FINALS: SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY AND THE HUMAN CONDITION
LESSON:4 THE IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGY
Comparing the lives of the people before and now will
make anyone realize the changes that happened in the
society not just in terms of culture, language or rights
but more importantly, changes in people’s way of life
due to the existence of science and technology.
MARTIN HEIDEGGER
 According to Martin Heidegger a German
philosopher stated that “The essence of
technology is by no means anything
technological.”
 He is widely acknowledged as one of the most
important philosophers of the 20th century.
 His stern opposition to positivism and
technological world domination received
unequivocal support from leading post
modernists and post-structuralists of the time,
including Jacques Derrida, Michel Foucalt, and
Jean-Francois Lyotard.
 In 1933, he joined the Nazi Party and remained
to be a member until it was dismantled toward
the end of World War II.
 This resulted in his dismissal from the
University of Freiburg in 1949. He was only able
to resume teaching in 1951.
 Heidegger’s work on ontology or the study of
being or “dasein” in German.
 His philosophical works are often described as
complicated, partly due to his use of complex
compound German words.
THE ESSENCE OF TECHNOLOGY
- It cannot be denied that science and technology are
responsible for the way society is continuously being
modernized.
- Science and technology continuously seep into the
way people go about their daily lives.
- However the omnipresence of science and technology
must not eclipse the basic tenets of ethics and
morality. Instead, it should allow the human person to
flourish alongside scientific progress and technological
development.
- In order to spark the discussion on the role of ethics
and social morality in science and technology, it is
necessary to go back to the very essence of
technology, its definition.
The essence of technology can be captured in its
definition. Martin Heidegger explains two widely
embraced definitions of technology:
1. Instrumental definition: Technology is a
means to an end.
 Technology is not an end in itself, it is a means
to an end.
 In this context technology is viewed as a tool
available to individuals, groups and
communities that desire to make an impact in
our society.
 How technology is used varies from individual
to individual, groups to groups, and
communities to communities according to their
individual and collective functions, goals and
aspirations.
 While technology is omnipresent, knowing its
functions requires paying attention to how
humans use it as a means to an end. In this
sense technology is an instrument aimed at
getting things done.
2. Anthropological definition: Technology is
human activity.
 Alternatively, technology can also be defined
as a human activity because to achieve an end
and to produce and use a means to an end is,
by itself, a human activity.
 The production or invention of technological
equipment, tools and machines, the products
and inventions, and the purpose and functions
they serve are what define technology.
TECHNOLOGY AS A WAY OF REVEALING
 Heidegger stressed that the true can only be
pursued through the correct. Simply, what is
correct leads to what is true.
 Heidegger envisioned technology as a way of
revealing a mode of “bringing forth”.
 It can be understood that “bringing fourth”
through the Ancient Greek philosophical
concept “poesis”, refers to an act of bringing
something out of concealment. By bringing
something out of concealment, the truth of that
something is revealed.
 The truth is understood through another
Ancient Greek concept of “aletheia”, which is
translated as unclosedness, unconcealedness,
disclosure or truth.
TECHNOLOGY AS POESIS: DOES MODERN
TECHNOLOGY BRING FORTH OR CHALLENGE
FORTH?
 Heidegger made a clear distinction between
technology and modern technology in that the
latter “challenges” nature. Modern technology
challenges nature by extracting something
from it and transforming, storing and
distributing it.
 Heidegger considers modern technology’s way
of revealing as a way of challenging forth.
Modern technology challenges forth because it
makes people think how to do things faster,
more effectively and with less effort. It prompts
people into dominating and enframing the
earth’s natural resources.
 Challenging forth reduces objects as standing-
reserve or something to be disposed of by
those who enframe them-humans. This is also
evident in the way people exploit natural
resources with very little concern for the
ecological consequences that comes with it.
 Challenging forth of modern technology is also
evident in the information age, such that
greater control of information to profit from its
value gives rise to concerns about privacy and
the protection of human rights.
 The challenging forth of modern technology is
seen everywhere in the rise and depletion of
petroleum as a strategic resource the
introduction and use synthetic dyes, artificial
flavorings, and toxic materials into the
consumer stream that brings about adverse
effects on human health and the use of
ripening agents in agriculture that poses
threats to food safety and health security.
ENFRAMING AS MODERN TECHNOLOGY’S WAY OF
REVEALING
 If the essence of technology is can be
understood as a way of bringing forth the truth
in the sense of poiesis, Heidegger distinguished
the way of revealing of modern technology by
considering it as a process of enframing.
 Humankind’s desire to control everything,
including nature is encaptured in this process.
By putting things, in this case nature, in a
frame, it becomes much easier for humans to
control it according to their desires.
 Enframing according to Heidegger is akin to
two ways of looking at the world: calculative
thinking and meditative thinking.
 Calculative thinking describes human desire to
put an order to nature to better understand
FINALS: SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY AND THE HUMAN CONDITION
and control it. Calculative thinking tends to be
more commonly utilized, primarily because
human’s desire to control due to their fear and
irregularity.
 Meditative thinking means that humans allow
nature to reveal itself to them without the use
of force or violence.
 One thinking is not necessarily better than the
other. In fact, humans are capable of using
both and will benefit from being able to
harmonize these ways of looking at the world.
 Enframing is then a way of ordering or framing
nature to better manipulate it.
 The role of humans take as instruments of
technology through enframing is called
destining. In destining humans are challenged
forth by enframing to reveal what is real.
THE DANGERS OF TECHNOLOGY
 The dangers of technology lie in how humans
let themselves be consumed by it. Although
humans are looped into the cycle of bringing
forth or challenging forth, it is their
responsibility to recognize how they become
instruments of technology.
 As mere tenants of the earth people must not
allow themselves to be consumed by
technology lest they lose the essence of who
they are as human beings. In this sense,
humans are in danger of becoming merely part
of the standing reserve or alternatively, may
find themselves in nature.
 Recognizing the dangers of technology requires
critical and reflective thinking on its use.
 For example, social media has indeed
connected people in the most efficient and
convenient way imaginable, but it also
inadvertently gave rise to issues such as
invasion of privacy, online disinhibition, and
proliferation of fake news.
 The line has to be drawn between what
constitutes a beneficial use of social media and
a dangerous one. Social media comes both
with benefits and drawbacks.
ART AS THE SAVING POWER OF TECHNOLOGY
 Heidegger saw art as an act of the mind that
protected and had great power over the truth.
 By focusing on art, people are able to see more
clearly how art is embedded in nature.
 Art encourages human to think less from a
calculative standpoint where nature is viewed
as an ordered system. Instead it inspires
meditative thinking where nature is seen as an
art.
LESSON 5: THE GOOD LIFE
WHAT IS THE ESSENCE OF LIVING A GOOD LIFE
HAPPINESS AS THE GOAL OF A GOOD LIFE
 In the 18th century, John Stuart Mill declared
the Greatest Happiness Principle by saying that
an action is right as far as its maximizes the
attaintment of happiness for the greatest
number of people.
MATERIALISM
 Democritus and Leucipus led a school whose
primary belief is that the world is made up of
and is controlled by the tiny indivisible units in
the world called atomos or seeds.
 For Democritus and his disciples, the world,
including human beings, is made of matter.
 Atomos simply comes together randomly to
form the things in the world, as such only
material entities matter.
 In terms of human flourishing, matter is what
makes us attain happiness.
 We see this at work with most people who are
clinging on to material wealth as the primary
source or meaning of their existence.
HEDONISM
 The hedonist, for their part, see the end goal of
life in acquiring pleasure.
 Pleasure has been the priority of hedonists.
 For them life is about obtaining and indulging
pleasure because life is limited.
 The mantra of hedonism is “eat, drink and be
merry for tomorrow we die.”
 Led by Epicurus, this thought also does not buy
any notion of afterlife just like the materialists.
STOICISM
 Another school of thought led by Epicurus, the
stoics espoused the idea that to generate
happiness, one must learn to distance oneself
and be apathetic.
 The original term, apatheia, precisely means to
be indifferent.
 For the stoics, happiness can only be attained
by a careful practice of apathy.
 We should, in this worldview, adopt the fact
that some things are not within our control. The
sooner we realize this, the happier we can
become.
THEISM
 Most people find the meaning of their lives
using God as a fulcrum of their existence.
 The Philippines as a predominantly Catholic
and Christian country is witness to how people
base their life goals on beliefs that hinged on
some form of supernatural reality called
heaven.
 The ultimate basis of happiness for theists is
the communion with God.
 The world where we are in is only just a
temporary reality where we have to maneuver
around while waiting for the ultimate return to
the hands of God.
HUMANISM
 Humanism as another school of thought
espouses the freedom of man to carve his own
destiny and to legislate his own laws, free from
the shackles of a God that monitors and
controls.
 For humanists, man is literally the captain of
his own ship.
 Inspired by the enlightenment in seventeenth
century, humanists see themselves not merely
as stewards of the creation but as individuals
who are in control of themselves and the world
outside them.
 The motivation of the humanist current,
scientists eventually turned to technology in
order to ease the difficulty of life.
 Social as an example has been so far a very
effective way of employing technology in
purging time and space.
LESSON 6: GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISMS:
SCIENCE, HEALTH AND POLITICS
 The general process of genetic engineering is
the deliberate manipulation of the organism’s
genes, where it may involve transfer of genes
from other organisms.
 Genetic engineering has been with the human
society since selective breeding was introduced
to humankind and when animals were
domesticated.
FINALS: SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY AND THE HUMAN CONDITION
 In 2001, Rosalie Ellasus, a former overseas
Filipino worker in Singapore turned farmer,
attended the Integrated Pest Management
Farmers Field School and was introduced to Bt
Corn, a genetically modified corn that is
resistant to the destructive Asian corn borer.
 She volunteered for demo-testing in her field.
The Bt corn yielded 7.2 tons per acre as
compared to a regular yield of 4.2 tons per
hectare. No insecticide was needed. This is one
of the success stories of Genetically Modified
Organism (GMO).
GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISM
 Genetically modified organism (GMO) is the
term used for an organism created through
genetic engineering.
 According to the World Health Organization,
GMO is defined as an organism either plant,
animal or microorganism, in which genetic
material (DNA) has been altered in a way that
does not occur naturally by mating or natural
recombination.
 The development of GMOs was perceived to
help in the advancement of technology for the
benefit of humans in different industries like
agriculture and medicine.
GMO IN FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL INDUSTRIES
1. Pest Resistance
 Genetically modified plants resist certain pests.
Of Bacillus
 Example is Bt Corn has been modified with
gene Bacillus Thuringiensis, a soil bacterium
that produces proteins which is toxic to corn
borers (worms).
2. Virus resistance
 Genetically modified plants resist certain
strains of viruses.
 An example is GM papaya or rainbow papaya.
The papaya ringspot virus (PRSV) is known to
be detrimental to papaya plants.
 The protein of PRSV was introduced to the
papaya plant through plant tissue which turned
out to be resistant to the virus itself.
 The effect was like the vaccines humans have
against measles or influenza.
3. Herbicide tolerance
 Genetically modified plants have developed
tolerance to herbicide.
 An example is the Roundup Ready soybean.
 Glyphosate an herbicide for weeds was
introduced to soybeans making it tolerant to
the herbicide itself.
 Farmers then can spray the herbicide killing the
weeds but not the soybeans.
4. Fortification
 Genetically modified plants fortified with
certain minerals.
 An example is the Golden Rice which is fortified
with Beta-carotene, a precursor of Vitamin A
was introduced through biosynthesis genes to
the rice making the rice grains fortified with
vitamin A.
5. Cosmetic preservation
 Genetically modified plants resist natural
discoloration.
 An example is the Artic Apple. The apple
variety was genetically modified to suppress
the browning of apple due to superficial
damage.
6. Increase growth rate
 A genetically modified organism that has
higher yield in growth than normal species.
 An example is the Aqua Advantage salmon. A
gene from an ocean pout, an eel-like fish was
introduced to Pacific Chinook salmon, making
the salmon grow faster than its normal rate.
GMOs IN NON-FOOD CROPS AND
MICROORGANISMS
1. Flower production
 GMOs in flower production are seen in
modified color and extended vase of life
flowers. Example are blue roses.
2. Paper production
 Modified characteristics of trees for higher
yield of paper production.
3. Pharmaceutical production
 Modified plants to produce pharmaceutical
products.
 Examples are periwinkle plants. Bacterial
genes were added to the periwinkle plat to
enhance the production of vinblastine, an
alkaloid usually added to drugs for cancer
treatments like Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
4. Bioremediation
 Use of modified plants that can assist in the
bioremediation of polluted sites.
5. Enzyme and drug production
 Use of modified microorganisms that can
produce enzymes for food processing and
medicines.
6. GMOs in the medical field
 Genetic engineering is playing a significant role
from diagnosis to treatment of human-dreaded
diseases. It helps in the production of drugs,
gene therapy and laboratory researches.
 Example is Humulin, the genetically engineered
insulin used by Type 1 diabetes patients who
are insulin dependent.
BENEFITS OF GMOs
1. Higher efficiency in farming
 The use of pesticide-resistant/herbicide-
tolerant GMO crops, there will be less use of
herbicides/pesticides and lower cost for labor
and cultivation.
2. Increase in harvest
 GMO crops resistant to pests and diseases
means increase in potential growth and
harvest.
3. Control in fertility
 Controlling the purity of the hybrid seeds
ensures higher yield.
4. Increase in food processing
 Altered characteristics of GMO crops help ease
food processing
5. Improvement of desirable characteristics
 GMOs offer longer shelf life, enhanced color
and taste, enhanced production or reduction of
enzymes, and other modified characteristics of
plants, animals, and microorganisms.
FINALS: SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY AND THE HUMAN CONDITION

6. Nutritional and pharmaceutical enhancement How Big is Nanometer?

 GMO crops like maize fortified with lysine and - In the time it takes to read this sentence, your
Golden Rice fortified with vitamin A and iron. fingernails will have grown approximately one
nanometer (1 nm).
7. Reduce the use of fertilizers and pesticides
Types of “Special” Microscopes
POTENTIAL RISKS OF GMOs:
 Optical microscope
1. Since genetic engineering is still a young branch of  Scanning electron microscope
science, there are inadequate studies on the effects of  Transmission electron microscope
GMOs to humans and the environment.
What Scanning Probe Microscopy (SPM) can do?
2. Genetic engineering promotes mutation in
organisms which has unknown long term effects,  Measure surface topography (“hills”, “valleys”)
 Measure roughness
3. Human consumption of GMOs might have the  Measure surface topography (“hills”, “valleys”)
following effects:  Measure roughness
 Measure electrical/chemical properties
 More allergic reactions
 Measure material properties (elasticity,
 Gene mutation
strength)
 Antibiotic resistance
 Nutritional value LESSON 8: CLIMATE CHANGE
POTENTIAL HUMAN HEALTH RISKS CAUSED BY The Climate is Changing
GMOs
• Temperatures are rising
A major concern in the use and consumption of GMOs
is its effect on human beings, primarily on human • Sea levels are rising
health. Some potential human health risks are as
follows: • The ocean is acidifying

1. Consumption of GMOs may have adverse effects • Climate change is reflected in water cycle
since it is not naturally or genetically produced. changes and in extreme weather

2. Consumption of GMOs may alter the balance of Ecological Impacts

existing microorganisms in the human digestive Living things are intimately connected to their
system. physical surroundings.
3. Production of toxins may be detrimental to human Ecosystems are affected by changes in:
health
- Temperature
4. Production of allergens may have adverse effects on - Rainfall/moisture
humans. - pH
- salinity (saltiness)
LESSON 7: NANO 101: EXPLORING THE
- activities & distribution of other species
NANOWORLD - …many other factors
What is Nanotechnology? As a result of climate change, species and
- Nanotechnology involves manipulating matter at ecosystems are experiencing changes in:
unprecedentedly small scales to create new or - ranges
improved products that can be used in a wide variety - timing of biological activity
of ways. - growth rates
- relative abundance of species
Nanotechnology: Small, Different, New - cycling of water and nutrients
- the risk of disturbance from fire, insects, and
Key ideas:
invasive species
1. The nanometer is extremely small.
Range Shifts
2. At the nanometer scale, materials may behave
Species are relocating to areas with more
differently.
tolerable climate conditions.
3. We can harness this new behavior to make new
Range shifts particularly threaten species that:
technologies.
-cannot move fast enough
Why Nano Education?
–depend on conditions that are becoming more rare
Drawbacks
(like sea ice)
 Not inherently interesting (compared to
Impacts in the Pacific Coastline
dinosaurs!)
Shifting Ranges of Checkerspot Butterflies
 Below visible threshold, younger kids have
problems visualizing  Edith’s checkerspot: range has shifted
 Unexpected properties northward and to higher elevations over 40+
years.
Advantages • Quino checkerspot: first endangered species for
which climate change is officially listed as a
 Fun! threat and as a factor in the plan for its
recovery.
 Breaks down disciplinary boundaries
Changes in the Water
 Cutting-edge
• Shift in species ranges: many species moving
 Relevant to future jobs and careers
northward
FINALS: SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY AND THE HUMAN CONDITION
• Mysterious dead zones along Washington and
Oregon coastline: cause undetermined but
potential links to climate change
Impacts in Alaska Effects on Ice-Dependent
Animals
Effects on Ice-Dependent Animals
• Year-round sea ice shrinking: walruses and
other animals challenged to find platforms for
nursing and resting
• Polar bears facing difficult hunting conditions:
seals now surfacing in open ocean instead of
holes in ice a and the Arctic
Changing Food Chains
Increased shrub growth presenting a threat to
caribou (wild reindeer)
 Shrubs crowding out lichens (a key winter food
for caribou)
 Shrubs collect snow, causing deep snowdrifts:
deep snow makes it hard for caribou to reach
lichens hidden beneath
Feedback Loops: Arctic Warming Faster
The Arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of
the planet
 As sea ice and seasonal snow cover melts,
previously reflective white surfaces converted
to darker surfaces (to ocean water or
vegetation)
 Thawing permafrost releases carbon dioxide
and methane into the atmosphere, increasing
greenhouse gases
Impacts in Western Mountains
Effects on The American Pika
 Climbing to higher elevations in response to
warming
 Many populations now isolated on
“mountaintop islands
Impacts in Western Mountains
Changes in Trout Habitat
• Earlier springs, warmer summers reducing
stream flows as mountain snow melts off
earlier in the season
• Some streams reaching temperatures lethal to
trout (>78˚F)
Impacts in Southwestern Deserts
Wildfire and Invasive Species
• Nonnative grasses becoming established in
deserts:
– Red brome (in the Mojave)
– Buffelgrass (in the Sonoran)
• Grasses transform desert into flammable
grassland: fire-adapted grasses re-establish
quickly, pushing out native species like
Saguaro cactus
• Spread of grasses not directly a result of
climate change, but warming may allow them
to further spread in the desert and extend to
higher elevations.
The Piñon Pine: Past a Tipping Point
• Drought in 2000-2003 stressed a large swath of
piñons, leaving them susceptible to infestation
by pine bark beetles
• This example shows how a stressful event can
trigger dramatic ecological change when an
ecosystem is subject to many interacting
stresses
Impacts in the Central U.S.
Agricultural Impacts
• Difficult to pinpoint climate impacts: climate
change occurring along with improvements in
farming techniques
• In general, plants may:
– Grow faster (increasing yields unless it
becomes too warm or crops mature too
early)
– Be affected by carbon dioxide levels
(increased growth for some plants, not
for others)
• Good information about changes and adaptive
practices is essential for farmers
Migratory Waterways: Drying Up?
• “Playa lakes” or “Prairie potholes” essential for
migrating birds: used for resting, feeding, and
mating
• Climate change, combined with other pressures
(irrigation demands, pollution, etc.), may dry
up these important waterways
Impacts in the Southeast
Challenges to Everglades Restoration
Everglades has shrunk due to human manipulation of
the region’s water; ongoing efforts aim to restore the
ecosystem.
 Climate change impacts (increasing water
temperature, changes in precipitation) may
make restoration efforts more difficult
Sea-level Rise
• Fragments barrier islands, reconfigures
shorelines
• May leave certain ecosystems struggling to
adapt—in particular those adapted to the
conditions between land and sea
• Landward movement of mangroves and
marshes may be inhibited by human
development
Coral Reefs: Multiple Changes
• Climate change is compounding other factors
affecting reefs (coastal development, pollution,
overfishing)
• Heat stress causes coral bleaching: corals
expel symbiotic algae, leaving white “bones”
behind (deadly to coral if long-lasting)
• Ocean acidification affects marine organisms’
ability to build shells and skeletons: likely to
slow or stop the growth of coral by 2100
Northward Movement of Tropical Species
• Bird and butterfly watchers across the
Southeast looking out for new species; some
former seasonal migrants now staying year-
round
Impacts in the Northeast
Fisheries
• Cod: affected by water temperature
FINALS: SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY AND THE HUMAN CONDITION

– Habitat may become restricted to – Biological conservation

cooler pockets (<54˚F for adults,
<46˚F for young) – …and much more

• Lobsters: affected by oxygen levels

– Warmer water holds less oxygen:

oxygen becomes insufficient for
lobsters >79˚F

– In north, warming may improve lobster

habitat

• Oysters: Deadly parasite Perkinsus marinus

moving northward

– Range expanded from Chesapeake Bay

to Maine: shift linked to above-average
winter temperatures

The Role of Human Beings

Causes of Climate Change

• It is very likely that most of the climate change

in the current era is the result of human
activities.

– Human activities have increased

concentrations of greenhouse gases in
the atmosphere.

– These gases trap heat and cause the

Earth to warm.

Rate of Climate Change

• Climate change in the current era is expected

to be extremely rapid compared to transitions
in and out of past ice ages.

• Ecosystems are more vulnerable to changes

that happen rapidly.

Compounding Factors

• Human activities have many other effects on

ecosystems.

• These effects compound the effects of climate

change, making it more difficult for ecosystems
to adapt.

– Pollution

– Habitat fragmentation

– Invasive species

– Overfishing

– Manipulation of water sources

– …and much more

Improving the Outlook

• Changes in activities at the personal,

community, and national levels can affect the
rate of future climate change and species’
abilities to adapt.

• Some of the areas where changes in human

activities could help species adapt include:

– Approaches to agriculture

– Water management practices

– Energy sources and use

– Transportation

– Pollution remediation