\"In your present choices, include the future wholeness of Man among the objects

Question

"In your present choices, include the future wholeness of Man among the objects of your will" (Jonas 2012 p. 127). Given, technologies have increased exponentially; we need to ponder how our present abilities to create new technologies will impact the wholeness of men. Today we have the ability to clone sheep, create life outside the human body, create artificial intelligence, solar power our homes, etc. We have technology that will allow us to deposit a check without ever going to the bank. We have the ability to have face to face conversations from the opposite side of the world. You can now get a college education in the remotest villages in the world. I would like you to think about the implications of possibilities. Contemplate where you think we move moral to immoral or ethical to unethical. Be sure to think about the underlying values that help you draw that line for yourself. In other words, take a deontological approach. Remember that deontology is the branch of philosophy concerned with ethics, especially that branch dealing with duty, moral obligation, and right action. Deontology falls within the domain of moral theories that guide and assess our choices of what we ought to do (deontic theories). Prompt: Discuss the following: Just because you can should we? How far should technology take us? Why? or Why not? Where does technology cross the line? Does it have the power to do us more harm than good?

Explanation / Answer

There is no denying that our present lives are the product of past technologies and its numerous offerings. It’s hard to think of any decency in our present lives without these technologies assisting us everywhere. It’s only when we are met with some rare moments when technology fails in their delivery, that we realize how fragile our modern lives really are.

Those rare moments also do offer us the opportunity to let this idea seep deeply in our minds that technology no matter how robust and lucrative it might be in its use, its usage always has some attached hidden cost. For its use you pay it with your own growth or simply you pay it with your own future. We as humans are the bi-product of our habits so if we continue to use technology unhindered then we might be lending ourselves to stunted physical, mental, psychological, spiritual and social growth. One thing that is always synonymous to us humans is growth. Growth is life and anything that is not growing is simply dead. So if technology is found culpable in hampering human development then that technology has overgrown into something else and we as humans need to be cautious of that.

Technology has enabled a man to carry on with his life with just a push of a button. It has abstracted so many subtle processes that go behind the scenes. This abstraction makes us humans stop appreciating that how these very complex machines are playing a major roles in our lives and how fortunate we are to be graced with their presence. Also being gracious is a quality that is reserved only for the most civilized of men and the moment we start taking technology for granted is the moment that we part away from our civilized self. So it’s not mere extrapolation to say that, the more we invite unchecked technology in our lives the more we are going to compromise on our shared heritage and human values.

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