NAME:

SECTION:

I. As we just heard, Heidegger’s analysis of technology in The Question Concerning Technology consists of three main
‘claims’:

(1) technology is “not an instrument”, it is a way of understanding the world;

(2) technology is “not a human activity”, but develops beyond human control; and

(3) technology is “the highest danger”, risking us to only see the world through technological thinking.

 explain by setting forth in careful and elaborated details by your observations or opinion for each of
Heidegger’s claim

ANSWER:

(1) technology is “not an instrument”, it is a way of understanding the world;

For Heidegger, technology is not only something that is instrumental rather,technology of a certain period may
define the current reality of that time. Like during the stone age, technology was merely made for their essentials which
is for hunting. Seeing the technology of the old age, we may view their reality as something that only revolves for
survival. It is a way of understanding the world, by viewing technology as not just instrumental or a tool for humans.
Technology must be viewed not just the technology itself but also its essence. How is the current technology essential to
the modern world? Based on my perspective, modern technology may be seen as an inseparable part of humanity.
Today’s modern world may be defined as a world run by technology, almost everything is run by technology. Our reality
evolves on human development, the modern world is hungry for technological and scientific advancement.

(2) technology is “not a human activity”, but develops beyond human control; and

(3) technology is “the highest danger”, risking us to only see the world through technological thinking.

According to Heidegger, people view the world as a standing reserve. It is risky when people enframe the world
and see it as raw materials through technology. The video showed examples like whenever people see, natural
resources an image of a processed good comes first into mind, which may be harmful to nature and to humanity itself.
According to the video, we need to see the world as it is and not in a technological stand point. This can be very much
observed in the modern world, natural sources are rarely viewed as part of our world that must co-exist humans, rather
it is mostly viewed as raw materials available for production. Technology, over using and over powering nature would
obviously a very big risk that humanity would ever encounter. However, according to the video, if people will
understand how technological view of the world may be harmful, human can also stop the risk this technological point
of view may bring.
II. Reflection Paper on the Film "The Magician's Twin" by CS Lewis

A reflection paper. Guide questions:

(1) What is scientism? a. Extension question: How is scientism related to “technocracy”? b. Was CS Lewis against
science?
(2) The video contends that science and technology may be gaining increasing control over our lives, potentially to
the detriment of society. Do you agree? Does this match your own observations and experiences?
(3) According to the film, how is science being likened to a religion? What were examples of movements in history
that became cause for concern that the scientific method was being applied beyond its appropriate boundaries?

ANSWER:

(1) What is scientism? a. Extension question: How is scientism related to “technocracy”? b. Was CS Lewis against
science?

Scienticism is the idea that the method of natural science should be the bar by which other intellectual discipline
must be held. This belief tries to promote science as something that stands higher than every other beliefs, or discipline.
Under scienticism, it is believed that natural science has authority over all other interpretations of life. It can also
promote the belief that science has no boundary and that anything can be explained, solved and dealt with the help of
science alone. Scienticism views science as the absolute and only justifiable truth.

Technocracy is a government or social system where in science and technology is a superior controlling factor
and the authorities were elected based on their scientific and technical knowledge.

Technocracy and scienticism are related in a way that, according to lewis, “politicians become scientists’
puppets.” With technocracy, politicians who favors science tend to rely everything on science. Since in technocracy,
politics involve science, the government decisions were mostly based on the knowledge and advice of scientists until in
the end, they become merely puppets of scientists, since according to Lewis, when he compared science and magic and
he said that science may be subject to gullibility and everyone will believe everything if its dressed up in the name of
science, and if the government agrees with science, and so the state.

Technocrats try to resolve everything with science, crimes with scientific weapons, health with scientific healing,
global warming, famine, economic policies, can be dealt with science, a proof to their famous motto, “only science can
save us now.”

According to Jay Richards, Lewis never attacked science itself, what he attacked was scientism. He was very
much skeptic and a critic of scientism. He thought that science may be corrupted and used by the wrong people and
with the wrong purpose. He was afraid that science would be used by people who seeks power and the public may
believe everything just because of too much faith in science. After the second world war, Lewis thought that this crisis
was caused by abuses of scientific method, scientific terminology and language and scientific faith.

(2) The video contends that science and technology may be gaining increasing control over our lives, potentially to
the detriment of society. Do you agree? Does this match your own observations and experiences?

I agree that science and technology is gaining increasing control over our lives. Based on my observation to the
current society we live in, we try to deal with anything using science, people easil believe anything as long as it used
science and technology as a source or platform. Social media as a strong example, where people spend so much time in
and these people let everything floating in the internet to control them, their judgment and their belief. I remembered
receiving a forwarded email from a friend warning me to turn off my phone at a given time period because of cosmic
radiations and such and that I need to forward that message to a certain number of people within 30 days so that my
account would not be deactivated. However, the thing is, I’ve been receiving the same exact email every year, and I
never did once performed the indicated instruction. My account is still active and the radiation thing did not occur, and I
thought, people in the internet are so gullible to believe an email claiming to be from the creator of facebook, and was
written in mixed English and Filipino which has been circulating the net for years. People believe anything and do
anything if it mentions scientific terminologies and people with scientific and technological knowledge.

Science and technology nowadays are involved in almost everything. From using technological product to check
the time when we wake up, to cooking our breakfast, to commuting to school or to work, to listening to lessons which
now use powerpoints and projectors until we go home and go to sleep after recalling or recording what happened in a
day using smartphones. Even emotional crises are now resolved using scientific medicines, or some scientific methods.
Looking around, its hard to find people who are not holding their cellphone devices. Science and technology has become
so involvedin our daily lives that it has become impossible to measure how much we use technology in different ways
each day.

(3) According to the film, how is science being likened to a religion? What were examples of movements in history
that became cause for concern that the scientific method was being applied beyond its appropriate boundaries?

A magical view of the world makes you feel like there’s something more than our daily lives. According many
people today speak in the name of science and offer science as an equal for religion. Some people claim that science
gives meaning to their life. People even look up to scientists in a way of like worshipping them. The strongest proof was
Charles Darwin and his followers. Many celebrate Darwin’s birthday every February, they provide birthday cakes,
conduct special concerts even and hymns towards Darwin. A clip of a girl holding a banner with the words “evolution
gave me thumbs to hold his”, which according to my own interpretation, is meant to say that it is evolution that made
her who she was today and the reason why she exists, which is a claim that may have a religious version. Websites
encouraging people to believe in revolution were also shown and were designed like a religious platform and even used
words that links evolution to religion revolution evangelists, God of evolution and even compared Darwin as an equal to
Jesus. “It really takes on the trappings of a religion”-Menuge. According to the film, all the celebrations and recognition
that science people give to scientists and scientific principles are fitting to be considered as a religion.

The film stated some scientific methods and movements that caused concern that science is being used beyond
its appropriate boundaries and these are, sterilization of the unfit, selective breeding, biochemical conditioning,
experimentation on both animals and criminal and scientific planning. Sterilization of the unfit is preventing people with
mental deficiencies from having offsprings claiming that another generation of imbeciles is not necessary, I think that it
is alarming because it violates a person’s moral right. selective breeding or also known as eugenics was also mentioned
which aims to improve genetic quality of human population by manipulating reproduction and with selected genetic
trait of selected individuals.

These scientific methods and movements were criticized because it may be viewed, (which I think it really is) as
violations of human rights, and according to the film, the continuation of these practices may lead to a future where
nothing is sacred. Everything would be done for scientific evolution and development and that is what Lewis’ fear before
his death.