LESSON 5: HUMAN FLOURISHING AS REFLECTED IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

What is Human Flourishing?

1. Human flourishing is a profound truthfulness to other (Crouch, 2017).
2. Human flourishing is the creation of value with your life and giving value to other people which he collectively refers as earned
success; (Brooks, 2014)
3. Human flourishing refers to an effort to achieve self-actualization and fulfillment within the context of a larger community of
individuals, each with the right to pursue his or her own such efforts (The National League for Nursing, n.d.).
4. For a famous philosopher, Aristotle, human flourishing pertains to the ultimate goal or ultimate end of all individuals.
What does it mean by the ultimate end?
For Aristotle, there is an end goal for all the things that we do, what we desire to do in order to attain called Eudaimonia, happiness or
flourishing. EUDAIMONIA comes from combined Greek words "good and spirit", it is the highest happiness or flourishing that
we can achieve. We can also define Eudaimonia as the pursuit of becoming a better person. Thus, flourishing is the success that
we earned by improving our lives as a result of various human qualities such as: phronesis, friendship, wealth and power.
How can an individual achieve Eudamonia or flourishing by acquiring the qualities stated by Aristotle?
Here’s how, an individual can have friends by doing good and at the same time acquire wealth and power through hard work
to accumulate things that can help him or her to have a better life. However, Aristotle includes PHRONESIS – a person’s ability to
habitually “do the right thing in the right place, at the right time in the right way” (Bhatta, n.d.). In other words, an individual
can achieve flourishing when he or she acquires friends, wealth and power by constantly doing what is right with a clear
understanding of why and how he or she can achieve it. Hence, doing the right thing is not enough, it must be accompanied by
reason and concern with what is good or bad for him or her.
As we progress with the aid of science and technology, we are able to find means on how to explore different places, develop
more products and most importantly improve our lives. But the way we do it is very much different with the concept of Aristotle
because we are no longer focusing on what is good or bad for an individual alone: we already shifted from self-flourishing to
human flourishing.
In human flourishing, competition for survival is already outdated. What we are pursuing now is collaboration and
cooperation, making us the "man of the world"- where we are expected to work hand in hand with our organizations or institutions
to reach a common goal.
Progress and development mean improving one's life. The improvement mostly if not all the time requires getting more,
acquiring more.

LESSON 6: THE GOOD LIFE

Philosophers and their Perception of what, Good life is
1. Leucippus and Democritus (around 460-370 B.C.)
- are proponents of materialism philosophy which believed that comfort, pleasure and wealth are the only highest goals in
life.

Leucippus and Democritus Materialism Philosophy

Materialism, also called physicalism, in philosophy, the view that all facts (including facts about the human mind and will and the
course of human history) are causally dependent upon physical processes, or even reducible to them.

 Materialism is the attitude of someone who attaches a lot of importance to money and wants to possess a lot of material
things
 Materialism is the belief that only physical matter exists, and that there is no spiritual world.

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An example of materialism is explaining love in terms of material things. An example of materialism is valuing a new car over
friendships. The theory or attitude that physical well-being and worldly possessions constitute the greatest good and highest value in
life
2. Epicurus
- A Greek Philosopher who introduced the Hedonism Philosophy. He is also the first one who stated that pleasure is the
experience that makes our life worth living. Hedonists claimed that since life is limited, we should satisfy ourselves with
the things that give us pleasures. That we must aim to maximize our total pleasure and if we already attain it, we will be
constantly happy. Hedonists motto is "Eat, Drink and be merry for tomorrow we Die"

Hedonism Philosophy

 Hedonism is the philosophy that pleasure is the most important pursuit of mankind, and the only thing that is good for an
individual.
 They believe that pleasure is the only good in life, and pain is the only evil, and our life's goal should be to maximize
pleasure and minimize pain.

An example of hedonism is an ethical theory suggesting the pursuit of pleasure should be the ultimate goal. An example of
hedonism is a constant quest for pleasure and satisfaction. The theory that a person always acts in such a way as to seek pleasure and
avoid pain.
A hedonistic person is committed to seeking sensual pleasure - the type of guy you might find in a massage parlor or at an all-you-
can-eat buffet....
Hedonism Philosophy (How do Hedonist Define Happiness?)
In all its variants, it holds that happiness is a matter of raw subjective feeling. A happy life maximizes feelings of pleasure and
minimizes pain. A happy person smiles a lot, is ebullient, bright eyed and bushy tailed; her pleasures are intense and many, her pains
are few and far between.
3. Marcus Aurelius
- Marcus Aurelius is one of the principal leaders of Stoicism - school of thought created for those living their lives in the real
world which was founded by Zeno of Citium in Athens (early 3rd century B.C.). Stoicism argued that virtue like wisdom is
a kind of happiness and judgment that must be based on behavior instead on words. Thus, as an individual, we don't
have the power to control external factors and must not be dependent on it. For this reason, we should only rely on
ourselves. Hence, according to Stoicism's philosophy relying on oneself will help us control destructive emotions and
only acts on what can be acted upon (Prieto, Vega, Felipe & Meneses, 2019).

Stoicism Philosophy (4 virtues)

The Stoics elaborated a detailed taxonomy of virtue, dividing virtue into four main types: wisdom, justice, courage, and
moderation. Wisdom is subdivided into good sense. good calculation, quick-wittedness, discretion, and resourcefulness.
Stoicism Philosophy (Main Points) The Stoics differentiated between 'good', 'bad', and 'indifferent things.

 The good things include the cardinal virtues wisdom, justice, courage, and self-discipline.
 The bad things include the opposites of these virtues, namely the four vices folly, injustice, cowardice, and indulgence. Is this
a good philosophy?

Stoicism Philosophy (Is this a good Philosophy?) Stoicism type of philosophy is good if you are going through bad time, midlife
crisis or in prison. If you are confined, alone and mentally tortured stoicism brings mental toughness.... Some of Stoicism is like
common sense but very handy to soothe you if you are having a terrible time all the way in your life.
Is Stoicism Relevant Today?
Stoicism is relevant today as it helps modern men and women to put their lives in better order. A practicing Stoic today is seen as a
calm, satisfied person, and is often sought for wise counsel and just advice. The ancient philosophy still inspires people to re-think
and re-organize their lives to achieve eudaimonia.
Are Stoics Happy?
Yes, the Stoics can feel not only happy but also a full range of emotions. They can be happy, sad, angry, or intense, without the need
to hide behind expressionless faces. The Stoics feel the emotions but do not get overwhelmed by them.

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 4. HUMANISM
- Humanism is a school of thought who asserts that as human beings, we have the right, power and responsibility to
give meaning and shaped our own lives.

Humanists believed that humans are not just stewards of God's creation; they are also the one who has the ability to control
themselves as well as the world they live in. This is the same belief that most of the scientists have. The main reason why they view
the world as a place that they can control (enframing), a place where they can study and discover things that lead them to invent and
create technologies that can help them and the society achieve good life.
What does Humanistic Philosophy means?
Humanistic philosophy and values reflect a belief in human dignity and science-but not religion.

 A humanistic philosophy refers to a few specific ideas. Humanistic ideas place great importance on thinking and reason as
ways people can be fulfilled. This philosophy is called humanism.

What are the main Principles of Humanism?

 We believe in the common moral decencies: altruism, integrity, honesty, truthfulness, responsibility. Humanist ethics is
amenable to critical, rational guidance.
 The definition of humanism is a belief that human needs and values are more important than religious beliefs, or the needs
and desires of humans. An example of humanism is the belief that the person creates their own set of ethics. An example of
humanism is planting vegetables in garden beds.

What is Humanistic Learning Theory of Education?

Humanistic teachers believe that knowledge and feelings go hand-in-hand in the learning process. Cognitive and affective
learning are both important to humanistic learning. Lessons and activities should focus on the whole student and their intellect and
feelings, not one or the other. A safe learning environment.
Integrating it to Humanistic Education
Rather than ignoring the basics, humanistic educators seek to expand the concept of basic education to include the traditional subjects
plus other basic skills for surviving in today's world, such as communication, problem solving, and decision making. in learning all are
related to greater academic achievement.
5. Theism,
- Theism is not a school of thought; it is a belief in the existence of one Supreme Being (God) or deities (gods). They also
believe that God or gods are all-knowing, powerful and pervasive. Theists claimed that the ultimate basis for happiness is
the intimate communication and relationship with God. Thus, they believed that having this kind of relationship to God as the
creator of their lives gives meaning to their existence. Theism is of two kinds it can be MONOTHEISM as the name
implied, it is a belief in one God. The other one is POLYTHEISM, a belief in many gods.

Philosophical Theism
Philosophical theism is the belief that the Supreme Being exists (or must exist) independent of the teaching or revelation of any
particular religion. It represents belief in God entirely without doctrine, except for that which can be discerned by reason and the
contemplation of natural laws.
6. Aristotle
- is a Greek philosopher known for his work "Nicomachean Ethics" where he identified that the highest good for human
beings is EUDAIMONIA -happiness (this was discussed in our previous meeting). Aristotle's idea of a good life is living
well and happy life. Thus, he argues that living well and having a happy life doesn't mean just acquiring things or living in
pleasure. Good life for Aristotle is realizing our potential to cultivate and exercise it to fullest-this in turn lead us to the
greatest fulfillment of our true nature. In addition, Aristotle claimed that to live well one must be morally virtuous, healthy,
live comfortably, have good friends, is respectable and knows how to exercise his/her unique abilities and capabilities.

Point of Nicomachean Ethics

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The goal of the Ethics is to determine how best to achieve happiness. This study is necessarily imprecise, since so much depends on
particular circumstances. Happiness depends on living in accordance with appropriate virtues. Virtue is a disposition rather than
an activity.
According to Aristotle, happiness consists in achieving, through the course of a whole lifetime, all the goods health, wealth,
knowledge, friends, etc. that lead to the perfection of human nature and to the enrichment of human life. This requires us to
make choices, some of which may be very difficult. (EUDAIMONIA)
7. Emrys Westacott
- Emrys Westacott is a philosophy professor at Alfred University and an author of several philosophy books. In 2018, he
wrote an article entitled "What is the Good Life?" where he identified the different meanings of good life or living well.

According to Westacott, good life or living well can be understand in several ways

 by knowing the essence of moral life

 the life of pleasure; the fulfilled life
 the meaningful life
 the finished life.

Essence of a Good Life by Westacott

1. The Moral Life

2. The Life of Pleasure

3. The Fulfilled Life

4. The Meaningful life

5. The Finished Life

The Moral Life

An individual with good life is said to have a moral life. For Westacott, good life or living well can be attained by living morally
adhering with the norms and standards of the society. A person is said to be good and moral if he or she possesses and practices most
of the important virtues such as: kindness, generosity, truthfulness, loyalty, and courage. Most importantly, he or she doesn't only
pursuing his/her own pleasure but also spent time in pursuing things that could benefit the society.
The Life of Pleasure
Westacott agreed with the philosophy of Epicurus, good life is a pleasurable life. However, he emphasized that indulging oneself to
excessive pleasure will eventually lead him or her to degeneracy. Thus eating and drinking excessively can cause us health problems
that will limit the span of pleasure that we may experience.
The Fulfilled Life
Westacott's definition of good life as fulfilled life is anchored on the philosophy of Aristotle. Thus, a fulfilled life is a life in which an
individual have the chance to pursue his or her calling by maximizing his or her potentials without harming others.
Technology and Meaningful Life
this concept or idea refers to the happiness felt by people who found their purpose, fulfillment and satisfaction in life. As stated by
Westacott, a good life can also be understood by having a meaningful life in which an individual finds their meaning in life through
their passion, work, and or family.
Finished Life
refers to achieving your dream life. Thus, Westacott claimed that a good life can be defined as finished life where your passion, joy,
significance and potential are realized and yours dreams were fulfilled.
The Role of Technology in Achieving Good Life

 technology is one of the highest expressions of human potentials or activities;

 technology alone is a means of achieving good life because the main aim of its creation is to improve society's life;
 technology allows us thrive and flourish if we desire; and
 using technology in a virtuous way can help us flourish and live a good life.

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 LESSON 7: WHEN TECHNOLOGY AND HUMANITY CROSS
What separates humans from other organisms is our capacity for reason. We have the right to make choices that enable us and the society to flourish;
and in order to flourish or have good life we must properly and consistently exercise our rights by accepting or rejecting: minimizing or maximizing
evaluating; and deciding the range and functions of science and technology. Hence, our rights as humans are the critical factors to be considered in
our pursuit of good life in the face of scientific and technological developments.

Protecting a human's well-being and upholding the dignity of a person by strengthening human rights are the major concern of The United Nations
General Assembly in proclaiming the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) on December 10, 1948. UDHR identified the fundamental
human rights that are vital and necessary in achieving good life.

Articles as a Significant Rights of Human

Article 1: "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should
act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood"
Article 2: "Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedom set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race,
color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no
distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdiction or international status of the country or territory to which a person
belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty".
Article 3: "Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person".
Article 4: "No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms".
Article 5: "No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment".
Article 6: "Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law".
Article 7: "All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection against any discrimination in
violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination".

Point of View of the Articles:

These rights are equated to freedom that all of us are entitled and guaranteed by virtue of being human. Consequently, our rights as
human are rights to sustainability (Mukherjee, 2012) and can function as a means of protecting the poor and the weak from the
deficiencies and excesses of science and technology. Moreover, humans can flourish with science and technology by injecting the
moral and ethical duty of protecting and upholding human rights to develop sustainable approach in bridging the gap between develop
and developing countries.
Status of Technological Use in the Philippines
We can't avoid the fact that technology is already part of our society. Whether we like it or not, we are affected directly and indirectly
by technology. Thus, most of us if not all are highly dependable on the different technologies made readily available in our
environment. Because. Technologies offer convenience, pleasure, happiness and easier communication. Furthermore, there are
number of technological devices that can be easily found inside our homes making it more accessible to everyone. Hence, we can infer
that these technological devices are some of the most commonly used types of devices across all age groups. Almost all households, if
not all, own these types of devices. To be more specific, these devices include: television sets, mobile phones and computers. People
all over the world use these technologies everyday to accomplish their different tasks.
According to Kantar Media...
1. One of the most trusted television audience measurement providers in the Philippines 92 percent of the urban homes and 70 percent
of rural homes own at least one television set.
2. In 2012, Noda reported that 15,135 million households have television set, which means that this device have greatly influenced
Filipinos way of living. In addition, the survey conducted by Kantar Media proved that almost all Filipino households use this
particular device.
In the late 1800's Paul Julius Gottlieb Nipknow, a German engineer and invertor, successfully send images through wires with the aid of a rotating
metal disk also known as "Nipknow disk". The said disk had 18 lines of resolution and was called as "electric telescope". Nipknow laid the
foundation of television, since his invention was used as a fundamental component in the first televisions. Thus Nipknow was known to be the one
who proposed the world's first electromechanical television system Following the success of Nipicnow. Allan Archibald, Campbell Swinton and
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Boris Rosing Created a new system of revision through the use of cathode ray tube in addition to the mechanical scauner system. Thus, with the
success of the two inventions pave way for the two types of television systems- the mechanical and the electronic television systems. Filipinos'
fascination on mobile phones was very evident on the survey conducted in 2010 by Synovate a global research agency. The survey revealed that 67
percent product ownership in the Philippines and more than half of the Filipino population own at least one mobile phone. In addition, in the report
made by ABS-CBN in 2010, mobile phones are considered as the must-have device among young Filipinos. To prove this claim, the IPos Media
Atlas Philippines Nationwide Urban conducted a survey in 2011-2012 and the result showed that 1 out of 3 Filipinos cannot live without mobile
phone.

On April 3, 1973, a senior engineer at Motorola, Martin Cooper made the world's first mobile phone call to properly inform their rival
telecommunications company that he was making a call using a mobile phone. Cooper's mobile phone weighed 1.1 kilograms and measured
228.6x127x44.4 mm and has a capacity of 30-minute talk time. The challenge on the first mobile phone was its charging time that took 10 hours. The
first commercial mobile phone was introduced during 1983 by Motorola and was named Motorola DynaTac 8000X (Goodwin, 2016).

Unlike television sets and mobile phones, computers and laptops are not the typical device or technology that we can find inside the Filipino
households. Although there are families that can afford to buy computers and laptops, most of the profits gained by computer and laptop
manufacturers come from offices, businesses, commercial establishments or schools where such devices have become part of their necessities.

In 19th century, Charles Babbage, an English Mathematician professor designed the analytical engine that was used as the basic framework of the
computers even until the present time. Generally, computers can be classified into three generations digital, analog and hybrid computers. The first
true portable, full feature computer was released April 1981and was called the Osborne 1. Through the progress of science and technology, it was
envisioned that transition from a personal computer to laptop was only a matter of design, an improvement and a little deviation from a standard
design of a personal computer.

Digital Computers

Digital computers are computers that process the data in binary form i.e. O's and 1's. The main benefit of digital computers is that they are quick and
re-programmable. Some of the examples are laptops, smartphones, and calculators.

Analog Computers

Mechanical analog computers are designed along with different components such as gears and lever, in which not use electronic parts. It produces
output while turning of gears, and it can perform multiplication and division operations. Examples are - Cosmic Engine, Pascaline, Stepped Reckoner

Hybrid Computers

Hybrid computers are computers that exhibit features of analog computers and digital computers.... The first desktop hybrid computing system was
the Hycomp 250, released by Packard Bell in 1961. Another early example was the HYDAC 2400, an integrated hybrid computer released by EAI in
1963.

Rlles Played by these Technological Advancements

1. Television Set this is the most widely used platform for advertisements and information dissemination. For most of us, televisions are used for
recreational activities, a means to bond with family members during weekends and it can also serve as stress reliever to others.

2. Mobile Phone - the most widely used technology around the world whose main function is for communication. Traditionally it is used for texting
and calling people far from us. However, due to the advancement of science and technology, its function also progresses. Currently, mobile phone is
coined as an all-in-one device. We can use it to surf the internet, to watch our favorite movies, to listen our favorite songs, take pictures more than to
text or to call people. In addition, it is very portable and convenient because it can fit to any space. may be inside the pocket or bag

3. Computer and Laptops - the most widely used device in offices, schools, shops and other commercial establishments. Computers and laptops
functions as information storage and can be used during conferences. seminars and meetings.

Robotics and Humanity

One of the great products of the innovative minds of the people is robot which is now widely used especially by the developed countries like Japan.
The International Federation of Robotics (IFR) together with The United Nations Economic Commission of Europe (UNECE) formulated working
definitions for service robots. Robot is actuated mechanism programmable in two or more axes with degree of autonomy, moving within its
environment, to perform intended tasks. Autonomy in this context means the ability to perform the intended tasks based on the current state and
sensing human intervention

Service Robot - A service robot is a robot that performs useful tasks for humans or equipment excluding industrial application. automation

Personal Robot - A personal robot or a service robot for personal use is a service robot used for noncommercial task, usually by laypersons.
Examples are domestic servant robot, automated wheel chair, personal mobility assist robot or pet exercising robot.

Professional service robot is used for commercial task, usually operated by properly trained operator. Examples are: surgery robot, rehabilitation
robot and delivery robot.

Three Laws of Robotics (According to Isaac Asimov)

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1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey the orders given by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the first law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict the first and second law. (In order to protect and uphold the
well-being of humans and because of ethical consequences)

Ethical Dilemma/s Faced by Robotics

1. Safety- this is the primary concern of all individual. Ethical dilemma comes in if human's safety is compromised, who will be held accountable?
Who should be blamed, the robot, the person using the robot or the creator/inventor of the robot

2. Emotional component and ability to think- is it really acceptable to produce or create a robot with emotional component? What will happen to
humans? How about our right for protection and security as human beings?

3. Deviation from the law - what will happen and who is to be blamed if the problems arise when the robot deviates from the laws specified? Again
is it the robot, the person using the robot or the creator/inventor of the robot?