MODULE 5. SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, SOCIETY AND HUMAN CONDITIONTHE HUMAN PERSON FLOURISHING IN TERMS OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGYThe progress of human civilizations throughout history mirrors the development of science and technology. 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 a person’s pursuit of the good life, he/she may unconsciously acquire, consume, or destroy what the world has to offer. It is thus necessary to reflect on things that truly matter. Science and technology must be taken as part of human life that merits reflective and as the German philosopher Martin Heidegger says- meditative thinking. Science and technology despite its methodological and technical nature, gives meaning to the life of the person making his/her way in the world.This lesson explains briefly the attributes and capacity of man and his role in relation to technology and to society. This lessons also establishes some philosophical considerations on how technology can be construed as a tool for higher purposes aside from the usual idea of it being the provider of more efficient and comfortable ways of achieving and doing things. Technology is a Product of Human Reason and Freedom. Man is rational and with this rationalitycomes also his creativity. To be able to appreciate the fruits of science and technology, they must be examined not only for their function and instrumentality but also for their greater impact on humanity as a whole.To understand the concepts of human flourishing, it is good to explore technology in its essence. Today, humans are much better off compared to those who lived centuries ago. Some of the notable comparisons of then and now include:EXAMPLE:Basis of ComparisonThenNow1. CommunicationSource: ?p=13151Before, having pen pals(Links to an external site.)in elementary school andbeing incredibly excited about writing letters and buying stamps. While there’s something very romantic about the idea of snail mail, it’s called snail mail for a reason—it’s slow and ultimately, inconvenient.Today, we use literally anything else but snail mail to communicate with each other. Whether it’s email, text, video chat, fax or instant messaging, we have an arsenal of technologies that allowus to contact each other without having tofind a mailbox. Technology has successfully shortenedcommunication from several days to mere minutes.
