Introduction
Canadians were watching American TV before Canadian TV existed
Other American media perceived as “not as dangerous” as television
To address concerns the government created the Massey Commission (Royal Commission on National Development in the Arts, Letters, and Sciences)
Said American TV served commercial interests, not our “national needs”
Canadian TV was to be public and a ‘valuable tool [...]
Feudalism
Fall of the Roman Empire, feudal economy, local defense and self-sufficiency, trade in luxury goods and slaves
Land based feudal system, craft based industry
Common ownership of land, forced labor
Lords provided protection from aggressors, demanded service
Technological advances (iron, ploughs, harnesses and looms, mills) dispersed
Feudal economy expanded in scope over more land
Trade and local manufacturing, importance of towns, [...]
Introduction
10 centuries of history, end of the Classical period to end of the medieval period
What happens to science in this long span of time?
Greek natural philosophy, in techniques and ideas, decays, is transmitted across cultures, it recovers and eventually transforms
Recovering the classical world view, adapting it Feudalism and religion
Classical World View
No religious explanations, exclusion of [...]
Medieval Dutch Hydraulic Engineering
European rainfall, thick, wet soil, iron–shod plough and oxen
Field rotation, crop, fallow, manure, population increase
Horse-collar, increased horse population, cavalry, stirrups
Hydraulic Engineering in Holland
Limited land for farming, starvation, disease and warfare
Holland below sea level, hydraulic engineering to create farmland
Drainage of marshland using canals
Reciprocal effect: draining one area led to flooding in another, [...]
The Iron Age and Greek Natural Philosophy
Ancient Greece: Scholarly discussion about nature; The exclusion of religion from explanations of nature; City states and democracy, open inquiry
Iron
Iron important for commerce by 12th century BC
Forging and welding soft wrought iron, trial and error
Technique, simple tools, wood and iron ore, secret of steel
Communities, iron weapons, horses, warfare with [...]
Agriculture
Agriculture developed approximately 10000 years ago
Growing of crops and the domestication of animals
Change from nomadic tribes to settlements, knowledge of growing cycle of plants: Early agriculture expanded our knowledge of plants
Populations growth, food storage, work
Agricultural techniques: sowing, hoeing, reaping, threshing, storing, grinding, baking, brewing, weaving, pottery, etc.
Surplus food as common goods, private property
Agriculture and delayed [...]
An Economic Perspective on Science and Technology - Methods
Bernal’s Marxism, science and history
Role of scientist in capitalist society, origins of science in society
Conditions of production, economic context of science and technology
Concerns with Science in the Modern World
Science changes rapidly, unpredictably and is not in control of scientists*The disinterested pursuit of truth, moral concerns *
Five characteristics [...]
