STS Midterm Notes
understanding of Martin Heidegger's point on
Chapter 4: Human Flourishing in Science and
Technology
Chapter 5: The Good Life
Human Flourishing in Science and Technology
Learning Objectives:
At the end of the chapter, the students should be
able to:
1. discuss what technology reveals;
2. examine modern technology and its role in
human flourishing; and
3. explain the role of art in a technological world.
Introduction
Human flourishing is defined as an effort to achieve
self-actualization and fulfillment within the context
of a larger community of individuals, each with the
right to pursue his or her own such efforts. Each
person has a reason and free will and the capacity
to initiate conduct that will enhance or inhibit his
flourishing. Aristotle says that the purpose of
mankind is eudaimonia-- happiness. So, the
purpose of man is to achieve eudaimonia which is a
state of serene and permanent happiness, rather
than the momentary exaltation of the senses.
Rationality, the cardinal virtue for human
flourishing, can only gain expression when a man
has responsibility for his own choices. In this way,
our actions will be good or bad depending on this
ultimate goal.
https://youtu.be/fbuTSzXKgIA
1. Technology as a Mode of Revealing
First, the essence of technology is not something
we make; it is a mode of being, or of revealing. This
means that technological things have their own
novel kind of presence, endurance, and
connections among parts and wholes. They have
their own way of presenting themselves and the
world in which they operate.
By these associations, Martin Heidegger shows
that the essence of technology is revealing, is
bringing forth truth, not merely a means to an end—
that is, not merely instrumental. However,
Heidegger also identifies that revealing in modern
technology follows from 'modern physics', exact
science, and its technical apparatuses.
The two definitions of technology belong together.
For to posit ends and procure and utilize the means
to them is a human activity. The manufacture and
utilization of equipment, tools, and machines, the
manufactured and used things themselves, and the
needs and ends that they serve, all belong to what
technology is.
Watch the video that follows to unleash an
technology.
https://youtu.be/gaVmEN-vGWk
The Powerpoint that follows will further understand
Heidegger's point on technology from the
philosophical view. Please do read it.
https://lpu.mrooms.net/pluginfile.php/734524/mod_
book/chapter/112556/pdf.pptx
(Not Working)
2. Technology as Poiesis
Poiesis means revealing, or bringing something into
existence that did not exist before. Martin
Heidegger refers to it as a 'bringing-forth' (physis as
emergence), using this term in its widest sense. He
explained poiesis as the blooming of the blossom,
the coming-out of a butterfly from a cocoon, the
plummeting of a waterfall when the snow begins to
melt.
So, this is a very useful way to look at technology in
today’s modern, technological world. Technology
has always shaped the course of history, but our
moment in time is more unique than ever before.
Indeed, our world is dominated and run by changes
in an array of high-tech products to quite a number
of various aspects in today’s society.
Watch the video that follows to have a further
understanding of the concept. (Its not playing in
mrooms)
3. Questioning as the Piety of Thought
For questioning is the piety of thought.” Heidegger's
“The Question Concerning Technology” can thus
aptly be described as a comprehensive attempt to
interrogate the idea of technology in order to gain
an understanding of the essence of the thing, rather
than merely understanding it as an instrument or a
means. Let's keep asking ourselves what it means
to think as we live through a period in our history
that most calls for us to think.
There are, then, two kinds of thinking, each justified
and needed in its own way: calculative thinking and
meditative thinking. Calculative thinking never
stops, never collects itself. Calculative thinking is
not meditative thinking, not thinking which
contemplates the meaning which reigns in
everything that is. Meditative thinking on the other
hand means to notice, to observe, to ponder, to
awaken an awareness of what is actually taking
place around us and in us. Meditative thinking does
not mean being detached from reality or, as
Heidegger says, “floating unaware above reality”
Watch the video to better understand the concept.
https://youtu.be/5YsnqyckSzs
Attached is an article that discussed how google
makes us an otherwise thinking entity.
https://lpu.mrooms.net/pluginfile.php/1017225/mod
_book/chapter/150827/pdf.docx
4. Enframing: Way of Revealing in Modern
Technology
Martin Heidegger indicated that all that has come to
a presence in the world has been enframed.
Enframing means the gathering together of that
setting-upon which sets upon man, i.e., challenges
him forth, to reveal the real, in the mode of
ordering, as standing-reserve.
When Heidegger says that technology reveals
things to us as “standing reserve,” he means that
everything is imposed upon or “challenged” to be
an orderly resource for technical application, which
in turn we take as a resource for further use, and so
on interminably.
What does Alethia mean?
Aletheia is an Ancient Greek term that means truth
or disclosure in philosophy. Aletheia is variously
translated as "unclosedness", "unconcealedness",
"disclosure" or "truth". The literal meaning of the
word is "the state of not being hidden; the state of
being evident." It also means factuality or reality.
What does Techne mean?
Techne is a 'craft, or art'; it is a term in philosophy
that refers to making or doing
5. Human Person Swallowed by Technology
Technology has infiltrated every aspect of our lives,
changing how we work, how we learn, and how we
do a lot of things. We are deficient beings who use
technology to complement, enhance, or disburden
ourselves. Technology has without a doubt become
a central part of the human condition - for better
and worse. It's inevitable that our devices begin to
reflect our civic aspirations – our desires to connect
with others and to contribute to the world around
us. It influences us, just as much as we influence it,
in our daily lives, but also as moral and ethical
beings.
Experts have found that in addition to make our
lives more convenient, however, there's a negative
side to technology — being overly connected can
cause psychological issues such as distraction,
narcissism, an expectation of instant gratification,
and even depression. Besides affecting users'
mental health, the use of technology can also have
negative repercussions on physical health causing
vision problems, hearing loss, and neck strain.
Attached is an article on how robots have pervaded
human lives in today's scenario and the dilemmas
permeated which compel to placed in specified
laws simply to protect them and humans in their
exchange of interactions.
https://lpu.mrooms.net/pluginfile.php/734524/mod_
book/chapter/112560/pdf.docx
(Not Working)
6. Art as a Way of Enframing
Art provides us with a way out of enframing by
bringing us closer to poieses and further away from
techne. Art activates human sensitivity if it even
exists in an individual. The use of imagination and
actually seeing things the way they are is part of
poieses.
Enframing means the gathering together of that
setting-upon which sets upon man, i.e., challenges
him forth, to reveal the real, in the mode of
ordering, as standing- reserve. Enframing means
that way of revealing which holds sway in the
essence of modern technology and which is itself
nothing technological.
When Heidegger says that “the essence of
technology is nothing technological” he means that
the essence of technology is what we must strive
toward and question everything that we see and do
not take it as true. The fact that Heidegger
suggests sets about a new way of thinking in order
for us as humans to be free from technology.
The Good Life
Learning Objectives:
At the end of the chapter, the students should be
able to:
1. explain the concept of a good life as posited by
Aristotle;
2.define the good life in their own words; and
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.
Introduction
The good life is the Ideal of life. It is the end in
itself. It is the end of human activities. The good life
can be understood with the help of other correlated
concepts such as to conduct, human action good,
duty, and virtue because all these concepts fall
under the domain of moral philosophy.
For Aristotle, the attainment of a good life is the
main purpose of human existence. His virtue ethics
is mainly based on the rational account of a good
human life and identifies good human life with
virtuous life and virtue is conceived as human
excellence. The good life, therefore, is a life of
excellence.
The good life is related to Science. It is a science
that provides a good life for everyone and at the
same time, it is the quest for a good life that fuels
science. In this vast world where the number of
inventions is rapidly growing, science made the
lives of many convenient.
Watch the short video clip for a good start in
grasping the concepts that will be presented in this
chapter.
https://youtu.be/csIW4W_DYX4
1. Nicomachean Ethics
Philosophers aim to define our moral responsibility.
The Nicomachean Ethics is the name normally
given to Aristotle's best-known work on ethics. It is
therefore connected to Aristotle's other practical
work, the Politics, which similarly aims at people
becoming good. One of the most famous aspects of
Ethics is Aristotle's doctrine that virtue exists as a
mean state between the vicious extremes of excess
and deficiency. For example, the virtuous mean of
courage stands between the vices of rashness and
cowardice, which represent excess and deficiency
respectively.
In Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle notes that as a
condition to be held morally responsible, we must
have been acting voluntarily. In particular, two
elements must be true: a person must be in control
of their actions and also must be aware of what
they're doing. Aristotle defines the supreme good
as an activity of the rational soul in accordance with
virtue. Virtue for the Greeks is equivalent to
excellence.
The PowerPoint is a presentation that follows will
further help your understanding of Nicomachean
Ethics by Aristotle.
https://lpu.mrooms.net/pluginfile.php/741197/mod_
book/chapter/112660/pdf.pptx
(Not Working)
An article is also attached that will give you some
springboard on the present-day society and the
imbalanced acquisition of resources that will
illustrate how some countries have gained much
yet remained unhappy as compared to poor
countries yet experienced a higher level of
happiness. This will give you some thought Does
happiness really depend on material things or
wealth?
https://lpu.mrooms.net/pluginfile.php/741197/mod_
book/chapter/112660/pdf.docx
(Not Working)
2. Aristotle's Philosophy
Aristotle is a towering figure in ancient Greek
philosophy, who made important contributions to
logic, criticism, rhetoric, physics, biology,
psychology, mathematics, metaphysics, ethics, and
politics. He was a student of Plato for twenty years
but is famous for rejecting Plato's theory of forms.
Aristotle's philosophy stresses biology, instead of
mathematics like Plato. He believed the world was
made up of individuals (substances) occurring in
fixed natural kinds (species). Each individual has
built-in patterns of development, which help it grow
toward becoming a fully developed individual of its
kind.
In Aristotle's Definition of Happiness, "Happiness
depends on ourselves." More than anybody else,
Aristotle enshrines happiness as a central purpose
of human life and a goal in itself. Essentially,
Aristotle argues that virtue is achieved by
maintaining the Mean, which is the balance
between two excesses.
Aristotle thought that the goal of human beings in
their search for happiness was to reach
Eudaimonia, or a state of flourishing. He agreed
with Plato that virtue did not necessarily lead to a
better life, but he did think that in order to achieve a
true state of Eudemonia, aiming for virtue was
necessary.
Watch the short video clip to further your
understanding of Aristotle's Philosophy
https://youtu.be/csIW4W_DYX4
3. Aristotle and the Virtue Theory
Virtue ethics is a broad term for theories that
emphasize the role of character and virtue in moral
philosophy rather than either doing one's duty or
acting in order to bring about good consequences.
Aristotle defines moral virtue as a disposition to
behave in the right manner and as a mean between
extremes of deficiency and excess, which are
vices. We learn moral virtue primarily through habit
and practice rather than through reasoning and
instruction. A virtuous person exhibits all of the
virtues: Courage – bravery, Temperance,
moderation, Liberality – spending; Magnificence –
charisma or style, Magnanimity – generosity;
Ambition – pride; Patience – temper or calm,
Friendliness – social IQ; Truthfulness – honesty or
candidness; Wit – humor or joy; Modesty – ego;
Justice – a sense of right or wrong, indignation;
Prudence – practical wisdom; Fortitude – grit,
resilience, as cardinal virtues and the other three
theological virtues: faith, hope, charity.
The mentioned virtues help people lead the best life
and become the best they can be. From a neo-
Aristotelian approach, people can see the virtuous
agent will act in a way that leads to their wellbeing
because the virtues are what allow people to
flourish. Right action, in this sense, is characterized
by wellbeing. They do not properly exist as distinct
qualities but rather as different aspects of a virtuous
life.
Watch the short video clip that will provide further
discussion of this topic to help you have a better
grasp.
https://youtu.be/PrvtOWEXDIQ