GE-Science, Technology and Society

Mrs.Rhea B. Bucog
Group 44 | 3:30pm-4:30pm M W F
JW334MC

CHAPTER 1: The Social Dimension of Science & Technology, Technological Terminism and Construction of Technology

Society – group of individuals, which are characterized by common interest and may have distinctive culture and institutions.
Culture – characteristics and knowledge of a particular group of people, encompassing language, religion, cuisine, social habits,
music and arts.
Three Perspectives in the Analysis of Society and Culture (Sociology):
1. Symbolic Interactionism – society is made up of individual who interact with each other using symbols with
corresponding meaning.
2. Structural Functionalism – society is made up of interrelated systems/institutions with corresponding functions.
3. Conflict Analysis – society is made up of conflicting groups with unequal levels of power, wealth and prestige.

Science – refers to the body of knowledge utilized to understand the world.

Science in Society:
 Natural Science – meteorology, chemistry, physics, geology, biology
 Social Science – economics, psychology, history, sociology, anthropology

Technology – is the use or application or scientific knowledge for a specific goal or purpose.
Technology as a component of Culture – includes various processes w/c a group of people use to harness the
environment to produce objects and systems that could be utilized to respond to human need in society. In a sociological
and anthropological sense, technology is one aspect of culture from distant past until the present, based on the existing
knowledge systems, now called as “science”, of specific societies.

Linking Science, Technology and Society

Science

Seeks to improve Informs

Demands more Demands more

Society Technology

Benefits from Makes life easier

Specific views on the relationship between science and technology with society and culture:
 Social Construction of Technology (Weibe Bijker and Trevor Pinch, 1984) – emphasizes the importance of social
context in the development of new technologies viewed as a product of social processes involving several social groups. It
argues that technological innovation is a complex process wherein both technology and society negotiate the meaning of
new technologies; then make changes to technology through resistance; and lastly construct social and technological
frameworks, actions and practices.
 Technological Somnambulism (Langdon Winner – political scientist) – denies the various ways by w/c technology
provides structure and meaning for human life.
 Technological Determinism (Thorstein Veblen – American sociologist and economist) – technology is viewed as the
main determinant of a society’s history and the driving force of its culture.

Pepito, Niña Blanche V. BSBA-MM 1 | pg. 1