CHAPTER 5
Science, Technology, and Nation-Building
A Historical Approach
Pre-Colonial Times (Undated – 1565)
Contrary to popular belief by the Westerners,
our ancestors are civilized and cultured. They
have:
– Own belief system (Animist Faith)
– Community organization (Barangay)
– Farming technology, irrigation, and
domestication of animals
– Medicinal use of plants (Herbal Medicines)
– Engineering (e.g. Terraces of the Philippine
Cordilleras)
– Mining of ores and metallurgy
– Trade with other civilizations
– Writing system (e.g. Baybayin)
– Weapons
– Sea-going vessels (e.g. Balangay)
– Musical instruments
– Tattooing practice (e.g. Batok of the Butbut
Tribe)
– Laws
Spanish Era (1565-1898)
Upon the arrival and colonization of the
Spaniards, they introduced to the Philippines
the following:
– Catholicism
– Reorganization of the Barrios
– Spanish Language which influenced Filipino
Language
– Stronger construction materials
– Formal Education System (schools, colleges,
and universities)
– Modern Western Medicine
– Manila-Acapulco Galleon Trade (made the
Philippines a center of commerce in Southeast
Asia, and the link to the West via the Pacific
Ocean)
– Modern engineering and architectural
techniques
Many firsts
 Railway (Ferrocarril de Manila-Dagupan)
 In-city rail system (Manila Tranvia)
 Paved roads and bridges
 Hospitals
American Era (1898-1946)
When the Americans gained control of the
Philippines, they introduced the following:
– Modernization of Infrastructure
– City Planning (e.g. Manila and the hill station
called Baguio)
– Universal Public Education System
– English Language
– Exploration and exploitation of natural
resources
– Improvements in public health and sanitation
– Establishment of the Bureau of Science
– Electrification of the country
– University of the Philippines System
Many firsts:
 Car
 Plane
 Air-conditioned building
Post-Colonial Era (1946-Present)
By virtue of the Treaty of Manila (1946), the
United States has relinquished its sovereignty
over the Philippines to the newly-established
Third Philippine Republic. This brought the
following:
– Establishment of DOST (Department of
Science and Technology), PAG-ASA (Philippine
Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical
Services Administration), PHIVOLCS
(Philippine Institute of Volcanology and
Seismology), etc.
– Modernization of the public education system
– Order of National Scientists – the highest
honor bestowed by the Philippine Government
for people who have lasting contributions in the
field of science and technology.
CHAPTER 6
HUMAN FLOURISHING
Martin Heidegger: The Question
Concerning Technology
Human Flourishing
The human person is both the bearer and
beneficiary of science and technology, and he
flourishes and finds meaning in the world he
builds.
Martin Heidegger
– German philosopher who was a part of the
Continental tradition of philosophy.
– He focused on Ontology, or the study of
‘being,’ or dasein in German.
– He was the author of the book “The Question
Concerning Technology.”
The essence of technology
 Science and technology are responsible
for the ways of society is continuously
being modernized.
 The omnipresence of science and
technology must not eclipse the basic
tenets of Ethics and morality.
 It should allow the human person to
flourish alongside scientific progress and
technological development.
Two definitions of technology
1. instrumental
– “Technology is a means to an end.”
– Technology is not an end in itself, but a
means to an end.
– Technology is a tool available to people that
desire to make an impact to society.
– All in all, technology is an instrument aimed
at getting things done.
2. Anthropological
– “Technology is a human activity.”
– To achieve an end, and to produce and use a
means to an end is, by itself, a human activity.
– The production and invention of technological
equipment, tools, machines, devices, etc., and
the functions and purpose these serve are the
things that define technology.
The four causes
“Whenever there is an effect, there is a
causality.”
According to Martin Heidegger, all things did
not come out of nothing as there should be an
origin or causality.
He introduced the idea of The Four Causes
using the metaphor of a silver chalice.
The Four Causes
 Causa Materialis - the matter/material used
to produce the object
 Causa Formalis - the logos/form/shape the
object assumes upon creation
 Causa Efficiens - the person, process, or
idea that brought upon the change
 Causa Finalis - the final effect of the object
created
Technology as a Way of Revealing
According to Heidegger, the “true” can only be
pursued through the “correct.” Simply put, what
is correct leads to what is true. Technology is a
way of revealing – a mode of “bringing forth.”
Martin Heidegger’s Ancient Greek Concepts
1. Aletheia – unhiddenness, unclosedness,
truth or disclosure.
2. Poiesis
– bringing forth.
– The act of bringing something out of
concealment.
– By bringing out of concealment, the truth of
such thing is revealed.
3. Techne
– root word of technology, meaning skill, art, or
craft.
– Encompasses knowledge and understanding
not only of the craft, but also of other acts of
the mind.
For Heidegger, technology is a form of Poeisis
– a way of revealing that unconceals aletheia
or the truth.
Enframing as Modern Technology’s Way of
Revealing
In the way of enframing (a way of ordering
nature to better manipulate it), there are two
ways of looking at the world:
1. Calculative Thinking – humans desire to
put an order to nature to better understand and
control it.
2. Meditative Thinking – humans allow nature
to reveal itself to them without the use of force
or violence.
Humans have the constant desire for security,
people put all of nature as a Standing
Reserve (Gestell) – always ready for
exploitation.
CHAPTER 7
The Concept of Happiness
Eudaimonia
– Literally meaning “good spirited,” a term
coined by Aristotle, based on his
Nichomachean Ethics, to describe the pinnacle
happiness attainable to humans.
Happiness
– The ultimate end of human action. It comes
from living a life of virtue (arête), a life of
excellence
4. Theism
– people find happiness if they use God as the
fulcrum of their lives (putting God in the center
of their lives).
5. Humanism
– This espouses the freedom of man to carve
his own destiny and to legislate his own laws,
free from the shackles of God that monitors
and controls.
– Man is literally the captain of his own ship.

The Greatest Happiness Principle by John

Stuart Mill

Based on Jeremy Bentham’s Felicific Calculus.

– If an action benefits the greatest number of
people, it is deemed ethical.
– There is no need to attain the happiness of
everyone as people have different sources of
happiness.

Schools of Thought which Aim the Good

and Happy Life
1. Materialism
– Only material things could bring happiness.
– No need to posit immaterial things (abstract
ideas) as a source of purpose.

Democritus and Leucippus proposed that the

world is made up of and is controlled by tiny,
indivisible units.
Atomos – tiny, indivisible units

2. Hedonism
– The end goal of life is in acquiring pleasure.
– Life is about obtaining and indulging in
pleasure as life is limited.
– Their mantra is “eat, drink, and be merry – for
tomorrow we die.”
3. Stoicism
– To generate happiness, one must learn to
distance himself and be apathetic (came from
the word apatheia, or indifference).
– Happiness can only be attained in the careful
practice of apathy.
– There are things outside of our control (like
other peoples’ feelings) and the sooner we
realize this, the happier we become.