Science, Technology, and Society: Intellectual Revolutions and Historical Antecedents

Vocabulary flashcards covering intellectual revolutions, historical antecedents of science and technology across major eras, and basic concepts of Science, Technology, and Society.

Science

Derived from the Latin word scientia meaning 'knowledge', it refers to a systematic and methodical activity of building and organizing knowledge about how the universe behaves through observation, experimentation, or both.

Technology

Derived from the Greek root word techne meaning 'art, skill, or cunning of hand', it is the application of scientific knowledge, laws, and principles to produce services, materials, tools, and machines aimed at solving real-world problems.

Society

Derived from the Latin word societas (from socius), it refers to a group of people who live in a definable community and share the same cultural components, institutions, shared beliefs, and cultural ideas.

Science, Technology & Society (STS)

An interdisciplinary field of study that explores how modern science and technology shape modern culture, values, and institutions, and how modern values shape science and technology.

Intellectual Revolution

Historical changes in thoughts, beliefs, and social institutions driven by new ideas and principles.

Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543)

The astronomer who initiated the Copernican Revolution by proposing the heliocentric model of the universe.

Heliocentric Model

A model of the universe that places the Sun at the center of the Solar System.

Geocentric Model

An astronomical model that places the Earth at the center of the solar system.

De Revolutionibus

The written work by Nicolaus Copernicus whose reading was prohibited by the church due to severe resistance against the heliocentric theory.

Charles Darwin (1809–1882)

The biologist who proposed the Theory of Evolution through natural selection, describing nature as a lawful system explainable through scientific thought.

Theory of Evolution

A scientific theory stating that all species of organisms arise and develop through the natural selection of small, inherited variations that increase the individual's ability to compete, survive, and reproduce.

Natural Selection

An evolutionary process by which organisms inherit, develop, and adapt traits that favor survival and reproduction.

Sigmund Freud (1856–1939)

The neurologist who introduced the Psychoanalytic Theory, proposing that human behavior is influenced by unconscious memories, thoughts, and urges.

Psychoanalytic Theory

A psychological theory that human behavior is driven by unconscious memories, thoughts, and urges, and that personality consists of the Id, Ego, and Superego.

Id

The primitive feature of personality present at birth that operates on the pleasure principle, driven by an unconscious need for immediate gratification ('I want it now').

Ego

The part of personality developing around age 2 that operates on the reality principle, reducing conflict between the Id and Superego by implementing defense mechanisms ('We need to plan and wait in order to have it').

Superego

The part of personality developing around age 5 that operates on the morality principle learned from the same-sex parent, punishing the ego through guilt for wrongdoings ('You can't have it, it's not right').

Oedipus Complex

A concept introduced by Sigmund Freud in 1899 describing a child's sexual desire for the parent of the opposite sex and rivalry with the same-sex parent, traditionally involving a boy's attraction to his mother, rivalry with his father, and castration anxiety.

Electra Complex

A non-Freudian concept introduced by Carl Jung as the female counterpart to the Oedipus complex, describing a girl's attraction to her father, rivalry with her mother, and experience of penis envy.

Historical Antecedents

Events, people, and inventions that precede and influence later developments in science and technology.

Antikythera Mechanism

An ancient astronomical mechanism invented in Greece between 150–100 BCE.

Zacharias Janssen

The inventor who created the microscope in 1590.

Evangelista Torricelli

The scientist who invented the mercury barometer in 1644.

Alexander Graham Bell

The inventor who created the telephone in 1876.

Karl Benz

The engineer who invented the automobile in 1886.

Tim Berners-Lee

The computer scientist who invented the World Wide Web in 1990.

Pre-Colonial Philippine S&T

An era in the Philippines characterized by stone flake tools and weapons, later evolving into techniques for sawing, drilling, and polishing hard stones.

Spanish Regime S&T (Philippines)

A historical period where the development of science and technology in the Philippines was greatly shaped by religious orders.

American Regime S&T (Philippines)

A historical period in the Philippines that established a system of secularized public-school education upon setting up civil government.

Scientific Method

A systematic procedure that involves making observations, formulating hypotheses, conducting experiments, and analyzing data to answer scientific questions.

Hypothesis

A testable prediction about the relationship between two or more variables in scientific research.

Variable

Any factor, trait, or condition that can exist in differing amounts or types in an experiment.

Control Group

The group in an experiment that does not receive the treatment or is not exposed to the independent variable, used as a benchmark to measure how the other tested subjects do.

Independent Variable

The variable that is manipulated or changed in an experiment to test its effects on the dependent variable.

Dependent Variable

The variable that is measured or observed to assess the effects of manipulating the independent variable.

Observation

The act of noting and recording an event, characteristic, or behavior systematically to gather information for analysis.

Theory

A well-substantiated explanation of an aspect of the natural world that is based on a body of evidence and has stood up to rigorous testing and criticism.

Quantitative Data

Data that can be quantified and is expressed in terms of numbers, enabling it to be measured and statistically analyzed.

Qualitative Data

Non-numerical data that describes characteristics or qualities, often collected through interviews, open-ended surveys, or observations.