Author: Ashton Radvansky

Our discussion of ethics during class on February 14th caused me to think about life in a much broader way. As we go through our daily lives, they can often become routine and monotonous. As things become more familiar, we complete each motion as though it is an instinct, and we do not give much thought to the greater implications of our actions. During class I was forced to venture outside of the “Lewisburg bubble”, and to think about potential real-world scenarios; but even then I was initially limited by my own common sense.

In class, Professor Perrone depicted a scenario where an individual is driving a car, and does not have enough time to stop before running into someone. They must choose to stay straight and hit one person, or to quickly turn the wheel and run over two people. Immediately I thought in my head “Well of course they should stay straight. Losing one life is better than losing two”. After pondering this, Professor Perrone added that the one person in front of the driver is a pregnant woman of eight months, while the two people to the side of the driver are a pair of criminals who have just recently robbed a bank. I felt a gut-wrenching feeling in my stomach because while it would be unjust for an innocent pregnant woman to lose her life, it is just as equally unjust to run over two men for a crime they have committed.

I was born and raised in a religious household, and I believe that it is morally wrong to take the lives of other human beings. We do not have the right to choose who lives or dies in any scenario, much less a scenario of an accidental car crash. My argument follows that of the Divine Command Theory in saying that “Good actions follow the will of God and bad actions are contrary to the will of God”. Although scripture does not address all moral issues, I believe that God is the ultimate authority and judge over human life.

In class, on February 2nd, we broke off into small groups to discuss examples of different energy conversions that took place during Hank Morgan’s journey, but it was the discussion of wasted energy that truly piqued my interest. While addressing the class, Professor Perrone told a story about his father’s work as a dentist. His father found out that the more he worked, then the greater the amount of money the government would take out in taxes. Dr. Perrone found out that for all of the extra work he was doing, it was not worth the minute additional income he was receiving in return. As an accounting and financial management major at Bucknell, I found this story intriguing because I am currently enrolled in Corporate Finance and I deal with tax questions daily. In the corporate world, large corporations try to add additional expenses onto their income statement so that they can reduce their taxable income.

This comparison between Dr. Perrone and large corporations led me to think about people in general, the shortcuts we take in our daily lives, and what is responsible for our motives to conserve our energy output. My answer to this is the rapid advancement in technology. Everyday, new technology is being invented and developed, and when it is released to the public the advertisements all say the same thing: “buy this new and updated piece of technology because it does things quicker and easier, and it will save you time in your daily lives”. Being born in 1997, I cannot even begin to imagine what life was like before televisions, cell phones, or computers, but I can imagine that people had to work a lot harder to achieve things in their daily lives.

During my sophomore year of high school I was enrolled in AP US History and we read the book, Devil in the White City, in class. It was through this novel that I first learned about the Columbian Exposition of 1893, and when I walked into class on Tuesday I was genuinely excited when I found out that we would be watching a documentary on the Chicago World’s Fair. In high school, at only 15 years old, my ability to understand the magnitude of the exposition was limited. Now, after watching the documentary in class, I have a much deeper understanding for what the effects of the fair were, both technologically and culturally.

The Chicago World’s Fair took place 124 years ago from present day, which seems like an extended period of time relative to my own life. In reality though, 124 years is a minute period of time when compared to the lifetime of the earth. But it is in these last few centuries that the greatest advancements in society have been seen. After reflecting on the documentary, I pondered over what has caused this rapid boost in technological expansion, and I settled on the one thing that drives most people: competition. Nearly every major country was given their own building at the fair, and each country’s goal was to highlight who they are to the world, and show why they were the best. This heightened since of competition drove architects to construct the largest and most outlandish buildings, and it drove innovators to design products for the future. This was all done out of a sense of pride for one’s country.

During the operation of the fair, countless designs of new products were revealed and showcased by each country. At the time, everything seemed perfect, and there was a constant peace felt around the park. Visitors were head-over-heels for rides on the large Ferris wheel; they were blown away by the heights the air balloon could take them; they were enlightened by Thomas Edison’s light-bulb; and they were shell-shocked by the immense size and destructive power of Germany’s guns. No visitor took the time to think about what implications may follow this rapid advancement in technology and production, and it is ironic to think about how this drive for success has actually led to war and destruction of world peace.

Although the push and drive for individuals to create the ‘next best thing’ has resulted in far advancements in technological production, it has also granted countries the ability to devastate entire populations of people during a war. It is ironic that the German gun that received high acclaim at Chicago’s World’s Fair, was used just twenty years later during WWI to cause massive death and destruction. It makes you wonder, at what point do we need to focus on the present, rather than worrying so much about creating something for the future.