Module 2- SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY AND THE HUMAN CONDITION

DISAGREE with each

statement below.
LEARNING
OBJECTIVES

At the end of this lesson, you should be

able to:
1. define the idea of the Good Life;
2. discuss the idea of Aristotle’s concept of
Eudaimonia and Arete based on
Nichomachean Ethics; and
3. relate the definition of Good Life to
Science and Technology

TOPIC
OUTLINE

Lesson: 3 The Good Life

OVERVIEW

This lesson introduces concepts

from Aristotle Nichomachean Ethics and
deeply examines issues on ST using
Aristotle’s idea and concept of good life.
The Aristotelian concept serves as the
philosophical lens to assess society’s
relationship and dealings with science and
technology.

ACTIVATING
PRIOR KNOWLEDGE
Direction: Please put an X
mark, whether you AGREE or
Module 2- SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY AND THE HUMAN CONDITION

questions. It has been posed in

STATEMENT AGREE DISAGREE WHY?
1. Happiness different ways –how should one
comes from live? What does it mean to live
pleasure, well? These are really just the same
wealth and
recognition question. After all, everyone wants
2. The to live well, and no one wants the
purpose of
life is “bad life”. There is a need to
happiness. contemplate on two things: First,
3. Happiness
means feeling
the standard that could define good
god or joyful. life. Second, how this standard
4. The role of serve as a guide toward living the
science and
technology is good life in the midst of
to guide flourishing human conditions in the
humans
towards community.
virtuous life.
5. Intellectual
and moral
virtues are the
ingredients of
happiness

Who wants to have a good

life? Are you living a good life?
What is good life for you? These
are just some of the universal
questions that concerns human.
Everyone aims to have good life
however despite of enjoying the
pleasures and successes in their life
the essence of good life is missing.
People find difficulty subscribing
to a unified standard on the
meaning of good life.

Aristotle’s Nichomachean Ethics

and the Goal of Good Life

What is the good life? This

is one of the oldest philosophical
Module 2- SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY AND THE HUMAN CONDITION
In the documentary
film, the Magician;s Twin: C.S.
Lewis and the Case against
Scientism, C.S. Lewis posited that
science provides guidance for
ethics . One such ethical basis is the
Aristotle’s Nichomachean Ethics.
According to Britannica.com,
Aristotle was born on 384 BCE at Stagira,
Chaldice. He joined the famous
ACADEMY of the greatest philosopher
Plato at the age of 17. He was a student of
Plato, who was then a student of Socrates,
together, they were considered the Big
Three of Greek Philosophy. The method
used by Aristotle for his investigation was
scientific. He was analytical and logical in
his treatment of subject.
Aristotle’s Nichomachean Ethics,
the fundamental basis of Aristotelian ethics
has been divided into 10 sections.
Nichomachean Ethics was written around
340 BC. It is probably named after either
his father or son, who were both named
Nicomachus.
The Nichomachean Ethics
abbreviated as the NE or sometimes
from the Latin version of the name
as the EN. The NE is in 10 books
and is most widely read of
Aristotle’s ethical treatise.
What is
the
definition
of good? –
getting a college diploma, winning
from a lottery ticket, travelling
across the pacific, having a
successful business venture, having
a good reputation, living active and
healthy lifestyle and being a good
parent. Truthfully, everyone desires
to achieve what is good. In NE
book 2 chapter 2, he claimed that
every activity aims at some good.
The highest good is the end or goal
of that activity. Therefore, the end
or goal of human activity is the
highest good for man. However,
some activity or actions aim at an
instrumental good (good for its own
sake) while some aim at an intrinsic
or basic good (good for the sake of
something else). Aristotle made
clear that the ultimate good is better
than the instrumental good for the
latter is good as a means to achieve
something else or some other end
while the former is good in itself.
Since the good for all is better than
the good for an individual, it is the
common good that we seek to
understand.
Eudaimonia: The
Ultimate Good, The Ultimate
Happiness
What then is the ultimate good? To
the vulgar men pleasure (happiness and
enjoyment) is the ultimate good. To the
political men, honor is the ultimate good
and to the contemplative men, we will get
back to that later. One might think that
pleasure is the ultimate good. Pleasure is
undeniably the motivation behind many
Module 2- SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY AND THE HUMAN CONDITION

actions, but it puts humans on the level of

animals. Yet pleasure is an important
human need. One may have been pleased
with the food they have for snacks, but he
will be hungry and crave for something
else again. One might think that wealth is a
potential candidate for the ultimate good, Irrational Part
Vegetative Sensitive Rational
but a critique of wealth would prove
( Nutritive) Non-Humans Human
otherwise. There are people who are Plants Animals Only
wealthy but live unhappily and miserably. Animals Above plus Above
Another candidate is fame and honor. To Humans response to plus
be honoured is to be dependent on other Growth Environment ability to
people’s opinions, and since people’s Reproduction Pleasure engage in
Feeding Pain rational
opinion fluctuate; honor becomes Memory thought
dependent, unstable and therefore is also
unlike the final good of happiness.
Aristotle first recognizes Figure 1 –Aristotle’s Tripartite of Soul
that happiness is the ultimate good. All
other goods are intermediate while The vegetative (or nutritive)
happiness is final. We pursue other goods element  is common to all living
to achieve happiness, but happiness is organisms, regardless of type (e.g. animal,
valuable in itself. In the Aristotelian sense, plant, human) or stage of development
happiness is living well and doing well. (e.g. embryos, children, adults) and
The term “eudaimonia” means happiness involves the power for self-nutrition,
and eu zen (living well). The Greek term reproduction and growth.
eudaimon is composed of two parts “eu” The sensitive element deals
means “well or good” and “daimon” with our impulses, our passions, our
means divinity, spirit, soul or self. To be capacity for movement and basic decision-
eudaimon is therefore to be living in a making.  We share this element with
way that is well favoured by a god. animals. 

Eudaimonia: Uniquely Human? The Rational Element this part

Eudamonia or happiness is
unique to human for it is simply human
function. It is achieved only through a
rationally directed life. Our unique
function that fulfils our human nature
consists essentially of reason. Below is the
illustration of Aristotle’s tripartite Soul
expresses our unique function as human
beings. The rational part is important in
Aristotle’s assessment in what constitute
eudemonia. This is strictly and uniquely
human not common to all creatures or
shared animals.
Module 2- SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY AND THE HUMAN CONDITION
Rationality is our guide in life
and only if we are fully rational can we
reach our potential. Rational activity is
not only thinking in the sense of
calculating. It also includes practical
reasoning and planning for the future
helping us to make right decision.
Eudamonia consists of excellent rational
activity the most perfect part of the soul.
Aréte and Human Happiness
Eudaimonia is what defines the
good life. To live a good life is to live a
happy life. Aristotle conclude that the
means of happiness and the purpose of
human existence is virtue
Aréte, a Greek term defined
as excellence in terms of any kind and can
mean moral or intellectual virtue. There
are two types of virtue. The Moral virtue
or the virtue of character through habitual
practice. Some of the key moral virtues are
honesty, chastity, courage and generosity.
Virtue theorists believe that if we
concentrate on being righteous people, the
right actions will follow; in other words,
the people with the right character tend to
make the right decisions. On the other
hand, Intellectual virtue or the virtue of
thought is achieved through scientific and
technical education and training, time, and,
experience.
Virtue involves habit and choice.
By making the proper decision, one
develops a virtuous habit or disposition,
which has been cultivated by past choices.
The question arise how do an individual
make the right choices? Aristotle
emphasized the virtuous choice was the
mean between two extremes: excess and
deficiency. Below is the table of virtues
and vices.
For
instance,
Aristotle
gives an
example
of the
virtue of courage; cowardice (feeling too
much fear) is the vice of deficiency, and
rashness (feeling too little fear) is the vice
of excess, so, courage is the ‘golden mean’
because the virtuous person is the one that
is both appropriately afraid and yet also
appropriately brave.
In other words, there are two ways in
which humans might go wrong; there is
always a vice of excess, and a vice of
deficiency. Therefore, virtue is the mean
point between these two vices; this is the
doctrine of the mean.
Good Life as related to Flourishing
Science and Technology
Good Life is the contemporary
period defined by advancement and
development of science and technology.
The benefits this Science and technology
Module 2- SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY AND THE HUMAN CONDITION

offers prove that a lot of people are really

dependent on science and technology to
survive the challenges of the century.
Society’s engagement in nanotechnology,
modern genetics and even robotics are the
basis of what we call GOOD LIFE in the
present. But is these things really made us
happy and say we have experienced the
true good life? However, let us try to recall
the pureness of the planet earth where
early people enjoyed what they only have
at that time wood, stones, and the lush of
vegetation.

Let us not forget the lessons and

philosophy of Aristotle that the attainment
of virtue and happiness is through
moderation in all things- the doctrine of
the GOLDEN MEAN. Yes! We enjoy all
the advantages of science and technology
but let us approach these products of
science and technology with moderation.
Everything in moderation is a key to a
healthy and balanced life

LEARNING
ACTIVITY 1

Self-Reflection
Direction: Think of the things that
you experienced a good life. Place your
answer in the box below.

Having new model of cellphone

Module 2- SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY AND THE HUMAN CONDITION

ACTIVITY 3
LEARNING Watch the documentary film, the
ACTIVITY 2 Sugar Film (2014) directed by
Damon Garneau. Discuss your ideas on
Documentary Film Analysis how overproduction and overconsumption
of SUGAR based products potentially
Direction: Watch the documentary film Akira prevent humans from achieving
Kurosawa’s “Village of the Watermills”. Click eudaimonia. Is there a need to regulate the
https://www.youtube.com/watch? production of sugar based products and for
v=aK4mtPQ_THM&t=153s. Analyze the
consumers to reduce their consumption if
essence of primitive life compared to a
they are to journey to toward the GOOD
technologically- driven life.
LIFE?
____________________________________________________
Answer the questions below:
____________________________________________________

1. What is “the good life?” Is our personal ____________________________________________________

concept of “the good life” the same as what was
depicted in the film?
____________________________________________________
SUMMARY
____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

The Nicomachean
2. Which part of the film struck you most?
Ethics by Aristotle is the most
Why? influential book of the
moral philosophy. He discussed the
____________________________________________________
issue on good life and happiness.
____________________________________________________
He posited that the Good is
____________________________________________________
the supreme goal of life and
3. Based on the film, discuss how technology
happiness is the result of an
reveals nature and the human person’s role in it.
activity according to virtue.
____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

REFERENCES

Quinto et al., (2019). Science, Technology and

LEARNING Society. C & E Publishing, Inc.
Patria et al., (2018). Science, Technology and
Module 2- SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY AND THE HUMAN CONDITION

Society. Rexbookstore Inc.

Agsalud, P (2012). ). Science, Technology and
Society. Great Books Publishing

Websites

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-
1010/post-war-american-art/popart/v/warhol-
coca-cola
https://study.com/academy/lesson/aristotle
s-nicomachean-ethics-summary-
analysis.html
(Nichomachean Ethics )

thebestwaytowealth.com

File:Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, Book

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