Technology as Original Sin (a parable)

Technology was mankind's original sin. We went from being hominids who were fully integrated into Nature's cycle of life, to being completely estranged from Nature by industrial civilization. That bit of "progress" encapsulates our Fall and expulsion from Eden.

But how did this happen? Mankind was forbidden to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The serpent tricked man into eating from the Apple™ by telling him that technology was neutral. It was neither good nor evil, and therefore exempt from the ban. Of course the serpent lied. Technology is not neutral. But there is no going back. The doors of Eden are closed to us. We have become enslaved to our technology even as we use it to destroy the ecosystems that make life possible.

@rwingett said
Technology was mankind's original sin. We went from being hominids who were fully integrated into Nature's cycle of life, to being completely estranged from Nature by industrial civilization. That bit of "progress" encapsulates our Fall and expulsion from Eden.

But how did this happen? Mankind was forbidden to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The serp ...[text shortened]... come enslaved to our technology even as we use it to destroy the ecosystems that make life possible.

Take it to spirituality .... rwingy!

@karoly-aczel said
Take it to spirituality .... rwingy!

It seems to me this thread should be equally at home in either forum. I posted it here because I want to irritate misguided technopositivists, not misguided bible thumpers.

@rwingett said
It seems to me this thread should be equally at home in either forum. I posted it here because I want to irritate misguided technopositivists, not misguided bible thumpers.

ANY technology has double edges sword attributes. Atomic bomb tech used to generate electricity comes to mind, rocket fuel for space travel also used to accelerate bullets in a gun, genetic manipulation curing diseases but making weaponized bio chemicals, cell phones as a boon to mankind but also rife with scammers.

That list could go on forever.

I don't think they are misguided because everyone knows tech is a double edge sword and there are people exploiting both sides of the equation so we have to thread the needle to be able to survive the most dangerous versions like atomic energy.
Amish aren't THAT anti-tech, I live near them, and they have motors driving milk machines of various kinds and horse and buggy is still tech, they just eschew most of it like electricity and cell phones.

@sonhouse said
ANY technology has double edges sword attributes. Atomic bomb tech used to generate electricity comes to mind, rocket fuel for space travel also used to accelerate bullets in a gun, genetic manipulation curing diseases but making weaponized bio chemicals, cell phones as a boon to mankind but also rife with scammers.

That list could go on forever.

I don't think they a ...[text shortened]... nds and horse and buggy is still tech, they just eschew most of it like electricity and cell phones.

I think you're replying to the wrong thread. I didn't mention the Amish here. But it isn't necessary for them to reject all technology, which they certainly don't, but just some technology, which they certainly do. They are using their free will to actively determine the degree to which technology will impact their lives, instead of just being passive agents for technology to act upon.

My position, though, is not just that technology is a double-edged sword, with each held in some sort of precarious balance, but that the negative aspects will always outweigh the good. It is a losing game.

It didn't take long until this Forum went hijacked by religion. Go figure...

@fabianfnas said
It didn't take long until this Forum went hijacked by religion. Go figure...

I don't think it has been. I'm finding it interesting to consider both positive and negative aspects of technological advances. The words "good" and "evil" may be claimed by religions as their own but the concept is universal.

@kewpie said
I don't think it has been. I'm finding it interesting to consider both positive and negative aspects of technological advances. The words "good" and "evil" may be claimed by religions as their own but the concept is universal.

The singular vision of the technopositivists leaves them unable to connect their vaunted technology with all its unintended consequences. It likewise makes them poor interpreters of parables. Their preferred method of defense is to narrow their blinders even further, rather than come to terms with their complicity in the looming ecological apocalypse.