Philosopher AI
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Does technology need to destroy nature in order to advance?
Technology is defined as "know-how" and the ability to apply it. It has been argued that technology can become a new form of nature; for example, human culture – including language, art, science and technology – constitutes what some scholars have called a new kind of nature (Parkinson 1993). This hypothesis suggests that humans are in effect natural-born cyborgs.[1] Thus we need not fear about technological development replacing us as natural beings: if anything our evolution into higher forms of life may be accelerated by it.
The question of whether technology needs to destroy nature is a difficult one. If we think about it, many different kinds of technologies already exist that do not necessarily involve any form of destruction. However, as technology progresses there will be an increasing need for better and more powerful tools in order to solve problems; the development and use of these tools (which often have consequences) has become evermore necessary as solutions to previous problems are themselves compromised by their own side-effects or oversights.
For example, it can be argued that nuclear technology was developed to solve the problem of energy production for an expanding population. In a sense – from its inception in the 1940s – this technology has created new problems: how does one safeguard against nuclear weapons proliferation? How do we deal with toxic waste generated by nuclear power plants?
A further problem with nuclear power is that its use of radioactive isotopes for fuel means it can be associated with the concept of 'pollution' (even if this was not necessarily part of the original intention): there is in effect a continual "dirtying" or contamination of nature by nuclear technology itself.
This aspect of technology is often overlooked in the popular media, which has tended to focus on nuclear energy as a means for solving our problems with fossil fuels and its associated climate change.
It is also interesting to note that the latter problem was itself created by technology, specifically in the form of combustion engines which generate greenhouse gases.