science and human morality

I think the biggest problem that people have now is that we have become so dependent on science that we are willing to do away with our morality for it. We are willing to do just about anything "for the sake of science" because we somehow think that the end will justify the means. We live in a society so dependent on technology that we've come to a point where we can't imagine our lives without cell phones or how in the hell people survived without the benefits of computers. William F. Buckley Jr.'s "Why Don't We Complain" has been drilled into me for years in my formal education and I think it has some bearing here. Buckley argues that technology is continuing to make people more and more helpless and therefore we are less likely to stand up for ourselves because we are becoming a society of "sheep." The thought that we can't fix household appliances or do simple tasks without the benefits of machinery anymore scares Buckley, because he believes we will all soon become to helpless to function anymore. This thought is not uncommon in society. Many people believe that the next generation is more dependent on technology than the previous one and are concerned they won't be able to function when the electricity goes out. Because of this fear people are concerned that technology can be taken to far because everyone will look the other way in the face of questionable science for fear of losing how they get from one day to the next. Because we are so reliant on science our morals tend to go out the door, and the question of whether or not science can be taken to far becomes a valid one because science is no longer controlled by the confines of moral society. It no longer has a set of rules telling what is right and wrong because it falls into a category of it's own and anyone who questions it that isn't also a scientist is considered a conservative wingnut and standing in the way of progress. 

Works Consulted: 

Buckley, William F. "Why Don't We Complain?". 3 Sept. 2009