Essay on "Advantages and Disadvantages of Science and Technology"

Essay 5 pages (1650 words) Sources: 1

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Science and Technology

"the Knowledge Paradox:" the Advantages and Disadvantages

of Science and Technology

It is hard to imagine humanity without science and technology. Some would say that discovery and invention are our defining characteristics as human beings. As central as they may be to our identity, however, science and technology often come into conflict with other fundamental aspects of our nature: our religious beliefs, our ethical codes, and our social relationships. Depending on how scientific and technological advancements impact our lives as individuals or our society as a whole, the human drive to know and create can be either our greatest asset or our greatest liability.

There is no doubt that scientific progress and technological advancement have provided many benefits to mankind. It is hard to think of an aspect of our lives that has not benefited. We wake up to an alarm going off precisely when we want it to; we turn on the television and instantly find out what has been happening across the world; we pour ourselves coffee from a country we will probably never see; we drive to work across a distance that would have been unthinkable a century ago -- all of these conveniences are thanks to technological advances.

Some, however, say that these conveniences come at too high a price. In his essay "Cars and Their Enemies," James Q. Wilson uses the example of the car to explore and counter the arguments against technological advancement. He characterizes the tension between car advocates and car detractors as "a debate between private benefits and public goods" (324). Those against the widespread use of cars point to the damage done to the environment, local economies, urban communities, and interpersonal relationships by the prevalence of private automobiles. Wilson, however, defends the car by pointing to the "convenience, flexibility, and privacy" that a personal automobile allows its driver (324).

Wilson's article exposes an interesting quality of scientific and technological progress: it is not the science or technology itself which is good or bad, but the ends for which it is used and the impact that it has. Though she does not address it directly, Denise Grady illustrates this attribute of technology in a much more serious manner in her article "Struggling Back from War's Once-Deadly Wounds." The article recounts the recovery of an Iraq War veteran from a devastating head wound received in combat. The veteran owes his life to many scientific and technological advancements -- sophisticated armor, advanced emergency medicine, and cutting-edge reconstructive techniques. If seen from his point-of-view, progress in this area is clearly a good thing.

Grady does point out, however, that these advancements have societal implications, and not all of them may be considered good. According to her article, "medical treatment for brain injuries from the Iraq war will cost the government at least $14 billion over the next 20 years" (332). No one would say that medical advances should be halted or that soldiers should not be protected by the most sophisticated gear possible. However, if viewed purely from a financial perspective, these advances can create expenses that are difficult to bear.

It could be argued that what actually determines the moral status of a scientific or technological advance is not the drive towards progress but how far this drive is taken. A famous example of this can be seen in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Dr. Frankenstein is enamored with knowledge and the power that comes with it, but is soon overcome by an insatiable lust for ever more progress until he sets his sights on the border between life and death:

No one can conceive the variety of feelings which bore me onwards, like a hurricane, in the first enthusiasm of success.

Life and death appeared to me ideal bounds, which I should first break through, and pour a torrent of light into the dark world. (286)

Once Dr. Frankenstein succeeds and his monster comes to life, he has a guttural reaction of horror that never quite materializes into a sense of guilt. The reader knows, however, that Frankenstein has overstepped some limit to the advancement of science. Some would say that Frankenstein tried too hard to be like God -- that the creation of life and the abolishment of death should stay in the hands of a higher power. Though Shelley wrote her novel almost two hundred years ago, the moral question she poses about the limits of science are still relevant today in arguments about stem cell research and cloning.

If the moral limits of science do exist, how are we to know when we've reached them until, as in the situation with Dr. Frankenstein and his monster, it is too late and they have already been crossed? In his essay My Bionic Quest for "Bolero," Michael Chorost recounts his own experience with pushing the boundaries of science. Chorost was born with degenerative hearing problems that eventually outstripped the ability of standard hearing aids to help him. In his desperation, he sought a more sophisticated treatment. Doctors equipped him with cochlear implants, computer devices that replicated the activity of the aural nerves between his ears and his brain. The results were impressive; Chorost admits that, after he was given the implants, "[his] hearing was better than it had ever been" (293). But this was not enough for Chorost -- he wanted not just to hear, but to hear with such natural precision that he could recognize all of the richness and texture of a complicated orchestral piece. This became, in a way somewhat reminiscent of Dr. Frankenstein, his single-minded pursuit. He pushed the medical community to create ever more sophisticated software for his implants until they succeeded in equipping him with hearing ability that approached what nature itself could provide.

The result was not a grotesque monster -- merely a man who could achieve what appeared to be the impossible dream of listening to his favorite piece of music in all its glory. But what morally separates Chorost from Dr. Frankenstein? Is it only the creation of life that is the sacred boundary, or do we tread a fine line whenever we try to replicate or manipulate the natural order of things? If we look at Chorost's situation from the point-of-view of its result and impact, as Wilson did with cars and Grady did with medical advancements, there are no moral issues at all. But when we look at it with respect to our place in nature and our respect for the natural limits of our power, its moral implications become less clear.

In his essay Enemies of Science, J. Michael Bishop takes on critics of modern science and technology who believe that science "has reached the end of its potential, the point beyond which the abyss begins" (305). Bishop's response is that the natural sciences do not succeed solely as a result of human endeavor, but as a collaboration between human drive and nature itself. According to Bishop, "we seldom can force Nature's hand; she must tip it for us" (306).

Bishop attributes much of the current anti-science sentiment to ignorance of what it can and does accomplish and fear of the changes that it brings about. He acknowledges that science "[offers] hope for the future but also moral conflict and ambiguous choice" (309). In the end, however, he maintains that "to reject science is to deny the future" (Ibid).

Our power to comprehend and manipulate the world around us has made our lives comfortable, efficient, healthy, and sometimes even possible. Women can be excited about giving birth to their children without worrying that they might have to give their own lives in exchange. Healthy food is available in places and quantities that were unthinkable even decades ago. Communication travels the world in the blink of an eye, exposing us… READ MORE

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