Do you see the overall progress of science as
a positive or negative force of our world?
☆Let’s think
1. What is the professor talking
about by saying, “The trajectory of scientific
advancement has propelled society into new frontiers of understanding and capability”?
Give examples.
Note: He could be talking about
the benefits scientific discoveries and inventions have brought to us.
-
Science has given us new
perspectives of the world and ourselves.
e.g.
heliocentrism, gravity, radiation, DNA, intestinal flora, etc.
-
It has increased human
population and habitat exponentially.
-
It has led to safety, convenience,
speed, precision, and variety in many aspects of our lives.
-
It has made what was
impossible before possible.
2. Give examples of “ethical, social, and environmental implications to
consider” related to scientific progress.
Ethical
implications: e.g. designer babies
Social
implications: e.g. increase of solitude
Environmental
implications: e.g. mass extinction
☆Hints for points
Ethical implications
-
Weapons,
especially weapons of mass destruction like atomic bombs are unconscionable.
-
Anonymity
in social media brings out the worst in humanity.
Social implications
-
Privacy is
lost through the Internet and surveillance states are being established.
-
Robots and
AI increase unemployment.
-
Workload has
increased because workers are tracked and contacted even during the off time.
-
Technology deteriorates
public health, makes the public less intelligent, and dependent on it.
Environmental implications
-
Manufacturing
facilities have caused pollutions and global warming.
-
Habitat
loss and extinction have occurred due to development.
☆Sample Responses
Sample 1
I believe science is a positive
force in general. It protects us from elements and helps us recover from
diseases and disasters. It allows us to build strong and comfortable shelters
and supply ourselves with food and water. Disaster relief is quickly done with
heavy machinery. As a result, modern men live a longer and healthier lives than
cave men. Science technology also makes our lives richer. Especially, computers
and the Internet help increase our knowledge, expand relationships, and have
fun. While negative effects of science technology like climate crisis and
nuclear threat are now overwhelming our lives, the root cause of these issues
are corporate greed, ignorance, and inertia. Science itself provides us with chances
to improve our lives. (121 words)
Sample 2
While we all enjoy products of
scientific advancement, whether we have become happier as a result of
scientific progress or not is doubtful. According to Yuval Noah Harari, we lost
our freedom due to irrigation technology that allowed for agriculture, which made
us give up hunting and gathering, the life of travel and leisure, and confined us
to the care of crops year-round. Later, the industrial revolution tied us to
factories and offices. Information technology has deprived us of privacy and
personal time. The fast pace and large workload resulting from shorter travel
time and real-time communication causes drop-out and depression. Ethically
alarming comments on social media are the products of highly technological
lifestyle in short of face-to-face communication. Not to speak of climate
crisis and nuclear threat, the impacts of science technology seem to be driving
us to our end. (141 words)
Write your draft on this topic.
Show it to each other. Write down questions or suggestions to each other’s draft.
DRAFT
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