【Flyer杀G作文组】1月26日作业Issue88--by sophia

sophia喵UID: 2993419

With the rapid development of technology, most of us share the standpoint, as the statement claims, that technologies greatly influence social customs and ethics. However, I disagree with the opinion that technologies determine social customs and ethics.

Confessedly, technology plays a significant role in the social evolution, including the impacts on social customs. In the old days, people used letters to greet others during festivals, now the Internet, like a bridge of communication, provides a convenient way for people to sending festival greetings to their friends. In the ancient, people regard the natural phenomena as the incarnation of deities, and people admire the deities by sacrifice animals in order to beg for rain. At modern times, people have the scientific means to predict the weather. Many people realize the law of the nature and they don’t kill animals as sacrifice anymore. Another example is that Chinese have a custom to burn paper money for their past relatives, with the increasingly uses of computer, more and more people choose to establish mourning hall in the Internet, which is more eco-friendly. Therefore, technologies greatly influence the social customs.

Similarly, social ethics is affected by technological development. On one hand, technologies inject new contents into the social ethics. For example, the galloping development of Internet engages the public to pay attention to the cyber crimes. Netizens call for an Internet moral system to resist computer virus and hackers, as well as to protect their privacies. On the other hand, the technology quickens the spreading of new values and thoughts. In the original society, homosexuality was not accepted by the whole public. With the development of the media, the homosexuals bravely express their feelings by various kinds of the media, and now the increasingly number of people can accept such behaviors and affections. Some nations even legally accept same-sex marriages. These facts all suggest the effects of technologies on social ethics.

During the Victorian Era, the acme of the First Industrial Revolution, social customs and ethics changed enormously with the improvement of technology. Inventions on Textile Industry leaded to lace being widely used on dress, and even influenced the aulic costumes. At that time, this elegant trimming became a trend among ladies. Also, several newly invented cookers and dinnerware lead to a revolution of customs about table manners. More impressively, during this time, in English society, there appeared advanced ideas including the equality of men and women as well as the racial equality, which reflected the impact of technological advancement.

However, technologies can’t determine social customs and ethics. Because what is behind the social customs and ethics is humans’ values and ideas, such as kindness, love, respect, compassion and so on, which would not be transformed as the technology improving. Making the statement that technologies actually determine social customs and ethics is ignoring the fact that human is the subject of society. Contrarily, we should conduct the technological development by social ethics. For instance, the public opinions appeal scientists to concern more about the environmental protection than the nuclear weapons, pointing the right direction for advancement.

To sum up, technology is like an activator for social evolution, which has influenced and will always be affecting social customs and ethics. But in the end, customs and ethics couldn’t be determined by technologies.