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Module 2 Lesson 4 Human Flourishing in Terms of Science and Technology

The document discusses the concepts of human flourishing and how it relates to science and technology. It covers topics like measuring flourishing, eastern and western conceptions of it, how technology impacts humanity, and the scientific method. Verificationism and falsificationism in science are also explained.

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Cleofe Vestil
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90 views17 pages

Module 2 Lesson 4 Human Flourishing in Terms of Science and Technology

The document discusses the concepts of human flourishing and how it relates to science and technology. It covers topics like measuring flourishing, eastern and western conceptions of it, how technology impacts humanity, and the scientific method. Verificationism and falsificationism in science are also explained.

Uploaded by

Cleofe Vestil
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Module 2:

STS and the Human Condition

Lesson 4:
Human Flourishing in terms of Science and Technology

Prepared by: Mr. Joey Estorosos


Flourishing

• Is a state of being in which people experience pleasant emotions,


positive psychological functioning, and positive social functioning, and
spend the majority of their time in the range of human functioning that
is considered to be optimum.
• It is comprised of multiple components and concepts, including
cultivating strengths, subjective well-being, goodness, growth, and
resilience.
Measuring Flourishing
The scale for assessing flourishing is founded on the concept that flourishing is
experienced in six domains:,
• Happiness and Life Satisfaction
How satisfied are you with your life as a whole these days?
• Mental and Physical Health
How would you rate your overall physical and mental health?
• Meaning and Purpose
To what extent do you feel the things you do in your life are worthwhile?
• Character and Virtue
I am always able to give up some happiness now for greater happiness later.
• Close Social Relationships
I am content with my friendships and relationships.
• Financial and Material Stability
How often do you worry about safety, food, or housing?
Human Flourishing

• In the framework of a wider community of persons, human


flourishing is described as an attempt to attain self-actualization and
fulfillment within the setting of each individual's freedom to pursue
such efforts on his or her own terms.
• It includes the individual's dignity, independence, happiness, and
overall health within the wider family, community, and population.
• Finding human flourishing is a life-long existential journey full of
aspirations and dreams and disappointments and losses.
Eastern vs. Western Conception on Human Flourishing

Eastern Conception Western Conception


• focus is community-centric • more focused on the individual
• focuses on general knowledge • focuses at specific knowledge
• addresses the whole of human • only focuses on certain aspects of the
existence human condition
• Chinese Confucian system (deals • Aristotelian view (emphasize how one
with both the inner and outer life of should conduct one's self to live well
a person (holistic)) among others (fragmentary)
Eastern vs. Western Conception on Human Flourishing

• In summary, Eastern and Western thinkers agree that human flourishing are
fundamentally the same everywhere, only the specifics and customs vary.

• There is no 'eastern' or 'western' philosophy in terms of human flourishing;


there is only philosophy.
Components of Human Flourishing

• Human flourishing arises as a result of different components such as


1. Phronesis - wisdom relevant to practical action
2. Friendship - the mutual admiration between two human beings
3. Wealth - constitutes the economic dimension
4. Power – cognitive power of judgment
• Obtaining these will definitely offer the seeker happiness, allowing
them to share in the broader idea of what we term the Good.
• As time changes, elements that comprise human flourishing changed.
Changes of Elements that Comprises Human Flourishing

• Technology found means for people to live more comfortably,


explore more places, develop more products, and make more
money.

• Today's humans are supposed to be “man of the world". Assumed to


be part of a worldwide community of institutions and governments
working towards a shared objective.

• Competition as a means of survival has become obsolete.

• Coordination is the new trend.


Technology Changes Us

• Technology makes our work easier but can detach us from a meaningful
senses of work.
• What has the potential to heal sickness also has the potential to push us
to see the human body as something that can be engineered, changed,
and even immortalized.

• In the same way, while technology allows us to communicate instantly


with individuals all over the globe, it also frequently creates a sense of
isolation between us and those who are close to us.
Science, Technology and Human Flourishing

• Human person as both the bearer and beneficiary of science and


technology.

bearer – a person or thing that carries or holds something.

beneficiary - a person who derives advantage from something.

• Human flourishes and finds meaning in the world that he/she builds.

• Human may unconsciously acquire, consume or destroy what the world


has to offer.
Science and Technology

• Must be treated as part of human life that needs reflective and


meditative thinking.

Reflective thinking – taking consideration of the bigger picture


and understanding all of its consequences.

Meditative thinking - thinks the truth of being, that belongs to


being and listens to it
• Must be examined for their greater impact on humanity as a whole and
will not compromises human flourishing.
Scientific Method

• It provides an objective, standardized


approach to conducting experiments
and, in doing so, improves their
results..
• Aims to support or to contradict a
theory.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_method
Verificationism

• Also known as “Verification Principle” is the doctrine that proposition is


only cognitively meaningful if it can be definitively and conclusively
determined to be either true or false.
• It is often used to rule out meaningless debate such as Religion,
Metaphysics, and Ethics, since such debates are made over the truth of
unverifiable sentences.
• Takes into account those results which are measurable and experiments
which are repeatable.
Problem with Verificationism

• Some statements are universal where in sense it is claiming about possibly


infinite set of objects. Since it would be impossible to verify if the
universal statement is true for each of an infinite number of objects.

Example: Europeans for thousands of years had observed millions of white swans.
Then it is concluded that all swans are white, through verifications.
However, exploration of Australia introduced Europeans to black swans.
Thus, no matter how many observations are made which confirm a theory
there is always the possibility that a future observation could refute it.
• To counter such, Karl Popper (1902-1994) proposed the concept of
Falsificationism. It suggests that for a theory to be considered scientific it
must be able to be tested and conceivably proven false.
Falsificationism

• As long as an ideology is not proven to be false and can best explain a


phenomenon over alternative theories, we should accept the said
ideology.
• Allowed emergence of theories otherwise rejected by the verification
theory.
• Encourages research in order to determine which among the theories
can stand the test of falsification. It is a way of demarcating science
from non-science.

• According to Popper, science should attempt to disprove a theory,


rather than attempt to continually support theoretical hypothesis.
Verificationism and Falsificationism

• There is no known rule as to the number of instance that a theory is


rejected or falsified in order for it to be set aside.
• There is no assurance that observable event or “evidences” are indeed
manifestations of a certain concept or “theories”.
References
1. Fredrickson, B. L.; Losada, M. F. (2005). "Positive affect and complex dynamics of human flourishing". American
Psychologist. 60 (7): 678–686. doi:10.1037/0003-066x.60.7.678. PMC 3126111. PMID 16221001.

2. Dunn, D. S.; Dougherty, S. B. (2008). "Flourishing: Mental health as living life well". Journal of Social and Clinical
Psychology. 27 (3): 314–316. doi:10.1521/jscp.2008.27.3.314.

3. Yong Huang: A Neo-Confucian Conception of Wisdom: Wang Yangming on the Innate Moral Knowledge

4. Handbook of Social Indicators and Quality of Life Studies (pp.99-112)

5. VanderWeele, T. J. (2020). Activities for Flourishing: An Evidence-Based Guide. Journal of Positive School
Psychology , 4(1), 79-91. Retrieved from https://www.journalppw.com/index.php/JPPW/article/view/163

6. McLeod, S. A. (2020, May 01). Karl popper - theory of falsification. Simply Psychology.
https://www.simplypsychology.org/Karl-Popper.html

Prepared by: Mr. Joey Estorosos

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