SCITES MIDTERM FLASHCARDS

• According to Ayush Raj :

  -The goal of science is the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake.

  -The goal of technology is to create products that solve problems and improve human

  life.

  -Technology is the practical application of science.
• Freedom is the capacity of choosing what is good and performing good deeds.
• St. Augustine Reminders on Human Freedom :

  1. Our freedom needs to be liberated.

  2. Freedom is choosing to do good & for the good.
• Augustine acknowledges that the Supreme Good must be the source of happiness.
• Martin Heidegger-German philosopher said we tend to be chained to technology. It constitutes human activity and a means to achieve a purpose. According to him, technology doesn't just affect how we use tools; it also changes who we are as people. He thinks this change is risky or even harmful. With technology, we start to see everything, including people, as resources to be used however we want.
• Enframing (Gestell)

  • the “essence” of the technological – essence, not in the traditional

  sense of a permanent and unchangeable character or set of properties, but in the sense of a predominant way of disclosing meaning which “gives” the instrumentally useful its familiar “instrumental” sense.
• Aletheia

  • Greek words “truth or disclosure
• Calculative thinking

  • makes us entirely mechanistic as it implies that there is a way to

  categorize everyone and everything in the world. It calculates & plans all things & sets goals to be obtained.
• Meditative thinking is a type of thinking that requires being observant & aware of what is happening around; it is trying to see & being awake of the development of things without projecting a goal for them.
• Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche on Art

  • a german philosopher who thought deeply about life and human nature. When he talks about art, he means things like paintings, music, literature, and other creative expressions. He believed that art is important because it helps us understand truths that can't be explained by reason alone. He thought that art reveals deeper meanings and emotions that go beyond logical thinking. He also believed that sometimes the truth can be difficult or painful to accept, and art helps us cope with these truths.
• Immanuel Kant on Disinterested Pleasure and Aesthetics

  • a philosopher who talked about beauty and aesthetics. When he talks about "disinterested pleasure," he means enjoying something purely for its beauty, without being influenced by personal interests or desires.
• Carl Mitcham

  • American thinker who authored the essay “Three Ways of Being with Technology. This is his way of addressing the issue whether humanity shapes technology or it is technology that inevitably has a significant influence on how humanity lives.
• Ancient Skepticism

  • Humans see any technology as dangerous until it is proven to be good.
• Enlightenment optimism

  • tells us that technology is inherently good while the evils that go with it are only accidental in character
• Romantic Uneasiness

  • Technology is viewed as one with nature which is evolving into something that can be liberated through the will power of humans.
• Sophists

  • thought that people should use knowledge to improve themselves. They believed there was no absolute right or wrong, developed the art of public speaking and debate
• Socrates

  • He was a critic of the Sophists. He believed there is an absolute right or wrong. He created the socratic method teaching.
• Plato

  • He rejected the idea of democracy as a form of government. Plato believed that the philosopher-kings should rule. He describes his ideal vision of how government works in his book Republic.
• Aristotle

  • Taught of the idea of the Golden Mean. He believed observation and comparison were necessary to gain knowledge. He wrote over 200 books on philosophy and science. He divided all governments into 3 basic types.
• Epicurus

  • taught his students that happiness was the goal in life. The way to be happy was to seek out continual physical pleasures. It also meant a life free from worry and responsibility.
• Stoics

  • Started by a Phoenician named Zeno. Taught that happiness came from following reason, not emotions.
• Eudaimonia

  • According to Aristotle, it is the condition of human flourishing or of living well.
• Human flourishing is always associated with happiness.
• To attain happiness, it is necessary to act in congruence with Right Reason.
• Rationality

  • entails deliberation and choice. Our potential is achieved in knowing what to do and deliberating about it and choosing to do it.
• The most important moral virtues or habits are moderation, courage, and justice.
• Moderation keeps us from overindulging in pleasure or seeking too much of the limited goods.
• Courage is having the disposition to do what it takes to live a good life.
• Justice is the virtue that allows us to have friends and enjoy the benefits of cooperation.
• Humanism focuses on “human dignity, beauty, and potential.”
• One thinker who can be associated with humanism and the enlightenment era is Francois-Marie Arouet or widely known as Voltaire. He asserted that human life and its purpose is not to reach heaven through pious acts and sacrifices but to attain happiness through the progress of sciences and arts since through sciences and arts humans can attain what their nature is destined
• Human beings are made in the image and likeness of God.
• Pope Francis in his Encyclical Letter Laudato Si
• Power has been always associated as to respond from alleged utility and security.
• Man now is seen as the master of all and can manipulate all things through his creative capacity.
• Aristotle upheld moderation to avoid apathy and greed; courage to choose to live a good life over bad; and justice to consider others in order not to cause them pain and suffering.
• Pope Francis upholds each man’s sense of responsibility for all of humankind and the common home, which is the earth.
• Technology is a tool and science is the underlying principle used in it. Both should be used to achieve a better society and for all people to enjoy a good life.
• Four Components of Biodiversity:

  1. Species Diversity

  2. Genetic Diversity

  3. Ecological Diversity

  4. Functional Diversity
• Species Diversity

  • The number and abundance of species present in different communities