Ethics Is A Technology: the USA is leaning in the wrong direction

 

Ethics is a Technology.  The US is going in the wrong direction.

 

One thing I’ve learned, teaching college for decades, is that ethics is a technology.  The tools that humanity employs to make moral decisions have advanced to become more fair and equal.  The Golden Rule--do to others as you would them to you--is such an advance.  So are human rights, which are an attempt to elaborate the Golden Rule.

 

Ethics tech needs to advance with other sorts of tech, otherwise a society can be in a lot of trouble.  Right now, nuclear warheads are poised to wipe out civilization.  What keeps this from happening?  Self-preservation, sure; but also a sense that this would be evil.  An evolved sense of decency helps prevent the worst.  Without it, the risk goes up.

 

Another example is hunting rifles.  Maine hunters have a superb code of ethics that promotes the responsible and proper use of these powerful high-tech guns.  What would happen if that code deteriorated?

 

In the US, right now, our ethics tech is in danger of sliding backwards.  The political climate makes this obvious.  Whichever side of the political divide you are on, there’s a good chance that you think the other side is attempting to overthrow democracy in ways that are treasonous and despicable.   Readers of this article will disagree on which side is guilty.  However, given the mutual allegations, it is likely that one side is trying to tear down our constitutional republic. 

 

Even as our ethics tech level is in danger, perhaps of decline into despotism, our weapons tech is on the rise.  Examples of advancing weapons tech are designer-engineered viruses, and drones that kill with stealth.  There are also psychological weapons.  These include AI surveillance and propaganda networks.  Better understanding of the human brain can bring more happiness to all, but it can also be used to cement domination by a few at the top.

 

A common saying, with roots in the Bible is, With great power comes great responsibility.  The concept of responsibility is part of ethics tech.  And yet our ability to act responsibly, as a country, is under threat by those who care more about seizing total power.

 

The good news is that big advances in ethics tech have taken place in just the last few hundred years.  It seems normal to us that women have the right to vote.  That wasn’t the case about a hundred years ago.  A most recent advance was the legalization of gay marriage, something that seemed impossible just a generation ago. 

 

Ethics tech is based on developing reasonable moral standards, drawing from axioms like equality.  Human beings are, however, as irrational as we are rational, which is all the more reason why we need virtue--that part of ethics focused on mental health and harmony--as a guide. 

 

Because ethics is a technology, it is possible for humanity to reach a brighter world than we’ve ever known.  But the road is fraught.  The 20th century saw two world wars that dethroned countries.  There were only two atomic bombs to drop then.  The situation is different now.  We must advance our ethics tech to match our weapons tech.  The US is currently leaning in the wrong direction.

===========