Topic 01: Human Flourishing in

Science and Technology

➢WITH MODERN TECHNOLOGY, REVEALING NEVER COMES TO AN END. THE REVEALING
TECHNOLOGY AS A MODE REVEALING ALWAYS HAPPENS ON OUR OWN TERMS AS EVERYTHING IS ON DEMAND. ➢HEIDEGGER
MARTIN HEIDEGGER(GERMAN PHILOSOPHER) DESCRIBED MODERN TECHNOLOGY AS THE AGE OF SWITCHES, STANDING RESERVE,
➢IN HEIDEGGER’S SEMINAL WORK ENTITLED: “THE QUESTION AND STOCKPILING FOR ITS OWN SAKE. (MANIFESTATION – MECHANIZATION AND
OF TECHNOLOGY” HE URGES US TO QUESTION TECHNOLOGY DIGITIZATION OF MANY ASPECTS OF OUR LIFE.)
AND SEE BEYOND PEOPLE’S COMMON UNDERSTANDING OF IT.
➢THE EXPERIENCE AND UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT IS CORRECT QUESTIONING AS THE PIETY OF THOUGHT
LEAD US TO WHAT IS TRUE. ➢THERE IS SO MUCH WEALTH OF INSIGHT THAT CAN BE GATHERED WHEN
➢BY CONSIDERING THE TECHNOLOGY AS A MODE OF PEOPLE STOP, THINK AND QUESTION. ➢NORMALLY PIETY IS ASSOCIATED WITH
REVEALING THE TRUTH IS BROUGHT FORTH. BEING RELIGIOUS. FOR HEIDEGGER, HOWEVER, PIETY MEANS OBEDIENCE AND
➢ANCIENT GREEK CONCEPTS THAT HEIDEGGER INCLUDES/PUTS SUBMISSION.
FORWARD: ➢E.G. SUBMIT OURSELVES TO OUR OWN THOUGHTS.
✓ALETHEIA- UNHIDDENNESS OR DISCLOSURE
✓POIESIS- BRINGING FORTH (FOR ARISTOTLE, IT MEANS ENFRAMING: WAY OF REVEALING IN MODERN TECHNOLOGY
MAKING SOMETHING FOR A PURPOSE) ➢THE WAY OF REVEALING IN MODERN TECHNOLOGY IS ENFRAMING.
✓TECHNE- MEANS SKILL, ART OR CRAFT ➢IT CAN BE BETTER UNDERSTOOD AND CONTROLLED ACCORDING TO PEOPLE’S
➢TECHNOLOGY IS A POIESIS THAT DISCLOSES OR REVEALS THE DESIRES.
TRUTH (HEIDEGGER 1977). ➢ For Heidegger, “enframing” is using technology to turn nature into a resource
for efficient use.
TECHNOLOGY AS POIESIS: APPLICABLE TO ➢ Modern technology, says Heidegger, lets us isolate nature and treat it as a
MODERN TECHNOLOGY? “standing reserve” that is, a resource to be stored for later utility.
➢HEIDEGGER CHARACTERIZES MODERN TECHNOLOGY AS A
CHALLENGING FORTH SINCE IT IS AGGRESSIVE IN ITS ACTIVITY. IT Hydroelectric plant, which isolates a river and transforms it into a power source
BRINGS ABOUT A “SETTING UPON” OF THE LAND.
➢ E.G. MINING- IT EXTRACTS MINERALS FROM THE EARTH AND
FORCEFULLY ASSIGNS THE LAND AS A MEANS TO FULFILL THE
NEVER-ENDING DEMANDS OF THE PEOPLE.
➢HEIDEGGER DISTINGUISHED BETWEEN: TOPIC 02: HUMAN FLOURISHING AS REFLECTED IN
*CALCULATIVE THINKING PROGRESS AND DEVELOPMENT
▪ONE ORDERS AND PUTS A SYSTEM TO NATURE SO IT CAN BE
UNDERSTOOD BETTER AND CONTROLLED. ➢DEVELOPMENT IS EQUATED WITH GROWTH AND GREATER CONSUMPTION.
➢THE MORE THE POPULATION IS ABLE TO CONSUME, THE WEALTHIER IT IS.
*MEDITATIVE THINKING ➢THE MORE THAT A PERSON IS ABLE TO BUY STUFF, THE HIGHER HE / SHE IS ON
▪ONE LETS NATURE REVEAL ITSELF TO HIM/HER WITHOUT THE DEVELOPMENT SCALE.
FORCING. ➢THE PLANET IS OVERBURDENED WITH HUMAN ACTIVITIES. IT IS ABOUT TIME
➢ENFRAMING IS DONE BECAUSE PEOPLE WANT SECURITY, EVEN IF THAT WE RETHINK OUR STANDARDS OF DEVELOPMENT IF WE TRULY WANT TO
THE ORDERING THAT HAPPENS IN ENFRAMING IS VIOLENT AND LIVE THE GOOD LIFE.
EVEN IF THE EARTH IS MADE AS A BIG GASOLINE STATION FROM
WHICH WE EXTRACT, STOCKPILE, AND PUT IN STANDING-RESERVE,
READY TO BE USED AS WE SEE FIT.
JASON HICKEL
•HE IS AN ECONOMIC ANTHROPOLOGIST, AUTHOR, AND A FELLOW OF THE ROYAL
HUMAN PERSON SWALLOWED BY SOCIETY OF ARTS
TECHNOLOGY •CHALLENGES US TO RETHINK AND REFLECT ON DIFFERENT PARADIGMS OF
➢THOUGH IT IS TRUE THAT INDIVIDUAL TAKES PART IN THE “DEDEVELOPMENT”.
REVEALING OF NATURE, LIMITS MUST STILL BE RECOGNIZED. •HE IS A PROFESSOR AT THE INSTITUTE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND
➢IF WE ALLOW OURSELVES TO GET SWALLOWED BY MODERN TECHNOLOGY AT THE AUTONOMOUS UNIVERSITY OF BARCELONA, AND A
TECHNOLOGY, WE LOSE THE ESSENCE OF WHO WE ARE, AS BEINGS VISITING SENIOR FELLOW AT THE INTERNATIONAL INEQUALITIES INSTITUTE AT
IN THIS WORLD. THE LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS
➢“BUT WHERE THE DANGER IS, GROWS THE SAVING POWER •HE IS ASSOCIATE EDITOR OF THE JOURNAL WORLD DEVELOPMENT, AND SERVES
ALSO. ” – HOLDERIN ON THE STATISTICAL ADVISORY PANEL FOR THE UN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
➢HEIDEGGER EXPRESSED THAT THE VARIOUS PROBLEMS REPORT, THE ADVISORY BOARD OF THE GREEN NEW DEAL FOR EUROPE, AND THE
BROUGHT ABOUT BY HUMAN DEPENDENCE ON TECHNOLOGY HARVARD-LANCET COMMISSION ON REPARATIONS AND REDISTRIBUTIVE
CANNOT BE SIMPLY RESOLVED BY REFUSING TECHNOLOGY JUSTICE.
ALTOGETHER.
TOPIC 03: THE GOOD LIFE
❑EVERYONE IS IN PURSUIT OF THE GOOD LIFE. WE DO CERTAIN THINGS ❑Furthermore, according to Aristotle, happiness is the ultimate end of human
BECAUSE WE WANT TO ACHIEVE A LIFE WHICH WILL MAKE US HAPPY action. It is that which people pursue for its own sake. ❑ALL THESE AND
AND CONTENT. MORE ARE PURSUED FOR THE SAKE OF HAPPINESS

NICOMACHEAN ETHICS AND MODERN CONCEPTS ❑“ NOW SUCH A THING AS HAPPINESS ABOVE ALL ELSE, IS HELD TO BE; FOR
❑GREEK PHILOSOPHER ARISTOTLE (WHOSE WORK SPANS FROM THIS WE CHOOSE ALWAYS FOR ITSELF AND NEVER FOR THE SAKE OF
NATURAL PHILOSOPHY TO LOGIC AND POLITICAL THEORY, ATTEMPTED SOMETHING ELSE, BUT HONOR, PLEASURE, REASON, AND EVERY VIRTUE WE
TO EXPLAIN WHAT THE GOOD IS. CHOOSE INDEED FOR THEMSELVES, BUT WE CHOOSE THEM ALSO FOR THE
❑IN NICOMACHEAN ETHICS, ARISTOTLE STATED: “ALL HUMAN SAKE OF HAPPINESS, JUDGING THAT BY MEANS OF THEM WE SHALL BE HAPPY.
ACTIVITIES AIM AT SOME GOOD. EVERY ART AND HUMAN INQUIRY, HAPPINESS, ON THE OTHER HAND, NO ONE CHOOSES FOR ANYTHING OTHER
AND SIMILARLY EVERY HUMAN ACTION PURSUIT, IS THOUGHT TO AIM THAN ITSELF. ” -(NICOMACHEAN ETHICS 2:7).
AT SOME GOOD; AND FOR THIS REASON, THE GOOD HAS BEEN RIGHTLY
DECLARED AS THAT AT WHICH ALL THINGS AIM. ” - (NICOMACHEAN ❑HAPPINESS DEFINES A GOOD LIFE. THIS HAPPINESS, HOWEVER, IS NOT THE
ETHICS 2:2) KIND THAT COMES FROM SENSATE PLEASURES. IT IS THAT WHICH COMES
❑Everyone is moving towards the good. FROM LIVING A LIFE OF VIRTUE. ❑BY PRACTICING BEING HONEST, BRAVE,
❑The good is expressed and manifested in many various ways for JUST, GENEROUS, AND SO ON, A PERSON DEVELOPS AN HONORABLE AND
different persons and circumstances. The good life, however, is more MORAL CHARACTER. ACCORDING TO ARISTOTLE, BY HONING VIRTUOUS
than these countless expressions of what is good. It is characterized by HABITS, PEOPLE WILL LIKELY MAKE THE RIGHT CHOICE WHEN FACED WITH
happiness that springs from living and doing well. ETHICAL CHALLENGES.
❑“ … BOTH THE MANY AND THE CULTIVATED CALL IT HAPPINESS, AND ❑“ IT IS THE ACTIVITIES THAT EXPRESS VIRTUE THAT CONTROL HAPPINESS,
SUPPOSE THAT LIVING WELL AND DOING WELL ARE THE SAME AS AND THE CONTRARY ACTIVITIES THAT CONTROL ITS CONTRARY. ” -
BEING HAPPY”- (NICOMACHEAN ETHICS 1:4) (NICOMACHEAN ETHICS 1:10).
❑THE ANCIENT GREEKS CALLED THIS CONCEPT OF “LIVING WELL AND ❑THE GOOD LIFE IS MARKED BY HAPPINESS BROUGHT ABOUT BY VIRTUOUS
DOING WELL” AS EUDAIMONIA. HUMAN ACTIONS AND DECISIONS THAT AFFECT THE INDIVIDUAL SELF AND
❑GREEK WORD EU MEANING “GOOD” THE GREATER COMMUNITY.
❑DAIMON MEANING “SPIRIT”.
❑TAKEN ALTOGETHER, IT GENERALLY REFERS TO GOOD LIFE, WHICH ❑Virtue plays a significant role in the living and attainment of the good life.
MARKED BY HAPPINESS AND EXCELLENCE. Virtuous actions require discipline and practice. On the other hand, activities
contrary to virtue are those which do not result in happiness.
❑“ VIRTUE, THEN, BEING OF TWO KINDS, INTELLECTUAL AND MORAL. ❑THE UDHR BEGINS, “WHEREAS RECOGNITION OF THE INHERENT DIGNITY
INTELLECTUAL VIRTUE IN THE MAIN OWES ITS BIRTH AND GROWTH TO BAND OF EQUAL AND INALIENABLE RIGHTS OF ALL MEMBERS OF THE HUMAN
TEACHING (FOR WHICH REASON IT REQUIRES EXPERIENCE AND TIME), FAMILY IS THE FOUNDATION OF FREEDOM, JUSTICE AND PEACE IN THE WORLD”
WHILE MORAL VIRTUE COMES ABOUT AS A RESULT OF HABIT. (UDHR PREAMBLE).
”(NICOMACHEAN ETHICS 2:1) ❑AS IMPLIED, EVERYONE HAS ABSOLUTE MORAL WORTH BY VIRTUE OF BEING
HUMAN. HUMAN DIGNITY IS THE ULTIMATE CORE VALUE OF OUR EXISTENCE.
❑THE ONWARD PROGRESS OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IS ALSO THE
❑HUMAN BEINGS BECOME FREER WHEN WE ARE EMPOWERED TO MAKE
MOVEMENT TOWARDS THE GOOD LIFE. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ARE
CHOICES FOR OUR FLOURISHING. WE BECOME MORE RATIONAL WHEN WE ARE
ONE OF THE HIGHEST EXPRESSIONS OF HUMAN FACULTIES. THEY ALLOW
ABLE TO VALUE AND APPLY THE PRINCIPLES OF LOGIC AND SCIENCE IN OUR
US TO THRIVE AND FLOURISH IN LIFE IF WE SO DESIRE IT. SCIENCE AND
LIVES.
TECHNOLOGY MAY ALSO CORRUPT A PERSON, BUT GROUNDING
ONESELF IN VIRTUE WILL HELP HIM/HER STEER CLEAR OF DANGER. The first seven (7) articles of the UDHR encapsulated the
WHAT THEN CONSTITUTES A GOOD LIFE? (ARIOLA, spirit of this so-called “milestone document in the history of
2018) human rights.” They are as follows:
1. PRODUCE AS MUCH AS YOU CAN.
2. DEVELOP GOOD FRIENDS.
ARTICLE 1
3. KEEP YOUR CULTURE ALIVE. “ALL HUMAN BEINGS ARE BORN FREE AND EQUAL IN DIGNITY AND RIGHTS.
4. YOUR SPIRITUALITY COUNTS A LOT. THEY ARE ENDOWED WITH REASON AND CONSCIENCE AND SHOULD ACT
5. DON’T MISS ANYTHING. TOWARDS ONE ANOTHER IN THE SPIRIT OF BROTHERHOOD. ”
6. INSPIRE YOUR FAMILY AND THE INNER CIRCLE.
ARTICLE 2
TOPIC 04: WHEN TECHNOLOGY AND HUMANITY “EVERYONE IS ENTITLED TO ALL THE RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS SET FORTH IN THIS
DECLARATION, WITHOUT DISTINCTION OF ANY KIND, SUCH AS COLOR, SEX,
CROSS LANGUAGE, RELIGION, POLITICAL OR OTHER OPINION, NATIONAL OR SOCIAL
❑THE GOOD LIFE ENTAILS LIVING IN A JUST AND PROGRESSIVE SOCIETY ORIGIN, PROPERTY, BIRTH OR OTHER STATUS. FURTHERMORE, NO DISTINCTION
WHOSE CITIZENS HAVE THE FREEDOM TO FLOURISH. SHALL BE MADE ON THE BASIS OF THE POLITICAL, JURISDICTIONAL OR
❑THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY PROCLAIMED THE INTERNATIONAL STATUS OF THE COUNTRY OR TERRITORY TO WHICH A PERSON
UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS (UDHR) ON DECEMBER 10, BELONGS, WHETHER IT BE INDEPENDENT, TRUST, NON-SELF-GOVERNING OR
1948 AS THE GLOBAL RIGHT FOR UNIVERSAL RECOGNITION AND UNDER ANY OTHER LIMITATION OF SOVEREIGNTY. ”
PROTECTION.
ARTICLE 3 ❑THE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS HAS A LONG, BLOODY
HISTORY. CRAFTED IN 1948, AFTER WORLD WAR II, THE UDHR NOW SERVES AS
“EVERYONE HAS THE RIGHT TO LIFE, LIBERTY, AND SECURITY OF PERSON. ” COMMON UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT EACH PERSON’S FUNDAMENTAL
ARTICLE 4 RIGHTS ARE. THESE RIGHTS APPLY TO EVERYONE, EVERYWHERE. IT IS
IMPERATIVE THAT WE ALL KNOW AND LIVE THESE RIGHTS TO PREVENT
“NO ONE SHALL BE HELD IN SLAVERY OR SERVITUDE, SLAVERY, AND THE INJUSTICE AND OPPRESSION.
SLAVE TRADE SHALL BE PROHIBITED IN ALL THEIR FORMS. ”
✓Sex Trafficking HUMANS VS. ROBOTS
✓Child Sex Trafficking ❑THE RISE OF THE MACHINES ACCOMPANYING THE PROGRESS IN SCIENCE
✓Forced Labor AND TECHNOLOGY MAY RENDER HUMAN USELESS. MANUAL LABOR IS
✓Domestic Servitude GRADUALLY BEING REPLACED BY MACHINERY. COMPUTERS BECOME MORE
✓Forced Child Labor AND MORE SOPHISTICATED.
✓Unlawful Recruitment and Use of Child Soldiers ❑ROBOTS, USUALLY DESIGNED LIKE HUMAN BEINGS, ARE CREATED TO
PERFORM COMPLEX, REPETITIVE, OR DANGEROUS TASKS. WITH THE
ARTICLE 5 DEVELOPMENT OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI), ROBOTS MAY ALSO
“NO ONE SHALL BE SUBJECTED TO TORTURE OR TO CRUEL, INHUMAN OR EVENTUALLY ACT AND DECIDE LIKE HUMANS.
DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT. ” ❑IN THE POSSIBILITY THAT MACHINES ADOPT THE NATURE OF HUMANS,
THERE IS A NEED TO REFLECT ON THE ETHICAL PROBLEMS POSED BY SUCH
ARTICLE 6
DEVELOPMENT.
“EVERYONE HAS THE RIGHT TO RECOGNITION EVERYWHERE AS A PERSON
BEFORE THE LAW. ” “AS WE COME RELY ON COMPUTERS TO MEDIATE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF
THE WORLD, IT IS OUR OWN INTELLIGENCE THAT FLATTENS INTO ARTIFICIAL
ARTICLE 7 INTELLIGENCE. ” -NICOLAS CARR (2008)
“ALL ARE EQUAL BEFORE THE LAW AND ARE ENTITLED WITHOUT ANY
DISCRIMINATION TO EQUAL PROTECTION OF THE LAW. ALL ARE ENTITLED
WHY THE FUTURE DOES NOT NEED US?
❑CHIEF SCIENTIST AND CORPORATE EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF SUN
TO EQUAL PROTECTION AGAINST ANY DISCRIMINATION IN VIOLATION OF
MICROSYSTEM, BILL JOY, WROTE IN 2000 A CONTROVERSIAL ESSAY, “WHY THE
THIS DECLARATION AND AGAINST ANY INCITEMENT TO SUCH
FUTURE DOES NOT NEED US. ”
DISCRIMINATION. ”
❑IN HIS WORK, HE CONTENDED THAT OUR MOST POWERFUL 21ST-CENTURY
TECHNOLOGIES – GENETICS, NANOTECH, AND ROBOTICS (GNR) – ARE
THREATENING TO MAKE HUMANS AN ENDANGERED SPECIES.
WHY THE FUTURE DOES NOT NEED US
❑THIS POSSIBLE EXTINCTION OF THE SPECIES MAY LARGELY COME ABOUT
DUE TO THE UNREFLECTIVE AND UNQUESTIONING ACCEPTANCE OF NEW
TECHNOLOGIES BY HUMANS.

GENETICS
❑THE GENETICS REVOLUTION WILL ALLOW US TO REPROGRAM OUR
OWN BIOLOGY.

NANOTECHNOLOGY
❑THE NANOTECHNOLOGY REVOLUTION WILL ALLOW US TO MANIPULATE
MATTER AT THE MOLECULAR AND ATOMIC SCALE.

ROBOTICS
❑THE ROBOTICS REVOLUTION WILL ALLOW US TO CREATE A GREATER
THAN HUMAN NON-BIOLOGICAL INTELLIGENCE.