tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-866793711508584320.post332284020206909155..comments2024-02-29T10:23:46.426-08:00Comments on the attempts: Two maladies infecting the Japan disastersDarrick Limhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13791236823584001938noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-866793711508584320.post-41625541116492443642011-03-23T10:25:46.939-07:002011-03-23T10:25:46.939-07:00Parke, I'm no techno-utopian. And I certainly ...Parke, I'm no techno-utopian. And I certainly don't think that modern society is 'the best of all possible worlds'. I share your critical views of crass forms of pop culture, inane uses of social networking technology and blind exploitation of nature and people.<br /><br />But I disagree with your rather pessimistic and cynical views concerning modern systems of commerce and production/distribution of goods and services (i.e. capitalism), the democratic and meritocratic values underlying such systems, and the obvious benefits, materially and psychologically, that they provide to billions of people.<br /><br />Of course, evidence both for and against modernity are readily at hand for anyone arguing for either position. Fundamentally, it's a matter of personal temperament. I'm more optimistic than you regarding humanity's material and ethical progress with the aid of science and technology.<br /><br />Kenan Malik has <a href="http://www.kenanmalik.com/essays/natural.html" rel="nofollow">written at length</a> about the conflict between what he calls 'ecomysticism' and progressive science. I recommend you read it, because Malik cogently rebuts the naturalistic fallacy commonly made by many critics of modernity, including yourself. While he (rightfully) cautions against having unquestioning faith in science, Malik articulates my view in this paragraph, which relates to the pro-technology arguments put forward in my post:<br /><br /><i>There are few things more human than science. To be human is to disturb the universe, to humanise it, to bend it to our will. Only through controlling nature, and of transcending nature, do we begin to realise ourselves as human beings, as creatures who make our history, rather than simply act it out. As the most effective way that we have of understanding, controlling and transforming nature, science is the crowning achievement of our humanity.</i>Darrick Limhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13791236823584001938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-866793711508584320.post-81151919365766834112011-03-22T13:43:33.898-07:002011-03-22T13:43:33.898-07:00Far from a vestige of olden days, skepticism of te...Far from a vestige of olden days, skepticism of technology is more apt now than ever before--and the Fukushima disaster, while horrific, may be only a minor beacon of the real disaster at hand. The underlying problem is technotalitarianism (see my blog for details). Don't fall too hard for the seductions of technology, please. And please don't try to shame those of us who maintain a critical stance toward it.Parke Burgesshttp://www.ourtragicflaw.com/blog/noreply@blogger.com