phoenix小组组员10号Issue88习作

zachary19891018UID: 2765757

The author actually raises two distinct issues here: (1) technologies have effects on our social customs and ethics; (2) social customs and ethics are decided by technologies. I agree with the first point for the reason that the social customs and ethics improves as the development of technology. Notwithstanding, I differ from with the author's second claim, given that many social customs and ethics standards stay compatible while the technology continuous enhance.

Primarily, developments of technology play vital roles in social customs and ethics perfecting process. On one hand, as the developments of technology and science, lots of social customs are out of date and eliminated by the society. In the ancient time when technology was backward and people knew little of the world and themselves, lots of social customs which disobey the principle of the world raises in the ancient society. As people's everlasting exploration of truth and principle of the world, people begin to recognize our world, and thus lots of the social customs are considered unreasonable and eliminated by the society. One proper example is that the old custom of praying for rain. People in ancient time would always pray for rain when suffer draught. However, as the widely use of new technology to forecasting weather, people could predict the weather and store water to prepare for the draught. The old custom of praying for rain is gradually forgotten and disappeared in current society. On the other hand, moral standards change for some new knowledge as the development of technology. For instance, people in the past advocated that people should marry their close relatives to keep a family tighter. After the technology of the genetic examination, people understand that marrying with blood relatives would more easily cause the inherited diseases. And the law of banning marriage of blood relatives is executed. Therefore, the developments of technologies do provide new social customs and ethics and eliminates old ones.

Nevertheless, technology is not the determined factor of social customs and ethics. Although lots of social customs and ethics standards are changed as the development of technology, lots of customs and ethics standards do not alter. For example, the social custom that holding celebrations in Chinese Spring Festival which stems from thousands of years ago does not alter as the rapid development of technology. Moreover, consider that have we forgotten the virtue that helpfulness, environmental protection, and treating children patiently? And has the ethic rule that bans people killing others alter? The answer is undoubtedly no. Thus, lots of social customs and ethics would not be altered as the technology.

Moreover, the social customs and ethics have positive effects on enhancing the use of technology. When discuss this, it comes to my mind that the researches in cloning and the study of nuclear. Cloning and nuclear power lead controversial topics of the society world that whether human should use such technology. And such controversial topics became problems that impede the further development of science. After laws and rules which created with the standard of social customs and ethics solved the problems of the scientist and enhanced the science.

To sum up, technology could influence but not determine social customs and ethics. What's more, it is social customs and ethics that reflect to and enhance technology.