Learning Module

In

GE – 7
(Science, Technology, and Society)

Nanita M. Bataga
Faculty, College of Agriculture
 Module 5

The Good Life

Overview:
Everyone is in pursuit of the good life. We do certain things because we want to achieve a life
which will make us happy and content. By studying and working hard, we try to attain this goal not only
for ourselves but also for our loved ones and the rest of humanity. People’s definition of the good life
may vary and differ in the particulars. However, we recognized universal truth that cut across our
differences.

Learning Objectives:
At the end the lesson, students should be able to:
1. explain the concepts of the good life as posted by Aristotle
2. identifies how humans attempt to attain what is deemed to be a good life
3. recognize possibilities available to human being to attain the good life

Learning Title: The Good Life

Learning Content:

NICOMACHEAN ETHICS AND MODERN CONCEPTS

Aristotle; an important ancient Greek philosopher whose work spans from natural philosophy
on logic and political theory, attempted to explain what the good life is. His definition may be useful in
our pursuit of the truth. In Nicomachean Ethics 2.2, Aristotle stated:
All human activities aim at some good. Every art and human inquiry, and similarly every action
and pursuit, is thought to aim at some good; and for this reason the good has been rightly declared as
that at which all things aim.
Everyone is moving towards one’s studies, training for a sport, or taking a rest is a good. The
good is expressed and manifested in many various ways for different persons and circumstances. The
good life, however, is more than these countless expressions of what is good. It is characterized by
happiness that springs from living and doing well.
The ancient Greeks called this concept of “living well and doing well” as eudaimonia. The word
came from the Greek word eu meaning “good” and daiman meaning “spirit”. Taken together, it
generally refers to the good life, which is marked by happiness and excellence. It is flourishing life filled
with meaningful endeavors that empower the human person to be the best version of himself/herself. If
one is a student, then he/she acts to be best version of a student by studying well and fulfilling the
demands of school. If one is an athlete, then he/she strives to be the best version of an athlete by
training hard as well as joining and winning in sports competitions.

Happiness as the Goal of Life

In the eighteenth century, John Stuart Mill declared the Greatest Happiness Principle by saying
that an action is right as far as it maximizes the attainment of happiness for the greatest number of
people. At a time when people were skeptical about claims on the metaphysical, people could not make
sense of the human flourishing that Aristotle talked about in the days of old. Mill said that individual
happiness of each individual should be prioritized and collectively dictates the kind of action that should
be endorsed. Consider the pronouncement against mining. When an action benefits to the greatest
number of people, said action is said to be ethical. Does mining benefit rather than hurt the majority?
Does if often more benefits rather than disadvantages? Does mining result in more people getting happy
rather than sad? If the answer to the said questions are in the affirmative, then the said action, mining is
deemed ethical.
The ethical is of course, meant to lead us to the good and happy life. Through the ages, man has
constantly struggled with the external world in order to reach human flourishing. History has given birth
to different schools of thoughts, all of which aim for the good and happy life.

Materialism

The first materialists were the atomists in Ancient Greece. Democritus and led a school 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. For Leucippus Democritus and his disciples, the world including human beings, is
made up of matter. There is no need to post it immaterial entities as source of purpose. Atomos simply
comes together randomly to form the things in the world. As such, only material entities matter. We see
this at work with most people clinging on to material wealth as the primary source of the meaning of
their existence.

Hedonism

The hedonists, for their part, see the end goal of life in acquiring pleasure. Pleasure has always
been the priority of hedonists. For them, life is about obtaining and indulging in pleasure because life is
limited. The mantra of this school of thoughts is the famous. “Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we
die”. Led by Epicurus, this school of thoughts also does not buy any notion of afterlife just like the
materialists.

Stoicism

Another school of thoughts led by Epicurus, the stoics espoused the idea to generate happiness,
one must learn to distance oneself and be apathetic. The original term, apathetic, precisely means to be
indifferent. For the stoics, happiness can only be attained by a careful practice of apathy. We should in
the work view, adopt the fact that some things are not within our school. The sooner we realize this, the
happier we can become.

Theism

Most people find the meaning of their lives using God as a fulcrum of their existence. The
Philippines, as a predominantly Catholic country, is witness to how people base their life goals on beliefs
that hinged on some form of supernatural reality called heaven. The ultimate basis of happiness for
theists 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
 Humanism is another school of thoughts espouses 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 humanists,
man is literally the captain of his on ship. Inspired by the enlightenment in seventeenth century,
humanists see themselves not merely as stewards of the creation but as individuals who are in control
of themselves and the world outside them. This is the spirit of most scientists who thoughts that the
world is a place and space for freely unearthing the world in seeking for ways on how to improve the
lives of its inhabitants.

As a result of the motivation of the humanist, current scientists eventually turned to technology
in order to ease the difficulty of life as illustrated in the previous lessons. Scientists od today meanwhile
are ready to confront more sophisticated attempts at altering the worlds for the benefit of humanity.
Social media as an example, has been so far a very effective way of employing technology in purging
time and space. Now, communication between two people where ever they are, is not just possible but
easy. The internet and smart phones made real time communication possible even with multiple people
simultaneously.
Technology allowed us to thinker with our sexuality. Biologically, male individuals can now
undergo medical operation if they so wish for sexual reassignment. Breast implant are now available and
can be done with relative convenience if anyone wishes to have it. Hormones may also be injected in
order to alter the sexual chemicals in their body.

Whether or not we agree, with these technological advancements, these are all undertaken in
the hopes of attaining the good life. The balance, however, between the good life, ethics, and
technology has to be attained.

Module 6

When Technology and Humanity Cross

Overview

The ever-growing society has made people see technology as some form of necessity. Tracing
back its origin, the word “technology” came from the Greek words techne and logos which means a
discourse on arts (Buchanan, 2010). It first appears in the seventeenth century where the concept was
only used to talk about the arts, specifically applied arts. However, as technology progressed, the
concept also started to have wider range of meaning where art is no longer the only topic included.
Concepts like machine and tools were also attached to the word “technology” which is the more
popular sense of the concept now a days.
The role played by technology these days are very crucial to everyone. In one way or
another, each person in the society is directly or indirectly affected by technology whether he wills it or
not.
The good life entails living in a just and progressive society whose citizens have the freedom to
flourish. The human person has the autonomy to make choices which may enable the flourishing of
his/her self and society.
Human dignity is an ultimate core value of our existence. When we fully recognize and
appreciate this truth in ourselves and in all the persons around us, regardless of their status in life, then
we pave the way for a just and progressive society.
Learning Objectives:

At the end of this lesson, the students should be able to:

1. identify the different technological advancement in society
2. explain the development of science and technology in the Philippines
3. discuss the effects of the interplay between technology and humanity through the dilemma/s they
face.

Learning Content:

Roles Played by these Technological Advancement

Television sets, mobile phones and computers or laptops all have different functions and
roles played in the lives of the people, although some may be a little similar. These roles have
become so essential that people, more specifically Filipinos, developed a strong inclination toward
technology and its products. For instance, television is mainly used as a platform for
advertisement and information dissemination. In fact, television remains to be the most used
avenue by different advertising companies not only in the Philippines but also all over the world.
Various advertising companies trust that television is still one of the most used technological
devices up until today.
Mobile phones, on the other hand, also have their own roles in the lives of the people. They are
primarily used for communication. Mobile phones offer services like texting and calling. Personal
computers and laptops also have useful set of functions and roles. Although most of the functions
found in these technological devices are now available in mobile phones, they still offer their own
unique features that make them attractive.

Ethical Dilemma Faced by these Technological Advancement

While it is true that these technological devices are useful and beneficial, the fact
remains that there are several dilemmas faced by these “necessities”. First, most people would
argue that these devices make their children lazy and unhealthy. This is because of the fact that
people who are fixated on these technological advancements start and end their day by using
such devices. They have a great tendency to sit and chill all day long without doing anything
productive in their homes, thus making them unhealthy because they do not just skip meals
sometimes but also lack exercise or any bodily movements. Here, it can be inferred that these
types of people are already overly dependent on these technological devices.
Another dilemma faced by these technological devices is the moral dilemma. People,
especially the children who are not capable yet or rationally deciding for themselves what is right
or wrong, are freely exposed to different things on television, mobile phones, laptops, or
computers. Because of the availability and easy access to internet, they can just easily search the
web and go to different websites without restrictions. This allows them to see, read, or hear
things which are not suitable for their very young age.
On the first dilemma, it is readily concerning to know that there are people who develop
different kinds of sickness because of too much use of technological devices. Not only this, it also
causes them to become reclusive, alienating themselves from other people. Although some would
 argue that technology brings people together, it can also be argued that this is not always the case
in the real world because it may bring them virtually closer but not physically or personally.
Digging deeper, it can be said that those reasons make such devices somewhat unethical
because they bring undesirable consequences to people. However, it can also be argued that this
is not the fault of the technological devices but the agents using them or the ones making them.
The classic deontological and technological approaches to ethics are already are already too old to
be applied in such cases. This is because technology has become very complicated and dynamic
over time.
The word “responsibility” in the sense of being accountable for and accountable to is
very appropriate to the ethics of technology because it makes each and every person in the
scientific-technological development a proxy with reference to one another. In other words, each
person must indicate the priorities, values, norms, and principles that constitute the grounds for
one’s actions and define one’s contribution to the scientific –technological event. The ethics of
responsibility focuses on the positive rather than the negative.
However, it is important for the people in the scientific world to inform the masses of
the dangers of their contribution/s to the world of technology. In this way, people will be sufficiently
aware of what to do and what not to do. In addition to this, the agents using the devices should also be
accountable for their use of their gadgets.
On the seconds dilemma, the people in the scientific world nor the children are blameworthy
because:
1. the children are not yet capable of rationally deciding for themselves what is good and what
is bad.
2. Even if creators of these technologies went out of their way to inform children of the pros
and cons of these technological contributions, it would still be useless because the children
have no capacity to understand them yet. So in this dilemma, the one to be blamed are the
adults who allows the children to have access to such devices in the first place without any
supervision. It is the recklessness and overconfidence of the adults that cause the character
change in children.

Robotics and Humanity

The rise of the machines accompanying the progress in science and technology may
render humans useless. Manual labor is gradually being replaced by machinery. Computers
become more and more sophisticated. Robots, usually designed like human beings, are created to
perform complex, repetitive, or dangerous tasks. With the development of Artificial Intelligence
(AI), robots may also eventually act and decide like humans. In the possibility that machines adopt
the nature of humans, there is a need to reflect on the ethical problems posed by such
development.
Though the Philippines has not yet reached the point of producing robots on a
commercial scale for household use, it still behaves us to ponder the ramifications of replacing
persons with machinery. To Filipinos, artificial intelligence seems like the stuff of science fiction
movies. Be that as it may, its use in the country is surely gaining ground, especially in the business
process outsourcing (BPO) industry. Technology enables the growth of the BPO industry.
But it seems that it is also technology that will kill the industry as we know it. With the help of AI,
decisions now arise from sophisticated statistical analysis made from massive data. As of August,
 2017, it is estimated that a million Filipino BPO workers may be affected and lose their job with
the adoption of artificial intelligence (Santos, 2017).
Unemployment is only one of the many ethical considerations in the widespread use of
AI. What does this mean for human beings who can be replaced by machines? Is the value of the
person inversely proportional to that of a machine exhibiting artificial intelligence? How do we
guard against mistakes committed by machines? These points are but a sample of the
questions that should be resolved when faced with technology that may become a treat to human
dignity and security. In the future, when machines and robots become more human-like, with all
the attendant feeling and thought, people may also have to consider the ethical treatment for AI.
It is also interesting to note that machines and robots approach having a human-like
nature, humans may also have the tendency to become machine-like. The internet has become an
instant go-to tool for answer to questions. More over than not, people accept what the search
engine, like Google, spews out in byte sizes and forget how to process, read, think further, or put
things in context. As the internet gets more intelligent, we are in danger of becoming less so, in
the article “is Google making us stupid?” Nicolas Carr (2008) asserted that “as we come to rely on
computers to mediate our understanding of the world, it is our own intelligence that flattens into
artificial intelligence”.
The development of society along with science and technology gives rise to more
complex issues. What is vital is that, at the very least, we are able to protect and exercise human
rights for everyone in our pursuit of the good life. It is important that amid these developments,
human beings become more free, more rational, and more loving in our practice of science and
technology.
As we examine contemporary issues in science and technology-information, genetically
modified organisms, nanotechnology, and climate change – we keep in mind that the building of a
just and progressive society entails the constant practice of the good. It may be exhibited in
exceptional scientific methodologies, personal virtue, social responsibility and global concern.

Why Future Does Not Need Us

Chief scientist and corporate executive officer of Sun Microsystems, Bill Joy, wrote in
2000 a controversial essay. “Why the future does not need us”. In his work, he contended that our
most powerful 21th century technologies-genetics, nanotech, and robotics (GNR) – are
threatening to make humans an endangered species. This possible extinction of the species may
largely come about due to the unreflective and unquestioning acceptance of new technologies by
humans, Joy asserted that:
Accustomed to living with almost routine scientific breakthrough, we have yet to come to
terms with the fact that the most compelling 21th century technologies-robotics, genetic
engineering and nanotechnology - pose a different threat than the technologies that have come
before. Specifically, robots, engineered organisms, and nanobots share a dangerous amplifying
factor: They can self-replicate. A bomb is blown up only once- but one bot can become many, and
quickly get out of control.
Each of these technologies also offers untold promise: The vision of near immortality
drives as forward; genetic engineering may soon provide treatments, if not outright cures, for
most diseases; and nanotechnology and nanomedicine can address yet more ills. Together they
could significantly extend our average life span and improve the quality of our lives. Yet, with each
 of these technologies, a sequence of small. Individually sensitive advances leads to an
accumulation of great power and great danger (Joy, 2000).
Humans should learned the lessons in the atomic bombings of the Japanese cities of
Hiroshima and Nagasaka in 1945 that killed over a hundred thousand people. Brilliant physicists,
led by J. Robert Oppenheimer, brought into existence a deadly nuclear weapon. A definite
testament to the success of science and technology, the atomic bomb was also a fatal reminder of
its destructive power. Now with GNR, we are called to be circumspect and questioning of
technology. Again, as Heidegger (1977) propounded, it is in questioning that we build a way. GNR
today is accessible to small groups and individuals aand does not require funding and facilities as
huge as those needed by the nuclear weapons of mass destruction. This makes GNR more prone
to accidents and abuses. It is scary to imagine that such accidents and abuses may self-replicate
and spin out of control, especially when placed in the hands of extremist groups and individuals.
Science and technology may be the highest expressions of human rationality. People are
able to shape or destroy the world with it. Theoretical physicist and mathematician Freeman
Dyson, in the documentary The Day After Trinity (1981), shared his thoughts and sentiments as a
scientist taking part in the development of nuclear power:
I have felt it myself. The glitter of nuclear weapon. It is irresistible if you come to them as
a scientist. To feel it’s there in your hands, to release this energy that fuels the stars, to let it do
your bidding. To perform these miracles, to lift a million tons of rock into the sky. It is something
that gives people an illusions of illimitable power, and it is, in some ways, responsible for all our
troubles – this, what you might call technical arrogance, that overcomes people when they see
what they can do with their minds.
Humans nature may be corrupted when the powers of our mind, our rationality, and our
science and technology become manifest. If we are not able to rein in the vanity and arrogance
that such powers unleash, then we are on the way to destroying the world.

The wasteland grows: woe unto him who harbors the wasteland within – Friedrich Niet

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