Technology,_Custom,_and_Ehtics

88 Technologies not only influence but actually determine social customs and ethic. In the development of human civilization, the technology always plays a vital role in boosting the advance of our society. It cast a foreseeing light into the future where we are leading for, drags human beings out of the abyss of ignorance and superstitions, and help human beings eliminate poverty and diseases. Apart from these tremendous contributions technology makes to our life, it also unconsciously influences and even changes and determines our social customs and ethics. The technology, along with the progress of our civilization, changes our previous conventions, extend our religious tolerance, and probe further into new regimes of moral ethics. Confessedly, our customs, with the development of society, changes and evolves mostly because of the technology impetus. In ancient time, human beings, without any power except themselves to fight against the relentless nature, always have some gods and deity to admire. They also constituted a series of deliberate and time-consuming ceremonies to express their loyalty to the gods so that they can shelter in the protection of gods. This kind of ritual also partly resulted from the life pattern of the day, which allowed people have a lot of free time. However, in modern society, the custom of the ceremony is hardly seen. The technology, after its fledged development, has enable people to lead a different life which also implies the previous customs are not practical any more. In the first place, the development of technology have gave human more advanced tools to fight against the diseases and natural disasters, which make the protection of deity of less importance. Secondly, People, all around the world, are packed with numerable things, so that even if they have the piety, they don’t have enough time for the ceremonies. In this way, technology not only changes our life pattern but also substitutes our customs. Another great contribution of technology’s advance lies in that it greatly improves the extension of religious tolerance. In middle age, when the Christian dominated the Europe, people would be severely persecuted if he or she didn’t believe in god. Even hundreds years later, Millions of people died in the conflicts between several religions. In the 19th century, Darwin, a towering figure in human history appears. After his insightful investigations and the completion of several sails around the world, he announced the astonishing findings of human evolution, which aroused stirring controversy, national and international, scientific and political. Whatever malicious criticism the theory suffered, it did make people rethinking the restrictions of religions. The enlightened intellectuals and politicians immediately utilized it as a powerful weapon to open the door of religious tolerance. Nowadays, one who displays the profane behaviors although disgusted will be tolerated while in the past he or she will certainly be sentenced to death. In addition, the advance of technology also explores the new spheres which are far beyond our precedents’ imaginations and expectations. Take the intermarriage for example. In ancient time, the intermarriage, between the related people, were quite common and in some periods were thought reasonable. However, modern technology has proved that intermarriages will do harm to human beings’ offspring and thereby now nearly all countries have prohibited the marriage between relatives. It also evolves into a moral standard. If anyone dare break this principle, the mass media, together with government and his families will definitely frown upon such behavior. Another example that aptly illustrates the point is the clone technology. Before the appearance of clone technology, human can hardly imagine living with some cloned people deriving from our tiny cells and eating on livestock which are born in scientists’ labotaries. However, technology will make the picture come true in the near future. Besides its tremendous benefits it brought to our agriculture, industrials and commercials, it raises a new ethnic issue-how do we treat and regard the cloned peers' Will the cloned people have the equal rights with human beings' This problem, with so much controversy, to a large extent, has to be left to our offspring to solve. Technology is always part and parcel of our civilization, which give our society the impetus and the grounding. It advance the development of our society, and in the same time, change our life styles as well as our customs. It has greatly improved human religious tolerance in the past and at present it explores a new regime and sets forward a problem which human beings will be embroiled in the next few decades.