Corrupt Technology
I have often wondered if the origin of our technological progress is the reason it tends to be so injurious. It seems that a great deal of 'progress' has been the product of military concerns. The need to develop more lethal means than our adversaries. This being the most obvious offender I think this color of sensibility tends to pollute our direction. I suspect it is why we harm ourselves and others including the world we live in. What do you think?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Devin O'Rourke on -
While I don't think there is any doubt the 20th century was a period of massive technological progress in weapons development, just about every sector of human life witnessed technological improvement. This includes such things as the medical field, communications, travel, etc. While you could make the point that some technology today that is used for non-military measures was originally borrowed from military developments, I think the overwhelming majority of technological breakthroughs over the last century were un-related to weapons development or tactics.
Instead, I think it would be more accurate to pin the recent spate of breakthroughs on industrialization. The struggle to find a better way of life and economic security goes hand-in-hand with the onset of modernity. Whether or not industrialization is evil or corrupt is another question, but I think it is unfair to assume because we find so much attention given to weapons development (which itself is a fairly restricted phenomenon localized within Western nations, including the former Soviet Union) that all technology must therefore be the result of this regrettable disposition.
Also, I recognize you started this discussion referring to a general trend in human behavior over the whole course of its history, but I think this trend is most evident in the past century, so I focused my reply on that idea.
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Permalink Reply by Mystic Tourist on -
Thanks Devin. I have been meaning to get back to this and now I am. I put too much emphasis on military influence. I did mean to broaden the topic by writing " This being the most obvious offender I think this color of sensibility tends to pollute our direction". What I am trying to get at is the adversarial mind set, the sense of confrontation we bring to problem solving. It is exaggerated in military planning and preparation.
We often often assume a hostile posture and context in our efforts to improve our condition. The war on cancer, the war on drugs, the war on poverty. I suspect there is a different mind set that would produce more of a symbiotic association. A cooperation rather than a confrontation.
Devin O'Rourke said:While I don't think there is any doubt the 20th century was a period of massive technological progress in weapons development, just about every sector of human life witnessed technological improvement. This includes such things as the medical field, communications, travel, etc. While you could make the point that some technology today that is used for non-military measures was originally borrowed from military developments, I think the overwhelming majority of technological breakthroughs over the last century were un-related to weapons development or tactics.
Instead, I think it would be more accurate to pin the recent spate of breakthroughs on industrialization. The struggle to find a better way of life and economic security goes hand-in-hand with the onset of modernity. Whether or not industrialization is evil or corrupt is another question, but I think it is unfair to assume because we find so much attention given to weapons development (which itself is a fairly restricted phenomenon localized within Western nations, including the former Soviet Union) that all technology must therefore be the result of this regrettable disposition. Also, I recognize you started this discussion referring to a general trend in human behavior over the whole course of its history, but I think this trend is most evident in the past century, so I focused my reply on that idea.
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