The Impact Of Science And Technology On The Modern Society
Abstract
The primary aim of this research or assessment is to give a microscopic analysis of the modern society, relating its significant evolution from the primitive times to science and technology. The impact of science and technology on the modern day society is the topics of discourse, both the positive and negative aspects, alongside the definition of keywords and also a brief historical analysis have been elaborated on.
Having looked into the concept critically, it was clearly illuminated to me that science and technology is the bedrock, or better still the foundation on which the modern society rest on and civilization was built on. It would take an intellectual person no time to observe the complexity of the concept.
Contrary to what have been assumed, my findings have indicated that science and technology have contributed in fact more positively to the modern society than not. In this paper science and technology is viewed as the foundation of the modern society.
Introduction
Science and technology have had a major impact on the modern society and their impact is growing rapidly. Science and technology have formed the basis and foundation for progress in society, and has helped people’s lives more materially prosperous, by drastically changing arguably all aspects of human life, through simple and sophisticated inventions that obeys the laws of nature. The importance of science and technology in the modern contemporary society, can not be overlooked due to its vast and crucial implications and contributions in our daily dealings and activity. The chance to pursue societal concerns such as ethics, aesthetics, education and justice was given to man by science.
According to W. Clement “to every advantage there is a corresponding disadvantage”, relating this scenario to science and technology we can deduce that there would be a corresponding disadvantage on their part. The main aim of the concept of science and technology and its impact on the modern society is to show that it can be the bedrock of a prosperous society and the downfall of the same.
Definition of Terms
Science
Over the course of time, many definitions of science has been placed forward by scholars in accordance with their point of view of field of study. But starting with the epistemological meaning, science is said to be gotten from the Latin word “scientia” meaning “knowledge” of the physical workings of the universal. But according to science council, “science is the pursuit and application of knowledge and understanding of the natural and social world following a systematic methodology based on evidence”. Elaborating on this we tend to agree that science is a field of human knowledge that probes into nature and her underlying constituents using empirical method of investigation. According to UdoEtuk “ it is a systematic enterprise that operates by rules often known as hypothesis and theories with deduction and induction of laws, proffering of explanations, furthering hypothesis, testing theories to match observable fact all inbox to arriving at patterns and order of nature”.
Technology
In modern day understanding, technology is defined as the application of scientific knowledge to practical purposes in a particular field. Epistemologically technology is from the Greek word “Techne” meaning a “skill”. Martin Heidegger a German philosopher of the 20thcentury disagreed with how technology was perceived and postulated that technology should be understood as “a way of revealing”. Revealing is one of the terms Heidegger developed himself in order to make it possible to think that according to him haven’t been thought before. Whether technology is primitive or modern one thing is universal and that is, they all operate by certain laws or principles of nature.
Modern Society
Certain characteristics are required before a society can be considered as a modernized society. Advanced industry and technology, urbanization, better in com opportunities, international relations, social mobility, are some of these characteristics just to mention a few. This implies that a modern society is people living together in the current time, interacting with a high level of material gain. In a modern society, individuals work for their own gain by trading services and goods for the sole purpose of satisfying effectively and efficiently the needs and wants of individuals.
History of Science and Technology
Strangely, the history of science is more complex in telling than science itself. If we look back to the Stone Age, humans were making flint tools and using other natural materials such as wood and animal skins. This shows that from ancient times, men and women have been interacting with their environment in ways that seemed advanced to them at that particular time. Human kind took certain steps in order to transit from a primitive human society to a world of modern industrialization or better still civilization.
Civilization by which simply means “living in cities” was a crucial step in modern science which is the era we live in now. It is marked by the night level of objectivity, ethical neutrality, reliability, verifiability, precision, accuracy and lots more. The history of science and technology is virtually inseparable due to the similarities in their background data. The history of technology is the history of invention of tools and techniques. The industrial revolution began in great Britain, and many technological innovations were of British Origin. Starting from the invention of the wheel which marked the beginning of the technological era, till now technology has been constantly changing, keeping up sometimes feels like way too much effort.
Impact of Science and Technology on
The Modern Society
Those are the changes which occur due to the implementation and application of scientific principles and inventions. Throughout the years science and technology has proven to be the frontier for a prosperous and advanced future of the human race. Some of the fields in which the impact of science and technology have been widespread, and have been of great essence are lusted and explained below.
Communication
Being able to communicate effectively is perhaps the most important skill of life. It involves the exchanging of information by speaking, writing or using some other medium. In ancient times, cave painting, carrier pigeons, smoke signals and symbols were the methods of communication. People had to wait for days sometimes weeks and months to hear from one another. But thanks to technology these methods have been modified. Every year, new devices used for communication are introduced. One of the major breakthroughs of the communication sector technologically was the introduction of the internet. With access to the internet we can now send messages to people far away with just a click. Other communication methods postulated by science and innovated by technology are the postal system, newspapers, mobile phones, radios, telegraphs, emails, social media and lots more, all invented to make communication easier.
Transportation
The speed, comfort and safety of transportation is one of the major advancement science and technology have brought to the transportation sector over the course of time. Looking back, people crafted simple boats out of logs, walked, rode animals and later devised wheeled vehicles to move from place to place. In the modern society, advancement in technology has allowed people to travel farther, explore more territory and expand their influence. New inventions linked with transportation both on land, air or water have drastically reduced travel time and increase the ability to move more larger loads over longer distances. Recently, technological advancement has pushed transportation to a whole new level by exploring into the beyond even into the void of space and time.
Security
Though it cannot be said that mankind has attained a hundred percent level of security, level of security, but there is a large disparity between the security of the Stone Age and that of the modern age or era. Our early ancestors would use rocks, branches and whatever they could wield to defend their areas and properties. But with advancement in science and technology early alarm systems were invented, and then digital security systems followed through. It is because of science and technology the security system is not just efficient but even more convenient.
Agriculture
This is basically the planting and harvesting of crops and also the raring of animals, all for human consumption. Primitive humans plowed the lands by using teams of oxen pulling light unwheeled plows and harvesting of grains was done using sickles. In general most of the tasks were done by humans, not the hectic and easy ones. Relating it to the modern society, we can’t help but acknowledge the massive impact science and technology have had in this sector. Talking about the invention of the tractor, it brought about the dawn of mechanized agriculture. Mechanized agriculture replaces human labour with mechanized machinery which has greatly increased the productivity of farm workers and also the efficiency of labour.
Conclusion
In as much as science and technology have contributed massively to the revolution of the modern society and has made life easier, we can’t help but also acknowledge its disadvantages. Several issues like cyber crime, sophisticated weaponry falling into the wrong hands, lack of employment, pollution, cultural and identical degradation, environmental degradation, are all traceable back to science and technology. For instance the case of global warming and climate change are all side effects of pollution caused by industrial activities releasing carbon mono oxide into the atmosphere.
Reference
- Bunch, Bryan. “The History of Science and Technology”, (pp. 17-18), 2004.
- Cohen, Clive. “The Story of Science” (pp. 7-11), 2011.
- Heidegger, Martin. “The Question Concerning Technology” (pp. 3-35), 1977.
- Insker, Ian. “History of Technology” (pp. 23-24), 2010.
- Udo, Etuk and Dennis, E. Igwe. “Philosophy and Human Existence” (pp. 190-200), 2013.
Online sources
- http://www.Britannica.com/technology/transportation.tech
- http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/history_of_transport
- http://www.twentyfirstsecurity.com
- http://www.sciencecouncil.org