INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

Bulanao Norte, Tabuk City, Kalinga

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Topic 7.1: HUMAN FLOURISHING IN SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Technology as a way of Revealing the Human Condition

Eudaimonia

The Greek philosopher Aristotle (385 – 323 BC)

coined the term “eudaimonia,” which literally means
“good spirited,” to describe the peak of happiness of
humans. Also referred to as “human flourishing,” in
literature, it likens humans achieving the peak of
happiness to flowers in full bloom. The achievement of eudaimonia is the ultimate
good. It defines happiness as the pursuit of becoming a better person.
Eudaemonists do this by challenging themselves intellectually or by engaging in
activities that make them spiritually richer people.

Aristotle discussed in his Nicomachean Ethics that human flourishing comes

as a result of phronesis (the habit of making the right decisions and taking the right
actions in context and relentless pursuit of excellence for the common good)
friendship, wealth and power, since these bring happiness to people.

In modern times, through technology, people have found ways to make their
work and lives easier, explore more places, develop more products, make more
money and live more comfortably. The achievement of these has changed the
perception of human progress that was defined by Aristotle before.

Personal flourishing in terms of Science and technology

Human flourishing (also known as personal flourishing) implicates rational use
of one’s individual human potentialities, including talents, abilities, and virtues in
the pursuit of his freely and rationally chosen values and goals that every discovery,
innovation, and success contributes to our pool of human knowledge. Human’s
perpetual need to locate him-self in the world by finding proofs to trace evolution
of happiness and good life- which varies from one person to another.

The Golden Rule

Confucius: What you do not want done to yourself, do not do unto others.
Aristotle: We should behave to others as we wish others to behave to us.
Buddhism: Hurt not others with that which pains thyself.
Christianity: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you

These golden rules from different personalities generally mean one thing- to
be good, for others to be good. And if nothing bad surrounds you, you can easily
attract good and happy energy.
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The hedonistic view of well-being is that happiness is the polar opposite of

distress; the presence of happiness indicates the absence of pain. Because of this,
hedonists believe that the purpose of life is to maximize happiness, which
minimizes misery. The Aristotelian idea based on philosophical realism
Eudaimonia(human flourishing), a term that combines the Greek words for "good"
and "spirit" to describe the ideology. Eudaimonia should be the natural end of
individual human actions that pursuit of becoming a better person. Eudaemonists
do this by challenging themselves intellectually or by engaging in activities that
make them spiritually richer people

Eudaimonia is not subjectively determined. An Argument made that self-

direction (or autonomy) must apply to everyone equally because of the universal
human characteristics of rationality and free will. Self-directedness is based on a
proper understanding of human nature that determines the minimum boundaries
governing social interactions. The natural right to liberty is thus the principle
required for protecting the possibility of self-directedness. The affirmation that
human flourishing implies the development of an individual in his intellectual,
affective, moral, and spiritual dimensions.

Human flourishing arises as a result of different components such as:

Phronesis, Friendship, Wealth, and Power

According to Aristotle, all humans seek to flourish. It is the proper and desired end
of all our actions. To understand something, one must understand its nature.

Four aspects of human nature:

1. Physical- requires nourishment, exercise and rest.
2. Emotional – we have wants, desire, urges and reactions. We all have emotional
need and wants.
3. Social being –we must live and function in the society where we belong.
4. Rational being- we are creative, expressive knowledge-seeking and able to obey
reason.

Along with these human aspects, the following human conceptions to be

flourished:
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 An individual cannot truly flourish if he is not flourishing in one of the four

aspects of human nature.
 Human flourishing involves the rational use of one’s individual potentialities
such as talent , abilities and virtues.
 Human flourishing is a moral accomplishment and fulfillment of human
capacities.
 Self- actualization is a moral growth and vice versa.
 To flourish, man must pursue goals that are both rational for him as
individual and as a human being.
 Living rationally or consciously means living dealing with the world
conceptually.
 Human flourishing is positively related to s rational man’s attempt to
externalize his values and actualize his internal views of how things ought to
be in the outside world.
 Practical reason can be used to choose, create and integrate all the values
and virtues that comprise personal flourishing.

The Development of the Scientific Method and Validity of Science:

Verification Theory
A discipline is science if it can be confirmed or interpreted in the event of an
alternative hypothesis being accepted.
Premium on empiricism
Takes into account those results which are measurable and experiments which are
repeatable.

Vienna Circle
group of scholars who believed that
only those which can be observed should be regarded as meaningful,
Reject those which cannot be directly accessed as meaningless.

Falsification Theory
As long as an ideology is not proven to be false and can best explain a phenomenon
over alternative theories, we should accept the said ideology.
Allowed emergence of theories otherwise rejected by the verification theory.
Encourages research in order to determine which among the theories can stand the
test of falsification.

KARL POPPER
aim at the production of new, falsifiable predictions
scientific practice is characterized by its continual
effort to test theories against experience and make
revisions based on the outcomes of these tests
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Bulanao Norte, Tabuk City, Kalinga
Email add: isapkalinga2011@gmail.com
Mobile Number: 09637620243/09563482179

Lesson 2. Human Flourishing and Ethical Values in the Midst of Technological Era

Every person wants to be happy. They study, they work, and they sacrifice a
lot of efforts to earn money, to gain properties, to have more friends and to be
loved and make their loved ones happy. Many are lucky enough that they were able
to achieve what they want in life but there were some who were not and
sometimes make themselves even more miserable. To get what they need or what
they want, they become unlawful and step on other people for the sake of
happiness. Do you think by this way, human can be happy or flourished?
Do the following activities:

Ethics or moral principle is a branch of philosophy that involves

systemizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong
conduct.

The Human Condition before the Present Era

The need for survival drove early humans to discover, use and invent
materials from nature to ease their lives. Homo erectus used fire to cook by rubbing
wood or stone with each other to produce a spark, without realizing yet the laws
of friction and heat. During the Stone Age, homo sapiens further sharpened stones
to make cutting tools or knives, which we now refer to as a simple machine, the
wedge.

In the Iron Age, people discovered metals and minerals, and began forging
metalwork. These led to the construction of utensils and weapons that are more
durable, malleable and lustrous. Over the centuries, our ancestors have realized
their nakedness, and started using animal fur and skins for clothing. Further, they
accessorized, using animal teeth (such as those from crocodiles or tigers) as
necklaces and parts of their headdress to establish their stature as good warriors
or as noblemen in the tribe. Having done and used these, were they also curious in
finding explanations on certain phenomena? How about explanations on the
meaning of life?

The ancient people have found the answer through religion. Excavations
revealed several ceremonial figures in the Stone Age to honor some deity (god),
different tribes have different gods. It is through religion that they were able to
rationalize that there is something or someone in nature that is far greater than
them, which helped them stay grounded.

The Human Condition in the Present Era

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The ongoing man-made extinction of both flora and fauna, occurred as early
as 100,000 to 200,000 years ago up to the present. Referred to as the Sixth
Extinction or the Anthropocene Extinction, the growing population of humans have
led to the death of animal species through hunting and agriculture.

The increase in needs and wants of the growing human population led them
to wars and trade. People exchanged both tangible and intangible goods, and
technology helped them achieve these in the fields of medicine, education, health
and finance.

Below are the comparisons of some indicators of the human condition in the
old and in the present era:

1) Mortality Rate. Lesser women and children die during birth because of
technological advances in medicine and health, which gave rise to an
increase in population and workforce. Premature infants were
incubated to help them survive and develop. Maternal screening
ensures the health of mothers before, during and after giving birth.

2) Average Lifespan. Before, wars were fought mainly through man to man combat.
Technology increased the ability of countries to go into war. Medical
advances from gene tests to the treatment of cancer, and sickness
from viruses and bacteria increased the chances of people to live
longer lives. Premature infants were incubated to help them survive
and develop.

3) Literacy Rate. Technology enabled people to learn from about the world without
getting out of their seats. It also enabled learners to study without
having to attend regular classroom settings such as online courses or
colleges, or open universities. It is the aim of easier access to education
to build an informed society, which could lead to a more reasonable
or fair society.

4) Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It is used to determine the value of the goods
and services manufactured within a country in a given period. A
country with a higher GDP indicates higher production, which is
related to the presence of technology in its manufacturing,
communication and financial processes.

The human condition thus needs to be thought about considerably.

 INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
Bulanao Norte, Tabuk City, Kalinga
Email add: isapkalinga2011@gmail.com
Mobile Number: 09637620243/09563482179

Read and reflect on the essay below:

Excerpts from “The Question concerning Technology,” by Martin

Heidegger

According to ancient doctrine, the essence of a thing is considered to be what

the thing is. We ask the question concerning technology when we ask what it is.
Everyone knows the two statements that answer our question. One says:
Technology is a means to an ends. The other says: Technology is a human activity.
The two definitions belong together. For the posit ends and procure and utilized 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. The whole complex of
these contrivances is technology. Technology itself is a contrivance – in Latin, an
instrumentum. The current conception of technology, according to which it a means
and a human activity, can therefore be called the instrumental and anthropological
definition of technology.
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Martin Heidegger was born in 1889 in Southern

Germany. He was trained for priesthood in his earlier
years but became more interested in philosophy, natural
sciences and mathematics. He taught philosophy at the
University of Freiburg in Germany. Heidegger, who was
considered a proponent of phenomenology and
existentialism, observed that because of technology, “all
distances in time and space are shrinking” and “yet the
hasty setting aside of all distances brings no nearness; for
nearness does not consist in a small amount of distance.”