Hi Patrick,

Excellent points.

Of course, the development of technology *is* a non-linear, multi-generational occurrence, as you've said, and we are only capable of exercising wisdom and control over the parts that develop within our own lifespans. And my initial posting, which I regarded as quite lengthy by comparison to most, still drastically oversimplifies the complexity of the issue when viewed from the "big-picture" perspective that you've provided.

It's partly the big-picture view, though, that's so frightening. In thousands upon thousands of years of human civilization, we have brought the delicate ecosystem which we inhabit almost to ruin in the space of a single century. Largely at fault is the voracious appetite of our advancing technology, combined with extreme short-sightedness in its application.

For example, in some areas of the American Southwest, farmers have irrigated their crops for years by pumping out subterranean water from the Ogallala Aquifer, which they viewed as a quick, cheap resource. Now, however, the water table is being depleted ten times faster than it can replenish itself from rainfall. The soil above the aquifer is compacting and losing its ability to absorb rainwater, further slowing the replenishment of the aquifer and gradually drying out the farmland in the region. It has been estimated that within forty years, the farmland from Kansas to Texas will be largely wasteland as a result.

Technology essentially promises to make expedient and cheap those tasks that were once arduous or impossible. This in itself is not a bad thing, but we have to examine a technology carefully before developing or deploying it. If the technology is based on rapid exploitation of vital resources, or human lives, then in the long run it is far more likely to harm than help us. Our adoption of the long-range vision necessary to critique technological advance, is what I mostly mean by making technology "susceptible to moral restraint and control."

Even this, of course, is only a guideline, and not a procedure which can encompass the complexity of technological advance, as you've ably pointed out. Still, I'm persuaded that we can, and must, restrain technology in proper ways in the present, while it is "our turn" to do so. I think that casting the problem in terms of the welfare of our children and their children may encourage more widespread concern and involvement than we've seen thus far in the twentieth century. But we'll have to wait and see.

I don't want to sound too lofty, as though I recycle every possible waste item that our household produces. But if I learned that it was vitally necessary to do so to preserve the world for my kids, I know enough about the consequences of quick-and-easy technological solutions to get motivated in a hurry.

D.D.

> > The question could be restated as, "is technology susceptible to moral restraint and control?"
>
> I have two answers to this question:
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> 1) Of course. Developers of technology should not do immoral things, but what constitutes immoral acts in the name of research is debatable. Take medical research using animals; the moral good of helping people is weighed against the evils of harming animals. (I am not taking a position; I'm just stating that there are valid moral arguments both ways.)
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> 2) Of course. Nuclear weapons, guns, and fire represent 3 stages in the technological development of weapons of war. Their use should have moral constraints. Who would say they shouldn't?
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> But I have a feeling that you meant something else by your question. Specifically, you probably want to know if the development of technology should be constrained by the potential moral consequences of the end product. (Please let enlighten me if you meant something else.)
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> Very rarely is a technology developed linearly. Technology evolves through a mix of deliberate exploration and accident. Development branches, twists, and recombines. The initial discovery of radioactivity lead to nuclear weapons, nuclear power, and a beneficial medical technology (x-rays, radioactive tracing, et al. The technology that allows us to cure a variety of genetic diseases is linked to the technology of cloning.
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> Technology is an evolutionary process of discovery and exploration. It is an essential part of what makes us human, because it is an expression of our intellect and creativity. No one can really predict the moral implications of technology while it's evolving. The seeds of our modern technology were planted decades or centuries ago. Other changes in culture, politics, etc. combine with technology to create the society in which we live today. The moral ramifications of a microwave oven cannot be solely laid upon that one piece of technology.
>
> -- Patrick Riley