The Human Person Flourishing in Terms of Science and Technology 

· Technology has always been defined as a means to an end and being a human activity. 

· It has long filled the word. Every day routines are marked with technological advances that
reflect what society is good or known for. Technology has well advanced since the middle of
the20th

· Century especially after the end of World War II. It is not unexpected for technology to
involve the question of knowledge which lead to its formation as one of the branches of
philosophy. This also led to the furtherance of technology based on how it is viewed and
understood. But there is more to that. 

· Aristotle was born 304 B.C. an ancient Greek philosophy scientist and one of the most
significant thinkers and who contributed so much to science, technology, political theory, and
aesthetics world; followed that knowledge of the world begins by looking and examining that
which exists. To understand the human person flourishing in terms of science and technology, it
is good to first examine technology in its essence. 

Principles of Human Flourishing 

Science, Technology and Human Flourishing 

· Every discovery, innovation, and success contributes to our pool of human knowledge.

· Human’s perpetual need to locate himself in the world by finding proofs to trace evolution.

· Elicits our idea of self-importance 

· Technology is a human activity we excel in because of achieving science. 

· Good is inherently related to the truth.

SELECTED VIEWS ON TECHNOLOGY

It has been said they there are many views or ways as to how technology is understood. These
philosophies contributed to how technology is understood and utilized by society. Some of it
will be discussed briefly below.

 TECHNOLOGICAL PESSIMISM

This view is extremely supported by French philosopher Jacques Ellul (1912-

1994).Technological Pessimism holds that technology is progressive and beneficial in many
ways, it is also doubtful in many ways. It is said that technology is a means to an end but this
views, technology has become a way of life. The technique has become a framework that
humans cannot escape. It has introduced ways on how to make things easy.
Ellul's pessimistic arguments are:

(1) Technological progress has a price,

(2) technological progress creates more problems,

(3) technological progress creates damaging effects, and 

(4) technological progress creates unpredictable devastating effects.

 TECHNOLOGICAL OPTIMISM

This view is strongly supported by technologists and engineers and also by ordinary people
who believe that technology can alleviate all the difficulties and provide solutions for
problems that may come. It holds that even though technological problems may arise,
technology will still be the solution to it. The extreme version of this philosophy is
technocratism which holds technology as the supreme authority on everything.

 EXISTENTIALISM

 The main concern of this view is the existence or the mode of being of someone or something
which is governed by the norm of authenticity. This view basically investigates the meaning of
existence or being and is always faced with the selection must make with which the existence
will commit himself.

Martin Heidegger, a philosopher is one of the most known supporters of this philosophy. He
did not stop defining what technology is but has dealt with its essence. To Heidegger, the real
essence of technology lies in enframing, the gathering of the setting upon which challenges a
man to bring the unconcealed to unconcealment and this is a continuous revealing. 

MARTIN HEIDEGGER ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Martin Heidegger (1889-1996), a well-known German philosopher, examined the two usual
definitions of technology; means to an end and a human activity, because he believed that this
kind of confusing and there is a question to it that we easily overlook. These two definitions
cannot be separated from each other. He called it the instrumental and anthropological
definition of technology or simply means by which the human ends are realized. To Heidegger,
this may not be a false definition but it is a misleading one because this limits our thinking.

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 on
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 of these
services are what is defining technology.

ARISTOTLE’S FOUR CAUSES

Heidegger further studied Aristotle's Four causes and illustrated it using a silver chalice which
he said owes its make up from the four causes.

1. Causa materialis or the material cause

 The material by which the silver chalice was made of silver.

2. Causa Formalis or the formal cause

 The form of the shape gave the silver chalice its image.

3. Causa Finalis or the final cause

 The purpose or the primary use by which the silver chalice was made for to be used during
the Holy Communion as a vessel for the wine that represent the blood of Christ

4. Causa Efficient or the Efficient Cause

The agent that has caused the silver chalice to come about: the silversmith.

HEIDEGGER’S TECHNOLOGY AS A WAY OF  REVEALING

Heidegger believed that the genuine substance or the real essence of technology is found in
enframing. This is the continuous bringing forth into unconcealment that which is concealed.
This is a non-stop revealing. Heidegger saw technology as a way of revealing and continues to
demand something to be bought out into the open. This bringing forth into the open is a two-
way relationship: the concealed is calling out for someone to set upon it and bring it to
unconcealment and the one who receives the call sets upon and acts upon to unconcealed the
concealed. To further illustrate this, he gave some examples by contrasting ancient and modern
technology. 

THE MODE OF REVEALING IN MODERN TECHNOLOGY

Heidegger explained that technology as a mode of revealing does not stop and continues to be
seen in modern technology but not in the bringing-forth sense. This is a nonstop revealing.
Modern technology is revealed by challenging nature, instead of bringing forth, it is setting
upon challenges or demands on nature in order to:

 Unlock and expose. It carries the idea that nature will not reveal it unless a challenge is set
upon it. This is true with the hydroelectric plant set upon

the Rhine River which unlocked the electricity concealed in it.

 Stockpiles for future use. As technology is a means to an end, it aims to meet future demands;
the electricity produced by the hydroelectric plant set upon the Rhine River is being stored for
future use in the community

THE ESSENCE OF TECHNOLOGY

 The continuous revealing takes place as man allows himself to be an agent in the setting upon
of challenges to nature but Heidegger(1977) argues that this is not a more human doing. Man is
able to set upon which was already unconcealed as he responds to the call of unconcealment
but "when man, investigating, observing, pursues nature as an area of his own conceiving, he
has already been claimed by a way of revealing that challenges him to approach nature as an
object of research until even the object disappears into the objectlessness of standing-reserve.

THE DANGER OF THE NONSTOP REVEALING

 As said earlier, the mode of revealing does not stop in modern technology. It continually calls
man to respond to what is presented to him or to the demand for a better and efficient means to
an end. With this comes the continuous challenge forth for the unconcealed to be unconcealed
even more. Here lies the danger that Heidegger talked about.

 Revealing opens up a relationship between man and the word but an opening up of
something means a closing down of something which means as something is revealed, another
is concealed. 

THE SOCIETY IN THE FACE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

When one looks around him now, one will see that man tends to find his happiness in the
works of modern technology. Smartphones, tablets, laptops that come in different shapes and
sizes with distinct features seem to be the measure of man's value. Social media has also
affected the lives of many. Face-to-face social interactions are being lessened and people keep
working hard to update their gadgets. There seems to be no contentment as every time a new
product is released, man finds another need that can only be answered by a new product. These
new products also tend to replace man in society as the demand for manual labor is becoming
less and less because of the availability of machinery The human condition is not without hope.
Heidegger argued that this can be prevented if a man will not allow himself to be overwhelmed
with the enframing that he was set upon, but he pauses for a while and reflects on the value of
what is presented before him. A balance has to be struck between technology being
instrumental and anthropological. One has to understand that technology does not only
concern the means but also the end as one proverb goes, "The end does not justify the means"
For Heidegger, the solution for this is that man
would not be controlling and manipulative of what he was set upon but to also allow nature to
reveal itself to him. With this, according to Heidegger , man will have a free relationship with
technology.

In Ancient Greece, the need to understand the world and reality was bound with the need to
understand the self and the good life.

For Plato-  The task of understanding the things in the world runs parallel with the job of truly
getting into what will make the soul flourish. 

  In an attempt to understand reality and the external world, man must seek to
understand himself.

  He recognized change as a process and as a phenomenon that happens in the world
and is constant.

Aristotle’s view of the good life. 

 the activity of the soul in accordance with virtue. 

 believed that good for humans is the maximum realization of what was unique to
humans. 

 the good for humans was to reason well. 

The task of the reason was to teach humans how to act virtuously, and exercise faculties in
accordance with virtue.

He claims that happiness is the be-all and ends all of everything that we do. Happiness =
Human Flourishing

Virtue/s -behavior showing high moral standards

Types of Virtue:

 1. Intellectual – owes its birth and growth to teaching (for which reason it requires experience,
education, and time).

2. Moral – comes about as a result of habitual practice. For example, moral virtues are courage,
patience, etc.

Happiness as the Goal of a Good Life :

According to John Stuart Mill 

 In the 18th century, Mill declared the Greatest Happiness principle by saying that an
action is right as far as it maximizes the attainment of happiness for the greater number
of people. 

 · Individual happiness of each individual should be prioritized and collectively

dictates the kind of action that should be endorsed.

Schools of Thought which Aim the Good and Happy Life:

 Materialism

               · Atomist in Ancient Greece was the first materialists. 

· Democritus and Leucippus led a s chool 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.

               · In terms of human flourishing, the matter is what makes us attain happiness.

 Hedonism

 ·  This school of thought led by Epicurus see the end goal in life as acquiring pleasure. 

 · Life is about obtaining and indulging in pleasure because life is limited. · Their mantra is “Eat,
drink, and be merry for tomorrow we    die.”

 · They do not believe in the notion of an afterlife. 

 Stoicism

· Also led by Epicurus, it espoused the idea that to generate happiness, one must learn to
distance himself and be apathetic.

· For them, happiness can only be attained by a careful practice of apathy. 

· They adopt the fact that some things are not within their control. 

 Theism

· They use God as a fulcrum of their existence.

· The ultimate basis of happiness for them 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
· They espouse 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 them, man is literally the captain of his own ship.

· This is the spirit of most scientists who thought that the world is a place and a space for freely
unearthing the world for seeking ways on how to improve the lives of its inhabitants

Science and Technology and Good Life

S&T is also the movement towards a good life.

S&T is one of the highest expressions of human faculties.

S&T allows us to thrive and flourish if we desire it.

S&T may corrupt a person

S&T with virtue can help an individual to be out of danger.