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STAS - Midterm Reviewer
each with the right to pursue his or her own such above all death is brought out here.
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efforts
[STAS111] 1.06 THE HUMAN PERSON FLOURISHING IN TERMS OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY – Ms. Eleonor Trinidad
o His outspoken early support for the Fascist Nazi • According to Heidegger, “technology is a way of
regime in Germany has to some extent obscured and revealing”
tainted his significance, but his work has exercised a
deep influence deep influence on philosophy, theology E. MARTIN HEIDEGGER ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
and the humanities, and was key to the development ▪ “Technology is by no means technological” (Instrumental
of Phenomenology, Existentialism, Deconstructionism, definition of technology)
Post-Modernism, and Continental Philosophy in
general VIII. THE QUESTION CONCERNING TECHNOLOGY
o He begins “The Question Concerning Technology” 1. Heidegger begins by portraying his investigation of
by examining the relationship between human and technology as the building of a path.
technology, a relationship Heidegger calls a free 2. He examines the common understanding of
relationship. If this relationship is free, it opens our technology as a neutral instrument under the control of
human existence to the essence of technology”. This humans. He proposes to get to the true sense via the
essence of technology, however, has nothing to do correct sense
with technology. Rather, as Heidegger suggests, ‘The 3. He analyses the notion of instrumentality to reach the
essence of a thing is considered to be what the thing truth or the essence of technology- it is traced to
is.” causality.
o Heidegger examines two definitions of technology. 4. Technology is a very particular kind of revealing to,
Firstly, he offers that “Technology is a means to an and the description articulates the key terms of
end” (Instrumental definition). Secondly, he Heidegger’s philosophy of technology: Modern
proposes that “Technology is a human activity technology challenges-forth nature to yield treasures
(Anthropological definition). to humans; technology sets-upon (positions and
orders) the yields of nature so that they are available
VII. SELECTED VIEWS ON TECHNOLOGY and of humans, becoming part of the standing reserve.
5. He discusses the relation of modern science to the
A. ARISTOTELIANISM essence of technology - He claims for the sciences the
• Views technology as a means to an end aggressive approach to nature that goes well with
• According to Aristotle, technology is the organizing of technology, but poorly with science.
techniques in order to meet the demand that is being 6. The enframing of technology is destiny. Destiny is
posed by humans neither an inevitable fate that descends on humanity
• Technology is primarily concerned with the product nor the result of human willing. Disclosure of destiny
• Technology will be judged as either good or bad based and human freedom are one and the same.
on the value given to the product, based in its use and 7. There is a twofold danger to destiny. One is the
effect to the society danger that human being reduces itself to standing
reserve and in so appearing to have taken total control
B. TECHNOLOGICAL PESSIMISM encounters nothing any more. The other is the danger
that the disclosure of the enframing forecloses every
• Supported by the French philosopher Jacques Ellul
(1912- 1994) other dispensation and conceals that too is a
disclosure.
• Although technology is progressive and beneficial in
8. Still the enframing is a disclosure. It involves human
many ways, it is also doubtful in many ways
being, therefore harbors the possibility of saving
• Technique has become a framework which humans
power.
cannot escape
• It has introduced ways to make things easy
IX. DOCTRINE OF CAUSALITY
1. Causa materialis - the material by which the
i. JACQUES ELLUL’S PESSIMISTIC ARGUMENTS
something was made.
▪ Technological process has a price
2. Causa formalis - the form or the shape that gives
▪ Technological progress creates more problems
something its image
▪ Technological progress creates damaging effects
3. Causa efficiens – The agent that has caused for
▪ Technological progress unpredictable devastating
something to come about
effects
4. Causa finalis – The purpose or the primary use by
which something was made
C. TECHNOLOGICAL OPTIMISM
• Supported by most people
A. ARISTOTLE’S FOUR CAUSES
• Technology can alleviate all the difficulties and provide
• It is responsible for the bringing forth of something
solutions for problems that may come
(“poiesis”)
• Even if technological problems may arise, technology
• It is bringing something concealed to unconcealment
will still be the solution to it
which makes technology as not only a means to an
end but also a mode if revealing
D. EXISTENTIALISM
• External factors have caused the creation of
• Supported by Martin Heidegger
something
• Main concern is the existence or the mode of being
someone or something which is governed by the norm
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of authenticity
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[STAS111] 1.06 THE HUMAN PERSON FLOURISHING IN TERMS OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY – Ms. Eleonor Trinidad
X. BRINGING FORTH XV. THE SOCIETY IN THE FACE OF SCIENCE AND
o Making something TECHNOLOGY
o The bringing forth-poesis-which underlies causality is o Man tends to find his happiness in the works of
a bringing out of concealment. modern technology
o The revealing is what the Greeks call truth-Aletheia- o It is used to measure man’s value
means unhiddedness or disclosure. o Social media has also affected the life of many
o Technology brings forth as well, and it is a revealing. o There is no contentment
o This is seen in the way the Greeks understood techne, o New products also tend to replace man in the society
which encompasses not only craft, but other acts of as the demand for manual labor is becoming less and
the mind and poetry. less because of the availability of machineries
o Heidegger characterizes modern technology as a o According to Heidegger, this can be prevented if man
challenging forth- very aggressive in its activity. will not allow himself to be overwhelmed with the
o With modern technology, revealing never comes to an enframing that he was set upon
end. o We must understand that technology does not concern
o The revealing always happens on our own terms as the means but also the end
everything is on demand. o Man should not be controlling and manipulative of
o He also described modern technology as the age of what he was set upon but also allow nature to reveal
switches, standing reserve and stockpiling for its own itself to him
sake.
A. UNLOCK AND EXPOSE
Eg. • It carries the idea that nature will not reveal itself
1. Volcanic eruption - challenging forth unless challenge is set upon it
2. Coral bleaching - challenging forth
3. Planting trees - bringing forth B. STOCKPILES FOR FUTURE USE
4. Mining - challenging forth • As technology is a means to an end, it aims to meet
5. Farming - bringing forth future demands
A. ARISTOTLE’S VIEWPOINT
• “Man’s life has a purpose and the function of one’s life
is to attain that purpose”
• “Happiness (Eudaimonia) is the highest desire and
ambition of all human beings”
• “to achieve happiness, one must cultivate the highest
virtues within oneself”
• “Human beings have a natural desire and capacity to
know and understand the truth, to pursue moral
excellence, and to instantiate their ideas in the world
through action.”
B. EPURUS’ VIEWPOINT
• “Balance and temperance were created space for
happiness.”
• (born 341 B.C) was a Greek philosopher who
contradicted the metaphysical philosophers.
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1.08 THE GOOD LIFE
Ms. Eleonor Trinidad || October 2022 STAS111
Transcribers: Kathleen Venus
OUTLINE
I. A PUZZLING PROBLEM A. ARISTOTLE: THE FATHER OF VIRTUE ETHICS
II. WHAT IS THE GOOD LIFE? • The highest goal of humanity is the good life or
“human flourishing” (eudaimonia, happiness)
III. ARISTOTLE (NICOMACHEAN ETHICS 2:2)
• Developing virtues is the way to achieve a rich and
IV. NICOMACHEAN ETHICS AND MODERN satisfying life
CONCEPTS • Virtues make us good persons – and help us live a
V. THE HAPPINESS PURSUIT good life
VI. RISK FACTORS
VII. GOLDEN RULE V. THE HAPPINESS PURSUIT
VIII. FATE AND CIRCUMSTANCE o Everybody wants more happiness and success.
IX. MATERIALISM o It’s good to know how to optimize happiness and
success.
X. HEDONISM o There is a wide agreement that happiness is the
XI. STOICISM greatest human good.
XII. THEISM o “Happiness does not consist in pastimes and
XIII. HUMANISM amusements but in virtous activities” – Aristotle
XIV. THE GOOD LIFE IS A BALANCED LIFE o “An unexamined life is nor worth living” – Socrates
XV. CAN TECHNOLOGY EVENTUALLY
VI. RISK FACTORS
EXTINGUISH HUMANITY?
o The happiness pursuit becomes one’s ultimate
purpose in life.
“The good life is using your signature strengths every day to o The happiness pursuit is not guided by a philosophy of
produce authentic happiness and abundant gratification” – life informed by general principles of meaning,
Martin E.P. Seligman spirituality and virtue.
X. HEDONISM
o Hedonism is a school of thought that argues that the
pursuit of pleasure and intrinsic goods are the primary
or most important goals of human life.
o A hedonist strives to maximize net pleasure (pleasure
minus pain) but when having finally gained that
pleasure, happiness remains stationary.
o “Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die.”
XI. STOICISM
o Another school of thought led by Epicurus.
o The stoics espoused the idea that to generate
happiness, one must learn to distance oneself and be
apathetic.
o The path to happiness for humans is found in
accepting this moment as it presents itself, by not
allowing ourselves to be controlled by our desire for
pleasure, or our fear of pain.
XII. THEISM
o The belief in the existence of the Supreme Being or
Deities
o Describes the classical conception of God.
o The ultimate basis of happiness is the communication
with God
o Monotheism - Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Sikhism,
Zoroastrianism
XIII. HUMANISM
o A school of thought 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.
o Is a philosophical and ethical stance that emphasizes
the value and agency of human beings, individually
and collectively.
o Refers to nontheistic life stance centered on human
agency and looking to science rather than revelation
from a supernatural source to understand the world.
OUTLINE
I. ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES AND 4. THE PROBLEMS OF DESIGN
LIMITATIONS OF TECHNOLOGY - Web-centric system consist of ten-
thousands of lines of customs code on
II. THE LIMITS OF TECHNOLOGY
top hundreds of thousands of lines of
III. POLICIES AND TECHNOLOGICAL middleware code on top of several
ADVANCEMENT million lines of operating system code.
IV. ETHICAL DILEMMAS AND POLICY ISSUES
“Everything should not be multiplied unnecessarily”
“It has become appallingly obvious that technology has - William Occam
exceeded our humanity.”
- Isaac Newton projected Occam”s work
– Albert Einstein into physics by nothing. “We are admit
no more causes of natural things such
I. ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES AND are both true and sufficient to explain
LIMITATIONS OF TECHNOLOGY their appearances”
A. IMPORTANCE OF TECHNOLOGY TO HUMANITY “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not
simplier.”
Technology has a profound impact on every aspects of lives.
- Albert Einstein
The way we live, interact changes through technology in the
different fields of education, medicine transportations, 5. THE PROBLEM OF FUNCTIONALITY
economy, communications and politics. - Brooks writes: To consider the
requirements functionally, and non-
B. ADVANTAGES OF TECHNOLOGY functionally of a machine has limitations.
• Life has become easy through science and
6. IMPORTANCE OF ORGANIZATION
technology. - More developers mean more complex
• Traveling has become faster than before communication and hence more difficult
• Communicating becomes easier, faster and cheaper it coordination, particularly if the team is
also increase the standard of living. geographically dispersed. With team of
• Man become advanced developers, the key management
challenge is always to maintain a unity
• The impossible become possible due to the progress and integrity of design.
in science and technology
7. THE IMPACT OF ECONOMICS
C. DISADVANTAGES OF TECHNOLOGY - Technological Advancement cost money.
• Humans had misused the technology and used in According to Barry Boehm in his classic
work on:
damaging purpose
Software Engineering Economics, based
• By the use of technology, man is doing illegal things upon empirical evidences, concludes
• New technology like mobile are generating bad that the performance of a project can be
consequences to the children. predicted according to the equation
• By means of modern technology, terrorist use it for
destructive purpose. III. POLICIES AND TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENT
• Many illness are created due to the development of A. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
atomic energy and atom bomb. • U.S industry technological advancement frequently
• Modern technology like nuclear energy have not only has been reinforced by congressional initiatives over
affected and other creatures. past 30 and more.
• Natural beauty is decreasing due to the development o U.S Industrial Competitiveness and
of modern technology Technological Advancement article in 2012
• Increase in economic growth in the contribution to the
II. THE LIMITS OF TECHNOLOGY
creation of new goods, new services, new job and new
1. THE LAW OF PHYSICS
capital because of the advances technology.
- Through software a flexible medium. The
Quantum and Thermodynamics effects, • Technology application can improve productivity and
that limits the use of technology quality of products
2. THE LAW OF SOFTWARE AND ALGORITHMS
- A software limitation: There are a given B. CANADA, USA, NORTH AND SOUTH AMERICA TO
computation that we can’t do it, or we EUROPE AND ASIA-PACIFIC
can’t afford it and sometimes we don’t • Scientific developments and technological changes
know how to do it. are important drivers of current economic
- David Harel’s delightful book performance.
3. THE DIFFICULTY OF DISTRIBUTION • Some features of this transformation are the: Growing
- A distribution system is one in which the impact of information and communications
failure of a computer you didn’t even technologies; rapid application of new products and
know existed can render your computer processes; a change to more knowledge-intensive
unusable. industries and services.
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computer scientist
[STAS111] 1.09 WHEN TECHNOLOGY AND HUMANITY CROSS – Ms. Eleonor Trinidad
D. PHILIPPINES Making artificial life forms has been
• The technology market is facing crisis since the deemed "playing God".
economic environment of the developing countries are
opposing technology based institutions. 9. RESILIENT SOCIAL-ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS
• Research and Development and Technology in the - Resilient Social-Ecological Systems is
Philippines what we need to build. Tolerantly being
pushed to an extreme while maintaining
IV. ETHICAL DILEMMAS AND POLICY ISSUES their functionality either by returning to
Science and technology as well as research and development the early state or by operating a new
enjoy and must continue to enjoy autonomy from the state and state. Able to stand extreme weather
society. Technology permeates every aspect of human life and events or regain functionality quickly
activity. afterwards is an example.
3. WEARABLE TECHNOLOGY
- wearable have the potential to teach us,
protect our health, as well as violate our
privacy in any amount ways.
5. ENHANCE PATHOGENS
- October 17, 2014 the White House
suspend a research that would enhance
the pathogenicity of viruses.
- Gain-of-function research is not
detrimental; it is used to provide vital
understanding to virus and how to treat
them.
6. NON-LETHAL WEAPONS
- Weapons that may not kill but can cause
serious pain, physical injuries and long-
term health costs.
7. ROBOT SWARMS
- Harvard University researchers newly
created group of 1000 robots. No human
intervention is required on these
"kilobots" beyond the original set of
instructions and works together to
complete tasks.
8. ARTIFICIAL FORMS
- Research on artificial life forms is a
range of synthetic biology focused on
custom building life forms to address
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