Science, Technology, and
alternative hypothesis being accepted.
Human Flourishing
• Eudaimonia, literally “good spirited”, a
term coined by Aristotle to describe
the pinnacle of happiness that is
attainable by humans; has often been
translated into “human flourishing”.
• Western civilization tends to be more
focused on the individual; based on an
individual’s values rather than his
beliefs that the state is greater than
him.
• The east are more community-centric;
community takes the highest regard
that the individual should sacrifice
himself for the sake of the society.
• 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.
• The end goals of both science and
technology and human flourishing are
related; in that the good is inherently
related to the truth, are two concepts
about science which ventures its claim
on truth.
Science as Method and Results
• Observe
• Determine the problem
• Formulate hypothesis; reject the null
hypothesis
• Conduct experiment
• Gather and analyze results
• Formulate conclusion and provide
recommendation
Verification Theory
• The earliest criterion that distinguishes
philosophy and science
• The idea proposes that a discipline is
science if it can be confirmed or
interpreted in the event of an
• Several budding theories that lack
empirical results might be shot down
prematurely, causing slower
innovation and punishing ingenuity of
newer, novel thoughts.
• This theory completely fails to weed
out bogus arguments that explain
things coincidentally.
Falsification Theory
• Karl Popper is the known proponent of
this view.
• Asserts that as long as an ideology is
not proven to be false and can best
explain a phenomenon over
alternative theories.
• Allowed emergence of theories
otherwise rejected by verification
theory.
• Encourages research in order to
determine which among the theories
can stand the test of falsification.
Science as a Social Endeavor
• A new school of thought on the proper
demarcation criterion of science
emerged.
• Explores the social dimension of
science and effectively, technology.
• The new view perpetuates a
dimension which generally benefits
the society. Sciences cease to belong
solely to gown wearing, bespectacled
scientists at laboratories.
Science and Results
People who do not understand science are
won over when the discipline is able to
produce results.
• In this particular argument, however,
science is not the only discipline which
is able to produce results—religion,
luck, and human randomness are
some of its contemporaries in the field.
• For some communities without access
to science, they can turn to divination
and superstition and still get the same
results.
• Science is not entirely foolproof, such
that it is correct 100% of the time.
Science as Education
In the Philippines, a large distribution of
science high schools can be found, forging
competition for aspiring students to undergo
rigorous science and mathematics training
based on specialized curricula.
• As students are preconditioned that
the field would later land them high-
paying jobs and a lucrative career after
graduation.
• Simply mastering science and
technology would be inadequate if we
are to, say, socialize with people or
ruminate on our inner self.
• A true eudaimon recognizes that
flourishing requires one to excel in
various dimensions, such as linguistics,
kinetic, artistic, and socio-civic.
Technology as a Way of
Revealing
The Human Condition Before Common Era
• Homo erectus have been using fire to
cook, all the while without realizing
the laws of friction and heat.
• Tools from stone and flints marked the
era of Stone Age, during the advent of
our very own Homo spiens.
• People discovered minerals and began
forging metalwork.
• Fur clothing and animal skin are
primarily used for comfort against
harsh winds. They begin to cover
themselves up out of necessity.
• People of the time had also
painstakingly wrought and hewed said
figures in honor of some deity; initial
roster of primitive gods includes
objects they encounter through their
day-to-day lives.
• Driven by their primal need to survive,
humans were quick to find ways to
drive off other megafaunas
threatening a prospective hunting
spot.
• The ongoing extinction of several
species—both flora and fauna—due to
human activity.
• They began to hunt, farm. And
produce things with prospect of profit.
• When they could not sell products,
they used their skills and got
compensated for it—bringing forth a
specialized group of artisans.
• Physical strength was valued at most,
although there appeared to be as
many intellectually gifted figures just
the same.
The Essence of Technology
• Modern humans are reliant on
technology in their search for the good
life. Humans are reduced into the
amount of productivity they are able
to render during their lifetime.
• By too much reliance on technology,
humans lose track of things that
matter, reducing their surroundings to
their economic value.
• Martin Heidegger argued that its
essence, or purpose, and being are
different from each other.
• Technology can either be perceived as
first, a means to achieve man’s end
and second, that which constitutes
human activity.
• The second perspective paints
technology in such a way that each
period reveals a particular character
regarding man’s being.
Aristotle and How All Aspire for
a Good Life
Plato and Aristotle embarked on a different
approach in figuring out reality.
Plato thought that things in this world are not
real and are only copies of the real in the world
of forms. Change is so perplexing that it can
only make sense if there two realities: the
world of forms and the world of matter:
• In the world of matter, things are
changing and impermanent;
• In the world of forms, the entities are
only copies of the ideal and the
models, and the forms are the only
real entities.
Aristotle forwarded the idea that there is no
reality over and above what the senses can
perceive, claiming that this world is all there is
to it and that this world is the only reality we
can all access.
• Declares that even human
beings are potentialities who
aspire for their actuality.
• Every action that emanates
from a human person is a
function of the purpose (telos)
that the person has.
• Every human person,
according to Aristotle, aspires
for an end. This end is
happiness or human
flourishing.
• Claims that happiness is the be
all and end all of everything we
do.
• Human flourishing, a kind of
contentment in knowing that
one is getting the best out of
life.
Happiness as the Goal of a Good Life
Materialism
o The first materialists were the
atomist in Ancient Greece.
o Democritus and Leucippus
beliefs is that the world is
made up of and is controlled
by the tiny indivisible units in
the worlds called atomos or
seeds.
o For Democritus and his
disciples, the world, including
human beings, is made up of
matter.
o Only material entities matter.
In terms of human flourishing,
matter is whar makes us attain
happiness.
Hedonism
o The hedonists, for their part,
see the end goal of life in
acquiring pleasure.
o Life is about obtaining and
indulging in pleasure because
life is limited.
 o The mantra of this school of
thought is the famous, “Eat,
drink, and be merry for
tomorrow we die”.
Stoicism
o The idea that to generate
happiness, one must learn to
distance oneself and be
apathetic.
o For stoics, happiness can only
be attained by a careful
practice of apathy.
Theism
o The ultimate basis of
happiness for theists is the
communion with God.
o The world where we are in is
only just temporary reality
where we have to maneuver
around while waiting for the
ultimate return to the hands of
God.
Humanism
o 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.
o Humanists see themselves not
merely as stewards of the
creation but as individuals
who are in control of
themselves and the world
outside them.
Television Sets, Mobile Phones,
Computers, and Humanity
People all over the world use these
technologies every day to accomplish different
purposes:
• Television was a product of
different experiments by
various people;
• Paul Gottlieb Nipkow’s
invention was called the
“electric telescope” that had
18 lines of resolution;
• Alan Archibald Campbell-
Swinton and Boris Rosing
experiment gave rise to two
types of television systems,
namely. Mechanical and
electronic television.
• On April 3, 1973, Martin
Cooper, a senior engineer at
Motorola, made the world’s
first mobile phone call;
• In 1983, Motorola made their
first commercial mobile phone
available to the public. It is
known as the Motorola
DynaTAC 8000X.
• Charles Babbage who
designed the Analytical Engine
which was used as the basic
framework of the computers
even until the present time;
• The first design of computer
was so big that it could occupy
whole floors of buildings;
• The first true portable
computer was released in
April 1981. It was called the
Osborne 1;
• The evolution of laptops
continued until the present
 time where various designs
and models are already
available.
Roles Played by These Technological
Advancements
• Television is mainly used as a platform
for advertisements and information
disseminations;
• Television also is a good platform for
different propagandas and advocacies;
• Mobile phones are primarily used for
communication;
• People use their mobile phones to surf
the Internet and to take pictures more
than to text or to call people;
• Other applications include music
player, calendar, radio, television, and
photo editor, among others.
• Personal computers and laptops can
be used to surf the Internet and
communicate;
• The availability of a mouse or a
touchpad made these two
technological devices easier to
maneuver than mobile phones.
Ethical Dilemma Faced by These
Technological Advancements
• People who are fixated on these
technological advancements start and
end their day by using such devices. It
causes them to become reclusive,
alienating themselves from other
people.
• Children who are not capable yet of
rationally deciding for themselves
what is right or wrong are freely
exposed to different things on
television, mobile phones, laptops, or
computers.
Robotics and Humanity
• A robot is an actuated mechanism
programmable in two or more axes
with a degree of autonomy, moving
within its environment, to perform
intended tasks.
• A service robot is a robot that performs
useful tasks for humans or equipments
excluding industrial automation
application.
• A personal service robot or a service
robot for personal use is a service
robot used for a noncommercial task,
usually by laypersons.
• A professional service robot or service
robot for professional use is a service
robot used for a commercial task,
usually operated by a properly trained
operator.
• They are primarily used to ease the
workload of mankind.
• They were invented to make life more
efficient and less stressful; perform
activities to entertain people; made to
serve as toys.
• Robots also have their own set of rules
and characteristics that define what a
good robot is:
• Law One: A robot may not
injure a human being or,
through inaction, allow a
human being come to harm.
• Law Two: A robot must obey
the orders given by human
being excepts where such
orders conflict with Law One.
• Law Three. A robot must
protect its own existence as
long as such protection does
not conflict with the First or
Second Law.
Ethical Dilemma/s Faced by Robotics
• Safety. Who should be held
accountable if someone’s safety is
compromised by a robot?

• Emotional Component. What if

robots become sentient should they
be granted robot rights? Should they
have their own set of rights to be
upheld, respected, and protected by
humans?