Eudaimonic Philosophy

• What is considered the highest good is almost completely agreed upon, but the meaning of happiness is debated.
• Uneducated and educated people identify happiness with a good life and successful living but disagree on its specifics.

Eudaimonic Philosophy

• To achieve a good life through a moral or virtuous way.
• Socrates stated the good life questions and contemplates things.
  • It involves contemplation, self-examination, and open-minded wondering.
• Contemplation involves reflecting on actions, words, and readings to examine one's inner self.
• Asking questions is considered more important than having answers.
• Four virtues were mentioned in Plato’s Republic:
  • Wisdom: Obtained through inquisitiveness and continuous learning.
  • Courage: Requires bravery to speak out and stand up for what is right.
  • Temperance: Requires self-control.
  • Justice: Requires consciousness of being good and self-consistent.
• Aristotle believed that contemplation is the supreme human advantage.
  • Our minds facilitate thought and knowledge about God and the environment.

Hedonistic Philosophy

• Referred to as Epicureanism, founded by Epicurus, focuses on ataraxia and aponia.
  • Ataraxia: Refers to peace and freedom from fear.
  • Aponia: Defined as the absence of pain.
• Gods are not directly involved in human lives, so humans do not fear punishment or expect rewards from deities.
• Teachings have been misinterpreted to focus on material pleasures.
• Modern philosophers, like John Stuart Mill and Jeremy Bentham, modified hedonism to seek the greatest good for the greatest number rather than self-gratification.

Philosophy of Human Flourishing and the Good Life

• The question of what constitutes a good life is ancient, yet it is both simple and complex.
• Philosophers have contributed opinions to this question.
• Two main philosophies deal with achieving a good life:
  • Hedonistic.
  • Eudaimonic philosophies.

Plato’s Views on Moral Life

• A morally good person experiences inner harmony.
• Assumptions include life after death with rewards for the virtuous and punishment for the evil.
• Good life described via logical limitation and public obligation.

Quantifying Happiness and Flourishing

• Contemporary social scientists quantify happiness and flourishing using psychometric tests.
• The subjective nature the test makes it not an exact science.
• The Oxford Happiness Questionnaire (OHQ) consists of 29 statements requiring takers to evaluate their agreement.
• Answers are chosen from a six-point Likert scale.
• Positive statements points are as is, and reserved for negative statements.
• Levels of happiness are categorized from very happy to not happy based on the average score.
• A unidimensional assessment is not a good predictor of long-term happiness related to eudaimonic philosophy.
• The Well-being Assessment (WBA), assesses life across six domains:
  • Life satisfaction and happiness.
  • Meaning and purpose in life.
  • Mental and physical health.
  • Satisfactory relationships.
  • Character and virtue.
  • Financial and material stability.
• Science and technology have improved the material aspects of human flourishing.
• Domains are interconnected and affect well-being.
• All six WBA domains are independently associated with greater composite flourishing.
• A study showed that the domains are predictors of long-term happiness or flourishing than the OHQ.

Science, Technology, and Human Flourishing

• Progress has improved the quality of life immensely in material sense.
• However, whether the progress has improved well-being is questionable.
• It cannot achieve fullness of life, as we are not just physical beings.
  • We have psychological.
  • Sociological.
  • Spiritual dimensions.

Using Social Media

• Can enhance relationships through communication with friends and family.
• Helps with earning a living by monetizing accounts.
• Provides access to tutorials and tips on wellness.
• Negatively effects user when compares themselves the other peoples "good things".
• Leads to mean behavior due to insecurity and envy.
• Creates lives that are miserable and aimless.
• Instrumental for people to achieve the “good life” and “human flourishing”.
  • Let S&T consciously leverage being and have happiness.

Heidegger’s Definition of Technology

• German Philosopher says technology as a way of revealing derived from the Greek word "aletheuein."
• This means uncovering what was covered.
• Reality is defined as relative.
• What is real varies from person to person.
• Reality is revealed in a way that is relative.
• Technology reveals the world as raw material for goods and services.
• We are subject to manipulation.
• Technology serves as our master.
• Everywhere we remain unfree and chained to technology, so affirm or deny.

Dangers of Technology

• It's any device, system, or method that has practical use.
• A limited of view that does not entirely reflect the essence of technology.
• The view does go beyond "means to an end" or utilitarian context.
• In this view, we are part of the raw material of our world.

Technology and Ethics

• Without, man has no future.
• Ethics determine choices and actions priorities.
• AKA as moral philosophy, it studies what is right and wrong.
• Ethics helps people to live good life.
• Used in the context of professional conduct.
• Morality is used in the context of personal conduct.

Three Subfields of Ethical Studies

• Meta-ethics - relates to the definition of right and wrong.
• Normative Ethics - the study of ethical acts to do what is moral.
• Applied Ethics - ethical practices towards technology.
• Ethical decisions should not be based on intuitions, customs, popularity, or feelings.
• Decisions should be based on rationalization.
• Rationalization is the process of analyzing the situation.

Critical Reasoning Forms

• Reasoning by Analogy: Explain something with something else that is similar, but familiar.
• Deductive Reasoning: Conclusion based on the acceptance of multiple premises as true.
• Inductive Reasoning: Strong evidence to support an assumption or hypothesis.
• Accuracy - Test veracity with known, provable statements.
• Consistency - Ensure multiple statements do not contradict one another.
• Good Will - Make sure an argument does no harm.
• Technology ethics are a subset of applied ethics (with many principles derived from normative ethics).

These are the general principles.

• Respect for Person: Technology should always be human-centric and respect human dignity.
  • Informed consent: people must voluntarily agree to studies/testing, understand the risks/benefits and be compensated.
• Beneficence: Maximize benefits of technology while reducing harm.
  • Must be conducted to find the balance between the possible harms and benefits.
• Nonmaleficence: Based on “doing no harm or inflicting the least harm" possible.
• Justice: Fairness without prejudice, equitable distributions of benefits and risks.
• Respect for Law and Public Interest: Technology should align with laws for the maximum benefit of the public, generally.
  • Prevents social chaos.
  • Prevents harm.
  • Prevents panic.