common good, then he or she will
HUMAN
FLOURISHING
• Ancient Greek Philosophers were some
of the first thinkers who tried to answer
the question.
• Also known as Eudaimonia
• According to Plato and Aristotle,
happiness is the result of Eudaimonia or
Human Flourishing.
PLATO (428/427 – 348/347BCE)
• All human beings naturally desire
eudaimonia or human flourishing.
• He believed that in order to flourish, one
must have moral thoughts and virtuous
action.
• He referred the value to “excellence.”
• He believed that the well-being of a
human individual must not depend on
external goods such as fame, wealth, and
appearance.
HUMAN BEINGS CAN DEVELOP VIRTUE
BY:
1. By examining things and thinking more.
• He believes that a human being who
does not examine his or her life and
surroundings will not flourish.
• He said that humans can reason and
must use it to become wiser in order
to flourish.
2. By masterly using reason.
• He believes that a human is good if
he or she uses his or her reason over
his desires.
• Limiting One’s reason may result to
negative consequences.
• Reasoning allows the control of
oneself.
• If a human is able to control oneself
through reason and act for the
flourish.
3. By living the four cardinal virtues
• He believes that there are four
cardinal virtues: Wisdom, Courage,
Temperance, and Justice
• For the virtue of wisdom, one must
pursue learning that is based on
curiosity.
• This would lead to more efficacy
and self-mastery which are needed
to have fulfilling life.
• Courage is important in just society
because justice needs courageous
individuals to stand what is right
and to correct what is wrong.
• It is also needed in order to face
life’s challenges.
• Temperance or self-restraint is
important in society because it
prevents corruption and chaos.
• A man without temperance will not
flourish because it will lead to vices
and violence.
ARISTOTLE (384 – 322 BCE)
• He argues that eudaimonia is the
highest good of human beings.
1. Humans are physical beings.
o As physical beings, humans
need air, water, food, rest,
and exercise to keep the
body functioning.
2. Humans are emotional beings.
o Humans have urges, wants,
desires and reactions.
3. Humans are social beings.
o It is inherent that humans
need friendship,
cooperation, and a sense of
belongingness in society.
4. Humans are rational beings.
o Rationality is what
differentiates humans from
other animals.
 o It allows humans to express o Justice
themselves, be creative, or o Shame
obey reason. • Phronesis
• According to Aristotle, virtue is a o Also known as practical
character trait that enables a person wisdom
to flourish. o It enables an individual to
• He believes that humans through apply the appropriate virtue
reason seek knowledge about the in a particular situation.
world. • A virtuous life can be attained
• He believed that by gaining through education and habit.
knowledge, humans will flourish. • Intellectual virtues + Virtues
• He called this “Intellectual virtue.” Character = Eudaimonia
• He made an important distinction
about knowledge and human MODERN CONCEPT OF
flourishing.
o Theoretical Knowledge
HUMAN FLOURISHING
▪ It is about the
nature of principles. • In Psychology, happiness, life
▪ It allows us to satisfaction, mental and physical
manipulate nature, health, meaning and purpose,
however, without character and virtues, close social
practical relationships, and financial and
knowledge, it material stability are all components of
cannot be done. Human Flourishing.
o Practical Knowledge
▪ It is the knowledge
of applying these
1. Flourishing is intrinsically
principles.
worthwhile.
▪ Knowledge is
o Flourishing is an intrinsic good,
important in life,
and that flourishing is worth
but it is the
striving for.
application of this
2. The actualization of the human
knowledge that
potential.
leads to flourishing.
o Human flourishing is when an
• He also believes that in order to
individual is optimally using his
flourish, one must possess the 11
or her potential and capabilities.
virtuous traits of the virtue of
o Every individual has different
character.
potential and encounters
o Courage
different possibilities. Hence,
o Temperance
different individuals’ level of
o Liberality
flourishing cannot be compared.
o Magnificence
o Magnanimity CRITERIA FOR HUMAN FLOURISHING
o Patience
o Truthfulness 1. Life as a whole
o Wittiness o In considering an individual’s
o Friendliness flourishing, his or her whole life
 must be considered. ‘Whole life’
means the totality of human life,
not just some parts.
2. Human flourishing is a dynamic state
o Human flourishing is dynamic.
It requires an on-going
developmental process to
actualize the human potential. In
other words, one must
continuously develop to become
a flourishing human being.
3. Objective Goods
o These are things that are good
for everybody, such as good
social relationships. These good
things or objective goods, if
developed will contribute to
human flourishing.
HUMAN PERSON FLOURISHING IN
TERMS OF SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY
• Science – it explains the nature or
principles behind an object, event or
phenomenon.
• Technology – It applies theoretical
knowledge in order to have an output.
• Through science, the antibiotic nature of
Penicillum notatum was discovered.
• Through technology, penicillin medicine
was developed and provided cures to
many diseases.
• Progress in science and technology had
many positive impacts to human life
such as the following:
o Made work easier, efficient, or
practical.
o Made us happy or entertained.
o Kept us healthy and safe.
o Helped to address social issues
and concerns.
o Helped in the development of
human talent and abilities.
• However, science and technology can be
exploited which can result in serious
negative impact.
o Technological developments
made possible industrialization.
o Industrialization made humans
become ‘machine-like’ workers,
depriving them of the full
actualization of their potential.
o It also caused pollution that will
turn to diseases that caused
lives.
o Technologies such as nuclear
weapons also caused the
extermination of humans.
TECHNOLOGY AS A WAY OF
REVEALING
Martin Heidegger (1889 – 1976)
• One of the most original and important
philosophers in the 20th Century.
• In the essay, ‘The Question Concerning
Technology’, he suggested how we can
establish a ‘free relationship’ with
technology. He focused on our
orientation to technology, not on the
form or function.
• Technology is a means to an end
(Instrumental) or a human activity
(Anthropological).
• Heidegger discussed the concept of
causality to understand the “technology
as means to an end.”
o Causa Materialis – refers to the
material used to create the
object.
o Causa Efficiens – refers to
which brings about the effect.
o Cause Formalis – refers to the
form or shape of the object.
o Cause Finalis – refers to the
end or outcome.
• The latin word ‘causa’ means “that
which brings it about.”
• Heidegger prefers the Greek word,
aition which means “that which is
responsible for something else.”
• He also used the terms hyle (material),
eidos (Form or shape), telos (Drawing
 of the clear boundaries), and logos (to
reveal) as replacement to the four
causes.
• He also introduced the word ‘poeisis’,
which means ‘bringing forth’. It is the
way of making something that was not
present be present.
• He also introduced the word ‘alethia’,
which means “unveiling” or “revealing”.
It is also the Greek word for “Truth”.
• Heidegger argued that technology is a
king of poeisis, a way of bringing forth
or revealing – and, as such, is “the
realm of truth”.
• The word “technology” was deprived
from the Greek “Technikon”, which is
related to the word techne.
o Techne refers to both
manufacturing and to the arts.
o Techne is a kind of knowing. It
may refer to “expertise” or
“know-how”.
• He explained the difference between
older forms of technology and modern
technology which has a different kind of
‘revealing’ and ‘challenging’.
• Heidegger introduced the idea of
‘standing reserve’. Technology
transforms the world into ‘standing
reserve’.
• It can be said that for technology,
nothing in the world is “good” in and
of itself, but only “good for”
something.
• However, humans will never completely
become as ‘standing reserve’ since they
are responsible for technological
advances.
• In addition, nature and nature’s mode of
revealing will never completely become
under human control since it reveals
itself to humanity on its own terms.
• Heidegger suggested that the human
impulse is to enclose all experiences of
the world within categories of
understanding that are controllable such
as mathematical equations, physical
laws, sets of classifications.
• He also introduced the concept of
enframing, which stems from the human
drive for a “precise” and “scientific”
knowledge of the world.
• Enframing is the essence of technology
o It may set main on a destructive
and self-destructive course.
o It may be a “saving power” by
showing clearly the possibility
of human beings to the world.
o It will help us understand that
we are a part of the world, but
that the world “needs” us to care
of it.
THE GOOD
LIFE
• There are three dominant ideas on what
is good life is:
o The Moral life – Socrates and
Plato
o The fulfilled Life – Aristotle
o The life of Pleasure – Epicurus
• According to Socrates and Plato, a
moral life is a good life.
o In this concept, one who has a
good life is someone who
possesses and practices most of
the important virtues such as
kindness, courage, loyalty, and
generosity.
o Examining, reflecting, and
questioning the nature of
things is important to have a
good life.
o Servitude to others is
important.
o One must control his or her
passions and desires through
reason in order to have a good
life.
 • According to Aristotle, the fulfilled life
is a good life. For someone to have a
good life, he or she:
o Must be morally virtuous.
o Have a good health and long
life.
o Should be prosperous.
o Must have good friends.
o Should respect others.
o Must have good luck.
o Must use his or her talents,
ROLE OF ETHICS IN INNOVATION
abilities, and capacities.
• Acccording to Epicurus, a life of
pleasure is a good life.
o This concept states that life is
worth living because of
pleasures.
o The view that pleasures will
lead to good life is known as
hedonism.
o He recognized all kinds of
pleasures such as wealth, sexual
pleasures and fame.
o However, he also believed that
one should not lose
himself/herself to pleasure
because:
▪ This will diminish one’s
pleasure in the long run.
▪ There are other more
important pleasures to
consider such as
friendship and
education.
▪ Should live a virtuous
life.
• The 3 aspects of Good life
o A good life is the integration of
these three aspects: self-
mastery, contemplation and
learning, and servitude to
society.
Ethics
• It can be defined as the system of moral
principles concerned with what is good
for one’s self and society. It addresses
the following dilemmas”
o How to live a good life
o Rights and responsibilities
o The language of right and
wrong
o What is good and bad
• Ethics can provide a framework for
answering complex questions, allowing
humans to act based on moral principles.
1. Divergence
• Innovation seeks to change the
status quo. It aims to generate new
ideas, concepts and methods, hence,
diverging from the current and
common.
• In this way, problems and concerns
can be solved using new and
different approaches.
2. Curiosity
• It allows us to search for our
intellectual virtues. Curiosity drives
us to explore and examine things
and ultimately enables us to gain
new knowledge.
3. Multi-disciplinary
• It provides a deeper and more
holistic discourse about the problem
and potential solutions. This is made
possible through teams composed of
people with diverse backgrounds
and skills.
4. Resilience
• It is usually the end product of many
experiments. Innovators need this to
continue processing and testing
ideas despite many previous
failures.
5. Effect to people
• Innovators should consider the
effect of their innovation to people.
After all, innovations are intended to
benefit the end-users, and the end-
users are the ultimate judge if the
 innovation is useful and relevant to
them.
6. Shared Responsibility
• Innovation is a shared responsibility
between the innovator and the
community. The innovator’s intent
for his innovation should be for the
common good of the community.
On the other hand, the community
should use the innovation in a
responsible manner.
TECHNOLOGY – It is a possible product of
innovation. It is also important in the
development of innovation.
INNOVATION – It is a human-centered
perspective and process. It is the generation of
new ideas, concepts, or methods in order to
solve problems.

• It should not just consider the

technological or economic gains.
• Innovation affects people and the
many aspects of life, like health,
politics, communication, and justice
system.
• Innovation should be done within
the ethical framework.
• Ethical innovations are:
o Humanistic – The
innovation should be
human-centered which
means that it should be
relevant to humans.
o Participatory – The design
of the innovation was done
with the people, not just for
the people.
o Sustainable – The
innovation could sustain for
a long time considering
social, economical, political
and environmental aspects.