Science Fiction, Technology, and Our Modern World Essay - 9

Science Fiction, Technology, and Our Modern World - Essay Example Nobody is offended, and we can easily examine issues without accusing one another. If there were Star Trek in Television shows today, I am sure we would be tackling issues such as religious fundamentalism without using Arab terrorist characters as examples. The ethics of utilitarianism, therefore, suggests that the rightness or wrongness of an action is determined by how much pain or happiness it produces. A morally right action produces more happiness whereas a morally wrong action produces more pain. The needs of many outweigh the needs of a few as demonstrated by the original Spock in the original Star Trek, the Wrath of Khan, when he sacrifices his life to save the Enterprise. Entering the core will kill him but many will be saved. Throughout human history, we have developed ways that make us live longer, richer and more convenient as the knowledge has expanded. People have continually applied technological advancements and devices that improve the quality of life on earth. Each generation comes with new inventions and discoveries that previous generations could only imagine. These inventions such as bombs and other weapons have negative impacts on our lives with the capacity of unleashing powers of destruction in the name of progress. Others like communication technology and medicines have improved the quality of life as well as making the world a comfortable place to live. Science and technology are, therefore, a double-edged sword of preservation and destruction; as these evolve, there are questions of ethics and morality. The technoscience have become an integral part of the contemporary society. Today’s generation lives with knowledge and information at fingertips, courtesy of internet and gadgets such as phones and computers making the word impossible obsolete to some extent. Medical advances such as cloning, genetic testing, DNA identification, stem cell research, and manipulation of human cells have become topics