Module 1: Journey to Being Human PDF

I. Module 1: Journey to Being Human A. How science began 1. Intro a) Humankind’s progress is rooted in sciences, most of them are small things that are overlooked 2. How tools were invented...

I. Module 1: Journey to Being Human A. How science began 1. Intro a) Humankind’s progress is rooted in sciences, most of them are small things that are overlooked 2. How tools were invented a) Man was able to multiply due to improving his equipment b) Animals carry equipment as part of their bodies c) Some early men had canine teeth which were likely weapons, they have since disappeared, thus there was a need to create tools 3. Tools as embodiments of science a) It is a practical application of remembered, compared, and collected experiences that are systematized and summarized B. Family and community 1. Babies do not inherit the appropriate bodily movements but it is born heir to social tradition 2. Parents will teach their children how to use those tools 3. The helplessness fo infants lasts longer than other animal infants because of the time the brain needs to grow C. Birth of education 1. Older generations transmit knowledge and experience to the younger 2. The imitative method would be very slow, so there became a need for education both by precept and by example a) This means explaining in advance and explaining during that situation D. Language and communication 1. Societies have made tools for communication which can be labeled as spiritual a) This is because it is uttered and comes in sounds 2. In apes, as in human infants, the larynx is positioned high in the neck, preventing it from producing all sounds in the human language a) This has an advantage, because it allows us to eat and breathe at the same time 3. Due to the structure of the larynx, tongue muscles and other common organs are capable of making noises that are called articulate sounds E. Language acquisition device (LAD) 1. Concept of Noah Chomsky 2. This theory states that all children are born with an instinctive mental capacity that allows them to learn and produce language  3. This LAD is a postulated organ of the brain that is supposed to function as a device for learning signal language 4. Problems a) Damaged broca’s area (1) Patients feel that they know what the want to say but cannot produce the words for it b) Wernicke’s aphasia (1) Disorder where it is hard to understand word you hear and how to talk F. Words and conventional meanings 1. Living in societies, men gave sounds conventional meanings a) By agreement, these sounds with meanings became words b) Many of these words came from imitations of sound, just like how “peewit” simulates the cry of a bird that is now named that way c) However, most words bear no similarity to what they actually mean. This means that they are conventional and agreed upon by members of society. 2. Thus, through language, human experience is pooled 3. Words are artificial 4. Children have to be taught to talk G. Birth of reason 1. Language affects what is transmitted. Every word possesses something of this abstract character. It involves classification. 2. Language makes tradition rational i.e. contain reason 3. Reasoning has been defined as the “ability to solve problems without going through a physical process of trial and error” H. Words are abstractions 1. Human reasoning can go farther and deeper to animal’s reasoning 2. Reasoning and thinking involves mental operations such as images 3. A word is more general and abstract than all the characteristics of a banana, so words and mental images help make thinking convenient 4. Thinking processes abstractness and generality a) Language has contributed to man’s emancipation from bondage to the concrete (we began using our brains more) I. Birth of ideology 1. The spiritual equipment is not confined to ideas that are translated into words also includes what is often termed as ideology: superstitions, religious beliefs, loyalties, and artistic ideals 2. Immortality, magic, god  a) In pursuit of ideologies, men perform actions such as rituals, that are motivated by ideals such as immortality, magic, and god b) Examples are foot binding, or chastity belts, or even tattoos c) Ideological expression also affects fashion 3. Men have evolved to need new stimuli beyond basic needs of sex, food, shelter, water, and air. They have come to need meaning 4. Ideologies can destroy civilizations, the fate of societies are dependent on how their ideologies promote growth J. An ideology is a social product 1. Ideas owe their reality, their power to influence action, to their acceptance by society 2. Absurd beliefs can win and maintain credence if members of society accept it 3. Generally, our society holds the status quo and ridicules new ideologies 4. Ideologies hold societies together II. Module 2: Time Periods in History A. Intro 1. Patterns in world history can be used to predict future 2. World history time periods include both unrecorded and recorded history 3. World history time periods are divided based on geographical and anthropological data a) Geography concerns the people and their movement, settlements, and how they interact with each other b) Anthropological data provides insight into culture and human behavior 4. BC = before christ, AD = anno domini B. Prehistoric (2.5 million to 1,200 BC) 1. Nomadic lifestyle 2. Prehistory is described as the time before humans developed writing 3. Big example of a significant prehistoric event is learning how to use fire. Others include: a) Using stone tools b) Clothing c) Language d) Animal domestication e) Agricultural development 4. Major periods a) Stone age (2.5 million years ago to 3000 BC) (1) Human migration from africa and first use of tools by neanderthals and early humans  b) Bronze age (3000 BC to 1300 BC) (1) Mesopotamian settlement, invention of wheel and metalworking c) Iron age (1300 BC to 600 BC) (1) Planned cities, ironworks, steel, writing systems 5. Environmental role a) Pre Civilized societies required: (1) Access to freshwater, animals plants, shelter, construction and industrial materials, and proper climate b) Life expectancy was 20-40 years C. Classical/Ancient 1. Intro a) Classical civilizations are the root of our modern culture because they lean on their political, social, emotional, and religious beliefs b) The triumphs and disasters of the classical period societies may mirror our own (1) We can still find works and ideologies during this time to fit our current era c) Institutions that provided basic needs were made, also urban living was sustained d) This era began around 5000 years ago, when language was invented e) Major civilizations were (1) Egyptians (2) Greeks (3) Romans f) Start of salve system and slave trade. This was not race based. 2. Sumeria a) Technological advancements allowed people to control their environments, creating long term settlements b) Mesopotamia/the fertile crescent was one of the first areas settled in with cities like Uruk around 3000 BCE c) Characterized by conflict between nomadic and agricultural societies, by wars and political empire-building d) Technology of writing (originally in ideographic/symbolic form), supported this culture 3. Silk Road (130 BCE) a) This made globalization possible b) Road between China and the west until the 15th century. It went from west Europe, to east Europe, then to Asia.  c) Only road to china throughout the earlier Middle Ages, gaining highest popularity in the mid eighth century d) Ideas flowed through this road, leading to cultural and religious exchange such as Buddhism. D. Middle Ages 1. Early Middle Ages (AD 476 to AD 1000) a) Also known as Late antiquity. This period had most powers rebuilding after the collapse of the Roman Empire. This was the start of Islam in the Middle East 2. High Middle Ages (AD 1000 to AD 1250) a) Height of the Catholic church and the crusades 3. Late Middle Ages (AD 1250 to AD 1450) a) Had the Black Plague. This had the beginning of European exploration, globalization, and the invention of the printing press. 4. Important events E. Early Modern (AD 1450 to AD 1750) and Modern (1800s to WW2) 1. Intro a) Civilization became predominantly commercial despite secular education playing a big role b) Society became european-style nation states c) 1450 saw the invention of the Gutenberg printing press which improved communication and ideology spreading across Europe (1) Because of this, early humanist authors which promoted traditional Greek and Roman culture and values saw their ideas spread 2. Early Modern Period (AD 1500 to AD 1800) a) Renaissance Humanism (1400 to 1500) (1) Aka the Italian Renaissance, focused the interest of the classical world which strayed from religion and focused on what it means to be human (2) Humanist literature and art, in addition to science, challenged religion-based philosophies b) Protestant Reformation (1517 to 1648) (1) Religious movement where Lutheranism (Martin Luther) strayed away from the Catholic church and redefined Chrisitanity c) European Renaissance (1450 to 1600) (1) Cultural rebirth in art, music, literature, society, and philosophy d) Enlightenment (1650 to 1800) (1) Age of reason, reexamination of politics, economics, and science before Romanticism in the 19th century. e) Age of exploration (15th to 17th century) (1) European explorers went out to conquer and colonize. These were mostly the Americas, Africa, and East Asia due to their resources 3. Late Modern Period a) First Industrial Revolution (1760 to 1840) (1) Technological innovation leading to factories and mills = more jobs and more food. Led to population growth. b) Revolutionary Period (1764 to 1848) (1) Many revolutions around the world: American, French, Spanish-American war of independence c) Age of Imperialism (1800 to 1914) (1) France, Britain, Spain, Netherlands, USA colonization d) Victorian Era (1837 to 1901) (1) Queen Victoria I reign saw increased urbanization, the American Civil War, and the end of African Slavery e) Second Industrial Revolution (1869 to 1914) (1) Aka the Technological Revolution. Invention of the lightbulb, telephone, airplane, and Model T automobile f) Opening of Suez Canal (1869) (1) Kinda like a modern day silk road, enabled globalization g) WW1 (1914 to 1918) (1) Conflict centered in Europe, aka the Great War  (2) First commercial air flight - January 1, 1914 (3) First Fast Food - White Castle 1921 Kansas h) Great Depression (1929 to 1939) (1) Extended worldwide economic hardship starting with stock market crash in 1929 i) WW2 (1939 to 1945) (1) Started with German invasion of Poland and ended with Japanese surrender F. Contemporary 1. Post WW2 (1944 to 1947) a) International treaties and organizations to promote global peace and prosperity (1) UN, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade b) US led international system = liberal world order c) Has struggled with global problems such as climate change, COVID-19, and nuclear proliferation 2. Nurembeg and Tokyo Trials (1945 to 1950) a) Human rights and war crimes b) 1950 Universal Declaration of Human Rights c) 1950 Nuremberg Principles 3. The cold war divided the world into 3 a) First world countries = aligned with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and Warsaw Pact (US, UK, and others) b) Second world = USSR c) Third world = uninvolved countries d) e) Major events III. Module 3: New Digital Media Ethics A. Multimedia Ethics among the youth 1. Howard Gardner, The Goodplay Project a) Multimedia ethics begs the following questions for people to consider in the online activities 2. Identity a) Refers to how you package yourself online b) What you share online c) What attributes do you change to make yourself ‘presentable’ d) Differences in offline and online identity 3. Privacy a) The classifying and managing of intimate information and relationships in social networks b) How, where, when, and with whom do you share personal information c) How much personal information is okay to share online? d) Stalkers and online protection  e) Privacy as a concept has become abstracted 4. Credibility a) Trust b) All materials on the internet are either compressed or extended c) How one assess the integrity and misinterpretation of of information d) How does one establish a consistent profile and consider accuracy of credentials e) Cyberbullying 5. Authorship and Ownership a) Reflected in unregulated downloading, uploading, and mixing of information b) Credibility of MATERIAL c) How to know if material is genuine and not opinionated? d) How does one judge reposting/criteria for memes and other content e) Plagiarism 6. Participation a) Good manners and right conduct are different based on the online communities b) Participation refers to standards of online behavior c) Expectations of social interaction online d) How to convert online participation on social issues to real life participation? B. Affordances of New Digital Media 1. Informal Learning a) Participation in and support from online communities b) But how does one measure learning? 2. Learning a) Constructivist (1) Replaces didactic (lecture) learning (2) Everyone is creating knowledge and there is a lot of engagement and collaboration (3) People may do more “self-select constructivism” which makes it hard for them to understand other perspectives b) Contextualized (1) Situated learning (a) Learning from everyday experiences, not from books 3. Video Games  a) One can get manual dexterity, visual acuity, memory training, etc. but is reward seeking b) One can also develop decision making skills especially in confusing environments. Gamers are also less affected by discouragement and failure. However, they may have problems with impulsivity and with the fact that they learn more visually C. Constraints to Cognitive Function 1. Continuous partial attention a) Has implications on understanding b) Digital media may affect personal autonomy instead of improving it c) Less holistic integration of lessons 2. Word processing and typing a) Digital media has affected writing with the rise of AI and chatbots, there is less planning and outlining 3. Screen time a) There is less nonverbal communication and cues in online screen communication 4. Video games issue a) Gamers become dopamine dependent 5. Habits of the mind, collapse of discipline a) Before the internet, search for information was deliberate b) The internet has resulted in non-linear thinking/learning where there is no buildup of information because it is instant c) Death of patience d) Dichotic listening 6. Institutional memory of the internet a) Suggests that the internet has the potential o affect what we remember and what we forget b) Downloading =/= remembering c) Photographs do not really mean remembering D. Bottleneck Theory/Filter Model by Donal Broadbent 1. People have a limited attentional capacity they can use at once for learning 2. Selectivity - we don’t allow two things to be remembered a) If the brain is not accustomed to getting opportunities to connect newly acquired information with memories because there is a hurry due to overstimulation, there will be attention span problems IV. Module 4: The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction A. Main Issue  1. What is compromised when art is reproduced? a) Aura? Authenticity? 2. Means for reproduction in the paper: a) Lithography b) Photography c) Film 3. In the postmodern world, the means for reproduction are the traditional media plus anything that involves computer programs B. Related issues 1. Forgery 2. Replication 3. Imitation 4. Copies 5. What is the fake? 6. Mass reproduction 7. Mechanical reproduction 8. Artistic skills no longer being needed/effort abandoned 9. Impact of art on people has changed C. Lithography 1. The tracing of a design on a stone or on a copperplate 2. Lithography enabled graphic art to illustrate everyday life D. Photography 1. A few decades after the invention of lithography, photography surpasses it 2. Photography freed the hand of the most important artistic function, devolving to only looking through a lens 3. Through photography, the process of pictorial reproduction accelerated to keep in pace with speech E. Aura 1. The uniqueness that comes with the work of art 2. Considers how the artist did it, the time they worked on it, the place where they were inspired and worked on the art, and the ritual behind making the artwork 3. Aura includes the changes in the physical condition of the artwork throughout the years, as well as the changes in ownership 4. Walter Benjamin states that the aura of the art makes it authentic because of the ritual the artist uses. He also argues that this is witherin gin the age of mechanical reproduction F. Aura of Places 1. Aura can also apply to places  2. Does Venice in Taguig have the same aura as the Venice in italy? No! The original places will have the aura 3. Media such as photography and film bring these places closer to the masses. The people do not necessarily experience the uniqueness of the original place but are satisfied. This makes them lazy, preferring instant gratification instead of fully experiencing the real thing. This has implications in how people form their perceptions of the world today. G. Authenticity 1. Even the most perfect reproduction of an artwork lacks in aura, even if we are not aware of it 2. The presence of the original is required in having authenticity 3. The authenticity of a thing is the essence of all that is transmissible from its beginning: its history 4. The original works of art preserve authenticity because: a) Reproduced art is already independent of the original b) Unconscious optics - the idea that reproduction can be used to reveal details from an artwork that our naked eyes would not be able to see (e.g. panoramic/infrared shots) c) Technical reproduction makes copies to make it more accessible which can make people want to see the original work (despite being instant gratification) H. Reproduction 1. The technique of reproduction detaches the reproduced object from tradition, making it different because the copies are made at mass production. 2. By making reproductions, art has been substituted for a plurality of copies from a unique existence 3. This desensitizes people about the value of art and will also affect its reputation as it can be juxtaposed with any idea o concept (e.g. using Mona Lisa for a bag design) I. What is lost in mechanical reproduction? 1. The original aura and authenticity of the piece 2. Instead of the artists’ implications, people have formed their own ideas. The original message has been failed to be relayed. 3. Reproduced works have different stories from the original artwork and artists 4. There are situations where mechanical reproduction depreciates the value of the original work. Sometimes the artist is involved here, with capitalizing on the gains.  5. Mechanical reproduction makes it possible for people to be involved in art in other ways, removing the original rituals and customs e.g. netflix instead of theatres. 6. The article warns that there will come a time when aura and authenticity will not matter anymore due to art becoming more of a business V. Module 5: Care Ethics, Friendship, and Facebook A. Philosophical Questions 1. Does facebook facilitate or inhibit caring? 2. Can facebook make us more ethical? 3. Can facebook replace physical interaction/traditional friendship? B. Philosophical Concepts 1. Generalized and concrete other 2. Natural and ethical caring 3. Postmodernism - broad skepticism and reaction against intellectual assumptions and values forwarded by modern western thought C. “I Care” 1. Nel Noddings a) Caring relationships exhibit moral disposition and moral behavior = “here I am” b) One needs to act to demonstrate their caring by tending to the other’s needs that will help them grow and flourish. (1) This is called care ethics. (2) Caring relationships do not deal much in right and wrong or passing moral judgment c) In contrast with facebook caring D. Caring relationships in FB Survey 1. Caring relationships = a rich reciprocal relationship that includes genuine concern for one another and maintaining a desire for mutual growth and flourishing 2. Results showed: a) People were not sure that FB helped them care for their friends b) FB helped people overcome distance and for convenience 3. How FB harms caring a) FB might prevent people from calling or visiting b) Possible rampant sharing of inappropriate information c) Pretentiousness d) FB makes no demands to have a caring relationship according to Nel Noddings e) It is easy to stop caring f) Promotes artificial/superficial friendships  g) FB has made itself a popularity game E. Care, Ethics, Epistemology, and Facebook friendships 1. Seyla Benhabib a) Distinguishes the abstract generalized other of traditional approaches to ethics to the concrete other b) Looking at the generalized other, it is easy to judge someone because you do not really know them e.g. seeing someone steal bread for their hungry family is easy to judge, but if you knew their concrete other you would try to understand 2. Demands of “caring” a) Care ethics begs to seek knowledge of the individuals in question, to look beyond short-term judgment to ongoing connections e.g. what are the motivations of the victim? 3. What it means to care a) Care takes a broader view of morality b) Knowledge is crucial to caring because it creates understanding and empathy. Ergo for one to care, they should know 4. Facebook Cares a) Knowledge cannot be a sufficient condition for caring here because there are too many complicated variables, but it is necessary b) The information we give on FB can be used to fit our own narratives of caring and be used to facilitate rich relationships but it can also limit it c) Online friendships remind us of our shared existence F. Facebook and a Postmodern redefinition of friendship 1. Author and Blogger Kate Dailey argues that FB contributes to the wellbeing of members through greater connection 2. Postmodernism challenges traditional categories and asserts that FB may be unwittingly engaging in a postmodern revolution in friendship a) The maintenance of many friendships used to be more difficult G. Binary understanding 1. Natural Caring vs Ethical Caring a) Natural caring = family members and friends are easier to care for, Ethical caring = strangers take more effort to care for. This is a binary understanding of those who receive care 2. Caring via Facebook a) The quality of quantity of friendship on FB render the binary understanding of friends inapplicable  b) In social networks, you can choose to make time and effort for caring, which facilitates care ethics, but you can also choose to ghost someone, which inhibits it H. Learning to Care 1. Caring needs to be learned F2F before done virtually 2. For mammals, the physical process of caring (hugging, feeding, etc.) is important. I. Participating in Caring 1. Caring and being cared for helps us connect, creating an interconnectivity as care ethicists posit 2. This interconnection aspect is missing in traditional ethical approaches 3. Despite FB’s technological underpinnings, it can enhance our interconnectedness J. Conclusion 1. FB could make us more ethical people 2. If caring is central to morality, then FB or any form of rapid communication can lead to ethical enrichment 3. Digital relationships should not replace physical interaction VI. Module 6: Profile Picture, Right Here, Right Now A. Important Concepts 1. Punctum and Studium 2. Air 3. Photogenia 4. Aestheticism 5. Unconscious Optics 6. OCPD (Obsessive Compulsive Photography Disorder) 7. Narcissism 8. Selfitis B. Our Brain 1. Processes images, not texts 2. Text alone does not make the person, images make us real (especially through digital means) C. Punctum and Studium 1. In French Roland Barthes’ book, Camera Lucida, he examines photography 2. He proposes the term studium as the literal description of a picture, punctum is the immediate thought or first impression a picture gives you. a) FB pictures are all about punctum D. Air  1. Barthes describes air as the fundamental nature of a person or the “intractable, supplement of identity” 2. A viewer of an FB photo is likely to have the familiarity in seeing their friend’s photo online, even if it is generally less emotionally investing 3. The importance of air leads Barthes to dismiss other photographic techniques E. Drowning with Pictures and Tagging People to Drown with you 1. Users with many pictures can show off the new pictures to many people more efficiently than a scrapbook 2. Traditional pictures all look the same and it is easy to ignore typical album-style pictures 3. The over abundance of pictures and data results to indifference, as such photo tagging is a necessary feature in Facebook F. FB pictures vs Traditional Pictures 1. FB photos aren’t timeless, they aren’t meant to tell stories through the years but they create immediate moments 2. With FB, you are no longer represented throughout life by a single portrait or yearbook photo 3. FB demands the constant recreation of the self with a high demand in creativity and break from traditional expectations G. Barthes’ Photographic Categories and Facebook Portraiture 1. Pose a) the subject physically presenting themselves and what this says about their status, personality, or attitude b) Punctums (1) Facing the camera = here I am! (2) Not facing the the camera = mysterious 2. Objects a) Props and the background and how they influence the understanding of the subject e.g. friends and background b) Pictures with friends make it seem like you are a social person 3. Trick effects and Popular Culture a) Image manipulation through photoshop or through filters to convey personality or feelings b) Pop culture icons via costumes and other effects to show that one is interested/knowledgeable in that topic 4. Using Old Photographs or digitizing old photographs for nostalgic purposes a) Punctum is to show life before FB 5. Photogenia  a) Technical elements like composition and lighting b) This may modify the subject to look like a silhouette or to hide certain parts of them to make it look more artistic/artsy c) Punctum = being artsy 6. Aestheticism a) Whether a photograph would be viewed as art b) Artistic expression in a deliberate manner within the photograph c) Punctum = this photo is a work of art H. Syntax 1. The language of photography that allows a viewer to extract meaning 2. In FB, the photos’ purpose is to make the viewer understand the user. There is an interplay between the text and images. Thus, the profile picture is the most important picture because it invites the viewer to check other details. 3. Photographs are no longer traditionally composed. Technology has allowed people to experiment with pictures (see Walter Benjamin lesson). a) One good thing from reproduction is unconscious optics, where photography allows details not normally seen by the naked eye to be seen 4. Barthes offered a commentary on mass creations: it is pleasurable for the author to create a piece and there is pleasure in the consumer taking it in. This dynamic relationship continues even if there is no demand. But even if there is no demand, we consume them in FB nonetheless. As such, social media becomes an enabler. This “enabling” has implications. 5. FB makes everyone a photographer. While there are new ways to produce and distribute, the desire to create is not new. 6. Digital technology in photography has implications to the standards on how we judge photographs. It has also cut short the artistic process and can have changes in how artworks are valued. I. Disorders 1. Obsessive compulsive Photography disorder (OCPD) a) Perpetual thoughts about photography 2. Selfitis a) Obsessive-compulsive desire to take photos of one’s self and post them on social media as a way to make up for lack of self-esteem and to fill a gap in intimacy. b) CBT is an effective treatment 3. Narcissism a) Selfitis can pos real mental health issues, especially for those who post dozens of pictures  b) Taking and editign a selfie gives the individual an opportunity to control how they are perceived, resulting in lacking authenticity. This desire to control the viewer’s perception is narcissistic, due to covering up insecurities as if they do not measure up to their own standards. J. Conclusion 1. Social media has created an insatiable appetite for uploading, downloading, and consuming social media content that are hard to regulate 2. How do you know when enough is enough? 3. The void that needs to be filled is now in the context of digital technology VII. Module 7: You’re not a sportsman Mr. Bond A. Interpretations 1. Bond = Gadgets (technology), Villains’ demonstration of power (technology) 2. Use of technology for humankind 3. Humankind’s relationship with technology 4. Bond has always been associated with the latest gadgets, and his success depended on how he used it 5. One of the commercial appeals of the Bond franchise is the featuring of the gadgets that people want for status symbol and means for control B. Concepts 1. Techne 2. Ins Wek Setzen 3. Wissen 4. Platonic Form, Eternal Forms, Plato’s Forms 5. Detente C. James Bond’s Relationship with Technology is: 1. Non-oppressive to the world 2. Used only when necessary 3. Not motivated by the need for accumulation 4. Sense of self is independent from material wealth 5. No material attachments/no greed 6. The article suggests that, when people have the same goals as JB, “We may then design to dwell in a world of enjoyment, where we use our tools when necessary, rather than having our tools use us.” D. Taming of the world (time periods) 1. Age of exploration (15th to 17th century) 2. Scientific revolution (16th to 17th century) 3. Colonialism (15th to mid 19th century)  4. Enlightenment age (17th to 18th century) 5. Age of imperialism (UK, FRA, GER, ITA, JPN, USA 18th to 20th century) E. A Colloquial Introduction to Martin Heidegger 1. He wrote that being human is tied to engaging and relating to the world now. His philosophy unites the idea of being human to the world. 2. We are human because we are on earth, our life force is connected here. Hence, all our activities we do to the earth, we do to ourselves. a) This attacks the common practices of mankind because “taming the world” are actually “self-inflicted wounds” F. Heidegger’s View of Technology 1. Technology is essential to understanding how people may be differentiated from animals, as “technology is a human activity” 2. On the most fundamental level, it is techne, a Greek term associated with human craftsmanship and artistic endeavor which incorporates wissen or wisdom in the process, something animals cannot do 3. Technology is us, it is a concrete form of any application of human intelligence. It is the ins-werk-setzen, the “setting to work” of life itself G. Techne 1. Word that describes man’s relationship to the world 2. Turning a thing into something (that is not realized before) that could be grasped and used is technology in operation. Heiderger says that this us using our resources to engage both in revealing the world (JB’s case) but also in turning it into something different (like weapons in the villain case) 3. Technology does not just help humanity, but it IS humanity and how it reveals itself 4. Technology is the creating and enframing of life, we define and create our world, but we also create ourselves (ins-werk-setzen) H. Technology has progressed in a dangerous fashion 1. If technology is so important, then with our techne, technology should always be positive. However, most people have an incorrect relationship with technology that only wants consumption and control. Therefore Heidegger argues that technology can turn the world into something fit only for use value. 2. As a result, people may be reduced to nothing but property holders, owners, and consumers I. Plato and Technology, Plato vs Heidegger  1. For Heidegger, a rock can be transformed into something more via techne in action. Plato argues that there is an eternal world of forms, ideas, that our real world only imitates e.g. the ideal rock 2. Heidegger argues that platonic philosophers misunderstood how language functions in actually producing reality. Heidegger argues that technology is shaping the world, but Plato’s ideas state that there is an absolute form that nature is fixed upon. 3. Heidegger does not concern himself with the ideal form of a thing. Language and technology are means for engaging with the world, not for controlling others or attaining that ideal form. 4. For Heidegger, newly created tools do not just mimic the ideal form of tools but their very use is what brings them into existence. This understanding looks beyond the usefulness of what things can do J. The villain’s philosophy: Platonic-Aristotelian POV 1. It is no coincidence that Alexander the Great, a conqueror, was a student of Aristotle who all took everything for themselves, using the world with technology 2. Unlike Plato and Aristotle’s relationship to technology, in Bond, we see freedom rather than control and a world where nature and technology help define humanity instead of consuming it K. Heidegger Warns Us 1. We can also become tools in the process because we sacrifice our lives to the objects we create and we may become keeps of the objects we accumulate 2. All of our actions are controlled by the necessity of maintaining what we have and getting more L. We Become the Villains in Bond Movies 1. The villains in Bond movies pursue self-interest in the appropriate world. 2. We do the same: we build machines to increase our power and capacity for manipulating the world. In the end we become the things we own and we have no lives outside of them. M. Greed - Technology - Detente 1. Greed and attachments emerge from humans’ materialistic tendencies. This can also be the case with people. 2. JB is the type of person that is free from these mundane attachments. This is missing from world leaders today. They want more control and wealth. They lack Detente, the act of loosing their grip on greed or control so that tensions will not escalate. This also applies to the environment. 3. Detente is also the selfless act of giving up a source of power or pursuance so that tensions can be avoided. VIII. Module 8: Are droids capable of thought A. Issues, Droids or AI in the Star Wars franchise are shown: 1. To have perfect command of human language 2. Be capable of emotions, primal emotions 3. Possess memories 4. Have personalities 5. To philosophize their experiences B. Humans vs AI/Droids 1. The franchise shows that there must be a question on the distinction between mechanical and biological beings. This must be studied C. John Rogers Searle 1. Introduction a) American philosopher b) Social and language philosophy c) Known theorist in communication studies d) Wrote books (The Construction of Social Reality, 1995) e) Thought requires understanding, something he claims that no machine is capable of 2. Philosophy a) He assumes that all intelligent machines operate according to the same basic process: (1) Taking an input of symbols (2) Running it through a program (3) Give some appropriate output of symbols b) The machine does not understand what it did despite answering it c) A human would answer the question by associating it with events, ideas, symbols and their memory. AI and droids only operate on input-program-output processes d) HOWEVER, R2D2 and C3PO are more complex than just search engines D. Chinese Thought Experiment and the Turing Test 1. Chinese Thought Experiment 2. Turing Test 3. Points missed a) These feats are performed by AI but do not require to be conversant in human language b) The ability to speak does not make you intelligent E. Are we more clever? How do humans learn (language and in general)? 1. Children make simple associations between certain sounds, like the repeated use of the word “father” to associate to older male guardians  2. Our early use of language is similar to how machines use it a) Input (where is my father?) b) Run through a program (recollections of the person associated with father) c) Provide an appropriate output (gesturing towards the father individual) 3. Later in life we learn that the word father is a relational concept that may be genetic or social, but we will always start with an input-program-output process. Thus, understanding is simple an arrangement of many input-program-output process F. Another point missed by Searle 1. In the chinese thought experiment, the human does no understand the question/Bocce. 2. It is not the person inside the room who represents the machine in the thought experiment, it is the room as a whole. It is not about whether the human understood bocce but if the entire system as an entity understands bocce 3. Therefore the system is capable of understanding language 4. However, machines are not biological G. Fleshy lumps can be primitive 1. The idea that only biological beings are capable of thought has little basis 2. What if silicon-based aliens existed? H. Limbs and Body Parts can be replaced 1. Humans can now upgrade/replace certain body parts, and this will only increase in the future 2. What is the threshold of our body parts being converted to machines for us to be called machines? What if we swap parts of our brain? I. Dignity for Droids 1. Dan Burkett states that the biological-mechanical distinction is not as important 2. There is a real possibility that some AI/droids may exhibit real human emotions and behavior 3. They must not be treated as second-class citizens and should have the same rights and dignities 4. Anyone’s suffering should not start with humans, and we should possess extensive foresight to see the consequences of our creations (Parungao, 2023) 5. IX. Module 9: Can Zillo Beast Strike Back A. What is a clone and what’s the process?  1. A clone is any organism that is genetically identical to another organism. a) Example is Dolly the sheep created by a Scottish geneticist in 1996 2. Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (SCNT) a) Germ cells (sperm/egg) have nuclei containing half a genetic code. Once a sperm/egg joins with the other germ cell and the embryo starts to create somatic (body) cells. Each somatic cell descends from an original collection of stem cells, which can become different cell body parts. Therefore, each somatic cell has a nucleus containing all the organism’s genetic code. b) If we surgically implant a nucleus from one of the somatic cells into an egg whose original nucleus had been removed, it can create an embryo similar to one created by sexual reproduction, eventually growing to be an identical twin. 3. In principle, SCNT should work with any nucleus taken from any somatic cell, but this body does not need to be a living species. However, these embryos need the proper environment to develop (like an appropriate womb) B. The species problem 1. Biologists disagree on how to categorize the organism 2. How does one properly classify an organism? C. Species essentialism and essentialism 1. Defining some trait or a set of traits unique only to all members of the species is called species essentialism and it trace back to Aristotle 2. Essentialism is the view that says mammoth clones would be a member of the mammoth species because they share the same set of traits D. Evolution by natural selection 1. The predominant view in contemporary biology is that species evolve by natural selections conflicting with essentialism 2. Evolution means that species change over time with beneficial variations. 3. Since the organisms within a species changes over time, the species as a whole do not share the same traits. a) If a species has evolved by natural selection, and it seems that all species have, then the species cannot have one essence because there is no one trait or set of traits common to all of tis members 4. First proposed by Charles Darwin 5. Species rise and fall E. Species nominalism 1. Michael Ghiselin suggests that we should think of species in terms of their origins = species nominalism  2. A duck is a duck because if each of those species has evolved by natural selection, then it can only be that ducks are connected to the particular origin of ducks 3. Uses relations to other members of the species instead of traits F. Resurrection 1. If cloning can resurrect extinct species, then it can resurrect dead organisms/people 2. However, resurrection requires more than the creation of an individual that is identical to the previously dead individual 3. An individual is only resurrected if that very same individual is somehow returned to life from death 4. As such, cloning does not resurrect anyone, clones are numerically distinct a) This is because they have different births and therefore, different life stories. This makes them a whole individual b) An organism’s death is a part of its own unique life story c) Species are also considered individuals because they evolve by natural selection, have origins, they grow, and they go extinct. 5. As such, cloning will not resurrect extinct species. This is because they are already extinct by definition. A new mammoth will not be a part of the same species from before G. Which path to take? 1. Carrying the idea of de extinction to its logical extremes, we are forced to accept one of two mutually exclusive points of view a) De Extinction cannot work because species are individuals (1) Based on natural selection b) De Extinction can work (1) Based on essentialism and focusing on the unique traits H. New essentialists 1. Hilary Putnam and Saul Kripke propose this new essentialism 2. Essentialism can be compatible with natural selection if one looks beyond organisms’ traits for species essences, choosing to look at e.g. extrinsic factors such as environment 3. Gaining traction but has not convinced many X. Module 10: Sociology of Technology and Cybersociety A. William Gibson 1. Coined the term cyberspace. This is interchangeably used with the Internet a) Cyberspace = not a real space 2. Virtual Reality and Cyberspace  a) Cyberspace does not rely on a deception of senses but is the construction of worlds by a computer while virtual reality is just a deception 3. Origins of Cyberspace a) According to James Carey (1995) and Jon Strattion (1997), the most primitive but original place to find cyberspaces’ origins is in the 19th century e.g. the telegraph because of its speed of communication over a distance, increasing convenience 4. The Internet a) Lifts people out of isolation b) People increasingly interact with computer screens, developing face-to-screen relations instead of face-to-face relations c) Has huge implications for people’s lifestyles B. Marshall McLuhan 1. Introduction a) The global village b) Technology as “extensions of man”/technological simulation of consciousness c) “Automation” - invasion of the mechanical world due to electricity 2. Ideas a) Technology is shaping man’s attitudes and behaviors b) Today’s technology: (1) Is a replica of our nervous system (2) Has managed to impose itself on humans and controls the behavior of man (3) Has taken over and is shaping man’s attitudes and behaviors (music, instantaneous messaging, etc.) (4) A programmed world blurs our perception c) Extensions of man (1) We have extended our central nervous system in a global embrace, abolishing space and time (connected to connected bodies) 3. Connected Bodies a) People are wired, making electronic devixces extensions of their bodies b) As a result, our bodies’ interaction with any physical space is radically affected and changed  c) The city permeates the body’s cognitive system as the materiality of the body merges with streaming data from communication systems d) The “body” participates in the flow of information when phones and devices log on to networks e) All this is called the deterritorialization of bodies and places because we can be in two places at once (e.g. going to online class while outside on errands) 4. McLuhan elaborates on automation: a) Automation is the invasion of the mechanical world by the instantaneous character of electricity b) Those involved in automation insist that it is a way of thinking, as much it is a way of doing c) The future of work consists of earning a living in the automation age d) This ends old dichotomies such as culture and technology, art and commerce, and work and leisure (1) Whereas in the mechanical age of fragmentation, leisure had been the absence of work, or mere idleness e) The reverse is true in the electric age because, in comparison, the age of information demands the simultaneous use of all our faculties 5. McLuhan states: a) Today, technologies and their consequent environment succeed each other so rapidly that one environment makes us aware of the next (seen mostly in point 2) (1) Media exist in a larger media ecology and each “species” that exists makes use of another (2) Media technologies have their own laws of interaction. When a new medium emerges at the forefront of technological development, previous media become obsolete (3) Understanding the media is the best way towards overcoming technopoly and gaining control of our media 6. Figure and ground psychology notion a) This means that humans are unwilling to consider the “ground” characteristics of our lives and are more focused on the product and not the processes  b) If humans reflect on their responsibilities as humans in the society, human psychology will shift correspondingly C. Neil Postman 1. Intro a) Protege of McLuhan b) Wrote the book: Technopoly: the Surrender of Culture to Technology, describing the idea of a technopoly c) Defines technopoly as a society where technology is deified, where “culture seeks it authorization in technology, finds its satisfactions in technology, and takes its orders from technology (1) It is also characterized by a surplus of information generated by technology, which technological tools are in turn employed to cope with in order to provide direction and purpose for society and individuals 2. Technopoly a) Has taken over our rational thinking (twitter, chatgpt, etc.). We lok for quick knowledge. b) Our media today has assisted us to entertaining ourselves to death, killing intellect, our human souls, our families, societies, and contemporary civilizations c) The illusion that we have control of the gadget that pulls us into the data sphere is actually the loss of our control of everything d) There is a technological dependency, the extinction of pre technological reality e) Technologies have been changing and they are evolutions of solutions to our needs, they change because they never fully satisfy us D. Jean Baudrillard 1. The universe has entered into live simulation = fake reality 2. Simulation a) A means of representing in a life-like manner the objective process and subjective experiences that may or may not have existed before computers b) Reality and meaning have been replaced with symbols and signs c) Human experience is a simulation of reality (1) Reality is no longer relevant (2) We are interacting with copies of copies of copies (endless) (3) We navigate a world of copies that have no connection to the original 3. Simulacrum  a) Explanation (1) A later of reality that we engage with or see as reality (2) The truth that hides the fact that there is none. It does not hide the truth (3) The technological plane is an abstraction. In ordinary life we are practically unconscious of how it works (people usually do not really actually understand the internet), but it governs our environment (4) Nothing is real, but there is a layer posing over society acting as reality, which presents itself as real (5) Erosion of the real b) Levels of simulacra (1) Level 1 - symbols accurately describe reality (reflection of reality) (2) Level 2: symbols mask and pervert basic reality (distorted reality) (3) Level 3: symbols mark the absence of a basic reality (4) Level 4: symbols bear no relation to reality whatever (it is its own pure simulacrum) 4. Hyperreality a) Achieved through simulation b) “The simulation of something which never really existed: reality by proxy” c) Hyperreality explains the current cultural conditions, specifically consumerism d) Tiktok, video games, and casinos become more entertaining than our actual lives, as a result we want to live in the hyperreal, and it dictates the values that we have e) Other examples presenting imaginary as realistic: (1) Whitewashing media (2) Advertisements (3) Social media f) Examples of jobs catering to the Hyperreal (1) Cloud systems manager (2) Bereavement coordinator (3) etc. E. Martin Heidegger 1. Ideas a) The human as a technological being b) We have lost the world as reality to be appreciated as an end itself  c) We see earth as a collection of resources to be exploited d) Our very life force is connected with the earth, so all our activities affect the planet and everything we do to the planet we do to ourselves 2. Heidegger’s ideas attack the common practices of mankind a) The common practices stem from the diea that earth and human life are separate entities. However, these common practices may be seen as “self inflicted wounds” because the more we consume, the more we harm ourselves 3. Heidegger’s view of technology (See Module 7) a) Techne b) Ins-werk-setzen c) Technology is the application of human intelligence 4. Poiesis a) Poiesis is turning a thing into something (not realized before); technology in operation 5. Technology has progressed in a dangerous fashion (See Module 7) F. Jacques Ellul 1. Technique a) A way to rationalize a process for doing anything recommended for everyone so that it can be controlled and the outcome predictable b) The totality of methods rationally arrived at and having absolute efficiency in every field of human activity c) A means of apprehending reality, of acting on the world, which allows us to neglect all individual differences, all subjectivity. Technique is obective 2. The Technological Society a) The technological society is characterized to have autonomous technology that takes over the traditions and values of every society without exception, subverting these to create a monolithic world of culture where we all use the same technology b) Technology has created a standardized society where individuality and subjectivity become insignificant c) We exist to rationalize, to be efficient, to control and predict d) Efficiency is the maximum yield with the least amount of effort, eliminates variability 3. 7 Characteristics of Modern Technology (to achieve efficiency) 4. Homogenization of World Culture a) In the past, different civilizations took different paths, today all people follow the same road b) Old civilizations collapse on contact with the new c) There is no place for an individual today unless he is a technician d) Man is a tightly integrated component in the technological society 5. In effect.. Re the pace of life a) There is no longer respite for reflecting or choosing or adapting oneself, life has become a race course 6. Consequence on the disappearance of nature a) We are rapidly approaching the time when there will no longer be any natural environment at all 7. Consequence of office work a) Men have become accustomed to listening to machines, talking to machines, and having no more F2F dialogue b) Ageism - employment at optimum age to operate business machines c) They hire an individual who is a servant of technique and must be completely unconscious of himself 8. Technology a) Instead of serving humanity, we serve it b) Seen in the diminished value of the humanities in a technological society  (1) People begin to question the value of learning history, art, philosophy, etc. c) The issue here is evaluating the danger of what might happen to our humanity, and distinguishing between what we want to keep and what we are ready to lose. We should reject dehumanization. G. Implications on life, perception of reality, society, and the grand scheme of things 1. Human activities a) Values, cultures, preferences for tha unattainable, relationships, always consuming, creativity, work, roles, human interactions are becoming less and less 2. Ideas or ideologies a) We are inundated with abstract ideas whose meanings slide 3. Systems a) Trust issues, reliability issues, who does it serve issues 4. Institutions a) Major historical events can be misrepresented, who do they serve, the stories they weave