This was the theme of Danielle’s latest “Philo-Café” at Espace Salvator for Mother Earth Day. Before the discussion began, the title phrase was questioned and a debate was launched to remove the word “necessarily” from the original title, as it might influence the answer. After a show of hands, the topic of the debate was rephrased to “Does technological progress harm nature?”
The number of “yes” and “no” supporters was balanced, and a lively debate ensued, in search of a synthesis of the different arguments.
Technological progress is a creation of the human being, in the service of humanity. Technological progress protects human beings from the sometimes hostile forces of nature. The human being is an integral part of Nature. If we harm Nature, we also harm ourselves. Human beings can be destructive and believe that they can repair the damage caused by technological progress.
To address this question, the timescale is important…
From the human point of view, the damage caused to Nature is significant and often irreparable.
On a spatio-temporal scale, the human being is but a speck of dust in the universe, a mere scratch on the surface of Nature’s capacity for renewal. Humanity will disappear without disturbing Nature. Nature is self-sufficient.