issue88 summer小组

eenbrUID: 2259468

"Technologies not only influence but actually determine social customs and ethics."

一半同意，一半反对
一，科技对人类习性的正面影响
二，科技对人类习性的负面影响
三，科技只能影响，但不能决定习性，反过来，习性可以影响甚至决定科技
The speaker asserts that technologies not only influence but actually determine social customs and ethics. While I concede that the ever developing technologies nowadays have a great impact on people's behaviors, the social customs and ethics forms gradually by the change of historical event and disaster, which cannot be determined by technologies. By contrast, technologies are shaped by social customs and ethics in order to meet the needs of today.
It is undeniable that technology is a double-edged sword, which has both a positive and negative impact on people's behavior and custom. First of all, people welcome the technology development, because it helps to develop a convenient and high standard life. People today could contact each other between two countries or even two continents, no matter how far away, easily by email or telephone, which is unimaginable in past days. As a result, less and less people use paper-based letter to share emotions and information. This phenomenon is an apt illustration to demonstrate the influence of technologies on people's daily life. Modern technologies help to change the life style from a traditional one to a modern one, accompanying an improvement of living standard.
However, the other side-curse of technology as a sword has brought about challenge to the existing customs and ethics. People tend to accept the ethics which is unacceptable in the past while pursuing benefit the modern technologies bring about. For example, the advent of software "byte torrent" helps share materials and videos more easily and faster. With the help of this software, it is readily available for people to share the Internet resource such as music, movie, article and games. However, as a matter of fact, such behavior is illegal and immoral since it neglect the copyright of any composer and movie makers and in turn undermine the creative passion and commercial interest of the copyright owner, and it do harm to the future development of China's cultural market and cultural exchange with foreign countries. In this example, it can be seen that technologies enable people to pursue a unjust and immoral benefit regardless of their social responsibility.
But the negative impact of technologies could not last long, the use of "byte torrent" is being under control now in accordance to the protection of copyright, and the use of internet tends to conform to the according law and ethics.
Though the influence of technologies are impaling into every aspects of world, human's custom and ethics could not be determined by any advancement of technology. It can be seen that numerous previous established human customs and ethics have nothing to do with the development of technology. The formation of Thanksgiving Day is an apt example to illustrate this assertion. This holiday is established by the migrating people when they first came to American continent, and developed their own life with the help and guidance of warmhearted local Indian American. They celebrate Thanksgiving Day in order to thank the Indian American and the God who grant them all they have. In this case, we can hardly find out any influence or even shadow of technology, which as a matter of fact, contribute little to the establishment of Thanksgiving Day. The same is to the formation of Christmas Day, which has everything to do with Christianity but little to technology. However, by contrast, custom and ethics could shape the innovation and development of modern technology, to make it adapt to social conventions. It is reported in an international conference that cell phone manufacturers are designing a novel phone for Muslims, which could reminds them with time for pray, orientating them to Mecca, and disabling phone call while they are praying. So it is more reasonable to allege the influence of custom and ethics on technologies is considerable, and sometimes even predominant.

In sum, technology and social custom and ethics interplay each other, and both influence is nonneglectable. However, I have to point out that technology could not determine the social custom and ethics. The influence of technology toward customs and ethics is a blessing and also a curse, and on the other hand, technology should be shape to serve human interest in accordance to the social custom and ethics.