This article is the result of a reflection on the dualistic relationship that has been established regarding the role of God in science and technology. Western philosophy, mainly since the Middle Ages, has been guided by the concept of human autonomy. It has done its utmost to validate and consolidate this autonomy (Schuurman, 2016).
We often discuss a scientific-technological culture or simply the technological culture in which we are inserted. In this scenario, the future is focused primarily on power and technical-economic progress. This is where our culture has placed its hope. The space of the transcendent, of divine power, remains voluntarily untouched, and, in this dynamic, it is trusted that human power will solve all problems and pave the way for the future. People will determine the origin and purpose of all things. Thus, if heaven is empty, human beings will place their hope in science and technology. The expectation is that both will ensure a promising future.
There is currently a reversal in the role of science and technology. The usefulness of science is prioritized over its veracity (Schuurman, 2016). In the technological sphere, considering current approaches, we can see the violation of our philosophical tradition with the disappearance of one of the pillars of Western civilization that has maintained the unity of our civilizing path to date: the notion of human nature (Vaz, 2000).
To cite a current example, one of the most ambitious endeavors in the field of Artificial Intelligence – the development of moral agents endowed with artificial consciousness – makes it clear how the flattening of human understanding and the exclusion of the role of the divine in areas of knowledge limit the understanding of who a person is, how their nature is composed, and the uniqueness of their capacity to abstract and produce knowledge. There is nothing that man can do to reproduce something that is essentially intangible and inexplicable (Polo, 2019). The capacity to be human, to be conscious.
Seeking to reproduce human consciousness does not deserve the attention of ethics committed to conceptual rigor since it is understood that there is no doubt about the impossibility of reproducing consciousness, given the transcendence of human nature. However, given all the speculation surrounding the technological theme, it can be said, with some certainty, that human nature is being trivialized (and even attacked).
Lima Vaz (2000) once observed that, on the one hand, we have the vertiginous growth of technoscience and, on the other, the dissolution of the traditional social fabric, which is being replaced by innovative and unprecedented forms of human coexistence and social organization. Finally, the philosopher questions what the purpose of life will be in this model of society where technological artifacts mediate relationships. What values will guide it, and what objectives will human beings be able to envision for their historical path when life is almost reduced to material aspects? We can conclude that we are facing a challenge: the dehumanization of the person through technology – which is the result of a previous symptom – the loss of ontological reflection and the minimization of the importance of God in the realm of human thought and action (Schuurman, 2020). These factors influence the foundations of scientific development. Lima Vaz (2000) stated that our trajectory has led us to a society rich in means and rotten in ends, taking us toward universal relativism and limitless hedonism. At this point, I believe that rescuing the recognition of the importance of the divine role in the constitution of reality and the development of science is relevant to overcoming the limited dominant perception of what a human being is. Challenges of Human Autonomy: Reflections on God, Science and Technology in Contemporary Society.
References
LIMA VAZ, H. C. “Escritos de Filosofia IV: Introdução à Ética Filosófica 1”. São Paulo: Edições Loyola, 1999.
Polo, L. Presente y futuro del hombre. Ediciones Rialp. Madrid, 2019.
Schuurman, E. Fé, Esperança e Tecnologia: Ciência e fé cristã em uma cultura tecnológica. Ultimato. Viçosa, MG.2016