Science, Technology, and

Society and the Human

Condition
HUMAN FLOURISHING
LESSON OBJECTIVES
At the end of this lesson, the students should
be able to:
• Identify different conceptions of human
flourishing;
• Determine the development of the scientific
method and validity of science; and
• Critic human flourishing vis-à-vis progress of
science and technology to be able to define for
themselves the meaning of a good life.
 Science, Technology, and 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”
- it as a combination of well-being, happiness and
flourishing
- It is the ultimate goal of a human being, a part of
her function.
 Science, Technology, and Human Flourishing
- Western civilization tends to be
more focused on the individual;
based on an individual’s values
rather than his belief 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
• The Scientific Method:
1. Observe
2. Determine the problem
3. formulate hypothesis; reject
the null hypothesis
4. Conduct experiment
5. Gather and analyze results
6. Formulate conclusion and
provide recommendation
• Verification Theory (Alfred Jules Ayer 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
alternative hypothesis being accepted.
- 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.
Is it really raining?
• 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 is all about falsification and not
confirmation.
All swans are white.
 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 linguistic, kinetic,
artistic, and socio-civic.
 LESSON 2:
TECHNOLOGY AS A WAY OF
REVEALING
LESSON OBJECTIVES
At the end of this lesson, the students should
be able to:
• Explain the concept of human condition before
science and technology;
• Identify the change that happened in human
condition after science and technology; and
• Name ways on how technology aided in
revealing the truth about the human being.
The Human Condition Before Common Era
 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.
 The Human Condition Before Common Era
- Tools from stone and flints marked the era of the Stone
Age, during the advent of our very own Homo sapiens.
 The Human Condition Before Common Era
- People discovered minerals and began forging
metalwork.
 The Human Condition Before Common Era
- Fur clothing and animal skin are primarily used for
comfort against harsh winds. They begin to cover
themselves up out of necessity.
 The Human Condition Before Common Era
- 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.
 The Human Condition in the Common Era
- 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
-
 The Human Condition in the Common Era
- 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.
-
 The Essence of Technology
- By too much reliance on technology, humans lose track of
things that matter, reducing their surroundings to their
economic value.
 The Essence of Technology
- 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.
- Heidegger's philosophical analytic focused on the human
being's existence in their world as an individual and within
their social context. From this standpoint, both world and
being are viewed as inseparable.
DISCUSSION POINTS
1. What would have happened to
humankind if technology did not exist?
2. Do you agree with Martin Heidegger in
his idea that technology should only be
seen as one of the approaches in
perceiving truth? What are other
possible approaches we should
consider?
PROCESSING QUESTIONS
1. Role-playing. Try to imagine the world without
technology. How do you think your day-to-day life
would be like? Do this by illustrating a scenario
where a certain technological innovation does not
exist. Below are examples you could use:
a. Watch
b. Phone
c. Light bulbs
d. Cars
e. Printing Press
f. Electricity
2. Philosophical Debate. Discuss whether technology
is a means to an end or an end in itself. The class
will be divided into two groups. The first group
supports the notion that technology is an
instrument to achieve human goals, and the second
group supports the notion that technology is what
humanity does. List down pertinent points and
construct an individual position paper regarding
your stance.
 LESSON SUMMARY
• Science and technology has been part of human activity
since the beginning of our species.
• It has aided us in survival and helped us outsmart our
adversaries.
• However, it also leads us to a paradox in which we are
only able to see the world in the lenses of technological
innovations.
• Advancements in the field expose us to previously
unknown predicaments, effectively helping us to reveal
our own natures and enforcing one perspective in
finding the truth.