Technological Implications on Moral Progress

Question: Discuss about the Technological Implications on Moral Progress. Answer: Introduction: Technology has changed the way of leading life. It has become an indispensible part of everybodys life and also has a very crucial impact on the moral values of the people. Advancement in technology is good but many a times people forget their ethics and utilise the said advancement for unethical tasks. Thus technological progression without moral progress is nothing but a bare fantasy of progression. The technological progress has had its implications on the farming sector, industrial sector, healthcare, agriculture, transport, energy and mass media leading to a revolution which has brought a change in the world. Europe has released itself from the misery before industrialisation that had caused harm to the humankind. The country had never supported slavery and thus spread the message to the other parts of the world as well (Parker, 2015). They had opened up markets in prehistoric agrarian societies so much that it brought happiness, wealth and greater productivity. The industrial revolution has made the world technologically advanced so much that it is now difficult to shake it from that stand. One who does not support this advancement is said to criticise the development of humankind. Industrialisation has brought a revolution in the human nature which is now impossible to change. Unfortunately industrial revolution has led to pollution to such an extent that there has been extinction of animals as well as birth of chronic diseases as well (Caradonna, 2014). Another area is that of biotechnology which is said to be the crossroad between science and ethics. Biotechnology can help in the development of humanity but it can also have a darker side wherein it can cause harm to the people. Since the technology can have a philosophical impact on the world, biotechnology manoeuvres the humans. It helps to improvise the life of the people and is closely knitted with ethics. However the relation between the two is conflicting in nature (OMathuna, 2007). There have been appreciable efforts and innovation used for giving better treatments to the people so much that their standard of living has also increased tremendously. Further to this travel and communication has also advanced so much that these are treated as ethical developments. Although biotechnology has a darker side to it as well. It fails to account for the impact it is having on the nature which is difficult to reverse back. The development of technology has given immense power in the hands of the individuals and it depends upon the moral values of each individual which determines how to use the same. Apart from healthcare, energy and industrialisation, technology has made a marked difference in the mass media communication segment as well. It has lost its independence as it now is not dependent upon the socio-political factors but on the forms of transmission of data. In this segment the technology is advancing in an uneven and diverse manner. The preferences of the readers have shifted from newspapers in the literal sense to paperless news. Although this will lead to saviour of trees but at the same time it is reducing the journalistic, cultural and political dialogues (Stevenson, 2013). When the discussion is about the advancement in technology on moral progress, the internet and the social media cannot be left out as this has been a contributory in bringing a remarkable change in the world. It has enabled people staying far off to connect with each other very easily and at a very low cost. However, due to ease in communication, the contact between individuals where the emotional quotient plays a great role is getting reduced with each passing phase of technological development (Sullins, 2016). Thus on a concluding note it can be said that technology is both a friend as well an enemy to the citizens of the society. It can make the life of the humans easy but at the same time can impact the moral values of a person. Kids end up forgetting about the outdoor games and prefer only sitting back at home and playing games which are destructive to the mind. Similarly, the advancement has allowed people communicate and travel across borders within no time. Where it used to take days to reach from one country to another, technology has shortened the time gap to just a few hours. Therefore, it can be rightly said that technology has had both negative and positive impacts on the moral progress of the world, humankind and each element which is a part of the globe. References Caradonna,J., (2014). Is Progress Goof for Humanity?, Available at https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/09/the-industrial-revolution-and-its-discontents/379781/ (Accessed 15th March 2017) OMathuna,D.P., (2007), Bioethics and biotechnology, Cytotechnology, vol. 53, no. 13, pp. 113-119, Available at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2267612/ (Accessed 15th March 2017) Parker, C., (2015). The advancement of new technology . Positive or negative. Available at https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/advancement-new-technology-positive-negative-colette-parker (Accessed 15th March 2017) Stevenson,N., (2013), The Transformation of the Media: Globalisation, Morality and Ethics, Routledge: New York Sullins, J., (2016), Information Technology and Moral Values, Available at https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/it-moral-values/ (Accessed 15th March 2017)