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●​ Key virtues: wisdom (guides behavior) and

THE GOOD LIFE IN SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
understanding (from science and
contemplation).
●​ Human flourishing- depends on accepting
science and technology rather than rejecting ✔ Moral Virtue (Virtue of Character)
them.
●​ The meaning of the "good life" varies due to ●​ Developed through habitual practice (NE 2:6).
unique backgrounds, experiences, and social Examples:
contexts. ●​ Generosity – Cultivated by repeated acts of
●​ A unified standard for the good life that selflessness.
resonates across diverse human experiences ●​ Temperance – Built through moderation and
remains an ongoing pursuit. self-control.
●​ Courage – Strengthened by facing danger with
II. ARISTOTLE’S NICOMACHEAN ETHICS AND proper response.
EUDAIMONIA
✔ The Golden Mean Principle
✔ Definition of Good Life
●​ Every virtue is ruined by excess or deficiency.
●​ Aristotle argues that the good life is a life lived ●​ Balance is key—neither too much nor too little.
in pursuit of eudaimonia, meaning human Example: Courage
flourishing or prosperity. ●​ Excess – Rashness (reckless behavior).
●​ Unlike pleasure, wealth, fame, or honor, ●​ Deficiency – Cowardice (fear without action).
happiness (eudaimonia) is self-sufficient and
the ultimate good. IV. SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, & ETHICS
✔ Types of Goods (NE 2:2) ✔ The Magician’s Twin: C.S. Lewis and the Case
Against Scientism
1.​ Instrumental Goods – Valuable as a means to
achieving something else (e.g., wealth). ●​ Science must be guided by ethical principles
2.​ Intrinsic Goods – Valuable in themselves and beyond itself.
lead to eudaimonia (e.g., wisdom and virtue). ●​ S&T should enhance human flourishing but
must avoid unchecked control over society.
✔ Virtue & Excellence (NE 1:7)
✔ Balancing Science & Ethics
●​ Eudaimonia is achieved through virtue (arête)
and excellence in thought and action. ●​ Rejecting scientific advancement altogether
halts human progress.
●​ Accepting science without ethical checks leads
to potential harm.
●​ Moderation and virtue guide the ethical use of
S&T.

✔ Science & Human Happiness

●​ S&T influences human flourishing, including:

○​ Medical advancements (health &
well-being).
●​ Only humans, with rational souls, can achieve ○​ Communication & education
eudaimonia through a rationally directed life. improvements.
○​ Ethical considerations in technological
III. VIRTUE: INTELLECTUAL VS. MORAL progress.

✔ Intellectual Virtue (Virtue of Thought)

●​ Achieved through education, time, and

experience.

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WHEN TECHNOLOGY & HUMANITY CROSS

●​ Human rights must guide the ethical use of
I. DEFINING HUMAN RIGHTS technology.
●​ People must have the right to accept, reject, or
●​ Human Rights: Basic freedoms and rights that modify technological advances.
belong to every individual by virtue of being ●​ Science & technology must promote human
human. flourishing and avoid exploitation.
●​ Sometimes used interchangeably with natural
rights, but they differ:
○​ Natural Rights exist independently of V. KEY DOCUMENTS & PRINCIPLES
government recognition
○​ Human Rights are acknowledged and ✔ Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article
protected by legal systems. 27)
●​ Right to participate in and benefit from
scientific advances.
II. FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN RIGHTS ●​ Protection from misuse of science.
●​ Science benefits fall under cultural rights.
●​ Right to life and liberty
●​ Freedom from slavery and torture ✔ UNESCO Recommendation on Scientific
●​ Freedom of speech, press, opinion, and Researchers (1994, Article 4)
association ●​ Science must serve global well-being.
●​ Right to education and work ●​ Governments must regulate scientific
●​ Right to movement and religion advancements.
●​ Rights are not absolute—they may be
restricted in cases like crime, legal violations, ✔ UNESCO Declaration on Scientific Knowledge
or national security threats. (1999, Article 33)
●​ Science is essential for global development.
●​ Ethical considerations include pollution,
III. SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & HUMAN RIGHTS biodiversity, efficient resource use.
ISSUES

✔ Global Positioning System (GPS) VI. THE ROLE OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN

●​ Positive: Helps maintain peace and order. TECHNOLOGICAL PROGRESS
●​ Negative: Raises privacy concerns.
✔ Human rights as the "Golden Mean"
✔ Educational Technologies (Virtual Learning ●​ Science must balance progress and
Environments, AI in Schools) protection.
●​ Positive: Expands access to quality education. ●​ Prevent harm to vulnerable populations.
●​ Negative: Data privacy risks—concerns over
how student data is used. ✔ Bridging the Gap Between Rich & Poor Nations
●​ Human rights help equalize access to scientific
✔ Scientific Advancements & Human Rights progress.
●​ Human dignity & well-being must remain at the ●​ Promotes justice and well-being across
core of technological progress. societies.
●​ Science is value-laden, shaped by human
structures & procedures. ✔ Responsibility of Scientists & Leaders
●​ Those with access to scientific knowledge
must advocate for ethical use.
IV. HUMAN RIGHTS-BASED APPROACH TO ●​ Governments & corporations must ensure
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY laws are upheld to prevent misuse.

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HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT & ETHICAL ●​ Ushered in mass communication and

ISSUES OF THE INFORMATION AGE structural reforms in society.
●​ Proto-nationalism grew as vernacular
I. DEFINING THE INFORMATION AGE languages spread.

●​ Also known as the Computer Age, Digital Age,

Age of New Media. V. THE DIGITAL REVOLUTION AND COMPUTING
●​ Began in the mid-20th century, shifting from
traditional industries to an economy reliant on ✔ WWII Technological Advancements
information technologies (e.g., newspapers, ●​ Harvard Mark I – Electromechanical computer
television, and radio). performing calculations in seconds.
●​ According to John Waters, the Information Age ●​ Enigma Code & Bombe (Alan Turing) –
outpaced human preparedness due to rapid Cryptographic breakthroughs during the war.
data growth.
✔ Claude Shannon's Theory (1948)
●​ Proposed encoding all information as binary
II. KEY INVENTIONS LEADING TO THE (ones & zeros).
INFORMATION AGE ●​ Established error-free transmission across
media formats.
✔ Transistor (1947) – John Bardeen & Walter Brattain,
essential for computing advancements.
✔ Optical Amplifier (1957) – Gordon Gould, crucial for VI. PERSONAL COMPUTERS AND INTERNET
fiber-optic communication. BOOM

✔ PC Revolution (1970s)
III. ANCIENT ANTECEDENTS OF THE ●​ Steve Wozniak built the first Apple computer
INFORMATION AGE (1976).
●​ Bill Gates saw the need for software
✔ Writing Systems development.
●​ Cuneiform (3000 B.C.) – Ancient Sumerian
writing. ✔ Internet Expansion (1990s)
●​ Hieroglyphics (2900 B.C.) – Egyptian ●​ Developed by the U.S. Department of
pictographic writing. Defense.
●​ Chinese Small Seal Scripts (200 B.C.) – Qin ●​ Fiber-optic technology increased speed.
Dynasty formalized characters. ●​ Birth of the World Wide Web – Online
commerce, communication, and research.
✔ Development of Books
●​ Egyptian Papyrus Roll (500 B.C.) – Early ✔ Social Media Growth (2000s-2010s)
paper-like material. ●​ Friendster (early 2000s), then
●​ Roman Parchment Codex (100 B.C.) – Bound Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.
parchment replacing scrolls. ●​ Shift from desktop-based social media
●​ Chinese Wood-Block Printing (105 A.D.) – to mobile-driven instantaneous
First known method of mass printing. updates.
●​ Internet use surged, fueling AI, big
data, and cloud computing
IV. PRINTING PRESS AND ITS IMPACT advancements.

✔ Johannes Gutenberg’s Printing Press

revolutionized communication:
●​ Led to the creation of movable type.

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VII. ETHICAL ISSUES IN THE INFORMATION AGE

III. IMPORTANCE OF BIODIVERSITY
✔ Four Major Ethical Issues (PAPA Framework by
Richard O. Mason, 1986) ✔ Healthy Ecosystems & Human Well-being
1.​ Privacy – Who controls personal information? ●​ Sustains life, food security, medicine, and
2.​ Accuracy – Who ensures data fidelity? climate regulation.
3.​ Property – Who owns information and its ✔ Biodiversity Decline (Quinney, 2020; Carrington,
distribution channels? 2018)
4.​ Accessibility – Who has the right to access ●​ 83% of mammals & half of all plants lost due
information? to human impact.
✔ Reasons for Biodiversity Conservation
✔ Disinformation, Fake News, and the Post-Truth (Quinney, 2020)
Era ●​ Food security, disease prevention, economic
●​ UNESCO defines three types of untruths: benefits, and sustainability.
○​ Misinformation – False but not ✔ Types of Biodiversity Benefits (Tang, 2020)
intended to harm. Nutritionally, cultural, health, and climate-related
○​ Disinformation – False and benefits.
deliberately deceptive.
○​ Mal-information – True but used
maliciously. IV. THREATS TO BIODIVERSITY

✔ Fact-Checking Strategies ✔ Five Direct Drivers of Biodiversity Loss:

●​ Verify credentials and sources. 1.​ Land & Sea Use Change (agriculture
●​ Look for bias or misleading context. expansion, deforestation).
●​ Check publication dates and legitimacy of 2.​ Overexploitation (overfishing, poaching,
URLs. unsustainable hunting).
3.​ Climate Change (species migration, imbalance
in ecosystems).
BIODIVERSITY, HEALTHY SOCIETY & COVID-19 4.​ Pollution (industrial waste, mining, agriculture
effects).
I. BIODIVERSITY OVERVIEW 5.​ Invasive Alien Species (compete with native
species for resources).
●​ Definition: Variety of life on Earth, including
genetic, species, and ecosystem diversity. ✔ Biodiversity Mainstreaming
●​ Convention on Biological Diversity (1992): ●​ Integrating biodiversity conservation into
Defines biodiversity as the variability among development policies.
organisms and ecosystems. ●​ No amount of progress justifies biodiversity
destruction.
Supporters of IUCN to ensure sustainable
II. THREE LEVELS OF BIODIVERSITY development.

✔ Genetic Diversity
●​ Represents variations within a species (least V. BIODIVERSITY & DISEASE PREVENTION
observable).
✔ Species Diversity ✔ Zoonosis: Diseases transmitted from animals to
●​ The most common form, includes different humans (e.g., COVID-19).
species in an area (species richness). ✔ 70% of emerging infections originate from zoonotic
✔ Ecosystem Diversity sources.
●​ Variation in ecosystems within geographic ✔ Human activity increases zoonotic risks
locations (e.g., terrestrial, freshwater, (deforestation, habitat destruction).
saltwater).

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VI. CURBING FUTURE PANDEMICS

✔ Virus Transmission Prevention: III. IMPORTANT EVENTS IN GENETIC

1.​ Dilution Effect – Virus reaches an ENGINEERING
intermediary host where it cannot thrive.
2.​ Buffer Effect – Host adapts, preventing further 1953: Discovery of DNA structure (Watson & Crick).
spread. 1973: First genetically modified organism (Herbert
✔ One Health Approach: Boyer & Stanley Cohen).
●​ Recognizes the interdependence of 1982: First GMO-approved drug (Humulin, a
environmental, animal, and human health. recombinant insulin).
1994:.First genetically engineered food (Flavr Savr
Tomato).
VII. HUMAN ACTIVITIES & COVID-19 1996: First cloned animal (Dolly the sheep).
2000: Golden Rice introduced to combat Vitamin A
✔ Causes of Spread: deficiency.
●​ Wildlife trade, habitat destruction,
unsustainable consumption.
✔ Negative Human Actions: IV. ADVANTAGES AND CONCERNS OF GMOS
●​ Deforestation, uncontrolled infrastructure
expansion, loss of natural habitats. ✔ Advantages
✔ Positive Human Actions: ●​ Increased food production.
●​ Conservation, protection of biodiversity, ●​ Resistance to pests and environmental
sustainable environmental practices. stressors.
●​ Potential health benefits, such as allergen-free
foods.
GENETICALLY MODIFIED (GMO) & GENE
THERAPY ❌ Concerns
●​ Potential ecological imbalance.
I. KEY DEFINITIONS ●​ Uncertain long-term health effects.
●​ Ethical concerns ("playing God").
●​ Biotechnology: Technology based on biology
that utilizes cellular and biomolecular
processes to improve health, agriculture, and V. ETHICAL ISSUES IN GENETIC ENGINEERING
industry.
●​ Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs): ●​ Biosafety concerns: Impact on non-target
Organisms whose genetic material has been organisms, development of super pests.
altered using genetic engineering techniques ●​ Food safety: Allergens, anti-nutritional factors.
to produce desired traits. ●​ Socio-political concerns: Corporate control
●​ General Therapy: A technique for treating over GMO production, impact on traditional
genetic disorders by inserting genes or nucleic agriculture.
acids into cells.

VI. GENE THERAPY OVERVIEW

II. BIOTECHNOLOGY APPLICATIONS
✔ Process:Insertion of beneficial genes into a patient’s
✔ Medicine & Health: Disease reduction, tailored cells to correct genetic disorders.
treatments, improved diagnostics. ✔ First clinical trial: 1990 (ADA Deficiency treatment).
✔ Agriculture: Higher crop yields, pest-resistant crops, ✔ Current applications: Cancer treatment, genetic
enhanced nutrition. disorder correction.
✔ Industry: Streamlined manufacturing, biofuels,
environmental sustainability.

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ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS: INSTILLING A ✔ Great Smog of 1952: Led to the Clean Air Act of
SENSE OF RESPONSIBILITY TOWARDS 1956.
SUSTAINABLE FUTURE ✔ Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring (1962): Exposed
pesticide dangers, inspiring environmental reforms.
I. UNDERSTANDING ENVIRONMENTALISM

●​ Environmentalism: A broad movement IV. ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS & POLICIES

advocating for the protection, preservation,
and respect for the natural world against ✔ Early Legislation
human activities. ●​ Alkali Acts (1863): First law regulating
●​ World Wide Fund for Nature (2018): Defines industrial air pollution.
environmentalism as an ideology emphasizing ●​ Smoke Abatement Act (1926): Expanded air
human responsibility towards nature. pollution regulations to include soot and ash.
●​ Thompson (2002): Identifies environmentalism
as a response to modern global environmental ✔ Major Environmental Laws in the Philippines
crises. ●​ P.D. 1586 (1978): Established the
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
System.
II. ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS & ●​ Republic Act 6969 (1990): Hazardous Waste
PRO-ENVIRONMENTAL BEHAVIOR (PEB) Control Act.
●​ Republic Act 8749 (1999): Philippine Clean Air
✔ Environmental Awareness Act.
●​ Recognizing the impact of human activities on ●​ Republic Act 9003 (2000): Ecological Solid
ecosystems. Waste Management Act.
Involves understanding and committing to actions that ●​ Republic Act 9275 (2004): Philippine Clean
reduce environmental harm. Water Act.

✔ Pro-Environmental Behavior (PEB)

●​ Refers to actions taken to protect the V. PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES ON
environment. ENVIRONMENTALISM
Examples:
●​ Green consumerism: Purchasing eco-friendly ✔ Ecocentrism vs. Anthropocentrism
products. ●​ Ecocentrism: Nature has intrinsic value
●​ Sustainable living: Recycling, reducing waste, beyond human utility.
and conserving energy. ●​ Anthropocentrism: Environmental protection
serves human interests (sustainability).

III. HISTORY OF ENVIRONMENTALISM ✔ Malthusian Theory (1798)

●​ Thomas Malthus: Argued that population
Ancient Foundations growth would outpace food production, leading
✔ Hinduism, Taoism, and Buddhism: Emphasized to environmental crises.
harmony between humans and nature. ●​ Influenced neo-Malthusians like Paul Ehrlich
✔ Greek Mythology: Gaia, the Goddess of Earth, (The Population Bomb, 1968).
opposed destructive human activities.
✔ Plato (400 B.C.): Warned that deforestation leads
to soil erosion. VI. CLIMATE CHANGE & ENVIRONMENTAL
IMPACT
Environmental Movements
✔ Industrial Revolution: Sparked concerns over air ✔ Climate Change
pollution. ●​ Caused by burning fossil fuels, leading to
global warming.

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●​ Greenhouse gases (CO₂, CH₄, NOx) trap heat

in the atmosphere.

✔ Environmental Phenomena
●​ Albedo Effect: Snow reflects sunlight, cooling
Earth.
●​ Acidic Deposition: Pollutants lower soil/water
pH, harming ecosystems.
●​ Stratospheric Ozone Depletion: Reduction of
ozone leads to increased **UV exposure**.
●​ El Niño & La Niña: Climate patterns affecting
global temperatures.

VII. CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE PHILIPPINES

✔ Tropical Climate
●​ Average annual temperature: 24°C - 27°C.
●​ Hottest month: May; coldest: January.
●​ Annual rainfall: 2,348mm.

✔ Typhoons & Natural Disasters

●​ The Philippines receives ~20 typhoons/year,
7-9 making landfall.
●​ Super Typhoon Yolanda (2013): Deadliest in
history, killing 6,300+.
●​ NDRRMC (formerly NDCC): Coordinates
disaster response efforts.

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