The Impact of Scientific and Technological Progress and Human Rights Impacts of scientific and technological progress on human rights: normative response of the international community (original) (raw)
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SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND HUMAN RIGHTS
“…The moment man first picked up a stone or a branch to use as a tool, he altered irrevocably the balance between him and his environment. From this point on, the way in which the world around him changed was different. It was no longer regular or predictable. New objects appeared that were not recognizable as a mutation of something that had existed before, and as each one emerged it altered the environment not for a season but forever. While the number of these tools remained small, their effect took a long time to spread and to cause change. But as they increased, so did their effects: the more the tools, the faster the rate of change." --James Burke, Connections.
THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND THE FUTURE OF HUMANITY
This article aims to demonstrate that humanity must prepare itself to face not only the immediate threats to its survival such as the current deadly Coronavirus pandemic and others that may arise in the future and the catastrophic climate change that may occur from the middle of the 21st century, but also the future threats represented by the progressive increase in the distance from the Moon to Earth, the collision of asteroids on the planet Earth, the explosion of supernovae with the release of gamma radiation and X-rays, the collision of the Andromeda Galaxy with the Milky Way Galaxy where the solar system is located, the death of the Sun and the end of the Universe in which we live. Both immediate and future threats will not be successfully addressed without the advancement of science and technology that is the passport to humanity's survival
“The escalation of science and technology and their contribution to the progress and survival of humanity” is the title of my 16th book to be published, which is subtitled “Science and technology and its contribution to economic and social development and as a passport to save humanity from extinction”. This book of more than 300 pages aims to present the evolution of science and technology from its origins to the contemporary era, as well as its contribution to economic and social progress and the survival of the human species from the internal threats of planet Earth and from threats outsiders from outer space. This book that I publish incorporates all the knowledge I have acquired over 60 years of studies and research on science and technology and the experience in dealing with scientific and technological issues as an engineering professional.
The global crisis of Humanity and the scientific technological progress
The subject of this issue is negative relationship between the scientific and technological progress and crises. Crises in the narrow sense, including the current financial and economic crisis and the crisis of global humanity, which has already begun and threatens to unpredictable consequences. This review will help us to predict these effects and to understand what we must do to avoid them.
Human Rights and the Challenges of Science and Technology
Science and Engineering Ethics, 2014
The expansion of the corpus of international human rights to include the right to water and sanitation has implications both for the process of recognizing human rights and for future developments in the relationships between technology, engineering and human rights. Concerns with threats to human rights resulting from developments in science and technology were expressed in the early days of the United Nations (UN), along with the recognition of the ambitious human right of everyone "to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress and its applications." This comment explores the hypothesis that the emerging concepts most likely to follow recognition of the human right to water primarily involve issues of science and technology, such as access to medicines or clean and healthy environment. Many threats to human rights from advances in science, which were identified in the past as potential, have become real today, such as invasion of privacy from electronic recording, deprivation of health and livelihood as a result of climate change, or control over individual autonomy through advances in genetics and neuroscience. This comment concludes by urging greater engagement of scientists and engineers, in partnership with human rights specialists, in translating normative pronouncements into defining policy and planning interventions.
Modern Science and Technology: A Serious Challenge to Human Life and Human Dignity
2017
The place of man in the cosmic arrangement is incontrovertibly special. The cosmos seems to be ordered primarily for the well being of man; no wonder some philosophers contend that man is the measure of all things. He alone is claimed to resemble God, rational, and capable of distinguishing between good and evil. Man shares kinetic, appetitive, and reproductive powers with other animals but the powers of cognition and to will are exclusively human. With all the special accompaniments of man it makes sense to respect human life and promote human dignity. Be that as it may, human life and human dignity has faced some serious challenges from the perspective of modern science and technology as a result of the predominance of secular philosophy. Ironically, science and technology is the brainchild of man and has actually played significant roles in improving human well-being. To restore human life and dignity it is necessary to deemphasize secularism and recognize the centrality of God i...
Syllabus - Science, Technology, & Society
DESCRIPTION What are the origins, purposes, and limits of science and technology? Science and technology have shaped modern society such that we live at a time unprecedented in its potential for human flourishing and its vulnerability to violence and suffering. Today, human society harnesses atomic and solar energy, edits the human genome, engineers new species, impacts the global climate, and reflexively shapes itself through social media. As Martin Luther King, Jr. witnessed the rapid acceleration of society's scientific and technological capacities half a century ago he observed that moral and social progress were not keeping pace: "We have guided missiles and misguided men." The interdisciplinary field of Science, Technology, & Society emerged in response to such challenges for the sake of present and future generations. This course familiarizes students with historical challenges, influential interdisciplinary studies, and complex ethical considerations that inform the field of Science, Technology, & Society. Throughout, we will examine cases from diverse STEM fields in order to develop ethically-informed approaches to scientific research and cross-disciplinary applied projects. Readings, discussions, and assignments will invite students to broaden their understandings of vocation and professional responsibilities beyond the merely descriptive and technical to normative and theoretical domains encompassing multiple disciplinary perspectives, diverse values, and a range of views about what makes for a good and just society.
MODERN SCIENCE AND HYPER-TECHNOLOGY: PROSPECTS AND CHALLENGES FOR HUMAN DIGNITY1
The question of the impact which science and technology make on the dignity of human persons and the common good of communities persists as most important. This study explores some of the ways in which human dignity is affected, positively and negatively, by the findings of modern science and discoveries of contemporary hyper-technology. In spite of the their enhancement of the life and development of human actions, the progressivism, environmental degradation, and sexual revolution which they can engender constitute the key challenges discussed. The article concludes with the fact that scientific discoveries and technological inventions would be on point if the intended results are channeled to the improvement of the integral person.
TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENT AND PROGRESS
One fact is clear: society lives, more than ever, under the auspices under the auspices and domains of science and technology. Advertising that makes about science and technology is so intense that a significant portion of people believe that they only bring only benefits to society. For man, the technology makes life easier, cleaner and longer. Man cultivates a growing dependency in relation to science and technology in contemporary era. It is a usual behavior of much of society considers science and technology as liberators of humanity of labor burdens and threats posed by the forces of nature. Adding to all this, there is a widespread view that scientific and technological progress brings not only the advancement of knowledge, but also as a real improvement, inexorable and effective in all aspects of human life. Science is not only seen as liberating, but also as dehumanizing and enslaving of human life. Uncontrolled growth of technology has contributed to destroy the vital sources of our humanity to create a culture without a moral basis. The technology has shaped our lives because we are at the mercy of interconnected systems, which is serious because we are submissive to his authority, shaping us in its functioning. The omnipresence of technology in today's world, coupled with its increased complexity, gives rise to a very problematic situation.