This is a property of

PRESIDENT RAMON MAGSAYSAY STATE UNIVERSITY

NOT FOR SALE
 Science, Technology, and Society

CHAPTER 2
SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY
AND THE HUMAN CONDITION

Credit Image Source: joyceivy.blogspot.com

2
 Science, Technology, and Society

Lesson 2
The Good Life and the Role of
Technology to Achieve It

Credit Image Source: pinterst.com

3
 Science, Technology, and Society

Introduction:

In ancient Greece, long before the word “Science” has been coined, the need to
understand the world and reality was bound with the need to understand the self and
the good life. For Plato, the task of understanding the things in the world runs parallel
with the job of truly getting into what will make the soul flourish. In attempt to
understand reality and the external world, man must seek to understand himself, too. It
was Aristotle who gave a definitive distinction between the theoretical and practical
sciences. Among the theoretical disciplines, Aristotle included logic, biology, physics,
and metaphysics, among others. Among the practical ones, Aristotle counted ethics and
politics. Whereas “truth’ is the aim of the theoretical sciences, the “good” is the end
goal of the practical ones.
Every attempt to know is connected in some way in an attempt to find the
“good” or as said in the previous lesson, the attainment of human flourishing. Rightly
so, one must find the truth about what the good is before one can even try to locate that
which is good.

Lesson Objectives:
At the end of this lesson, the students should be able to:
1. examine what is meant by a good life;
2. identify how humans attempt to attain what is deemed to be a good life; and
3. recognize possibilities available to human being to attain the good life.

Duration Class = 3 hours

Lesson Proper
According to Aristotle, the good life is the happy life, as he believes happiness
is an end in itself. In the Nichomachean Ethics, Aristotle develops a theory of the good
life, also known as eudaimonia, for humans. Eudaimonia is perhaps best translated as
flourishing or living well and doing well. Therefore, when Aristotle addresses the good
life as the happy life, he does not mean that the good life is simply one of feeling happy
or amused. Rather, the good life for a person is the active life of functioning well in
those ways that are essential and unique to humans. Aristotle invites the fact that if we
have happiness, we do not need any other things making it an intrinsic value. In
contrast, things such as money or power are extrinsic valuables as they are all means to
an end. Usually, opinions vary as to the nature and conditions of happiness. Aristotle
argues that although ‘pleasurable amusements’ satisfy his formal criteria for the good,
since they are chosen for their own sake and are complete in themselves, nonetheless,
they do not make up the good life since, “it would be absurd if our end were amusement,
and we laboured and suffered all our lives for the sake of amusing ourselves.”
Happiness can be viewed as wealth, honour, pleasure, or virtue. Aristotle
believes that wealth is not happiness, because wealth is just an economic value, but can
be used to gain some happiness; wealth is a means to further ends. The good life,
according to Aristotle, is an end in itself. Similar to wealth, honour is not happiness

4
 Science, Technology, and Society

because honour emphases on the individuals who honour in comparison to the honoree.
Honour is external, but happiness is not.

Happiness as the Goal of Good Life

“Happiness depends on ourselves.” More than anybody else, Aristotle enshrines
happiness as a central purpose of human life and a goal in itself. As a result he devotes
more space to the topic of happiness than any thinker prior to the modern era. Living
during the same period as Mencius, but on the other side of the world, he draws some
similar conclusions.
That is, happiness depends on the cultivation of virtue, though his virtues are
somewhat more individualistic than the essentially social virtues of the Confucians. Yet
as we shall see, Aristotle was convinced that a genuinely happy life required the
fulfillment of a broad range of conditions, including physical as well as mental well-
being. In this way he introduced the idea of a science of happiness in the classical sense,
in terms of a new field of knowledge.
Essentially, Aristotle argues that virtue is achieved by maintaining the Mean,
which is the balance between two excesses. Aristotle’s doctrine of the Mean is
reminiscent of Buddha’s Middle Path, but there are intriguing differences. For Aristotle
the mean was a method of achieving virtue, but for Buddha the Middle Path referred to
a peaceful way of life which negotiated the extremes of harsh asceticism and sensual
pleasure seeking. The Middle Path was a minimal requirement for the meditative life,
and not the source of virtue in itself.

Materialism
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.
The word materialism has been used in modern times to refer to a family
of metaphysical theories (i.e., theories of the nature of reality) that can best be defined
by saying that a theory tends to be called materialist if it is felt sufficiently to resemble
a paradigmatic theory that will here be called mechanical materialism.

Hedonism
Hedonism holds that the preponderance of pleasure over pain is the recipe for
happiness even if this is not what one desires most. Desire theory holds that that
fulfillment of a desire contributes to one's happiness regardless of the amount of
pleasure (or displeasure).
Hedonism is a way of life, characterized by openness to pleasurable experience.
There are many qualms about hedonism. It is rejected on moral grounds and said to be
detrimental to long-term happiness. Several mechanisms for this 'paradox of hedonism'
have been suggested and telling examples of pleasure seekers ending up in despair have
been given. But is that the rule? If so, how much pleasure is too much? An overview of
the available knowledge is given in this paper. The relation between hedonism and
happiness has been studied at two levels: that of the nation and the individual. At the

5
 Science, Technology, and Society

national level average happiness is correlated with moral acceptance of pleasure and
with active leisure. At the individual level it is similarly linked with hedonistic attitudes
and also correlated with hedonistic behaviours such as frequent sex and use of
stimulants. In most cases the pattern is linearly positive. The relation between happiness
and consumption of stimulants follows an inverted U-curve, spoilsports and guzzlers
are less happy than modest consumers.

Stoicism
Stoicism holds that the key to a good, happy life is the cultivation of an excellent
mental state, which the Stoics identified with virtue and being rational. The ideal life is
one that is in harmony with Nature, of which we are all part, and an attitude of calm
indifference towards external events.

Theism
Most people find the meaning of their lives using God as fulcrum of their
existence. The Philippines, as a predominantly Catholic country, is witness to how
people base their life goals on beliefs that hinged on some form of supernatural reality
called heaven. The ultimate basis of happiness for theist is the communication with
God. The world where 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.

Humanism
Humanism as a movement firstly emerged during the 14th century in Italy
where it gave significance to its epoch, the Renaissance. It involved a rebirth of the
study of Greek and ancient Latin authors that were unaffected by the Christian thoughts
and explanations. Secondly, humanism gained more popularity during the 17th-century
enlightenment since it believed in humanity’s ability to change nature and society
according to its needs and aimed attention at the importance of the value of human
beings.
According to humanism thoughts, the meaning of life is not something waiting
to be discovered, but something that we create in our own lives. Therefore, in order for
a human being to give its life a meaning, one should pursue the happiness in life and
help others to do the same.
Humanists reject the idea or belief in a supernatural being such as God. This
means that humanists class themselves as agnostic or atheist.
Humanists have no belief in an afterlife, and so they focus on seeking happiness
in this life. They rely on science for the answers to questions such as creation, and base
their moral and ethical decision-making on reason, empathy and compassion for others.
Humanists are concerned with human welfare and happiness and believe that
this is the one and only life and world they have.
As a result, they believe that people should make the most of their lives while
on Earth. However, they also believe that they have a duty to support others to live
fulfilling lives too – this includes people who are alive today as well as future
generations.

6
 Science, Technology, and Society

Because humanists do not believe in any kind of god or supernatural force that
will solve their problems, they believe that human beings must take sole responsibility
for solving the world's environmental problems. Only humans are capable of finding
the solutions that can lead to a sustainable existence.

References
Achterhuis, H. 2001. “Introduction: American Philosophers of Technology.” In
American Philosophy of Technology, ed. H. Achterhuis and trans R. Crease.

Bloomington: Indiana University Press. Augustine. ST. 2001. The Confessions, trans
P. Burton. London: Everyman Publishers.
Borgmann, A. 1984. Technology and the Character of Contemporary Life. Chicago:
University of Chicago Press. Buber, M. 1996. I and Thou, trans W. Kaufmann.
New York: Touchstone.
Cooper, J. 2000. Java Design Patterns. Boston: Addison-Wesley
Davis, B. W. 2007. Heidegger and the Will: On the Way to Gelassenheit, Evanston, Il:
Northwestern University Press.
De Botton, A. 2005. Status Anxiety. London: Penguin. Dionysius the Areopagite.
2004.

7
 Science, Technology, and Society

Learner’s Feedback Form

Name of Student: ___________________________________________________

Program : ___________________________________________________
Year Level : ___________ Section : ___________
Faculty : ___________________________________________________
Schedule : ___________________________________________________

Learning Module :Number: _________ Title : _____________________

How do you feel about the topic or concept presented?

□I completely get it. □ I’m struggling.
□I’ve almost got it. □ I’m lost.

In what particular portion of this learning packet, you feel that you are struggling or
lost?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

Did you raise your concern to your instructor? □ Yes □ No

If Yes, what did he/she do to help you?

_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

If No, state your reason?

_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

To further improve this learning packet, what part do you think should be enhanced?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

How do you want it to be enhanced?

_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________