GE 7: SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY (FINAL TERM HANDOUT NO.

1)

HUMAN FLOURISHING

Eudaimonia, literally “good spirited,” is a term coined by renowned Greek philosopher Aristotle
(385-523 BC) to describe the pinnacle of happiness that is attainable by humans. This has often been
translated into “human flourishing” in literature, arguably likening humans to flowers achieving their full
bloom. As times change, elements that comprise human flourishing changes, which are subject to the
dynamic social history as written by humans. People found means to live more comfortably, explore more
places, develop more products, and make more money, and then repeating the process in full circle.

SCIENCE AS METHOD AND RESULTS

For the most part, science’s reputation stems from the objectivity brought upon by an arbitrary,
rigid methodology hose very character absolves it from any accusation of prejudice. Such infamy
effectively raised science in a pedestal untouchable by other institutions – its sole claim to reason and
empiricism – garnering supporters who want to defend it and its ways.

Even though the number of steps in scientific method varies, 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 factors involved.

3. Through past knowledge of similar instance, FORMULATE HYOTHESIS that could explain the
said phenomenon. Ideally, the goal is to reject the null hypothesis and accept the alternative hypothesis
for the study to “count as significant” (can also be separated into additional steps such as “to generate
prediction” or “to infer from past experiments”).

4. CONDUCT EXPERIMENT by setting up dependent and independent variables, and trying to see
how independent ones affect the dependent ones.

5. GATHER AND ANALYZE results throughout and upon culmination of the experiment. Examine if
the data gathered are significant enough to conclude results.

6. FORMULATE CONCLUSION AND PROVIDE RECOMMENDATION in case others would want to

broaden the study.

THE GOOD LIFE

The meaning of good life may differ from person to person. Your friend may see good life as being
wealthy. Your cousin may comprehend it as having a complete and happy family. The smartest classmate
of yours may understand it as getting recognition and reaching dreams. The old man in your neighbor may
thought it as fulfilled life. To them, this good life is perhaps one of the fantasies of humans. Though the
works of philosophers for the past hundred years may seem separated from earthly desires, this is not
always true. Philosophers like Plato, Aristotle, Kant, and Nietzsche once made the understanding of good
life as the center of their philosophy.

GREAT PHILOSOPHERS AND THEIR DEFINITION OF GOOD LIFE

A. Plato

Plato once said, “the unexamined life is not worth living.” In typical ancient Greek fashion, Plato
and his mentor Socrates define the good life in terms of reasonable restraint and civic duty. They believed
that an individual become a master of himself using his reason to reign in his passions, as well as doing
what he can to help promote the stability of his community. Plato also claims that despite the reality of
change, things remain, and they restrain their ultimate “whatness” – these concepts were explained by
Plato through the two aspects of reality which are world of matter (changing and impermanent) and world
of forms (real entities).

B. Aristotle

Aristotle disagreed with his teacher, Plato, for he believed that there is no reality over and above
what the senses can perceive. As such, it is only by observation of the external world that one can truly
understand what reality is all about. Change is a process that is inherent in things. We, along with all other
entities in the world, start entails change. Every human person aspires for an end. This end, as what we
have learned from the previous module, is happiness or human flourishing. No one –male or female, young
or old, curly or straight, poor or wealthy – resists happiness. We all want to be happy. Aristotle claim
that happiness is the end of everything that we do.
C. Immanuel Kant

Kant describes happiness as “continuous well-being, enjoyment of life, complete satisfaction with one’s
condition.” He refers to man’s preservation and welfare as synonymous with his happiness. In the Critique
of Practical Reason, Kant defines happiness as “the state of a rational being in the world in the whole of
whose existence everything goes according to his wish and will.” Happiness is not pleasure. It is not the
virtuous, joyful feeling associated with living a moral life, rather, happiness is simple getting what you
want.

D. Friedrich Nietzsche

For Nietzsche, life is best affirmed by a striving for individual excellence that he identified with an idealized
aristocracy. Despite his contempt for traditional morality, Nietzsche did not seek to replace it with
universal prescriptions, but rather to undermine our confidence in all such notions of universality.
Nietzsche attempts to disrupt old conceptual schemes, in order to encourage us to think for ourselves. To
lolve your fate is to know that everything that has happened in your life; the good, the bad, and the ugly,
has contributed to who you are and what you are doing at this very moment. To embrace any part of life,
says Nietzsche, thus necessitates that you embrace all of it. Trying to create yourself will lead to some
failures but embracing those failures alongside your successes can help re-spark a love of life and can help
you see the meaning in even the worst moments.

HAPPINESS AS THE GOAL OF LIFE

PHILOSOPHY DESCRIPTION

The first materialists were the atomists in Ancient Greece. Democritus and
Leucippus led a school whose primary belief is that the world is made up of and is
controlled by the tiny indivisible units in the world called atomos or seeds. For them,
MATERIALISM
the world, including
human beings, is made up of matter. As such, only material entities matter. In
terms of human flourishing, matter is what makes us attain happiness.

The hedonists, for their part, see the end goal of life in acquiring pleasure. For them,
pleasure has always been the priority; and life is about obtaining and indulging in
HEDONISM pleasure because life is limited. Hedonists strongly believe in the quote “Eat, drink,
and be merry for tomorrow we die.” This philosophy, just like materialism, rejects
the notion of afterlife.

The school of thought led by Epicurus, the stoics espoused the idea that in order to
be happy one must learn to distance oneself and be apathetic. Apatheia means to
STOICISM
be indifferent. For the, everyone should adopt the fact that some things are not
within our control. The sooner we realize this, the happier we can become

The ultimate basis of happiness for theists is the communication with God. They find
meaning of their lives using God as a fulcrum of their existence. The world where
THEISM
we are in is only just a temporary reality where we have to maneuver around while
waiting for the ultimate return to the hands of god. They believe in afterlife.

Humanism espouses the freedom of man to carve his own destiny and to legislate
his own laws, free from the shackles of a God that monitors and controls. For them,
HUMANISM man is the holds the steering wheel as captain of his own ship. This is the spirit of
most scientists who thought that the world is a place and space for freely
unearthing the world in seeking for ways on how to improve the lives of inhabitants.
 GE 7: SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY (FINAL TERM HANDOUT NO.1)
.5

BIODIVERSITY AND THE HEALTHY SOCIETY

Ecosystem refers to a physical environment where abiotic and biotic components interact with each
other. It is a collection of living and non-living organisms and their interaction with each other.

Biodiversity refers to the variety of natural life and habitats on Earth. It is the diversity observed among
the different ecosystems in a region. Biodiversity is the collection of biotic components of a particular
location.

Alteration in any system could bring varied effects. A change in biodiversity could have erratic
effects not only in wildlife or marine life but also in human beings.

THREATS TO BIODIVERSITY

1. Habitat Loss and Destruction – Major contributing factor is the inhabitation of human beings and the
use of land for economic gains.

2. Alterations in Ecosystem Composition – Alterations and sudden changes, either within species
groups or within the environment, could begin to change entire ecosystems. Alterations in ecosystems are
a critical factor contributing to species and habitat loss.

3. Over-exploitation – Over-hunting, overfishing, or over-collecting of species can quickly lead to its

decline. Changing consumption patterns of humans is often cited as the key reason for this unsustainable
exploitation of natural resources.

4. Pollution and Contamination – Biological systems respond slowly to changes in their surrounding
environment. Pollution and contamination cause irreversible damage to species and varieties.

5. Global Climate Change – Both climate variability and climate change cause biodiversity loss. Species
and populations may be lost permanently if they are not provided with enough time to adapt to changing
climatic conditions.

GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISMS: SCIENCE, HEALTH AND POLITICS

A GMO is any organism that has had its genetic material intentionally changed. This could mean adding a
useful gene to the organism, or removing a harmful one. While the most commonly seen GMOs are
vegetables and fruits, the term also refers to bacteria and viruses that have modified DNA or RNA
(depending on their genetic makeup).

Food and Agricultural Industries Non-food Crops and

Microorganisms

1. Pest Resistance 1. Flower Production

2. Virus Resistance 2. Paper Production

3. Herbicide Tolerance 3. Pharmaceutical Productions

4. Fortification 4. Bioremediation

5. Cosmetic Preservation 5. Enzyme and Drug Production

6. Increase Growth Rate 6. GMOs in the Medical Field

POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS CAUSED BY GMOs

1. Risk in Gene Flow

2. Emergence of New Forms of Resistance and Secondary Pests and Weed Problems

3. Recombination of Virus and Bacteria to Produce New Pathogens

 WHEN TECHNOLOGY AND HUMANITY CROSS

The ever-growing society has made people see technology as some form of necessity. Tracing back
its origins, the word “technology” came from the Greek words techne and logos which mean art and word,
respectively. Taking the two words together, technology means a discourse on arts. It first appeared in the
seventeenth century where the concept was only used to talk about the arts, specifically applied arts.
However, as technology progressed, the concept also started to have a wider range of meaning where art
is no longer the only topic included. Concepts like machine and tools were also attached to the word
“technology” which is the more popular sense of the concept nowadays.

ROBOTICS AND HUMANITY

Another great product of the innovative minds of the people is the robot. Robots are now widely
used. For example, there are the so-called service robots. These particular robots do specific tasks but
focus mainly in assisting their masters in their everyday tasks.

 A robot is an actuated mechanism programmable in to or more axes with a degree of autonomy,

moving within its environment, to perform intended tasks. Autonomy in this context means the
ability to perform intended task based on current state and sensing without human intervention.
 A service robot is a robot that performs useful tasks for humans or equipment excluding industrial
automation application. NOTE: A robot may be classified according to its intended application as in
industrial robot or a service robot.
 A personal service robot or a service robot for professional use is a service robot used for a
noncommercial task, usually by laypersons. Examples are domestic servant robot, automated
wheelchair, personal mobility assist robot, and pet exercising robot.
 A professional service robot or a service robot for professional use is a service robot used for a
commercial task, usually operated by a properly trained operator. Examples are cleaning robot for
public places, delivery robot in offices or hospitals, firefighting robot, rehabilitation robot, and
surgery robot in hospitals. In this context, an operator is a person designated to start, monitor, and
to stop the intended operation of a robot or a robot system.


The earliest robots as people know them were created in the early 1950s by George Devol.
“Unimate” was his first invention from the words “Universal Automation”. Unfortunately, his attempt to
sell his product to the industry did not succeed. After Unimate, several robots were also invented which
were better versions of the previous ones. Ever since, people never stopped their quest in the field of
robotics.

Just like people living in the society, 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 the 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.