Module 4
The progress in human civilization throughout history represents the development of science and
technology. As the person flourishes and finds the meaning of his existence in the midst the technological
advancement, he may consciously or unconsciously acquire, consume, and destroy what the world has to
offer.
Science and technology have been part of human existence and may have brought positive and
negative impacts on human flourishing. To understand and appreciate the true nature of science and
technology, the German philosopher - Martin Heidegger- encouraged us to examine not only the function
and instrumentality but also the greater impact on humanity.
Flourishing – or human-well being encompasses a broad range of states and outcomes including
happiness and life satisfaction, meaning and purpose, character and virtue, and close social relationship
(VanderWeele, 2017).
Technology as a mode of revealing – The essence of a thing is considered to be what the thing is
Human flourishing may be defined or described from different perspectives
Human Flourishing according to Aristotle
Human flourishing can be captured by the term eudaimonia. It is defined as a contented state of
being happy, healthy, and prosperous. It is also known as "an effort to attain self-discovery and
fulfillment within the setting of society, each with the right to pursue his or her effort to achieve such
state." (McNamara, et al. 2020).
For Aristotle, the ultimate purpose of a person is earthly happiness or flourishing. This can be
achieved through reason and the acquisition of virtue. Each human being should use abilities to their
fullest potential and should take pride in being excellent at what they do (Younkins, 2003). It follows that,
for Aristotle, the "good" is what is objectively good for a particular man. Aristotle's eudaimonia is formally
egoistic in that a person's normative reason for choosing particular actions stems from the idea that he
must pursue his own good or flourishing. Because self-interest is flourishing, the good in human conduct
is connected to the self-interest of the acting person.
Human Flourishing in the Christian Perspectives
According to Sallade (n.d.), "a flourishing life will be a life lived in right relationship with God, with
one's environment, with neighbors, and with self". Human flourishing is understood as the fulfillment of
God’s good purposes for human creatures and includes the dimensions of relationship with God,
relationships with others, living a physically embodied and integrated life, and living out a particular
vocation in a particular place and time (Messer, 2013).
HUMANS as CREATURES (Messer, 2013)
1. “creature” is a theological category.
2. “creature” is a normative or evaluative as well as descriptive category.
3. “creature” is a teleological category: one that implies purposes, goals, or ends.
Human Flourishing in the socio-psychological perspective
Vanderweele (2017) purported that human flourishing is “a state in which all aspects of a
person’s life are good.”. It includes the five domains of human life - happiness and life satisfaction,
mental and physical health, meaning and purpose, character and virtue, and close social relationships.
Flourishing itself might be understood as a state in which all aspects of a person’s life are good. We might
also refer to such a state as complete human well-being, which is again arguably a broader concept than
psychological well-being. Conceptions of what constitutes flourishing will be numerous and views on the
concept will differ.
Five aspects of human existence
1. Happiness and life satisfaction
2. Mental and physical health
3. Meaning and purpose
4. Character and virtue
5. Close social relationships
The domains presented by Vanderweele, Xi & Lee (2021) purported that having inner peace also
contributes to attaining human flourishing and should be part of the assessed domains.
In the quest for happiness, human beings endeavor to provide for their needs and to achieve
happiness in the different domains of human life. Attaining flourishing therefore has consequences.
The human person as both the bearer and beneficiary of science and technology, flourishes and
finds meaning in the world that he/she builds.
In the person’s pursuit of good life, he/she may unconsciously acquire or destroy what the world
has to offer.
It is thus necessary to reflect on the things that truly matter as the German philosopher Martin
Heidegger says meditative thinking.
Martin Heidegger encourages as to question technology and see beyond our common understanding of
it.
Born September 26, 1889, Germany
A German philosopher
Martin Heidegger, one of the prominent figures in Philosophy had written eloquently about his thoughts
on technology. He was a German philosopher whose work is perhaps most readily associated with
phenomenology and existentialism, although his thinking should be identified as part of such
philosophical movements only with extreme care and qualification. His ideas have exerted a seminal
influence on the development of contemporary European philosophy.
His concerns were existentialist concerns, questions about how to live “authentically” that is, with
integrity, in a politically and technologically seductive and dangerous world.
Heidegger strongly opposes the view that technology is “a means to an end” or “a human
activity.” These two approaches, which Heidegger calls, respectively, the “instrumental” and
“anthropological” definitions, are indeed “correct”, but do not go deep enough; as he says, they are not
yet “true.” Unquestionably, Heidegger points out, technological objects are means for ends, and are built
and operated by human beings, but the essence of technology is something else entirely. Just as the
essence of a tree is not itself a tree, Heidegger points out, so the essence of technology is not anything
technological.
Technology, according to Heidegger must be understood as “a way of revealing” (Heidegger
1977, 12). “Revealing” is one of the terms Heidegger developed himself in order to make it possible to
think what, according to him, is not thought anymore. It is his translation of the Greek word alètheuein,
which means ‘to discover’ – to uncover what was covered over. Related to this verb is the independent
noun alètheia, which is usually translated as “truth,” though Heidegger insists that a more adequate
translation would be “un-concealment.”
According to Heidegger, there is something wrong with the modern, technological culture we live
in today. In our ‘age of technology’ reality can only be present as a raw material (as a ‘standing reserve’).
This state of affairs has not been brought about by humans; the technological way of revealing was not
chosen by humans. Rather, our understanding of the world – our understanding of ‘being’, of what it
means ‘to be’ – develops through the ages. In our time ‘being’ has the character of a technological
‘framework’, from which humans approach the world in a controlling and dominating way.
"The Question Concerning Technology"
"Four causes”
• the “causa materialis, the material, the matter out of which" something is made;
• the “causa formalis, the form, the shape into which the material enters”
• the “causa finalis, the end, in relation to which [the thing] required is determined as to its form
and matter";
• the "causa efficiens, which brings about the effect that is the finished [thing]”.
The major difficulty with the present discussion of technology is the fact that we focus attention on what
we call technology in its everyday sense and we ignore technology in its essence. In this situation, it
matters little whether we embrace technology or condemn it, for we are all equally enslaved by our
misunderstanding of what technology actually is. According to Heidegger, "technology [in its everyday
sense] is not equivalent to the essence of technology." (P. 4) To be free of misunderstandings, to relate to
technology intelligently, we must find its central meaning and that can be done only by discovering its
essence.
In our present point of view, we see technology as a complex of contrivances and technical skills,
put forth by human activity and developed as means to our ends. Technology, in this view, is an object, or
a complex of objects and techniques, that seems passive itself; indeed, we conceive of it as activated by
us only. According to Heidegger, however, we are fundamentally mistaken in this; "we are delivered over
to it in the worst possible way when we regard it as something neutral." (P. 4) On the contrary, the
essence of technology reveals it as something far from neutral or merely an instrument of human control;
it is an autonomous organizing activity within which humans themselves are organized. Viewing
technology as a means to an end, "everything depends on our manipulating technology in the proper
manner...We will, as we say, 'get' technology 'spiritually in hand.'...But suppose now that technology was
no mere means, how would it stand with the will to master it?" (P. 5) How, indeed, can we cope with it if
it encompasses us in its organizational activity
We have arrived at the opening of the essence of modern technology. Technology is a mode of
the fundamental way in which things happen in the universe and we, as agents, are involved in this
happening within the cooperative elements of causation. But technology has evolved through the
intervening three millennia; what was previously called 'techne' and was a form of the general process of
bringing-forth has separated into different modes of revealing. What we understand as modern
technology can scarcely be recognized as having a common origin with the fine arts or crafts; indeed,
modern technology is distinguished in having made its "alliance" with modern physical science rather
than with the arts and crafts. Therefore, to understand technology as it is today and in its complete
essence, we must understand the course of that separate and unique evolution.
Heidegger clearly saw the development of "energy resources" as symbolic of this evolutionary
path; while the transformation into modern technology undoubtedly began early, the first definitive signs
of its new character began with the harnessing of energy resources, as we would say.
Once he has discussed enframing, Heidegger highlights the threat of technology. As he states,
this threat "does not come in the first instance from the potentially lethal machines and apparatus of
technology". Rather, the threat is the essence because "the rule of enframing threatens man with the
possibility that it could be denied to him to enter into a more original revealing and hence to experience
the call of a more primal truth".[7] This is because challenging-forth conceals the process of bringing-
forth, which means that truth itself is concealed and no longer unrevealed. Unless humanity makes an
effort to re-orient itself, it will not be able to find revealing and truth.
Martin Heidegger urged people to envision technology as a mode of revealing as it shows so much more
about the human person and the world.
What is technology?
Technology itself is contrivance, means to an end. It is a product of human endeavor, intelligence, and
creativity. It is a way of bringing forth, a making of something. (POISES)
Ex: technology brings unity and division in the society
Modern technology as challenging forth.
Ex: Mining extract minerals and forcefully assigns the land as a means to provide for unending
demands of society.
Your experience with technology is the truth about technology
Ex:
Use of cellphone tells me that different people may interpret the text differently
Use of cellphone tells me that we can alter correct spelling
“Who’s free tonight to hang out?” becomes a menu of most recent people who texted us
“What’s happening in the world?” becomes a menu of news feed stories.
“Who’s single to go on a date?” becomes a menu of faces to swipe on Tinder.
“I have to respond to this email.” Becomes a menu of keys to type a response
When we wake up in the morning and turn our phone over to see a list of notifications – it frames the
experience of waking up in the morning around a menu of all the things I’ve missed since yesterday.
Social approval
Questioning as the piety thought
Submission to what his/her thought and reflections elicit (meditative thinking)
It is through this process that one builds a way towards knowing the truth of who/she is as being to this
world.
Enframing: a way of revealing in modern technology
Putting nature in a box so that it can be better understood and controlled according to people’s desire
(calculative thinking) – this reveals that people want security not uncertainty
Earth becomes a “standing-reserve for humans”.
People want control and are afraid of unpredictability, so calculative thinking if often used.
Human person swallowed by technology
If we allow ourselves to get swallowed by modern technology, we lose the essence of who we are as
beings in the world.
If we cannot let go of the conveniences and profits brought about by industries that pollute the
environment, then technology has consumes our humanity.
Art as a way of enframing
The poetry that is found in nature can no longer be easily appreciated when nature is enframed.
If the earth has just becomes a gas station for us, then we have become enframed as well.
“Incorporate more of the artist’s and poet’s vision into our own view of the world…so that… we can guard
against the dangers of enframing, and enter into a “free—constantly critical, constantly questioning—
relationship with technology that is making new incursions into our lives”.
Social Media
a collective term for websites and applications that focus on communication, community-based
input, interaction, content-sharing, and collaboration. It is one of the most influential technological
applications of this century.
Social Media platforms allow users to have conversations, share information, and create web
content. There are many forms of social media, including blogs, micro-blogs, wikis, social networking
sites, photo-sharing sites, instant messaging, video-sharing sites, podcasts, widgets, virtual worlds, and
more.
The Philippines topped the world as a social media user in 2018 (Camus, 2018). Social Media
Statistics in the Philippines show that of the total population of 107.3 million, 71% (76 million) are active
social media users. Of these users, 52.7% fall within the age range of 18-24 years old with an average
time spent of four hours and twelve minutes.
Social media is any digital tool that allows users to quickly create and share content with the
public. Social media encompasses a wide range of websites and apps. Some, like Twitter, specialize in
sharing links and short written messages. Others, like Instagram and TikTok, are built to optimize the
sharing of photos and videos. What makes social media unique is that it is both broad and relatively
uncensored. While many social media companies impose some limitations—such as taking down images
that display violence or nudity—there are much fewer limitations on what someone can share than there
with other means of mass communication like newspapers, radio stations, and television channels.
Types of Social Media
There are many different types of social media, and many services could fit into multiple categories. Here
are a few of the major types, along with some examples.
1. Social Networks
Social networks specialize in connecting and exchanging thoughts, ideas, and content with other users—
often with users who share tastes and interests. Facebook and Twitter are examples of social networks.
Though more professional than others, LinkedIn may be considered a social network, as well.
2. Media Networks
As opposed to social networks, which specialize in letting users share and exchange raw thoughts
and ideas, media networks specialize in distributing content like photographs and videos. Instagram and
YouTube are examples of this. A YouTube user, for example, will upload a video they've created, and
other users can "like," "dislike," or comment on the video. If they enjoy the video enough, a user may
choose to "subscribe" to the creator, so that new videos from that creator appear in their feed.
3. Discussion Networks
Discussion networks like Reddit are the ideal outlet for posts that can spark in-depth discussion
among users. Users can leave detailed responses in the comment section, and other users can respond
directly to those comments, allowing for conversations to grow and develop organically.
Hence, even though the intention was good, there are unintended consequences on the use of
social media. What is there to do to protect users? Weston said "tame the social media monster.
Key Points
Every person seeks happiness (and flourish).
Science and Technology can be an instrument to attain human flourishing.
Human flourishing must be achieved through a person's own efforts. Each person has a reason and free
will and the capacity to initiate conduct that will enhance or inhibit his flourishing.
Humans should be reflective and question rather than submit to the promises of technology because the
unintended consequences may be irreversible before revealing comes.
