Coming into this class, I was not quite sure what to expect. Looking back on the discussions we had this week, I am glad I enrolled in this course. Being a biology major, I am used to intense memorization of terms and have never been pushed to think about deeper psychological issues at hand. I think this will give me a new perspective and will encourage me to apply myself in my education in ways that I never considered.
I was especially interested in the excerpt from Sigmund Freud’s “Civilization and Its Discontents” (1913) that we read in class on Thursday. This was written shortly after World War I in which technology showed a significant progression. Although the introduction of these inventions, such as the telephone and the railroad, allowed communication and travel to make great advancements, Freud and others were not as excited. They saw this progression as a hinderance and did not see the point because they created problems of their own. Looking at this dialectically, we can see how technology can both enable happiness and cause suffering. In medicine for example, there is the moral question of whether it is better to extend one’s life so that they have more time on Earth or if this would only elongate the suffering in which “we can only welcome death as a deliverer”. It is also important to consider the consequences of increasing one’s longevity with the planet in mind. If the birth rate continues to increase or even stay at a very high number, the population will climb immensely. This in turn will have such a dramatic effect on the environment, with food and water shortages, increased carbon footprint, and many other problems. This spiral effect poses an alarming reality check and makes us question whether technological advances are actually beneficial.
Connecting this to Mark Twain’s book “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court”, we speculate the main character, Hank, and his observations of the new time period he has been placed in. There are obvious differences that show how time and technology influences every aspect of life. Hank is awestruck at their fashion, the way they talk, and the way they treat their prisoners like “white indians”. With every new technological advance, society will change and adapt to that technology. Humans don’t have much free will at all. Whatever society as a whole is using to communicate, they feel the need to have that as well. There is a fear of being left out and not being able to be on the same page as everyone else. I think that this shows that as a species, we are always looking for the next best thing because we seem to be dissatisfied with what we have. Hank shows this theory in a different light in which people will change to fit in, even if it is not necessarily better, but to thrive in the environment they are placed in. When trying to get himself out of the numerous predicaments he finds himself in, he utilizing over exaggeration because he knows that the people in Arthur’s court will believe everything he says. He is using the form of communication during that era to his benefit and also trying to fit in and gain the approval of his peers. But, he takes this to the next level in which he uses his heightened sense of knowledge to seem all knowing and powerful. It is clear that technology has given people the opportunity to learn (printing books, microscopes, telescopes, etc) and Hank’s reference to the eclipse and his skills in explosions to destroy Merlin’s castle displays how knowledge truly is power. You can take away things and items from someone, but you cannot take away their knowledge. It become a part of who you are. This introduces another problem that technology brings about. Because people have become so addicted to technology and are even dependent on it, they are not able to separate themselves from it. They seem to lose their identity and it is quite sad to not realize one’s self importance without the help of a device. So, as you can see, there are many ways in which technology has both hindered developement of society and created new opportunites for people to grow.