LESSON 1: HUMAN FLOURISHING

 Eudaimonia, literally “good spirited,” is a term coined by renowned Greek

philosopher Aristotle (385-323BC) to describe the pinnacle of happiness that is
attainable by humans.
 Human flourishing (in literature) likening humans to flowers achieving their full
bloom.
 Human flourishing arises as a result of different components such as phronesis,
friendship, wealth, and power.
 As time changes, elements that comprise human flourishing change, which is
subject to the dynamic social history as written by humans.
 Our concept of human flourishing today proves to be different from what Aristotle
originally perceived then―humans of today are expected to become a “man of
the world.”
 Competition as means of survival has become passé; coordination is the new
trend.
 Interestingly, there exists a discrepancy between eastern and western
conceptions regarding society and human flourishing.
a. Chinese Confucian system or the Japanese Bushido, both of which
view the whole as greater than their components. The Chinese and the Japanese
encourage studies of literature, sciences, and art, not entirely for oneself but in
service of a greater cause.
b. Greek Aristotelian view, on the other hand, aims for eudaimonia as the
ultimate good; there is no indication whatsoever that Aristotle entailed it
instrumental to achieve some other goals.
 Flourishing borders allowed people full access to cultures that as a result, very
few are able to maintain their original philosophies

Science, Technology, and Human Flourishing

 Every discovery, innovation, and success contributes to our pool of human
knowledge
 One of the most prevalent themes is human’s perpetual need to locate
themselves in the world by finding proof to trace evolution.

Science as Method and Results

It presents a general idea of how to do science:
1. Observe and determine if there are unexplained occurrences unfolding.
2. Determine the problem and identify the factors involved.
 3. Formulate a hypothesis that could explain the said phenomenon. The goal is to
reject the null hypothesis and accept the alternative hypothesis for the study
4. Conduct the experiment by setting up the dependent and independent variables
5. Gather and analyze results
6. Formulate conclusions and provide recommendations

Verification Theory
The earliest criterion that distinguishes philosophy and science is verification
theory or also known as verificationism, verification principle, or verification criterion of
meaning. The idea proposes that a discipline is a science if it can be confirmed or
interpreted in the event of an alternative hypothesis is accepted. The verification theory
of meaning claims that the meaning of a sentence is the method of its verification. It is
the philosophical doctrine that only statements that are empirically verifiable through
senses are cognitively meaningful, or else they are truths of logic. This was espoused
by a movement in the early twentieth century or1920s called the “Vienna Circle”, a
group of scholars who believed that only those which can be observed should be
regarded as meaningful and reject those which cannot be directly accessed as
meaningless. It was a central thesis of logical positivism by the efforts of a group of
philosophers who sought to unify philosophy and science. Its shortcomings, however,
proved to be somewhat too risky – several budding theories that lack empirical results
might be shot down prematurely, causing slower innovation and punishing ingenuity of
newer, novel thoughts. Aside from discoveries in physics, Einstein’s theory, and
quantum mechanics critique, this theory completely fails to weed out bogus arguments
that explain things coincidentally. A classic example is an astrology, whose followers
are able to employ the verification method in ascertaining its reliability. The idea is that
since one already has some sort of expectation on what to find, they will interpret events
in line with said expectations. American philosopher Thomas Kuhn warned us against
bridging the gap between evidence and theory by attempting to interpret the former
according to our own biases, that is, whether or not, we subscribe to the theory.
According to verification theory, only statements that can be verified by sight,
sound, touch, taste, and smell can have true meaning. The only exceptions are
"tautologies" of logic, for example, "God is God," "Beauty is Beauty," and "Morals are
Morals." In other words, we may speak of metaphysical objects if we make useless
tautologies of them. Verification theory rejects cognitively "meaningless" statements
specific to entire fields such as metaphysics, theology, ethics, and aesthetics. Such
statements may be meaningful in influencing emotions or behavior, but not in terms of
conveying truth value, information, or factual content.
Falsification Theory
The Falsification Theory, proposed by Karl Popper, is a way of demarcating
science from non-science. It suggests that for a theory to be considered scientific it
must be able to be tested and proven false. In a series of famous works starting in the
late 1950s, Popper criticized some (supposedly) scientific fields of study as insufficiently
rigorous. It seemed to him that some researchers were focused only on finding positive
evidence that could be used to confirm their favorite theories rather than really
challenging their theories by trying to find evidence against those theories. Falsifiability
is the capacity for some proposition, statement, theory or hypothesis to be proven
wrong. That capacity is an essential component of the scientific method and hypothesis
testing. The requirement of falsifiability means that conclusions cannot be drawn from
simple observation of a particular phenomenon. For example, the statement “all swans
are white” would be falsified by observing a black swan (or admitting the possibility of a
black swan somewhere in existence). If the statements are proven false, then it
becomes unreasonable to support the theory any longer.

Science as Social Endeavor

 Science as a social endeavor means the application of science to figuring out
how the world works/exists/originated etc. Another dimension of Science as a
social endeavor is to solve various problems, satisfy various needs, and
sustainable development of society with the help of scientific knowledge. The
study of science as a social endeavor has a prominent place in any curriculum
that has science literacy’ as one of its aims. The development of Scientific
literacy is considered to be the major aim of studying science as a social
endeavor.

Science and Results

 A scientific experiment has a beginning and an end. The results are simply the
end of the scientific experiment: What you found in your study. It does with a
series of steps followed by scientific investigators to answer specific questions
about the natural world. It involves making observations, formulating a
hypothesis, and conducting scientific experiments

Science as Education
Science, along with mathematics, were perceived as the most in-demand track
as people thought that these will land them high-paying jobs and lucrative careers after
graduation. In the Philippines, schools mostly use science and mathematics in entrance
exams at the secondary and tertiary levels to ensure the adeptness of students in the
aforementioned fields. This can be reflected in the number of students enrolled in STEM
(Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics)-offering schools.
However, when one student who came from a science high school was asked
to report Paul Feyerabend’s work How to Defend Society Against Science, he strongly
refused the idea of the author and critiqued him instead. This only proves that the
former kind of academic environment made students unwelcoming objections against
science. The idea of Paul Feyerabend aims to hone and preserve students’ capacity to
entertain other options and will allow students some level of unorthodoxy. It means that
his idea encourages students to accept facts other than what’s usual or accepted by
society. Innovations are brought by visionaries and not the prude legalists, which means
the creative ones are those who have wider perspectives and higher scale of
imagination and not those who just stick to norms. Similar to Aristotle’s concept of
Eudaimonic where a person is required to be knowledgeable not only on science but
also on other things of equal importance. He should not focus on one aspect alone but
rather as a whole. The reason why it is called science is because of the variety of
procedures it offers in an experiment to come up with the result.

LESSON 2: TECHNOLOGY AS A WAY OF REVEALING

The curiosity of people towards science and technology led to numerous inventions that enhanced
everything around us not limited to culture, language, or rights. The way of living today contrary to
those of the past gives us an insight as to how the existence of science and technology influenced a
much-pronounced means. However, it cannot be denied that a certain generation gap hinders everyone
from enjoying the perks it broughtconsidering there are varieties of technologies within reach that are
too complicated for older generations due to the fact that they were accustomed to a more simplistic
form of lifestyle in the past. Worry not, this does not create boundaries between generations if taken as
a challenge to work on for the betterment of all. Younger generations could work on making these
technological advancements user-friendly with the intention of makingthem accessible and less addling
to their superiors as the world changes itself everyone needs to adapt to certain changes to enable
flourishment to take place.

It proves that there is little capacity for our ancestors to contemplate and perceive things outside
themselves in a more reflective matter, with little to no access to written accounts except several cave
drawings and unearthed artifacts, It is hard to pinpoint where exactly this all started but the early
ancestors’ primal need to survive paved the way for the inventions using their wits to utilize abundant
materials for their ease and comfort. For an instance:

Homo Erectus -used fire to cook without realizing the law of friction and heat by tools from stone and
flints that marked the Stone Age Era.

Home Sapiens-sharpening of stones such as a simple machine called a wedge.

Venus Figure (Miniature statues prevalent in the Paleolithic Period)-a rudimentary carving of a
voluptuous woman out of ivory stone that infers a fixation to female anatomy found in excavations in
different parts of Europe.

Minerals-metalwork; substances that are more malleable, durable, and luster.Fur clothing and animal
skin -primarily used for comforts from harsh winds.

Early accessories-found in excavations that suggest an engagement to the concept of beauty. An initial
order of primitive God's

-ceremonial figures found in excavations pertained to prior civilizations honoring deities for things out of
their control.

-in windy places like mountains, there are mountain gods to explain wind currents and ask for
provisions.

-in coastal areas, there are water gods when asking for a good catch.

Elephants and Mammoths majestic creatures that might have been awed by their size and worship as
the owners of the land.

-On the contrary, might’ve hunted them for the entire community to eat.

Sun-a generic god shared by many prior civilizations

.Religion -remains to be the strongest contender to science.

The earliest case of man-made extinction occurred 12,000 years ago brought by hunting and territorial
disputes.

The Holocene extinction ( between 100,000 to 200,000 years up to present)

-pertains to the ongoing extinction of several species both flora and fauna due to human activity.

Growing population

-necessitated overhunting and overfishing which were endemic to the era causing several species to lose
competitors in food and territory.

Formation of communities

-paved the way for civilizations as it caused humans to expand for in every factor.

The constant need for resources taught the early civilizations to engage in less bloody negotiations
through trade leading to cross towns and cross-cultural interactions. Wealth became the main goal for
survival, it triggered producing things in the prospect of profit. As humanity became more complex, the
primary goal was not merely to survive, but to live a good life.

Martin Heidegger

-a philosopher in the advent of postmodernism who argued that the essence of purpose and being of
technology are different from each other.
-Expounding a point that can be perceived; First, a means to achieve man’s ends. Second, paints
technologythat each period reveals a particular character regarding man’s being.

In conclusion, the Human condition improved but as to initial aims things did not much make a
difference as it is only a rehashed version of its formal self. Some people still battle for their daily
survival. The two paradigms; Religion and technology are still being used as an attempt to understand
circumstances. Aristotle’s conception of human flourishing entertains the idea of holistic enrichment of
person situated in his society which starters could consider for other concepts enlivened with
technological advancements through the notable distinction would fall under the consideration of
virtues and their role in achieving a good life. Regardless, technological advancements although offering
us a compelling notion of the truth and the good, it still occurs at a rapid pace that morality cannot seem
to keep up with, with no consideration given in achieving the good life.

LESSON 3: THE GOOD LIFE

Introduction

In the ancient Greece long before the word “science” has been coined, the need to understand the
world and the reality was bound with the need to understand the self and good life. 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 the definitive distinction between the theoretical and practical science

Among the Theoretical disciplines, Aristotle include:

Logic; Physics; and

Biology; Metaphysics

Among Practical ones, Aristotle counted:

Ethics; and

Politics

Whereas,“truth” is the aim of theoretical science.

The “good” is the end goal of 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, 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.

We have seen how a misplaced or an erroneous idea of humanflourishing can turn tables for all of us;

Make science work against us rather than for us;

And, draw chasm between the search for truth and for the good.
We endeavor to go back a little and answer these questions:

What does it really mean to live a good life?

What qualities as a good existence?

Aristotle and How All Aspire for a Good Life

ARISTOTLE

First philosopher who approached the problem of reality from a “scientific” lens as we know now

First thinker who dabbed into the complex problematization of the end goal of life: happiness which he
claims to be all and end all of everything that we do

Every human being according to some end.

Every action that emanates from a person is the function of the purpose (telos)that he has

Human flourishing, a kind of contentment in knowing that one has maxed out his potentials in the
world; meet the crux of humanityPLATO

Accordingly, there are two aspects of reality namely world of formsandworld of matter

He recognized that change is a process and a phenomenon that happens in the world and it is constant

Despite the reality of change, things remain and they retain their ultimate “whatness”WORLD OF
FROMS

Wherein the entities are only copies of the ideal and the models, and forms are the only real
entitiesWORLD OF MATTER

Things are changing and impermanentHappiness as the Goal of a Good LifeJOHN STUART MILL (18 TH
CENTURY)

Declared the greatest happiness principle, an action is right as far as it maximizes the attainment of
happiness for the greatest number of people.

Individual happiness of each individual should be endorsed.

Consider pronouncements against mining:

Does mining benefit then rather hurt the majority?

Does it offer more benefits rather than disadvantages?

Does mining result in more people getting happy rather than sad?If the answers to that questions are
affirmative then mining is ethical.

Ethical meant to lead us to the good and happy life.

History has given birth to different schools of thought, all of which aim for the good and happy life.

MATERIALISM
First Materialist were the atomists in Ancient Greece.

Democritus and Leucippus led a school whose primary belief is that world is made up of and is
controlled by the tiny indivisible units in the world called atoms or seeds.

HEDONISM

See the end goal life in acquiring pleasure.

Pleasure has always been the priority of Hedonist.

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.

The original term, "apatheia"precisely means to beindifferent

.For the stoics, happiness can only be obtained by a careful practice of apathy.

THEISM

Most people find the meaning of lives using God as a fulcrum in their existence.

Philippines as a predominantly Catholic country, is witness how people base their life goals on beliefs
that hinged on some form of supernatural reality called heaven.

The ultimate basis of their happiness is communion with God.

HUMANISM

The freedom of man to carve his own destiny and to legitimate his on laws

Free from the shackles of a God that monitors and control.

For humanists:

1. Man is literally the captain of his own ship.

2. They see themselves not merely as stewards of the creation but as individuals who are in
control of themselves and the world outside them.

Scientists eventually turned to technology in order to ease the difficulty of life.

Scientists today are ready to confront more sophisticated attempts at altering the world for the benefit
ofhumanity.

LESSON 4: WHEN TECHNOLOGY AND HUMANITY CROSS

In modern times, there are different technological advancements in all forms and sizes may it be inside
the home, workplaces, schools, or simply on the streets. It is now very accessible to almost anyone in
the world owns at least one technological devices. However, despite its usefulness and beneficial
characteristics, there are still some problems faced by the different technological advancements. Let us
discuss to you those disadvantages that these modern technologies may have given us. Technology
affects everyone! Whether positive or negative, we are all affected. It transformed our everyday lives
with a great reliance to the different technological advancement that is already available to the masses.
It is with great effort that people were able to achieve such great inventions, makes life so much easier
and more convenient than ever before. In general, technology keeps on progressing due to not only the
changing times andenvironment but also to the ever-progressing mind of mankind. Now, there are
several technological devices will be properly introduced such as:

Television sets, Mobile Phones, Computers and Humanity

• A product of different experiments by various people:

•Paul Gottlieb Nipkow (send images through wires with the aid of a rotating disk)

• Alan Archibald Campbell-Swinton and Boris Rosing (created a new system of television by using
cathode ray tube in addition to the mechanical scanner system)

• Mobile phones are anywhere and anytime:

• they use it for different purposes other than for communication

• The Ipos Media Atlas Philippines Nationwide Urban 2011-2012 showed that there are 30% of the
Philippine urban population nationwide said that mobile phone are necessities in life.

• April 3, 1973, Martin Cooper (made the world’s first mobile phone call)

• Computers and laptops • Have also become part of the Filipino households.

• In 2010, 3.6 trillion was the estimated total value output of all manufacturing establishments.

• Charles Babbage (designed the Analytical Engine which was used as the basic framework of the
computers even until the present time)

• Lastly, each generation of the computers was used for a certain period of time and each gave people a
new and improve version of the previous one.

Roles Played by These Technological Advancements

Technology has infiltrated every aspect of our lives, changing how we work, how we learn and how we
shop. It’s inevitable that our devices begin to reflect our civic aspirations, our desires to connect with
others and to contribute to the world around us. Their roles played by these technologies/devices in our
lives such as:

1. Television
•It is mainly used as a platform for advertisements and information dissemination.
•remains to be the most used avenue by different advertising companies all over the world
•serves as a recreational activity and good stress reliever to most families
•also a good platform for different propagandas and advocacies
•It is a good way to bond with one's family member.
2. Mobile Phones
•primarily used for communications (texting and calling)
•used for internet surfing, and selfie’s (taking pictures)
 •offers different applications such as: music player, calendar, radio, television and other photo
editor
•it is a all-in-one device that most of the people used
•portable and very convenient because it can fit in any space
3. Personal Computer and Laptops
•can be used to surf the internet and communicate
•people prefer PC's or laptops in doing their jobs because it has a wide keyboard, wide screens
•hase separate keyboards
•availability of a mouse or touchpad made these two technological devices easier to maneuver

Ethical Dilemma Faced by These Technological Advancements

1. Devises make children lazy and unhealthy
- Most of the parents would argue that these devices make their children lazy and unhealthy.
People who are fixated on these advancements start and end their day by using such devices.
People who are already overly dependent on these technological devices have a great tendency
to sit and chill all day long without doing anything productive, thus making them unhealthy
because they do not just skip meals sometimes but also lack exercise or any bodily movements.
Devices may also cause them to become reclusive, alienating themselves from other people.
2. Moral Dilemma
- people, especially the children who are not capable yet of rationally deciding for themselves
what is right or wrong , are freely exposed to different things on television, mobile phones,
laptops or computers. Technological devices could harm the users only if it’s mishandled and
over usage of such device can lead to serious illnesses. Indeed technology can shorten the
distance between people who are far apart by being them close together but the said
advancement also lengthens the gap between people who are already close to each other. The
word “responsibility” in the sense of being accountable for and accountable to is very
appropriate to the ethics of technology because it makes each and every person in the scientific
technological development a proxy with reference to one another . Each person must indicate
the priorities, values, norms and principles that constitute the grounds for one’s actions and
define one’s contribution to the scientific-technological event.We should bare on our minds that
a coin always has its two sides. If there’s a positive impact the negative one will never be
separated from it. For the provided two dilemmas we have no one to put the blame with but
onto ourselves, both the user and the developer should always be responsible; for the user to
handle he advancements well and for the developers to always provide transparency regarding
the negative impact of such.

Robotics and Humanity

• Robotics is an interdisciplinary research area at the interface of computer science and
engineering. Robotics involves design, construction, operation, and use of robots. The goal of
robotics is to design intelligent machines that can help and assist humans in their day-to-day
lives and keep everyone safe. Robotics, design, construction, and use of machines (robots) to
perform tasks done traditionally by human beings. ... Robots are widely used in such industries
as automobile manufacture to perform simplerepetitive tasks, and in industries where work
must be performed in environments hazardous to humans. Artificial Intelligence can provide
humans a great relief from doing various repetitive tasks. The technologycan learn the work
once and repeat it as many as desired by its human programmer. Automation of different tasks
reduces the workload from dull and repetitive tasks, that is why some companies are deploying
robots to perform repetitive, simple job tasks and allowing human laborers to focus on tasks
that require deeper thinking and strategizing. The new term for this collaboration, “cobot,”
allows each type of worker to focus on the tasks they do best.

Roles Played by Robotics

-Robots play different roles not only in the lives of the people but also in the society as whole.
-They were invented to make life more efficient and less stressful.
-They primarily used to ease the workload of mankind.
They are also robots which are made for pleasure:
-Robots perform activities to entertain people.
-They can usually found in amusement parks or exhibits.
Robots are very famous because of movies. A number of local and national movies were inspired
by robots. This goes show that people have developed a distinct fascination over robots.
Robots also have their own set of rules and characteristics that define what a good robot is.
These laws were formulated by Isaac Asimov back in the 1940s, when he was thinking of ethical
consequences of robots.
These are the following:
Law one:-A robot may not injure a human being or through inaction, allow a human being to
come to harm.
Law two:-A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders
would conflict with the first law.
Law three:-A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict
with the first or second law.

Ethical Dilemma/s Faced by Robotics

-One of the dilemmas faced by robots is safety. It is important to know who should be blamed
and who should be held if such thing happens.
-Another ethical dilemma faced by robots is the emotional component. It is not completely
impossible for robots to develop emotions.
-Other problems may arise when the machine develops the ability to think for itself.
-For the second dilemma, it is just right for the robots to be given their own set of rights should
they develop the ability to feel different kinds of emotions.

Partial autonomy-Includes active human-robot interaction.

Full autonomy-Excludes active human-robot interaction. In other words in full autonomy robots
can perform activities or actions even without a master telling it what should be done.