Do art and science lead to immorality?
According to Jean-Jacques Rosseau, an 18th century philosopher, the answer is “yes.” He maintains that progress and technology actually undermine a societies attempts to act in a moral capacity. He may have a point.
Ever since our days in in the garden of Eden, our lives have become more complicated and artificial. We buy processed foods, go to the gym to work our muscles and spend time in sedentary pursuits - appreciating the arts, if you will.
Do these modern day activities increase our happiness and encourage morality? I think they can, in the case of moral imagination, which is engaged when being exposed to other realities. I also can see how technology creates feelings previously unknown and not always pleasant. Take email for an example. It is time spent in an almost invisible pursuit. Is it “real”? Are there benefits?
Frustration can occur when the technology that we have come to rely on is not functioning properly. The pleasant feelings usually associated with these devices and activities are replaced with feelings of agitation and anxiety.
It is easy to believe that progress is equated with enhanced happiness and morality; increased awareness and kindness towards others. I am reminded by Rosseau that this is not always the case. I scrutinize my own life for areas of strife that might be associated with technology. Would those uneasy feelings be connected to other areas if modern day devices did not exist?
Of course I have to believe that art and science have been a benefit to humankind. Maybe we just need to be reminded every so often to be aware of the complexity of our lives so that we can compensate by walking along Walden pond or engaging in some simple anti-technology activity.
Well, since I have no land to toil on, I will take my physical activity in the air-conditioned comfort of the gym. And I realize that this invisible activity of blogging may never be “seen” by eyes other than my own. But the benefit has been achieved none-the-less.
Sue
on September 5th, 2007 at 10:20 am
While I do believe that Rosseau may have a point, I think without technology in our lives, especially in today’s world, we really wouldn’t know what to do with ourselves!
Tecnology has given us so much in terms of progression in society. Be it through jobs in the automotive industry (in which pretty much every car has a microchip serving some purpose), CAD, graphic arts, health care or even the simplest forms like e-mailing to keep in touch with family and friends that allows us to keep the line of communication open.
Sure, it’s frustrating when your computer suddenly doesn’t work properly or you talk on your cell phone and the call gets dropped only for you to have to re-dial and continue on but, without these conviences, we wouldn’t have evolved into what we have today.
We are always finding new ways to make things easier or faster.
This is where I agree with Rosseau, I think we do need to spend more time to “stop and smell the flowers”… cook an actual meal rather than order in or choosing something pre-packaged, spend quality time with family and friends, taking the kids out to do something simple like fishing, going to the beach or playing in a park, endulging yourself in a book to allow yourself to envision that imagery the author is trying to portray rather than sitting on the couch and being hyptontized by the television.
I guess I would go with the saying – “everything in moderation”…
As long as you don’t constantly rely on these things to make you happy but rather; rely on yourself, have a mind of one’s own, have free will, act spontaneously, and realize that everything you do comes from within yourself whether some type of technology is involved or not.