CHAPTER 4: Human Flourishing in Science and technology: Technology as a

Mode of Revealing
Chapter 4 involves three topics: Technology as a Way of Revealing, Human
Flourishing and Good life
General Objectives:
1. Analyze the human condition in order to deeply reflect and express philosophical
ramifications that are meaningful to the student as a part of society
2. Critique human flourishing vis-à-vis the progress of science and technology so that
the student can define for himself/herself the meaning of the good life.
3. Examine shared concerns that make up the good life in order to come up with
innovative, creative solutions to contemporary issues guided by ethical standards.

Section 1: Technology as a Way of Revealing

Specific Objectives: at the end of this section, the students should be able to:
1. Differentiate the essences of technology and modern technology;
2. Discuss and illustrate the dangers of modern technology.
3. Explain why art is the saving power of modern technology.

At a Glance: Who is Martin Heidegger?

“The essence of technology is by no means anything technological”

-Martin Heidegger

Martin Heidegger is widely acknowledged as one of the most important

philosophers of 20th century. He was a German philosopher who was part of the
Continental tradition of philosophy. His stern opposition to positivism and
technological world domination received unequivocal support from leading
postmodernists and post-structuralists of the time including Jacques Derrida,
Michel Foucault and Jean-Francois Lyotard. Heidegger’s work on philosophy
focused on ontology or the supply of “being”or dasein in German . His
philosophical works are often described as complicated, partly due to his use of
complex compound German words, such as Seinsvergessenheit(Forgetfullness
of being), Bodenstandigkeit (rootedness-in-soil), and Wesensverfassung(
Essential Constitution).

The Essence of Technology

According to Martin the essence of technology can be captured in its definition.

He explains the two widely embraced definition of technology.

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Nora Riza Mateo-Gullon
1. Instrumental definition: Technology is a means to an end.
2. Anthropological definition: Technology is a human activity.

Technology as a Way of Revealing

Martin stressed that the true can only be pursued through the correct. Simply,
what is correct leads to what is true. In this sense, Heidegger envisioned
technology as way or revealing- a mode of bringing forth. “Bringing forth” can be
understood through the Ancient Greek philosophical concept, poiesis, which
refers to the act of bringing something out of concealment. By bringing something
out of concealment, the truth of that something is revealed. The truth is understood
through another Ancient Greek concept aletheia. Which is translated as
unclosedness, uncocealedness, disclosure or truth. Thus for Heidegger,
technology is a form of poesis- a way of revealing that unconceals aletheia or the
truth. This is seen in the way of the term “techne”, the Greek root word of
technology, is understood in different contexts. In philosophy, techne resembles
the term episteme that refers to the human ability to make and perform. Techne
also encompasses knowledge and understanding. In art, it refers to tangible and
intangible aspects of life. The Greek understood techne in the way that it
encompasses not only craft, but other acts of the mind and poetry.
Technology as Poiesis: Does Modern Technology Bring Forth or Challenge
Forth.
Enframing as Modern Technology’s Way of Revealing

Enframing according to Heidegger, is akin to two ways of looking at the world:

calculative thinking and meditative thinking. In calculative thinking humans desire
to put an order to nature to better understand and control it. In meditative thinking,
humans allow nature to reveal itself to them without the use of force or violence.
One thinking is not necessarily better than the other. In fact, humans are capable
of using both and will benefit from being able to harmonize theses ways of looking
the world. Yet calculative thinking tends to be more commonly utilized, primarily
because human’s desire to control due to their fear of irregularity.
The Dangers of Technology
The dangers of technology lie in how humans let themselves be consumed by
it. Although humans are looped into the cycle of bringing forth or challenging forth,
it is their responsibility to recognize how they become instruments of technology.
As mere tenants on Earth, people must not allow themselves to be consumed by
technology lest they lose the essence of who they are human beings. In this
sense, humans are in danger of becoming merely part of the standing reserve or
alternatively, may find themselves in nature.

SECTION 2: THE HUMAN PERSON FLOURISHING IN TERMS OF SCIENCE

AND TECHNOLOGY

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES: At the end of this lesson, the students should be able
to:
1. Discuss the different conceptions of human flourishing
2. Discuss the development of the scientific method and validity of science
3. Evaluate human flourishing vis-à-vis progress of science and technology

INTRODUCTION
Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) is the most accomplished individual and the most
significant thinker who has ever lived. Citizens from the west owe an enormous

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Nora Riza Mateo-Gullon
debt to Aristotle who is the source behind every achievement of science,
technology, political theory, and aesthetics (especially Romantic art) in today's-
world. Aristotle's philosophy has supported the achievements of the Renaissance
and of all scientific advances and technological progress to his very day. Aristotle
bases the understandability under consideration of the good in the idea of what is
good for the specific entity or value. "For whatever has a natural function, the good
is therefore thought to reside in the function." The natural function of a thing is
only determined by its natural end. There are particular ways of being that
constitute the perfection of the living thing's nature with respect to living things.
According to Aristotle, “of all actions that we perform which we desire for it, there
is an end”. This is what is known as “eudaimonia" which means flourishing or
successful or happiness which can be translated as desired for its own sake with
all other things being desired on its account. "Eudaimonia" when Considered good
of human activities and that toward which all actions aim, it may be called a
success as a human being. The best of made in life is one of excellent human
activity. According to the perspective of Aristotle, the good is what is good for
purposeful and the goal-directed entities. He describes the good proper to human
beings as the activities with which the life functions specific to human beings are
most fully realized. For Aristotle, the good personality of each human beings is
associated to teleological essential to other person. A person's nature as a human
being provides him with guidance with respect to how he should live his life. A
basic fact of human nature is the existence of individual human beings each with
his own rationality and free will. The use of one's choice of consciousness is a
person's distinctive capacity and means of survival. There is only one life and the
only life that a person has to live. Subsequently, for Aristotle, the “GOOD” is what
is objectively good for a particular man. Aristotle's "eudaimonia" is formally
egoistic or self-center in that a person's normative reason for selecting particular
actions come from the idea that he must pursue his own good or happiness. Good
means “good for” the individual moral agent. Egoism is a vital part of Aristotle's
ethics.

Science, Technology and Human Flourishing

Science is taken in the extensive sense of “SCIENTIA”, which includes the
whole range of human knowledge. In contrast with standard of research grant, this
proposal deliberately spans a number of disciplines and seeks, in line with Sir
John Templeton's donor intent in which to gain new scientific and spiritual
information that will allow human flourishing or happiness or as an individual put
it, "a better way of life for all humanity". The project is established around three
crucial aspects of human flourishing that are both correlated and corresponding:
(A)the quest for new purposive and future-minded understanding of the world
(B)the recognition of the open-ended nature of spiritual enquiry and (C) the
promotion of positive character virtues. The research sub-projects each including
the structure of the physical world in which we lived, the nature of human identity
and human mystical experiences, character formation in averse to circumstances,
the relationship between ancient scriptures and modern scientific knowledge and
the notion of purpose in biology.

Science as Method and Results

According to Bradford, 2017, science is the word for systematic and logical
approach to discovering how the universe works. It is also the body of knowledge
accumulated through the findings pertaining to the things in the universe. The

Prepared by: Rachelle S. Humiwat

Nora Riza Mateo-Gullon
word science is commonly known as derivation from the Latin word “SCIENTIA”
which means “knowledge”. True to this definition, science is rather based on fact
and not on opinion or preferences and science aims for qualitative and quantitative
results acquired through testing and analysis. The process of science is designed
to challenge the dogma through research. One important aspect of the scientific
process is that it focuses only on the natural world, according to the University of
California and anything that is considered supernatural does not fit into the
definition of science.

THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD

When conducting research, researchers use the scientific method to gather

measurable, empirical evidences or data in an experiment related to a hypothesis,
thus the results aims to support or contradict a theory.
The steps of the scientific method:
1. Find a problem essential to be addressed.
2. Create a hypothesis about the problem which should be proven by the
conclusions.
3. List down objectives and set the limitations of the study.
4. Formulate the title.
5. Research articles, journals, and other related studies for the literature review.
6. Conduct the experiment and collect and analyze the data.
7. Derive conclusion
The Hypothesis must be testable and falsifiable, that is according to the North
Carolina State University. Falsifiable means that there must be a possible
negative answer to the hypothesis. Research must involve deductive reasoning
and inductive reasoning. Deductive reasoning is the process of using true
premises to reach a logical true conclusion while inductive reasoning takes the
opposite approach. An experiment should include a dependent variable (which
does not change) and an independent variable (which does change). An
experiment should include an experimental group and a control group. The control
group is what the experimental group is compared against (Bradford, 2017).
Scientific theories and laws
A theory is almost never proven, though a few theories do become scientific
laws. Laws are commonly considered to be without exemption, though some laws
have been improved over time after further testing without discrepancies. For a
hypothesis to become a theory, accurate testing must occur, normally across
multiple disciplines by separate groups of scientists. In science, a theory is the
framework for observations and facts, Tanner told Live Science (Bradford, 2017).
Verification Theory
In decrypting words and language, communication may be vague and unclear
if they were not quantified with proper meanings. These meanings procure
unbiased focus that brings clarity to a subject and light for understanding words.
However, depending on the approach, one may interpret it individually. Thus,
theories were formed and subdivided into denotation and connotation. Denotation
refers to the specific meaning of associated idea whereas connotation is the
implication of an idea. The first theory manifested in Vienna in the 1920s where,
a group of scientists, philosophers, and mathematicians known as Logical
Positivists or Vienna circle congregated over the disjunction of philosophy and
metaphysical and normative problems. For the purpose of clarity, the significance
of making sense using language was sought. But the solution by the principle of
verifiability as a basis of fact and meaning led to more uncertainty. The problem

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Nora Riza Mateo-Gullon
lies on the analysis of language when applied in relation to Einstein's theory of
relativity with its meaning on time and space. Before an in-depth discussion, a
brief background on the "theory of meaning” was presented further. The wordings
of the theory retain both an extension of things that is true of and an intension of
something internal or mental. The traditional semantic theory further portrays two
contribution of the determination of extension namely society or the real worlds.
Thus, an in-depth philosophical analysis is required for examining linguistic
meanings from words. Consequently, the basis of analysis is the specification of
meanings of linguistic expressions. The linguistic expressions may be meaningful
if it refers to something. They can be explained in three ways as ideational,
referential, and behavioral. The referential theory can be based on the central
meaning that the language is used about things; whereas the ideational and
behavioral theories are based on an equally fundamental insight that words have
the meaning they do only because of what human beings do when they use
language (Alston, 1964). Every meaningful linguistic expression as exemplify in
the referential theory of meaning, encounters problems even in those areas where
the referential theorist feels more secure. This, of course, only goes to show that
alternative mode of meaningful explanation of words via language has to be
devised. The verifiability theory of meaning is a referential theory by its
presuppositions and assumptions. It is also seen as incorporating the canons of
empirical science.

SECTION 3: THE GOOD LIFE

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES
At the end of this lesson, the students should be able to:
1. Discuss what is meant by good life
2. Discuss how humans can attain what is deemed to be a good life:
3. Know what are the possibilities available to human beings to attain the good
life?

INTRODUCTION
For Plato, the task of understanding the things in the world runs parallel with
the job of truly getting into what will make the soul flourish. In an attempt to
understand reality and the external world, man must seek to understand himself,
too. It was Aristotle who gave a definitive distinction between the theoretical and
practical sciences. Among the theoretical disciplines, Aristotle included logic,
biology, physics, and metaphysics, among others. Among the practical ones,
Aristotle counted ethics and politics. Whereas "truth" is the aim of the theoretical
sciences, the "good" is the end goal of the practical ones. Every attempt to know
is connected in some way in an attempt to find the "good” or as said in the previous
lesson, the attainment of human flourishing. Rightly so, one must find the truth
about what the good is before one can even try to locate that which is good.
Among the theoretical in the previous lesson, we have seen how a misplaced or
an erroneous idea of human flourishing can turn the table for all of us, make the
sciences work against us rather than for us, and draw a chasm between the
search for truth and for the good.

Aristotle and Good Life

Aristotle is the first thinker of the problematization of the end of the goal of life
which is the happiness. Aristotle embarked on a different approach in figuring out
reality, he put everything back to the ground in claiming that this world is all there

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Nora Riza Mateo-Gullon
and that this world is the only reality we can access. For Plato, change is so
perplexing that it can only make sense if there are two realities: the world of forms
and the world of matters yourself in front of the mirror, you normally say and think
that you are looking at yourself. Plato recognized change as a process and as a
phenomenon that happens in the world, that in fact, it is CONSTANT. However,
Plato also claims that despite the reality of change, things remain and they retain
their ultimate "whatness".
Aristotle disagreed with his teacher's position and forwarded the idea that there
is no reality over and above what the senses can perceive. It is only by observation
of the external world that one can truly understand what is it really all about.
Change is a process that is fundamental in things. We, along with the other entities
in the world, start as potentialities and move toward actualities, every human being
moves according to some end. Every action that emanates from a human person
is a function of the purpose that the person has. Every human person, according
to Aristotle, aspires for an end. This end, we have learned is happiness or human
flourishing.
No individual resists happiness. We all want to be happy. Aristotle claims that
happiness is the be-all and end-all of everything that we do. We may not realize
it, but the end goal of everything that we do is happiness. If you ask one person
why he is doing what he is doing, he may not readily say that it is happiness that
motivates him. When Aristotle claimed that we want to be happy, he does not
necessarily mean the everyday happiness that we obtain when we win a
competition. What Aristotle actually means is human flourishing or success; a kind
of contentment in knowing that one is getting the best out of life. A kind of feeling
that one has maxed out his potential in the world that he has attained the heart of
his humanity. Happiness as the Goal of a Good Life In the 18th 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 the individual happiness of each
individual should be prioritized and collectively dictates the kind of action that
should be endorsed. When an action benefits the greatest number of people, said
action is deemed ethical.
For example: Does mining benefit rather than hurt the majority? Does it offer
more benefits rather than disadvantages? Does mining result in more people
happy rather than sadness? If the answers to the said questions are in the
affirmative, then the said action, mining is deemed ethical.

Materialism
History has given birth to different schools of thought and all of which aim for
the good and happy life. The first materialists are the atomists in Ancient Greece.
Democritus and Leucippus 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 Democritus and his disciples, the world, including human beings is
made up of matter. Atomos simply comes together randomly to form the things in
the world. Only material entities matter. In terms of human flourishing, matter is
what makes us attain happiness. We see this at work with most people who are
clinging on to material wealth as the primary source of the meaning of their
existence. Example: Materialistic persons (lovers of things, materials and etc.)

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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 thought is the famous, "Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die."
Led by Epicurus, this school of thought also does not buy any notion of afterlife
just like the materialists.

Stoicism
Another school of thought led by Epicurus, the stoics espoused the idea that to
generate happiness, one must learn to distance oneself and be apathetic. For the
original term apatheia, precisely means to be indifferent. The stoics, happiness
can only be attained by a careful practice of apathy. Adopt the fact that some
things are not within our control. The sooner we realize this, the happier we can
be.

Theism
Many people find the meaning of their lives using God as the fulcrum of their
existence. The Philippines, as a predominantly Catholic country, is a 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 communication 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
Another school of thought is humanism where it espouses the freedom man to
carve his own destiny and to legislate his own laws, free from the shackles of a
God that monitors and controls. To the humanist, man is literally the captain of his
own ship, inspired by enlightenment. In the seventeenth century, humanists saw
themselves not merely as stewards of the creation but as individuals who are in
control of themselves and the world outsides them. This is the spirit of most
scientists who thought that the world is a place and a space for freely unearthing
the world in seeking for ways on how to improve the lives of its inhabitants. The
scientists of today, meanwhile, are ready to confront more sophisticated attempts
at altering the world for the benefit of society. Some people now are willing to
tamper with time and space in the name of technology. Example: Social media
(SocMed) has been, so far, a very effective way of employing technology in
purging time and space. Not very long ago, communication between two people
from two continents in the planet will involve months of waiting for a mail to arrive.
Today communication whether between two people wherever they are, is not just
possible, but easy. Whether you agree or not with technological advancements,
these are all undertaken in the hopes of achieving a good life. The balance
between the good life, ethics, and technology has to be attained.

Prepared by: Rachelle S. Humiwat

Nora Riza Mateo-Gullon