LESSON 1:

MOTIVATION
Instructions: Rate the extent of your arrangement to the following statements using the
Osgood scale. You are also given space to write any comment to further clarify your
response.
Comments
Statement Agree Disagree
(if any)
Technology is a means to an end. 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Technology is a human activity. 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Poetry is technology. 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Nature is a standing-reserve. 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Man is an instrument of the exploitation of nature. 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Man is danger of being swallowed by technology. 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
There is a saving power or a ‘way out’ of the danger
of technology. 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Art may be the saving power. 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

EVALUATION/ASSESSMENT
Exercise 1: Questions for Reflection
Answer the following questions:
1. How is technology a mode of revealing?
- Technology is that everything we perceive or think of or interact with “emerges out
of concealment into uncertainty,” in Heidegger’s words. By entering into a particular
relation with reality, reality is revealed in a specific way.

2. In your daily experience of technology, what else is revealed to you aside from its
function?
- Technology brought changes in our modern generation, everything else is
revealed with the use of technology. Aside from its function, technology makes
sense on what was the living before when there is no technology and what was the
current living when there is technology.

3. Why should technology be questioned?

- Technology has been huge part of our daily lives. It has been part of our system
since the beginning. It has contributed to innovation of various things, and has
 helped a lot in the advancement of the communication and information field.
Technology should be questioned because they can work in both ways which is
good and bad. It can help you have an easy life, but it can also help you have a
hard time. It all depends on how we use it.

4. How is questioning the piety of thought?

- Questioning serves as the piety of thought because we keep asking out of
curiosity, we keep on searching and discovering in search for meaning of truth for
us to have thoughts because all we can do in today’s generation is to predict and to
continually explore and/pr discover.

5. How does art provide a way out of enframing?

- Art provides us with a way out of enframing by bringing us closer to poises and
further away from technology. Art activates our sensitivity if it even exists in an
individual.

Exercise 2: Art as Saving Power

Instructions: Heidegger explained that art holds power that could save humans from the
danger of being consumed by technology. In his words, “[art] is pious… yielding to the
holding-sway and the safekeeping of truth” (1977, p.18). In this activity, focus on art as
the saving power of technology. Form groups with four members each and look for an
artwork that ‘reveals’ the human person in the midst of technology. In class, brainstorm
for 30 minutes. Discuss the artwork in relation to the general concepts discussed in Martin
Heidegger’s The Question Concerning Technology and present your chosen artwork and
the summary of your discussion in front of the class.

[Insert a photo of your chosen artwork here.]

Exercise 3: The Danger of Technology

Instructions: Read the article below. After reading, work with a partner and answer the
questions that follow. Write your answers on a separate sheet of paper.
 Questions:
1. What is this data privacy scandal all about?
- The scandal is all about the most widely used social media platform which is
Facebook. The Facebook data privacy scandal focuses on the collection of personally
identifiable information of up to 87 million users.
2. How does this Facebook privacy scandal relate to Heidegger’s notion of revealing
of modern technology challenging forth?
- The facebook privacy scandal is related to Heidegger’s notion of revealing the
modern technology as challenging forth because as Facebook improperly shared the
personal data of 87 million users, this gave rise concerns about privacy and human rights
of the users of facebook.
3. How are Facebook users ‘enframed’ in this particular data privacy scandal?
- Facebook users were frightened because of their data was leaked to the public.
Because of this issue, they become sensitive to the things they are posting or sharing
information to the facebook.
4. How do you think Facebook can be used in a way that is more consistent with
Heidegger’s idea of poiesis or a bringing forth of technology?
- I think that Facebook can use as a way social interact. Facebook connects us or
socializes with other people that are far from us.
5. How can the Heideggerian notion of ‘questioning’ guide Facebook users toward a
beneficial use of social media?
- Heidegger’s notion of questioning guides us, the users that the truthful of
Facebook was manipulating us. We are too reliable on social media to the point that
is was destroying the society, it rips apart on how the society works.

LESSON 2:

Motivation

Instructions: Examine the picture and follow the prompt that follows.
Form groups with three members each and discuss your thoughts about the following:
1. How do you think overconsumption puts the planet and society at risk?
- Overconsumption worsen climate breakdown and increases air pollution and over
consumption can be a prolonged pattern and can affect the future.
2. What are the manifestation of society’s tendency to overproduce and
overconsume?
- In overproduce, most of the business tend to produce a lot of products that
could offer to the consumers. But not all consumers can afford to buy it.
3. Should middle- and high- income countries regulate their growth and
consumption? Why or why not?

Exercise 1: Reading Comprehension Task

Instructions: After reading Hickel’s article on the concept of de-development, answer the
following questions in two to three sentences.

1. What is the framework of de-development of rich countries all about?

- It is about shifting the idea of development from economic growth to life expectancy
and happiness.
2. How is the de-development framework different from traditional frameworks of
development?
-The de-development framework is about purposely stopping growth for the sake
of improving the state of living of development countries. On the other hand,
traditional ways of development keep the idea of growth without actually having
solutions to the problems regarding poverty and lack of respurces to consume in
other countries.
3. According to Hickel, how can rich countries de-develop?
- They can de-develop by minimizing the economic growth and abuse that leads to
inefficient way of utilizing the resources. And also, applying buen vivir which means
‘good living’ through the concept of reducing unnecessary consumption to make the
use of goods and products beneficial for everyone.

4. What does Hickel frown upon pundits using terms such as de-growth, zero growth,
or de-development in describing an alternative framework?
 - Because these “experts” may be accurate on conceptualization but does not
actually understand the essence of the idea. To infer about a certain idea without
true knowledge leads no understanding of situations, thus, no development is
going to happen.
5. Some people might think that de-development is about giving things up. How does
Hickel explain that this is not the case?
- Voluntarily staying in the steady-state does not mean an end in development
but rather lets the people reorient their true objectives in life; to live a happy life.
Which means to go to a higher level of understanding to be able to visualize what
is needed to sustain life without letting someone suffer in the taste of poverty.

Reflection

Answer the following questions:

1. Why must we change our paradigm of growth and consumption to that of “de-
development”?
- According to Jason Hickel “we must end poverty by changing the rules of the Global
Economy”. There are countries that are still experiencing poverty and trying to catch up,
but according to Hickel’s idea, we must change the course of economic development by
instead of poor countries to catch up with the rich ones, we should be getting rich countries
to catch down. We should think of ways for the rich countries to catch down with the poor
countries to make more appropriate levels of development.
2. What is the standard response to eradicating poverty?
- The standard response to eradicating poverty is growth. Growth has been the key focus of
development for the last 70 years, given the fact that is does not work.

3. What is the threshold of the Earth for adequately sustaining life?

- The threshold of the Earth for adequately sustaining life is probably very little once life
already exists. As long as there’s an input of energy, water in some form of solid, liquid, or
gas and access.

4. How have we been enframed by the notion of growth?

- We have been enframed by the notion of growth by how we contribute to the growth of
our economy and the measurement of our standard living. We are all overwhelmed with
the fact that science made developments possible. We always think that growth is always
connected with advancement. We spend money as much as we want and be greedy all the
time without even thinking that there are people who would love to have a good life.
 5. How do we improved our lives and yet reduce consumption?
- We can improve our lives and yet reduce consumption y determining our needs, not
the things we actually want that is not that useful. We need to focus more on the things
that would last long in our hands and have budget plan.

6. What are the similarities and differences between Heidegger’s The Question
Concerning Technology and Hickel’s article?
- Heidegger argues that the technology of the current world has become essential
in the day life and that the technology is highly advanced as compared to the old
days. On the other hand, Hickels argue that the technological innovation will be
no help in getting rid of natural disasters that occur in our world.

Exercise 2 : Documentary Film Analysis

Instructions: Watch and take notes on the Documentary film, The

Magician’s Twin: C. S. Lewis and the Case Against Scientism, available on YouTube
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPeyJvXU68k). Then, answer the following questions:

1. Why was C. S. Lewis very much a skeptic and critic of scientism? Was he against
science?
- C.S Lewis is not anti-science but was opposed to scientism, because it is a belief where
modern science supplies the only well-grounded method of knowledge about our
surroundings and the world and also, that scientists should be the ones to dictate our policy
and even our moral beliefs.
2. How did C. S. Lewis explain the following:
2.1. Science as religion
- Religion is the worldview that affects all the life and science is just one of the
areas that is affected.
2.2. Science as credulity
- Lewis observed that there are many people who easily believed when they heard
claims in the name of science. Without any explanation and evidences regarding to
the certain issue. So, he just wants to say that before believing to something, you
must know first where it comes from and how it was explained.
2.3. Science as power
- To the public, science with its capabilities and possibilities that are so great and
endless seems like magical with what you can n almost discover with science and
 also with what you can do with it. With the fear of unknown people submit to the
power of science.

3. Why did C. S. Lewis think that modern science is far more dangerous than magic?
- Because science is far more dangerous that magic because magic fails. If it does not
work then, people could not use it to control the world while science has the potential
that you really can’t control the people. If you find the right charge, the right
treatments, you can manipulate them. In science, you don’t have any other way of
protecting what you are doing and so it becomes dangerous.

4. Why did C. S. Lewis become increasingly concerned about the rise of

scientocracy? How does scientocracy relate to scientism?
- Because scientocracy is the effort hand over the reigns of cultural and political
power to an elite group of experts claiming to speak in the name of science. We
cannot guarantee that if we hand it over to them they would manipulate it to gain
their personal wants.

5. Based on what you learned in the documentary film, how does scientism pose a
threat to the human person flourishing in science and technology? Why should
science be guided by an ethical basis that is not dictated by science itself?
- I learned that a scientism poses a threat because it is the use of methods of science to explain
almost every part of human lives. With this, people can use it to manipulate and control others by
using information against them.