The Triangle of Human Progress: Society, Technology, and Morality

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The interplay between the needs of society, the implications of society using technology on a wide scale, and the role of morality all play a role in defining human progress. The goal is to balance each in order to create a sustainable future. A sustainable future involves using resources and creating an environment that can sustain future generations. However, it is clear that the current triangle of human progress is an unsustainable arrangement because the arrangement is unstable. Therefore, progress does not necessarily translate to a sustainable future. However, one must take a closer look at what defines progress and how it relates to sustainability in order to discover a connection between them. Furthermore, a further examination of the needs of society, society’s use of technology, and the role of morality is necessary to understand why the interplay between them is unsustainable.
One must first acknowledge the existence of different kinds of progress in order to understand the connection between progress and a sustainable future. Human progress is now classified as either material progress or moral progress. Material progress involves inventing things without a complete rationalization. This leads to a progress trap. Progress traps involves human societies pursuing progress and inadvertently introducing problems they do not have the resources or will to solve for fear of short-term losses in status, stability or quality of life. Our society is experiencing this phenomenon right now. Our society foolishly believes that resources are infinite and neglects the problems that our overconsumption creates. Moral progress involves inventing things for a reason. There is some kind of rationalization involved in moral progress. S...

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...in morality requires that your actions benefit others almost as much as yourself. Human nature makes this hard because an extension in morality generally requires a restriction of freedom. Society’s wide spread use of technology in our agricultural system exemplifies of how our culture disregards morality. The evolution of resistance to pesticides is also a concern because these pesticides negatively affect our bodies. Nevertheless, human progress is related to the needs of society, the implications of society’s wide use of technology, and the role of morality. However, there is evidence to suggest that the interplay between the three does not necessarily equate to human progress. Progress and a sustainable future are related when considering moral progress. Morality plays a key role in a sustainable future and yet is succumb to our culture’s wide use of technology.

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