SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY REVIEWER (MIDTERMS)

UNIT 1: GENERAL CONCEPTS AND STS HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS INTRODUCTION TO

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY
FOUR MEANINGS:
 Science as Knowledge
 Science as Field of Systematic Inquiry into Nature
 Science as a Form of Human Cultural Activity
SCIENCE  Science as a Total Societal Enterprise
Systematic, organized knowledge or study of the natural world based on facts learned
through experiments and observation.
IMPORTANCE
 Combating Irrationality
 Preeminent Source of Cognitive Authority
Some people regard it as simply applied science
FOUR MEANINGS:
 Technology as technics – material artifacts
TECHNOLOGY  Technology as technology
 Technology as a form of Human Cultural Activity
 Technology as a Total Societal Enterprise
IMPORTANCE
 Sustaining the private Corporation
 Source of Personal Identity
 Social Integration and Stratification
SOCIETY Large group of people who live together in an organized way.
ETHICAL DILEMMAS The ethical conflicts posed by science and technology-based dilemmas requires
careful analysis.
Less evident but no less important ground of the social importance of science and
SOCIAL AND CULTURAL technology in the contemporary era lies in several influential social and cultural roles
that these forces have assumed or positioned.
 The unification of STS experiences paradigm shifting.
 The first STS courses and programs appeared on the academic horizon in the late 1960s.
 The intellectual roots of STS lie in the history, philosophy, and social study of science and technology, an arena
where often-controversial issues and choices interface with values and influence public policy.
 With practical advantages in engineering, medicine, and technology, they have helped us to grow better
understanding about the world and different working phenomenon that governs us. Their way of shaping the
modern-day culture is completely unrivaled.
 STS prepares students to understand both the technical and social dimensions of science and technology, helps
them become more thoughtful and better-informed citizens of our high-tech society, and develops their critical
interdisciplinary thinking, research, and communication skills. Students flourish intellectually in an
environment where critical questioning is encouraged and opportunities for research are abundant.

UNIT 2: INTELLECTUAL REVOLUTIONS THAT DEFINED SOCIETY

TOP 10 GREATEST SCIENTISTS WHO CHANGED THE WORLD BY NAMAN BISTA
ARISTOTLE (384-322 BC)
 Student of Plato and a tutor to Alexander the Great
 A genius Greek philosopher and scientist of the ancient age.
 A biologist, zoologist, ethicist, a political scientist, and the master of rhetoric and logic.
 Gave theories in physics and metaphysics.
 Made collections to the plant and animal specimens and classified them according to their characteristics which
made a standard for future work.
 Elaborated and estimated the size of Earth which Plato assumed to be globe.
 Explained the chain of life through his study in flora and fauna where it turned simple to more complex.
ARCHIMEDES (287-212 BC)
 The greatest mathematician ever.
 Developed profound and influential knowledge on mathematical physics and engineering that are widely used
in machines as well as in constructions.
 He introduced infinitesimals and laid the foundation for calculus.
 Gave descriptions on the first finite geographic progression computed areas and volumes of sphere and
parabolic segments.
 Discovered the laws of lever, density, fluid equilibrium, buoyancy in different fields’ statics and hydrostatics.
 “Give me a place to stand and I can move the whole world.
GALILEO (1564-1642 AD)
 The father of modern science because of his discoveries in astronomy and physics.
 Made the first telescope to observe stars and planets.
 Discovered the law of pendulum as he watched a chandelier swing in the cathedral of Pisa.
 Discovered that the surface of the moon was not smooth but contained burrows and holes to what he called
crater.
 Discovered 4 revolving moons around Jupiter.
 He proved what Copernicus said about sun being the center of the solar system. (heliocentric)
MICHAEL FARADAY (1791-1867 AD)
 Known for his discoveries of electromagnetic inductions and rotations, Field Theory, dia-magnetization, and
the magneto-optical effect.
 Invented the electric motor and Faraday’s ring.
 Published research papers optical deceptions, condensation of gases and isolation of benzene from gas oils.
THOMAS ALVA EDISON (1847 – 1931 AD)
 “The wizard of the Menlo Park
 Patented a whopping total of 1,093 inventions in his life time.
 Most of the inventions that came from Edison are batteries, phonographs, cement, mining, telegraphs, lights and
powers. He also improved the telephone made by Graham Bell and invented the kinetoscope that was used for
viewing moving films.
 Masterminded the digital voting system with his electro-graphic vote recorder for the legislative of the
parliament.
 Proposed ideas on preserving fruits by keeping it in vacuum.
 Pioneered the idea for storage batteries
 “Genius is one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration”
MARIE CURIE (1867 – 1934 AD)
 First female to be awarded with a Nobel prize
 Invented the first mobile X-ray machine which helped to check the injured soldiers in the battlefield.
 Radium
 Experimented different elements to check their radio activity and found thorium.
 Invented the pitch-blend –which was the source of radiation and in a mixture more powerful than uranium and
thorium
 “The mother of atom bomb”
LOUIS PASTEUR (1822 – 1895 AD)
 Made outstanding contributions in the field of science, technology, and medicine.
 The first ever scientist to study about fermentation in food elements that was caused by microbes.
 Explained about biogenesis and proposed a theory named as the “Germ Theory”.
 Pasteurization – a process of toning and treating milk free from the damage causing microbes
 The first man on Earth to ever discover cure for puerperal fever and make the vaccines for rabies and anthrax.
 Explained the asymmetry in various crystals on a molecular basis.
SIR ISAAC NEWTON (1643 – 1727 AD)
 Best known for his law on gravitation.
 Explained the theory of gravity and gravitation by inventing calculus.
 Calculus was derived from his binomial theorem to infinite series which accurately could measure the area
inside the curve or rate of change of it.
  Explained the theory on tides which occurred due to the gravitation pull from sun, moon and Earth.
 Invented the reflecting telescope.
 Knighted with the title Sir by Queen Anne in 1705.
ALBERT EINSTEIN (1879 – 1955 AD)
 One of the greatest revolutionary scientist the world has ever known.
 “Man of Century”
 The father of Modern Physics
 Developing the general theory of relativity.
 E = mc2
 Was awarded Nobel Prize in 1921 for his work on theoretical physics, and for his discovery of the photoelectric
effect”.
NIKOLA TESLA (1856 – 1943 AD)
 Generated ac current
 First hydroelectricity plant in Niagara Falls, experiments with cryogenic engineering, transistors, radio wave
recorder from outer space.
 Remote control, neon lightening, modern electric motor, earthquake machine
 Most of his ideas and inventions were either copied, stolen, or taken by somebody else.
THE ORIGIN OF STUDIES
 Discovery of fire
 Old Stone Age – Paleolithic Period
PRE-HISTORY (unwritten)  New Stone Age – Neolithic Period
 It began when human beings first arrived in the New World
ANCIENT TIMES  Communication and Record-keeping
 Cuneiform, Uruk City, The Great Ziggurat of Ur, Irrigation and Dikes,
SUMERIAN CIVILIZATION Sailboats, plow, roads, making poetry by potter’s wheel, and Horsedrawn
chariots.
BABYLONIAN  Babylonians were great builders, engineers and architects, and mathetician
CIVILIZATION  Hanging gardens of Babylon, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
EGYPTIAN CIVILIZATION  Papyrus, ink, hieroglyphics, cosmetics, wig, and clepsydra.
 Trial and error medicine
ALCHEMY  Wanted to find a means by which lea could be transformed into gold (or
some other precious substance)
 Birthplace of western philosophy, and in depth work of mathematics.
GREEK CIVILIZATION  “True Science begin to emerge”
 Alarm clocks and water mill
PERSIAN CIVILIZARION  Very good in terms of management
 Trade and economic prosperity
 Strongest political and social entity in the west, but they are perceived as
ROMAN “Poor in Science”
CIVILIZATION  The cradle of politics and governance
 Newspaper, Codes, Roman Architecture, and Roman Numerals.
ARABIC CIVILIZATION  Arabs – the inhabitants of Arabia situated in Southeastern Asia.
 Muhammad – founder of Islam, the religion of Muslims.
 The oldest civilization in Asia
CHINESE CIVILIZATION  Famous among other ancient civilizations because of its silk trade, tea, Great
Wall of China, Gun powder.
INDUS-HINDU  Aryans – the dominant people in Northern India.
CIVILIZATION  Traditional Indian medication ha varieties of herbal remedies and drugs
which the West discovered and used later.
 Trade and large-scale communication became harder and harder.
THE DARK AGES  Little was learned.
MEDIEVAL/MIDDLE AGES  Wars were prevalent during this time. Trade and commerce among nations
increased, which resulted in greater demands for transportation and
 technology.
 Printing press, Microscope, telescope, war weapons.
 New interest sparked in reference to the physical world. This focus on the
RENAISSANCE PERIOD investigation of reality that naturally began to create questions regarding the
accepted Aristotelian norms.
 “Intellectual Revolution” is used to refer to Greek speculation about the
“nature” in the period before Socrates.
INTELLECTUAL  Ionians – earliest thinkers
(SCIENTIFIC)  Three characteristics of this form of speculation:
REVOLUTION 1. The world is a natural whole (that is, supernatural forces do not make
things 'happen’)
2. There is a natural ‘order’ (that is, there are ‘laws of nature’)
3. Humans can ‘discover’ those laws.
INDUSTRIAL  People realized that the inventions that made their lives better were at least
REVOLUTION partially the result of scientific knowledge. As a result, there was popular
support for science that translated into better facilities and a better way of
life for scientists, which in turn translated into great advances.
MODERN TIMES  The booming world population during the nineteenth century onwards
demanded that more goods be produced at a faster rate. People needed
efficient means of transportation to trade more goods and cover a larger
distance.
THE INTELLECTUAL (SCIENTIFIC) REVOLUTIONS MOST KNOWN IN HISTORY
This caused the paradigm shift of how the earth and sun were placed in the
COPERNICAN heavens/universe. It is the idea that rejected Ptolemaic model (earth is the center of
the solar system) and proved the heliocentric model (Sun is the center of the solar
system having the earth revolving around it.
DARWINIAN  “Theory of Creation“ and his book "The Origin of Species“
 Father of Evolution
FREUDIAN  Freudian Theory of Personality, Psychoanalysis, Personality theory, Freudian
Slip
INFORMATION  Johannes Gutenberg
 This was the era which technology has been prevalent. It is also known as
the Computer Age that has brought so much change on how we are living
today
MESO-AMERICAN  It has contributed a lot of ideas or discoveries for Archeology. The temples
and pyramids left a lot about of Architecture that leads us to study more of it.
ASIAN  The revolution itself taught Asian countries about freedom and independent
nationhood along the improvement brought by it internally.
MIDDLE EAST  The revolutions in the Middle East were a product of the development and
growth of individual nationalism, imperialism, for the efforts to westernize
and modernize Middle Eastern societies, and to push the declining power of
the Ottoman Empire in the Arab region.
AFRICAN  The fight against colonialism and imperialism in Africa.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND NATION-BUILDING (PART 1: INTRODUCTION)

NATION BUILDING  According to Stephenson (2005), nation building is all about the process of
unifying.
 According to Mylonas in 2019, Nation Building is intertwined with the
processes of:
INDUSTRIALIZA The process by which an agrarian-based economy is
TION transformed from one based on the manufacturing of goods
through factory system and industries.
URBANIZATION Transformed from one that is predominantly rural in
economy to one that is mainly urban.
SOCIAL Allows people and communities to collectively think and act
 MOBILIZATION upon their development.
GOALS
 To make a country’s economy firm, viable, stable, and prosperous
 Encourage a strong sense of national identity.
 Create effective social institutions
 To unify people of diverse culture, language, and religion under the same
state.
COMPONENTS
ECONOMIC  The process whereby simple, low income national
DEVELOPMENT economies are transformed into modern industrial
society
 Sometimes used as a synonym for economic growth
SOCIAL  The success of the society is related to the well-being
DEVELOPMENT of its citizen
 Uplifting well-being of every individual in the
society to reach the full potential.
POLITICAL  The increase in national political unity, political
DEVELOPMENT participation, and political stability.
INSTITUTIONAL  Improve the capacity of social institutions to achieve
DEVELOPMENT its goals and objectives.
S&T AND SECTORAL DEVELOPMENT
ENERGY SECTOR The use of new technologies such as solar panel, wind turbines and generators have
improved the way human harnesses renewable energy.
AGRICULTURE SECTOR Farm machineries such as tractors and harvesters - farmers can efficiently produce
more with less manpower, aiming increased yield while using lesser inputs.
FISHERIES SECTOR Improved fisheries management practices.
COMMUNICATION Modern communication has made instant using emails, social medias, phones and
SECTOR video calls. The used of wireless signals, satellites, undersea cables, and other
advanced technology have guaranteed the instant delivery of messages and other
forms of data to any locations
TRANSPORTATION With the use of modern technologies, people can now get to more destinations more
SECTOR efficiently and quickly.
MILITARY SECTOR Information technology, artificial intelligence and sensors have the potential to
vividly improve all aspects of future military capabilities.
EDUCATION SECTOR  Technological advancement has greatly changed the sector of education.
 Digital simulations and models can help teachers in explaining difficult
concepts and can also help students who are visual or tactile learners to
better understand a specific concept
HEALTH SECTOR The advances in digital healthcare technologies, such as artificial intelligence,
VR/AR, 3D-printing, robotics and nanotechnology help transform unsustainable
healthcare systems into sustainable ones, equalize the relationship between medical
professionals and patients, provide cheaper, faster and more effective solutions for
diseases.
GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE  Science and Technology has a great impact to rapid development, affect
ON S&T IN NATION every aspects of life, and was regarded as the greatest evidence of
BUILDING modernization.
 In a global perspective, moving on with the flow of modernity determines
the nation’s capability to sustain its people’s lives. Such is the influence of
science and technology for the development of a nation.
STATE OF S&T OF Benefit the most from advances in science and technology and will be able to exploit
DEVELOPED NATIONS technology regardless of its sophistication.
JAPAN The acquisition, effective adaptation, and improvement of
technologies has served as the basis for the country’s rapid
economic growth and international competitiveness.
REASONS FOR JAPAN’S SUCCESS:
 (1) Central government policies
(2) Diffuse base of entrepreneurial vitality
(3) Political and ideological climate
ISRAEL  Redirected its institutions and policies to poster S&T
 The government parties have come together to
support major fiscal reforms, which lowered taxation
on business and investment
 Patent laws were also strengthened.
 The research and development expenditure of Israel
have quadrupled.
 New universities were founded, and existing Science,
Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)
training programs were enhanced
STATE OF SCIENCE AND  Developing nations will be helped or hindered by “science and technology
TECHNOLOGY OF capacity”
DEVELOPING NATIONS  They are posed to take advantage of modestly sophisticated technology
applications from developed countries.
STATE OF SCIENCE AND  Class disparities are expected to disrupt the penetration of science and
TECHNOLOGY OF technology in attaining modernization and industrialization of these nations.
LAGGING COUNTRIES
THE PHILIPPINES  Even before the Spaniards came to the Philippine Islands, early Filipino
BEFORE PRE-COLONIAL settlers shows early signs of Scientific and technological development.
PERIOD
THE PHILIPPINES:  The Spanish government developed health and education systems that were
COLONIAL PERIOD enjoyed by the principalia class.
 The American occupation established a government agency, the Bureau of
Science, for the sole purpose of nurturing development in the field of science
and technology.
THE PHILIPPINES: POST-  After achieving independence from the colonizers, Philippines, under
COLONIAL PERIOD different administrations, continued to pursue programs in science and
technology.
 Each leadership has its own science and technology agenda.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND NATION BUILDING (PART 2: LEGAL APPLICATIONS)

 1987 PHILIPPINE CONSTITUTION – Legal Application that states that Science and Technology is
essential for national development and progress.
AMBISYON NATIN 2040
 October 11, 2016 – the date when President Rodrigo R. Duterte signed Executive Order No.5, s. 2016
 25 year long term vision as a guide for development planning; 4 administration
 Legal Application that represents our collective vision as Filipinos over the next 25 years, articulating that we
will be a progressive middle-class nation
 Department of Science and Technology – the primary science and technology agency of the Philippines.
 The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board – approved the Philippines
Development Plan 2017-2022 on February 20, 2017 at Malacanang Palace.
THE PHILIPPINE DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2017-2022 ANCHORED ON THREE VALUES
 Malasakit
 Pagbabago
 Kaunlaran
 THE HUMAN FLOURISHING IN TERMS OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
HUMAN FLOURISHING  A state where people experience positive emotions, positive psychological
functioning, and positive social functioning, most of the time, ‘living’ within
an optimal range of human functioning.
 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 effort.
 It encompasses the uniqueness, dignity, diversity, freedom, happiness, and
holistic wellbeing of the individual within the larger family, community, and
population.
HOLLISTIC WELLBEING PHYSICAL WELLNESS
 External being
 Physical exercise and nutrition.
EMOTIONAL WELLNESS
 The ability to produce positive emotions, moods, thoughts and feelings, and
adapt when confronted with adversity and stressful situations.
 Involves the ability to engage in emotional self-regulation and
compartmentalization
SOCIAL WELLNESS
 Sense of belonging
 Engaging in positive social interactions
INTELLECTUAL WELLNESS
 Cognitive
 Open conversation with range of ideas.
OCCUPATIONAL AND FINANCIAL WELLNESS
 Describe one’s job satisfaction and fulfillment
ENVIRONMENTAL WELLNESS
 Environmental awareness and appreciation of Earth’s natural resources.
SPIRITUAL WELLNESS
 Spiritual nurture and being grounded.
HOW CAN HUMANS GET FLOURISHING?
 Human flourishing must be achieved through a person’s own effort choice
 It involves the rational use of one’s individual human potentialities (e.g., talents, abilities, and virtues)
 Human person as both the bearer and beneficiary of science and technology
 Human may unconsciously acquire, consume, or destroy what the world has to offer.
 Human flourishes and finds meaning in the world that he/she builds.
WHAT IS HAPPINESS?  In psychology, happiness is a mental or emotional state of well-being which
can be defined by, among other others, positive or pleasant emotions ranging
from contentment to intense joy.
 To behaviorists, happiness is a cocktail of emotions when we do something
good or pleasant
 To neurologists, happiness is the experience of a flood of hormones released
in the brain as a reward for behavior that prolongs survival.
EUDAIMONIA  Greek = “good” and “spirit” = good spirited (coined by Aristotle)
(Eudaimonic View of  The pinnacle of happiness (ultimate desire for living) is attainable by humans.
Happiness  Defines happiness as the pursuit of becoming a better person, achieved
through experiences meaning and purpose
 Eudaimonists do this by challenging themselves intellectually or by engaging
in activities that make them spiritually richer people.
 “human flourishing”; a contented state or being happy and healthy and
prosperous.
HEDONIC (Hedonistic View  Hedonistic is achieved through experiences of pleasure and enjoyment
of Happiness)  It is a view that well-being’s happiness is the polar opposite of suffering. The
presence of happiness indicates the absence of feeling pain. Because they
believe that the purpose of life is to maximize happiness, which minimizes
misery.
QUESTIONING OF THE  Piety means obedience and submission
PIETY OF THE THOUGHT  Submission to our thoughts and reflection.
 It is when we start questioning that we submit ourselves to our
thougths.
 Questioning leads to one to search for his/her place in the universe and in the
grand-scale of things.
LOOKING INTO THE Calculative Thinking One orders and put a system to nature so it can be
WORLD OF SCIENCE AN understood better and controlled.
TECHNOLOGY Reflective Thinking “what was easy?”, “how will you use it in the future?”
Meditative Thinking Kind of thinking that thinks the truth of being, that belongs
to being and listens to it; one lets nature reveal itself to
him/her without forcing it.
SEVERAL PHILOSOPHICAL VIEWS ON TECHNOLOGY
ARISTOTELIANISM (ARISTOTLE)
 He suggested that each man’s life has a purpose and the function of one’s life is to attain that purpose.
 Nicomachean Ethics – How to live a good life?
 Poeises – bringing forth – making or producing something for a purpose.
 Technology is basically a means to an end, where product will be judged as either good or bad based on the
value given (use and effect to the society)
ARISTOTLE’S FOUR CAUSES:
(1) Causa Materialis or the Material Cause – the material in which it is made of.
(2) Causa Formalis or the Formal Cause – the form or shape of the material
(3) Causa Efficiens or the Efficient Cause – the agent that has caused the material to come about.
(4) Causa Finalis or Final Cause – the purpose or the primary source use of the material.
EASTERN AND WESTERN CONCEPTION REGARDING SOCIETY AND HUMAN FLOURISHING
WESTERN CONCEPTION EASTERN CONCEPTION
 More focused on the individual  Focus is community-centric
 Human flourishing as an end  Individuals should sacrifice himself for the sake
 Aristotelian view of the society
 Aims for eudaimonia as the ultimate good.  Chinese Confucian System
 Japanese Bushido – encourage studies of
literature, sciences and art for a greater cause.
TECHNOLOGICAL OPTIMISM
 This philosophy believes that technology can alleviate all the difficulties and provide solutions for problems
that may come. Technology problems may rise but technology will still be the solution. Technology is the
supreme authority on everything.
TECHNOLOGY PESSIMISM BY JACQUES ELLUL (1912-1994)
 Ellul believes that technology has become a way of life. The said techniques have become a framework which
cannot escape.
(1) Technology progress having a price to pay;
(2) It creates more problems;
(3) Damaging effects, and
(4) Unpredictable devastating effects.
EXISTENTIALISM (Martin Heidegger)
 This view basically investigates on the meaning of existence that always faced with the selection one must take
with which the existent will commit himself to.
 Enframing challenges forth and sets upon nature is a way of looking at reality. (e.g., poiesis)
 A way of revealing (non-stop)
 Alethia – Greek word aletheuein = “to discover” – to uncovered what was covered over (the truth)
 Technology reveals the world as raw material, available for production and manipulation
  Modern technology is rather a ‘forcing into being’
READING HEIDEGGER: THE QUESTION CONCERNING TECHNOLOGY
 Martin Heidegger was an influential German Philosopher of the 20th century.
 Heidegger’s three main claims:
(1) Technology is not an instrument;
(2) Technology is not a human activity
(3) Technology is the highest danger
 Bestand – how we perceive things.
MODERN TECHNOLOGY
 As time changes, elements that comprise human flourishing changed.
 Opening of something means a closing down of something, which means as something is revealed another is
concealed.
THE HUMAN PERSON FLOURISHING AS REFLECTED IN PROGRESS AND DEVELOPMENT
 Our planet only has enough resources for each of us to consume (1.8 global hectares annually)
 This is the standardized unit that measures resource use and waste (roughly what the average person in Ghana
or Guatemala consume)
 US and Canada – 8 hectares/person
 Europeans – 4.7
 Cuba – 1.9

*Instead of pushing poorer countries to catch up with rich ones, we should be thinking ways to get rich countries to
catch down to more appropriate levels of development.

 Life expectancy and literacy – two indicators of the quality of life.

 Overconsumption puts the society at risk
 Either we slow down, or climate change will slow us down for us.
 Rethinking our theory and progress is an ecological imperative and development one.

THE GOOD LIFE

Good life is more than countless expressions of what is good. It is characterized by happiness that springs from living
and doing well.
VIRTUES  It is the practice of doing good no matter how difficult the circumstances
may be.
 It is the excellence of character that empowers one to do and be good.
 Such virtue is cultivated with habit and discipline as it is not a one-time deed
but a constant and consistent series of actions.
INTELLECTUAL MORAL
 Virtues of mind that is usually acquired through  Through habit; not innate and are acquired though
teachings like logic and mathematics (requires repetition and practice that one becomes a type of
experiences and time). This can also be attributed person (Pragmatical Wisdom).
to intelligence and scientific knowledge
(Theoretical Wisdom) E.g., Ability to understand
and reason to make sound judgment.
PRACTICAL WISDOM/VIRTUE
 The ability to deliberate well what is good and expedient for oneself.
 Aristotle believe that practical wisdom is the highest intellectual virtue.
PHRONESIS TECHNE
 A Greek word that once translated into means  A term in philosophy that refers to making or
prudence, practical virtue and practical wisdom; a doing. Art, skill especially: the principles or
word for a type of wisdom or intelligence relevant method in making something or attaining an
to practical action. Phronesis is a complicated objective.
interaction between general (theory) and practical
(judgment).
FOUR MAIN KINDS OF  Temperance – restraint, usually with regards to pleasurable activities.
VIRTUES (ACCORDING  Generosity and Friendship
TO ARISTOTLE)  Courage – the tendency to act to achieve some good even facing with the
risk of physical harm
 Contemplation – reflection on eternal truths.
GOOD LIFE AND  Movement towards a good life especially in the modern world.
TECHNOLOGY  It is evident, however, that man’s personal decision and ideas – on progress,
happiness, beliefs, expectations, attitudes, and feelings – are directly affected
by convenience and benefits brought about by science and technology
(Datson, 2012)
 The good life is marked by happiness brought about by virtuous human
actions and decisions that affect the individual self and the greater
community. The good life does not happen in a bubble where only one
person is flourishing; others have to be in it, too.
SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT
MATERIALISM Matter is what makes attain happiness. For most people, material wealth would seem
(Democritus and Leucippus) to be the primary source of the meaning of their existence.
EPICURUS
HEDONISM STOICISM
Life is about obtaining or indulging in pleasure because To generate happiness, one must learn to distance oneself
life is limited and does not buy the notion of afterlife. and be apathetic. In this world, we should adopt the fact
Their famous mantra is, ‘Eat, drink, and be merry for that some things are not within our control; cared about
tomorrow we die’. virtuous behavior and living according to nature.
 Recognize what you can and cannot
control
 You determine your reaction to a crisis
 Ignore people dominated by their own
negative emotion
 Master yourself and aim to be virtuous.
 Learn to move on
“Happiness and freedom begin with a clear understanding
of one principle. Some things are within your control and
some things are not.” –Epictetus
THEISM The ultimate basis of happiness for theist is the communication with God. Most
people find the meaning of their lives using God as the fulcrum of their existence.
HUMANISM This school of thought espouses the freedom of man to carve his own destiny and
legislate his law, free from the shackles of God to monitor and control. For
humanists, man is the captain of his own ship. They see themselves not merely as
individuals who are in control of themselves and the world outside them.
MARTIN HEIDEGGER Defined happiness as loving one’s life, valuing it in ways manifested by ample
(2012) enjoyment and a robust sense of meaning. Achieving happiness and man’s own
desire and needs commonly gives essence for living a good life. This being described
by moral decency and goodness, authenticity, mental health, and meaningfulness.
Ten Golden Rules by Michael Soupios and Panos Mourdoukoutas
1. Examine life, engage life with vengeance; always search for new pleasures and new destinies with your mind.
Living life is about examining life through reason which is nature’s greatest gift to humanity. Reason lets
human beings participate in life; to be human is to think, appraise, and explore the world, discovering new
sources of material and spiritual pleasure.
2. Worry only about the things that are in your control, the things that can be influenced and changed by your
actions, not about the things that are beyond your capacity to direct or alter. Since people cannot control all of
the outcomes they seek in life, they certainly can control the responses to these outcomes which lies to their
potential for a life that is both happy and fulfilled.
3. Treasure friendship, the reciprocal attachment that fills the need for affiliation. Friendship cannot be acquired
in the marketplace but must be nurtured and treasured in relations imbued with trust and amity.
4. Experience true pleasure. Avoid shallow and transient pleasures. Keep your life simple. Seek calming pleasures
that contribute to peace of mind. True pleasure is disciplined and restrained.
5. Master yourself. Resist any external force that might delimit thought and action. Stop deceiving yourself,
believing only what is personally useful and convenient. Complete liberty necessitates a struggle within, a
 battle to subdue negative psychological and spiritual forces that preclude a healthy existence. Self-mastery
requires ruthless candor
6. Avoid excess. Live life in harmony and balance. Avoid excesses. Even good things pursued or attained without
moderation can become a source of misery and suffering.
7. Be a responsible human being. Approach yourself with honesty and thoroughness. Maintain a kind of spiritual
hygiene. Stop the blame-shifting for your errors and shortcomings. Be honest with yourself and be prepared to
assume responsibility and accept consequences.
8. Don’t be a prosperous fool. Prosperity by itself is not a cure-all against an ill-led life and may be a source of
dangerous foolishness. Money is necessary but not a sufficient condition for the good life.
9. Don’t do evil to others. Evildoing is a dangerous habit, a kind of reflex too quickly resorted to and too easily
justified that has a lasting and damaging effect.
10. Kindness towards others tends to be rewarded. Kindness to others is a good habit that supports and reinforces
the quest for the good life. Helping others bestows a sense of satisfaction that has two beneficiaries – the
beneficiary, the receiver of the help, and the benefactor, the one who provides the help.

WHEN TECHNOLOGY AND HUMANITY CROSS

HUMAN DIGNITY An ultimate core value of our existence.
 Human beings become freer when we empowered to make choices for our
flourishing
 We become rational, when we are able to value and apply the principles of
logic and science in our lives
 We become loving when we ensure that human dignity lies in the foundation
of our endeavors.
UNIVERSAL  Proclaimed by the United Nations on December 10, 1948
DECLARATION OF  Global standard of fundamental human rights for universal recognition and
HUMAN RIGHTS (UDHR) protection
 Consists of 30 articles that outlines the inalienable human rights that are vital
and necessary in the pursuit of the good life.
 Freedom everyone is entitled by just being human.
ARTICLE I: FREE AND EQUAL
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and
should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
ARTICLE II: FREEDOM FROM DISCRIMINATION
Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind such
as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth, or other status.
ARTICLE III: RIGHT TO LIFE
Everyone has the right to life, liberty, and security of person.
ARTICLE IV: FREEDOM FROM SLAVERY
No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.
ARTICLE V: FREEDOM FROM TORTURE
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
ARTICLE VI: RIGHT TO RECOGNITION BEFORE THE LAW
Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.
ARTICLE VII: RIGHT TO EQUALITY BEFORE THE LAW
All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are
entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to
such discrimination.
ROBOT
 An actuated programmable in two or more axes with a degree of autonomy, moving within its environment, to
perform intended tasks.
 Autonomy – ability to perform intended tasks based on current state and sensing without human intervention
ROLES OF ROBOTICS  Ease the workload of mankind
 Make life more sufficient and less stressful
 Perform complicated activities
  Pleasure, entertainment in parks or exhibits
 Toys, child-friendly
 Used in movies
SERVICE ROBOT  A robot that performs useful tasks for humans or equipment’s excluding
industrial application
 A service robot may be classified according to its intended application
PERSONAL  Service robot for personal use.
SERVICE ROBOT  Used for non-commercial tasks, usually by a
laypersons.
 Examples: domestic servant robot, automated
wheelchair, personal mobility assist robot, and pet
exercising robot.
PROFESSIONAL  Service robot for professional use.
SERVICE ROBOT  Used for commercial tasks, usually operated by a
properly trained operator.
 Example: cleaning robot for public places, delivery
robot, firefighting robot, rehabilitation robot, and
surgery robot.
THDIFFERENCES BETWEEN A ROBOT AND HUMAN
 Essence of life = cells, metabolism, etc.
 Although robots are said to show complex processes or operations, humans are far more advanced, in the sense
that they have a highly developed brain that no robot has ever matched up to.
 The human brain makes us powerful, creative, and inventive beings, in almost all aspects.
THE ETHICAL DILEMMAS OF ROBOTICS
 Scientists are already beginning to think seriously about the new ethical problems posed by current
developments in robotics.
 At the top of their list of concern is safety.
THREE LAWS OF ROBOTICS (1940s) BY ISAAC ASIMOV
Isaac argued that intelligent robots should all be programmed to obey the following three laws:
1. A robot may not injure a human being, or, though inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey the orders given by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the first
law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the first or second law.
ROBOT ‘RIGHTS’
 One area of robotics that raises some difficult ethical questions, and which is already developing rapidly, is the
field of emotional robotics.
 Sentient robots; David Hanson
 George Devol
JARON LANIER
 An internet pioneer that has warned of the dangers such technology poses to our sense of our own humanity
 Lanier talks of the dangers of “widening the moral circle” too much.
THE ROBOTS IN GENERAL
 The robots as a machine, is limited only to what it is designed or built to do.
 The possibility to commit error, danger of causing injury or harm, tendency to fail, and so on, for a robot are
often seen.
 However, robots are designed to be the most sophisticated machines, performing and looking like their creator,
humans.
 People want robots in their homes, but they do not want to take responsibility if the robots did something
undesirable, or worse, unthinkable, not just in home but also in the entire neighborhood.
THE ROBOTS IN THE PHILIPPINES
 Economically and technologically speaking, we may not be ready for home robot yet.
 However, as more S&T advancements are being made affordable, there is a possibility that in no time we will
we also go with the flow with first world countries.
 As of now, we Filipinos still see robots or any technology for that matter as something more of having
 economic, proprietary, and utilitarian values rather than with emotional attachments.
 The most advanced robots may have near-human appearance, but we Filipinos still see them as totally not
human.