Morality by Design: technology’s challenge to human values
The introduction: How do you build a utopia? What does it take to construct the best of all possible worlds? Thomas More chose the name Utopia (in Greek, it means no-place) for the ideal society he described in his Renaissance masterpiece of 1516, written as a young man long before he served as Lord Chancellor to Henry VIII (and was beheaded for his trouble). The book was a visionary critique of fractious English society which More described as a “conspiracy of the rich,” in which the “greedy, unscrupulous and useless” lived off the labour of others. In Utopia, he sketched a form...
Read MoreConscientious Capitalism? Not Likely.
As someone who has an interest in the connections between science and religion, I often look through the pages of Science and Theology News, a monthly magazine published, I believe by the Templeton Foundation. As its title suggests, it deals with controversies, discoveries, and research in the areas of moral philosophy that are (or ought to be) central to both science and religion. The cover story in the current (May, 2006) issue, for example deals with the ethical issues raised by the biotech revolution and how various scientific ethicists and moral philosophers interpret them. On the op-ed...
Read MoreAbout Wade Rowland
Ranked among Canada’s leading literary journalists, Wade Davies Rowland has written more than a dozen books on subjects ranging from television journalism, organized crime, and international environmental law to his current concerns, which include communications technology, the philosophy of science, and technology and human values. Full author bio.