College of Arts and Sciences Education

General Education – Science

2nd Flr. DPT Building,Matina Campus, Davao City
Phone No. : (082)300-5456/305-0647 Local 134

Big Picture (For 2nd Exam)

Week 5: Unit Learning Outcomes (ULO): At the end of the unit, you are expecting
to

A. Explain human flourishing, as reflected in progress and development.

Big Picture in Focus: ULOa. Explain human flourishing, as

reflected in progress and development.

Metalanguage

In this unit, you will encounter these essential definitions as you study human
flourishing, as reflected in progress and development. Always go back to these
definitions to further understand the topic.

SDG (Sustainable Development Goals) – life-changing goals outlined by United

Nations (UN) in 2015. Include ending extreme poverty, giving people better
healthcare, and achieving equality for women.

A paradigm shift is a significant change in the concepts and practices of how

something works or accomplished.

De-develop - does not tell us to give things up. It is merely about reducing
consumption while maintaining happiness and achieving a long life expectancy. It
may also be viewed as "slowing down." Rapid growth is partly wrong because we
tend to ignore the laws of nature.

Global Hectare (gha) - A unit of measured productivity used to report both the
biocapacity of the Earth, and the demand on biocapacity or ecological footprint.

Essential Knowledge

• Jason Hickel, an economic anthropologist from the University of London,

wrote an article, "Forget developing poor countries, it's time to de-develop rich
countries."

In this article, He said:

a. UN’s new sustainable development goals SDGs) is to eradicate poverty by
2030.

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 College of Arts and Sciences Education
General Education – Science
2nd Flr. DPT Building,Matina Campus, Davao City
Phone No. : (082)300-5456/305-0647 Local 134

b. Growth or increasing population has been the main object of development

and progress for the past 70 years, even though it is not working. Since
1980, the global economy has grown by; three hundred eighty percent
(380%). Still, the number of people living in poverty level on less than $5
(£3.20) a day has increased by more than 1.1 billion.

c. at current levels of average global consumption; we’re overshooting our

planet's bio-capacity by more than fifty percent (50%) each year.

d. Growth isn't an option anymore – we've already grown too much. Most of
the scientists are now telling us that we're blowing past planetary
boundaries at a faster speed. And the hard truth is that this global crisis is
due almost entirely to overconsumption in rich or develop countries.

e. 'Instead of pushing poor countries to 'catch up' with rich ones, we should
be getting rich countries to 'catch down.'

f. Our planet (Earth) only has enough resources for each of us to consume
1.8 "global hectares" annually – a standard used unit that measures
resource use and waste.

g. The 'theory of development' argued by economist Peter Edward, that

instead of pushing poorer countries (less developed) to "catch up" with
rich ones, we should be thinking of ways to get rich countries to "catch
down" to more appropriate development levels.

h. 70% of middle- and high-income countries believe that overconsumption is

putting our planet and society at risk.

i. The two indicators of quality of life are life expectancy (living a long life)
and happiness. Then. How much do we need to live long and happy
lives?
US – 79 years life expectancy, GDP per capita $53,000

Cuba – comparable to the US the life expectancy; they have the

highest literacy rate, but GDP per capita is $6,000 and
consumption of 1.9 hectares (threshold of ecological
sustainability).

However, many countries have reached the same life expectancy as

compared to the US but with a mere fraction of this income per capita.

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 College of Arts and Sciences Education
General Education – Science
2nd Flr. DPT Building,Matina Campus, Davao City
Phone No. : (082)300-5456/305-0647 Local 134

j. De-development not literally means de-growth or zero growth (to stop

moving positively thorough life, to stop learning, improving, growing) but to
reduce consumption of the resources.

k. I am taking cue with the Latin Americans, organizing alternative visions of

'vien Vivir ‘ (right living).
l. Edward and Robert Skidelsky –wrote the book "How Much Is Enough?',
where they lay out the possibility of different interventions such as a
shorter working week, banning advertising, and a basic income, all of
which would improve our lives while reducing the consumption.

m. Either we slow down voluntarily, or climate change will do it for us. We

can’t go on ignoring the laws of nature. But rethinking our theory of
progress is not only an ecological imperative but also a development one.
If we do not act soon, all our hard-won gains against poverty will
evaporate, as food systems collapse and mass famine re-emerge to an
extent not seen since the 19th century.

It is not about giving anything up. And it's certainly not about living a life of voluntary
misery or imposing harsh limits on human potential. On the contrary, it's about
getting into a higher level of understanding and consciousness about what we're
doing here and why.

Self-Help: You can also refer to the sources below to help you
further understand the lesson:

Sightsavers (2020). Global Goals. Retrieved from

https://www.sightsavers.org/policy-and-advocacy/global-
goals/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw-
r71BRDuARIsAB7i_QPWZQzx9seLMlFVaPi4L9elvjz97Sp7DFVKCL3dNanGV
AaAagGajw0aAua3EALw_wcB

The Guardian (2015). Forget 'developing' developing countries, and it's time to de-
develop rich countries, Jason Hickel. Retrieved from
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-
network/2015/sep/23/developing-poor-countries-de-develop-rich-countries-
sdgs

Let’s Check

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 College of Arts and Sciences Education
General Education – Science
2nd Flr. DPT Building,Matina Campus, Davao City
Phone No. : (082)300-5456/305-0647 Local 134

Activity 5. Now that you've understood Hickel's concept of de-development. You require
to explain the following ideas of the essential knowledge part of this unit.
1. What is the primary objective or purpose of the Sustainable Development
Goals of the United Nations?
__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

2. What is the standardized unit that measures resource use and waste?

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

3. What is the standard response to eradicate poverty?

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

4. What is the threshold of the Earth for adequately sustaining life?

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

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 College of Arts and Sciences Education
General Education – Science
2nd Flr. DPT Building,Matina Campus, Davao City
Phone No. : (082)300-5456/305-0647 Local 134

5. According to the majority of middle-and high-income countries, what puts the

planet and society at risk?
__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

6. How many hectares should each of us consume annually based on the

resources available on the planet?
___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

7. In this article, what are the two items about the quality of life?

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

8. What crisis on the planet would force us to slow down if we do not do so

voluntarily?
___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

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 College of Arts and Sciences Education
General Education – Science
2nd Flr. DPT Building,Matina Campus, Davao City
Phone No. : (082)300-5456/305-0647 Local 134

9. According to Dr. Jason Hickel, what must be done instead of urging

developing countries to 'catch up" with rich ones?
___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

10. How would the different areas of the world react to the idea of de-
development?
___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

Let’s Analyze

Activity 5. In this part, you are once again required to explain your answer
thoroughly on the questions below:

1. Why must we change our Paradigm of Growth and consumption to that of" de-
development?
___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

2. Why are the terms, de-development, de-growth, and zero seemingly unacceptable
to the common framework of human progress?

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

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 College of Arts and Sciences Education
General Education – Science
2nd Flr. DPT Building,Matina Campus, Davao City
Phone No. : (082)300-5456/305-0647 Local 134

3. How has the notion of growth enframed us?

_________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

4. How do we improve our lives and yet reduce our consumption?

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

5. What are the similarities and differences between Heidegger’s The Question
Concerning Technology and Hickel’s article?
___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

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In a Nutshell

Activity 5.
Clearly, Hickel from his article showed us how progress and development are
equated with growth and higher consumption, which could be the development
indicator. In this portion of the unit, you require again to give your synthesis,
conclusions, or arguments relevant to the topic presented. I will supply the first item,
and you will continue the rest.

1. De-development or reducing the use of resources for impoverished country to

catch up would be the right paradigm shift, especially when it limits climate
change. But, there might be no stopping or shifting by rich countries since growth
is always be the strategy for economic rise.

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 College of Arts and Sciences Education
General Education – Science
2nd Flr. DPT Building,Matina Campus, Davao City
Phone No. : (082)300-5456/305-0647 Local 134

2.________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

Do you have questions for clarification?

Questions/Issues Answers
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

De-development Paradigm shift

SDG Global hectare
GDP consumption
Economic growth

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