it also may provide motivation and direction for
theory and research. The theory of the conservation of energy, for example, was developed
in large part because of the technological problem of increasing the efficiency of commercial
steam engines. The mapping of the locations of the entire set of genes in human DNA has
been motivated by the technology of genetic engineering, which both makes such mapping
possible and provides a reason for doing so.

As technologies become more sophisticated, their links to science become stronger. In some
fields, such as solid-state physics (which involves transistors and superconductors), the
ability to make something and the ability to study it are so interdependent that science and
engineering can scarcely be separated. New technology often requires new understanding;
new investigations often require new technology.

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Engineering Combines Scientific Inquiry and Practical Values

The component of technology most closely allied to scientific inquiry and to mathematical
modelling is engineering. In its broadest sense, engineering consists of construing a
problem and designing a solution for it. The basic method is to first devise a general
approach and then work out the technical details of the construction of requisite objects
(such as an automobile engine, a computer chip, or a mechanical toy) or processes (such as
irrigation, opinion polling, or product testing).

Much of what has been said about the nature of science applies to engineering as well,
particularly the use of mathematics, the interplay of creativity and logic, the eagerness to be
original, the variety of people involved, the professional specialties, public responsibility, and
so on. Indeed, there are more people called engineers than people called scientists, and
many scientists are doing work that could be described as engineering as well as science.
Similarly, many engineers are engaged in science.
Scientists see patterns in phenomena as making the world understandable; engineers also
see them as making the world manipulable. Scientists seek to show that theories fit the
data; mathematicians seek to show logical proof of abstract connections; engineers seek to
demonstrate that designs work. Scientists cannot provide answers to all questions;
mathematicians cannot prove all possible connections; engineers cannot design solutions for
all problems.
But engineering affects the social system and culture more directly than scientific research,
with immediate implications for the success or failure of human enterprises and for personal
benefit and harm. Engineering decisions, whether in designing an airplane bolt or an
irrigation system, inevitably involve social and personal values as well as scientific
judgments.

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DESIGN AND SYSTEMS

The Essence of Engineering Is Design Under Constraint. Every engineering design operates
within constraints that must be identified and taken into account. One type of constraint is
absolute—for example, physical laws such as the conservation of energy or physical
properties such as limits of flexibility, electrical conductivity, and friction. Other types have
some flexibility: economic (only so much money is available for this purpose), political
(local, state, and national regulations), social (public opposition), and ecological (likely
disruption of the natural environment), and ethical (disadvantages to some people, risk to
subsequent generations). An optimum design takes into account all the constraints and
strikes some reasonable compromise among them. Reaching such design compromises—
including, sometimes, the decision not to develop a particular technology further—requires
taking personal and social values into account.

Although design may sometimes require only routine decisions about the combining of
familiar components, often it involves great creativity in inventing new approaches to
problems, new components, and new combinations—and great innovation in seeing new
problems or new possibilities.

But there is no perfect design. Accommodating one constraint well can often lead to conflict
with others. For example, the lightest material may not be the strongest, or the most
efficient shape may not be the safest or the most aesthetically pleasing. Therefore, every
design problem lends itself to many alternative solutions, depending on what values people
place on the various constraints. For example, is strength more desirable than lightness,
and is appearance more important than safety? The task is to arrive at a design that
reasonably balances the many trade- offs, with the understanding that no single design is
ever simultaneously the safest, the most reliable, the most efficient, the most inexpensive,
and so on.

It is seldom practical to design an isolated object or process without considering the broad
context in which it will be used. Most products of technology have to be operated,
maintained, occasionally repaired, and ultimately replaced. Because all these related
activities bear costs, they too have to be considered. A similar issue that is becoming
increasingly important with more complex technologies is the need to train personnel to sell,
operate, maintain, and repair them. Particularly when technology changes quickly, training
can be a major cost. Thus, keeping down demands on personnel may be another design
constraint.

Designs almost always require testing, especially when the design is unusual or
complicated, when the final product or process is likely to be expensive or dangerous, or
when failure has a very high cost. Performance tests of a design may be conducted by using
complete products, but doing so may be prohibitively difficult or expensive. So testing is
often done by using small-scale physical models, computer simulations, analysis of
analogous systems (for example, laboratory animals standing in for humans, earthquake
disasters for nuclear disasters), or testing of separate components only.

All Technologies Involve Control

All systems, from the simplest to the most complex, require control to keep them operating
properly. The essence of control is comparing information about what is happening with
what we want to happen and then making appropriate adjustments. Control typically
requires feedback (from sensors or other sources of information) and logical comparisons of

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that information to instructions (and perhaps to other data input)—and a means for
activating changes. For example, a baking oven is a fairly simple system that compares the
information from a temperature sensor to a control setting and turns the heating element
up or down to keep the temperature within a small range. An automobile is a more complex
system, made up of subsystems for controlling engine temperature, combustion rate,
direction, speed, and so forth, and for changing them when the immediate circumstances or
instructions change. Miniaturized electronics makes possible logical control in a great variety
of technical systems.

Almost all but the simplest household appliances used today include microprocessors to
control their performance. As controls increase in complexity, they too require coordination,
which means additional layers of control. Improvement in rapid communication and rapid
processing of information makes possible very elaborate systems of control. Yet all
technological systems include human as well as mechanical or electronic components. Even
the most automatic system requires human control at some point— to program the built-in
control elements, monitor them, take over from them when they malfunction, and change
them when the purposes of the system change. The ultimate control lies with people who
understand in some depth what the purpose and nature of the control process are and the
context within which the process operates.

Technologies Always Have Side Effects

In addition to its intended benefits, every design is likely to have unintended side effects in
its production and application. On the one hand, there may be unexpected benefits. For
example, working conditions may become safer when materials are moulded rather than
stamped, and materials designed for space satellites may prove useful in consumer
products. On the other hand, substances or processes involved in production may harm
production workers or the public in general; for example, sitting in front of a computer may
strain the user's eyes and lead to isolation from other workers. And jobs may be affected—
by increasing employment for people involved in the new technology, decreasing
employment for others involved in the old technology, and changing the nature of the work
people must do in their jobs.

It is not only large technologies—nuclear reactors or agriculture—that are prone to side

effects, but also the small, everyday ones. The effects of ordinary technologies may be
individually small but collectively significant. Refrigerators, for example, have had a
predictably favorable impact on diet and on food distribution systems. Because there are so
many refrigerators, however, the tiny leakage of a gas used in their cooling systems may
have substantial adverse effects on the earth's atmosphere. Some side effects are

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unexpected because of a lack of interest or resources to predict them. But many are not
predictable even in principle because of the sheer complexity of technological systems and
the inventiveness of people in finding new applications. Some unexpected side effects may
turn out to be ethically, aesthetically, or economically unacceptable to a substantial fraction
of the population, resulting in conflict between groups in the community. To minimize such
side effects, planners are turning to systematic risk analysis.

For example, many communities require by law that environmental impact studies be made
before they will consider giving approval for the introduction of a new hospital, factory,
highway, waste-disposal system, shopping mall, or other structure. Risk analysis, however,
can be complicated. Because the risk associated with a particular course of action can never
be reduced to zero, acceptability may have to be determined by comparison to the risks of
alternative courses of action, or to other, more familiar risks. People's psychological
reactions to risk do not necessarily match straightforward mathematical models of benefits
and costs. People tend to perceive a risk as higher if they have no control over it (smog
versus smoking) or if the bad events tend to come in dreadful peaks (many deaths at once
in an airplane crash versus only a few at a time in car crashes).

Personal interpretation of risks can be strongly influenced by how the risk is stated—for
example, comparing the probability of dying versus the probability of surviving, the dreaded
risks versus the readily acceptable risks, the total costs versus the costs per person per day,
or the actual number of people affected versus the proportion of affected people.

All Technological Systems Can Fail

Most modern technological systems, from transistor radios to airliners, have been
engineered and produced to be remarkably reliable. Failure is rare enough to be surprising.
Yet the larger and more complex a system is, the more ways there are in which it can go
wrong—and the more widespread the possible effects of failure. A system or device may fail
for different reasons: because some part fails, because some part is not well matched to
some other, or because the design of the system is not adequate for all the conditions
under which it is used. One hedge against failure is overdesign— that is, for example,
making something stronger or bigger than is likely to be necessary. Another hedge is
redundancy—that is, building in one backup system or more to take over in case the
primary one fails.

If failure of a system would have very costly consequences, the system may be designed so
that its most likely way of failing would do the least harm. Examples of such "fail-safe"
designs are bombs that cannot explode when the fuse malfunctions; automobile windows
that shatter into blunt, connected chunks rather than into sharp, flying fragments; and a

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legal system in which uncertainty leads to acquittal rather than conviction. Other means of
reducing the likelihood of failure include improving the design by collecting more data,
accommodating more variables, building more realistic working models, running computer
simulations of the design longer, imposing tighter quality control, and building in controls to
sense and correct problems as they develop.

All of the means of preventing or minimizing failure are likely to increase cost. But no matter
what precautions are taken or resources invested, risk of technological failure can never be
reduced to zero. Analysis of risk, therefore, involves estimating a probability of occurrence
for every undesirable outcome that can be foreseen—and also estimating a measure of the
harm that would be done if it did occur. The expected importance of each risk is then
estimated by combining its probability and its measure of harm. The relative risk of different
designs can then be compared in terms of the combined probable harm resulting from each.

ISSUES IN TECHNOLOGY
The Human Presence

The earth's population has already doubled three times during the past century. Even at
that, the human presence, which is evident almost everywhere on the earth, has had a
greater impact than sheer numbers alone would indicate. We have developed the capacity
to dominate most plant and animal species—far more than any other species can—and the
ability to shape the future rather than merely respond to it.

Use of that capacity has both advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand,
developments in technology have brought enormous benefits to almost all people. Most
people today have access to goods and services that were once luxuries enjoyed only by the
wealthy—in transportation, communication, nutrition, sanitation, health care, entertainment,
and so on. On the other hand, the very behavior that made it possible for the human
species to prosper so rapidly has put us and the earth's other living organisms at new kinds
of risk. The growth of agricultural technology has made possible a very large population but
has put enormous strain on the soil and water systems that are needed to continue
sufficient production. Our antibiotics cure bacterial infection, but may continue to work only
if we invent new ones faster than resistant bacterial strains emerge.

Our access to and use of vast stores of fossil fuels have made us dependent on a non-
renewable resource. In our present numbers, we will not be able to sustain our way of living
on the energy that current technology provides, and alternative technologies may be
inadequate or may present unacceptable hazards. Our vast mining and manufacturing
efforts produce our goods, but they also dangerously pollute our rivers and oceans, soil, and
atmosphere. Already, by-products of industrialization in the atmosphere may be depleting,

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the ozone layer, which screens the planet's surface from harmful ultraviolet rays, and may
be creating a build-up of carbon dioxide, which traps heat and could raise the planet's
average temperatures significantly. The environmental consequences of a nuclear war,
among its other disasters, could alter crucial aspects of all life on earth. From the standpoint
of other species, the human presence has reduced the amount of the earth's surface
available to them by clearing large areas of vegetation; has interfered with their food
sources; has changed their habitats by changing the temperature and chemical composition
of large parts of the world environment; has destabilized their ecosystems by introducing
foreign species, deliberately or accidentally; has reduced the number of living species; and
in some instances has actually altered the characteristics of certain plants and animals by
selective breeding and more recently by genetic engineering.

What the future holds for life on earth, barring some immense natural catastrophe, will be
determined largely by the human species. The same intelligence that got us where we are—
improving many aspects of human existence and introducing new risks into the world—is
also our main resource for survival.

Technological and Social Systems Interact Strongly

Individual inventiveness is essential to technological innovation. Nonetheless, social and

economic forces strongly influence what technologies will be undertaken, paid attention to,
invested in, and used. Such decisions occur directly as a matter of government policy and
indirectly as a consequence of the circumstances and values of a society at any particular
time. In many countries, decisions about which technological options will prevail are
influenced by many factors, such as consumer acceptance, patent laws, and the availability
of risk capital, the federal budget process, local and national regulations, media attention,
economic competition, tax incentives, and scientific discoveries. The balance of such
incentives and regulations usually bears differently on different technological systems,
encouraging some and discouraging others. Advanced technology had already arrived, but
is not evenly distributed among nations due to many limiting factors such as patent laws,
culture, social acceptability, etc.

Technology has strongly influenced the course of history and the nature of human society,
and it continues to do so. The great revolutions in agricultural technology, for example,
have probably had more influence on how people live than political revolutions; changes in
sanitation and preventive medicine have contributed to the population explosion (and to its
control); bows and arrows, gunpowder, and nuclear explosives have in their turn changed
how war is waged; and the microprocessor is changing how people write, compute, bank,
operate businesses, conduct research, and communicate with one another. Technology is
largely responsible for such large-scale changes as the increased urbanization of society and
the dramatically growing economic interdependence of communities worldwide.

Historically, some social theorists have believed that technological change (such as
industrialization and mass production) causes social change, whereas others have believed
that social change (such as political or religious changes) leads to technological change.
However, it is clear that because of the web of connections between technological and
other social systems, many influences act in both directions.

The Social System Imposes Some Restrictions on Openness in Technology

For the most part, the professional values of engineering are very similar to those of
science, including the advantages seen in the open sharing of knowledge. Because of the

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economic value of technology, however, there are often constraints on the openness of
science and engineering that are relevant to technological innovation. A large investment of
time and money and considerable commercial risk are often required to develop a new
technology and bring it to market. That investment might well be jeopardized if competitors
had access to the new technology without making a similar investment, and hence
companies are often reluctant to share technological knowledge. But no scientific or
technological knowledge is likely to remain secret for very long.

Secrecy most often provides only an advantage in terms of time—a head start, not
absolute control of knowledge. Patent laws encourage openness by giving individuals and
companies control over the use of any new technology they develop; however, to promote
technological competition, such control is only for a limited period of time.

Commercial advantage is not the only motivation for secrecy and control. Much
technological development occurs in settings, such as government agencies, in which
commercial concerns are minimal but national security concerns may lead to secrecy. Any
technology that has potential military applications can arguably be subject to restrictions
imposed by the federal government, which may limit the sharing of engineering knowledge
—or even the exportation of products from which engineering knowledge could be inferred.
Because the connections between science and technology are so close in some fields,
secrecy inevitably begins to restrict some of the free flow of information in science as well.
Some scientists and engineers are very uncomfortable with what they perceive as a
compromise of the scientific ideal, and some refuse to work on projects that impose
secrecy. Others, however, view the restrictions as appropriate.

Decisions about the Use of Technology are Complex

Most technological innovations spread or disappear on the basis of free- market forces—that
is, on the basis of how people and companies respond to such innovations. Occasionally,
however, the use of some technology becomes an issue subject to public debate and
possibly formal regulation. One way in which technology becomes such an issue is when a
person, group, or business proposes to test or introduce a new technology—as has been the
case with contour plowing, vaccination, genetic engineering, and nuclear power plants.
Another way is when a technology already in widespread use is called into question—as, for
example, when people are told (by individuals, organizations, or agencies) that it is essential
to stop or reduce the use of a particular technology or technological product that has been
discovered to have, or that may possibly have, adverse effects. In such instances, the
proposed solution may be to ban the burial of toxic wastes in community dumps, or to
prohibit the use of leaded gasoline and asbestos insulation.

Rarely are technology-related issues simple and one-sided. Relevant technical facts alone,
even when known and available (which often they are not), usually do not settle matters
entirely in favor of one side or the other. The chances of reaching good personal or
collective decisions about technology depend on having information that neither enthusiasts
nor skeptics are always ready to volunteer. The long-term interests of society are best
served, therefore, by having processes for ensuring that key questions concerning proposals
to curtail or introduce technology are raised and that as much relevant knowledge as
possible is brought to bear on them.

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 Apply your Knowledge
Now, let’s check what you have learned.

Creative work: Design/Draw a technological project related to your course. Considering

these questions does not ensure that the best decision will always be made, but the failure
to raise key questions will almost certainly result in poor decisions. The key questions
concerning any proposed new technology should include the following:

a) What are alternative ways to accomplish the same ends? What advantages and
disadvantages are there to the alternatives?
b) What trade-offs would be necessary between positive and negative side effects of each?
c) Who are the main beneficiaries? Who will receive few or no benefits?
d) Who will suffer as a result of the proposed new technology?
e) How long will the benefits last? Will the technology have other applications?
f) Whom will they benefit?
g) What will the proposed new technology cost to build and operate?
h) How does that compare to the cost of alternatives?
i) Will people other than the beneficiaries have to bear the costs?
j) Who should underwrite the development costs of a proposed new technology?
k) How will the costs change over time?
l) What will the social costs be?
m) What risks are associated with the proposed new technology?
n) What risks are associated with not using it? Who will be in greatest danger?
o) What risk will the technology present to other species of life and to the environment? In
the worst possible case, what trouble could it cause?
p) Who would be held responsible?
q) How could the trouble be undone or limited?
r) What people, materials, tools, knowledge, and know-how will be needed to build, install,
and operate the proposed new technology?
s) Are they available? If not, how will they be obtained, and from where?
t) What energy sources will be needed for construction or manufacture, and also for
operation?
u) What resources will be needed to maintain, update, and repair the new technology?
v) What will be done to dispose safely of the new technology's waste materials? As it
becomes obsolete or worn out, how will it be replaced? And finally,
w) What will become of the material of which it was made and the people whose jobs
depended on it?

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 Assess your Knowledge

Some Questions to Work with…

1. Aside from communication, what other aspects of society is/are being influence by the
information age? How?

2. What other technological advancements can be developed in the future? Explain.

3. How would you reconcile the emerging needs of human beings regarding their health
and the need to protect the growth of biodiversity?

4. Do you think that Earth can exist without human beings for it to be in a continuous
growing process?

5. What are small ways that you think would promote safekeeping our biodiversity? What
do you think are the common human activities that can harm biodiversity? Why? What
would be the consequences if these human activities might be stopped and prohibited?
Why?

6. How would you reconcile the advantages and disadvantages that GMO’s bring to
humans?

7. What are the contributions of Nanotechnology for the improvement and sustainability of
the environment?

8. Would you subject yourself to gene therapy without its 100% assurance of effectiveness
or future negative side effects?

9. What significant contribution can individuals make in response to climate change?

10. What should be the significant contribution of the society as well as the government in
mitigating the hazards caused by climate change?

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 Your responses will be marked using the rubric.

Criteria Unsatisfactory 0 Needs Satisfactory 15 Outstanding 25

pts Improvement pts pts
5 pts
Content - Content is - Content is not - Content is - Content is comprehensive,
& incomplete. comprehensive and accurate and accurate, and persuasive.
Develop - Major points are /or persuasive. persuasive. - Major points are stated
ment not clear. - Major points are - Major points are clearly and are well
-Specific addressed, but not stated. supported.
examples are not well supported. - Responses are - Responses are excellent, timely
used. - Responses are adequate and and address topic.
inadequate or do not address topic. - Content is clear.
address topic. - Content is clear. -Specific examples are
-Specific examples -Specific used.
do not support examples are
topic. used.
Organizat - Organization and - Structure of the paper - Structure is mostly -Structure of the paper is
ion & structure detract is not easy to follow. clear and easy to clear and easy to follow.
Structure from the message. - Transitions need follow. - Transitions are logical and
- Writing is improvement. - Transitions are maintain the flow of thought
disjointed and - Conclusion is missing, present. throughout the paper.
lacks transition of or if provided, does - Conclusion is - Conclusion is logical and flows
thoughts. not logical. from the body of the paper.
flow from the body of
the paper.
Grammar - Paper contains - Paper contains few - Rules of grammar, - Rules of grammar, usage, and
, numerous grammatical, usage, and punctuation punctuation are followed;
Punctuati grammatical, punctuation and are followed with minor spelling is correct.
on & punctuation, and spelling errors. errors.
Spelling spelling errors. Spelling is correct.

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 UNIT 1. Science and Its Conceptual Foundations

Lesson 4. The Physical Setting

Introduction:

Humans have never lost interest in trying to find out how the universe is put together, how
it works, and where they fit in the cosmic scheme of things. The development of our
understanding of the architecture of the universe is surely not complete, but we have made
great progress. Given a universe that is made up of distances too vast to reach and of
particles too small to see and too numerous to count, it is a tribute to human intelligence
that we have made as much progress as we have in accounting for how things fit together.
All humans should participate in the pleasure of coming to know their universe better.

This discussion consists of recommendations for basic knowledge about the overall structure
of the universe and the physical principles on which it seems to run, with emphasis on the
earth and the solar system. It focuses on two principal subjects: the structure of the
universe and the major processes that have shaped the planet earth, and the concepts with
which science describes the physical world in general— organized for convenience under the
headings of matter, energy, motion, and forces.

Learning Outcome:

At the end of this lesson the students must have:

1. Understood how the universe had been put together and how it works.

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 Activate your Prior Knowledge
This time relate your prior knowledge to the lesson.

The earth is a perfect place to live but WHY DO YOU THINK THIS YOUNG

DREAMER WISH TO LIVE IN MARS, INSTEAD?

For Alyssa Carson, colonizing Mars is just the first step in saving the human race.

The 18-year-old astrobiology student at Florida Tech remembers when she was nine years
old, she had the opportunity to meet and speak to former NASA astronaut Sandra Magnus
at the Sally Ride Science Festival in Louisiana.

"I asked her, 'When did you decide to become an astronaut,' and she told me that she was
around nine or so," Carson, a freshman at Florida Tech told FLORIDA TODAY.

Already engrossed in all things space, the brief encounter with Magnus gave Carson the
extra push to continue to pursue a career in the space industry.

"She just kind of inspired me that you can decide what you want to do at a young age, work
hard and it can actually become a reality," Carson said.

She's now 18 years old, with a pilot's license, is "certified" to go to space and hopes to be a
part of the crew that lays down the foundation to colonize the red planet.

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 Acquire New Knowledge

THE UNIVERSE

The universe is large and ancient, on scales staggering to the human mind. The earth has
existed for only about a third of the history of the universe and is in comparison a mere
speck in space. Our sun is a medium-sized star orbiting near the edge of the arm of an
ordinary disk-shaped galaxy of stars, part of which we can see as a vast glowing band that
spans the sky on a clear night (the Milky Way). Our galaxy contains many billion stars, and
the universe contains many billion such galaxies, some of which we may be able to see with
the naked eye as fuzzy spots on a clear night. Using our fastest rockets, it would still take us
thousands of years to reach the star nearest our sun. Even light from that nearest star takes
four years to reach us. And the light reaching us from the farthest galaxies left them at a
time not long after the beginning of the universe. That is why when we observe the stars,
we are observing their past.

There are wondrously different kinds of stars that are much larger and much smaller, much
hotter and much cooler, much older and much younger than our sun. Most of them
apparently are not an isolated single star as our sun is but are part of systems of two or
more stars orbiting around a common center of mass. So too there are other galaxies and
clusters of galaxies different from our own in size, shape, and direction of motion. But in
spite of this variety, they all appear to be composed of the same elements, forces, and
forms of energy found in our own solar system and galaxy, and they appear to behave
according to the same physical principles.

It seems that the entire contents of the known universe expanded explosively into existence
from a single hot, dense, chaotic mass more than ten billion years ago. Stars coalesced out
of clouds of the lightest elements (hydrogen and helium), heated up from the energy of
falling together, and began releasing nuclear energy from the fusion of light elements into
heavier ones in their extremely hot, dense cores. Eventually, many of the stars exploded,
producing new clouds from which other stars —and presumably planets orbiting them—
could condense. The process of star formation continues.

Stars are formed and eventually dissipate, and matter and energy change forms—as they
have for billions of years. Our solar system coalesced out of a giant cloud of gas and debris
left in the wake of exploding stars about five billion years ago. Everything in and on the
earth, including living organisms, is made of this material. As the earth and the other
planets formed, the heavier elements fell to their centers. On planets close to the sun
(Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars), the lightest elements were mostly blown or boiled away

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by radiation from the newly formed sun; on the outer planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus,
Neptune, and Pluto), the lighter elements still surround them as deep atmospheres of gas or

as frozen solid layers.

In total, there are eight planets of very different size, composition, and surface features that
move around the sun in nearly circular orbits. Around the planets orbit a great variety of
moons and (in some cases) flat rings of rock and ice debris or (in the case of the earth) a
moon and artificial satellites. Features of many of the planets and their moons show
evidence of developmental processes similar to those that occur on the earth (such as
earthquakes, lava flows, and erosion).

There are also a great many smaller bodies of rock and ice orbiting the sun. Some of those
that the earth encounters in its yearly orbit around the sun glow and disintegrate from
friction as they plunge into the atmosphere—and sometimes impact the ground. Other
chunks of rock mixed with ice have such long and off- center orbits that they periodically
come very close to the sun, where some of their surface material is boiled off by the sun's
radiation and pushed into a long illuminated tail that we see as a comet.

Our still-growing knowledge of the solar system and the rest of the universe comes to us in
part by direct observation but mostly through the use of tools we have developed to extend
and supplement our own senses. These tools include radio and x-ray telescopes that are
sensitive to a broad spectrum of information coming to us from space; computers that can
undertake increasingly complicated calculations of gravitational systems or nuclear
reactions, finding patterns in data and deducing the implications of theories; space probes
that send back detailed pictures and other data from distant planets in our own solar
system; and huge "atom smashers" that simulate conditions in the early universe and probe
the inner workings of atoms.

Most of what we believe we know about the universe must be inferred by using all these
tools to look at very small slices of space and time. What we know about stars is based on
analysis of the light that reaches us from them. What we know about the interior of the
earth is based on measurements we make on or near its surface or from satellites orbiting
above the surface. What we know about the evolution of the sun and planets comes from
studying the radiation from a small sample of stars, visual features of the planets, and

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samples of material (such as rock, meteorites, and moon and Mars scrapings), and
imagining how they got to be the way they are.

THE EARTH

We live on a fairly small planet, the third from the sun in the only system of planets
definitely known to exist (although similar systems are likely to be common in the universe).
Like that of all planets and stars, the earth's shape is approximately spherical, the result of
mutual gravitational attraction pulling its material toward a common center. Unlike the
much larger outer planets, which are mostly gas, the earth is mostly rock, with three-
fourths of its surface covered by a relatively thin layer of water and the entire planet
enveloped by a thin blanket of air. Bulges in the water layer are raised on both sides of the
planet by the gravitational tugs of the moon and sun, producing high tides about twice a
day along ocean shores. Similar bulges are produced in the blanket of air as well.

Of all the diverse planets and moons in our solar system, only the earth appears to be
capable of supporting life as we know it. The gravitational pull of the planet's mass is
sufficient to hold onto an atmosphere. This thin envelope of gases evolved as a result of
changing physical conditions on the earth's surface and the evolution of plant life, and it is
an integral part of the global ecosystem.

Altering the concentration of its natural component gases of the atmosphere, or adding new
ones, can have serious consequences for the earth's life systems. The distance of the earth
from the sun ensures that energy reaches the planet at a rate sufficient to sustain life, and
yet not so fast that water would boil away or that molecules necessary to life would not
form. Water exists on the earth in liquid, solid, and gaseous forms—a rarity among the
planets (the others are either closer to the sun or too hot or farther from the sun and too
cold).

The motion of the earth and its position with regard to the sun and the moon have
noticeable effects. The earth's one-year revolution around the sun, because of the tilt of the
earth's axis, changes how directly sunlight falls on one part or another of the earth. This
difference in heating different parts of the earth's surface produces seasonal variations in
climate. The rotation of the planet on its axis every 24 hours produces the planet's night-
and-day cycle—and (to observers on earth) makes it seem as though the sun, planets,
stars, and moon are orbiting the earth. The combination of the earth's motion and the
moon's own orbit around the earth, once in about 28 days, results in the phases of the
moon (on the basis of the changing angle at which we see the sunlit side of the moon).

The earth has a variety of climatic patterns, which consist of different conditions of
temperature, precipitation, humidity, wind, air pressure, and other atmospheric phenomena.
These patterns result from an interplay of many factors. The basic energy source is the

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heating of land, ocean, and air by solar radiation. Transfer of heat energy at the interfaces
of the atmosphere with the land and oceans produces layers at different temperatures in
both the air and the oceans.

These layers rise or sink or mix, giving rise to winds and ocean currents that carry heat
energy between warm and cool regions. The earth's rotation curves the flow of winds and
ocean currents, which are further deflected by the shape of the land.

The cycling of water in and out of the atmosphere plays an important part in determining
climatic patterns—evaporating from the surface, rising and cooling, condensing into clouds
and then into snow or rain, and falling again to the surface, where it collects in rivers, lakes,
and porous layers of rock. There are also large areas on the earth's surface covered by thick
ice (such as Antarctica), which interacts with the atmosphere and oceans in affecting
worldwide variations in climate.

The earth's climates have changed radically and they are expected to continue changing,
owing mostly to the effects of geological shifts such as the advance or retreat of glaciers
over centuries of time or a series of huge volcanic eruptions in a short time. But even some
relatively minor changes of atmospheric content or of ocean temperature, if sustained long
enough, can have widespread effects on climate. The earth has many resources of great
importance to human life. Some are readily renewable, some are renewable only at great
cost, and some are not renewable at all. The earth comprises a great variety of minerals,
whose properties depend on the history of how they were formed as well as on the
elements of which they are composed. Their abundance ranges from rare to almost
unlimited.

But the difficulty of extracting them from the environment is as important an issue as their
abundance. A wide variety of minerals are sources for essential industrial materials, such as
iron, aluminum, magnesium, and copper. Many of the best sources are being depleted,
making it more and more difficult and expensive to obtain those minerals.

Fresh water is an essential resource for daily life and industrial processes. We obtain our
water from rivers and lakes and from water that moves below the earth's surface. This
groundwater, which is a major source for many people, takes a long time to accumulate in
the quantities now being used. In some places it is being depleted at a very rapid rate.
Moreover, many sources of fresh water cannot be used because they have been polluted.
Wind, tides, and solar radiation are continually available and can be harnessed to provide
sources of energy. In principle, the oceans, atmosphere, topsoil, sea creatures, and trees
are renewable resources.

However, it can be enormously expensive to clean up polluted air and water, restore
destroyed forests and fishing grounds, or restore or preserve eroded soils of poorly
managed agricultural areas. Although the oceans and atmosphere are very large and have a
great capacity to absorb and recycle materials naturally, they do have their limits. They
have only a finite capacity to withstand change without generating major ecological
alterations that may also have adverse effects on human activities.

Processes that Shape the Earth

The interior of the earth is hot, under high pressure from the weight of overlying layers, and
more dense than its rocky crust. Forces within the earth cause continual changes on its
surface. The solid crust of the earth—including both the continents and ocean basins—

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consists of separate sections that overlie a hot, almost molten layer. The separate crustal
plates move on this softer layer—as much as an inch or more per year—colliding in some
places, pulling apart in others. Where the crustal plates collide, they may scrape sideways,
or compress the land into folds that eventually become mountain ranges (such as the Rocky
Mountains and the Himalayas); or one plate may slide under the other and sink deeper into
the earth.

Along the boundaries between colliding plates, earthquakes shake and break the surface,
and volcanic eruptions release molten rock from below, also building up mountains. Where
plates separate under continents, the land sinks to form ever- widening valleys. When
separation occurs in the thin regions of plates that underlie ocean basins, molten rock wells
up to create ever-wider ocean floors. Volcanic activity along these mid-ocean separations
may build up undersea mountains that are far higher than those rising from the land surface
—sometimes thrusting above the water's surface to create mid-ocean islands.

Waves, wind, water, and ice sculpt the earth's surface to produce distinctive landforms.
Rivers and glacial ice carry off soil and break down rock, eventually depositing the material
in sediments or carrying it in solution to the sea. Some of these effects occur rapidly and
others very slowly. For instance, many of the features of the earth's surface today can be
traced to the motion of glaciers back and forth across much of the northern hemisphere
over a period lasting more than a million years. By contrast, the shoreline can change
almost overnight—as waves erode the shores, and wind carries off loose surface material
and deposits it elsewhere.

Elements such as carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, and sulfur cycle slowly through the land,
oceans, and atmosphere, changing their locations and chemical combinations. Minerals are
made, dissolved, and remade—on the earth's surface, in the oceans, and in the hot, high-
pressure layers beneath the crust. Sediments of sand and shells of dead organisms are
gradually buried, cemented together by dissolved minerals, and eventually turned into solid
rock again. Sedimentary rock buried deep enough may be changed by pressure and heat,
perhaps melting and recrystallizing into different kinds of rock. Buried rock layers may be
forced up again to become land surface and eventually even mountains.

Thousands upon thousands of layers of sedimentary rock testify to the long history of the
earth, and to the long history of changing life forms whose remains are found in successive
layers of rock.

Plants and animals reshape the landscape in many ways. The composition and texture of
the soil, and consequently its fertility and resistance to erosion, are greatly influenced by
plant roots and debris, bacteria, and fungi that add organic material to the soil, and by
insects, worms, and burrowing animals that break it up. The presence of life has also
altered the earth's atmosphere. Plants remove carbon dioxide from the air, use the carbon
for synthesizing sugars, and release oxygen.

This process is responsible for the oxygen in our air today.

The landforms, climate, and resources of the earth's surface affect where and how people
live and how human history has unfolded. At the same time, human activities have changed
the earth's land surface, oceans, and atmosphere. For instance, reducing the amount of
forest cover on the earth's surface has led to a dramatic increase in atmospheric carbon
dioxide, which in turn may be leading to increased average temperature of the earth's
atmosphere and surface. Smoke and other substances from human activity interact

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chemically with the atmosphere and produce undesirable effects such as smog, acid rain,
and perhaps an increase in the damaging ultraviolet radiation that penetrates the
atmosphere. Intensive farming has stripped land of vegetation and topsoil, creating virtual
deserts in some parts of the world.

STRUCTURE OF MATTER

The things of the physical world seem to be made up of a stunningly varied array of
materials.

Materials differ greatly in shape, density, flexibility, texture, toughness, and color; in their
ability to give off, absorb, bend, or reflect light; in what form they take at different
temperatures; in their responses to each other; and in hundreds of other ways. Yet, in spite
of appearances, everything is really made up of a relatively few kinds of basic material
combined in various ways. As it turns out, about 100 such materials—the chemical elements
—are now known to exist, and only a few of them are abundant in the universe. When two
or more substances interact to form new substances (as in burning, digestion, corrosion,
and cooking), the elements composing them combine in new ways. In such recombinations,
the properties of the new combinations may be very different from those of the old. An
especially important kind of reaction between substances involves combination of oxygen
with something else —as in burning or rusting.

The basic premise of the modern theory of matter is that the elements consist of a few
different kinds of atoms—particles far too tiny to see in a microscope—that join together in
different configurations to form substances. There are one or more—but never many—kinds
of these atoms for each of the approximately 100 elements.

There are distinct patterns of properties among the elements. There are groups of elements
that have similar properties, including highly reactive metals, less-reactive metals, highly

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reactive non-metals such as chlorine, fluorine, and oxygen), and some almost completely
nonreactive gases (such as helium and neon). Some elements don't fit into any of these
categories; among them are carbon and hydrogen, essential elements of living matter.
When the elements are listed in order by the masses of their atoms, similar sequences of
properties appear over and over again in the list. Each atom is composed of a central,
positively charged nucleus— only a very small fraction of the atom's volume, but containing
most of its mass— surrounded by a cloud of much lighter, negatively charged electrons. The
number of electrons in an atom—ranging from 1 up to about 100—matches the number of
charged particles, or protons, in the nucleus, and determines how the atom will link to other
atoms to form molecules. Electrically neutral particles (neutrons) in the nucleus add to its
mass but do not affect the number of electrons and so have almost no effect on the atom's
links to other atoms (its chemical behavior). A block of pure carbon, for instance, is made up
of two kinds, or isotopes, of carbon atoms that differ somewhat in mass but have almost
identical chemical properties.

Scientists continue to investigate atoms and have discovered even smaller constituents of
which neutrons and protons are made. Every substance can exist in a variety of different
states, depending on temperature and pressure. Just as water can exist as ice, water, and
vapor, all but a few substances can also take solid, liquid, and gaseous form. When matter
gets cold enough, atoms or molecules lock in place in a more or less orderly fashion as
solids. Increasing the temperature means increasing the average energy of motion of the
atoms. So if the temperature is increased, atoms and molecules become more agitated and
usually move slightly farther apart; that is, the material expands. At higher temperatures,
the atoms and molecules are more agitated still and can slide past one another while
remaining loosely bound, as in a liquid. At still higher temperatures, the agitation of the
atoms and molecules overcomes the attractions between them and they can move around
freely, interacting only when they happen to come very close—usually bouncing off one
another, as in a gas.

As the temperature rises even higher, eventually the energy of collisions breaks all
molecules apart into atoms, and knocks electrons away from atoms, producing ions. At
extremely high temperatures, the nuclei of atoms may get so close during collisions that
they are affected by the strong internal nuclear forces, and nuclear reactions may occur.

The arrangement of the outermost electrons in an atom determines how the atom can bond
to others and form materials. Bonds are formed between atoms when electrons are
transferred from one atom to another, or when electrons are more or less shared between
them. Depending on what kinds of bonds are made, the atoms may link together in chaotic
mixtures, in distinctive molecules that have a uniform number and configuration of atoms,
or in the symmetrically repeated patterns of crystal arrays. Molecular configurations can be
as simple as pairs of identical atoms (such as oxygen molecules) or as complex as folded
and cross-linked chains thousands of atoms long (such as protein and DNA molecules). The
exact shapes of these complex molecules is a critical factor in how they interact with one
another. Crystal arrays may be entirely regular, or permeated with irregularities of
composition and structure. The small differences in composition and structure can give
materials very different properties.

The configuration of electrons in atoms determines what reactions can occur between
atoms, how much energy is required to get the reaction to happen, and how much energy is
released in the reaction. The rates at which reactions occur in large collections of atoms
depend largely on how often the reactants encounter one another—and so depend on the
concentration of reactants and on how fast they are moving (that is, on temperature).

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Reaction rates can be affected dramatically by very small concentrations of some atoms and
molecules which link to the reactants in a way that positions them well to link to each other,
or which have an excited state that can transfer just the right amount of energy for the
reaction to occur. In particular, reactions occurring in water solution may be affected
significantly by the acidity of the solution.
Each of the elements that make up familiar substances consists of only a few naturally
occurring isotopes. Most other possible isotopes of any element are unstable and, if they
happen to be formed, sooner or later will decay into some isotope of another element
(which may itself be unstable). The decay involves emission of particles and radiation from
the nucleus—that is, radioactivity. In the materials of the earth, there are small proportions
of some radioactive isotopes that were left over from the original formation of heavy
elements in stars. Some were formed more recently by impacts of nuclear particles from
space, or from the nuclear decay of other isotopes. Together, these isotopes produce a low
level of background radiation in the general environment.

It is not possible to predict when an unstable nucleus will decay. We can determine only
what fraction of a collection of identical nuclei are likely to decay in a given period of time.
The half-life of an unstable isotope is the time it takes for half of the nuclei in any sample of
that isotope to decay; half-lives of different isotopes range from less than a millionth of a
second to many millions of years.

The half-life of any particular isotope is constant and unaffected by physical conditions such
as pressure and temperature. Radioactivity can therefore be used to estimate the passage
of time, by measuring the fraction of nuclei that have already decayed. For example, the
fraction of an unstable, long-half-life isotope remaining in a sample of rock can be used to
estimate how long ago the rock was formed.

ENERGY TRANSFORMATIONS

Energy appears in many forms, including radiation, the motion of bodies, excited states of
atoms, and strain within and between molecules. All of these forms are in an important
sense equivalent, in that one form can change into another. Most of what goes on in the
universe—such as the collapsing and exploding of stars, biological growth and decay, the
operation of machines and computers— involves one form of energy being transformed into
another.

Forms of energy can be described in different ways: Sound energy is chiefly the regular
back-and forth motion of molecules; heat energy is the random motion of molecules;
gravitational energy lies in the separation of mutually attracting masses; the energy stored
in mechanical strains involves the separation of mutually attracting electric charges.

Although the various forms appear very different, each can be measured in a way that
makes it possible to keep track of how much of one form is converted into another.
Whenever the amount of energy in one place or form diminishes, the amount in another
place or form increases by an equivalent amount. Thus, if no energy leaks in or out across
the boundaries of a system, the total energy of all the different forms in the system will not
change, no matter what kinds of gradual or violent changes actually occur within the
system.

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But energy does tend to leak across boundaries. In particular, transformations of energy
usually result in producing some energy in the form of heat, which leaks away by radiation
or conduction (such as from engines, electrical wires, hot-water tanks, our bodies, and
stereo systems). Further, when heat is conducted or radiated into a fluid, currents are set
up that usually enhance the transfer of heat. Although materials that conduct or radiate heat
very poorly can be used to reduce heat loss, it can never be prevented completely.
Therefore the total amount of energy available for transformation is almost always
decreasing. For example, almost all of the energy stored in the molecules of gasoline used
during an automobile trip goes, by way of friction and exhaust, into producing a slightly
warmer car, road, and air. But even if such diffused energy is prevented from leaking away,
it tends to distribute itself evenly and thus may no longer be useful to us. This is because
energy can accomplish transformations only when it is concentrated more in some places
than in others (such as in falling water, in high-energy molecules in fuels and food, in
unstable nuclei, and in radiation from the intensely hot sun).

When energy is transformed into heat energy that diffuses all over, further transformations
are less likely. The reason that heat tends always to diffuse from warmer places to cooler
places is a matter of probability. Heat energy in a material consists of the disordered
motions of its perpetually colliding atoms or molecules. As very large numbers of atoms or
molecules in one region of a material repeatedly and randomly collide with those of a
neighboring region, there are far more ways in which their energy of random motion can
end up shared about equally throughout both regions than there are ways in which it can
end up more concentrated in one region. The disordered sharing of heat energy all over is
therefore far more likely to occur than any more orderly concentration of heat energy in any
one place. More generally, in any interactions of atoms or molecules, the statistical odds are
that they will end up in more disorder than they began with. It is, however, entirely possible
for some systems to increase in orderliness—as long as systems connected to them increase
even more in disorderliness. The cells of a human organism, for example, are always busy
increasing order, as in building complex molecules and body structures. But this occurs at
the cost of increasing the disorder around us even more—as in breaking down the molecular
structure of food we eat and in warming up our surroundings. The point is that the total
amount of disorder always tends to increase.

Different energy levels are associated with different configurations of atoms in molecules.
Some changes in configuration require additional energy, whereas other changes release
energy. For example, heat energy has to be supplied to start a charcoal fire (by evaporating
some carbon atoms away from others in the charcoal); however, when oxygen molecules
combine with the carbon atoms into the lower- energy configuration of a carbon dioxide
molecule, much more energy is released as heat and light. Or a chlorophyll molecule can be
excited to a higher-energy configuration by sunlight; the chlorophyll in turn excites
molecules of carbon dioxide and water so they can link, through several steps, into the
higher-energy configuration of a molecule of sugar (plus some regenerated oxygen). Later,
the sugar molecule may subsequently interact with oxygen to yield carbon dioxide and water

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molecules again, transferring the extra energy from sunlight to still other molecules.

It becomes evident, at the molecular level and smaller, that energy as well as matter occurs
in discrete units: When energy of an atom or molecule changes from one value to another,
it does so in definite jumps, with no possible values in between. These quantum effects
make phenomena on the atomic scale very different from what we are familiar with. When
radiation encounters an atom, it can excite the atom to a higher internal energy level only if
it can supply just the right amount of energy for the step. The reverse also occurs: When
the energy level of an atom relaxes by a step, a discrete amount (quantum) of radiation
energy is produced. The light emitted by a substance or absorbed by a substance can
therefore serve to identify what the substance is, whether the substance is in the laboratory
or is on the surface of a distant star.

Reactions in the nuclei of atoms involve far greater energy changes than reactions between
the outer electron structures of atoms (that is, chemical reactions). When very heavy nuclei,
such as those of uranium or plutonium, split into middle-weight ones, or when very light
nuclei, such as those of hydrogen and helium, combine into somewhat heavier ones, large
amounts of energy are released as radiation and rapidly moving particles. Fission of some
heavy nuclei occurs spontaneously, producing extra neutrons that induce fission in more
nuclei and so on, thus giving rise to a chain reaction. The fusion of nuclei, however, occurs
only if they collide at very great speeds (overcoming the electric repulsion between them),
such as the collisions that occur at the very high temperatures produced inside a star or by
a fission explosion.

MOTION

Motion is as much a part of the physical world as matter and energy are. Everything moves
—atoms and molecules; the stars, planets, and moons; the earth and its surface and
everything on its surface; all living things, and every part of living things. Nothing in the
universe is at rest. Since everything is moving, there is no fixed reference point against
which the motion of things can be described. All motion is relative to whatever point or
object we choose. Thus, a parked bus has no motion with reference to the earth's surface;
but since the earth spins on its axis, the bus is moving about 1,000 miles per hour around
the center of the earth. If the bus is moving down the highway, then a person walking up
the aisle of the bus has one speed with reference to the bus, another with respect to the
highway, and yet another with respect to the earth's center. There is no point in space that
can serve as a reference for what is actually moving.

Changes in motion—speeding up, slowing down, changing direction—are due to the effects
of forces. Any object maintains a constant speed and direction of motion unless an
unbalanced outside force acts on it. When an unbalanced force does act on an object, the
object's motion changes. Depending on the direction of the force relative to the direction of
motion, the object may change its speed (a falling apple) or its direction of motion (the
moon in its curved orbit), or both (a fly ball).

The greater the amount of the unbalanced force, the more rapidly a given object's speed or
direction of motion changes; the more massive an object is, the less rapidly its speed or
direction changes in response to any given force. And whenever something A exerts a force
on something B, B exerts an equally strong force back on A. For example, iron nail A pulls
on magnet B with the same amount of force as magnet B pulls on iron nail A—but in the
opposite direction.

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In most familiar situations, friction between surfaces brings forces into play that complicate
the description of motion, although the basic principles still apply. Some complicated
motions can be described most conveniently not in terms of forces directly but in summary
descriptions of the pattern of motion, such as vibrations and waves. Vibration involves parts
of a system moving back and forth in much the same place, so the motion can be
summarized by how frequently it is repeated and by how far a particle is displaced during a
cycle.

Another summary characteristic is the rate at which the vibration, when left to itself, dies
down as its energy dissipates. Vibrations may set up a traveling disturbance that spreads
away from its source. Examples of such disturbances are sound, light, and earthquakes,
which show some behavior very like that of familiar surface waves on water—changing
direction at boundaries between media, diffracting around corners, and mutually interfering
with one another in predictable ways. We therefore speak of sound waves, light waves, and
so on, and the mathematics of wave behavior is useful in describing all these phenomena.
Wave behavior can also be described in terms of how fast the disturbance propagates, and
in terms of the distance between successive peaks of the disturbance (the wavelength).

The observed wavelength of a wave depends in part upon the relative motion of the source
of the wave with respect to the observer. If the source is moving toward the observer (or
vice versa), the wave is in effect compressed and perceived as shorter; if the source and
observer are moving farther apart, the wave is in effect stretched out and perceived as
longer. Both effects are evident in the apparent change in pitch of an automobile horn as it
passes the observer. These apparent shifts in wavelength therefore provide information
about relative motion.

A particularly significant example of this shift is the change in the wavelength of light from
stars and galaxies. Because the light emitted from most of them shifts toward longer
wavelengths (that is, toward the red end of the spectrum), astronomers conclude that
galaxies are all moving away from one another—and hence that we are in a generally
expanding universe. Wavelength can greatly influence how a wave interacts with matter—
how well it is transmitted, absorbed, reflected, or diffracted. For example, the ways in which
shock waves of different wavelengths travel through and reflect from layers of rock are an
important clue as to what the interior of the earth is like. The interaction of electromagnetic
waves with matter varies greatly with wavelength, both in how they are produced and in
what their effects are. Different but somewhat overlapping ranges have been given
distinctive names: radio waves, microwaves, radiant heat or infrared radiation, visible light,
ultraviolet radiation, x rays, and gamma rays. Materials that allow one range of wavelengths
to pass through them may completely absorb others.

For example, some gases in the atmosphere, including carbon dioxide and water vapor, are
transparent too much of the incoming sunlight but not to the infrared radiation from the
warmed surface of the earth. Consequently, heat energy is trapped in the atmosphere. The
temperature of the earth rises until its radiation output reaches equilibrium with the
radiation input from the sun. Another atmospheric gas, ozone, absorbs some of the
ultraviolet radiation in sunlight—the wavelengths that produce burning, tanning, and cancer
in the skin of human beings.

Even within the named ranges of electromagnetic radiation, different wavelengths interact
with matter in different ways. The most familiar example is that different wavelengths of
visible light interact with our eyes differently, giving us the sensation of different colors.

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Things appear to have different colors because they reflect or scatter visible light of some
wavelengths more than others, as in the case of plants that absorb blue and red
wavelengths and reflect only green and yellow.

When the atmosphere scatters sunlight—which is a mixture of all wavelengths— short-

wavelength light (which gives us the sensation of blue) is scattered much more by air
molecules than long-wavelength (red) light is. The atmosphere, therefore, appears blue and
the sun seen through it by un-scattered light appears reddened.

FORCES OF NATURE

The two kinds of forces we are commonly aware of are gravitational and electromagnetic.
Everything in the universe exerts gravitational forces on everything else, although the
effects are readily noticeable only when at least one very large mass is involved (such as a
star or planet). Gravity is the force behind the fall of rain, the power of rivers, the pulse of
tides; it pulls the matter of planets and stars toward their centers to form spheres, holds
planets in orbit, and gathers cosmic dust together to form stars. Gravitational forces are
thought of as involving a gravitational field that affects space around any mass. The
strength of the field around an object is proportional to its mass and diminishes with
distance from its center. For example, the earth's pull on an individual will depend on
whether the person is, say, on the beach or far out in space.

The electromagnetic forces acting within and between atoms are immensely stronger than
the gravitational forces acting between them. On an atomic scale, electric forces between
oppositely charged protons and electrons hold atoms and molecules together and thus are
involved in all chemical reactions. On a larger scale, these forces hold solid and liquid
materials together and act between objects when they are in contact (for example, the
friction between a towel and a person's back, the impact of a bat on a ball). We usually do
not notice the electrical nature of many familiar forces because the nearly equal densities of
positive and negative electric charges in materials approximately neutralize each other's
effects outside the material. But even a tiny imbalance in these opposite charges will
produce phenomena that range from electric sparks and clinging clothes to lightning.

Depending on how many of the electric charges in them are free to move, materials show
great differences in how much they respond to electric forces. At one extreme, an
electrically insulating material such as glass or rubber does not ordinarily allow any passage
of charges through it. At the other extreme, an electrically conducting material such as
copper will offer very little resistance to the motion of charges, so electric forces acting on it
readily produce a current of charges. (Most electrical wires are a combination of extremes: a
very good conductor covered by a very good insulator.) In fact, at very low temperatures,
certain materials can become superconductors, which offer zero resistance. In between low-
and high-resistance materials are semiconducting materials in which the ease with which
charges move may vary greatly with subtle changes in composition or conditions; these
materials are used in transistors and computer chips to control electrical signals.

Water usually contains charged molecular fragments of dissolved impurities that are mobile,
and so it is a fairly good conductor. Magnetic forces are very closely related to electric forces
—the two can be thought of as different aspects of a single electromagnetic force. Both are
thought of as acting by means of fields: an electric charge has an electric field in the space
around it that affects other charges, and a magnet has a magnetic field around it that
affects other magnets. What is more, moving electric charges produce magnetic fields and

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are affected by magnetic fields. This influence is the basis of many natural phenomena. For
example, electric currents circulating in the earth's core give the earth an extensive
magnetic field, which we detect from the orientation of our compass needles.

The interplay of electric and magnetic forces is also the basis of much technological design,
such as electric motors (in which currents produce motion), generators (in which motion
produces currents), and television tubes (in which a beam of moving electric charges is bent
back and forth by a periodically changing magnetic field). More generally, a changing
electric field induces a magnetic field, and vice versa.

Other types of forces operate only at the subatomic scale. For example, the nuclear force
that holds particles together within the atomic nucleus is much stronger than the electric
force, as is evident in the relatively great amounts of energy released by nuclear
interactions.

Apply your Knowledge

Now, let’s check what you have learned.

Reflect on the following questions, then answer the following questions logically.

1. How can the interplay of electric and magnetic forces in technological design?

2. How did light become a significant aid in understanding the Universe?

3. What are the balanced forces that keeps earth from motion? How and what will
happened if this forces will be altered?

4. Explain the idea “energy does tend to leak across boundaries”.

5. As students in your chosen field, practically what is the significance of knowing the
structure and properties of matter?

Your responses will be marked using the rubric.

Needs
Unsatisfactory Satisfactory 15 Outstanding 25
Criteria Improvement
0 pts pts pts
5 pts
Content & - Content is - Content is not - Content is - Content is
Development incomplete. comprehensive and accurate and comprehensive,
- Major points are not /or persuasive. persuasive. accurate, and
clear. - Major points are - Major points are stated. persuasive.
-Specific examples addressed, but not well - Responses are - Major points are stated clearly
are not used. supported. adequate and address and are well supported.
- Responses are topic. - Responses are excellent,
inadequate or do not - Content is clear. timely and address topic.
address topic. -Specific examples - Content is clear.
-Specific examples do are used. -Specific examples are used.
not support topic.
Organization & - Organization and - Structure of the paper is - Structure is mostly -Structure of the paper is clear
Structure structure detract from not easy to follow. clear and easy to and easy to follow.
the message. - Transitions need follow. - Transitions are logical and
- Writing is disjointed improvement. - Transitions are maintain the flow of thought
and lacks transition of throughout the paper.
- Conclusion is missing, or present.
thoughts. if provided, does not flow - Conclusion is logical. - Conclusion is logical and flows
from the body from the body of the paper.
of the paper.

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Grammar, - Paper contains - Paper contains few - Rules of grammar, - Rules of grammar, usage, and
Punctuation & numerous grammatical, usage, and punctuation punctuation are followed;
Spelling grammatical, punctuation and are followed with minor spelling is correct.
punctuation, and spelling errors. errors.
spelling Spelling is correct.
errors.

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 UNIT 1. Science and Its Conceptual Foundations

Lesson 5. The Living Environment (Week 4)

Introduction:

People have long been curious about living things—how many different species there are,
what they are like, where they live, how they relate to each other, and how they behave.
Scientists seek to answer these questions and many more about the organisms that inhabit
the earth. In particular, they try to develop the concepts, principles, and theories that
enable people to understand the living environment better.

Living organisms are made of the same components as all other matter, involve the same
kind of transformations of energy, and move using the same basic kinds of forces. The
Physical Setting, apply to life as well as to stars, raindrops, and television sets. But living
organisms also have characteristics that can be understood best through the application of
other principles.

This discussion offers recommendations on basic knowledge about how living things
function and how they interact with one another and their environment. The chapter
focuses on six major subjects: the diversity of life, as reflected in the biological
characteristics of the earth's organisms; the transfer of heritable characteristics from one
generation to the next; the structure and functioning of cells, the basic building blocks of all
organisms; the interdependence of all organisms and their environment; the flow of matter
and energy through the grand-scale cycles of life; and how biological evolution explains the
similarity and diversity of life.

Learning Outcome:

At the end of this lesson the students must have:

1. discussed the basic knowledge about how living things function and how
they interact with one another and their environment.

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Activate your Prior Knowledge
This time relate your prior knowledge to the lesson.

Agree or disagree? What can you say about this quote?

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 Acquire New Knowledge

DIVERSITY OF LIFE
There are millions of different types of individual organisms that inhabit the earth at any one
time— some very similar to each other, some very different. Biologists classify organisms
into a hierarchy of groups and subgroups on the basis of similarities and differences in their
structure and behavior. One of the most general distinctions among organisms is between
plants, which get their energy directly from sunlight, and animals, which consume the
energy-rich foods initially synthesized by plants. But not all organisms are clearly one or the
other. For example, there are single-celled organisms without organized nuclei (bacteria)
that are classified as a distinct group.

Animals and plants have a great variety of body plans, with different overall structures and
arrangements of internal parts to perform the basic operations of making or finding food,
deriving energy and materials from it, synthesizing new materials, and reproducing. When
scientists classify organisms, they consider details of anatomy to be more relevant than
behavior or general appearance. For example, because of such features as milk-producing
glands and brain structure, whales and bats are classified as being more nearly alike than
are whales and fish or bats and birds. At different degrees of relatedness, dogs are classified
with fish as having backbones, with cows as having hair, and with cats as being meat
eaters.

For sexually reproducing organisms, a species comprises all organisms that can mate with
one another to produce fertile offspring. The definition of species is not precise, however; at
the boundaries it may be difficult to decide on the exact classification of a particular
organism. Indeed, classification systems are not part of nature. Rather, they are frameworks
created by biologists for describing the vast diversity of organisms, suggesting relationships
among living things, and framing research questions.

The variety of the earth's life forms is apparent not only from the study of anatomical and
behavioral similarities and differences among organisms but also from the study of
similarities and differences among their molecules. The most complex molecules built up in
living organisms are chains of smaller molecules. The various kinds of small molecules are
much the same in all life forms, but the specific sequences of components that make up the
very complex molecules are characteristic of a given species. For example, DNA molecules
are long chains linking just four kinds of smaller molecules, whose precise sequence
encodes genetic information. The closeness or remoteness of the relationship between
organisms can be inferred from the extent to which their DNA sequences are similar. The
relatedness of organisms inferred from similarity in their molecular structure closely matches
the classification based on anatomical similarities.

The preservation of a diversity of species is important to human beings. We depend on two

food webs to obtain the energy and materials necessary for life. One starts with microscopic
ocean plants and seaweed and includes animals that feed on them and animals that feed on
those animals. The other one begins with land plants and includes animals that feed on
them, and so forth. The elaborate interdependencies among species serve to stabilize these
food webs. Minor disruptions in a particular location tend to lead to changes that eventually
restore the system. But large disturbances of living populations or their environments may
result in irreversible changes in the food webs. Maintaining diversity increases the likelihood
that some varieties will have characteristics suitable to survival under changed conditions.

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HEREDITY

One long-familiar observation is that offspring are very much like their parents but still show
some variation: Offspring differ somewhat from their parents and from one another. Over
many generations, these differences can accumulate, so organisms can be very different in
appearance and behavior from their distant ancestors. For example, people have bred their
domestic animals and plants to select desirable characteristics; the results are modern
varieties of dogs, cats, cattle, fowl, fruits, and grains that are perceptibly different from their
forebears. Changes have also been observed—in grains, for example—that are extensive
enough to produce new species. In fact, some branches of descendants of the same parent
species are so different from others that they can no longer breed with one another.

Instructions for development are passed from parents to offspring in thousands of discrete
genes, each of which is now known to be a segment of a molecule of DNA. Offspring of
asexual organisms (clones) inherit all of the parent's genes. In sexual reproduction of plants
and animals, a specialized cell from a female fuses with a specialized cell from a male. Each
of these sex cells contains an unpredictable half of the parent's genetic information. When a
particular male cell fuses with a particular female cell during fertilization, they form a cell
with one complete set of paired genetic information, a combination of one half-set from
each parent. As the fertilized cell multiplies to form an embryo, and eventually a seed or
mature individual, the combined sets are replicated in each new cell.

The sorting and combination of genes in sexual reproduction results in a great variety of
gene combinations in the offspring of two parents. There are millions of different possible
combinations of genes in the half apportioned into each separate sex cell, and there are also
millions of possible combinations of each of those particular female and male sex cells.
However, new mixes of genes are not the only source of variation in the characteristics of
organisms.

Although genetic instructions may be passed down virtually unchanged for many thousands
of generations, occasionally some of the information in a cell's DNA is altered. Deletions,
insertions, or substitutions of DNA segments may occur spontaneously through random
errors in copying, or may be induced by chemicals or radiation. If a mutated gene is in an
organism's sex cell, copies of it may be passed down to offspring, becoming part of all their
cells and perhaps giving the offspring new or modified characteristics. Some of these
changed characteristics may turn out to increase the ability of the organisms that have it to
thrive and reproduce, some may reduce that ability, and some may have no appreciable
effect.

CELLS

All self-replicating life forms are composed of cells—from single-celled bacteria to elephants,
with their trillions of cells. Although a few giant cells, such as hens' eggs, can be seen with
the naked eye, most cells are microscopic. It is at the cell level that many of the basic
functions of organisms are carried out: protein synthesis, extraction of energy from
nutrients, replication, and so forth. All living cells have similar types of complex molecules
that are involved in these basic activities of life. These molecules interact in a soup, about
2/3 water, surrounded by a membrane that controls what can enter and leave. In more
complex cells, some of the common types of molecules are organized into structures that
perform the same basic functions more efficiently. In particular, a nucleus encloses the DNA
and a protein skeleton helps to organize operations. In addition to the basic cellular

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functions common to all cells, most cells in multi-celled organisms perform some special
functions that others do not. For example, gland cells secrete hormones, muscle cells
contract, and nerve cells conduct electrical signals.

Cell molecules are composed of atoms of a small number of elements—mainly carbon,

hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorous, and sulfur. Carbon atoms, because of their small
size and four available bonding electrons, can join to other carbon atoms in chains and rings
to form large and complex molecules. Most of the molecular interactions in cells occur in
water solution and require a fairly narrow range of temperature and acidity. At low
temperatures the reactions go too slowly, whereas high temperatures or extremes of acidity
can irreversibly damage the structure of protein molecules. Even small changes in acidity
can alter the molecules and how they interact. Both single cells and multicellular organisms
have molecules that help to keep the cells' acidity within the necessary range. The work of
the cell is carried out by the many different types of molecules it assembles, mostly proteins.
Protein molecules are long, usually folded chains made from 20 different kinds of amino acid
molecules. The function of each protein depends on its specific sequence of amino acids and
the shape the chain takes as a consequence of attractions between the chain's parts. Some
of the assembled molecules assist in replicating genetic information, repairing cell
structures, helping other molecules to get in or out of the cell, and generally in catalyzing
and regulating molecular interactions.

In specialized cells, other protein molecules may carry oxygen, effect contraction, respond
to outside stimuli, or provide material for hair, nails, and other body structures. In still other
cells, assembled molecules may be exported to serve as hormones, antibodies, or digestive
enzymes.

The genetic information encoded in DNA molecules provides instructions for assembling
protein molecules. This code is virtually the same for all life forms. Thus, for example, if a
gene from a human cell is placed in a bacterium, the chemical machinery of the bacterium
will follow the gene's instructions and produce the same protein that would be produced in
human cells. A change in even a single atom in the DNA molecule, which may be induced by
chemicals or radiation, can therefore change the protein that is produced. Such a mutation
of a DNA segment may not make much difference, may fatally disrupt the operation of the
cell, or may change the successful operation of the cell in a significant way (for example, it
may foster uncontrolled replication, as in cancer). All the cells of an organism are
descendants of the single fertilized egg cell and have the same DNA information. As
successive generations of cells form by division, small differences in their immediate
environments cause them to develop slightly differently, by activating or inactivating
different parts of the DNA information. Later generations of cells differ still further and
eventually mature into cells as different as gland, muscle, and nerve cells. Complex
interactions among the myriad kinds of molecules in the cell may give rise to distinct cycles
of activities, such as growth and division. Control of cell processes comes also from without:
Cell behavior may be influenced by molecules from other parts of the organism or from
other organisms (for example, hormones and neurotransmitters) that attach to or pass
through the cell membrane and affect the rates of reaction among cell constituents.

INTERDEPENDENCE OF LIFE

Every species is linked, directly or indirectly, with a multitude of others in an ecosystem.

Plants provide food, shelter, and nesting sites for other organisms. For their part, many
plants depend upon animals for help in reproduction (bees pollinate flowers, for instance)
and for certain nutrients (such as minerals in animal waste products). All animals are part of

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food webs that include plants and animals of other species (and sometimes the same
species). The predator/prey relationship is common, with its offensive tools for predators—
teeth, beaks, claws, venom, etc.—and its defensive tools for prey—camouflage to hide,
speed to escape, shields or spines to ward off, irritating substances to repel. Some species
come to depend very closely on others (for instance, pandas or koalas can eat only certain
species of trees). Some species have become so adapted to each other that neither could
survive without the other (for example, the wasps that nest only in figs and are the only
insect that can pollinate them).

There are also other relationships between organisms. Parasites get nourishment from their
host organisms, sometimes with bad consequences for the hosts. Scavengers and
decomposers feed only on dead animals and plants. And some organisms have mutually
beneficial relationships—for example, the bees that sip nectar from flowers and incidentally
carry pollen from one flower to the next, or the bacteria that live in our intestines and
incidentally synthesize some vitamins and protect the intestinal lining from germs.

But the interaction of living organisms does not take place on a passive environmental
stage. Ecosystems are shaped by the nonliving environment of land and water—solar
radiation, rainfall, mineral concentrations, temperature, and topography. The world contains
a wide diversity of physical conditions, which creates a wide variety of environments:
freshwater and oceanic, forest, desert, grassland, tundra, mountain, and many others. In all
these environments, organisms use vital earth resources, each seeking its share in specific
ways that are limited by other organisms. In every part of the habitable environment,
different organisms vie for food, space, light, heat, water, air, and shelter. The linked and
fluctuating interactions of life forms and environment compose a total ecosystem;
understanding any one part of it well requires knowledge of how that part interacts with the
others.

The interdependence of organisms in an ecosystem often results in approximate stability

over hundreds or thousands of years. As one species proliferates, it is held in check by one
or more environmental factors: depletion of food or nesting sites, increased loss to
predators, or invasion by parasites. If a natural disaster such as flood or fire occurs, the
damaged ecosystem is likely to recover in a succession of stages that eventually results in a
system similar to the original one.

Like many complex systems, ecosystems tend to show cyclic fluctuations around a state of
approximate equilibrium. In the long run, however, ecosystems inevitably change when
climate changes or when very different new species appear as a result of migration or
evolution (or are introduced deliberately or inadvertently by humans).

FLOW OF MATTER AND ENERGY

However, complex the workings of living organisms, they share with all other natural
systems the same physical principles of the conservation and transformation of matter and
energy. Over long spans of time, matter and energy are transformed among living things,
and between them and the physical environment. In these grand-scale cycles, the total
amount of matter and energy remains constant, even though their form and location
undergo continual change.

Almost all life on earth is ultimately maintained by transformations of energy from the sun.
Plants capture the sun's energy and use it to synthesize complex, energy- rich molecules
(chiefly sugars) from molecules of carbon dioxide and water. These synthesized molecules

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then serve, directly or indirectly, as the source of energy for the plants themselves and
ultimately for all animals and decomposer organisms (such as bacteria and fungi). This is
the food web: The organisms that consume the plants derive energy and materials from
breaking down the plant molecules, use them to synthesize their own structures, and then
are themselves consumed by other organisms. At each stage in the food web, some energy
is stored in newly synthesized structures and some is dissipated into the environment as
heat produced by the energy-releasing chemical processes in cells. A similar energy cycle
begins in the oceans with the capture of the sun's energy by tiny, plant- like organisms.
Each successive stage in a food web captures only a small fraction of the energy content of
organisms it feeds on.

The elements that make up the molecules of living things are continually recycled. Chief
among these elements are carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulfur, phosphorus, calcium,
sodium, potassium, and iron. These and other elements, mostly occurring in energy-rich
molecules, are passed along the food web and eventually are recycled by decomposers back
to mineral nutrients usable by plants.

Although there often may be local excesses and deficits, the situation over the whole earth
is that organisms are dying and decaying at about the same rate as that at which new life is
being synthesized. That is, the total living biomass stays roughly constant, there is a cyclic
flow of materials from old to new life, and there is an irreversible flow of energy from
captured sunlight into dissipated heat. An important interruption in the usual flow of energy
apparently occurred millions of years ago when the growth of land plants and marine
organisms exceeded the ability of decomposers to recycle them. The accumulating layers of
energy-rich organic material were gradually turned into coal and oil by the pressure of the
overlying earth. The energy stored in their molecular structure we can now release by
burning, and our modern civilization depends on immense amounts of energy from such
fossil fuels recovered from the earth. By burning fossil fuels, we are finally passing most of
the stored energy on to the environment as heat. We are also passing back to the
atmosphere—in a relatively very short time—large amounts of carbon dioxide that had been
removed from it slowly over millions of years.

The amount of life any environment can sustain is limited by its most basic resources: the
inflow of energy, minerals, and water. Sustained productivity of an ecosystem requires
sufficient energy for new products that are synthesized (such as trees and crops) and also
for recycling completely the residue of the old (dead leaves, human sewage, etc.). When
human technology intrudes, materials may accumulate as waste that is not recycled. When
the inflow of resources is insufficient, there is accelerated soil leaching, desertification, or
depletion of mineral reserves.

EVOLUTION OF LIFE

The earth's present-day life forms appear to have evolved from common ancestors reaching
back to the simplest one-cell organisms almost four billion years ago. Modern ideas of
evolution provide a scientific explanation for three main sets of observable facts about life
on earth: the enormous number of different life forms we see about us, the systematic
similarities in anatomy and molecular chemistry we see within that diversity, and the
sequence of changes in fossils found in successive layers of rock that have been formed
over more than a billion years.

Since the beginning of the fossil record, many new life forms have appeared, and most old
forms have disappeared. The many traceable sequences of changing anatomical forms,

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inferred from ages of rock layers, convince scientists that the accumulation of differences
from one generation to the next has led eventually to species as different from one another
as bacteria are from elephants. The molecular evidence substantiates the anatomical
evidence from fossils and provides additional detail about the sequence in which various
lines of descent branched off from one another. Although details of the history of life on
earth are still being pieced together from the combined geological, anatomical, and
molecular evidence, the main features of that history are generally agreed upon.

At the very beginning, simple molecules may have formed complex molecules that
eventually formed into cells capable of self-replication. Life on earth has existed for three
billion years. Prior to that, simple molecules may have formed complex organic molecules
that eventually formed into cells capable of self-replication. During the first two billion years
of life, only microorganisms existed— some of them apparently quite similar to bacteria and
algae that exist today. With the development of cells with nuclei about a billion years ago,
there was a great increase in the rate of evolution of increasingly complex, multicelled
organisms. The rate of evolution of new species has been uneven since then, perhaps
reflecting the varying rates of change in the physical environment.

A central concept of the theory of evolution is natural selection, which arises from three well
established observations: (1) There is some variation in heritable characteristics within every
species of organism, (2) some of these characteristics will give individuals an advantage
over others in surviving to maturity and reproducing, and (3) those individuals will be likely
to have more offspring, which will themselves be more likely than others to survive and
reproduce. The likely result is that over successive generations, the proportion of individuals
that have inherited advantage-giving characteristics will tend to increase. Selectable
characteristics can include details of biochemistry, such as the molecular structure of
hormones or digestive enzymes, and anatomical features that are ultimately produced in the
development of the organism, such as bone size or fur length. They can also include more
subtle features determined by anatomy, such as acuity of vision or pumping efficiency of the
heart. By biochemical or anatomical means, selectable characteristics may also influence
behavior, such as weaving a certain shape of web, preferring certain characteristics in a
mate, or being disposed to care for offspring.

New heritable characteristics can result from new combinations of parents' genes or from
mutations of them. Except for mutation of the DNA in an organism's sex cells, the
characteristics that result from occurrences during the organism's lifetime cannot be
biologically passed on to the next generation. Thus, for example, changes in an individual
caused by use or disuse of a structure or function, or by changes in its environment, cannot
be promulgated by natural selection.

By its very nature, natural selection is likely to lead to organisms with characteristics that
are well adapted to survival in particular environments. Yet chance alone, especially in small
populations, can result in the spread of inherited characteristics that have no inherent
survival or reproductive advantage or disadvantage. Moreover, when an environment
changes (in this sense, other organisms are also part of the environment), the advantage or
disadvantage of characteristics can change. So natural selection does not necessarily result
in long- term progress in a set direction. Evolution builds on what already exists, so the
more variety that already exists, the more there can be.

The continuing operation of natural selection on new characteristics and in changing

environments, over and over again for millions of years, has produced a succession of
diverse new species.

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Evolution is not a ladder in which the lower forms are all replaced by superior forms, with
humans finally emerging at the top as the most advanced species. Rather, it is like a bush:
Many branches emerged long ago; some of those branches have died out; some have
survived with apparently little or no change over time; and some have repeatedly branched,
sometimes giving rise to more complex organisms.

The modern concept of evolution provides a unifying principle for understanding the history
of life on earth, relationships among all living things, and the dependence of life on the
physical environment. While it is still far from clear how evolution works in every detail, the
concept is so well established that it provides a framework for organizing most of biological
knowledge into a coherent picture.

Apply your Knowledge

Now, let’s check what you have learned.

Reflect on the following questions, then answer the following questions logically.
1. Why do human beings laugh?
2. Why did human species develop to be dominant on the planet?
3. What distinguishes human brain from the other species?
4. Why do human beings perceive beauty?
5. How does evolution theory explain the existence of language and speech?
6. Why did humans start walking on two feet?
7. What is the evolutionary benefit of forming the society?

Your responses will be marked using the rubric.

Unsatisfactory Needs Improvement Satisfactory 15 Outstanding 25

Criteria
0 pts 5 pts pts pts

Content & - Content is - Content is not - Content is accurate and - Content is

Development incomplete. comprehensive and /or persuasive. comprehensive,
- Major points are not persuasive. - Major points are stated. accurate, and
clear. - Major points are - Responses are
persuasive.
-Specific examples addressed, but not well adequate and address - Major points are stated clearly
are not used. supported. topic. and are well supported.
- Responses are inadequate - Content is clear. - Responses are excellent,
or do not address topic. -Specific examples are timely and address topic.
-Specific examples do used. - Content is clear.
not support topic. -Specific examples are used.

Organization & - Organization and - Structure of the paper is - Structure is mostly clear -Structure of the paper is clear
Structure structure detract not easy to follow. and easy to follow. and easy to follow.
from the message. - Transitions need - Transitions are - Transitions are logical and
- Writing is disjointed improvement. present. maintain the flow of thought
and lacks transition throughout the paper.
- Conclusion is missing, or - Conclusion is logical.
of thoughts. if provided, does not flow - Conclusion is logical and flows
from the body of the from the body of the paper.
paper.

Grammar, - Paper contains - Paper contains few - Rules of grammar, usage, - Rules of grammar, usage,
Punctuation & numerous grammatical, punctuation and punctuation are followed and punctuation are followed;
Spelling grammatical, and spelling errors. with minor errors. spelling is correct.
punctuation, Spelling is correct.
and spelling
errors.

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 UNIT 1. Science and Its Conceptual Foundations

Lesson 6. The Human Organism

Introduction:

As similar as we humans are in many ways to other species, we are unique among the
earth's life forms in our ability to use language and thought. Having evolved a large and
complex brain, our species has a facility to think, imagine, create, and learn from
experience that far exceeds that of any other species. We have used this ability to create
technologies and literary and artistic works on a vast scale, and to develop a scientific
understanding of ourselves and the world. We are also unique in our profound curiosity
about ourselves:

How are we put together physically? How were we formed? How do we relate biologically to
other life forms and to our ancestors? How are we as individuals like or unlike other
humans? How can we stay healthy? Much of the scientific endeavor focuses on such
questions.

This discussion presents recommendations for what scientifically literate people should know
about themselves as a species. Such knowledge provides a basis for increased awareness of
both self and society. The chapter focuses on six major aspects of the human organism:
human identity, human development, the basic functions of the body, learning, physical
health, and mental health. The recommendations on physical and mental health are
included because they help relate the scientific understanding of the human organism to a
major area of concern—personal well-being—common to all humans.

Learning Outcome:

At the end of this lesson, the student must have;

1. understood that we humans are in many ways similar to other species,

we are unique among the earth's life forms in our ability to use
language and thought.

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 Activate your Prior Knowledge
This time relate your prior knowledge to the lesson.

Share your thoughts about the statement.

1. Development is lifelong.

2. Development is multidimensional.

3. Development is plastic.

4. Development is contextual.

5. Development involves growth, maintenance and regulation.

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 Acquire New Knowledge

This part will present the ideas aligned with the objectives of the lesson.

HUMAN IDENTITY

In most biological respects, humans are like other living organisms. For instance, they are
made up of cells like those of other animals, have much the same chemical composition,
have organ systems and physical characteristics like many others, reproduce in a similar
way, carry the same kind of genetic information system, and are part of a food web.

Fossil and molecular evidence supports the belief that the human species, no less than
others, evolved from other organisms. Evidence continues to accumulate and scientists
continue to debate dates and lineage, but the broad outlines of the story are generally
accepted. Primates—the classification of similar organisms that includes humans, monkeys
and apes, and several other kinds of mammals—began to evolve from other mammals less
than 100 million years ago.

Several humanlike primate species began appearing and branching about 5 million years
ago, but all except one became extinct. The line that survived led to the modern human
species.

Like other complex organisms, people vary in size and shape, skin color, body proportions,
body hair, facial features, muscle strength, handedness, and so on. But these differences
are minor compared to the internal similarity of all humans, as demonstrated by the fact
that people from anywhere in the world can physically mix on the basis of reproduction,
blood transfusions, and organ transplants. Humans are indeed a single species.
Furthermore, as great as cultural differences between groups of people seem to be, their
complex languages, technologies, and arts distinguish them from any other species.

Some other species organize themselves socially—mainly by taking on different specialized

functions, such as defense, food collection, or reproduction—but they follow relatively fixed
patterns that are limited by their genetic inheritance. Humans have a much greater range of
social behavior—from playing card games to singing choral music, from mastering multiple
languages to formulating laws.

One of the most important events in the history of the human species was the turn some
10,000 years ago from hunting and gathering to farming, which made possible rapid
increases in population. During that early period of growth, the social inventiveness of the
human species began to produce villages and then cities, new economic and political
systems, recordkeeping—and organized warfare. Recently, the greater efficiency of
agriculture and the control of infectious disease has further accelerated growth of the
human population, which is now more than five billion. Just as our species is biological,
social, and cultural, so is it technological.

Compared with other species, we are nothing special when it comes to speed, agility,
strength, stamina, vision, hearing, or the ability to withstand extremes of environmental
conditions. A variety of technologies, however, improves our ability to interact with the
physical world. In a sense, our inventions have helped us make up for our biological

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disadvantages. Written records enable us to share and compile great amounts of
information. Vehicles allow us to move more rapidly than other animals, to travel in many
media (even in space), and to reach remote and inhospitable places. Tools provide us with
very delicate control and with prodigious strength and speed. Telescopes, cameras, infrared
sensors, microphones, and other instruments extend our visual, auditory, and tactile senses,
and increase their sensitivity. Prosthetic devices and chemical and surgical intervention
enable people with physical disabilities to function effectively in their environment.

HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

Human develops from a single cell, formed by the fusion of an egg cell and a sperm cell;
each contributes half of the cell's genetic information. Ovaries in females produce ripened
egg cells, usually one per menstrual cycle; testes in males produce sperm cells in great
numbers. Fertilization of an egg cell by a sperm ordinarily occurs after sperm cells are
deposited near an egg cell. But fertilization does not always result, because sperm deposit
may take place at the time of the female's menstrual cycle when no egg is present, or one
of the partners may be unable to produce viable sex cells. Also, contraceptive measures may
be used to incapacitate sperm, block their way to the egg, prevent the release of eggs, or
prevent the fertilized egg from implanting successfully. Using artificial means to prevent or
facilitate pregnancy raises questions of social norms, ethics, religious beliefs, and even
politics. Within a few hours of conception, the fertilized egg divides into two identical cells,
each of which soon divides again, and so on, until there are enough to form a small sphere.
Within a few days, this sphere embeds itself in the wall of the uterus, where the placenta
nourishes the embryo by allowing the transfer of substances between the blood of the
mother and that of the developing child. During the first three months of pregnancy,
successive generations of cells organize into organs; during the second three months, all
organs and body features develop; and during the last three months, further development
and growth occur. These patterns of human development are similar to those of other
animals with backbones, although the time scale may be very different. The developing
embryo may be at risk as a consequence of its own genetic defects, the mother's poor
health or inadequate diet during pregnancy, or her use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs.
If an infant's development is incomplete when birth occurs, because of either premature
birth or poor health care, the infant may not survive. After birth, infants may be at risk as a
result of injury during birth or infection during or shortly after the event. The death rate of
infants, therefore, varies greatly from place to place, depending on the quality of sanitation,
hygiene, prenatal nutrition, and medical care. Even for infants who survive, poor conditions
before or after birth may lead to lower physical and mental capacities.

In normal children, mental development is characterized by the regular appearance of a set

of abilities at successive stages. These include an enhancement of memory toward the end
of the first month, speech sounds by the first birthday, connected speech by the second
birthday, the ability to relate concepts and categories by the sixth birthday, and the ability to
detect consistency or inconsistency in arguments by adolescence. The development of these
increasingly more complex levels of intellectual competence is a function both of increasing
brain maturity and of learning experiences. If appropriate kinds of stimulation are not
available when the child is in an especially sensitive stage of development, some kinds of
further biological and psychological development may be made more difficult or may even
fail to occur.

This extraordinarily long period of human development—compared to that of other species—

is related to the prominent role of the brain in human evolution. Most species are very
limited in their repertory of behavior and depend for survival on predictable responses

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determined largely by genetic programming; mammals, and especially humans, depend far
more on learned behavior. A prolonged childhood provides time and opportunities for the
brain to develop into an effective instrument for intelligent living. This comes not only
through play and interaction with older children and adults but also through exposure to the
words and arts of people from other parts of the world and other times in history.

The ability to learn persists throughout life and in some ways may improve as people build a
base of ideas and come to understand how they learn best. Developmental stages occur
with somewhat different timing for different individuals, as a function of both differing
physiological factors and differing experiences.

Transition from one stage to another may be troublesome, particularly when biological
changes are dramatic or when they are out of step with social abilities or others'
expectations. Different societies place different meaning and importance on developmental
stages and on the transitions from one to the next. For example, childhood is defined legally
and socially as well as biologically, and its duration and meaning vary in different cultures
and historical periods. In the United States, the onset of puberty—the maturation of the
body in preparation for reproduction—occurs several years before an age generally
considered physically and psychologically appropriate for parenthood and other adult
functions.

Whether adults become parents, and (if they do) how many offspring they have, is
determined by a wide variety of cultural and personal factors, as well as by biology.
Technology has added greatly to the options available to people to control their
reproduction. Chemical and mechanical means exist for preventing, detecting, or terminating
pregnancies. Through such measures as hormone therapy and artificial insemination, it is
also possible to bring about desired pregnancies that otherwise could not happen. The use
of these technologies to prevent or facilitate pregnancy, however, is controversial and raises
questions of social mores, ethics, religious belief, and even politics. Aging is a normal—but
still poorly understood— process in all humans. Its effects vary greatly among individuals. In
general, muscles and joints tend to become less flexible, bones and muscles lose some
mass, energy levels diminish, and the senses become less acute. For women, one major
event in the aging process is menopause; sometime between the ages of 45 and 55, they
undergo a major change in their production of sex hormones, with the result that they no
longer have menstrual cycles and no longer release eggs.

The aging process in humans is associated not only with changes in the hormonal system
but also with disease and injury, diet, mutations arising and accumulating in the cells, wear
on tissues such as weight bearing joints, psychological factors, and exposure to harmful
substances. The slow accumulation of injurious agents such as deposits in arteries, damage
to the lungs from smoking, and radiation damage to the skin, may produce noticeable
disease. Sometimes diseases that appear late in life will affect brain function, including
memory and personality. In addition, diminished physical capacity and loss of one's
accustomed social role can result in anxiety or depression. On the other hand, many old
people are able to get along quite well, living out independent and active lives, without
prolonged periods of disability.

There appears to be a maximum life span for each species, including humans. Although
some humans live more than a hundred years, most do not; the average length of life,
including individuals who die in childhood, ranges from as low as 35 in some populations to
as high as 75 in most industrialized nations. The high averages are due mostly to low death
rates for infants and children but also to better sanitation, diet, and hygiene for most

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people, and to improved medical care for the old. Life expectancy also varies among
different socioeconomic groups and by sex. The most common causes of death differ for
various age, ethnic, and economic groups. In the Philippines, for example, fatal traffic
accidents are most common among young males, heart disease causes more deaths in men
than women, and infectious diseases and homicides cause more deaths among the poor
than among the rich. Diabetes is also most common to Filipinos and CKD is most common
among the poor than rich people.

BASIC FUNCTIONS

The human body is a complex system of cells, most of which are grouped into organ
systems that have specialized functions. These systems can best be understood in terms of
the essential functions they serve: deriving energy from food, protection against injury,
internal coordination, and reproduction.

The continual need for energy engages the senses and skeletal muscles in obtaining food,
the digestive system in breaking food down into usable compounds and in disposing of
undigested food materials, the lungs in providing oxygen for combustion of food and
discharging the carbon dioxide produced, the urinary system for disposing of other dissolved
waste products of cell activity, the skin and lungs for getting rid of excess heat (into which
most of the energy in food eventually degrades), and the circulatory system for moving all
these substances to or from cells where they are needed or produced.

Like all organisms, humans have the means of protecting themselves. Self- protection
involves using the senses in detecting danger, the hormone system in stimulating the heart
and gaining access to emergency energy supplies, and the muscles in escape or defense.
The skin provides a shield against harmful substances and organisms, such as bacteria and
parasites. The immune system provides protection against the substances that do gain
entrance into the body and against cancerous cells that develop spontaneously in the body.
The nervous system plays an especially important role in survival; it makes possible the kind
of learning humans need to cope with changes in their environment.

The internal control required for managing and coordinating these complex systems is
carried out by the brain and nervous system in conjunction with the hormone-excreting
glands. The electrical and chemical signals carried by nerves and hormones integrate the
body as a whole. The many cross influences between the hormones and nerves give rise to
a system of coordinated cycles in almost all body functions. Nerves can excite some glands
to excrete hormones, some hormones affect brain cells, the brain itself releases hormones
that affect human behavior, and hormones are involved in transmitting signals between
nerve cells. Certain drugs—legal and illegal—can affect the human body and brain by
mimicking or blocking the hormones and neurotransmitters produced by the hormonal and
nervous systems.

Reproduction ensures continuation of the species. The sexual urge is biologically driven, but
how that drive is manifested among humans is determined by psychological and cultural
factors. Sense organs and hormones are involved, as well as the internal and external sex
organs themselves. The fact that sexual reproduction produces a greater genetic variation
by mixing the genes of the parents plays a key role in evolution.

LEARNING

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Among living organisms, much behavior is innate in the sense that any member of a species
will predictably show certain behavior without having had any particular experiences that led
up to it (for example, a toad catching a fly that moves into its visual field). Some of this
innate potential for behavior, however, requires that the individual develop in a fairly normal
environment of stimuli and experience. In humans, for example, speech will develop in an
infant without any special training if the infant can hear and imitate speech in its
environment.

The more complex the brain of a species, the more flexible its behavioral repertory is.
Differences in the behavior of individuals arise partly from inherited predispositions and
partly from differences in their experiences. There is continuing scientific study of the
relative roles of inheritance and learning, but it is already clear that behavior results from
the interaction of those roles, not just a simple sum of the two. The apparently unique
human ability to transmit ideas and practices from one generation to the next, and to invent
new ones, has resulted in the virtually unlimited variations in ideas and behavior that are
associated with different cultures.

Learning muscle skills occurs mostly through practice. If a person uses the same muscles
again and again in much the same way (throwing a ball), the pattern of movement may
become automatic and no longer require any conscious attention. The level of skill
eventually attained depends on an individual's innate abilities, on the amount of practice,
and on the feedback of information and reward. With enough practice, long sequences of
behaviors can become virtually automatic (driving a car along a familiar route, for instance).
In this case, a person does not have to concentrate on the details of coordinating sight and
muscle movements and can also engage in, say, conversation at the same time. In an
emergency, full attention can rapidly be focused back on the unusual demands of the task.
Learning usually begins with the sensory systems through which people receive information
about their bodies and the physical and social world around t experiences this information
depends not only on the stimulus itself but also on the physical context in which the
stimulus occurs and on numerous physical, psychological, and social factors in the beholder.
The senses do not give people a mirror image of the world but respond selectively to a
certain range of stimuli. (The eye, for example, is sensitive to only a small fraction of the
electromagnetic spectrum.) Furthermore, the senses selectively filter and code information,
giving some stimuli more importance, as when a sleeping parent hears a crying baby, and
others less importance, as when a person adapts to and no longer notices an unpleasant
odor. Experiences, expectations, motivations, and emotional levels can all affect perceptions
much of learning appears to occur by association: If two inputs arrive at the brain at
approximately the same time, they are likely to become linked in memory, and one
perception will lead to an expectation of the other. Actions as well as perceptions can be
associated. At the simplest possible level, behavior that is accompanied or followed by
pleasant sensations is likely to occur again, whereas behavior followed by unpleasant
sensations is less likely to occur again. Behavior that has pleasant or unpleasant
consequences only under special conditions will become more or less likely when those
special conditions occur.

The strength of learning usually depends on how close the inputs are matched in time and
on how often they occur together. However, there can be some subtle effects. For example,
a single, highly unpleasant event following a particular behavior may result in the behavior
being avoided ever after. On the other hand, rewarding a particular behavior even only
every now and then may result in very persistent behavior. But much of learning is not so
mechanical. People tend to learn much from deliberate imitation of others. Nor is all learning
merely adding new information or behaviors.

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Associations are learned not only among perceptions and actions but also among abstract
representations of them in memory—that is, among ideas. Human thinking involves the
interaction of ideas, and ideas about ideas, and thus can produce many associations
internally without further sensory input.

People's ideas can affect learning by changing how they interpret new perceptions and
ideas: People are inclined to respond to, or seek, information that supports the ideas they
already have and on the other hand to overlook or ignore information that is inconsistent
with the ideas. If the conflicting information is not overlooked or ignored, it may provoke a
reorganization of thinking that makes sense of the new information, as well as of all
previous information. Successive reorganizations of one part or another of people's ideas
usually result from being confronted by new information or circumstances. Such
reorganization is essential to the process of human maturation and can continue throughout
life.

PHYSICAL HEALTH

To stay in good operating condition, the human body requires a variety of foods and
experiences. The amount of food energy (calories) a person requires varies with body size,
age, sex, activity level, and metabolic rate. Beyond just energy, normal body operation
requires substances to add to or replace the materials of which it is made: unsaturated fats,
trace amounts of a dozen elements whose atoms play key roles, and some traces of
substances that human cells cannot synthesize—including some amino acids and vitamins.
The normal condition of most body systems requires that they perform their adaptive
function: For example, muscles must effect movement, bones must bear loads, and the
heart must pump blood efficiently. Regular exercise, therefore, is important for maintaining
a healthy heart/ lung system, for maintaining muscle tone, and for keeping bones from
becoming brittle.

Good health also depends on the avoidance of excessive exposure to substances that
interfere with the body's operation. Chief among those that each individual can control are
tobacco (implicated in lung cancer, emphysema, and heart disease), addictive drugs
(implicated in psychic disorientation and nervous-system disorders), and excessive amounts
of alcohol (which has negative effects on the liver, brain, and heart). In addition, the
environment may contain dangerous levels of substances (such as lead, some pesticides,
and radioactive isotopes) that can be harmful to humans. Therefore, the good health of
individuals also depends on people's collective effort to monitor the air, soil, and water and
to take steps to keep them safe.

Other organisms also can interfere with the human body's normal operation. Some kinds of
bacteria or fungi may infect the body to form colonies in preferred organs or tissues. Viruses
invade healthy cells and cause them to synthesize more viruses, usually killing those cells in
the process. Infectious disease also may be caused by animal parasites, which may take up
residence in the intestines, bloodstream, or tissues.

The body’s own first line of defense against infectious agents is to keep them from entering
or settling in the body. Protective mechanisms include skin to block them, tears and saliva to
carry them out, and stomach and vaginal secretions to kill them. Related means of
protecting against invasive organisms include keeping the skin clean, eating properly,
avoiding contaminated foods and liquids, and generally avoiding needless exposure to
disease.

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The body's next line of defense is the immune system. White blood cells act both to
surround invaders and to produce specific antibodies that will attack them (or facilitate
attack by other white cells). If the individual survives the invasion, some of these antibodies
remain—along with the capability of quickly producing many more. For years afterward, or
even a lifetime, the immune system will be ready for that type of organism and be able to
limit or prevent the disease. A person can "catch a cold" many times because there are
many varieties of germs that cause similar symptoms. Allergic reactions are caused by
unusually strong immune responses to some environmental substances, such as those found
in pollen, on animal hair, or in certain foods. Sometimes the human immune system can
malfunction and attack even healthy cells. Some viral diseases, such as AIDS, destroy critical
cells of the immune system, leaving the body helpless in dealing with multiple infectious
agents and cancerous cells.

Infectious diseases are not the only threat to human health, however. Body parts or systems
may develop impaired function for entirely internal reasons. Some faulty operations of body
processes are known to be caused by deviant genes. They may have a direct, obvious
effect, such as causing easy bleeding, or they may only increase the body's susceptibility to
developing particular diseases, such as clogged arteries or mental depression. Such genes
may be inherited, or they may result from mutation in one cell or a few cells during an
individual's own development. Because one properly functioning gene of a pair may be
sufficient to perform the gene's function, many genetic diseases do not appear unless a
faulty form of the gene is inherited from both parents (who, for the same reason, may have
had no symptoms of the disease themselves).

The fact that most people now live in physical and social settings that are very different
from those to which human physiology was adapted long ago is a factor in determining the
health of the population in general. One modern "abnormality" in industrialized countries is
diet, which once included chiefly raw plant and animal materials but now includes excess
amounts of refined sugar, saturated fat, and salt, as well as caffeine, alcohol, nicotine, and
other drugs. Lack of exercise is another change from the much more active life-style of
prehistory. There are also environmental pollutants and the psychological stress of living in a
crowded, hectic, and rapidly changing social environment. On the other hand, new medical
techniques, efficient health care delivery systems, improved sanitation, and a fuller public
understanding of the nature of disease give today's humans a better chance of staying
healthy than their forebears had.

MENTAL HEALTH

Good mental health involves the interaction of psychological, biological, physiological, social,
and cultural systems. It is generally regarded as the ability to cope with the ordinary
circumstances people encounter in their personal, professional, and social lives. Ideas about
what constitutes good mental health vary, however, from one culture to another and from
one time period to another. Behavior that may be regarded as outright insanity in one
culture may be regarded in another as merely eccentricity or even as divine inspiration. In
some cultures, people may be classified as mentally ill if they persistently express
disagreement with religious or political authorities. Ideas about what constitutes proper
treatment for abnormal mental states differ also.

Evidence of abnormal thinking that would be deliberately punished in one culture may be
treated in other cultures by social involvement, by isolation, by increased social support, by

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prayers, by extensive interviews, or by medical procedures.

Individuals differ greatly in their ability to cope with stressful environments. Stresses in
childhood may be particularly difficult to deal with, and, because they may shape the
subsequent experience and thinking of the child, they may have long-lasting effects on a
person's psychological health and social adjustment. And people also differ in how well they
can cope with psychological disturbance when it occurs.

Often, people react to mental distress by denying that they have a psychological problem.
Even when people recognize that they do have such a problem, they may not have the
money, time, or social support necessary to seek help. Prolonged disturbance of behavior
may result in strong reactions from families, work supervisors, and civic authorities that add
to the stress on the individual.

Diagnosis and treatment of mental disturbances can be particularly difficult because much of
people's mental life is not usually accessible even to them. When we remember someone's
name, for example, the name just seems to come to us— the conscious mind has no idea of
what the search process was. Similarly, we may experience anger or fear or depression
without knowing why. According to some theories of mental disturbance, such feelings may
result from exceptionally upsetting thoughts or memories that are blocked from becoming
conscious. In treatment based on such theories, clues about troubling unconscious thoughts
may be sought in the patient's dreams or slips of the tongue, and the patient is encouraged
to talk long and freely to get the ideas out in the open where they can be dealt with.

Some kinds of severe psychological disturbance once thought to be purely spiritual or

mental have a basis in biological abnormality. Destruction of brain tissue by tumors or
broken blood vessels can produce a variety of behavioral symptoms, depending on which
locations in the brain are affected. For example, brain injuries may affect the ability to put
words together comprehensibly or to understand the speech of others, or may cause
meaningless emotional outbursts. Deficiency or excess of some chemicals produced in the
brain may result in hallucinations and chronic depression. The mental deterioration that
sometimes occurs in the aged may be caused by actual disease of the brain. Biological
abnormality does not necessarily produce the psychological malfunction by itself, but it may
make individuals exceptionally vulnerable to other causes of disturbance.

Conversely, intense emotional states have some distinct biochemical effects. Fear and anger
cause hormones to be released into the bloodstream that prepare the body for action—fight
or flight. Psychological distress may also affect an individual's vulnerability to biological
disease. There is some evidence that intense or chronic emotional states can sometimes
produce changes in the nervous, visceral, and immune systems. For example, fear, anger,
depression, or even just disappointment may lead to the development of headaches, ulcers,
and infections.

Such effects can make the individual even more vulnerable to psychological stress—creating
a vicious circle of malfunction. On the other hand, there is evidence that social contacts and
support may improve an individual's ability to resist certain diseases or may minimize their
effects.

Apply your Knowledge

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 Now, let’s check what you have learned.

Reflect on the following questions, then answer the following questions logically.

1. Do you think the impact of COVID 19 on mental health of the whole population is more
than the physical health?

2. What can be done to help the people who are affected mentally and psychologically by
Covid-19 pandemic?

3. How does lack of sleep affect our mental state?

4. What is the best way to keep your brain healthy as you age?

5. What are the stages of brain development in infants from birth to two?

Why do children need to play?

All I know about this Module

Science and technology has a profound impact on all of humanity’s activities. Science and
technology inventions and discoveries, including the theory of the origin of the universe, the
theory of evolution, and the discovery of genes, have given humanity many hints relating to
human existence from civilized and cultural points of view.

Science and technology have had an immeasurable influence on the formation of our
understanding of the world, our view of society, and our outlook on nature. The wide
variety of technologies and science discoveries produced by humanity has led to the
building and development of the civilizations of each age, stimulated economic growth,
raise people’s standards of living, encouraged cultural development, and had a tremendous
impact on religion, thought, and many other human activities.

The impact of science and technology on modern society is broad and wide-ranging,
influencing such areas as politics, diplomacy, defense, the economy, medicine,
transportation, agriculture, social capital improvement, and many more. The fruits of
science and technology fill every corner of our lives.

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 References

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 How Much Have I Learned

Reflect on the following questions, then answer the following questions logically.

1. Explain how science works?

2. Discussed where does science begin and end?

3. Explained the development of many interconnected and validated ideas about the
physical, biological, psychological, and social worlds.

4. How science does tends to differ from other modes of knowing?

5. Explained the role of technology as a powerful force in the development of civilization.

6. Explain how the universe works.

7. How does organism interact with one another and their environment?

8. How are human organism become unique from all other organisms?

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Supplementary Materials

Richard Feynman on the Role of Scientific Culture in Modern Society

“In order to make progress, one must leave the door to the unknown ajar — ajar only.”
“I fully expected that, by the end of the century, we would have achieved substantially
more than we actually did, lamented original moonwalker Neil Armstrong, who passed
away at the age of 82 last week. Implicit to his lament is the rather unsettling question of
why — what is it that has held mankind back?

That’s precisely what the great Richard Feynman explored when he took the stage at the
Galileo Symposium in Italy in 1964 and delivered a lecture titled “What Is and What
Should Be the Role of Scientific Culture in Modern Society,” published in the
altogether excellent The Pleasure of Finding Things Out: The Best Short Works of
Richard P. Feynman (public library), titled after the famous film of the same name.

Feynman shares in Armstrong’s dirge: We are all saddened when we look at the world and
see what few accomplishments we have made, compared to what we feel are the
potentialities of human beings. People in the past, in the nightmare of their times, had
dreams for the future. And now that the future has materialized we see that in many ways
the dreams have been surpassed, but in still more ways many of our dreams of today are
very much the dreams of people of the past.

He attributes much of this disconnect to a profound lack of mainstream understanding of

and enthusiasm for science, making a case for the wonder of science: People — I mean the
average person, the great majority of people, the enormous majority of people — are
woefully, pitifully, absolutely ignorant of the science of the world that they live in, and they
can stay that way … And an interesting question of the relation of science to modern society
is just that — why is it possible for people to stay so woefully ignorant and yet reasonably
happy in modern society when so much knowledge is unavailable to them?

Incidentally, about knowledge and wonder, Mr. Bernardini* said we shouldn’t teach wonders
but knowledge. It may be a difference in the meaning of the words. I think we should teach
them wonders and that the purpose of knowledge is to appreciate wonders even more. And
that the knowledge is just to put into correct framework the wonder that nature is.

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He goes on to take a jab at just how unscientific pop culture is — and how culturally
condoned certain unscientific beliefs are:
… as I’d like to show Galileo our world, I must show him something with a great deal of
shame. If we look away from the science and look at the world around us, we find out
something rather pitiful: that the environment that we live in is so actively, intensely
unscientific. Galileo could say: ‘I noticed that Jupiter was a ball with moons and not a god in
the sky. Tell me, what happened to the astrologers?’ Well, they print their results in the
newspapers, in the United States at least, in every daily paper every day. Why do we still
have astrologers?

[…]

I believe that we must attack these things in which we do not believe. Not attack by the
method of cutting off the heads of the people, but attack in the sense of discuss. I believe
that we should demand that people try in their own minds to obtain for themselves a more
consistent picture of their own world; that they not permit themselves the luxury of having
their brain cut in four pieces or two pieces even, and on one side they believe this and on
the other side they believe that, but never try to compare the two points of view. Because
we have learned that, by trying to put the points of view that we have in our head together
and comparing one to the other, we make some progress in understanding and in
appreciating where we are and what we are. And I believe that science has remained
irrelevant because we wait until somebody asks us questions or until we are invited to give
a speech on Einstein’s theory to people who don’t understand Newtonian mechanics, but we
never are invited to give an attack on faith healing, or on astrology — on what is the
scientific view of astrology today.

The solution he proposes pits good science writing and critical debate as the necessary prick
in the filter bubble of public interest:

I think that we must mainly write some articles. Now what would happen? The person who
believes in astrology will have to learn some astronomy. The person who believes in faith
healing might have to learn some medicine, because of the arguments going back and
forth; and some biology. In other words, it will be necessary that science become relevant.

[…]

And then we have this terrible struggle to try to explain things to people who have no
reason to want to know. But if they want to defend their own point of view, they will have
to learn what yours is a little bit. So I suggest, maybe incorrectly and perhaps wrongly, that
we are too polite. There was in the past an era of conversation on these matters. It was felt
by the church that Galileo’s views attacked the church. It is not felt by the church today that
the scientific views attack the church. Nobody is worrying about it.

Nobody attacks; I mean, nobody writes trying to explain the inconsistencies between the
theological views and the scientific views held by different people today–or even the
inconsistencies sometimes held by the same scientist between his religious and scientific
beliefs.

(Granted, since 1964, we’ve seen the rise of “the Four Horsemen of New Atheism” —
Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, Dan Dennett, and Sam Harris — who, along with
countless scientists, consistently ensure a constructive lack of “ politeness” in the debate.)

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Feynman also reiterates a crucial point about the nature and purpose of science and critical
thinking — the role of ignorance and the importance of embracing uncertainty, met with
enormous resistance in a culture conditioned for grasping at answers:

A scientist is never certain. We all know that. We know that all our statements are
approximate statements with different degrees of certainty; that when a statement is made,
the question is not whether it is true or false but rather how likely it is to be true or false.
‘Does God exist?’ When put in the questionable form, How likely is it?’ It makes such a
terrifying transformation of the religious point of view, and that is why the religious point of
view is unscientific. We must discuss each question within the uncertainties that are
allowed.

[…]

We absolutely must leave room for doubt or there is no progress and there is no learning.
There is no learning without having to pose a question. And a question requires doubt.
People search for certainty. But there is no certainty. People are terrified — how can you live
and not know? It is not odd at all. You only think you know, as a matter of fact. And most of
your actions are based on incomplete knowledge and you really don’t know what it is all
about, or what the purpose of the world is, or know a great deal of other things. It is
possible to live and not know.

Feynman concludes by doing what he does best, bridging science and philosophy to expand
the specific question into a broader meditation on human existence:

So today we are not very well off, we don’t see that we have done too well. Men,
philosophers of all ages, have tried to find the secret of existence, the meaning of it all.
Because if they could find the real meaning of life, then all this human effort, all this
wonderful potentiality of human beings, could then be moved in the correct direction and
we would march forward with great success. So therefore we tried these different ideas. But
the question of the meaning of the whole world, of life, and of human beings, and so on,
has been answered very many times by very many people. Unfortunately all the answers are
different; and the people with one answer look with horror at the actions and behavior of
the people with another answer. Horror, because they see the terrible things that are done;
the way man is being pushed into a blind alley by this rigid view of the meaning of the
world. In fact, it is really perhaps by the fantastic size of the horror that it becomes clear
how great the potentialities of human beings are, and it is possibly this which makes us
hope that if we could move things in the right direction, things would be much better. What
then is the meaning of the whole world?

We do not know what the meaning of existence is. We say, as the result of studying all of
the views that we have had before, we find that we do not know the meaning of existence;
but in saying that we do not know the meaning of existence, we have probably found the
open channel — if we will allow only that, as we progress, we leave open opportunities for
alternatives, that we do not become enthusiastic for the fact, the knowledge, the absolute
truth, but remain always uncertain — [that we] ‘hazard it.’ The English, who have developed
their government in this direction, call it ‘muddling through,’ and although a rather silly,
stupid sounding thing, it is the most scientific way of progressing. To decide upon the
answer is not scientific. In order to make progress, one must leave the door to the unknown
ajar — ajar only. We are only at the beginning of the development of the human race; of
the development of the human mind, of intelligent life — we have years and years in the
future. It is our responsibility not to give the answer today as to what it is all about, to drive

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everybody down in that direction and to say: ‘This is a solution to it all. ’Because we will be
chained then to the limits of our present imagination. We will only be able to do those things
that we think today are the things to do. Whereas, if we leave always some room for doubt,
some room for discussion, and proceed in a way analogous to the sciences, then this
difficulty will not arise. I believe, therefore, that although it is not the case today, that there
may someday come a time, I should hope, when it will be fully appreciated that the power
of government should be limited; that governments ought not to be empowered to decide
the validity of scientific theories, that that is a ridiculous thing for them to try to do; that
they are not to decide the various descriptions of history or of economic theory or of
philosophy. Only in this way can the real possibilities of the future human race be ultimately
developed.

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Unit 2: General Concepts in Science, Technology and
Society

NSCI 110

Dr. Agatha Z. Senina

Prof. Eileen L. Loreno

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 Unit 2. General Concepts in Science, Technology, and Society

Lesson 1: Historical Antecedents Which Changed the Course of Science and

Technology (Week 5)

Learning Outcomes

At the end of this lesson, the students must have

1. identified discoveries/ inventions in different civilizations over the

course of history.
2. explained how these discoveries/ inventions affect the society today.

Activate your Prior Knowledge

This time relate your prior knowledge to the lesson.

Examining science in the historical perspective is beneficial in the study of technology and
society. This is expressed by Cassadevall and Fang (2015) in their research paper as
follows:

A better understanding of history can illuminate social influences on the scientific process,
allow scientists to learn from previous errors, and provide a greater appreciation of the
importance of serendipity in scientific discovery. Moreover, history can help assign credits
where it is due and call attention to evolving ethical standards in science. History can make
science better.”

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 Acquire New Knowledge

This part will present the ideas aligned with the objectives of the lesson.

1. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN THE ANCIENT TIMES SUMERIAN

CIVILIZATION

Sumer was an ancient civilization founded in the Mesopotamia region of the Fertile Crescent
situated between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers (Figure 1). Known for their innovations in
language, governance, architecture and more, Sumerians are considered the creators of
civilization as modern humans understand it.

Figure 1: The Sumerian Region

The wheel, plow, and writing (a system called cuneiform) are examples of their
achievements. The farmers in Sumer created levees to hold back the floods from their fields
and cut canals to channel river water to the fields. The use of levees and canals is called
irrigation. The Ziggurat of Ur, sailboats, and roads were also the inventions of the
Sumerians. A summary of Sumerian inventions are shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2: Sumerian Inventions

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BABYLONIAN CIVILIZATION

Located about 60 miles (100 kilometers) south of Baghdad in modern-day Iraq, the ancient
city of Babylon served for nearly two millennia as a center of Mesopotamian civilization.

One of its early rulers, Hammurabi, created a harsh system of laws, while in later times the
Babylonian language would be used across the Middle East as a way of communicating
across borders. Another great accomplishment (if the ancient stories are true) was the
construction of the Hanging Gardens (Figure 3). This was a wonder of the ancient world,
which some believed, was built by the King Nebuchadnezzar II.

Figure 3: Hanging Gardens of Babylon

The Babylonians also excelled in the field of science. The priests watched the sun, moon
planet and star very carefully and forecast the future. Like the Sumerians, the Babylonians
also adopted lunar calendar. They divided one year into 12 months and each month was
divided into 30 days.

EGYPTIAN CIVILIZATION

For millennia, Egypt has made significant contributions to the progress of mankind and to
the advancement of society. As a cradle of civilization and a beacon of knowledge, Egypt
was a leader in scientific discoveries and innovations that defined the foundations of many
fields including astronomy, chemistry, medicine, and of course engineering whose
supremacy can still be seen today in the majestic architecture of the Pyramids and Karnak.
The ancient Egyptians were enterprising people: they left many impressive monuments such
as pyramids (Figure 4) and temples; they were among the first nations to develop
metallurgy, out of a need for tools; they were the first to extract copper from its ores and to
extract gold by melting; they were experts in jewelry and gold working as is seen from the
world-famous death mask of Tutankhamun. They also invented hieroglyphics, ink, papyrus,
wigs, cosmetics, water clock or clepsydra.

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 Figure 4: Pyramids in Egypt

GREEK CIVILIZATION

The Ancient Greeks made many advancements in science and technology. Greek
philosophers began to look at the world in different ways. They came up with theories on
how the world worked and thought that the natural world obeyed certain laws that could be
observed and learned through study. Inventions that are credited to the ancient Greeks
include the gear, screw, rotary mills, bronze casting techniques, water clock, water organ,
torsion catapult, the use of steam to operate some experimental machines and toys, and a
chart to find prime numbers. Figure 5 is an example of their ancient architecture.

Figure 5: Ancient Greek Stadium

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ROMAN CIVILIZATION

The Romans were prodigious builders and expert civil engineers, and their thriving
civilization produced advances in technology, culture and architecture that remained
unequaled for centuries. Their outstanding inventions were newspaper, bound books or
codex, roman architecture, and roman numerals. They were also responsible for
contributing aqueducts to the civilization. Figure 6 shows examples of Roman architecture.

Figure 6: Concrete Roman Architectures

CHINESE CIVILIZATION

A method of making astronomical observation instruments at the time of Qing Dynasty. The
history of science and technology in China is both long and rich with science and
technological contribution. In antiquity, independent of Greek philosophers and other
civilizations, ancient Chinese philosophers made significant advances in science, technology,
mathematics, and astronomy. The first recorded observations of comets, solar eclipses, and
supernovae were made in China. Traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture and herbal
medicine were also practiced. Among the earliest inventions were the abacus, the "shadow
clock," and the first flying machines such as kites and Kongming lanterns.

The four Great Inventions of ancient China: the compass, gunpowder, paper making, and
printing, were among the most important technological advances, only known in Europe by
the end of the Middle Ages. The Tang dynasty (618 - 906 C.E.) in particular was a time of
great innovation. A good deal of exchange occurred between Western and Chinese
discoveries up to the Qing Dynasty. Popular products of Ancient China which exists until
today are silk, and tea. The Great Wall of China (Figure 7) is one of the greatest sights in
the world — the longest wall in the world, an awe-inspiring feat of ancient defensive
architecture. Its winding path over rugged country and steep mountains takes in some great
scenery.

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 Figure 7: The Great Wall of China

2: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN THE MEDIEVAL/MIDDLE AGES

The Middle Ages, far from being miserable and bloody, was a period of great invention and
innovation.After the fall of Rome in the West during the 5th Century AD, the power vacuum
it created forced its former conquests into centuries of bitter warfare, famine, disease, and
strife. Yet despite the constant fear of death, there was enough calm during the Middle Ages
with great leaps forward in science and invention. The following inventions of the Middle
Ages were so important that they paved the way, ultimately, to the modern world we live in
today:

1. The Printing Press

The printing press (Figure 8) is probably the most important invention of the Middle Ages. It
removed control of information distribution from The State and The Church and laid the
path for Protestant Reformation, The Renaissance, and The Enlightenment. Although
Johannes Guttenberg's famous press was developed in Germany in the 15th Century it can
trace its history back to 3rd Century China.

Figure 8: The Printing Press

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2. The Microscope

A Dutch father-son team named Hans and Zacharias Janssen invented the first so-called
compound microscope in the late 16th century when they discovered that, if they put a lens
at the top and bottom of a tube and looked through it, objects on the other end became
magnified. Figure 9 shows the history of the microscope which paved the way to its
usefulness to mankind especially in the field of biology and medicine.

Figure 9: History of the Microscope

3. The Telescope

The telescope traces back to early makers of eyeglasses and lenses. In the 1400s, glasses
were used widely across Europe. These lenses were not powerful, not polished, and not
clear. Due to their imperfections, they were not useful for astronomic observation. By the
end of the 1500s and early 1600s, lens makers improved their abilities to cut and polish
glasses. It was at this time that Hans Lippershey, who made spectacles in the Netherlands,
began experimenting with lenses. Lipperhey put a mask on his telescope that only allowed a
small amount of light to enter his telescope. When he reduced the amount of light and
focused it, the images became clear but remained dim. No other telescope makers had done
this, and Lipperhey’s telescope was the beginning of the telescope’s evolution.

In September of 1608, Lipperhey took his telescope to Prince Maurice of Nassau. A week
later, Lipperhey applied to patent his new device. Other scientists and glass-makers came
forward to claim that they had made similar devices; Lipperhey was denied his patent
because of the claims. The telescope spread across Europe after Lipperhey. By the end of
May in 1609, the telescope could easily be found and purchased in large cities like Paris.
Galileo picked up Lipperhey’s telescope and began to improve it. Galileo’s telescope was the

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first to be used for space observation. Over time, astronomers began to build telescopes
that had more power and clearer images. Thomas Harriot in England managed to build a
telescope that could magnify objects six times. Galileo then made a telescope that could
magnify objects by eight times. Figure 10 shows Galileo’s telescope (google.com) which
made a revolutionary idea in astronomy.

Figure 10: Galileo’s Telescope

4. War Weapons

People in the middle ages used weapons for offensive and defensive purposes. The sword
was widely used among elite and common soldiers, with some variation between the size of
its blade, and how its hilt and pommel were fashioned. Around the thirteenth century we
see a change in the sword, where it blades begin to get more narrow and sharper at its
point. It was because armour was becoming tougher, and the slashing style of the sword
was no longer effective. It now had to be used more as a thrusting weapon, but even with
these changes the sword would gradually decline as a part of vital military equipment
(https://www.medievalists.net/2020/01/most-important-weapons-middle-ages).

Other war weapons were cross bows and long bows to attack enemies at long distances
from walls and fortresses. For short ranges, warriors used armors to protect their bodies but
these were too heavy. Later, chainmail (Figure 11) was used. War weapons were developed
in the medieval ages to acquire dominions and supremacy of power among nations.

Figure 11: Chainmail

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3. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN THE MODERN TIMES

The article, “Science Overview: Revolutions in Modern Science” summarizes the Science and
Technology in the modern times:

“The enormous growth of science during the classical period engendered an optimistic
attitude on the part of many that all the major scientific discoveries had been made and that
all that remained was the working out of minor details. Faith in the absolute truth of science
was in some ways comparable to the faith of earlier centuries in such ancient authorities as
Aristotle and Ptolemy. This optimism was shattered in the late 19th and early 20th century
by a number of revolutionary discoveries. These in turn attracted increasing numbers of
individuals into science, so that whereas a particular problem might have been studied by a
single investigator a century ago, or by a small group of scientists a few decades ago, today
such a problem is attacked by a virtual army of highly trained, technically proficient scholars.
The growth of science in the 20th century has been unprecedented.

The Impact of Elementary Particles

Physics in particular was shaken to the core around the turn of the century. The atom had
been presumed indestructible, but discoveries of X rays (1895), radioactivity (1896), and the
electron (1897) could not be explained by the classical theories. The discovery of the atomic
nucleus (1911) and of numerous subatomic particles i addition to the electron opened up
the broad field of atomic and nuclear physics. Atoms were found to change not only by
radioactive decay but also by more dramatic processes—nuclear fission and fusion—with the
release of large amounts of energy; these discoveries found both military and peaceful
applications.

Quantum Theory and the Theory of Relativity

The explanation of atomic structure required the abandonment of older, commonsense,

classical notions of the nature of space, time, matter, and energy in favor of the new view of
the quantum theory and the theory of relativity. The first of these two central theories of
modern physics was developed by many scientists during the first three decades of the 20th
century; the latter theory was chiefly the product of a single individual, Albert Einstein.
These theories, particularly the quantum theory, revolutionized not only physics but also
chemistry and other fields.

Advances in Chemistry

Knowledge of the structure of matter enabled chemists to synthesize a sweeping variety of

substances, especially complex organic substances with important roles in life processes or
with technological applications. Radioactive isotopes have been used as tracers in
complicated chemical and biochemical reactions and have also found application in
geological dating. Chemists and physicists have cooperated to create many new chemical
elements, extending the periodic table beyond the naturally occurring elements.

Biology Becomes an Interdisciplinary Science

In biology the modern revolution began in the 19th century. The development of
biochemistry and the recognition that most important biological processes take place at the

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molecular level led to the rapid growth of the field of molecular biology, with such
fundamental results as the discovery of the structure of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), the
molecule carrying the genetic code. Modern medicine has profited from this explosion of
knowledge in biology and biochemistry, with new methods of treatment ranging from
penicillin, insulin, and a vast array of other drugs to pacemakers for weak hearts and
implantation of artificial or donated organs.

The Abstraction of Mathematics

In mathematics a movement toward the abstract, axiomatic approach began early in the
19th cent. With the discovery of two different types of non-Euclidean geometries and
various abstract algebras, some of them non-commutative. While there has been a tendency
to consolidate and unify under a few general concepts, such as those of group, set, and
transformation, there has also been considerable research in the foundations of
mathematics, with a close examination of the nature of these and other concepts and of the
logical systems underlying mathematics.

Astronomy beyond the Visual Spectrum

In astronomy ever larger telescopes have assisted in the discovery that the sun is a rather
ordinary star in a huge collection of stars, the Milky Way, which itself is only one of
countless such collections, or galaxies, that in general are expanding away from each other.
The study of remote objects, billions of light-years from the earth, has been carried out at
all wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation, with some of the most notable results being
made in radio astronomy, which has been used to map the Milky Way, study quasars,
pulsars, and other unusual objects, and detect relatively complex organic molecules floating
in space.

Modern Science and Technology

The technological advances of modern science, which in the public mind are often identified
with science itself, have affected virtually every aspect of life. The electronics industry, born
in the early 20th cent., has advanced to the point where a complex device, such as a
computer, that once might have filled an entire room can now be carried in an attaché case.
The electronic computer has become one of the key tools of modern industry. Electronics
has also been fundamental in developing new communications devices (radio, television,
and laser). In transportation there has been a similar leap of astounding range, from the
automobile and the early airplane to the modern supersonic jet and the giant rocket that
has taken astronauts to the moon. Perhaps the most overwhelming aspect of modern
science is not its accomplishments but its magnitude in terms of money, equipment,
numbers of workers, scope of activity, and impact on society as a whole. Never before in
history has science played such a dominant role in so many areas.”

Learning Outcomes

At the end of this lesson, the students must have

1. discussed the paradigm shifts in history during the:
A. Copernican Revolution
B. Darwinian Revolution
C. Freudian Revolution
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2. explained how the Intellectual Revolutions changed the way humans
see the world today.
 Assess your Knowledge

1. Fill inthe following summary matrix of one discovery/invention in ancient civilization,

middle ages, and modern times and their impacts on society today. Follow the format
below: (56 pts)

Civilization One Discovery/ Use of Impact of

Invention Discovery/ Discovery/Invention
(2 pts each) Invention in the Society Today
(2 pts each) (3 pts each)
1. Sumerian
2. Babylonian
3. Egyptian
4. Greek
5. Roman
6. Chinese
7. Middle Ages
8. Modern Times

2. Question for Reflection (10 pts):

In five (5) sentences, answer the question: If you were born in the ancient civilization in
your own place, what could you have invented? Why? (Rubric for rating: Organization – 4
pts, Relevance – 3 pts, Grammar & Appeal – 3 pts).

Unit 2. General Concepts in Science, Technology, and Society

Lesson 2: Intellectual Revolutions (Week 6)

Activate your Prior Knowledge

This time relate your prior knowledge to the lesson.

The Intellectual Revolution which started in the 16 th century was the period where paradigm
shifts occurred. It was the time when the existing beliefs about the solar system, the origin
of man, and the behavior of man were challenged and opposed.

Acquire New Knowledge

This part will present the ideas aligned with the objectives of the lesson.

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1: COPERNICAN REVOLUTION

The Copernican revolution started the Scientific Revolution. The publication in 1543 of
Nicolaus Copernicus of the De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the
Heavenly Spheres) is often cited as the beginning of the scientific revolution. It radically
changed the impression in astronomy, science and religion. It moved the people to look for
evidences to prove things around them. The theories about the origin of the earth was
changed from the theological view to the empirical view which from geocentrism by the
Catholic Church to heliocentrism where the sun is the center of the solar system (Figure 1).

The Geocentric Model

The geocentric model of the universe, also known as the Ptolemaic model, was widespread
beginning in Ancient Greece and holds that the Earth lies at the centre of the universe, with
all other objects circling it. This is most intuitively obvious in relation to the Sun and the
Moon, which, to an observer on the surface of our planet, do seem to follow regular circular
paths over our heads. It is a seemingly empirical conclusion based on the evidence that
celestial objects (including stars) circle the sky above us, while the ground beneath our feet
appears to be at rest. Plato and Aristotle both wrote extensively about a geocentric
universe, but is best known for another advocate, Claudius Ptolemaeus, of the Roman era.
According to Ptolemy, objects orbited the Earth in distinct concentric circles, or spheres.
Within these spheres, furthermore, they actually followed elliptical paths within another
sphere, called an epicycle. This added complexity was necessary to account for the fact that,
viewed from Earth, close objects like the planets Venus and Mars sometimes seem to stop
and even to move backwards in the sky.

The Heliocentric Model

Despite the best efforts of geocentric scholars in the medieval and Renaissance worlds to
account for these strange perturbations, the geocentric model had serious flaws. These
were conclusively exposed beginning in the 1500s by four European astronomers: Johannes
Kepler, Tycho Brahe, Nicolaus Copernicus, and Galileo Galilei. These men’s systematic
observations of the sky indicated that, if indeed objects followed the orbits prescribed by the
geocentrists, they could do so only through the arbitrary random intervention of some
outside force. Although Copernicus and Galileo were astronomers and not theologians, it is
important to recognize that their period was a deeply religious one and therefore that such
theological questions did carry some significance. Galileo is particularly noted for attracting
persecution by the church for his beliefs, although in truth he could likely have published his
views without retribution had he not chosen to write them as a “dialogue” between a wise
and effective debater representing his own views, and an incompetent opponent modelled
after the Pope of the day.

In any event, the transition from geocentrism to heliocentrism was not a sudden or smooth
one, but the four men were able to demonstrate that the movements of the planets were
better explained by a model in which all of them (including the Earth) followed predictable
elliptical paths around the central Sun, rather than all of them following the complex Earth-
centered circles-within-circles orbits of the Ptolemaic system. Galileo’s further discovery that
Jupiter had moons, which orbited Jupiter rather than Earth, was final proof that the Earth
was not a special central location around which all other things orbited.

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Figure 1: Geocentric versus Heliocentric Model of the Solar System Chronologically, the
important thinkers in the Copernican Revolution which paved the way to the Scientific
Revolution were:

1. Nicolaus Copernicus (1473 – 1543)

He was the first to prove that the earth was not stationary in space and revolved around
the sun. He was a member of the Catholic Church and waited until the year of his death
to publish his findings, which started the so-called Copernican Revolution.

2. Paracelsus (1493 – 1541)

A doctor who did not treat people’s “imbalance in the humors” with leeches and
traditional remedies but looked at the chemical causes behind sicknesses to treat
patients. He was a big supporter of Hermetic Doctrine, and also studied alchemy and
other ways of getting closer to God through science.

3. Andreas Vesalius (1514 – 1564)

He spent years dissecting corpses and drawing detailed illustrations of the human body
and has contributed a lot to the study of human anatomy, but eventually got grossed out
by all the dead bodies and just became the personal doctor to Charles V, king of the Holy
Roman Empire.

4. Tycho Brahe (1546 – 1601)

He was the one major Scientific Revolution physicist who believed in a geocentric
universe, rejecting Copernicus’ idea that the Earth revolved around the Sun. He had the
king of Denmark build him a laboratory that he used to make 20 years of detailed
observations, proving that the stars in the sky were not fixed.

5. Giordano Bruno (1548 – 1600)

He was an Italian Monk who spread Copernicus’ beliefs about a heliocentric universe
governed by science. He was burned at the stake by Catholic authorities for allegedly
spreading heresy.

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6. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (1632 – 1723)
He was the “Father of Microbiology” who discovered bacteria because he loved playing
with microscopes. He observed bacteria as “little animals or animalcules…This was for
me, among all marvels that I have discovered in nature, the most marvelous of all”.

7. William Harvey (1578 – 1657)

He dissected animal bodies and studied the heart as an important physical and spiritual
centerpiece of the body. He discovered that the heart worked like a pump, sending blood
throughout the body with valves and heartbeats.

8. Francis Bacon (1561 – 1626)

He was an English politician who had an influential philosophy that rejected reliance on
authority in favor of developing one’s world view based concrete observations. Bacon
became a supporter of the empirical method and inductive reasoning where people piece
together truths from their own experience. He was the father of the scientific method.

9. Galileo Galilei (1564 – 1642)

He promoted experimental physics and observational astronomy by discovering more
about inertia and discovering new moons and planetary laws with his telescope. Galileo
challenged the Catholic Church by promoting a heliocentric universe where the sun and
moon had blemished surfaces. Galileo was ultimately forced to renounce his scientific
discoveries in the Roman Inquisition and was house arrested until he died.

10. Johannes Kepler (1571 – 1630)

He was Tycho Brahe’s assistant, who used his master’s data to confirm that the earth
revolved around the sun. He developed the 3 Laws of Planetary Motion: Planets rotate
in ellipses, not perfectly divine circles, around the sun (Law of Ellipses). How fast the
planets are moving depends on how far they are from the sun (Law of Equal Areas).
The orbits of planets can be calculated mathematically (Law of Harmonies)

11. René Descartes (1596 – 1650)

He was Mathematician and Philosopher who wrote Discourse on Method (in French,
rather than Latin so that more people could read it), where he promoted the practice of
deductive reasoning. Descartes principle included not assuming anything unless proven
through a chain of reasoning and the scientific method.

12. Robert Boyle (1627 – 1691)

He was called the “Father of Modern Chemistry” due to his advanced experiments and
use of experimental method. He discovered Boyle’s Law on the relationship of gas
pressure to its volume and believed in the existence of atoms.
13. Isaac Newton (1642 – 1726)
He discovered the calculus, the 3 Laws of Motion (Inertia, Acceleration, Interaction),
and the Universal Law of Gravitation. His vast discoveries in physics, mathematics, and
astronomy led to the view of the Newtonian Universe that analyzes matter in motion
with the use of mathematics. Newtonian mechanics covers all kinds of motion of
material particles.

These thinkers have shaped science, technology, and society even today. Along with their
revolutionary ideas, scientific method was introduced, new researches were started, familiar
phenomena were given explanations, educational approaches were altered, and power
structures in the society were changed.

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2: DARWINIAN REVOLUTION
In 1859, after the Copernican Revolution, the Darwinian Revolution was a groundbreaking
revolution in both the scientific and religious realms. This was the time when people started
questioning about the origin of man apart from being created by a Divine Being. This idea
was pioneered by Charles Darwin who canceled the Divine Theory of Origin in his book,
Origin of the Species. The two conflicting ideas about the origin of man during this period
are presented as follows:

Creationism
Creationism is the belief that the universe and the various forms of life were created by God
out of nothing. Its basis is the biblical book of Genesis which states that God created the
world including humans in a literal six- day creation (Figure 2). The creation of man was in
this account:

And God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness, and let them have
dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over all the earth,
and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth." So God created man in his own
image, in the image of God created he them; male and female he created them (Gen. 1:26-
27, RSV). Then the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his
nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being”(Gen. 2:7, RSV).

Figure 2: The Literal Six-Day Creation

The Fall of Man is in this account:

And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I
commanded you not to eat from?” The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she
gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it. ”Then the Lord God said to the woman,
“What is this you have done? ”The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate. ”So
the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,“ Cursed are you above all
livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days
of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your
offspring[a]and hers; he will crush[b] your head, and you will strike his heel.”
(Genesis 3:11- 15)

From the aforementioned passages, the following truths about man were
considered by creationists:

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1. God fashioned man from the substance of creation that preceded him (dust).
2. Man's life-giving essence is the breath of God, or spirit.
3. Man became a living being.
4. God created human beings as male and female.
5. Man was made in God's likeness.
6. Man was made lord of creation.
7. Man fell into sin.
8. Man needs a savior from his sin.

Evolution

Darwin published his theory of evolution by natural selection in ‘On the Origin of Species’ in
1859. His theory states that all life, including humanity, is a product of continuing natural
processes. Human evolution is the lengthy process of change by which people originated
from apelike ancestors (Figure 3).

Figure 3: The origin of man according to Darwin

The book, in spite of controversies on transformational gaps or missing links from apes to
humans, changed how people approached biology, and has fundamental impacts on
modern science, religion, and other aspects of the society today. (Stacey,2016).

The Big Question: Can Creationism and Evolution Combine?

For centuries of conflicts and debates on creationism and evolution, there are key ideas
between these two schools of thought which cannot be merged. Creationists claim that their
authority is God’s word from the book of Genesis, while evolutionists’ authority is Darwin’s
idea from Origin of the Species. Although both sides agree on the idea of natural selection,
creationists limit it only to organisms of the same created kind, while evolutionists apply the
survival of the fittest idea where the fittest organism can be transformed from lower to a
higher form in the process of transformational modification like man from apes. This leads
to the differing view of man in the two cases. In creationism, man is considered a created
perfect being who fell into sin and needs a savior for his sin. In evolution, however, man is

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an evolved animal from the lowest form to the highest form. This gives a main difference in
man’s accountability. In the former, man, throughout his life, is accountable to his Creator
and Savior while in the latter, man has no accountability because he is just a product of a
transformational process in nature. Table 1 is a summary of these key concepts.

Table 1: Key Concepts of Creationism and Evolution

Key Concepts Creationism Evolution

Authority God: Book of Genesis Darwin: Origin of the Species
Natural Selection Within the created kind only Transformational Modification from
One Kind to Another
Origin of Man God Apes
View of Man Created a perfect being, fell Evolved Animal from the
into sin, and needs a Savior lowest form to the highest form
from sin.
Accountability of Accountable to Creator & No Accountability
Man Savior

3: FREUDIAN REVOLUTION
th
In the late 19 century people started questioning about the behavior of man. When the
behavior of man was discussed previously in philosophy, many wanted a more systematic
study of this aspect of man which gave rise to psychology. Sigmund Freud was able to
change the people’s perception of the behavior of man with its revolutionary theory of
psychoanalysis. According to the theory, Id is the essentially biological element, ego is the
essentially sociological element, and superego is the dispenser of reward and punishment.
Man’s behavior is fully controlled by these three elements known as the motorway of self
(Figure 4).

Figure 4: The Motorway of Self

The Freudian view further treats man as an instinctive animal (Darwinism), thus, society
creates mechanisms to ensure social control of these human instincts. From then on, many
psychological theories have emerged such as behaviorism and humanism in the attempt to
fully understand human behavior. However, these theories, though have a lot of application
in learning and education, have met a lot of controversies in the past and even until now.

Among the three revolutionary theories, the Copernican Revolution was considered as the
most scientific because laws and principles under it were proven in nature and can be
expressed in mathematical language. The material world of today is governed by the ideas
of the thinkers of the scientific revolution. The Darwinian and Freudian Revolutions, in spite
of controversies, have also been affecting people’s actions and beliefs. The changes that
these revolutions brought to society are evidences of the link of science and technology to
humanity.

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 Apply your Knowledge

Now, let’s check what you have learned.

ACTIVITIES: (Choose only 2)

Activity 1: The Galileo Case Study

Study the life and works of Galileo and answer the following questions:
1. What was the conflict between Galileo and the Catholic Church?
2. Give three scientific values demonstrated by Galileo in his struggles for the scientific
truth to come out during this conflict.
3. Give three disadvantages of non-separation of church and state in Galileo’s struggles for
scientific truth.

Activity 2: View the video on ‘Chaos or Cosmos’ and write three differences of creationism
and evolution by filling in the following table:

VIDEO TOPICS CREATIONISM EVOLUTION

Origin of the Universe
Cause of Beauty of Nature
Origin of Man

Activity 3: Research and give three reasons why Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory is not
scientific.

Activity 4: Video search for’ Human Zoos: America's Forgotten History of Scientific Racism’
in youtube.com and do the following:

Answer the question: Why are human zoos and racism offshoots of the Darwinian Theory?
Cite three examples of (1) from the video.

Lesson 3: Science, Technology, and Nation-Building (Week 7)

Learning Outcomes

At the end of this lesson, the students must have

1. explained how early Filipinos applied scientific principle in their daily

living;
2. presented government policies on science and technology and
explained their importance to the nation; and
3. discussed the role of science and technology in nation-building.

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 Activate your Prior Knowledge

This time relate your prior knowledge to the lesson.

The development of science and technology in the Philippines has already come a long way.
Many significant inventions and discoveries have been accomplished by or attributed to
Filipinos. This chapter tackles how the development of science and technology affect the
development of the Philippines as a nation.

Acquire New Knowledge

This part will present the ideas aligned with the objectives of the lesson.

1: Pre-Colonial Period

Scientific and technological development in the Philippines began in the pre-colonial period.
The early inhabitants of the archipelago had their own culture and traditions. Science, in
pre-Spanish Philippines is embedded in the way of life of the people.

 It is observed in the way they plant their crops that provide them food.

 In taking care of animals to help them in their daily tasks.

 For food production.

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  Science is observed in the way they interpret the movements of heavenly bodies to
predict seasons and climates.

 They use science in preparing the soil for agricultural purposes; they discovered the
medicinal use of plants.

 Technology is used by people in building houses, irrigations, and in developing tools

that they can use in everyday life.

A complicated engineering feat was achieved by the natives of the Cordilleras when they
built rice terraces by hand. Through these terraces, the people were able to cultivate crops
on the mountainsides in cold temperatures. They incorporated an irrigation system that
uses water from the forests and mountain tops to achieve an elaborate farming system. The
rice terraces of the Cordilleras, shows the innovative and ingenious way of the native to
survive in an otherwise unfriendly environment.

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2: Colonial Period

Spanish Rule

When the Spaniards colonized the Philippines, they brought their own culture and practices.

 Established schools and introduced the concepts of subjects and disciplines.

 It was the beginning of the formal science and technology in the country, known
now as school of science and technology.

 Learning of science in schools focuses on understanding different concepts related to

the human body, plants, animals and bodies.

 Technology focuses on using and developing house tools.

Life during the Spanish era became modernized:

 Filipinos replicated technology brought by the Spaniards using indigenous materials.

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  Medicine and advanced science were introduced in formal colleges and universities.

 The country became one of the centers of global trade in SEA (one of the most
developed places in the region).

 Superstitious beliefs and Catholic doctrines and practices halted the growth of
science in the country.

Galleon Trade

The Galleon trade was supplied by merchants largely from port areas of Fujian who travelled
to Manila to sell the Spaniards spices, porcelain, ivory, processed silk cloth and other
valuable commodities. From 1565 to 1815, the galleon trade contributed to the change of
culture, language and environment for both Philippines and Mexico. The Galleon trade was a
government monopoly. Only two galleons were used: One sailed from Acapulo to Manila
with some 500,000 pesos worth of goods, spending 120 days at the sea; the other sailed
from Manila to Acapulo with some 250,000 pesos worth of goods spending 90 days at sea.

American Period

The Americans have more influence in the development of science and technology in the
Philippines compared to Spaniards. They modernized almost all aspects of life in the
Philippines. They established a government agency, the Bureau of Science, for the sole
purpose of nurturing development in the field of science and technology.

American Period

The Americans have more influence in the development of science and technology in the
Philippines compared to Spaniards. They modernized almost all aspects of life in the
Philippines. They established a government agency, the Bureau of Science, for the sole
purpose of nurturing development in the field of science and technology.

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They established the following:

 Public education system.

 Improved engineering works and health conditions of the people.

 Established a modern research university, University of the Philippines.

 Created more hospitals than the former colonial master.

 Americans did everything to “Americanize” the Philippines.

 They recognized the learning of science and introduced it in public and private
schools.

 The desire of Americans to develop the human resources of the Philippines is

somehow, beneficial in the country.

Infrastructure

 Americans built roads, streets and bridges.

 The new infrastructure helped make the movement of products and services more
efficient.

 Boulevards, zone districts, and leisure centers were also established.

3: Post- Colonial Period

 After achieving independence from the colonizers, the Philippines, under different
administrations, continued to pursue programs in science and technology. Each
leadership had its own science and technology agenda.

 One of the presidents who ushered in advancements in science and technology was
former President Ferdinand Edralin Marcos.

Under Pres. Marcos term, many agencies in science and technology were established and
strengthened, including the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services

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Administration (PAGASA) in place of the abolished Weather Bureau; National Academy of
Science and Technology (NAST); and the reconstituted National Science and Technology
Authority (originally established in 1958 as the National Science and Development and now
the Department of Science and Technology), among others.

 Marcos saw that the key to nation-building is the continued development of science
and technology.

 The progress in science and technology continued after his dictatorial rule and the
presidents after him left their own legacies in the field.

References

Ancient Greece for Kids: Science and Technology Duckstershttps://www.ducksters.com › history ›

science_and_technology

Ancient Greek technology - Wikipediahttps://en.wikipedia.org › wiki ›Ancient_Greek_technology

biblegateway.com Genesis 1-3.

Contributions of the Babylonian Civilization - History Discussion. https://www.historydiscussion.net

Babylonian Civilization)

Google.com. 2020 (photo credits) Hou,Stacey, web.colby.edu.,2016

https://hendrianusthe.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/heliogeotheor.jpg

http://www.actforlibraries.org/Difference between Heliocentric and Geocentric Models of the Universe

https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo/hanging-gardens-of-babylon.html

https://www.chinahighlights.com/greatwall

https://interestingengineering.com/18-inventions-of-the-middle-ages-that-changed-the- world

https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-middle-east/sumer

https://www.history.com/news/10-innovations-that-built-ancient-rome

https://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/science/physics/general/science/revolutio ns-in-modern-
science

https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/History_of_science_and_technologyi in China

https://nineplanets.org/questions/who-invented-the-telescope

https://www.penfield.edu/webpages/jgiotto/onlinetextbook.cfm?subpage=1525827

https://www.smithsonianmag.com › science-nature

Jaarsma, C. A Christian. Theory of the Person

Excerpt from Human Development, Learning and Teach, pp. 40-51, 1961)

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Lightner, JK. Natural Selection:Assessing the Role It Plays in Our World Answers
Research Journal 8 (2015):111–119.

www.answersingenesis.org/arj/v8/role- of-natural-selection.pdf .

McNamara SJ, DJ et. al. Science Technology and Society. C&E,Phil. 2018.

Nawar, Nagwa. Historical Foundations of Science and Technology in Egypt. August 2013.

Prezi.com, 2020. Intellectual Revolutions

Than, Ker. What is Darwin's Theory of Evolution? February 27, 2018, livescience.com

Midterm Examination and Submission of Outputs (Week 8)

A. Examination
* Quizzes
* Long Exam
* Midterm
* Date of Examination: Click or tap to enter a date.

B. Class Outputs
* Recitation, Reporting, Debate, Role Play, etc.
* Case Study, Reaction Paper, Portfolio, etc.
* Community Immersions, STS Camps
* Field Trips, Educational Tour, Stargazing, etc.
* Others: Project,
Date Due: Click or tap to enter a date.

Unit 3: Science, Technology, Society, and the Human Condition

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NSCI 110
 Dr. Harlan C. Dureza

Dr. Larry D. Buban

Prof. Richelle O. Tuvillo

Contents

UNIT 3. Science, Technology, Society, and the Human Condition

There are four (4) lessons in this unit and listed as follows:

Lesson 1. Human Flourishing in Science and Technology

Lesson 1.1 Technology as a Mode of Revealing

Lesson 1.2 Technology as Poeisis: Applicable to Modern Technology? Lesson 1.3

Questioning as the Piety of Thought

Lesson 1.4 Enframing Way of Revealing in Modern Technology Lesson 1.5 Human Person
Swallowed by Technology

Lesson 1.6 Art as a Way Out of Enframing

Lesson 2. Human Flourishing as Reflected in Progress and Development Lesson

2.1 "Forget 'developing' poor countries, it's time to 'de-develop' rich countries”

Lesson 3. The Good Life

Lesson 3.1 Nicomachean Ethics and Modern Concepts Lesson

4. When Technology and Humanity Cross

Lesson 4.1 Universal Declaration of Human Rights Lesson

4.2 Humans vs. Robots

Lesson 4.3 Why the future does not Need Us?

UNIT 3. Science, Technology, Society, and the Human Condition

Lesson 1. Human Flourishing in Science and Technology

(Week 9)

Introduction:
The progress of human civilizations throughout history mirrors the development of science
and technology. The human person, as both the bearer and beneficiary of science and
technology, flourishes and finds meaning in the world that he/she builds. In the person’s

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pursuit of the good life, he/she may unconsciously acquire, consume or destroy what the
world has to offer. It is thus necessary to reflect on the things that truly matter.

At the end of this lesson the students must

have,

Science and technology must be taken as part of human life that merits reflective and – as
the German philosopher Martin Heidegger says – meditative thinking. Science and
technology, despite its methodical and technical nature, gives meaning to the life of a
person making his/her way in the world. To be able to appreciate the fruits of science and
technology, they must be examined not only for their function and instrumentality but also
for their greater impact on humanity as a whole.

The various gadgets, machines, appliances, and vehicles are all tools that make human lives
easier because they serve as a means to an end. Their utility lies on providing people with a
certain good, convenience, or knowledge. Meanwhile, medical research employs the best
scientific and technological principles to come up with the cures for diseases and ways to
prevent illnesses to ensure a good quality of life.

Learning Outcomes:

1. discussed what technology reveals

2. examined modern technology and its role in human
flourishing
3. explained the role of art in a technological world

Activate your Prior Knowledge

This time relate your prior knowledge to the lesson.

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Think about these questions:

What do you think constitute human flourishing?

Is our reverence to science justified? Explain.

Were we successful so far in trying to tie down technology with what we conceive as human
flourishing?

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 Acquire New Knowledge

This part will present the ideas aligned with the objectives of the lesson.

TECHNOLOGY AS MODE OF REVEALING

Heidegger’s concern with technology is not limited to his writings that are explicitly
dedicated to it, and a full appreciation of his views on technology requires some
understanding of how the problem of technology fits into his broader philosophical project
and phenomenological approach. (Phenomenology, for Heidegger, is a method that tries to
let things show themselves in their own way, and not see them in advance through a
technical or theoretical lens.) The most important argument in Being and Time that is
relevant for Heidegger’s later thinking about technology is that theoretical activities such as
the natural sciences depend on views of time and space that narrow the understanding
implicit in how we deal with the ordinary world of action and concern. We cannot construct
meaningful distance and direction, or understand the opportunities for action, from science’s
neutral, mathematical understanding of space and time. Indeed, this detached and
“objective” scientific view of the world restricts our everyday understanding. Our ordinary
use of things and our “concernful dealings” within the world are pathways to a more
fundamental and more truthful understanding of man and being than the sciences provide;
science flattens the richness of ordinary concern. By placing science back within the realm of
experience from which it originates, and by examining the way our scientific understanding
of time, space, and nature derives from our more fundamental experience of the world,
Heidegger, together with his teacher Husserl and some of his students such as Jacob Klein
and Alexandre Koyré, helped to establish new ways of thinking about the history and
philosophy of science.

Heidegger applies this understanding of experience in later writings that are focused
explicitly on technology, where he goes beyond the traditional view of technology as
machines and technical procedures. He instead tries to think through the essence of
technology as a way in which we encounter entities generally, including nature, ourselves,
and, indeed, everything. Heidegger’s most influential work on technology is the lecture “The
Question Concerning Technology,” published in 1954, which was a revised version of part
two of a four-part lecture series he delivered in Bremen in 1949 (his first public speaking
appearance since the end of the war). These Bremen lectures have recently been translated
into English, for the first time, by Andrew J. Mitchell.

Introducing the Bremen lectures, Heidegger observes that because of technology, “all
distances in time and space are shrinking” and “yet the hasty setting aside of all distances
brings no nearness; for nearness does not consist in a small amount of distance.” The
lectures set out to examine what this nearness is that remains absent and is “even warded
off by the restless removal of distances.” As we shall see, we have become almost incapable
of experiencing this nearness, let alone understanding it, because all things increasingly
present themselves to us as technological: we see them and treat them as what Heidegger
calls a “standing reserve,” supplies in a storeroom, as it were, pieces of inventory to be
ordered and conscripted, assembled and disassembled, set up and set aside. Everything
approaches us merely as a source of energy or as something we must organize. We treat
even human capabilities as though they were only means for technological procedures, as
when a worker becomes nothing but an instrument for production. Leaders and planners,
along with the rest of us, are mere human resources to be arranged, rearranged, and
disposed of. Each and every thing that presents itself technologically thereby loses its

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distinctive independence and form. We push aside, obscure, or simply cannot see, other
possibilities.

Common attempts to rectify this situation don’t solve the problem and instead are part of it.
We tend to believe that technology is a means to our ends and a human activity under our
control. But in truth we now conceive of means, ends, and ourselves as fungible and
manipulable. Control and direction are technological control and direction. Our attempts to
master technology still remain within its walls, reinforcing them. As Heidegger says in the
third of his Bremen lectures, “all this opining concerning technology” — the common critique
of technology that denounces its harmful effects, as well as the belief that technology is
nothing but a blessing, and especially the view that technology is a neutral tool to be
wielded either for good or evil — all of this only shows “how the dominance of the essence
of technology orders into its plundering even and especially the human conceptions
concerning technology.” This is because “with all these conceptions and valuations one is
from the outset unwittingly in agreement that technology would be a means to an end.”
This “instrumental” view of technology is correct, but it “does not show us technology’s
essence.” It is correct because it sees something pertinent about technology, but it is
essentially misleading and not true because it does not see how technology is a way that all
entities, not merely machines and technical processes, now present themselves.

Of course, were there no way out of technological thinking, Heidegger’s own standpoint,
however sophisticated, would also be trapped within it. He attempts to show a way out — a
way to think about technology that is not itself beholden to technology. This leads us into a
realm that will be familiar to those acquainted with Heidegger’s work on “being,” the central
issue in Being and Time and one that is also prominent in some of the Bremen lectures. The
basic phenomenon that belongs together with being is truth, or “revealing,” which is the
phenomenon Heidegger brings forward in his discussion in “The Question Concerning
Technology.” Things can show or reveal themselves to us in different ways, and it is
attention to this that will help us recognize that technology is itself one of these ways, but
only one. Other kinds of revealing, and attention to the realm of truth and being as such,
will allow us to “experience the technological within its own bounds.”

Only then will “another whole realm for the essence of technology ... open itself up to us. It
is the realm of revealing, i.e., of truth.” Placing ourselves back in this realm avoids the
reduction of things and of ourselves to mere supplies and reserves. This step, however,
does not guarantee that we will fully enter, live within, or experience this realm. Nor can we
predict what technology’s fate or ours will be once we do experience it. We can at most say
that older and more enduring ways of thought and experience might be reinvigorated and
re-inspired. Heidegger believes his work to be preparatory, illuminating ways of being and of
being human that are not merely technological.

One way by which Heidegger believes he can enter this realm is by attending to the original
meaning of crucial words and the phenomena they reveal. Original language — words that
precede explicit philosophical, technological, and scientific thought and sometimes survive in
colloquial speech — often shows what is true more tellingly than modern speech does.
(Some poets are for Heidegger better guides on the quest for truth than professional
philosophers.) The two decisive languages, Heidegger thinks, are Greek and German; Greek
because our philosophical heritage derives its terms from it (often in distorted form), and
German, because its words can often be traced to an origin undistorted by philosophical
reflection or by Latin interpretations of the Greek. (Some critics believe that Heidegger’s
reliance on what they think are fanciful etymologies warps his understanding.)

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Much more worrisome, however, is that Heidegger’s thought, while promising a
comprehensive view of the essence of technology, by virtue of its inclusiveness threatens to
blur distinctions that are central to human concerns. Moreover, his emphasis on technology’s
broad and uncanny scope ignores or occludes the importance and possibility of ethical and
political choice. This twofold problem is most evident in the best-known passage from the
second Bremen lecture: “Agriculture is now a mechanized food industry, in essence the
same as the production of corpses in the gas chambers and extermination camps, the same
as the blockading and starving of countries, the same as the production of hydrogen
bombs.” From what standpoint could mechanized agriculture and the Nazis’ extermination
camps be “in essence the same”? If there is such a standpoint, should it not be ignored or
at least modified because it overlooks or trivializes the most significant matters of choice, in
this case the ability to detect and deal with grave injustice? Whatever the full and subtle
meaning of “in essence the same” is, Heidegger fails to address the difference in ethical
weight between the two phenomena he compares, or to show a path for just political
choice. While Heidegger purports to attend to concrete, ordinary experience, he does not
consider seriously justice and injustice as fundamental aspects of this experience. Instead,
Heidegger claims that what is “horrifying” is not any of technology’s particular harmful
effects but “what transposes ... all that is out of its previous essence” — that is to say, what
is dangerous is that technology displaces beings from what they originally were, hindering
our ability to experience them truly.

TECHNOLOGY AS POEISIS

The very concepts of thinking (noein) and poetry (poiesis) to which Heidegger refers in this
lecture are themselves un-Platonic. To be precise: they are pre-Platonic. Turning to the Pre-
Socratic thinkers– in this case Parmenides and Heraclitus– Heidegger retrieves a notion of
philosophical thinking supposedly more original than that of the tradition beginning with
Plato and Aristotle, for whom thinking was adapted to the model of seeing.

Heidegger furthermore retrieves in Sophoclean tragedy a concept of techne, or the 'know-

how' corresponding to the activity of poiesis (Herstellen/Fabrication), that is more original
than the Platonic-Aristotelian interpretation of this concept understood as a form of mimesis.
By way of synthesis, Heidegger then tries to demonstrate the original kinship between the
notions of poiesis and noein as they were originally conceived but which, with Plato and
Aristotle, become no longer accessible.

Let us now follow Heidegger’s understanding of technology more exactingly, relying on the
Bremen lectures and “The Question Concerning Technology,” and beginning with four points
of Heidegger’s critique (some of which we have already touched on).

First, the essence of technology is not something we make; it is a mode of being, or of

revealing. This means that technological things have their own novel kind of presence,
endurance, and connections among parts and wholes. They have their own way of
presenting themselves and the world in which they operate. The essence of technology is,
for Heidegger, not the best or most characteristic instance of technology, nor is it a
nebulous generality, a form or idea. Rather, to consider technology essentially is to see it as
an event to which we belong: the structuring, ordering, and “requisitioning” of everything
around us, and of ourselves.

The second point is that technology even holds sway over beings that we do not normally
think of as technological, such as gods and history. Third, the essence of technology as
Heidegger discusses it is primarily a matter of modern and industrial technology. He is less

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concerned with the ancient and old tools and techniques that antedate modernity; the
essence of technology is revealed in factories and industrial processes, not in hammers and
plows. And fourth, for Heidegger, technology is not simply the practical application of
natural science. Instead, modern natural science can understand nature in the
characteristically scientific manner only because nature has already, in advance, come to
light as a set of calculable, orderable forces — that is to say, technologically.

Some concrete examples from Heidegger’s writings will help us develop these themes. When
Heidegger says that technology reveals things to us as “standing reserve,” he means that
everything is imposed upon or “challenged” to be an orderly resource for technical
application, which in turn we take as a resource for further use, and so on interminably. For
example, we challenge land to yield coal, treating the land as nothing but a coal reserve.
The coal is then stored, “on call, ready to deliver the sun’s warmth that is stored in it,”
which is then “challenged forth for heat, which in turn is ordered to deliver steam whose
pressure turns the wheels that keep a factory running.” The factories are themselves
challenged to produce tools “through which once again machines are set to work and
maintained.”

The passive voice in this account indicates that these acts occur not primarily by our own
doing; we belong to the activity. Technological conscriptions of things occur in a sense prior
to our actual technical use of them, because things must be (and be seen as) already
available resources in order for them to be used in this fashion. This availability makes
planning for technical ends possible; it is the heart of what in the Sixties and Seventies was
called the inescapable “system.” But these technical ends are never ends in themselves: “A
success is that type of consequence that itself remains assigned to the yielding of further
consequences.” This chain does not move toward anything that has its own presence, but,
instead, “only enters into its circuit,” and is “regulating and securing” natural resources and
energies in this never-ending fashion.

Technology also replaces the familiar connection of parts to wholes; everything is just an
exchangeable piece. For example, while a deer or a tree or a wine jug may “stand on its
own” and have its own presence, an automobile does not: it is challenged “for a further
conducting along, which itself sets in place the promotion of commerce.” Machines and
other pieces of inventory are not parts of self-standing wholes, but arrive piece by piece.
These pieces do share themselves with others in a sort of unity, but they are isolated,
“shattered,” and confined to a “circuit of orderability.” The isolated pieces, moreover, are
uniform and exchangeable. We can replace one piece of standing reserve with another. By
contrast, “My hand ... is not a piece of me. I myself am entirely in each gesture of the hand,
every single time.”

Human beings too are now exchangeable pieces. A forester “is today positioned by the
lumber industry. Whether he knows it or not, he is in his own way a piece of inventory in
the cellulose stock” delivered to newspapers and magazines. These in turn, as Heidegger
puts it in “The Question Concerning Technology,” “set public opinion to swallowing what is
printed, so that a set configuration of opinion becomes available on demand.” Similarly,
radio and its employees belong to the standing reserve of the public sphere; everything in
the public sphere is ordered “for anyone and everyone without distinction.” Even the radio
listener, whom we are nowadays accustomed to thinking of as a free consumer of mass
media — after all, he “is entirely free to turn the device on and off” — is actually still
confined in the technological system of producing public opinion. “Indeed, he is only free in
the sense that each time he must free himself from the coercive insistence of the public
sphere that nevertheless ineluctably persists.”

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But the essence of technology does not just affect things and people. It “attacks everything
that is: Nature and history, humans, and divinities.” When theologians on occasion cite the
beauty of atomic physics or the subtleties of quantum mechanics as evidence for the
existence of God, they have, Heidegger says, placed God “into the realm of the orderable.”
God becomes technologized. (Heidegger’s word for the essence of technology is Gestell.
While the translator of the Bremen lectures, Andrew Mitchell, renders it as “positionality,”
William Lovitt, the translator of “The Question Concerning Technology” in 1977 chose the
term “enframing.” It almost goes without saying that neither term can bring out all the
nuances that Heidegger has in mind.)

The heart of the matter for Heidegger is thus not in any particular machine, process, or
resource, but rather in the “challenging”: the way the essence of technology operates on
our understanding of all matters and on the presence of those matters themselves — the
all-pervasive way we confront (and are confronted by) the technological world. Everything
encountered technologically is exploited for some technical use. It is important to note, as
suggested earlier, that when Heidegger speaks of technology’s essence in terms of
challenging or positionality, he speaks of modern technology, and excludes traditional arts
and tools that we might in some sense consider technological. For instance, the people who
cross the Rhine by walking over a simple bridge might also seem to be using the bridge to
challenge the river, making it a piece in an endless chain of use. But Heidegger argues that
the bridge in fact allows the river to be itself, to stand within its own flow and form. By
contrast, a hydroelectric plant and its dams and structures transform the river into just one
more element in an energy-producing sequence. Similarly, the traditional activities of
peasants do not “challenge the farmland.” Rather, they protect the crops, leaving them “to
the discretion of the growing forces,” whereas “agriculture is now a mechanized food
industry.”

Modern machines are therefore not merely more developed, or self-propelled, versions of
old tools such as water or spinning wheels. Technology’s essence “has already from the
outset abolished all those places where the spinning wheel and water mill previously stood.”
Heidegger is not concerned with the elusive question of precisely dating the origin of
modern technology, a question that some think important in order to understand it. But he
does claim that well before the rise of industrial mechanization in the eighteenth century,
technology’s essence was already in place. “It first of all lit up the region within which the
invention of something like power-producing machines could at all be sought out and
attempted.” We cannot capture the essence of technology by describing the makeup of a
machine, for “every construction of every machine already moves within the essential space
of technology.”

Even if the essence of technology does not originate in the rise of mechanization, can we at
least show how it follows from the way we apprehend nature? After all, Heidegger says, the
essence of technology “begins its reign” when modern natural science is born in the early
seventeenth century. But in fact we cannot show this because in Heidegger’s view the
relationship between science and technology is the reverse of how we usually think it to be;
natural forces and materials belong to technology, rather than the other way around. It was
technological thinking that first understood nature in such a way that nature could be
challenged to unlock its forces and energy. The challenge preceded the unlocking; the
essence of technology is thus prior to natural science. “Modern technology is not applied
natural science, far more is modern natural science the application of the essence of
technology.” Nature is therefore “the fundamental piece of inventory of the technological
standing reserve — and nothing else.”

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Given this view of technology, it follows that any scientific account obscures the essential
being of many things, including their nearness. So when Heidegger discusses technology
and nearness, he assures us that he is not simply repeating the cliché that technology
makes the world smaller. “What is decisive,” he writes, “is not that the distances are
diminishing with the help of technology, but rather that nearness remains outstanding.” In
order to experience nearness, we must encounter things in their truth. And no matter how
much we believe that science will let us “encounter the actual in its actuality,” science only
offers us representations of things. It “only ever encounters that which its manner of
representation has previously admitted as a possible object for itself.”

An example from the second lecture illustrates what Heidegger means. Scientifically
speaking, the distance between a house and the tree in front of it can be measured
neutrally: it is thirty feet. But in our everyday lives, that distance is not as neutral, not as
abstract. Instead, the distance is an aspect of our concern with the tree and the house: the
experience of walking, of seeing the tree’s shape grow larger as I come closer, and of the
growing separation from the home as I walk away from it. In the scientific account,
“distance appears to be first achieved in an opposition” between viewer and object. By
becoming indifferent to things as they concern us, by representing both the distance and
the object as simple but useful mathematical entities or philosophical ideas, we lose our
truest experience of nearness and distance.

QUESTIONING AS THE PIETY OF THOUGHT

In the mind of philosopher, Martin Heidegger, questioning was not anything without
thinking. Thus in his view, a questioner is not a dissenter; rather they are listening. All
questioning, he believed, gets started from initial listening, that which precedes and guides
the questioner. Following this point, Heidegger delves into the spiritual, the pious, and the
holy. His thoughts concerns the piety of thinking itself.

What, Heidegger pondered, does it mean to objectify? He saw this social phenomenon in
regarding living things as objects; objectifying them for use, as a thing.

What does it mean to think? In his view, thinking in some instances is not objectifying; it's
instead an expression of a being which wills itself to be. For example, if all thinking were
objective, then the creation of art would be meaningless because it derives from personal
thought which 'shows itself' in the work. Thus it is non-objective. On the other hand, we, by
this view, can accept that thinking about the natural world and the sciences engages in
objectivity. Thinking is "whatever shows itself however it shows itself." It is the opposite of
hiding, concealment.

Heidegger also then concerns himself with the meaning of speaking. What does it mean to
speak? He asks all these deceptively simple questions and arrives at some startling answers.
In speaking Heidegger insists one might use words as a tool to enforce the manipulation of
others by words; one also may use words as humans do to "open up the world for them, to
make a dwelling place in the world."

Finally another question Heidegger poses is that of thinking as a form of speaking. "Is all
thinking a form of speaking and is all speaking a form of thinking? What does it mean to
'talk to yourself?" And he warns as early as the 1920s that scientific ways of thinking,
objective speaking, threatens to overwhelm all other imaging in the world today. There are
in his mind different needs in speaking and thinking, a piety of thinking for Heidegger is
perhaps 'compliant to the covering and uncovering of truth.'

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ENFRAMING WAY OF REVEALING IN MODERN TECHNOLOGY

Is technology good or calamitous? Do we control the development of technology or does it

control us? It never fails to amaze me how few technology professionals ever approach
these questions. Perhaps it is our desire to avoid cognitive dissonance related to our work.
Perhaps it is simple intellectual dishonesty or cowardice. It could also simply be that criticism
of technology is not easy to come by for us - nowhere in the traditional canon of blogs,
books, and papers is an engagement with these questions easily found. It is for this reason
that I'd like to propose a series of articles in which I'll share the thoughts of influential critics
of technology by outlining their basic arguments in an accessible fashion with some of my
own commentary attached. In the end the judgment is, of course, yours.

Martin Heidegger was the philosopher of Being. His magnum opus, Being and Time, sought
to re-examine what the meaning of the word is and what human beings must be like such
that questions regarding their own existence are even possible for them. He was incredibly
influential in the 20th century and his thought inspired existentialism, phenomenology, and
deconstruction. His critique of technology, originally written in 1955, was also quite
influential and inspired many ecological thinkers.

The argument begins from the instrumental definition of technology - technology is a means
to an end - and, after a thorough deconstruction of the inadequacies of such a definition,
works to uncover what is new about modern technology that makes it so destructive and
potentially dangerous.

Heidegger tells us that there are two ways for things to be brought forth into existence. The
first, physis, is through capacities already contained within the entity itself - the example he
gives is a flower bursting into bloom. The second, contained along with physis in the Greek
word poiesis, is through another entity - for example, a chalice through the craftsman or a
painting through the artist. Technology primarily concerns itself with the latter, and modern
technology does so in a particular fashion that "sets upon nature" and "challenges forth the
energies of nature" [Heidegger]. This challenging and setting upon causes us to order the
entities in our world in such a way that they are always standing ready to be put to use - for
example, the blender is always ready to blend or the airplane on the runway is always
prepared to take off. This challenging relationship with nature also means that it is no longer
viewed ecologically - as something that we have a symbiotic relationship to - but instead as
the "chief storehouse of the standing energy reserve" to be set upon, unlocked,
transformed, stored, distributed, and redistributed [Heidegger].

Heidegger does not think that we are exercising our free will when we attempt to go at
nature in this way, but instead that a particular mode of revealing entities and
understanding our relationship to them has got hold of us here since setting upon,
unlocking, transforming, storing, distributing, and redistributing are all different methods of
revelation. He calls this mode of revelation Enframing (Ge-stell in German) as it emphasizes
ordering over all else. Enframing represents an extreme danger. It opens the possibility for
humans to forget their own essence as beings uniquely capable of revealing the world in
different ways - as beings capable of revealing ever new ways of being. More and more it
causes humans to see themselves exclusively as orderers and everything, including
themselves, as orderable.

Despite the bleak outlook on the future of Enframing, Heidegger saw a "saving power"
contained within it as well. That saving power was its potential to clearly reveal to us our

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own essence as well as the essence of Enframing, and thereby to avoid our being enslaved
to a single mode of revealing. The essay concludes with his call to the arts to help reveal to
humanity in general the insanity of Enframing and our fundamental essence as human
beings.

HUMAN PERSON SWALLOWED BY TECHNOLOGY

A close examination of man’s knowledge and practice of science and technology shows that
none is intrinsically totally good or bad. Rather it is their applications for the purpose of
problem solving that make them either good or bad, just or unjust in relation to man’s total
wellbeing, now and especially, in the future.

In this section let us reflect on some of the problems created for man by his advances in the
physical, chemical and biological sciences and technologies. Before this, let us look at man’s
general attitude towards materialism, which we consider to be the bedrock of the mad surge
in the pursuit of all possible aspects of science and technology, so named.

It is an accepted fact that today the results of scientific and technological studies have
impacted greatly in almost all the nations of the world. The impact, I believe, will be more
felt in the scientifically and industrially advanced economies of the world, like Europe and
America than in the developing economies, such as the African nations and other Third
World economies. Among the general claims of the positive contributions of science and
technology to man’s life is that of mass production of material goods, including food and
services for man. This is typical of the industrialized economies where agricultural
technology, especially genetic technology, has made it possible for man to produce more
genetically modified seeds than the immediate food needs of their national population
growth. The same advances have been witnessed in manufacturing nations. In managerial
services, scientific knowledge and technological applications, have also promoted improved
skills, resulting in higher and improved services.

But while it cannot be doubted that science and technology have improved the levels of
material production of goods and services – qualitatively and quantitatively – for man’s
consumption and wellbeing, the advancements in these fields have infringed greatly upon
the dignity of man by institutionalizing materialism. The explanation is that science and
technology in history have tended to elevate and emphasize only the material aspect of the
human life while neglecting his very personality which is superior and higher and, therefore,
demands respect. The result is that; “the man of the scientific and technological culture
becomes a truncated man – a half-man, even worse than a half-man – a man of the
inferior-half-a-matter-man” (Nwoko, 1992:112).

The contemporary man becomes so lured into believing that all there is, is nothing over and
above matter. Thus for him, the primary goods are material values, which through
technology are elevated and promoted, while the spiritual personality and value of man
become elusive and subordinate to matter. Understood in this context, human problems are
erroneously understood to be essentially material and therefore must require only material
solutions. This may be reduced to the doctrine of “scientific and technological materialism”,
which is propagated jealously, especially, by the Western capitalist economies within the
context of today‟s globalized economy, which defines the material wealth of any nation in
terms of economic growth, while concealing the exploitation and inequity that characterize
participation in global economic race. The explanation is that there is glaring imbalance and
inequity in global economic venture. It is bait thrown, most especially, to the developing and
the Third World economies, described by the purveyors of global economy, as “those that

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need economic growth”. Of course, this is still a neo- colonial strategy by the purveyors of
global economy and their governments to sustain their foreign domination of, especially,
African and other Third World nations. The whole venture of global economy boils down, in
this perspective, to economic dishonesty exhibited by the political and economic world
“super-powers” over the developing economies with the hidden view of subjugation which is
basically an infringement of human right at the international arena. It would be false to
believe that Europe and America are ignorant of the negative chain effects of such a
violation. Rather, they are blinded by their uncritical pursuit of materialism. In such a
circumstance, the crucial question is: where does the hope of the economically
disadvantaged nations lie in globalized economy, which indeed, has also greatly affected
global politics and decision making?

The problems of man as a consumer of scientific and technological products in relationship

to his destiny as a “person” can be interpreted not only as the question of morality of “right
appetite” but also as that of “human right”, which Nwoko (1992) has tried to link to his
notion of “right reason” of man, to the extent that a genuine and right human choice is to
be judged from the standpoint of its conformity with “right appetite” (144). Understood from
this perspective, a good human choice should be determined by how much, a person’s
choice corresponds to his human rationality – a choice guided by the dictates of critical
thinking or reason.

Regrettably, the modern man, in his pursuit of scientific and technological progress does not
seem to be guided, most of the time, by the dictates of reason. The result is that he, most
of the time, commits errors and is even, sometimes in a dilemma in choosing what to
produce as well as what to consume. Thus, if man, the consumer of scientific and
technological products, must focus on his rational end in life, then he must be prudential in
making choices. He must cultivate the “virtue of prudence” described as “the virtue that
ensures that man will easily select the right means in order to perform acts that will lead to
his end as man” (Grindel, 1964:194).

The simple inference is that the grip of materialism, and hence, of consumerism assumes a
negative sway in the individual person when his or her desires are not guided by right
reason in his application and use of scientific knowledge and technological goods and
services towards the realization of his or her ultimate end. Thus unless humans cultivate
only the right appetite, the uncritical urge for materialism, promoted by science and
technology, will continue to cloud their mind, creating a barrier for the full realization of
their rational ends. In order to make the best out of his world, man must therefore, be
dispassionate in his pursuits of materialism because his nature and needs, as humans, go
beyond the demands of materialism. This is so because humans are credited with “right
appetite” only when their desires for material goods and services are in conformity with their
rational nature. This is why Socrates, the ancient Greek philosopher, said, “man know thy
self”.

ART AS A WAY OUT OF ENFRAMING

This sub-lesson made use of the article entitled: ART vs Design: Saving power vs enframing,
or A Thing of the Past vs World-Making by Mark Titmarsh and Cameron Tonkinwise. This lesson
will present the first of the dialogue only, please read the rest of the information on the
above stated article.

The paper is a dialogue—or, a slice of ongoing dialogue; a kind of fight in progress—

between the authors.

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Some background material:
1. Mark is a practicing artist. Cameron is a design theorist. Mark is committed to the
significance of art, Cameron to the significance of design.

2. Mark and Cameron were, for a long time, colleagues in a design school. Design is a
relatively recent profession and not yet a discipline. Design schools tend to be either the
technical, commercial embarrassments of art colleges, or the soft, aesthetic
embarrassments of technology institutes. Because of its precarious emergent status,
design has a defensive enmity with art.

3. What brings Mark and Cameron together, and puts them in dispute, is Heidegger and
post- Heideggerian thinking. Both Mark and Cameron find in Heidegger a relational post-
aesthetics of “making think-work”1 that clarifies and furthers their attempts to respond
to the dominion of technological metaphysics. It is just that Mark believes that this
‘remembering-clearing’ lies on the art side of the art/technology divide whereas
Cameron believes that it lies on the technology side.

The following dialogue is a vehicle for us to propose some of the ideas that we are working
on. For Mark, this is making expanded paintings, for Cameron, making engaging things.
Apart from the pragmatic institutional issues hinted at above, what is at stake in our
debate? Perhaps everything; that is to say, if you believe Heidegger, at stake is the future
of human beings in the face of technology’s cessation of history.

The issue that always troubles readers of Heidegger on technology is: if the essence of
technology is its totalizing nature, how are we to respond? If all causal reactions to
technology remain technological, what is to be done?

We begin with the assumption that Heidegger is misinterpreted when cast as an apologist
for acquiescence, a quasi-spiritual giving in to, or waiting for the end of, techno-being. For
example, when Heidegger risks this sort of rhetoric around the term Gelassenheit, such
‘releasement’ requires much effort—one must be active in becoming passive. Less extreme,
but more common, is Heidegger’s valorization of thinking itself as a response to techno-
being, in particular, the sort of thinking associated with questioning. As is often noted, the
opening line of his essay “The Question Concerning Technology” italicizes the verb
‘questioning’: “In what follows we shall be questioning concerning technology. Questioning
builds the way” (Heidegger 1977, 3). And the essay concludes, the closer we come to the
danger, the more brightly do the ways into the saving power begin to shine and the more
questioning we become. For questioning is the piety of thought. (Heidegger 1977, 35).

However, on these occasions, Heidegger’s concern is still for a thinking that is ‘in action’.
Such questioning is not a removed, inactive contemplation, but rather an engaged
responsiveness. It is, as we will argue, very much with and of the process of making. This is
precisely Heidegger’s point; he aims to retrieve a form of making— of thoughtful making, of
making thoughtful—that is no longer merely technological. He does not deny the activism of
technology, but finds within it more authentic forms of revelatory action. This is why the
closing sentences from “The Question Concerning Technology” previously cited occur in the
context of a discussion of art.

Let us cite this passage at length, because it is the concern of the following debate:
Because the essence of technology is nothing technological, essential reflection upon
technology and decisive confrontation with it must happen in a realm that is, on the one

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hand, akin to the essence of technology and, on the other, fundamentally different from it.
Such a realm is art. But certainly only if reflection on art, for its part, does not shift its eyes
to the constellation of truth after which we are questioning. Thus questioning, we bear
witness to the crisis that in our sheer preoccupation with technology we do not yet
experience the coming to presence of technology, that in our sheer aesthetic-mindedness
we no longer guard and preserve the coming to presence of art. Yet the more questioningly
we ponder the essence of technology, the more mysterious the essence of art becomes.
(Heidegger 1977, 35).

The appropriate response to technology is therefore not just philosophizing, but thinking in
and around the making of that which we call art. According to Heidegger’s analysis, such
making think-work appears to be a non-technological way of negotiating technology. To
return to our debate, we, the authors, are interested in how literally Heidegger should be
read here. Does ‘art’ mean Art, works for the institution of art, or the arts of Design,
products for the economy of design? Which of these is less unthinking in its making, which
is more thoughtful or thought provoking? Moreover, which is the more appropriate action in
response to technology, which is nearer the potential for swaying the way of the world and
therefore more able to accomplish a turn in our experience of being?

What is at issue in this debate between Mark (hereafter M) and Cameron (hereafter C) over
Heidegger—for this paper, and for the debate about practice- based research in which it is
taking place—is the role and nature of making Heidegger is calling for a considered analysis
of the artefactual outcome, the finished artwork or design product, or is it a critical
reflection on the process of making? If the outcome is an artwork for interpretative
reception rather than a design for enactive use, how does this affect the question
worthiness of the process of making? For, surely, if the process of making is a type of
research, a way of discovering knowledge, then it is thoughtful in a way that ignorant
technology dangerously is not. Such research-ly making reveals exactly what technology
conceals. To work out how making is a bringing-to-knowledge identifies not just why there
should be a validation of practice-based research but also, in the context of Heidegger,
identifies a non-technological form of making. This is why we are fighting over which form
of making—art or design—is the most significant, as research, and as the saving power
within the eclipsing empire of technology.

C: What is most common in Heidegger’s range of articulations of what is to be done is the

constellation of techne, poiesis, physis, and aletheia. The essence of technology derives
from its origin in the ancient Greek sense of techne, the know-how associated with poiesis,
which Heidegger believes is a mode of revealing, aletheia, compatible with the model for
revelation, physis.

This is, in some ways, the first half of “The Question Concerning Technology”; poiesis is the
four ways of occasioning . . . [that] let what is not yet present arrive into presencing . . . It
is of utmost importance that we think bringing- forth in its full scope and at the same time
in the sense in which the Greeks thought it . . . Physis also, the arising of something from
out of itself, is a bringing forth, poiesis. Physis is indeed poiesis in the highest sense . . .
The Greeks have the word aletheia for revealing . . . Techne is a mode of aletheueuin . . .
Technology is a mode of revealing . . . And yet the revealing that holds sway throughout
modern technology does not unfold into a bringing-forth in the sense of poiesis. The
revealing that rules in modern technology is a challenging. (Heidegger 1977, 10–14).

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 Apply your Knowledge

Now, let’s check what you have learned.

Try to imagine the world without technology. How do you think your day-to- day life would
be like? Do this by illustrating a scenario where a certain technological innovation does not
exist. Below are the examples you could use:

1. Watch 4. Cars
2. Phone 5. Printing press
3. Light bulbs 6. Electricity

Your illustration will be rated using the rubric

GRAPHIC DESIGN AND ILLUSTRATION RUBRIC

Criteria Excellent 10 Good 9 pts Average 8 Limited 7 Poor 6

pts pts pts pts
Composit Shows strong internal Shows internal Shows obvious Image is sloppy - Visual integrity is
ion & integrity of the visual integrity of the weaknesses in the there is very little nonexistent and
Design elements. visual elements. A integrity of the integrity of the image is sloppy.
Nothing needs to be visual element visual elements. visual elements. All of the visual
added or removed - needs to be Many visual Most visual elements need to
finished piece is superb. added or elements need to elements need to be rethought.
removed. be added, moved be rethought. Needs a complete
or removed. overhaul.
Creativity The student The student The student The student The student
demonstrates superior demonstrates demonstrates demonstrates shows little
creativity and good use of average use of some use of evidence of
originality in the creativity and creativity and creativity and creativity or
selection of the visual originality in the originality in the originality. originality in the
components. selection of the selection of the selection of the
visual visual visual
components. components. components.
Technical Shows mastery in the Shows good Shows some Shows limited in Shows little or no
use of a photograph and command of the command of the the use of a command of the
transforming it into an use of a use of a photograph and use of a
original art piece. photograph and photograph and transforming it photograph and
transforming it transforming it into an original art transforming it into
into an original art into an original art piece. an original art
piece. piece. piece.
Effort Demonstrates above Demonstrates a Demonstrates Demonstrates Demonstrates little
board effort in good effort in some effort in limited effort in or no effort
accomplishing the accomplishing the accomplishing accomplishing the accomplishing the
assignment going the assignment in the assignment. assignment. assignment.
extra distance in research and time
research and time spent to get the
spent to get the assignment
assignment done and carried out.
on time.

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 Assess your Knowledge

Reflect on the following questions, then answer the following questions

logically.

1. What would happen to humankind if technology did not exist?

2. Do you agree with Martin Heiddegger in His idea that technology should only be seen as
one of the approaches in perceiving truth? What are the possible approaches we should
consider?

3. Discuss the notion that technology is an instrument to achieve human goals.

4. Discuss the notion that technology is what humanity does.

Criteria 4 3 2 1
Organization Arguments and Arguments and A few of the support Many of the support details or
support are support are provided in details or arguments arguments are not in an
provided in a a fairly logical order are not in an expected or logical order,
logical order that that makes it expected or logical distracting the reader and
makes it easy and reasonably easy to order, distracting the making the essay seem very
interesting to follow the author's reader and making confusing.
follow the author's train of thought. the essay
train of thought. seem a little
confusing.

Support and All of the Most of the evidence At least one of the Evidence and examples are
Examples evidence and and examples are pieces of evidence NOT relevant AND/OR are
examples are specific, relevant and and examples is not explained.
specific, relevant explanations are relevant and has an
and explanations given that show how explanation that
are given that each piece of shows how that
show how each evidence supports piece of evidence
piece of evidence the author's position. supports the author's
supports the position.
author's
position.

Mechanics Author makes no Author makes 1-2 Author makes 3- Author makes more than 4
errors in errors in grammar or 4 errors in errors in grammar or
grammar or spelling that distract grammar or spelling that distract the
spelling that the reader from the spelling that reader from the content.
distract the content. distract the reader
reader from from the
the content. content.

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 UNIT 3. Science, Technology, Society, and the Human Condition

Lesson 2. Human Flourishing as Reflected in Progress and Development (Week 10)

Introduction:

If we are fortunate enough to have children, then our desire for them will probably be that
they live happy lives. Happiness is one way of expressing what the good life means. But
happiness on its own does not really express the complexities of human existence and its
fulfilment.

In a global context we might choose, instead, to use the term human wellbeing; that is
commonly measured in terms of statistical approaches to life expectancy, income and access
to goods. This gives some clues as to what might lead to human fulfilment, and disparities
between different peoples, but it is not really enough. Factual accounts fail to probe the
complexity of human relationships in different societal contexts and why these situations of
gross inequality arise. A rather better term is therefore human flourishing, as this implies a
richer, relational understanding of the human condition. But the possibilities for human
flourishing in our present societies seem dwarfed by difficulties, not only in the developing
world, but also in the developed world.

This alternative voice is one that takes the religious aspect of human experience seriously,
and argues for the incorporation of these values into a concept of human flourishing. Such
an alternative does not simply replace what has gone before, but seeks to transform it
through opening up the underlying assumptions that have hitherto been accepted. Even
those scholars who are not religious are beginning to recognize that there are philosophical
reasons for religions having a public role in influencing wider society, as long as such
religions refrain from fundamentalism. In the latter case religions need to be held to account
for their negative, rather than positive influence. But the influence of religion can be
channeled so that it is positive, rather than negative. Firstly, religious traditions can help
society discover deformities in its societal relationships. Secondly, religions also have what
might be called a latent positive potential – that they may be able to inspire not just their
own communities, but wider society as a whole.

Learning Outcomes:

At the end of lesson the students must have

1. Critiqued human flourishing vis-à-vis the progress of
science and technology
2. Explained Hickel’s paradigm of “development”
3. Differentiated the paradigm from the traditional notions of
growth and consumption

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 Activate your Prior Knowledge
This time relate your prior knowledge to the lesson.

Dr. Jason Hickel, economist and specialist on inequalities, published in 2017 The Divide: A
Brief Guide to Global Inequality and its Solutions. He examines solutions to reverse the
development dynamics and eradicate poverty on a global scale.

{Copyright ID4D, https://ideas4development.org/en/end-poverty-changing-rules-economy/}

What is your opinion in this tag line:

“Growth isn’t an option any more–we’ve already grown too much. Scientists are now telling
us that we’re blowing past planetary boundaries at breakneck speed. The hard truth is that
this global crisis is due almost entirely to over- consumption in rich countries. Rich countries
must “catch down” to more appropriate levels of development. ”
--Jason Hickel--

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Dr. Jason Hickel is an economic anthropologist, author, and a Fellow of the Royal Society
of Arts. He is a Senior Lecturer at Goldsmiths, University of London. He serves on the
Statistical Advisory Panel for the UN Human Development Report 2020, the advisory board
of the Green New Deal for Europe, and on the Harvard-Lancet Commission on Reparations
and Redistributive Justice.

What are the Sustainable Development Goals?

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also known as the Global Goals, were adopted
by all United Nations Member States in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty,
protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030. The 17
SDGs are integrated—that is, they recognize that action in one area will affect outcomes in
others, and that development must balance social, economic and environmental
sustainability.

Through the pledge to Leave No One Behind, countries have committed to fast- track
progress for those furthest behind first. That is why the SDGs are designed to bring the
world to several life-changing ‘zeros’, including zero poverty, hunger, AIDS and
discrimination against women and girls. Everyone is needed to reach these ambitious
targets. The creativity, knowhow, technology and financial resources from all of society is
necessary to achieve the SDGs in every context.

What is UNDP's role?

As the lead UN development agency, UNDP is well-placed to help implement the Goals
through our work in some 170 countries and territories. We support countries in achieving
the SDGs through integrated solutions. Today’s complex challenges—from stemming the
spread of disease to preventing conflict—cannot be tackled neatly in isolation. For UNDP,
this means focusing on systems, root causes and connections between challenges—not just
thematic sectors—to build solutions that respond to people’s daily realities.

Our track record working across the Goals provides us with a valuable experience and
proven policy expertise to ensure we all reach the targets set out in the SDGs by 2030. But
we cannot do this alone. Achieving the SDGs requires the partnership of governments,
private sector, civil society and citizens alike to make sure we leave a better planet for
future generations.

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Forget ‘developing’ poor countries, it’s time to ‘de-develop’ rich countries
--Jason Hickel--
This week, heads of state are gathering in New York to sign the UN’s new sustainable
development goals (SDGs). The main objective is to eradicate poverty by 2030. Beyoncé,
One Direction and Malala are on board. It’s set to be a monumental international
celebration.

Given all the fanfare, one might think the SDGs are about to offer a fresh plan for how to
save the world, but beneath all the hype, it’s business as usual. The main strategy for
eradicating poverty is the same: growth.

Growth has been the main object of development for the past 70 years, despite the fact
that i t’s not working. Since 1980, the global economy has grown by 380%, but the number
of people living in poverty on less than $5 (£3.20) a day has increased by more than 1.1
billion. That’s 17 times the population of Britain. So much for the trickle-down effect.

Orthodox economists insist that all we need is yet more growth. More progressive types tell
us that we need to shift some of the yields of growth from the richer segments of the
population to the poorer ones, evening things out a bit. Neither approach is adequate. Why?
Because even at current levels of average global consumption, we’re overshooting our
planet’s bio-capacity by more than 50% each year.

In other words, growth isn’t an option any more – we’ve already grown too much. Scientists
are now telling us that we’re blowing past planetary boundaries at breakneck speed. And
the hard truth is that this global crisis is due almost entirely to overconsumption in rich
countries.

Right now, our planet only has enough resources for each of us to consume 1.8 “ global
hectares” global hectares annually – a standardized unit that measures resource use and
waste. This figure is roughly what the average person in Ghana or Guatemala consumes. By
contrast, people in the US and Canada consume about 8 hectares per person, while
Europeans consume 4.7 hectares – many times their fair share.

What does this mean for our theory of development? Economist Peter Edward argues that
instead of pushing poorer countries to “catch up” with rich ones, we should be thinking of
ways to get rich countries to “catch down” to more appropriate levels of development. We
should look at societies where people live long and happy lives at relatively low levels of
income and consumption not as basket cases that need to be developed towards western
models, but as exemplars of efficient living.

How much do we really need to live long and happy lives? In the US, life expectancy is 79
years and GDP per capita is $53,000. But many countries have achieved similar life
expectancy with a mere fraction of this income. Cuba has a comparable life expectancy to
the US and one of the highest literacy rates in the world with GDP per capita of only $6,000
and consumption of only 1.9 hectares – right at the threshold of ecological sustainability.
Similar claims can be made of Peru, Ecuador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Tunisia.

Yes, some of the excess income and consumption we see in the rich world yields
improvements in quality of life that are not captured by life expectancy, or even literacy
rates. But even if we look at measures of overall happiness and wellbeing in addition to life
expectancy, a number of low- and middle-income countries rank highly. Costa Rica manages
to sustain one of the highest happiness indicators and life expectancies in the world with a

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per capita income one-fourth that of the US.

In light of this, perhaps we should regard such countries not as underdeveloped, but rather
as appropriately developed. And maybe we need to start calling on rich countries to justify
their excesses.

The idea of “de-developing” rich countries might prove to be a strong rallying cry in the
global south, but it will be tricky to sell to westerners. Tricky, but not impossible. According
to recent consumer research, 70% of people in middle- and high- income countries believe
overconsumption is putting our planet and society at risk. A similar majority also believe we
should strive to buy and own less, and that doing so would not compromise our happiness.
People sense there is something wrong with the dominant model of economic progress and
they are hungry for an alternative narrative.

The problem is that the pundits promoting this kind of transition are using the wrong
language. They use terms such as de-growth, zero growth or–worst of all–de-development,
which are technically accurate but off-putting for anyone who’s not already on board. Such
terms are repulsive because they run against the deepest frames we use to think about
human progress, and, indeed, the purpose of life itself. It’s like asking people to stop
moving positively thorough life, to stop learning, improving, growing.

Negative formulations won’t get us anywhere. The idea of “steady-state” economics is a

step in the right direction and is growing in popularity, but it still doesn’t get the framing
right. We need to reorient ourselves toward a positive future, a truer form of progress. One
that is geared toward quality instead of quantity. One that is more sophisticated than just
accumulating ever increasing amounts of stuff, which doesn’t make anyone happier anyway.
What is certain is that GDP as a measure is not going to get us there and we need to get rid
of it.

Perhaps we might take a cue from Latin Americans, who are organizing alternative visions
around the indigenous concept of buen vivir, or good living. The west has its own tradition
of reflection on the good life and it’s time we revive it. Robert and Edward Skidelsky take us
down this road in his book How Much is Enough? Where they lay out the possibility of
interventions such as banning advertising, a shorter working week and a basic income, all of
which would improve our lives while reducing consumption.

Either we slow down voluntarily or climate change will do it for us. We can’t go on ignoring
the laws of nature. But rethinking our theory of progress is not only an ecological
imperative, it is also a development one. If we do not act soon, all our hard-won gains
against poverty will evaporate, as food systems collapse and mass famine re-emerges to an
extent not seen since the 19th century.

This is not about giving anything up. And it’s certainly not about living a life of voluntary
misery or imposing harsh limits on human potential. On the contrary, it’s about reaching a
higher level of understanding and consciousness about what we’re doing here and why.

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 Apply your Knowledge
Now, let’s check what you have learned.

Reflect on the following questions, then answer the following questions logically.

1. Why must we change our paradigm of growth and consumption to that of “de-
development”?

2. Why the terms are de-development, de-growth, and zero growth seemingly
unacceptable to the usual framework of human progress?

3. How have we been enframed by the notion of growth?

4. How do we improve our lives and yet reduce consumption?

Assess your Knowledge

Identification. Identify what is described.

1. Country that manages to sustain the highest happiness indicators and life expectancies
and a per capita income of one-fourth that of the US ($13,250)

2. The threshold of the Earth for adequately sustaining life

3. According to the majority of people in middle-and high-income countries, it puts the

planet and society at risk.

4. Growth has been the main objective of development for how many years?

5. The standard response to eradicating poverty.

Matching questions. Match column A to corresponding idea in column

Matching questions. Match column A to corresponding idea in column B.

COLUMN A COLUMN B

1. "catch-down" A. Growth

2. The main strategy of eradicating B. To reduce consumption: banning advertising, shorter

poverty is the same working week and basic income

3. more than 1.1 billion C. The number of people living in poverty on less that $5 a
day has increased by-

4. more than 50% each year D. How much are we overshooting our planet’s bio- capacity?

5. How Much is Enough? by Robert E. According to Hickel, what must be done instead of urging
and Edward Skidelsky poor countries to “catch-up” with rich ones?

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 UNIT 3. Science, Technology, Society, and the Human Condition

Lesson 3. The Good Life (Week 10)

Introduction:

The achievement of happiness, according to Aristotle, is the end goal of every man. His
reasoning is thus: All human activities are done in order to attain something that is good.
We don’t do something because we think it will be bad for us. In addition, most of these
activities are not the main objective, but rather a means to a higher end. Consequently, the
activity that is an end in itself, writes the prolific philosopher, is the highest good, and that
good is happiness. We aim at happiness for its own sake, not because it will achieve
something else. Happiness, therefore, is our greatest mission.

Aristotle advocates a life with as much contemplation as possible. This is because doing
good things will make good people happy and rational thought is the highest good. The
practical sciences, therefore, should be pursued. They will enable us in finding the right path
in life, as well as help with the practical issues that consume our time and attention.

Essentially, go to a park… but remember to take a book.

Learning Outcomes:

At the end of this lesson the students must have,

1. explained the concept of the good life as posited by
Aristotle
2. defined the good life in their own words
3. examined shared concerns that make up the good life to
come up with innovative and creative solutions to
contemporary issues guided by ethical standards

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 Activate your Prior Knowledge

This time relate your prior knowledge to the lesson.

The images below showed a few statements uttered by Aristotle. Explain in your own
understanding what each statement means.

Acquire New Knowledge

This part will present the ideas aligned with the objectives of the lesson.

Nicomachean Ethics and Modern Concepts

Aristotle’s views on living well begin with a consideration of ends and means. Suppose I
want a car—the car is my end or goal. I can earn, borrow, or steal the money to get the car
—these are my means. The means I choose depends on which is easier, quicker, likelier to
succeed, etc. Thinking about the goal we are aiming at, and the means we will employ to
reach that goal is practical thinking. But such thinking bears no fruit until it results in
purposeful action, which is acting with some end, goal, or purpose in mind. Purposeful
action contrasts with aimless or thoughtless action, which is action with no end in view.

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Now suppose I get my car? That is itself a means to another end, say of getting to school or
work. And of course, getting to school or work is the means to another end, getting to class
or a job. And these are the means of making money, which is itself a means of buying food,
clothing, and shelter, which are the means of staying alive. Such considerations led Aristotle
to wonder whether there is any final or ultimate end, an end for which everything else is a
means, an end that is not a means to anything else. In short, he wanted to know if there is
an ultimate end, goal, or purpose for human life.

Aristotle argued that as we mature, we act less aimlessly and more purposefully. We try to
develop a plan for living that unites all our various purposes. Without a plan for living, we
don’t know what we are trying to do or why we’re trying to do it. Moreover, not just any
plan will do—we need the right plan, which is one that aims at the final or ultimate end. But
what is the final end of human life, the end that all of us ought to aim at?

For Aristotle, the final end of human life is to flourish, to live well, to have a good life. All
actions should aim at this end. Of course, in order to live at all we need food, clothing, and
shelter, but living is itself the means to the end of living well. And what is living well a
means to? Aristotle says that living well is the final end for humans; it is not a means to
anything else. Aristotle thinks this is obvious because few people want to live poorly.

But now another question arises: don’t different people have different ideas about what a
good life is? For some it may consist of accumulating wealth; for others, it is having power
or being famous or experiencing pleasure. And if people construe the good life differently, if
they have different desires, how can there be one right plan for living well? How can there
be one final end that we all ought to seek?

To answer these questions Aristotle argued that not all desires are the same. There are
acquired desires, which differ between individuals, and natural desires, which are the same
for everyone. Acquired desires—say for caviar—correspond to our wants, whereas natural
desires—say for food—correspond to our needs.

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Acquired desires or wants correspond to apparent goods; things that appear good because
we want them. Natural desires or needs correspond to real goods; things that are good for
us whether we want them or not.

With these considerations in mind, Aristotle states that the good life consists in the
possession, over the course of a lifetime, of all those things that are really good for us.
Moreover, what is really good for any one of us corresponds to the natural needs that are
the same for all of us. Thus what is good for one person is good for another; in other words,
there is a right plan for living well. What are these real goods that we should all seek to
obtain in order to live well? According to Aristotle, they are:

1) bodily goods – health, vitality, vigor, and pleasure;

2) external goods – food, drink, shelter, clothing, and sleep; and
3) goods of the soul – knowledge, skill, love, friendship, aesthetic enjoyment, self-esteem,
and honor.

The first two types of goods are limited goods—we can have more of them than we need.
Goods of the soul are unlimited goods—we cannot have more of them than we need. But
surely the knowledge of the good life isn’t sufficient to actually living a good life? I may
know, for example, that drinking alcohol is bad for me but do it anyway. So how do we
learn to desire these real goods?

Aristotle argued that the way to bridge the gap between knowledge of the good life and
actually living it was through the development of a good moral character. And this entails
developing good habits. A good habit allows us to perform certain actions without effort.
We can have a good habit of playing the piano, studying hard, hitting golf balls, or thinking
well. We can also habitually make good choices to avoid overeating or drinking too much.

Aristotle calls good habits virtues or excellences. Virtues of the mind are intellectual virtues;
while virtues exemplified by a regular disposition to choose correctly are moral virtues. For
Aristotle, wisdom is the most important intellectual virtue but moral virtue plays a special
role in living well. The reason moral virtue— the habit of making the right choices—is so
important is that our choices determine whether we live well. And if we make too many bad
choices we will live poorly.

So we need to develop the good habits or virtues which help us obtain what is really good
for us, as opposed to bad habits or vices which lead us toward things that merely appear
good. Good habits or moral virtues are the principal means to having good lives because
they allow us to habitually make the choices that both constitute and lead to good lives.

The most important moral virtues or habits are moderation, courage, and justice.
Moderation keeps us from overindulging in pleasure or seeking too much of the limited
goods. Courage is having the disposition to do what it takes to live a good life, and justice is
the virtue that allows us to have friends and enjoy the benefits of cooperation.

However, both knowledge of the good life and good habits may not be enough because
living well is not completely within our control. Why? First, some real goods, like wealth or
health, are not completely within our power to possess. And second, we didn’t create the
initial conditions of our birth or the environment into which we were born. Thus moral
virtue, while necessary, doesn’t guarantee a good life. We also need to be fortunate or
lucky. If we are wise, virtuous, and fortunate we will have good, meaningful lives.

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The end, goal, purpose (or meaning) of human life is to live well. We do this by
accumulating, over the course of our lives, all the real goods that correspond to our natural
needs; and we increase our chances of having good lives by cultivating good habits. In
addition, we also need good luck.

Apply your Knowledge

Now, let’s check what you have learned.

Reflect on the following questions, then answer the following questions logically.

1. What is the good life?

2. What is the relationship between the good life and science?

3. Does technology always lead us to the good life? How and why?

4. How technology did made man’s desire for a happy life more realizable?

5. Explain how technological advancements have made the campaign for the attainment of
good life easier of otherwise.

6. Is the more technologically advanced always better?

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 UNIT 3. Science, Technology, Society, and the Human Condition
Lesson 4. When Technology and Humanity Cross (Weeks 11-12)

Introduction:

Is technology influencing humanity or is humanity influencing technology? This is a

rhetorical question proposed by Jay Deragon in his article, The Influence of Technology on
Humanity. According to Joel Garreau, author of Radical Evolution, the curve scenario of
technological innovations is going straight up at intimidating speed (50-54).

This exponential technological change has “major social, cultural and value impacts”
(Garreau 82) which are influencing and affecting humanity in many ways. For example,
technology is changing the lifestyle of humans as work is becoming easier to accomplish,
and also biotechnology such as enhancements and genetic modifications are modifying the
nature of human beings. However, these innovations are the creation of human beings.
Thus, it can be said that technology is part of human nature. Hence, Deragon’s question can
be answered in the following way; technology is influencing humanity as it modifies human
qualities, while at the same time, humanity is influencing technology as the development
and expansion of technology is created by humans.

Learning Outcomes

At the of lesson the students must have,

1. Evaluated contemporary human experience to strengthen the
human person functioning in society
2. Discussed the importance of human rights in the face of changing
social conditions and technological development
3. Identified laws or policies in the country that protect the well-being
of the person in technological advancement and ethical dilemmas

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 Activate your Prior Knowledge
This time relate your prior knowledge to the lesson.

Think about these questions:

1. Do people really need technology in their lives? Is it really a necessity?

2. How do you reconcile the ‘need’ for technology and the dilemma/s it faces?

3. Should there be an ethics of technology?

4. Do technological devices bring more good than bad to people?

5. Should there be more budget for technological researches despite the dilemmas they
are currently facing?

6. Should there be limit to technological advancements?

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 Acquire New Knowledge
This part will present the ideas aligned with the objectives of the lesson.

UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS

Preamble

Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all
members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,
Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which
have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human
beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been
proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people, Whereas it is essential, if man
is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and
oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law, Whereas it is
essential to promote the development of friendly relations between nations, Whereas the
peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental
human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men
and women and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in
larger freedom, Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, in
cooperation with the United Nations, the promotion of universal respect for and observance
of human rights and fundamental freedoms, Whereas a common understanding of these
rights and freedoms is of the greatest importance for the full realization of this pledge, Now,
therefore, The General Assembly, Proclaims this Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a
common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every
individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall
strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by
progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective
recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and
among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.

Article I

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with
reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Article 2

Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without
distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion,
national or social origin, property, birth or other status.

Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or

international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be
independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.

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 Article 3

Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

Article 4

No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited
in all their forms.

Article 5

No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or

punishment.

Article 6

Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.

Article 7

All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection
of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this
Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.

Article 8

Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts
violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.

Article 9

No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

Article 10

Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and
impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal
charge against him.

Article 11
Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved
guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for
his defense.

No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which did
not constitute a penal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was
committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the
time the penal offence was committed.

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 Article 12

No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or
correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honor and reputation. Everyone has the right to
the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

Article 13

Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each
State.

Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.

Article 14

Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.

This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-
political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 15

Everyone has the right to a nationality. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality
nor denied the right to change his nationality.

Article 16

Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have
the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage,
during marriage and at its dissolution.

Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of them intending spouses.

The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection
by society and the State.

Article 17

Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others. No one
shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.

Article 18

Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes
freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with
others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice,
worship and observance.

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 Article 19

Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to
hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas
through any media and regardless of frontiers.

Article 20

Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association. No one may be
compelled to belong to an association.

Article 21

Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through
freely chosen representatives.

Everyone has the right to equal access to public service in his country.

The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be
expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage
and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.

Article 22

Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to
realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with
the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights
indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality.

Article 23

Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favorable
conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.

Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.

Everyone who works has the right to just and favorable remuneration ensuring for himself
and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by
other means of social protection.

Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.

Article 24

Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours
and periodic holidays with pay.

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 Article 25

Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of
himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary
social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability,
widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.

Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether
born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.

Article 26

Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and
fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory.

Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education
shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.

Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the
strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote
understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and
shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.

Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their
children.

Article 27

Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy
the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.

Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from
any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.

Article 28

Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set
forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.

Article 29

Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his
personality is possible.

In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations
as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for
the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public
order and the general welfare in a democratic society.

These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and
principles of the United Nations.

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 Article 30

Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person
any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of
the rights and freedoms set forth herein.

HUMANS VS. ROBOTS

Note: As your enrichment activity of this topics please refer to the guidelines for
Group reporting at the end of this lesson. (p. )

Almost every day, people of influence claim that machines will soon threaten the existence
of humanity. According to Stephen Hawking, a well-known cosmologist, "The development
of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race," and Elon Musk, a
renowned inventor and investor, insists, "I think human extinction will probably occur, and
technology will likely play a part in this."

Several questions come to mind, the biggest one being: Will hostile artificial intelligence (AI)
destroy humanity? However, it is more practical to focus on questions and answers that
demonstrate the effect robotics have on our current lives.

In order to understand these questions and their possible answers without attaching
scientific labels to the stages of industrial and technological development, I would like to
offer a simple way of looking at things. There have essentially been three stages of
development up to now. The first, putting machines - trucks, ships, winches - to work; the
second, making these machines automatic, as seen in the industrial production and autopilot
in planes, by designing them to follow pre- calculated and stored patterns; the third,
programming these automatic machines to learn and store new patterns. Through the
observatory process in stage three, robots and machines would be able to cope with
unknown or unexpected situations, such as offering better service for unpredictable
consumer behavior or navigating tricky traffic.

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Sophia, a robot which is inspired by Audrey Hepburn's features, was the first robot to
receive citizenship.

Stage 1 machinery led to unemployment for a significant number of workers, no question

about it. However, these jobs were often either too strenuous, impossible or sometimes
deadly for humans. Consider logging, transporting heavy items or mining. We should be
grateful that these jobs are now primarily done by machines since these jobs often proved
more dangerous than productive when performed by people.

However, many more have also lost jobs thanks to stage 2 machines, a robotic trend with
no end in sight. The automatization of office-related tasks, food production and services
along with robotic assembly lines are some examples. Studies have shown that more than
half of all jobs have either already been lost or will be lost to robots within the next 15
years.

Robots have already defeated us

The value of human labor is decreasing because the cost of automatic machines is
decreasing. This not only affects those who have lost their jobs to machines, but also those
who are still working and getting paid less than their grandparents did in the 1950s and
1960s.

So, should we worry that stage 3 machines, robots with intelligence, could deal an even
deadlier blow to our well-being? Interestingly, neither Hawking nor Musk has yet to even
bring up the topic. From their comfortable seats - since neither of them will lose their jobs
to an automaton - they talk about a future in which intelligent robots will find humans
completely unnecessary, leading them to dispose of us all.

The significant difference between stages 2 and three robotics is the machines' learning
capabilities. If we could understand how that works, we could perhaps fathom what the
real, or imagined, future may bring.

Due to the pre-calculated and stored patterns in their memories, stage 2 robots repeatedly
perform the same action. For example, the automated machines peel and cut the carrots
exactly the same way, every time. If you give the machine a smaller or larger carrot, it will
be wasted.

On the other hand, stage 3 machines will first have to learn how to cut different carrots
during the learning phase. Some of these learning experiments are performed in a
simulated environment where no actual carrot is used. Each carrot- cutting experiment is
observed, and a score is assigned to its success level. The algorithmic foundations of
machine learning have found that thousands of carrot- cutting experiments would finally
configure the computational engine and create a pretty accurate carrot-cutting robot.
However, the learning does not stop here, as the robot continues to do its work in the field,
it continues to learn.

Acting according to the learned patterns creates a strict form of intelligence. The computer
industry has rushed to define it as the intelligence, often implying it is equal to or even
better than human intelligence. Certain examples have been exaggerated, for example, a
chess program running on a supercomputer named Deep Blue defeated Garry Kasparov.
There is too much commercialism here, and the essence is lost in the dust. There is
absolutely no doubt that learning machines will make a big difference. For example, it will

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make safe self-driving cars a reality. This technology will soon be applied to flying machines
too, starting with small delivery drones.

We, as the theoreticians, have not yet fully understood the capabilities of machines that can
learn. Though this is perfectly clear: A machine that has learned, stored and used patterns
to make decisions is just another form of a programmed machine. We have absolutely no
clue how a machine can act independently, either to start learning a completely new set of
patterns on its own or choosing to jump in the pattern space from one corner to another.
The learning process, on the other hand, may be highly detrimental to the health of the
machine. The machine may breakdown several times before it can be an effective enemy to
humans.

A set of AI robots taking over humanity is far-fetched. Evolution provided a spectacular

opportunity for biological creatures, but this took an extraordinarily long time, several billion
years and several extinctions.

However, AI robots are already taking our jobs, particularly those requiring simple cognitive
and mechanical skills. This trend continues because engineers know how to make them, and
because the captains of the industry worship efficiency and profit.

WHY THE FUTURE DOES NOT NEED US?

"Why The Future Doesn't Need Us" is an article written by Bill Joy (then Chief Scientist at
Sun Microsystems) in the April 2000 issue of Wired magazine. In the article, he argues that
"Our most powerful 21st-century technologies—robotics, genetic engineering, and nanotech
—are threatening to make humans an endangered species." Read about a few arguments
here.

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PAGE \* MERGEFORMAT 111
The rest part of this article will be given to you by your instructor.

Apply your Knowledge

Now, let’s check what you have learned.

Choose a unique topic and its perceived effects and the dilemma it entails. Show your stand
on a technological dilemma through a skit. Do not forget to show the role or role played by
the technological advancement in the lives of the people.

Suggested topics:

1. Robots that are capable if having emotions

2. Google and stupidity

3. Filipino’s addiction to different technologies

4. Waze application

5. Write a reflection paper on the film “Artificial Intelligence” (40 points)

6. Find and examine local government policies that protect the well- being of the person in
the face of new technologies.

Supplementary Activity
Note to Students regarding Group Reporting

Group reporting and group reacting using PowerPoint or video presentations will enhance
student’s twenty-first-century skills. Aside from cognitive skills such as critical thinking,
creativity, and innovation, it will also develop their Interpersonal skills like communication,
collaboration or teamwork, and social skills. The main objective of this group activity is to
showcase students’ literacy skills in tools for working in this new generation. The literacy
skills that we want to highlight are Information Literacy, Media Literacy, and ICT Literacy.
These essential skills will be tested using this group reporting.

We devised an activity for this module, including the following topic of this module:
Information Society, to put into practice your twenty-first literacy skills.

To maximize the learning of these two topics, a detailed description of how the group will go
about with efficient and effective reporting. The guidelines and rubrics in Annexes were put

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into place for everybody in the class. We place a premium on students’ active involvement in
this activity instead of being a passive recipient of learning. We hope that all members of
the group will do their share for the success of this group reporting.

Activity Proper:

Task 1: Read the “Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”We must be aware of our
fundamental rights as humans. It will shed light on our argument and discussions later
regarding our assigned reading materials and movies.

Task 2: Prepare for Group Reporting and Reaction using the assigned Reading Materials and
Movies below. The designated groups for reporting must choose between the options given
(like an article, book, movie, or documentary). Then inform the instructor of the given
choice so that the reactors group can prepare their comments, questions, clarifications, and
criticisms.

Note: Subject to the modification of instructor depending on the available resources.

Simple and direct reporting maybe utilize if an Internet connection is a hindrance, and the
opportunity to collaborate online is impractical
Part 1 Unit 3 – STS and the Human Condition
7. When Technology and Humanity Cross
Group A Reading Materials, Movies or Books For Discussion
Article The Ethical dilemmas of Robotics Identify laws or policies abroad and in
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6432307.stm our country that protects the well-
being of the person in technological
Movie I, Robot advancement and ethical dilemmas
Group B
Article Is Google Making us Stupid? Discuss the importance of human
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2008/07/is- rights in the face of
google-making-us-stupid/306868/

Movie A.I.
changing social conditions and
technological development.
Group C
Article Why the future does not need us? Do our contemporary human
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/8.04/joy_pr.html experience synchronizes with modern
technologies to strengthen and
enlighten the human person
functioning in Society?
Part 2 Unit 4 - Selected Topics in Science, Technology,
and Society
8. Information Society
(Please See next Unit for the continuation of this Reporting)

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We recommend that all members of the class must read and watch the above assignments.
But due to some unavoidable circumstances, the teacher, together with the class, may
decide on selected topics only.

Instructions: (For face to face classroom)

1. The class will be divided into ten groups (or eight groups maybe, depending on the class
size. Preferably, there should be 3 to 5 members per group). A brief description of the
roles and functions of each group member is provided in Annex A.
2. Of the ten groups, five will be assigned as group reporters, and the remaining five
groups will be tasked as reactors by drawing of lots. Please see Annex B for Guidelines
of Group reporting and Annex C for Group reactors.
3. Use Week 10 to plan, organize, and designate tasks to group members. Make sure that
each member reads the assigned topics. Week 11 will be utilized for group discussion
and preparation on how to present/systematically react to the topic.
4. Week 12 will be used for the presentation of Part 1 assigned topics. Reactions and
interrogation will follow it during Question and Answer (Q & A).
5. Week 13 will be used for the presentation of Part 2 assigned topics. If the class is too
advanced with the tasks, this meeting will be used to present their Enrichment Activity.
6. Group performance will be assessed using the Rubric in Annex D. Maximum score per
group is 150 points. For the Reporters’ group, their score will come from Reporting,
Reactions, and Answers or Explanation to Questions. And for the Reactors’ group, it will
be due to the accumulation of points from Reactions, the way they Ask Questions during
the interrogation, and additional information for the topic if needed.

For distance learning type where face to face interaction is not possible, or the class is
assigned or scheduled to remote learning, the teacher may opt for the following:

1. This module will be sent to all students through email or Group Chat (Messenger).
Group meetings, group consultation with the teacher, will also be through a group chat.
The group presentation and reaction to the topic will be through group Google Meet and
Messenger Rooms with at least 1 or 2 members per group present. The group leaders or
members who attended the Google Meet Presentation and Reaction will update other
members who cannot participate due to internet connection problems. Other members
of the group must be informed about what transpired during the real-time meeting.
2. Google Classroom, Facebook Social Learning, Edmodo, or Schoology. Thus, all
instructions, including this module, will be uploaded there. Students can also upload
their group outputs, either presentation, or reaction, on a specified date and time. The
class may likewise utilize Google Meet, Zoom, and Messenger Rooms for real-time
meetings on the presentation of outputs.

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 References

https://www.coursehero.com/file/44187812/STS-CHAPTER-4-pdf/
https://simplemindzen.blogspot.com/2011/09/questioning-piety-of-thinking.html
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-
network/2015/sep/23/developing-poor-countries-de-develop-rich-countries- sdgs?
CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

https://classicalwisdom.com/philosophy/aristotle/the-goal-of-happiness-a-summary- of-
nicomachean-ethics/

https://www.utwente.nl/en/education/master/programmes/philosophy-science- technology-
society/archive/profiles/technology-the-human-being/#courses
https://sites.google.com/site/humantechnologyandethics/saki koh/essay
-
https://www.dailysabah.com/feature/2017/11/02/humans-vs-robots-progress-or- end-of-
humanity
https://global.oup.com/us/companion.websites/9780199944200/Student/ch7/Quizzes
/MCQ/
https://www.google.com/search?q=human+flourishing+in+science+and+technology
&tbm=isch&chips=q:human+flourishing+in+science+and+technology,online_chips:h
uman+beings&hl=en&ved=2ahUKEwio1Y6NkLrqAhVM7ZQKHeuKDGAQ4lYoCHoECAE
QHg&biw=1519&bih=727#imgrc=CBCaWB9nLlGifM&imgdii=Xd5dhmeYJ3VBtM

https://www.google.com/search?q=human+flourishing+in+science+and+technology
&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwi5p_Stj7rqAhUN7ZQKHf3kA6AQ2-
cCegQIABAA&oq=human+flourishing+in+science+and+technology&gs_lcp=CgNpb
WcQAzICCAAyAggAMgIIADICCAAyAggAMgQIABAYMgQIABAYMgQIABAYMgQIABAYM
gQIABAYOgQIABBDUKPpC1j1igxgt40MaABwAHgAgAGFAYgB6BSSAQUxMi4xNJgBAKA
BAaoBC2d3cy13aXotaW1n&sclient=img&ei=YOEDX7n3J43a0wT9yY-
ACg&bih=727&biw=1536#imgrc=B5QiyQscXnZxNM

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 How Much Have I Learned

Reflect on the following questions, then answer the following questions logically.

1. What do technology reveals?

2. What is modern technology and its role in human flourishing?
3. What is the role of art in a technological world?
4. Differentiate the paradigm from the traditional notions of growth and Consumption.
5. What is the concept of the good life as posited by Aristotle?
6. Defined the good life in your own words?
7. What is the importance of human rights in the face of changing social conditions and
technological development?
8. What are the laws or policies in the country that protect the well-being of the person in
technological advancement and ethical dilemmas?

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Unit 4: Special Topics in Science, Technology and
Society

NSCI 110

Dr. Stephen G.
Sabinay
Dr. Larry D. Buban
Dr. Anita Estela M. Monroy
Dr. Grace A. Manajero
Prof. Vivien Mei C. Reyes
Prof. Richelle O. Tuvillo

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 Unit 4: Special Topics in Science, Technology and Society

Lesson 1. Information Society (Week 13)

Activate your Prior Knowledge

This time relate your prior knowledge to the lesson.

Three centuries ago, our lives transition from Agricultural to Industrial to Digital and now
into this Information age.The previous topic discussed the concept of having to deal with
human-like robots with artificial intelligence. Coping with these humanoids involves some
ethical considerations. Under the special topics of Science Technology and Society, this first
topic covers how this technology developed up to the present. Information technology
became a part of our daily lives. We become dependent on it that we will not be able to
survive the pandemic. When COVID-19 hit the planet during the first half of the year 2020,
most of the jobs and human activities were affected. A shift into work from home schemes
to avoid the public became the new normal. This novel Coronavirus forced humans to
isolate themselves in their homes to help prevent the spread of this very contagious
disease. Classes were momentarily stopped and opted for remote and online learning.
Without this Information Technology that we have right now, almost everything will be
paralyzed. We would like you to do this activity and prepare to report the assigned article,
movie, or documentary and let us hear from your reactions and your arguments during the
question and answer. It is more of a group activity to enhance your communication skills,
collaboration, and literacy in media and technology skills.

These are the twenty-first-century skills that are very necessary and practical for
today’s world.

Learning Outcomes:

At the end of this lesson the students must have,

1.
determined the human and social impacts of developments in the information
age.
2.
discussed the evolution of technology from the ancient times up to the
present.
3.
illustrated how social media affects human lives .

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 Acquire New Knowledge

This part will present the ideas aligned with the objectives of the lesson.

Information
During this Information age, the most crucial asset or wealth comes from the control of
information. Before, those who have vast agricultural land were considered wealthy. During
the industrial age, he who owns manufacturing, industries and controls the sea, land, and
air transport business are considered millionaires. In this age of digitization and information
technology, the world’s top 10 billionaires were dominated by those in the information world
(Forbes Real-Time Billionaires)

Real time Billionaires List (August 2, 2020)

-
Rank Name Net Worth Company
(in Billion USD)

1 Jeff Bezos 181 Amazon

2 Bill Gates 113 Microsoft
4 Mark Zuckerberg 86.3 Facebook
7 Larry Ellison 71.9 Software (Oracle)
9 Steve Ballmer 70.0 Microsoft
10 Larry Page 68.5 Google

All the information that we need right now is at the tip of our fingers. It is up to us how to
look for the right information and use that to our advantage. All office jobs require technical
know-how about computers, basic software, and all other types of information technology.
Unless you plan to isolate yourself in a remote island or community and shut yourselves
against the world, you will have very minimal use of information technology. However,
humans as we are, we need to interact, we need to socialize. Social media is a particularly
valuable tool to communicate, to learn new things, even to know what’s happening in the
other parts of the world. We need to learn to use these tools to our advantage, be it for
disaster preparedness, or an educational tool by learning from the best colleges and
universities around the world. Leveraging access to information may result in growth and
personal development. Also, improved productivity in our work, efficient banking, and
government transactions. Through this information technology, we enjoyed the world-class
entertainment and real-time communication from our loved ones, not only here in the
Philippines but around the world. However, access to information technology tools has its
adverse effects just like any other invention. But with the right education, we can minimize
its harmful effects like addiction to online and mobile games and be hooked to social media
like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube for hours. If we can control these counterproductive
habits, we will profit a lot from this leverage.

The essay that we are going to discuss (or if a group will choose this topic to discuss)
consider information just like any physical quantity. The author of this article describes
information similar to matter and energy. Read this remarkably interesting article to know
more about the author’s views about information. You may agree or disagree with the
author’s point of view; thus, the Reporter’s task was to summarize the article and give their
reactions and comments. The reactor’s group will prepare their questions and clarification.

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They may even cite evidence and theories that would contradict the author’s arguments.
Some background knowledge you need to equip yourselves to understand more about the
topic is Entropy. Better check this Physics concept about the Laws of Thermodynamics.
Additional ideas that you may equip yourselves are Quantum Physics, String, and M
Theories. Wikipedia is the easiest way to give you a brief orientation or general information
about this concept. However, peer-reviewed journals are recommended if you want to go
deeper on information about those theories mentioned in the article. You will appreciate
more the context of “information” from these experts.

Figure 1 Information Field

One of the quotations that stand out for me is the “The inverse relationship principle: that
the informativeness of a piece of information increases as its probability decreases.” The
illustration that amazes me in this article is about this universal information field. It is an
integrated scheme, depicting our universe as a circular flow of information.

The figure above shows its material (right part of the picture) and mental (left) aspects, in
which for these aspects, a non-dual and complimentary matter/mind modality is assumed.
(See figure on the right)

Below is the abstract of the article. You may download the full article, or you may ask your
Instructor for a PDF copy

Information: what do you mean?

On the formative element of our universe Dirk K. F. Meijer*

ABSTRACT

Information is considered as a fundamental building block of reality, along with matter and
energy. Yet the word information is often employed as a container term that represents
many different modalities ranging from information constituting a physical parameter to the
daily transmission of the news in human culture.

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Information is particularly known from the description of nature at its micro-level and from
computer science (bits an qbits), but also is essential in understanding the evolution of
macrostructures in the universe. The interactions of subatomic waves/particles subsequent
to the Big Bang, guided by feedback loops and backward causation, created a dynamic
network of quantum information that finally enabled the formation of highly complex
macromolecular structures and first life. Parallel innovations in biophysical complexity
occurred, expressed in quantum states that can be brought in superposition, after an
“intelligent” search and selection process in nature, aiming at a future path. Therefore, both
the becoming and future of the universe can be viewed as an unfolding as well as a
continuous measurement and creation of basic information. A collective memory of nature
or a universal consciousness is considered as a prerequisite for the origin of life and further
evolution of intelligence.

Current information theory implies that information can both be described as an entropic
element in which the impact of information is inversely related to the probability that it will
occur, versus the concept that information reflects the certainty of a message and is directly
related to its probability and meaning. This dual aspect of information reflects the
perspectives of sender and receiver in the transmission process. It is shown that basic
information is largely hidden from us, due to observation- induced perturbation of this
intrinsic information.

Information may be transmitted in very different ways and at very different levels. In the
living cell this may constitute chemical and electrical signals, but also specific spatial
perturbations, for instance, in the 3-dimensional structure of proteins. At the level of human
communication, vibration patterns can be expressed in electromagnetic waves in the form
of light, sound, music, as well as in images and stories (transmitted by radio, telephone,
internet and TV, for example). Such information is transferred to the brain through
specifically tailored sensory organs that accommodate complex patterns of wave activity,
that subsequently are converted to neural activities in a cyclic workspace of the nervous
system. The emergence of human information, knowledge and understanding, in itself, can
be seen as a creative force in the physical universe, which can influence the generation of
complexity in all domains. A new information paradigm has been proposed that represents a
new integral science of information, on a physical and metaphysical basis: it seems easier to
describe matter and energy in terms of information than vice versa. Consequently,
information can be used as a common language across scientific disciplines.

The Role of Language

Language is as important as life itself. We will not be able to survive if we don’t have a
language. Even animals have their way of communication. Thus, we will be lower than
animals if we don’t have a simple language for critical thinking.
Language plays a significant role in communication. If we look at how important language
is in science, as a nature of science, it must be communicated. Therefore, a universal,
systematic, and comprehensible language must be put in place for science to be delivered
to their fellow scientist to technologists to apply the necessary knowledge and to the
society. As a consumer of knowledge and technology, the community will be significantly
affected, and most often benefitted from the role of a well-organized language in science.
The year 2019 was considered as the International Year of Indigenous Languages. Below is
a more detailed description of the role of language in the society.

International Year of Indigenous Language 2019

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It is through language that we communicate with the world, define our identity, express our
history and culture, learn, defend our human rights and participate in all aspects of society,
to name but a few.

Through language, people preserve their community’s history, customs and traditions,
memory, unique modes of thinking, meaning and expression. They also use it to construct
their future. Language is pivotal in the areas of human rights protection, good governance,
peace building, reconciliation, and sustainable development.

A person’s right to use his or her chosen language is a prerequisite for freedom of thought,
opinion and expression, access to education and information, employment, building
inclusive societies, and other values enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Many of us take it for granted that we can conduct our lives in our home languages without
any constraints or prejudice. But this is not the case for everyone.

Of the almost 7,000 existing languages, the majority have been created and are spoken by
indigenous peoples who represent the greater part of the world’s cultural diversity.

Yet many of these languages are disappearing at an alarming rate, as the communities
speaking them are confronted with assimilation, enforced relocation, educational
disadvantage, poverty, illiteracy, migration and other forms of discrimination and human
rights violations.

Given the complex systems of knowledge and culture developed and accumulated by these
local languages over thousands of year, their disappearance would amount to losing a kind
of cultural treasure. It would deprive us of the rich diversity they add to our world and the
ecological, economic and socio-cultural contribution they make.

More importantly, their loss would have a huge negative impact on the indigenous cultures
concerned.

It is for this reason and others that the United Nations chose to dedicate a whole year to
indigenous languages, to encourage urgent action to preserve, revitalize and promote them.

The article that we are going to dissect is an essay by Alan Ford and F. Davis Peat. It was
taken from the Foundations of Physics Vol. 18, 1233 (1988). If you choose to report on this
topic, we will be able to shed light on what the author talks about the role of language in
Science. According to them: “The essential role of language is to transport a cargo which is
variously described as meaning or content.” We will also be briefed about linguistics
regarding its organization of language. You may retrieve this interesting article about the
role of language in science here : http://www.fdavidpeat.com/bibliography/essays/lang.htm

Mathematics as the Language of Nature

As a Physics teacher, I always talk to my students that the language used to communicate
Physics principles is through Mathematics. To better teach Physics, we express it
mathematically, a universal language. In this article, we will see how Science is
communicated as viewed by other experts. Is Mathematics a language of nature? Is it the
thread that ties or bonds Science and Technology to Society? Read this article and choose to
report this in class. Through class discussion, you will be able to hear different insights from

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your classmates, and your Instructor as well. The same author F. David Peat as with the
previous topic: The role of language, hence you may choose either of these two topics. The
only difference is that this time he focused more on the role of mathematics as the language
of nature.

See the references for the article

Technological World

Much was already discussed in the previous units about technology. This topic was tackled
in Unit I-Introduction to Science, Technology, and Society. Lesson 3 The Nature of
Technology describes in further about the Technological world. It talks about Technology
and Science, Design and Systems, and Issues in Technology. If we want a thorough
discussion about this topic and how it relates to society, you may choose this topic for group
reporting. Different views will be clarified by your classmates and your Instructor in this
discourse.

The Printing Press and Beyond

The invention of the printing press during the 14 th Century ushered the eBooks that we have
right now. Much had been published about the history of this invention. Just search online,
and a lot of websites will explain how this technology improved the dissemination of
information during those times. It also paved the way for intellectual revolution when
scholarly books were printed in multiple copies and reach the hand of the middle class.
Numerous references talk about this printing press that even Wikipedia was already semi-
protected to avoid editing by any unconfirmed accounts or contributors. I suggest you use
at least three sources for triangulation of the information you will gather from the internet.
We included this topic here under the Information Society to appreciate the humble
beginnings of this amazing technology. We awe these from our ancestors. If a group can
choose this topic to report, they may creatively present this topic in PowerPoint or video
presentations. They must include their insights and a generalization about the article. Also,
the appreciation of the hard work of those who came before us may be highlighted in the
report.

See the references for the article.

The World Wide Web

The interconnectivity and speed of communication that we enjoyed right now was the
product of this World Wide Web. However, even with the numerous benefits that it provided
us, we will not lose sight of its downside. This article highlights the terms used in the use of
WWW, how it operates, and other purposes that are beneficial to humanity. Take note that
although it is part of our everyday use, we need to consider security and privacy issues. It is
crucial if we engaged in social networking sites. The most important thing is we are aware
of the consequences.

Security in all our banking transactions is some of the issues if we are not careful with our
passwords and PINs. Also, we must be aware of identity theft since uploaded photos,
quotes, and captions may be made available to the public without us knowing it. And don’t
forget to be a responsible netizen if we gain a passport into the online world.

Read the article:

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 Apply your Knowledge

Now, let’s check what you have learned.

Note to Students regarding Group Reporting

Group reporting and group reacting using PowerPoint or video presentations will enhance
student’s twenty-first-century skills. Aside from cognitive skills such as critical thinking,
creativity, and innovation, it will also develop their Interpersonal skills like communication,
collaboration or teamwork, and social skills. The main objective of this group activity is to
showcase students’ literacy skills in tools for working in this new generation. The literacy
skills that we want to highlight are Information Literacy, Media Literacy, and ICT Literacy.
These essential skills will be tested using this group reporting.

We devised an activity for this module, including the previous topic of this module:
When Technology and Humanity, to put into practice your twenty-first literacy skills.

To maximize the learning of these two topics, a detailed description of how the group will
go about with efficient and effective reporting. The guidelines and rubrics in Annexes were
put into place for everybody in the class. We place a premium on students’ active
involvement in this activity instead of being a passive recipient of learning. We hope that all
members of the group will do their share for the success of this group reporting.

Activity Proper:

Task 1: Read the “Universal Declaration of Human Rights.“ We must be aware of our
fundamental rights as humans. It will shed light on our argument and discussions later
regarding our assigned reading materials and movies.

Task 2: Prepare for Group Reporting and Reaction using the assigned Reading Materials and
Movies below. The designated groups for reporting must choose between the options given
(like an article, book, movie, or documentary). Then inform the instructor of the given
choice so that the reactors group can prepare their comments, questions, clarifications, and
criticisms.

Note: Subject to the modification of instructor depending on the available resources.

Simple and direct reporting maybe utilize if an Internet connection is a hindrance, and the
opportunity to collaborate online is impractical
XXX
Part Unit 3 – STS and the Human Condition
1 7. When Technology and Humanity Cross
(See previous Unit)
Part Unit 4 – Selected Topics in Science, Technology, and Society
2 8. Information Society
XXXXXX

Group D Reading Materials, Movies or Books For Discussion

Choose any article Information Determine the
related to that topic (Information: What do you mean by Dirk KF Meijer) human and social
The Role of Language impacts of
Mathematics as the Language of Nature Mathematics and the development in

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 Language of Nature by F. David Peat the information
http://www.fdavidpeat.com/bibliography/essays/maths age
.htm
Book “Alan Turing: The Enigma” by Andrew Hodges
and Douglas Hofstadter
Information: The New Language of Science by Hans
Christian Von Baeyer
Movie The Imitation Game
Group E
Choose any article Technological World Discuss the
related to evolution of
that topic technology from
ancient times up to
The Printing Press and Beyond
the present.
Book Nature’s Longest Threads: The New Frontiers in The
Mathematics and Physics of Information in Biology 1st
Edition by Janaki Balakrishnan and B. V. Sreekantan
How We Decide by Jonah Lehrer
Group F
Topic The World Wide Web Illustrate how
Film/Documentary TEDTalk: Julian Assange on “Why the World Needs social media
Wikileaks” affects human
lives. Cite some
examples

Supplementary Activity for Information Society Topic

Make an Activity Report about:
1. “A day without Technology.”
2. “Timing your Technology.”
3. Technology and Past (interviews with elders)

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Unit 4: Special Topics in Science, Technology and Society

Lesson 2: Biodiversity (Weeks 14 -15)

Introduction

Biodiversity is a measure of variation and richness of living organisms at a particular scale.

In this module, we are going to learn some of the important roles that biodiversity plays in
human systems. The module begins by explaining what biodiversity is, what causes
biodiversity, and why we care about it. It also discusses biodiversity loss throughout human
activity and also programs in conserving biodiversity. The module then provides a brief
overview about biotechnology and genetic engineering.

There are four (4) lessons in this unit. They are listed as follows:
A: Introduction to Biodiversity
B: Biotechnology
C: Genetic Engineering and its Applications to Society
D: Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety

Learning Outcomes:

At the end of this lesson, the students must have

 determined the interrelatedness of society, the environment, and health

 explained the process of genetic engineering
 discussed the ethics, implications, and potential future impacts of GMOs

Lesson 2: Biodiversity
A: Biodiversity
Activate your Prior Knowledge
This time relate your prior knowledge to the lesson.

Which do you like better? What do you think biodiversity means?

A B

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 A B

Acquire New Knowledge

This part will present the ideas aligned with the objectives of the lesson.

Introduction

The word biological diversity (or biodiversity) originates from the Greek word BIOS meaning
LIFE and Latin word DIVERSITAS which means VARIETY or DIFFERENCE. The whole word
BIO DIVERSITY generally therefore means: VARIETY OF LIFE. It is a measure of the
biological richness of an area taking into account the number of species, community
complexity and genetic variation within populations. It includes the diversity of genes,
species, ecosystems and the evolutionary and functional processes that link them.

There are 3 components of biodiversity and it includes the following:

1. Genetic diversity
The genetic variation found among individuals of the same species. For
example, Chihuahuas, Beagles, and Rottweilers are all dogs—but they're
not the same because their genes are different.

Chihuahua Beagle Rottweiler

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2. Species diversity

Different types of species or organisms per unit area found in diverse habitats. Generally,
the more the diverse the habitat the greater the diversity of species one could expect to find
in an area. For example, monkeys, dragonflies, and meadow beauties are all different
species in the same community.

Periwinkle Golden Skimmer Tarsier

Catharanthus roseus Libellula auripennis Carlito syrichta

Grasslands, reefs, and tropical rain forests are all ecosystems within a geographical location.
Each one is different, with its own set of species living in it.

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 Coral reef
Grassland

Rain Forest

Biodiversity: Why should we care?

Humans have many reasons to value biodiversity, including anthropocentric reasons and
ecocentric reasons. Below are some of the key reasons why biodiversity matters.

Human Health

People depend on biodiversity in their daily lives, in ways that are not always apparent or
appreciated. Human health ultimately depends upon ecosystem products and services (such
as availability of fresh water, food and fuel sources) which are requisite for good human
health and productive livelihoods. Biodiversity loss can have significant direct human health
impacts if ecosystem services are no longer adequate to meet social needs. Indirectly,
changes in ecosystem services affect livelihoods, income, local migration and, on occasion,
may even cause political conflict.

Additionally, biophysical diversity of microorganisms, flora and fauna provides extensive

knowledge which carry important benefits for biological, health, and pharmacological
sciences. Significant medical and pharmacological discoveries are made through greater
understanding of the earth's biodiversity. Loss in biodiversity may limit discovery of potential
treatments for many diseases and health problems. (World Health Organization)

Importance of biodiversity for health research and traditional medicine

Traditional medicine continues to play an essential role in health care, especially in primary
health care. Traditional medicines are estimated to be used by 60% of the world’s
population and in some countries are extensively incorporated into the public health system.
Medicinal plant use is the most common medication tool in traditional medicine and
complementary medicine worldwide. Medicinal plants are supplied through collection from
wild populations and cultivation. Many communities rely on natural products collected from
ecosystems for medicinal and cultural purposes, in addition to food.

Although synthetic medicines are available for many purposes, the global need and demand
for natural products persists for use as medicinal products and biomedical research that
relies on plants, animals and microbes to understand human physiology and to understand
and treat human diseases. (World Health Organization)

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 Pacific Yew – Taxol (cancer drug) Willow Tree - Aspirin

Climate change, biodiversity and health

Biodiversity provides numerous ecosystem services that are crucial to human well- being at
present and in the future. Climate is an integral part of ecosystem functioning and human
health is impacted directly and indirectly by results of climatic conditions upon terrestrial
and marine ecosystems. Marine biodiversity is affected by ocean acidification related to
levels of carbon in the atmosphere. Terrestrial biodiversity is influenced by climate
variability, such as extreme weather events (ie drought, flooding) that directly influence
ecosystem health and the productivity and availability of ecosystem goods and services for
human use. Longer term changes in climate affect the viability and health of ecosystems,
influencing shifts in the distribution of plants, pathogens, animals, and even human
settlements.

Infectious diseases

Human activities are disturbing both the structure and functions of ecosystems and altering
native biodiversity. Such disturbances reduce the abundance of some organisms, cause
population growth in others, modify the interactions among organisms, and alter the
interactions between organisms and their physical and chemical environments. Patterns of
infectious diseases are sensitive to these disturbances. Major processes affecting infectious
disease reservoirs and transmission include, deforestation; land-use change; water
management e.g. through dam construction, irrigation, uncontrolled urbanization or urban
sprawl; resistance to pesticide chemicals used to control certain disease vectors; climate
variability and change; migration and international travel and trade; and the accidental or
intentional human introduction of pathogens.

Threats to Biodiversity

There is growing concern about the consequences of biodiversity loss and change as a
result of human activities. Biodiversity changes affect ecosystem functioning and significant
disruptions of ecosystems can result in life sustaining ecosystem goods and services.

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The main dangers worldwide are:

Habitat destruction

The tropical rain forest destruction is mainly due to habitat destruction. The causative
factors responsible for habitat destruction are:

 Overpopulation: It is a condition where an organism number exceeds the carrying

capacity of its habitat. This term is used for human population. Overpopulation is the
ratio of population to available sustainable resources.

 Deforestation: It is the removal of a forest and the land is used for other purposes. It
leads to multiple environmental problems at atmospheric, hydrological and soil level
which ultimately affect the biodiversity. It causes extinction of many species.

Human impacts have elevated the rate of extinction by at least a thousand times the natural
rate of extinction. Mass extinctions of this magnitude have occurred five times in the history
of our planet; the last brought the end of the dinosaur age. Some of these disruptions are
the clear-cutting of forests and the deposition of contaminated sediments in lakes and
oceans. Disruption, such as these lead to the fragmentation, degradation and loss of
habitats

 Pollution: It is the entry of contaminants into the natural environment. These

contaminants cause instability, disorder and harm to the ecosystems or living organisms.
The different forms of pollution are air, light, littering, noise, soil, water, thermal,
radioactive and visual.

 Global warming or climate change: The effect of global climate change and its
impact on biodiversity is discussed later in this chapter.

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Introduced and invasive species

Foreign species introduced from other areas often compete with the local species or their
niche may overlap. This competition sometimes results in loss of original or endemic
species, because the newcomer may out-compete the native species. Islands are most
susceptible to such invasions. At present, several countries have already imported many
exotic species, particularly agricultural and ornamental plants that their own indigenous
fauna/flora may be outnumbered.

Overexploitation

It occurs when a resource is consumed at an unsustainable rate. This occurs on land in the
form of overhunting, excessive logging, poor soil conservation in agriculture and the illegal
wildlife trade. The international trade of endangered species is almost equivalent to drug
trafficking.

Climate change

Global warming is a major factor in the loss of biodiversity. Climate change impacts will be
more significant in the coming decades. The ice in the Arctic region thaws and refreezes
each year, but the pattern has changed in the recent years. In terms of biodiversity, the ice
free summers in the Arctic oceans implies the loss of ocean life. Coral reefs will be lost in
20– 40 years if global warming continues at the current rate.

Overpopulation

From 1950 to 2011, world population has increased from 2.5 billion to 7 billion. Patents
Intellectual Property Rights (IPR’s) and patents have become a matter of concern;
megamerger of multinational companies in monopolisation of various life forms and
biological resources are becoming a major threat to biodiversity.
(Chand, Johry, Saxena, & Kathpalia, 2014)

2020 International Year of Biodiversity

The United Nations has declared 2010 the International Year of Biodiversity (IYB).

It is a year-long celebration of biological diversity and its value for life on earth, taking place
around the world. A key reminder of how important biodiversity is to the health of planetary
systems as well as human prosperity and wellbeing.

The goal of the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity is to support the implementation of
the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity and to promote its overall vision of living in harmony with
nature.

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The main goals of the International Year of Biodiversity were to:

 Enhance public awareness of the importance of conserving biodiversity and of the

underlying threats to biodiversity
 Raise awareness of the accomplishments to save biodiversity that had been realized by
communities and governments
 Promote innovative solutions to reduce the threats to biodiversity
 Encourage individuals, organizations and governments to act immediately to halt
biodiversity loss
 Start dialog between stakeholders for what to do in the post-2010 period Slogan:
Biodiversity is life.

Biodiversity is our life

(Wikipedia: International Year of Biodiversity, 2020)(Convention on Biological Diversity)

Apply your Knowledge

Now, let’s check what you have learned.

Activity No. 1

Watch the video Philippine Biodiversity and list the main cause(s) of biodiversity loss
right now and explain how this is reducing biodiversity. https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=2F2KzjTzi9Q

Activity No. 2 :
Film watching and advocacy writing

 Watch The Lorax by Dr Seuss. Brainstorm and come up with an advocacy

that you think is timely, knowing that in our emerging needs to endure in
this world, biodiversity suffers just to provide our necessities for survival.
 Share you advocacy with the class.

B: Biotechnology

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For most Filipinos, the word biotechnology is often misunderstood. Usually they think of
biotechnology as referring to genetically modified organisms like golden rice. However
simply things like patis or fish sauce, bagoong, and tuba are also biotech products.

The National Academy of Science and Technology defines biotechnology as any biology-
based technology which uses organisms or their parts to make or modify products, or
improve plants, animals, and microorganisms (Tecson-Mendoza, PhD , 2014). Thus, there
are two faces of biotechnology, there are the Traditional Biotechnology which are generally
involves fermentation-based products as shown below.

Figure 2. Traditional biotech products produced by fermentation process.

The other one is called Modern Biotechnology which involves manipulation of genetic
material and utilizes modern techniques such as polymerase chain reaction or PCR, and
genetic engineering. Products of modern biotechnology includes genetically modified
organisms such as Bt corn, Bt cotton, golden rice and recently COVID-19 RT-PCR test kits

(Fig. 2)
Figure 3. RT-PCR test kit for COVID-19 locally developed by filipino scientist Dr. Raul Destura of UP
NIH. Photo from DOST PCHRD.

TRADITIONAL BIOTECH

Traditional biotechnology dates far back as 4000 B.C. when man learned to prepare foods
and beverages using microorganisms. Egyptians in 4000 B.C. were the first to discover the
use of yeast to make bread and to wine. The carbon dioxide produced by the fermentation
reaction makes bread rise and wine beverages bubbly. While in 3000
B.C. Peruvians started to improve the potato by making it larger and frost resistant. They
did this by using traditional plant breeding techniques which is a classical biotechnology
technique.

In the Philippines, the first recorded utilization of traditional biotechnology products was
during the time of Lapu-lapu when he offered wine to the Spaniards.

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Aside from fermented products, traditional biotechnology also includes animal and plant
breeding technology which has long been used by farmers to improve animal breeds and
plant varieties. These improved breeds are fast growing and more resistant to diseases.
Darag native chicken is a unique breed of chicken found in Panay island. It is known for its
delicious taste and high market value.

Figure 4. Different varieties of tomatoes are products of plant breeding. Image credit:
https://www.naturefresh.ca/types-of-tomatoes-guide/

Figure 5. Four native chicken strains developed including (from top left) Camarines, Darag, (from
bottom left) Boholano, and Zampen (Image credit: Livestock Research Division, DOST-PCAARRD)

MODERN BIOTECHNOLOGY

The era of modern biotechnology was ushered by the discovery of the structure of DNA by
JamesWatson and Francis Crick in 1953. The structure of the DNA which is a double helix
explains how DNA could replicate or produce identical copies of itself and how genetic
information in the gene is expressed in a living organism. Understanding the DNA structure
lead to the development of many molecular techniques such as DNA extraction, gel
electrophoresis, polymerase chain reaction, DNA sequencing and genetic engineering.
Some products of modern biotechnology includes insulin, golden rice, Bt corn, Bt cotton, Bt
talong, golden etc.

C: Genetic Engineering and its Applications to Society

Genetically modified organisms or GMO are living organisms produced by a biological

process called genetic engineering. In order to understand this process, we need understand

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some basics biological concepts.

Cells as Basic Unit of Life

All living organisms are made up of small unit of life called cells. Animal cells, plant cells or
bacterial cells contain the same biomolecules such as proteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates,
and lipids. They have similar organelles and they follow the same physical, chemical, and
genetic laws. Thus, if a gene is transferred from one organism to another and is integrated
into other organisms it works in most cases.

Nucleic acid as Carriers of Genetic Information

Long before the discovery of the structure of DNA, scientist believe that proteins are the
carriers of heredity due to its complex structure. However, works of scientists such as
Gregor Mendel, Friedrich Miescher, Oswald Avery, Colin Maclyn McCarty have proven that
nucleic acid, particularly DNA are the carriers of genetic information.

Deoxyribonucleic acid or DNA is a strand of nucleic acids that contains information for a
certain trait. This strand could be hundreds to thousands of bases long (Fig. 5). Further,
DNA molecule is made up of two strands with complementary base pairing where A pairs
with T and C pairs with G.

In the early 1970s, a laboratory technique allowed the cutting of DNA, joining and
introducing the rejoined DNA in bacteria. These transformed bacteria are grown in the
laboratory by culturing techniques and led to the development of recombinant DNA
technology or genetic engineering.

Genetic Engineering

Recombinant DNA technology or genetic engineering is a method that allows the

combination of genes in a test tube to form a hybrid DNA. It allows the transfer of a specific
trait (from the same or different organisms) to produce a new trait in an organism (Tecson-
Mendoza, PhD , 2014)

The steps involved in genetic engineering are the following:

1. Extraction of the DNA from the source organism or the production of synthetic DNA
based on the DNA of the source organism.
2. Design and preparation of the gene construct or hybrid DNA or recombinant DNA
3. Delivery of the gene construct to the new host organism.
4. Checking the presence and expression of gene in the new host organism.

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 Figure 6. Genes are segments of DNA that code for a particular protein that is responsible for the
trait.

The first commercial application of genetic engineering was first used in the production of
human insulin (Fig. 6). Prior to this, insulin was produced by harvesting and extracting from
the pancreas of pigs. This method is tedious and requires slaughtering many animals and
that the extracted insulin can cause allergic reactions. But with genetic engineering, the
DNA sequence for human insulin in inserted to a vector plasmid which is then used to
transform bacteria into a biological factory producing insulin.

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 Figure 7. The steps in genetic engineering as applied to the production of recombinant insulin. This
process is also similar in the production of vaccine and other therapeutics. Image credit: Genome
Research Limited.

Applications of Biotechnology in Agriculture

Agriculture has been the first sector to be impacted by biotechnology. Traditional
biotechnology such as fermentation products likes wine, vinegar, soy sauce, fish sauce, etc.
has been produced commercially and safely consumed for thousands of years. Traditional
breeding techniques applied to animals and plant production has also helped farmers
increase their yield by producing nutritious and disease resistant animal breeds and plant
varities.

Aside from animal and plant breeding techniques, the production of cheap and high- protein
animal feeds for fisheries, poultry, swine, and cattle production has also given alternative
income for our farmers. The raw material for these feeds is derived mostly from Bt corn
which is a genetically modified plant that is resistant specifically to corn borers. Bt corn is
the first GMO to be commercially available in the Philippines. These Bt corn was developed
abroad by foreign biotech companies and was brought to the country to help our farmers.
The Bt corn produces Bt toxin that is toxic to the corn borers but is safe to humans. The
gene for Bt toxin was isolated from Bacillus thuringiensis, a soil microorganism, and was
inserted into the genome of the corn using genetic engineering techniques.

The first GMO plant in the Philippines were developed by a team of UPLB scientist
composed of Dr. Evelyn Mae Tecson-Mendoza, Dr. Antonio C. Laurena and Dr. Roberta
N. Garcia with collaborations from Dr. Jimmy Botela of the University of Queensland. This
GMO crop was called delayed-ripening papaya since it has a longer ripening time than the
non-GMO counterpart without changes in its other properties. This will enable our local
farmers to export papaya to outside countries with additional cost for transportation giving
them a higher return of investment.

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 Figure 8. From right to left: Dr. Antonio C. Laurena, Dr. Evelyn Mae Tecson-Mendoza and Dr.
Roberta N. Garcia checking the delayed-ripening papaya in a biosecure greenhouse. Photo credit: Dr.
Evelyn Mae Tecson-Mendoza

Applications of Biotechnology in Health

Many health products such as insulin, hepatitis vaccine, growth hormone, and interferon
produced through genetic engineering have been commercially available since the mid-
1980s. There are more than 200 modern biotech drug approved and commercially releases
in 1982. More than 200 biotech medications are now in the market for the treatment or
prevention of diabetes, hepatitis A and B, anemia, hemophilia, growth deficiencies, acute
myocardial infection, cancer, and many other diseases.

There are more than 300 biotech drugs in late clinical trials. These biotech drugs target
treatments for threatening diseases like heart diseases, cancer hepatitis infection and other
diseases. The top biotech health products have an estimated sales ranging from $4.5 to 6.4
B in 2008, for diseases such as arthritis, lymphomas, leukemias, autoimmune disorders,
various cancer diseases and psoriasias.(Tecson-Mendoza, PhD, 2014).

Applications of Biotechnology to COVID-19 Pandemic

Perhaps the most important application of modern biotechnology today is with respect to
the current Covid-19 pandemic. Of primary interest is developing the vaccine against the
COVID-19 causing virus. Research laboratories all over the world are using various biotech
tools to develop a safe vaccine against this disease. These vaccines are based on the
COVID-19 virus genome sequence published on public database. Aside from the Sars-Cov-2
whole viral genome, researchers are also using genetic engineering, synthetic biology,
artificial intelligence, and robotics to fast tract the development of the vaccine.

Another important application is in diagnostics. Currently there are two types of clinical
diagnostic tests available, the antibody test and the molecular test called RT-PCR covid-19
test (Fig. 8). The antibody test is based on the principle that the immune system naturally
produces proteins, called antibodies, in response to infection. Antibodies recognize and bind

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to foreign molecules, called antigens, on the surface of pathogens. When an antibody binds
to an antigen, it seeks to disable the associated pathogen through direct or indirect
mechanisms.

Blood samples collected from patients are used as the specimen type for antibody testing.
SARS-CoV-2-specific antigens called SARS-CoV-2 spike or nucleocapsid proteins are mixed
with the patient’s blood, and if antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 are present in the blood, the two
will bind to one another resulting in a color change that marks the test positive (Fig. 8). This
test measures the amount of antibodies produced in response to SARS-CoV-2 infection and
does not test for the presence of the virus itself. Therefore, it does not indicate if a person
is currently infected.

In comparison, the RT-PCR test requires respiratory samples from patient because SARS-
CoV-2 is a respiratory virus. Thus, nasopharyngeal swabs are most commonly used.
Samples are then processed and tested for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA. The test
includes extraction of RNA from patient specimen, conversion to DNA and PCR amplification
with SARS-CoV-2 specific primers. This test tells if a patient is actively infected with SARS-
CoV-2 and indicate that the virus might be present.

In the Philippines, UP NIH Scientist Dr. Raul Destura have developed a local RT-PCR based
test kits (Fig. 2) for SARS-CoV-2. This test kit is as effective as the imported ones but
significantly lower in costs. The availability of a local supplier is important since the world
demand for a COVID-19 diagnostic test kit is remarkably high, thus ensuring the availability
of the kit for Filipinos.

Figure 9. Top panel: RT-PCR test based on viral RNA using swabs from patients. Bottom panel: Antibody tests using blood
samples collected from patients. Image credit: https://asm.org/Articles/2020/April/ COVID-19-Testing-FAQs

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D: Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety

In January 2000, the Cartagena Biosafety Protocol was adopted to address potential risks
associated with cross border trade and accident release of living modified organisms. It is an
international agreement which aims to protect biological diversity from potential risks posed
by living modified organisms resulting from modern biotechnology.

Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety

In 1994, the first genetically modified food crop, Calgene’s Flavr-Savr™ tomato, was
produced and consumed in an industrialized country. Since that time, genetically modified
(GM) crops have been rapidly adopted worldwide reflecting the satisfaction of growers.
While advances in biotechnology have great potential to improve human well-being, the
technology must be developed with adequate safety measures. The Cartagena Protocol on
Biosafety is a legally binding global protocol that seeks to contribute to ensuring the safe
transfer, handling and use of living modified organisms (LMOs) created through modern
biotechnology.

What is the Protocol’s objective?

Article 1 of the Protocol states that it aims to “contribute to ensuring an adequate level of
protection in the field of the safe transfer, handling and use of living modified organisms
resulting from modern biotechnology that may have adverse effects on the conservation and
sustainable use of biological diversity, taking also into account risks to human health, and
specifically focusing on transboundary movements”. In short, it seeks to protect biodiversity
from the potential risks of living modified organisms (LMOs) resulting from modern
biotechnology.

What does the Protocol cover?

The Protocol covers the “transboundary movement, transit, handling and use of all living
modified organisms that may have adverse effects on the conservation and sustainable use
of biological diversity, taking into account risks to human health”.

It does not cover:

 Products derived from LMOs (e.g. paper from GM trees).
 LMOs, which are pharmaceuticals for humans that are addressed by other relevant
international agreements or organizations.

What is the Biosafety Protocol?

The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety is a legally binding protocol to the Convention on

Biological Diversity (CBD). It was named in honor of Cartagena, Colombia, where
negotiations were expected to conclude in February 1999. One year later, on January 29,
2000, the Protocol was finalized and adopted in Montreal, Canada by unanimous consent
with 135 countries present.

What does the Biosafety Protocol do?

 It assists developing countries in building their capacity for managing modern
biotechnology
 It creates an advanced informed agreement (AIA) procedure that requires exporters to
seek consent from importing countries before the first shipment of LMOs meant to be

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 introduced into the environment (e.g. seeds for planting, fish for release, and
microorganisms for bioremediation).
 It establishes an internet-based “Biosafety Clearing-House” to help countries exchange
scientific, technical, environmental and legal information about LMOs.
 It requires bulk shipments of LMO commodities, such as corn or soybeans that are
intended to be used as food, feed or for processing, to be accompanied by
documentation stating that such shipments “may contain” LMOs and are “not intended
for intentional introduction into the environment”.
 The Protocol includes a clause that makes clear the Parties’ intent that the agreement
does not alter the rights and obligations of governments under the World Trade
Organization (WTO) or other existing international agreements.

What does the Biosafety Protocol NOT do?

 The Protocol does not address food safety issues. This is addressed by experts in other
international fora.
 The Protocol does not require segregation of bulk shipments of commodities that may
contain living modified organisms.
 It does not require consumer product labeling.
 It does not subject shipments of bulk commodities to the Protocol’s AIA procedure.

Key features of the Protocol

Advanced Informed Agreement (AIA)

The Protocol’s main mechanism is its Advanced Informed Agreement (AIA) requirement. It
is a procedure that must be followed before the first intentional transboundary movement of
an LMO into the environment of the importing country. The exporter must provide a
notification to the importing country containing detailed information about the LMO,
previous risk assessments of the LMO and its regulatory status in the exporting country. The
importing country must acknowledge receiving the information within 90 days and whether
the notifier should proceed under a domestic regulatory system or under the Protocol
procedure. In either case, the importing country must decide whether to allow the import,
with or without conditions or deny it within 270 days.

What is not subject to the AIA requirement?

 Consecutive shipments. The Protocol’s AIA only covers first time shipments.
 LMOs not intended for release into the environment such as commodities, LMOs in
transit, and LMOs destined for contained use.

Biosafety Clearing-House (BCH)

The BCH is a website administered by the Secretariat to the Convention

(http://bch.biodiv.org). It was established to:
1) facilitate the exchange of scientific, technical, environmental and legal information on,
and experience with LMOs; and
2) assist Parties to implement the Protocol. Examples of information contained in the BCH
include: any existing laws, regulations, or guidelines for implementation of the Protocol,
summaries of risk assessments or environmental reviews of LMOs, and final decisions
regarding the importation or release of LMOs.

Risk Assessment
The Protocol requires that decisions on proposed imports be based on risk assessments.

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 Risk assessments must be undertaken in a scientific manner based on recognized risk
assessment techniques, taking into account advice and guidelines developed by relevant
international organizations.
 Lack of scientific knowledge or scientific consensus must not necessarily be interpreted
as indicating a particular level or risk, an absence or risk, or an acceptable risk.
 Risks associated with LMOs or products thereof should be considered in the context of
risks posed by the non-modified recipients or parental organisms in the likely potential
receiving environment. Risk assessment should be carried out on a case by case basis.

Capacity Building

The Protocol promotes international cooperation to help developing countries acquire

resources and capacity to use biotechnology safely and regulate it efficiently. It does this by
encouraging member governments to assist with scientific and technical training to promote
the transfer of technology, knowledge and financial resources. Governments are also
expected to facilitate greater involvement of the private sector.

Public Awareness

Member governments must commit themselves to promoting public awareness, insuring

public access to information, and public consultation. The Protocol recognizes that national
measures are important to make its procedures effective. Nations must also take measures
to prevent illegal shipments or accidental releases of LMOs.

List of Terms Living modified organism (LMO)

Any living organism that possesses a novel combination of genetic material obtained
through the use of modern biotechnology

Modern biotechnology

The application of
a) In vitro nucleic acid techniques, including recombinant deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and
direct injection of nucleic acid into cells or organelles or
b) Fusion of cells beyond the taxonomic family, that overcome natural physiological
reproductive or recombination barriers and that are not techniques used in traditional
breeding and selection. (http://www.biodiv.org/biosafety/protocol.asp) (International
Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA), 2004).

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 How much I have learned
Reflect on the following questions, then answer the following questions logically.

1. What are some potential benefits of biotechnology?

2. What are some potential risks of biotechnology?

3. Why do we need an international biosafety agreement?

4. What does the Biosafety Protocol cover?

Unit 4: Special Topics in Science, Technology and Society

Lesson 3: The Nano World (Week 16)

Introduction

This lesson discusses an introduction to nanoscience and nanotechnology.

In the beginning of 20th century, Nanoscience has become increasingly more prevalent in
both society and industry. At the Nanoscale, properties of materials differ from those of the
same bulk material.

There are 11 topics in this lesson. They are listed as follows

1. Introduction
2. History of Nanotechnology
3. Examples of Nanotechnology in Ancient Times
4. What is nanoscience and nanotechnology?
5. Why does size matter?
6. Why do properties change?
7. Where can nanotechnology be used in our everyday lives?
8. Where is nanotechnology already being used?
9. How do we make stuff using nanotechnology?
10. How small is a nanometer?
11.Nanotechnology in the Philippines

Unit 4: Special Topics in Science, Technology and Society

Lesson 3: The Nano World (Week 16)

Activate your Prior Knowledge

This time relate your prior knowledge to the lesson.

“The principles of physics, as far as I can see, do not speak against the possibility of
moving things atom by atom. It is not an attempt to violate any laws; it is something, in
principle, that can be done; but in practice, it has not been done because we are too big.”

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The ideas and concepts behind nanoscience and nanotechnology started by physicist
Richard Feynman (a 1965 Nobel Prize winner in physics). Feynman described a process in
which scientist would be able to manipulate and control individual atoms and molecules. On
December 29, 1959, Professor Richard Feynman presented a lecture entitled “There’s Plenty
of Room at the Bottom” during the annual meeting of the American Physical Society at the
California Institute of Technology (Caltech). Feynman presented the idea of manipulating
and controlling things on an extremely small scale by building and shaping matter one atom
at a time. How is it done? Feynman said that letters could be represented by six to seven
bits of information for each letter. He also suggested using the inside as well as the surface
of a metal to store information. Feynman allowed that if each bit was equal to 100 atoms,
all the information of all the books in the world could be written in a cube of material 1/200
of an inch wide, about the size of a tiny speck of dust. There is plenty of room at the
bottom!

Acquire New Knowledge

This part will present the ideas aligned with the objectives of the lesson.

History of Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology has been around since the fourth century. The craftsmen who used such
techniques did not know about the concept of nanotechnology in scientific terms. But what
they did to create artefacts was similar to the nanotechnology that we are aware of today.

Examples of Nanotechnology in Ancient Times

Nanotechnology was in use from ancient times and dates back to the fourth century during
which the Lycurgus Cup was made by the Romans. The following are examples of the use
of nanotechnology in ancient times.

Lycurgus Cup

The Lycurgus Cup made in the 4 th century in Rome appeared to be of two different colors
depending upon the angle of the light rays. The Lycurgus Cup seemed to be green when lit
from the outside and red when lit from the inside. The glassmakers in those days achieved
this effect by using nanoparticles of gold and silver that were dispersed in colloidal form in a
way that the glass looked green when the light was reflected from it but when the light
passed through the cup the glass transformed to reveal a bright vibrant red color.

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Stained Glass Windows

Another example of Nanotechnology in ancient times is the vibrantly stained glass windows
used in the cathedrals of Europe. The stained glasses used in the construction of the
cathedrals had rich, vibrant colors that were achieved by using nanoparticles of gold, metal
oxides and other chlorides. The south rose window of Notre Dame Cathedral is an example
of such an effect.

South Rose Window of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris | Source

What is nanoscience and nanotechnology?

Nanoscience is about studying how materials behave at a very small scale (at the
Nanoscale). A nanometer is one millionth of a millimeter. One millimeter is the smallest
measurement visible on a 30 cm ruler. Nanoscience works on a scale 1000 times smaller
than anything that can be seen with an optical microscope. It is not just one science, but a
platform that includes biology, chemistry, physics, medicine, materials science and
engineering.

Nanotechnology is the manufacture and development of materials, devices and structures by

applying an understanding of how materials behave at the Nanoscale. Nanotechnology is
now applied widely in the ICT (Information and Communications Technology) industry in the
manufacture of smaller integrated circuits (computer ‘chips’) and more efficient data storage
mechanisms. It is also used in the medical devices industry to make smaller products.
Several commercial examples of nanotechnology are on the market, and many more
promising applications of nanotechnology are being investigated. Nanotechnology will
impact virtually every industry in the future. In practice, the words ‘nanoscience’ and
‘nanotechnology’ are used interchangeably. ‘Nano’ by itself, is often used as shorthand to
refer to these activities.

Why does size matter?

Objects at the Nanoscale (less than 100 nm in at least one dimension) exhibit unexpected
chemical and physical properties that are very different from the properties of bulk
materials. The optical properties of gold behave differently at the Nanoscale compared to
the macroscale. While gold at the macroscale is a yellow color, gold at the Nanoscale can
appear red.The Lycurgus Cup, made by the Romans, dates to the fourth century AD. One of
the very unusual features of the Cup is its color. When viewed in reflected light, (in daylight)
it appears green. When a light is shone into the cup and transmitted through the glass, it
appears red.

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Medieval artisans were the first nanotechnologists. They knew that by putting varying, tiny
amounts of gold and silver in glass, they could produce the multicolored effects found in
stained-glass windows. Large zinc oxide particles appear white, while at the Nanoscale they
are clear. This property is used in newer clear sunscreens. The chemical reactivity varies as
the size of the particle changes. The purpose of the experimental activity outlined in this
module is to demonstrate the different rates of reaction caused by particle size.

Why do properties change?

One reason why properties of structures are different at the Nanoscale is because as
particles get smaller, the ratio of surface area-to-volume of the structure increases. Most
atoms are at or near the surface. Because chemical reactions take place on the surface of a
particle, if there is an increased surface area available for reactions, the reaction can be very
different.

Where can nanotechnology be used in our everyday lives?

Nanotechnology is becoming more and more prevalent and has the ability to affect all
aspects of our lives; from clothing, cosmetics, computing and healthcare to futuristic ideas
such as elevators to space. The study of materials behavior and properties can be
manipulated to make more lightweight, robust structures and smaller, more efficient devices
across a range of industries.

Where is nanotechnology already being used?

• Carbon nanotubes are being used in the sports industry to make lighter and more robust
equipment such as tennis rackets and lightweight bikes.
• Nanotechnology is used in surface coatings which have special properties like water, fire
or scratch resistance, or are self-cleaning e.g. in waterproof and stain- resistant
clothing, paint, self-cleaning windows.
• Face-creams and cosmetics also contain nanomaterials (also called
liposomes/nanosomes), which help retain moisture and deliver active ingredients to
cells.
• Nanotechnology is applied in the miniaturization of computers and other electronics and
in more powerful and efficient data storage techniques.
• Nanoscience is applied in the development of faster and more sensitive medical testing
devices and treatments.
• Sun creams use nanoparticles of zinc oxide or titanium dioxide to absorb the harmful UV
rays from the sun, while making the sunscreens appear ‘invisible’. Macro-sized particles
are not transparent.
• Nanotechnology can help the environment – advances in nanoscience are producing
more efficient solar cells and materials and devices which require lower operational
energies. Nanoscience can also be used for water purification in developing countries.

How do we make stuff using nanotechnology?

Broadly speaking, there are two approaches in nanotechnology for manufacturing:

top-down – This can be considered as the miniaturization approach. It is the main technique
used in the electronics industry, to make smaller more powerful computers. It involves
building something by starting with a larger component and carving away material (like a
sculpture). In nanotechnology, an example of this is with patterning (using

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photolithography) and etching away material, to build integrated circuits (computer ‘chips’).
More detail in how chips are built is given in the module ‘Nano and ICT’.

bottom-up – Building something by assembling smaller components (like building a car

engine). In nanotechnology, scientists are working on a greater understanding of the self-
assembly of atoms and molecules, which happens naturally in chemical and biological
systems.
How small is a nanometer?

Start with a meter

A meter is about the length of a
golf club, hockey stick or baseball
bat

Now divide it into 100 equal

parts. Each part is one centimeter
long. About the diameter of one
AAA battery or the width of a nail
on your finger.

Now divide it into 10 equal parts.

Each part is one millimeter
long. About the width of the
wire on a paperclip or a grain
of salt.

Now divide that into 10 equal parts.

Each part is 100
micrometers
long. About the
width of one
human hair.

Now divide that into 100 equal parts.

Each part is
a
micrometer
long. About
the size of a
bacteriu

Now divide that into 10 equal parts.

Each part is a
100 nanometer
long. About the
size of a virus.

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 Finally divide that into 100 equal parts.
Each part is a
nanometer. About
the size of a few
atoms or a small
molecule.

Nanotechnology in the Philippines

Nanotechnology is an advanced form of scientific research on atoms and molecules.

Products in this research can be applied to new types of metals, energy conservation,
miniaturization of electronic devices, resistant materials and biomedical applications. The
Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Advanced Science and
Technology Research and Development Council (DOST- PCASTRD) made this announcement
as part of an effort to bolster economic development in the country.

The PCASTRD’s nanotechnology strategic roadmap will cover at least six industrial sectors,
including the semiconductor, information technology, energy, agriculture, medicine and
environment protection. The roadmap indicates that funding will be provided to several
nanotechnology projects, which intend to benefit identified industrial sectors. PCASTRD said
that over a dozen scientists from different fields are now involved in the selection of the
projects that would be funded. The group would be led by Dr. Fabian Dayrit, chairman of
PCASTRD’s Technical Panel on Nanotechnology.

Dayrit, who is also the dean for the Ateneo De Manila University School of Science and
Engineering, said the DOST is looking at a budget of P2.5 billion for the next 10 years,
starting in 2009. An initial P60 million is being allocated for the first batch of projects. The
amount could ramp up in the coming years as more projects are evaluated and approved.
Because of the vast applications of nanotechnology, Dayrit said the PCASTRD will tap other
groups of scientists and engineers from specific fields. He added that the projects evaluated
for funding must have direct benefits to the Philippines. “We’ve identified several national
issues that have to be addressed and these should be the main focus of nanotechnology
development,” Dayrit said. According to the roadmap, priority areas are food packaging,
nano device fabrication, environmental sensors and environmental treatment, corrosion
resistant ceramics, water purification and in vitro diagnostics in healthcare. Dayrit noted
that the agency is also open to partnerships with the private sector since it would also
benefit from the results of the projects. Because of the advanced state of the
nanotechnology, an education drive is also included in the 10- year plan. The PCASTRD is
looking to make nanotechnology part of the curriculum in all science and engineering
courses to introduce students to the topic and prepare them for further involvement in
nanotechnology. The agency will also be identifying laboratories that have the tools to be
used for certain projects. The laboratories would also be accredited by international
organizations. “We also want to spur interests among people that we have the capacity to
do great things with nanotechnology,” Dayrit added.

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 .

Assess your Knowledge

Activity #1 Crossword puzzle

Across

2. Building block of every living thing

5 The number of nanometers a man’s beard grows per second

7 The development of materials and devices at the Nanoscale

8 Chemical used in sunscreen

9 Increasing this will change the reactivity of a material

12 Used to keep arteries open

13 Type of carbon used in race cars and sports equipment

Down

1 The smallest thing the naked eye can see

3 The science of studying materials at the atomic level

4 Color of very small gold atoms

9 Self : when particles arrange themselves into an ordered system

10 This method is used for top down building of nanomaterials.

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 Apply your Knowledge
Activity #2
Where is Nanotechnology used?

Working in groups (maximum of 5 members for each group), research one product that
uses nanotechnology and present an oral report to the class. You should also prepare a
written report. The following questions should be addressed in your presentations.

1. What is the product and what is it used for? What is the product and what is it used for?

2. Describe the nano part of the product – what nanoparticles or nanotechnology was used
to make the product?

3. How has nanotechnology made the product more effective?

4. Try to find out whether you can buy this product locally? If not – where is the nearest
place it can be bought? What is the price difference?

5. Further information

Activity #3

Watch the video titled “The Next Step in Nanotechnology by George Tulevski in TED
Talks. Work in pairs and answer the following question.

1. Why is nanotechnology likened to creating a statue out of a pile of dust?

2. What science governs nanostructures? Why is it different?

3. Why nanotechnology considered a difficult science?

4. What does nature show about building organisms from the bottom up?

5. How can chemistry help in nanotechnology?

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 Activity #4 Understanding of Surface Area
(This activity can be done individually)

Aim

To develop a visual understanding of surface area as items are made smaller and smaller.

Materials and Equipment

• 2 identical blocks of cheese or tofu
• Knives
• Weighing scales

Method
1 Work out the surface area of the block of cheese/tofu.
Surface area of a rectangle = (Width x Height)
Surface area of a square = side 2 Surface area of a cube = 6 x side 2 (See diagram below
right).

2 Cut one block in half and work each half’s surface area and the cumulative area.

3 Cut the block in quarters and work out each surface area and the cumulative area.

4 Repeat the step above until the blocks created are about ½ inch in width.

5 Weigh the block of uncut tofu/cheese and take note of the weight.

6 Pour some sugar on the uncut tofu/ cheese, until it is all covered.

7 Coat sugar on the individual pieces of the cut block of tofu/cheese.

8 Weigh the block covered in sugar and the individual pieces.

9 How much sugar is required to coat one large block, compared to all the cubes?

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 Unit 4: Special Topics in Science, Technology and Society

Lesson 4: Gene Therapy and Stem Cell Therapy (Week 17)

Learning Outcomes: At the end of this lesson the students must have,

1. defined gene therapy and stem cells

2. discussed the principles of gene therapy and stem cells
3. identified the issues and concerns surrounding gene therapy
4. differentiated gene therapy from stem cells
5. identified the medical applications of gene therapy and stem cells in
the Philippines

Acquire New Knowledge

This part will present the ideas aligned with the objectives of the lesson.

What is gene therapy?

Gene therapy is an experimental technique that uses genes to treat or prevent disease. In
the future, this technique may allow doctors to treat a disorder by inserting a gene into a
patient’s cells instead of using drugs or surgery. Researchers are testing several approaches
to gene therapy, including:

Figure 10. Replacing a mutated/non- functioning gene that causes disease with a healthy
copy of the gene.

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 Figure 11. Adding another gene to block the activity of a defective gene inside the cells .

Figure 12. Top panel: Adding a suicide gene that produces toxins to kill target cells. Bottom panel:
Adding marker gene to tag a target cell for destruction.

Although gene therapy is a promising treatment option for a number of diseases (including
inherited disorders, some types of cancer, and certain viral infections), the technique
remains risky and is still under study to make sure that it will be safe and effective. Gene
therapy is currently being tested only for diseases that have no other cures.

Principles of Gene Therapy

Gene therapy is designed to introduce genetic material into cells to compensate for
abnormal genes or to make a beneficial protein. If a mutated gene causes a necessary
protein to be faulty or missing, gene therapy may be able to introduce a normal copy of the
gene to restore the function of the protein.

A gene that is inserted directly into a cell usually does not function. Instead, a carrier called
a vector is genetically engineered to deliver the gene. Certain viruses are often used as
vectors because they can deliver the new gene by infecting the cell. The viruses are
modified so they can't cause disease when used in people. Some types of virus, such as
retroviruses, integrate their genetic material (including the new gene) into a chromosome in

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the human cell. Other viruses, such as adenoviruses, introduce their DNA into the nucleus of
the cell, but the DNA is not integrated into a chromosome.

The vector can be injected or given intravenously (by IV) directly into a specific tissue in the
body, where it is taken up by individual cells. Alternately, a sample of the patient's cells can
be removed and exposed to the vector in a laboratory setting. The cells containing the
vector are then returned to the patient. If the treatment is successful, the new gene
delivered by the vector will make a functioning protein.

Researchers must overcome many technical challenges before gene therapy will be a
practical approach to treating disease. For example, scientists must find better ways to
deliver genes and target them to particular cells. They must also ensure that new genes are
precisely controlled by the body.

Figure 13. A new gene is inserted directly into a cell. A carrier viral vector is genetically engineered to
deliver the gene.
Applications of Gene Therapy

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Figure 14. David Vetter from Texas also had SCID and had to live in a sterile environment for most of
his life during the 1970/80s. He was known to the media as 'the boy in the plastic bubble' and wore
a special 'spacesuit' to protect him from infections.

(https://www.yourgenome.org/stories/treating-the-bubble-babies-gene-therapy-in- use)

Gene therapy was first used in trial in 1990 by Dr. William French Anderson for his four-
year-old patient who was suffering from a rare disease known as severe combined
immunodeficiency (SCID). This disease prevents the body from producing white blood cells
that are required for fighting infections. The person with this disease is vulnerable even to
the mildest infections, resulting in symptoms such as ear or chest infections and persistent
thrush in the mouth or throat. Treatment of antibiotics for individuals with SCID only
provide short-term benefits.

Safety of Gene Therapy

Gene therapy is under study to determine whether it could be used to treat disease. Current
research is evaluating the safety of gene therapy; future studies will test whether it is an
effective treatment option. Several studies have already shown that this approach can have
very serious health risks, such as toxicity, inflammation, and cancer. Because the techniques
are relatively new, some of the risks may be unpredictable; however, medical researchers,
institutions, and regulatory agencies are working to ensure that gene therapy research is as
safe as possible.

Comprehensive federal laws, regulations, and guidelines help protect people who participate
in research studies (called clinical trials). The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
regulates all gene therapy products in the United States and over-sees research in this area.
Researchers who wish to test an approach in a clinical trial must first obtain permission from
the FDA. The FDA has the authority to reject or suspend clinical trials that are suspected of
being unsafe for participants.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) also plays an important role in ensuring the safety of
gene therapy research. NIH provides guidelines for investigators and institutions (such as
universities and hospitals) to follow when conducting clinical trials with gene therapy. These
guidelines state that clinical trials at institutions receiving NIH funding for this type of
research must be registered with the NIH Office of Biotechnology Activities. The protocol, or
plan, for each clinical trial is then reviewed by the NIH Recombinant DNA Advisory
Committee (RAC) to determine whether it raises medical, ethical, or safety issues that
warrant further discussion at one of the RAC's public meetings.

An Institutional Review Board (IRB) and an Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) must
approve each gene therapy clinical trial before it can be carried out. An IRB is a committee
of scientific and medical advisors and consumers that reviews all research within an
institution. An IBC is a group that reviews and approves an institution's potentially
hazardous research studies. Multiple levels of evaluation and oversight ensure that safety
concerns are a top priority in the planning and carrying out of gene therapy research.

Stem Cell Therapy

The human body is made up of different types of cells. Most of these cells perform
specialized functions such as red blood cells that carry oxygen in the blood, muscle cells
that generates movement or nerve cells that conducts electrical signals. These cells perform

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specific functions but are unable to divide.

Stem cells provide new cells for the body as it grows and replace specialized cells that are
damaged or lost. They can divide infinitely to produce new cells and can transform into
other types of cells that make up the body.

Figure 15. Stem cells can make new stem cells or become specialized cells.

Types of Stem Cells

There are three main types of stem cells: (1) embryonic stem cells; (2) adult stem cells; and
(3) Induced pluripotent stem cells. Embryonic stem cells supply new cells for an embryo as
it grows and develops into a baby. These stem cells are said to be pluripotent, which means
they can change into any cell in the body. Adult stem cells supply new cells as an organism
grows and to replace cells that get damaged. These cells are multipotent, which means they
can only change into some cells in the body, not any cell. For instance, blood stem cells can
only replace the various types of cells in the blood. Another example is the skin stem cell
that provide the different types of cells that make up the skin and hair. Induced pluripotent
stem cells, are stem cells that scientists make in the laboratory. The term induced in this
case means that these cells are made in the laboratory by taking normal adult cells, like skin
or blood cells, and reprogramming them to become stem cells. Like embryonic stem cells,
pluripotent stem cells can develop into any cell type.

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Figure 16. Sources of stem cells in the body.

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Applications of Stem Cells

Stem cells have numerous applications and medicine which includes the following:

1. The study of stem cells increase understanding of how diseases occur. By observing
stem cells mature into cells in bones, heart muscles, nerves and other organs and
tissue, researcher and doctors may better understand how diseases and conditions
develop.
2. Stem cells can be used to generate healthy cells to replace diseased cells. It can be
guided into becoming specific cells that can be used to regenerate and repair diseased
or damaged tissues in patients. Stem cell therapy can be used for those individuals with
spinal cord injury, type 1 diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis,
Alzheimer’s disease, heart disease, stroke, burns, cancer, and osteoarthritis. It has also
the potential to be grown to become new tissue for use in transplant and regenerative
medicine. Researchers continue to advance the knowledge on stem cells and their
applications in transplant and regenerative medicine.
3. Stem cells can be used for testing new drugs to assess safety and effectiveness. Before
using investigational drugs to humans, researches can use stem cells to test the drugs
for safety and quality. This type of testing will most likely first have a direct impact on
drug development such as cardiac toxicity testing. New areas of study include the
effectiveness of using human stem cells that have been programmed into tissue-specific
cells to test new drugs. For the testing of new drugs to be accurate, the cells must be
programmed to acquire properties of the type of cells targeted by the drug. Techniques
to program cells into specific cells continue to be studied ().

Apply your Knowledge

Now, let’s check what you have learned.

Activity: Watch the YouTube videos below and make a reaction paper regarding the
content of the videos and from what you learned from this topic.

1. Gene Therapy -- The time is now: Nick Leschly at TEDxBoston

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ez560GnkSrE
2. How Do Stem Cells Work? | Bang Goes The Theory | BBC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEB8656TCIE

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 Unit 4: Special Topics in Science, Technology and Society
Lesson 5: Climate Change (Week 17)

Introduction

Scientists agree that the climate is changing and that human activities are a primary cause
for this change through increased emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases to the
atmosphere. There have been times in Earth's past that temperature and CO2
concentrations have been much higher than they currently are, so it is not just the actual
temperature that is of concern to scientists, but the fact that the rate of change of
temperature is unprecedented in the geologic record.

There are 5 topics in this lesson. They are listed as follows:

1. What is Climate Change?

2. Process of Global Warmin g
3. What is Causing Global Warming?
4. Milankovitch (Orbital) Cycles and Its Effects on Climate Change
5. A Climate Time Machine

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 Unit 4: Special Topics in Science, Technology and Society
Lesson 5: Climate Change (Week 17)

Learning Outcomes:

At the end of this lesson, the students must have

 explained how climate change happens

 provided pieces of evidence to affirm the presence of climate change
 discussed the implications of climate change
 explained factors affecting climate change based on Milankovic Cycle
 analyzed causes and effects of climate change

“I think there are more politicians in favor of electric cars than against. There are still some
that are against, and I think the reasoning for that varies depending on the person, but in
some cases, they just don't believe in climate change - they think oil will last forever”.--Elon
Musk--

Acquire New Knowledge

This part will present the ideas aligned with the objectives of the lesson.

What is Climate Change?

Climate change is the subject of how weather patterns change over decades or longer.
Climate change takes place due to natural and human influences. Since the Industrial
Revolution (i.e., 1750), humans have contributed to climate change through the emissions
of GHGs (greenhouse gases) and aerosols, and through changes in land use, resulting in a
rise in global temperatures.

The evidence of climate change is compelling: sea levels are rising, glaciers are retreating,
precipitation patterns are changing, and the world is getting warmer. According to the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the current rate of greenhouse gas
emissions is likely to cause average temperatures to rise by 0.2˚C per decade, reaching by
2050 the threshold of 2˚C above pre-industrial levels. Recent evidence suggests even more
rapid change, which will greatly, and in some cases irreversibly, affect not just people, but

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also species and ecosystems (Elizabeth et al., 2010).

Climate change indeed is real. Super typhoon Haiyan natural disaster has led credence to
the reality of climate change. This sad occurrence hit land and devastated the Philippines.
This record-breaking storm is the strongest storm in history to make landfall. It tore apart
buildings and left entire provinces without power or communication. The 370-mile-wide
storm packed winds 3.5 times as strong as Hurricane Katrina. Winds reached 195 mph and
had gusts of up to 235 mph. Walls of water as high as fifteen feet swept over the country
washing away towns on many islands and washed ships ashore where homes once stood.
The U.N. says, “Around 920,000 people were displaced by the storm and a total of 11.8
million people have been affected.

Process of Global Warming

The earth receives energy through radiation from the sun. GHGs play an important role of
trapping heat, maintaining the earth’s temperature at a level that can sustain life. This
phenomenon is called the greenhouse effect and is natural and necessary to support life on
earth.

Without the greenhouse effect, the earth would be approximately 33°C cooler than it is
today. In recent centuries, humans have contributed to an increase in atmospheric GHGs as
a result of increased fossil fuel burning and deforestation. The rise in GHGs is the primary
cause of global warming over the last century. There are three main datasets that are
referenced to measure global surface temperatures since 1850. 3 These datasets show
warming of between +0.8°C and +1.0°C since 1900. 4 Since 1950, land-only measurements
indicate warming trends of between +1.1°C and +1.3°C, as land temperatures tend to
respond more quickly than oceans to the earth’s changing climate. Figure shows the global
surface temperature trend (1880–2014). Instrumental temperature data 1880–2014.
Source: NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) 5.

While global warming is typically measured on multi-decadal time scales (30+ years),
attributing trends over time periods of less than 30 years can be tricky, due to the influence
of natural variability. Natural variability is defined as variations in climate that are due to
internal interactions between the atmosphere, ocean, land surface and sea ice. Those
variations occur with or without climate change and are often described as “noise” or normal
variations around a “normal” value.

The El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle is considered to be the strongest source of
internal natural variability due to the exchange of heat between the oceans and the surface

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along the Equatorial Pacific. Because of this internal and natural variability, global warming
does not necessarily occur linearly in response to the increase in GHG concentrations, and
various periods of accelerated warming and warming slowdowns are a natural source of
variability.

Figure s h o w two such periods in the context of longer-term global warming and also
illustrates natural variability occurring on a yearly basis.

NASA GISS Global average temperatures. Forty-five-year trend is shown in blue. The “warming
slowdown” (purple trend line: 1998–2014) was preceded by a period of accelerated
warming (green trend line: 1992–2006).

Growth of CO2 concentrations at Mauna Loa Observatory since 1960

What is Causing Global Warming?

The climate of the earth is affected by a number of factors. These factors include output of
energy from the sun (warming effect), volcanic eruptions (cooling effect), and concentration
of GHGs in the atmosphere (warming effect), and aerosols (cooling effect). Since the
Industrial Revolution (i.e., 1750), the largest contributor to the increase in global warming is

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carbon dioxide (CO2), followed by methane (CH 4).
CO2 concentrations have increased from 278 parts per million (ppm) in 1960 to 401 ppm in
2015—a 44% increase.

Other gases, such as chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs—which have been banned in much of

the world because they also degrade the ozone layer—have heat-trapping potential
thousands of times greater than CO 2. But because their emissions are much lower than CO2,
none of these gases trap as much heat in the atmosphere as CO 2 does.

Water vapour has an important indirect effect on temperature increases resulting from
increasing GHG concentrations. Increased global temperature resulting from GHGs increases
the capacity of the atmosphere to hold water vapour, thus acting as a positive feedback, as
water vapour also produces a greenhouse effect. Water vapour is not a significant initial
forcing, but is nevertheless a fundamental agent of climate change”. Not all industrial
emissions result in a warming bias. Aerosols resulting from industrial emissions have
worked to offset about 26% of greenhouse warming due to blocking solar radiation from
reaching the earth’s surface.

When those gases that humans are adding to Earth's atmosphere trap heat, it’s called the
"greenhouse effect." The gases let light through but then keep much of the heat that
radiates from the surface from escaping back into space, like the glass walls of a
greenhouse. The more greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, the more dramatic the effect,
and the more warming that happens.The greenhouse effect occurs when solar energy
making contact with the earth’s surface is retransmitted to the atmosphere in the form of
infrared thermal radiation. This radiation has a lower wave frequency than solar energy
itself. GHG molecules absorb this thermal radiation at low frequencies, causing these
molecules to vibrate. These greenhouse molecules then emit energy in the form of infrared
photons, many of which return to the earth’s surface. Non-GHGs such as oxygen and
nitrogen do not absorb thermal radiation. The greenhouse effect is measured in terms of
Radiative Forcing (RF) in units of watts per square meter (W/m2).

Milankovitch (Orbital) Cycles and Its Effects on Climate Change

Milutin Milanković

Serbian mathematician and geophysicist, best known for his work that linked long-term
changes in climate to astronomical factors affecting the amount of solar energy received at
Earth’s surface. His ideas were published in a series of papers and eventually brought

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together in his influential book Kanon der Erdbestrahlung und seine Anwendung auf das
Eiszeitenproblem (1941; Canon of Insolation and the Ice-Age Problem).

Milutin Milanković 1879 - 1958

There are hundreds of different types of cycles in our world and in the universe. Some are
natural, such as the change of the seasons, annual animal migrations or the circadian
rhythms that govern our sleep patterns. Others are human-produced, like growing and
harvesting crops, musical rhythms or economic cycles.

Cycles also play key roles in Earth’s short-term weather and long-term climate. A century
ago, Serbian scientist Milutin Milankovitch hypothesized the long- term, collective effects of
changes in Earth’s position relative to the Sun are a strong driver of Earth’s long-term
climate, and are responsible for triggering the beginning and end of glaciation periods (Ice
Ages).

Specifically, he examined how variations in three types of Earth orbital movements affect
how much solar radiation (known as insolation) reaches the top of Earth’s atmosphere as
well as where the insolation reaches. These cyclical orbital movements, which became
known as the Milankovitch cycles, cause variations of up to 25 percent in the amount of
incoming insolation at Earth’s mid-latitudes (the areas of our planet located between about
30 and 60 degrees north and south of the equator).
The Milankovitch cycles include:

1. The shape of Earth’s orbit, known as eccentricity;

2. The angle Earth’s axis is tilted with respect to Earth’s orbital plane, known as obliquity;
and
3. The direction Earth’s axis of rotation is pointed, known as precession.

Eccentricity

Earth’s annual pilgrimage around the Sun isn’t perfectly circular, but it’s pretty close. Over
time, the pull of gravity from our solar system’s two largest gas giant planets, Jupiter and
Saturn, causes the shape of Earth’s orbit to vary from nearly circular to slightly elliptical.
Eccentricity measures how much the shape of Earth’s orbit departs from a perfect circle.
These variations affect the distance between Earth and the Sun.

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Eccentricity is the reason why our seasons are slightly different lengths, with summers in
the Northern Hemisphere currently about 4.5 days longer than winters, and springs about
three days longer than autumns. As eccentricity decreases, the length of our seasons
gradually evens out.

The difference in the distance between Earth’s closest approach to the Sun (known as
perihelion), which occurs on or about January 3 each year, and its farthest departure from
the Sun (known as aphelion) on or about July 4, is currently about 5.1 million kilometers
(about 3.2 million miles), a variation of 3.4 percent. That means each January, about 6.8
percent more incoming solar radiation reaches Earth than it does each July.

When Earth’s orbit is at its most elliptic, about 23 percent more incoming solar radiation
reaches Earth at our planet’s closest approach to the Sun each year than does at its farthest
departure from the Sun. Currently, Earth’s eccentricity is near its least elliptic (most circular)
and is very slowly decreasing, in a cycle that spans about 100,000 years.

The total change in global annual insolation due to the eccentricity cycle is very small.
Because variations in Earth’s eccentricity are fairly small, they’re a relatively minor factor in
annual seasonal climate variations.

Obliquity

The angle Earth’s axis of rotation is tilted as it travels around the Sun is known as obliquity.
Obliquity is why Earth has seasons. Over the last million years, it has varied between 22.1
and 24.5 degrees perpendicular to Earth’s orbital plane. The greater Earth’s axial tilt angle,
the more extreme our seasons are, as each hemisphere receives more solar radiation during
its summer, when the hemisphere is tilted toward the Sun, and less during winter, when it
is tilted away. Larger tilt angles favor periods of deglaciation (the melting and retreat of
glaciers and ice sheets). These effects aren’t uniform globally -- higher latitudes receive a
larger change in total solar radiation than areas closer to the equator.

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Earth’s axis is currently tilted 23.4 degrees, or about half way between its extremes, and
this angle is very slowly decreasing in a cycle that spans about 41,000 years. It was last at
its maximum tilt about 10,700 years ago and will reach its minimum tilt about 9,800 years
from now. As obliquity decreases, it gradually helps make our seasons milder, resulting in
increasingly warmer winters, and cooler summers that gradually, over time, allow snow and
ice at high latitudes to build up into large ice sheets. As ice cover increases, it reflects more
of the Sun’s energy back into space, promoting even further cooling.
.

Precession

As Earth rotates, it wobbles slightly upon its axis, like a slightly off-center spinning toy top.
This wobble is due to tidal forces caused by the gravitational influences of the Sun and
Moon that cause Earth to bulge at the equator, affecting its rotation. The trend in the
direction of this wobble relative to the fixed positions of stars is known as axial precession.
The cycle of axial precession spans about 25,771.5 years.

Axial precession makes seasonal contrasts more extreme in one hemisphere and less
extreme in the other. Currently perihelion occurs during winter in the Northern Hemisphere
and in summer in the Southern Hemisphere. This makes Southern Hemisphere summers
hotter and moderates Northern Hemisphere seasonal variations. But in about 13,000 years,
axial precession will cause these conditions to flip, with the Northern Hemisphere seeing
more extremes in solar radiation and the Southern Hemisphere experiencing more moderate
seasonal variations.

Axial precession also gradually changes the timing of the seasons, causing them to begin
earlier over time, and gradually changes which star Earth’s axis points to at the North Pole
(the North Star). Today Earth’s North Stars are Polaris and Polaris Australis, but a couple of
thousand years ago, they were Kochab and Pherkad.

There’s also apsidal precession. Not only does Earth’s axis wobble, but Earth’s entire orbital
ellipse also wobbles irregularly, primarily due to its interactions with Jupiter and Saturn. The
cycle of apsidal precession spans about 112,000 years. Apsidal precession changes the
orientation of Earth’s orbit relative to the elliptical plane.

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The combined effects of axial and apsidal precession result in an overall precession cycle
spanning about 23,000 years on average.

A Climate Time Machine

The small changes set in motion by Milankovitch cycles operate separately and together to
influence Earth’s climate over very long timespans, leading to larger changes in our climate
over tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of years. Milankovitch combined the cycles
to create a comprehensive mathematical model for calculating differences in solar radiation
at various Earth latitudes along with corresponding surface temperatures. The model is sort
of like a climate time machine; it can be run backward and forward to examine past and
future climate conditions.

Milankovitch assumed changes in radiation at some latitudes and in some seasons are more
important than others to the growth and retreat of ice sheets. In addition, it was his belief
that obliquity was the most important of the three cycles for climate, because it affects the
amount of insolation in Earth’s northern high-latitude regions during summer (the relative
role of precession versus obliquity is still a matter of scientific study).

He calculated that Ice Ages occur approximately every 41,000 years. Subsequent research
confirms that they did occur at 41,000-year intervals between one and three million years
ago. But about 800,000 years ago, the cycle of Ice Ages lengthened to 100,000 years,
matching Earth’s eccentricity cycle. While various theories have been proposed to explain
this transition, scientists do not yet have a clear answer.

Milankovitch’s work was supported by other researchers of his time, and he authored
numerous publications on his hypothesis. But it wasn’t until about 10 years after his death in
1958 that the global science community began to take serious notice of his theory. In 1976,
a study in the journal Science by Hays et al. using deep-sea sediment cores found that
Milankovitch cycles correspond with periods of major climate change over the past 450,000
years, with Ice Ages occurring when Earth was undergoing different stages of orbital
variation.

Several other projects and studies have also upheld the validity of Milankovitch’s work,
including research using data from ice cores in Greenland and Antarctica that has provided
strong evidence of Milankovitch cycles going back many hundreds of thousands of years. In
addition, his work has been embraced by the National Research Council of the U.S. National
Academy of Sciences.

Scientific research to better understand the mechanisms that cause changes in Earth’s
rotation and how specifically Milankovitch cycles combine to affect climate is ongoing. But
the theory that they drive the timing of glacial-interglacial cycles is well accepted.

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 Apply your Knowledge
Now, let’s check what you have learned.

Activity #1

Researching the Effects of Climate Change Already Taking Place

Form a group that consists of four members for each group. Each group will examine,
critique, and give their reactions to an article they choose regarding climate change.
Prepare for classroom presentation. Student presentations will be guided by the following
questions:

• How has global climate change affected the local climate and geography of the region
discussed in your article?
• How have these changes affected the people living there?
• How have the people tried to adapt to climate change’s effects?
• All of these articles include images which were selected to have an impact on the
reader. What do these images show? Which image is the most powerful? Describe it and
discuss what makes it an effective image.
• Why is this story important for the world to know?

Activity #2 Communicating the Science of Climate Change

The article “Katharine Hayhoe, a Climate Explainer Who Stays Above the Storm ” profiles one
climate scientist who has been particularly effective in spreading the word about climate
change. Students should read the article, write responses to the following questions and
then discuss their answers in small groups. Their discussions will be guided by the following
questions.

1. According to the author, what qualities make Dr. Hayhoe such a great explainer? In your
opinion, which quality is the most powerful in terms of helping to change people’s
minds?

2. The author writes, “While some climate warriors treat those who are not inclined to
believe them as dupes or fools, [Dr. Hayhoe] wants to talk.” Have you ever experienced
a situation in which someone — perhaps a friend, teacher, doctor or scientist — made
you feel like a fool for not knowing something or not agreeing? What did that person do
that made you feel that way? What would you recommend to that person in terms of
changing his or her approach?

3. The article states, “Some in the climate community argue that congeniality like Dr.
Hayhoe’s can be counterproductive, especially when well-funded deniers of climate
science spread disinformation and vituperation.” What do you think? Can congeniality
like Dr. Hayhoe’s ever be counterproductive? Might a more combative approach ever be
warranted? Why?

4. The article ends with Katharine Hayhoe explaining why she does not “believe” in climate
change: “Gravity doesn’t care whether you believe in it or not,” she said, “but if you step
off a cliff, you’re going to go down.” Why do you think the author chose to conclude the
article with this sentence? What point is Dr. Hayhoe trying to illustrate?

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 References

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Wide_Web&oldid=966158847 (n.d.). Retrieved August 2020, from World Health
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International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA). (2004, July).
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Pocket Ks. (2016 , October). Retrieved August 04, 2020, from Pocket Ks:https://
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Wikipedia: International Year of Biodiversity. (2020, January 5). Retrieved August 8, 2020,
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How is Earth’s climate changing? - The Science Behind It . https://the science behindit.org/
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 Final Examination and Submission of Outputs (Week 18)

A. Examination
☐ Quizzes
☐ Long Exam
☐ Finals
Date of Examination: Click or tap to enter a date.
B. Class Outputs
☐ Recitation, Reporting, Debate, Role Play, etc.
☐ Case Study, Reaction Paper, Portfolio, etc.
☐ Community Immersions, STS Camps
☐ Field Trips, Educational Tour, Stargazing, etc.
☐ Others: Project, ____________________________________
Due Date: Click or tap to enter a date.

About the Authors

DR. LARRY D. BUBAN PROF. RICHELLE O. TUVILLO

Associate Professor V Associate Professor 1
Ph.D. in Science Education – Physics Ph.D. in Education – Physics Ed. (In Progress) MA
MA Physics BSEd – Physics, Lic. #0786675 Physics, M.Ed.Physics BSEd – Physics, Lic.
#0595225

DR. HARLAN C. DUREZA MS. VIVIEN MEI C. REYES

Professor V Instructor 1 MA Chemistry BS Chemistry
Ed.D. Management MTE, Physics PLET Lic. #1428514
BS Civil Engineering, Lic. #36628

DR. GRACE A. MANAJERO DR. AGATHA Z. SENINA

Associate Professor V Professor VI Ph.D. in Education (Psychology and
Ph.D. in Science Education – Physical Science Guidance)
MAT in Physical Science Graduate Diploma in MA Physics
Curriculum Admin.-Science BS Physics for BS Physics for Teachers
Teachers, Lic. #0704302

PROF. EILEEN L. LORENO DR. STEPHEN G. SABINAY

Associate Professor V Assistant Professor IV
Masters in Engineering Ph.D. in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology MA
BS Chemical Engineering, Lic #0013597 Chemistry
BS Biological Science

DR. ANITA ESTELA M. MONROY

Associate Professor V
Ph.D. in Science Education – Biology MA
in Education – Physical Science
BS Chemical Engineering, Lic #0013090

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