Science & Technology:
Philosophy Science & Technology:
Philosophy"Since the beginnings of the technological juggernaut, the only consistent opposition has come from land-based native peoples. Rooted in an alternative view of the planet, Indians, islanders, and peoples of the North remain our most clear-minded critics. They are also our most direct victims. That technological society should ignore and suppress native voices is understandable, since to heed them would suggest we must fundamentally change our way of life. Instead, we say they must change. They decline to do so." Jerry Mander, In the Absence of the Sacred, 1991
Technology is a tool - neither positive or negative on it's own merits. Yet with technological progress, we create new potential for both constructive and destructive processes. What is the role of the 21st century enterprise in shaping, influencing, and facilitating the development and use of new tools and technologies?
"The
Buddha, the Godhead, resides quite as comfortably in the circuits of a
digital computer or the gears of a cycle transmission as he does at the
top of a mountain or in the petals of a flower. To think otherwise is to
demean the Buddha - which is to demean oneself."Do you agree with this thesis?
"Molecular
assemblers will bring a revolution without parallel since the development
of ribosomes, the primitive assemblers in the cell. The resulting nanotechnology
can help life spread beyond Earth - a step without parallel since life
spread beyond the seas. It can help mind emerge in machines - a step without
parallel since mind emerged in primates. And it can let our minds renew
and remake our bodies - a step without parallel at all. . . Yet the principles
of change that have applied to molecules, cells, beasts, minds, and machines
should endure even in an age of biotechnology, nanomachines, and artificial
minds. The same principles that have applied at seas, on land, and in the
air should endure as we spread Earth's life toward the stars. Understanding
the enduring principles of change will help us understand the potential
for good and ill in the new technologies."Is this a scenario that could come about in the 21st century?
"The
overall data processing capacity is doubling every three years and if this
rate is maintained, the complexity of the world network could approach
the order of magnitude of a human brain in the number of its interactive
processes or connections. In biological terms it is not unreasonable to
conclude that human beings might well be the Earth's way of gaining global
consciousness."Do you believe that the fast growing world wide web will play a major role in humanity's transformation?
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