Technology, Nature, and Responsibility PDF

## Chapter 2: Technology, Nature, and Responsibility ### Introduction Humans have always found ways to intervene in nature. The ability to make a fire, the invention of the wheel, and the domestication of plants and animals have had a significant impact on human society. The rise of modern scien...

## Chapter 2: Technology, Nature, and Responsibility ### Introduction Humans have always found ways to intervene in nature. The ability to make a fire, the invention of the wheel, and the domestication of plants and animals have had a significant impact on human society. The rise of modern science and the industrial revolution mark major changes in our way of life. The current technological revolution presents even more opportunities for intervening in life at both the micro and macro levels. We have new opportunities for conception, birth, genetic intervention, and the production of new grains. Many wonder whether these technologies are reducing children to commodities. **Characteristics of Technology** Though technologies are diverse, they share several common traits, as described by Norman Faramelli in his book *Technethics*. * **Empirical or Pragmatic Spirit:** This spirit is particularly close to the American spirit. We want the job done quickly and efficiently. * **Functionalism:** The measure of a technology's success is its performance and its ability to work. * **Preoccupation with Means, Not Ends:** It is often easier to solve a problem than to agree on the reason why we are solving it. * **Preference for Quantity Over Quality:** This manifests in the idea that if a technology is available, it should be used. * **Efficiency and Profit:** This notion is reflected in the use of standardized parts, mass production, the development of lower-wage, less skilled labor, and automation. * **Manipulation:** This refers to the desire for rational control of life to achieve efficiency and an increase in productivity. **What Is Technology?** Technology can be defined in terms of its hardware, or as a way of thinking and acting. * **Hardware:** Jacques Ellul suggests that "technique" is the complex of standardized means for achieving a predetermined result, a rationalized process. * **Technique:** Daniel Bell of Harvard University has defined technology in five essential dimensions: * **Function:** Focuses on what the technology does and how it performs. * **Energy:** The energy required to power the technology. * **Fabrication:** The process of standardization of parts and actions. * **Communication and Control:** The way technology allows for communication and the potential for control over humans. * **Regulated Decision Making:** The need for coherence in how the technology is used. **An Introduction to Bioethics** Technology raises ethical questions that are difficult to solve: * **Preference for Quantity Over Quality:** We often focus on what is available or easy to obtain as opposed to what is more beneficial. * **Focus on Means Over Ends:** The focus on effectiveness and efficiency can obscure the question of why we are using a particular technology. * **Communication and Control:** Information is power. Those who control information and communication systems often control the technology itself. **Types of Technology** Daniel Callahan identified five main categories of technological impact: * **Preservation Technologies:** Assist us in adapting to and surviving in our environments. * **Improvement Technologies:** Enhance our capabilities or help us go beyond the limits of our physical beings. * **Implementation Technologies:** Support the development and use of other technologies. * **Destructive Technologies:** Designed to achieve some aim through manipulation, control or obliteration. * **Compensatory Technologies:** Created to address the unintended consequences of other technologies. **Understandings of Nature** The way in which we understand nature influences how we view technology. * **Nature as Plastic:** Nature is viewed as an object and a resource to be shaped and controlled by humans. * **Nature as Sacred:** The notion that nature is a reflection of the divine. These are the concerns of Taoism and Medieval theologians like Bonaventure who viewed nature as the "footprints of God." * **Nature as Teleological:** Nature is seen as moving towards a predetermined end or goal. This perspective encourages us to be respectful of the natural order. **Responsibilities of the Scientist** James Gustafson proposed four models for articulating the responsibilities of scientists: * **Total Intervention:** Scientists have the right to intervene as they see fit. * **No Intervention:** Scientists have no right to intervene. * **Limited Interventions:** There are limits to what scientists can do. * **Directed Interventions:** Scientists should prioritize their interventions to foster the growth of valued human development and to remove harmful traits. **Summary** Technology is a powerful force in our modern world. * We are living in greater comfort due to technology, but we are also living under the constant threat of technological harms, and we are increasingly experiencing a sense of alienation from nature. * Each technology requires careful study and consideration to understand its benefits, risks, and consequences. **Discussion Questions:** 1. What are the costs and benefits of a technologically advanced society? 2. What are some unintended side effects of technology, and could they have been avoided? 3. Develop lists of examples of the different types of technology, and discuss their intended purposes and underlying values. 4. How has technology benefited your life, and how has it complicated your life? 5. Which is more helpful to you: to think of technology as hardware or as a system? Why? 6. Which model of nature do you think is operative in American culture?