RIZ ALTE CHNO LO GI CALUNI VE RSIT Y

Cities of Mandaluyong and Pasig

SESSION NO. 1-3/ WEEK NO. 2

MODULE NO.2: Revolution of Science,

Technology that Defined Society

The following are the topics content of this module:

a. Science and Technology in the Philippines
1. Precolonial Period
2. Spanish Regime
3. American Regime
4. Commonwealth Period
5. Period since Independence
b. Intellectual Revolution that Defined Society
1. Copernican
2. Darwinian
3. Freudian
4. Ancient Civilizations

Overview

The Philippines is one of the most westernized nations in Southeast Asia, a

unique blend of eastern and western cultures colonized the country and have been
the most significant influences on the Philippine culture.

The Philippines is known for having an abundance of beautiful beaches and

delicious fruit and rich in minerals, as they once called pearl of the orient seas. The
collection of islands is located in Southeast Asia and were claimed in the name of
Spain in 1521 by Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese explorer sailing for Spain, who
named the islands after King Philip II of Spain. They were then called Las Felipinas.
The colonization of the Philippines contributed to growth of science and technology in
the archipelago. The Spanish introduced formal education and founded scientific
institution. During the early years of Spanish rule in the Philippines.

Although, scientific and technological advancement in the Philippines began in

the precolonial period. Before the Spaniards discovered the island, early Filipino
settlers were already using the certain plants and herbs as medicines. There were
system of farming and animal raising implemented in the country. Moreover, Filipinos
had also developed different modes of transportation whether terrestrial of marine
transportation.

Science, Technology and Society 1

 RIZ ALTE CHNO LO GI CALUNI VE RSIT Y
Cities of Mandaluyong and Pasig

On the other hand, “Intellectual Revolution” is used to refer to Greek

speculation about the "nature" in the period before Socrates (roughly 600 to 400
BCE).It is commonly known as the “Pre-Socratic” or “non-theological” or “first
philosophy”. This form of philosophy has three characteristics; the world is a natural
whole, there is a natural order and human can discover laws.

Study Guide

This module was designed to provide the students with meaningful opportunities for
guided and independent pace of learning. Students will be able to process the learning
context in their own flexible time.

This module has the following parts:

a. Learning outcomes
b. Topic presentation
c. Learning activities
d. Assessment
e. Assignment
f. References

Students are required to finished every module by finishing learning activities,

answering the assessment and complying with the given assignment or task.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of the learning episode, the students are expected to:

1. Discuss how scientific and technological development affect society and the
environment.
2. Discuss the influence of past and current scientific and technological on
Philippines and Global society.
3. Appreciate the contributions of Science and Technology to society.

Topic Presentation

TOPIC 1: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN THE PHILIPPINES

Specific Objectives:
1. Describe how science and technology in the Philippines has evolved over
time.
2. Identify the influence of colonization to the science and technology of the
country
3. Describe the huge role of education in the development of Philippine
science and technology.

Science, Technology and Society 2

 RIZALTECHNOLOGICALUNIVERSITY
Cities of Mandaluyong and Pasig

Precolonial Period
Spanish arrived in the Philippines in 1521. There were few written reliable
information available based on archeological findings. Based on this, the country
Used to have a number of geographically scattered , self sufficient autonomous
communities called Barangays which were more a kinship or social unit rather than
political group with a simple level of technological advancement sufficient enough to
meet their needs.
The early settlers who believed to be homo sapiens about 50, 000 years ago
were came from the mainland of Asia ad had reached and lived over Palawan and
Batangas by passing the over the land bridges. They formed communities in the other
parts of the country such as Sulu, Negros, Samar and regions in Luzon. They
learned to use simple tools by sawing, drilling and polishing hard stones. Some
produced pottery and seashell ornaments with various designs that were replaced by
imported Chinese porcelain. Ordinary cooking exists those time.
Early 10th century AD Butuan and Mindoro inhabitants stared trade relations
with champs of Vietnam and locals of China. They trade some product such as
beeswax, cotton, pearl, cloth, iron pots, colored glass beads, iron needled and tin.
Coastal areas such as in Manila, Mindoro, Cebu, Sulu and Southern Mindanao had
more sophisticated technology compared to other areas due to their exposure to
foreign trades. However, in more remote areas such as mountain settlement, many
Filipinos are still hunter-gatherers. They were trading with lowlands and coastal locals
for their gathered forest products. No written literary traditions were developed. Pre
colonial Filipinos believed in superstitions. No worship areas. They have their own
system of writing for letters and messages. (Ilagan, 2018)

Spanish Regime
It was considered to be the period of modern science and technology in the
Philippines. Religious orders played the great influenced in the development resulted
to political and socio-economic changes which had a huge contribution to the history
of the country.
Below are the summary of the remarkable events and advancement in the
Philippines Science and Technology during Spanish regime

Science, Technology and Society 3

RIZ ALTE CHNO LO GI CALUNI VE RSIT Y
Cities of Mandaluyong and Pasig

Science, Technology and Society 4

 RIZ ALTE CHNO LO GI CALUNI VE RSIT Y
Cities of Mandaluyong and Pasig

Source:Ilagan, Y. et al (2018) Science Technology and Society. Panday Lahi Publishing House, Muntinlupa City, Philippines

Philippines was recognized in agricultural exporting capacity, However, since

the Philippines industry has lack of support, they did not survive the competition with
foreign imported products. Education, pharmacy and medicine remained the most
developed profession in the field of science and technology during this period.

American Regime
This period marked the rapid advancement of Science and Technology in the
Philippines. The contributing factors are as follows:
a. Encouragement and support of the government for an extensive public
education
b. Scholarship grants in science and engineering

Science, Technology and Society 5

 RIZALTECHNOLOGICALUNIVERSITY
Cities of Mandaluyong and Pasig

c. Organization and establishment of science research agencies

d. Establishment of science-based public services

The following activities paved way for the development of science and technology in
different sectors of the country:
e. Secularized public education
f. Department of public instruction offering free primary education with English
as medium of instruction
g. Philippine Normal School was put up to serve as the training ground for
Filipino teachers
h. Secondary schools opened in 1902.
i. There was an advanced training abroad for Filipinos to replaced foreign faculty
in the Philippines
j. The demand for professional education was increased
k. The Private School Act of 1917 (Act, No 2076) was recognized.
l. Office of Private Education was established for the improvement of
educational machinery
m. Bureau of Government Laboratories was created in 1901 by the Philippine
commission and was named as Bureau of Science
n. Many offices were recognized:
1. Bureau of Health
2. Bureau of Mines
3. Bureau of Forestry
4. Bureau of Agriculture
5. Bureau of Coast and Geodetic Survey
6. Bureau of Plant and Industry
7. Bureau of Animal Industry
o. National Research Council of the Philippines Island (NCRP) was established
in 1933.

Commonwealth Period
The Commonwealth government of the Philippines was enacted in 1935. It
was the beginning of the country’s transformation to a politically independent nation.
The Commonwealth was designed as a transitional administration in preparation for
the country's full achievement of independence. However, the foreign affairs
remained managed by the United States. As reflected in the Philippines constitution,
Article XIII, section 4 stating that “The State shall promote scientific research and
invention, arts and letters shall be under its patronage…”Schools both private and
public was given a change to do some expansion.
The government established the national economic council to address the
country’s economic and financial issues. Numerous of government corporations were
formed such as National Power Corporation, National Abaca and other Fibers
Corporation, Bureau of Mines and etc to perform various functions.
Despite such efforts, the goal of the commonwealth government was not
attained. This was due to the foreign trade policies that was still controlled by the

Science, Technology and Society 6

 RIZALTECHNOLOGICALUNIVERSITY
Cities of Mandaluyong and Pasig

American government. The occupation of Japanese troops in the country begun in

1941, led to the destruction of various institution built in the country by science and
technological development.

Period Since Independence

The country regained its independence in 1946. The support of scientific
research and development was continued. Several universities and colleges were
stablished and was supervised by the Department of Education and Culture. Number
of graduates were produced. However, only small portion of them fall into agriculture,
science and engineering due to perceived low employment in this fileds and required
long period of study.
The Bell Mission of US recommended the systematically exploration of the
Philippine natural resources to determine its potential in defining the economic
development. Due to lack of basic technical information and a low national budget
allocation to support the experiment needs of the Institute if Science and Technology
was born with additional roles in improving industrial activities and technological
advances. Some organizations were expanded and agencies were developed. The
increase in number of science institution provided the opportunities for local science
manpower to conduct research.
The six new institute were opened:
1. National Institute of Physics
2. National Institute of Geological Science
3. National Institute of Natural Science Research
4. National Institute of Chemistry
5. National Institute of Biology
6. National Institute of Mathematical Science
Today the science and technology sector of the country is still presented in the
government by DOST.

TOPIC 2: INTELLECTUAL REVOLUTIONS THAT DEFINED SOCIETY

Specific Objectives:
1. Identify the intellectual revolutions that created paradigm shift.
2. Explain the stages of psychosocial development
3.Compare the different civilizations and identify their great contributions
to the society.

Science, Technology and Society 7

 RIZ ALTE CHNO LO GI CALUNI VE RSIT Y
Cities of Mandaluyong and Pasig

Copernican
Nicolas Copernicus (1473-1543) was a mathematician and an astronomer
who proposed the heliocentric model of the solar system. With this idea, he wrote an
essay about “ON the Revolution of the Heavenly Spheres”. Another contribution to
classical astronomy involving the 4 elements namely: water, air, earth and fire.

Darwinian
Charles Darwin was known for his theory of evolution by natural selection.
He published his book entitled "On the Origin of Species" in 1859. This explained the
process by which organisms change over time as a result of changes in heritable
physical or behavioral traits. Darwin figured out that variations in a population help
different species to survive.

How Darwin come up with the theory of evolution?

(watch this video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOk_0mUT_JU

Freudian
Sigmund Freud was a father of psychoanalysis and one of the 2oth century’s most
influential thinkers. He believed that people explain their behavior to themselves or
other. Human behavior is a result of the interactions among three components:
1. Id which is made up of unconscious psychic energy that works to satisfy
basic
urges, needs and desires. It is the only personality that present by birth that is
a primitive component of personality existed wholly within unconscious.
2. Superego is composed of peoples internalized ideas acquired from parents
and society. It works to suppress the urges of the id and tries to behave the
ego morally rather than realistically.
3. Ego mediates the demand of the id, the superego and the reality. It prevents
people from acting on their basic urges by the id, and works to achieve a
balance with their normal and idealistic standards created by the superego.

Mesoamerican Civilization
A region of cultural area in America. They contribute greatly in agriculture.
The main food source were corn, beans and squash. There were also cotton plants
and rubber trees that were use in textiles. Framers were formed terraces along
slopes of mountain valleys which were made of stone walls. Mesoamerican were
known to be the first to create the calendars.

Asian Civilization
There were two great civilizations in Asia: India and China. Civilization arose
in Indus River valley. People weapons and utensils were made from bronze and
copper. Another civilization developed in Huang Ho river. Dynasties ruled the region
one after the other.

Middle East Civilization

This considered the home to the “Cradle of Civilization” where many of the
worlds oldest cultures and civilizations were observed. Invention of writing was the
most important contribution.

African Civilization
Farming and slaves found in this civilization. Modern concepts in mathematics
like the first method of counting were first developed in Africa. In astronomy, a
structure known as African Stonehenge in present day Kenya which was constructed

Science, Technology and Society 8

 RIZALTECHNOLOGICALUNIVERSITY
Cities of Mandaluyong and Pasig

around 300BC was remarkably accurate calendar. Many advances in metallurgy and
tool making were also made across Africa.

Guided Exercises / Learning Activities

(see posted activity)

Assessment

Formative test will be given to the students through google forms

References

Herrera, DR (2015). The Philippines: An Overview of the Colonial Era. Association of

Asian Studies, 20:1 Retrieved:
https://www.asianstudies.org/publications/eaa/archives/the-philippines-an-
overview-of-the-colonial-era/

Ilagan, Y. et al (2018) Science Technology and Society. Panday Lahi Publishing House,
Muntinlupa City, Philippines

Science, Technology and Society 9