TECHNOLOGY, SOCIAL EFFECTS OF

A consistent, underlying theme of Vatican Council II is the importance of considering the specific qualities of culture and society shaping the contemporary world in its uniqueness. The Council directed its considerations to the concrete world of the 20th century, not to some abstract world without specific temporal definition. The concentration on this particular moment in space and time was to assure a proper understanding and embodiment of the reality of the Christian God who is appreciated as One who is immanent in transcendence, incarnate in divinity. The Lord is now present to and active in this world with all its uniqueness and particularities. The Constitution on the Church in the Modern World describes the present moment in human history as one profoundly unique in both social and cultural dimensions, so much so that one can speak of "a new age in human history" (Gaudium et spes 54 ). The range of change which brought about this new era is so pervasive that the Council admits that culture has taken a new form which in turn creates new ways of thinking and acting. To be a vital presence and force in this new context, the Church must understand this new situation and express its life in accordance with the dynamics of this new cultural setting.

Specific reference is made (ibid.) to the developments in modern technology because of its central influence on patterns of thought and action. Human thinking is more and more in the form of a "technological mentality," a way of thinking that emphasizes analysis, planning, the use of specific techniques and, above all, the control of all the components in the situation. Besides the mindset which dominates a technological society, there are also the tangible results of that thinking in certain systems of operation and in the products created by research, planning, and production. From a religious point of view, the total range of technology deserves serious consideration and critical evaluation in terms of whether it enhances or detracts from the realization of the Kingdom of God on earth.

Impact of the Technological Mentality. This assessment takes on decided critical importance when the investigation concerns the effect of a particular aspect of technology on the human person. The technological mentality tends, for instance, to approach the human as object, number, an element of a process, a mere part of a material whole. If the human subject is reduced to the lesser proportions of object, if the sacred dignity of each person is judged worthwhile only to the extent that it contributes to some desired goal, then something God-given and essential is lost.

A further area of concern is the potential modification of the biological substratum of the human person through the rearrangement of the basic components of the living organism. Needed for this kind of assessment is an open and knowledgeable discussion between theologians, scientists, and informed citizens as to the ramifications of that kind of technological modification. In general, what is becoming clear with today's profound and rapid technological changes is that the possibilities for both good and evil are enhanced with the passage of time. teilhard de chardin pointed to this enhancement in his reflections on developments in science and technology. The harnessing of nuclear energy clearly gives evidence of the heightened ambivalence inherent in much of contemporary technology.

A more developed technology can be appreciated as incremental to the human ability to accomplish desires and plans effectively. The contemporary phenomenon of energy-consciousness brings to mind the dependence on energy sources outside ourselves that are needed in order to survive in the contemporary world. With more energy at their disposal, people can accomplish more, are more freed from a certain type of limitation. Their work can be done in more suitable surroundings. The products created can be mass-produced, thus making them potentially available to a greater number of users.

Perhaps in no other area has the impact of modern technology been more felt than in that of communication and travel. People have been brought closer together in a spatial sense which creates at least the possibility of a greater sense of community and an appreciation of the commonness of humanity throughout the earth. Of itself, technology does not create interpersonal closeness but it helps to create the conditions out of which real community can be established.

Yet the ambivalence of modern technology can be shown in referring to how technology makes people more self-sufficient, more able to accomplish their goals by themselves. They can travel alone in automobiles, be entertained in the privacy of their own dwellings by their own media center. Food can be prepared without outside assistance. It might be argued that modern technology has contributed to the ironic situation that people live in a time when community is facilitated by many inventions, yet persons feel quite alone and alienated from their sisters and brothers.

Impact of Technological Products. Much the same can be said about the products of technology. With a general expectation that all persons could benefit from possession of these products, many, in fact, do not. This raises questions of social justice, particularly with reference to the equitable distribution of goods and services. Part of the prophetic role of the Church is to alert its members and the world at large as to violations in the area of social justice. As life in the world becomes more dependent on the products of technology, sensitivity to availability and distributions becomes more a moral issue.

As humanity grows more dependent on and enamored of its technological might, it can tend to assume a practical autonomy from any other sources of energy outside itself and its tools. The need for God is eclipsed or considered meaningless because the areas of health, wealth, and happiness are now dominated by human creations, While this result is not at all mandated by an expanding technology, it must be admitted that many areas once of religious concern are now under the influence of a more effective technology.

Implied in the general cultural changes that accompany an ever-expansive technology is a requirement, therefore, that the proper range of religious interests be reexamined. Technological developments of the last century have given a new shape to the world, but it need not be said that the world is necessarily Godless. It can be argued that the extension of human ingenuity into ever more effective technologies is part of the God-given human capacity to further bring the world into the dynamics of life in the kingdom of god. This can be particularly so when the results of technology are a more successful feeding of the hungry, sheltering of the homeless, or implanting of knowledge where ignorance formerly held sway. The perception brought forward in Gaudium et spes was that a careful distinction should be made between human progress and the realization of the Kingdom of God (30). Nevertheless, where human progress serves "to a better ordering of human society," the concerns of the Kingdom are being realized. The world is given to humanity by God as a trust. Like good stewards humans must respect the wished of the owner while at the same time using whatever resources there are to extend the love of God into the perfecting of the world for the enrichment of the human spirit and in the service of our common humanity.

Bibliography: i. g. barbour. Science and Secularity: The Ethics if Technology (New York 1970). d. callahan. The Tyranny of Survival (New York 1973). i. gilkey, Religion and the Scientific Future (New York 1970). b. miller. Religion in a Technical Age (Cambridge, Mass. 1978). g. vahanian. God and Utopia: The Church in a Technological Civilization (New York 1977).

[d. m. thomas]