Towards an Ethics of Technology: Re-Exploring Teilhard de Chardin’s Theory of Technology and Evolution

Archimedes C. Articulo

College of Arts and Sciences, Cagayan State University, Tuguegarao City, Philippines.

DOI: 10.4236/ojpp.2014.44054                

Abstract

Defining the mechanism of evolution is a controversial issue that, until now, divides the scientific community. Some have argued in the strictest Darwinian terms that evolution’s primary mechanism is necessity—“survival of the fittest”. Other evolutionists followed in the footsteps of Jacques Monod, the French biologist, who argued for a mixture of random chance and necessity. Teilhard de Chardin, it is widely believed, took Monod one step further by asserting that evolution is the fundamental motion of the entire universe, an ascent along a privileged and necessary pathway toward consciousness—thus, evolution was guided chance and necessity. However, if evolution is being guided, what is doing the guiding? And where, ultimately, is it going? His bold answers brought Teilhard to the heart of a widely perceived scientific, as well as religious, heresy. A heresy that was effectively silenced, and soon would re-emerge as the world began witnessing exponential advancements in Science and Technology (specifically, on computing, nano-technology, robotics and genetic engineering). Almost half a century after the publication of Phenomenology of Man, many futurist thinkers have began noticing that the super-fast acceleration in the passage of time for evolution is moving in a very different direction than that for the Universe from which it emerges. This paper puts forward the thesis that the philosophical underpinning of a “human-sponsored variant of evolution” (i.e. evolution towards convergence of biological and non-biological intelligence) finds support and meaning within Teilhard de Chardin’s theory of evolution (i.e. evolution towards consciousness). It specifically covers 1) the implications of advancing technologies in human evolution and consciousness within the context of Teilhard’s theory of evolution; 2) how, after homo sapiens silently emerged around 500,000 years ago (with larger brains, particularly in the area of the highly convoluted cortex responsible for rational thought), and after they develop computing, the story of evolution has progressed exponentially paving the way for the possibility of turning Teilhard’s controversial ideas (such as the Noosphere) more than a poetic image; and 3) how the grandest creations of evolution—consciousness and intelligence—provide for the very tool that may allow homo sapiens to take over the course and direction of their own evolution—without necessarily shedding their desire to search for spiritual truth in a secular universe.

Keywords

Technology, Ethics, Singularity, Brain-Computer Interface, Trans-Humanism, Teilhard de Chardin, Religion, Philosophy of Religion

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	BBC NEWS. Wheelchair Steered by Brainpower. Published: 2003/07/24 10:04:06 GMT http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3089559.stm
[2]	Brin, D. (2006). Singularities and Nightmare in Nanotechnology Perceptions: A Review of Ultraprecision Engineering and Nanotechnology, Volume 2, No. 1. http://www.kurzweilai.net/meme/frame.html?main=/articles/art0656.html
[3]	Clarke, A. (1999). 2001: A Space Odyssey. New York: New American Library.
[4]	Clarke, A. (1953). Childhood’s End. New York: Random House Publishing Group.
[5]	Clarke, A. (2001). Fountain of Paradise. London: Victor Gollancz Ltd.
[6]	CNN Science Report, February 3, 2006. http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0602/03/ltm.03.html
[7]	CNN’s Special Report, Dated March 2, 2006, Brain Chip Research Aims for Future Movement at http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/02/22/brain.gate/index.html
[8]	Constans, A. Mind over Machines: Brain-Machine Interfaces Help Locked-In Patients Communicate and Quadriplegics Control Their World. http://www.bioethics.upenn.edu/nubc/speakers/surgenor_mindovermachine.pdf
[9]	de Chardin, T. (1959). The Future of Mankind. New York: Harper & Row Publishers.
[10]	de Chardin, T. (1975). The Phenomenon of Man. New York: Harper & Row Publishers, 243.
[11]	Fukuyama, F. (2002) Transhumanism. in Foreign Policy September-October 2004. http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=2667
[12]	Fukuyama, F. (2002). Posthuman Future: Consequences of the Biotechnology Revolution. New York: Pan Books Limited.
[13]	Joy, B. (2002). Why The Future Does Not Need Us. Wired Magazine, Issue 8.04. http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/8.04/
[14]	Kurzweil, R. (1999). The Age of Spiritual Machines: When Machine Intelligence Exceeds Human Intelligence. London: Penguin Book, Ltd., 8.
[15]	Martin, R. (2005). Mind Control. WIRED Magazine. Issue 13.03, March 2005. http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.03/
[16]	Moravec, H. (1988). Mind Children: The Future of Robot and Human Intelligence. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
[17]	Moscovitch, M., Thomspon, E., & Zelato, P. D. (2007). Handbook of Consciousness. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[18]	Pfurtscheller, G., Flotzinger, D., Mohl, W., & Peltoranta, M. (1992). Prediction of the Side of Hand Movements from Single Trial Multi-Channel EEG Data Using Neural Networks. Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology, 82, 313-315. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0013-4694(92)90112-U
[19]	Thomson, E. A. (2014). Monkey Controls Robotic Arm Using Brain Signals Sent over Internet. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2000/monkeys-1206.html
[20]	Toffler, A. (1972). Future Shock. New York: Bantam Books.
[21]	Toffler, A. (1980). Third Wave. New York: Bantam Books.
[22]	Twist, J. (2004). Brain Waves Control Video Game. BBC News Online Technology Reporter. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3485918.stm
[23]	Wolpaw, J. R., & McFarland, D. J. (2004). Control of a Two-Dimensional Movement Signal by a Non-Invasive Brain-Computer Interface in Humans. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 101, 17849-17854. http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0403504101
[24]	Wolpaw, J. R., Birbaumer, N., McFarland, D. J., Pfurtscheller, G., & Vaughan, T. M. (2002). Brain-Computer Interfaces for Communication and Control. Clinical Neurophysiology, 113, 767-791. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1388-2457(02)00057-3
[25]	Wu, W., et al. (2002). Neural Decoding of Cursor Motion Using a Kalman Filter. NIPS: 117-124.