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"Technologies not only influence but actually determine social customs and ethics."
Technology is valuable resource of modern society. However, it is a double-edged sword. Although technologies have produced tremendous improvement in the quality of human life, they also have negative consequences, which violate ethics base line or even add to human suffering. Thus, in response to this complex issue, we need to analyze the proposition comprehensively and systematically.
Apparently, technologies help to enrich civilization during the last century. Lifestyle has greatly changed, along with more convenience and higher efficiency. Nowadays we can never imagine living in a world without cars for travelling to offices, mobile phones for communication, Internet for information seeking, etc. With the instruction of mechanization, social efficiency has sharply increased. At the same time, burden of work has been lessened as computer is invented to free people from the endless repeating labor. Few would disagree that technologies generate a more colorful world and bring us numerous benefits.
Moreover, technologies influence some customs and ethics subtly. Before the 20th century, women are confined to home, nurturing children and caring for the elders. Nevertheless, technology made a change which seem impossible. After Industrial Revolution, many women now begin careers in factories, companies, governments, etc. The role of women is indispensible in society. As for social customs, compared to fixed workplace and working hours in the previous times, they are much more flexible nowadays. Apartment, cafeteria or even subway, whenever and wherever you like, business can be done. Subsequently, people's shopping custom is also changed. Due to the development of e-commerce, myriads of people choose to shop online, which helps to save more time. Internet, which contributes to the emergence of e-culture, has made possible universal access to information.
Yet, for every technological development helping us is another that has served to threaten us. There is no doubt that computer upgrades our life, while the existence of computer viruses leads to people's suspicion whether the very act of innovation is an ethically right or wrong. Actually, it mainly depends on who is the owner of technology. Technology itself has no fault as it is merely a tool making. When scientists first discovered nuclear energy, they were not intended to apply it in developing nuclear weapons. But the truth is, during the past few decades, hundreds of thousands of people have been murdered or maimed by atomic blasts. When the evils posses certain technology, what they do may jeopardize the society much more seriously.
Therefore, technologies should obey social customs and ethics rather than determine them. This ensures technologies serve to help humans rather than harm them. Since technology itself is incapable of possessing moral or ethical qualities, regulations have to be established to restrict to development of technology. The society is also required to give upright instructions which direct the application of technologies. For instance, despite cloning raises innumerous controversies, when used in medical treatment, it is totally advance and beneficial.
In sum, technologies have great impact on almost every aspect of our lives, certainly including social customs and ethics. However, since technology is merely tool making, it can not determine social customs and ethics. Culture and surroundings play more vital roles than technology in determining social customs and ethics. |
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