SCIENCE

TECHNOLOGY
AND
SOCIET Y
 GRADING PERIOD B: STS AND
THE HUMAN CONDITION
a.The Human Person flourishing in terms of science
and technology
b.Technology as a Way of Revealing
c. Human flourishing
d.The Good Life
e. When technology and humanity cross
f. Why does the future not need us?
 HUMAN FLUORISHING
TECHNOLOGY AS A MODE OF
REVEALING
1. discuss what technology reveals
2. examine technology and its role in human flourishing
3. explain the role of art in a technological world
 Martin Heidegger (1889 - 1976) was a 20th
Century German philosopher. He was one of the most
original and important philosophers of the 20th
Century, but also one of the most controversial. His
best known book, "Being and Time", although
notoriously difficult, is generally considered to be one
of the most important philosophical works of the 20th
Century. In “The Question Concerning
Technology ”, Martin Heidegger discusses the
essence of technology.
MARTIN HEIDEGGER
 WHAT IS TECHNOLOGY?
• instrumental – a means to an end
• anthropological – a human activity

• definition is correct but not necessarily true

• the true can be pursued through the correct
• the experience and understanding of what is correct lead us
to what is true
• by experiencing and understanding technology we discover
the truth about it
 HUMAN FLOURISHING IN
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
“The poetic roots of technology have been
obscured by mechanization that has compelled
us to harness nature’s energy into an
accumulated heterogeneous reserve that
conceals the true nature of things. The solution
is to question and confront technology through
its forgotten roots in the arts.”
THE QUESTION CONCERNING
TECHNOLOGY
• our technological relationship with nature was
one of steward but now is one of both master
and slave

• the purpose of questioning technology

therefore is therefore to break the chains of
technology and be free, not in the absence of
technology but through a better understanding
of its essence and meaning
“The essence of technology is
by no means anything
technological.”
We can use technical devices, and yet with the
proper use also keep ourselves so free of them,
that we may let go of them anytime....We can
affirm the unavoidable use of technical devices
and also deny them the right to dominate us,
and so to warp, confuse and lay waste our
nature........
Technology is no mere means, it is a way of
revealing (truth).
“techne” – belongs to bringing forth, to poiesis
• technology is something poetic
• technology is poiesis
• technology is a mode of aletheia (truth)
Ex. cellphone/internet (online vs personal)
 MODERN TECHNOLOGY AS
POIESIS?
the revealing that rules in modern technology is:
• a challenging which puts to nature the
unreasonable demand that it supply energy
which can be extracted and stored as such
• has the character of setting upon; in the sense
of a challenging-forth
ENFRAMING: WAY OF REVEALING
IN THE MODERN WORLD
Enframing is the essence of modern technology;
that which reveals the real through ordering as
standing reserve.
The poetry that is found in nature can no, longer
be easily appreciated when nature is enframed.
ENFRAMING: WAY OF REVEALING
IN THE MODERN WORLD
Calculative thinking – humans desire to put an order to nature
to better understand and control it

Meditative thinking – humans allow nature to reveal itself

 THEREFORE........
• Humans are challenged forth (compelled) by
enframing to reveal the real in a seemingly
deterministic way (destining) that holds
complete sway over us.
• Enframing conceals the revealing which in the
sense of poiesis, lets what presences come
forth into appearance.
 ACTIVITY: POIESIS VS.
ENFRAMING
Choose and present an artwork that helps reveal who the
human person is in the face of modern technology.
Criteria:
a. Beauty and message of artwork- 50%
b. Philosophizing, weaving together the elements of Heidegger’s
thought- 50%
HUMAN FLOURISHING IN

PROGRESS AND
DE-DEVELOPMENT
OBJECTIVE

1. Discuss human flourishing in Science and Technology.

2. Explain De-development as a progress and development
framework.
3. Differentiate between traditional framework of progress and
development and Hickel’s concept of de-development.
WHAT IS FLOURISHING?
→a state where people experience positive emotions, positive
psychological functioning and positive social functioning, most
of the time living within an optimal range of human functioning.

→Human flourishing on the other side focus on the effort

to achieve self-actualization and fulfilment within the
context of a larger community of individuals, each with a
right to pursue his or her own such efforts.
HUMAN FOURISHING
• Recent researches found that around 60’s and 70’s
overconsumption was already witnessed in those middle
and high income generating countries. These efforts have
placed the planet into risk.
• You are tasked to watch this video clip of Coca Cola art
https://tinyurl.com/y3k3fadg
HUMAN FOURISHING
• According to BBC Health News, 2019 Meat production
today is nearly five times higher than the early 1960’s- from
70 million tons to more than 330 million tons in 2017.

• Human are seen flourishing in those developed countries

however such flourishing led to overconsumption of
resources in the planet.
GOOD LIFE
 THE GOOD LIFE
1. explain the concept of the good life as posited by
Aristotle
2. define the good life in own words
3. Examine shared concerns that make up the good life
to come up with innovative and creative solutions to
contemporary issues guided by ethical standards
 ARISTOTLE: NICHOMACHEAN
ETHICS AND THE GOOD LIFE

1. What standard could be used to define “good life”?

2. How can the standard serve as a guide toward living the good
life in the midst of scientific progress and technological
advancement?
 ARISTOTLE: NICHOMACHEAN
ETHICS AND THE GOOD LIFE
➢In the documentary film, The Magician’s Twin: C.S. Lewis and the
Case Against Scientism, C.S Lewis posited that “science must be
guided by some ethical basis that is not dictated by science
itself”
 ARISTOTLE: NICHOMACHEAN
ETHICS AND THE GOOD LIFE
➢In NE book 2 chapter 2: However some actions aim at an
instrumental good, while some aim at an intrinsic good. The
ultimate good is better than the instrumental good
EUDAIMONIA: THE ULTIMATE GOOD
➢One might think that pleasure is the ultimate
good.
➢Others might think that wealth is a potential
candidate for the ultimate good.
➢Another for the ultimate good is fame and
honor
EUDAIMONIA: THE ULTIMATE GOOD
Eudaimonia = the good life
eu = “good”
daimon = “spirit”
• a good life is marked by happiness and
excellence
• a flourishing life filled with meaningful
endeavors that empower the human person to
 ARISTOTLE: NICHOMACHEAN
ETHICS
“All human activities aim at some good. Every art and
human inquiry, and similarly every action and pursuit, is
thought to aim at some good; and for this reason the good
has been rightly declared as that at which all things aim.”

“.....both the many and the cultivated call it happiness, and

suppose that living well and doing well are the same as being
happy.”
Happiness is the ultimate end of human action.

• Happiness defines a good life; that which comes

from living a life of virtue, a life of excellence,
manifested from the personal to the global
scale.
• Virtue plays a significant role in the living and attainment of
the good life. It is the constant practice of the good no
matter how difficult the circumstances may be.Virtue is the
excellence of character that empowers one to do and be
good.
• Example:
Making sure that one avoids sugary and processed foods
to keep health is an activity that expresses virtue. (this action
requires discipline and practice)
EUDAIMONIA: UNIQUELY HUMAN?
ARÊTE AND HUMAN HAPPINESS
Arête = excellence of any kind
= moral virtue
❖Intellectual virtue/ virtue of thought (wisdom
and understanding)
❖Moral virtue/ virtue of character (generosity,
temperance, and courage)
WHAT THEN IS THE GOOD LIFE?
 ACTIVITY: COMPARE AND
CONTRAST
Identify two modes of doing the same thing where one involves
a more technologically advanced method. List down as
many examples. Brainstorm with your group mates if a less
technologically sophisticated mechanism can actually turn out to
better in terms of reaching for the good life.
 ACTIVITY: VILLAGE OF THE
WATERMILLS
• What is “the good life? "Is our personal concept of “the good
life” the same as what was depicted in the film?
• Which part of the film struck you most? Why?
• Based on the film, discuss how technology reveals nature and
the human person’s role in it.
 WHY THE FUTURE DOES NOT
NEED US?
• Bill Joy – Chief scientist and Corporate Executive
Officer of Sun Microsystems
• Our most powerful 21st century technologies,
genetics, nanotech, and robotics, are threatening to
make humans an endangered species. This possible
extinction of the species may largely come about due
to the unreflective and unquestioning acceptance of
new technologies by humans.
SPECIAL ISSUES
• The Information Society (internet)
• Biodiversity and the Healthy Society
• Genetically modified organisms
• The Nano World
• Gene Therapy
• Robotics
• Covid-19 vaccine
• Climate Change
Choose one of the special topics/issues in the list and answer
the following questions:
1. Is the development of your chosen technology a movement
towards the good life?
2. Is it founded on virtue and ethics?
3. Is happiness its end goal?