The Extinction Of Moral Values And The Evolution Of Technology
That technologies govern our world is no longer a secret, but that technologies also govern our lives and worldviews only a few people recognize. The truth is in that the current evolution of technologies produces irreversible impacts on our visions of the world around us, our values, beliefs, and convictions. In the fight between technologies and morality the former usually win. When facing another technological challenge, we choose in favor of technologies, regardless of what values we are bound to sacrifice. The process of moral values’ extinction can be readily seen through the prism of the two essential moral dilemmas: technology vs. safety and technology vs. human dignity. In the postmodern world, where technologies lay the foundation for continuous individual and social success, the values of human safety and dignity gradually lose their relevance to give place to the newest technological solutions.
It is difficult to deny that we live our lives surrounded by technologies. The philosophy that technologies have become an extension of our organs belongs to Heidegger (Vries 46), and when we had to sacrifice important moral values for the sake of becoming technologically advanced we did not hesitate a minute. People believe that “technology is our fate, our truth, […] we don’t have to depend on God or the prophets or other astonishments. The miracle is what we ourselves produce” (Red Herring). Unfortunately, in the atmosphere of technological illusions and the distorted beliefs about human unlimited capacities moral values become irrelevant. This is particularly problematic when it comes to safety and human dignity.
The tragic death of the Challenger 1986 crew suggests that the process of moral values’ extinction started long before the beginning of the 21st century. The crash of Challenger in 1986 was due to a number of engineering factors, including the failure of notorious O-rings, which had to manage the orbiter engines (Vries 49). The fact of O-rings being a problem was well-known before Challenger was launched, but changing the design of the spacecraft would require time, money, and effort. This was unacceptable for the nation, which claimed Challenger to be the technology of the future. Challenger became a bright example of the way moral values are opposed to the values of technology, but even before Challenger human dignity had become the victim of the rapid technological advancement.
Since the times of the Fascist Germany, individuals had been subjected to thousands of experiments and inhumane tortures, aimed to test technologies and their specific features. Philosophers in the middle of the 20th century argued that “the products of industry were not useful aids for human consumption but the poisoned fruit of a system alienated from human needs. They are contourless, impersonal, and faceless and make humans strangers in their world” (Moses 121).
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