STS Module 1: Overview of Science, Technology and Society

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and concepts from STS Module 1: Overview of Science, Technology and Society, including definitions of STS, different approaches to knowledge, and historical events related to science and technology.

STS Perspective

A viewpoint that problems plaguing society have interacting social and scientific/technological dimensions, and their solutions combine social and scientific/technological aspects.

STS (as an academic subject)

Aims to enable students to logically analyze the interactions of science, technology, and society, thoroughly assess the social impact of science and technology, and propose practical ways to live the good life.

STS (as an academic field)

Focuses on the interactions between science, technology, and other aspects of society, recognizing science and technology as integral parts of society.

Technology

Refers to both a process and a tool; it preceded science by millions of years, developing through trial and error without systematic intellectual activity in early human history.

Natural philosophy

The branch of philosophy that focused on natural phenomena before science became modern.

Scholastic approach

A method of generating knowledge based on previous ideas of intellectual authorities.

Empirical approach

A method of generating knowledge through observation and experimentation, also known as the scientific method.

Modern Science

Science that transitioned from a scholastic to an empirical approach, utilizing observation and experimentation.

Philosophy of Science

The field that defines what qualifies as science and its essence today, a role philosophers like Francis Bacon and Rene Descartes contributed to in the 1600s.

S & T

The present term denoting the interactive and inseparable relationship between modern science and technology, a relationship that gained significance after James Watt's improvement of the steam generator in the 1770s.

Manhattan Project

The development of nuclear weapons initiated in 1939, suggested by Albert Einstein and other scientists, which led to the dropping of atomic bombs in Japan during World War 2.

Technological assessment

A thrust of STS that involves evaluating the effects of new technologies on society, especially their negative impacts, to inform government policies and societal understanding.