socscie 2 midterm

• Our early ancestors' primal need to survive paved way for the invention of several developments
• Homo Erectus


  • Used fire to cook
  • Chipped one flint over the other to produce a spark, all the while without realizing the law of friction and heat
• Tools from stone and flints

  • Marked the era of the Stone Age
  • During the advent of our very own Homo Sapiens
  • Humans began to sharpen stones as would a knife
• Wedge


  A simple machine
• There is little to no written accounts except for several cave drawings and unearthed artifacts from various parts of the world that narrate how their culture came to be
• There is little capacity for our ancestors to contemplate and perceive things outside themselves in a more reflective manner
• Miniature statues prevalent during the Paleolithic period, the so-called "Venus" figure


  • Depicts rudimentary carving of a voluptuous woman out of ivory or stone
• The reason behind the "Venus" figure is still unknown to archaeologists and anthropologists alike
• Humans in the past share the same concerns and interest, suggesting that these inclinations persist through multitudes of generations over several millennia
• Fur clothing and animal skin

  • Primarily used for comforts against harsh winds
  • Our ancestors are able to draw the connection between their being naked and vulnerable due to some lack of fur or protective covering which would otherwise allow them to withstand extreme weather conditions
• Our ancestors have been deeply engaged in the concept of beauty
• Our ancestors quickly realized that there are events outside of their control and attempted to justify things as being a work of supernatural being
• Religion remains to be the strongest contender to science arguably due to its being the most easily grasped
• The people of yesterday appeared to have acknowledge early on that they could only do and understand as much, that perhaps other powers at play also existed alongside them
• The earliest case of man-made extinction occurred over 12,000 years ago, possibly brought upon by hunting and territorial disputes
• Holocene extinction


  • Also called the sixth extinction or more aptly Anthropocene extinction
  • Ongoing extinction of several species both flora and fauna due to human activity
• Growing population also necessitated finding additional resources, leading to overhunting and overfishing common prey, some of which were endemic to the area
• Formation of communities caused humans to expand more in territory and more people to feed
• People then had a new objective-gather as much products as possible
• They have turned to wealth as one of their goals as humans and ultimately as civilizations, for they perceived that those who have many, live comfortably and thus are generally happier than those who do not have sufficient wealth
• Products of every kind were exchanged raging from necessary ones such as crops, cattle, poultry, others of kind and clothing materials up to metals, accessories, weapons, spices, literature, and entertainment
• Humanity became more complex
• The primary goal was not merely to survive, but to live the good life
• Technology has been instrumental in all of these because in searching for the good life, people were able to come up with creations that would make life easier, more comfortable, and more enriching
• Medicine was thus born, although it would take a considerable long time before it part ways with potion
• Chemistry and its primitive form, not quite distinct from alchemy, emerged due to the fixation with gold and the attempt to turn lead into gold
• Wars were always being waged, leading communities to allocate resources to the militia
• Physical strength was valued at most, although there appeared to be as many intellectually gifted figures just the same
• These innovators were the primarily the ones behind discoveries and triumph of these civilizations
• Notable Comparisons Then and Now

  • Mortality Rate
  • Average Lifespan
  • Literacy Rate
  • Gross Domestic Product
• Humanity has indeed come a long way from our primitive ways, and as a general rule, it is said that we are more "developed" than we were before
• Modern humans are reliant on technology in their search for the good life
• Deterministic view of technology

  Technology is instrumental in achieving a goal in mind, that it is a purposeful, deliberate craft humans steer in order to reach some greater good
• In the advent of postmodernism, the deterministic view appended to technology crumbled as people began to question if anything is deterministic at all
• Martin Heidegger's view of technology

  • Its essence, or purpose and being are different from each other
  • Technology can either be perceived as a means to achieve man's end or that which constitutes human activity
• Humans are reduced into the amount of productivity they are able to render during their lifetime, and our current mindset is geared toward which would utilize our own skills
• The danger presented by too much reliance on technology is that humans lose track of things that matter, reducing their surroundings to their economic value
• Aristotle disagreed with Plato's position and forwarded the idea that there is no reality over and above what the senses can perceive
• Aristotle said that change is a process that is inherent in things, and that we, along with all other entities in the world, start as potentialities and move as actualities
• John Stuart Mill declared the Greatest Happiness Principle, saying that an action is right as far as it maximizes the attainment of happiness for the greatest number of people