Having worked for tech companies in Silicon Valley for the last few decades, I am intrigued, and to some extent, troubled by the rapid technological advances that are taking place simultaneously with a decline in morality and ethical behavior. Social media and tech platforms are making us more distracted, anxious, depressed, and insecure. Above all, digital technology is making us less empathetic and less prone to ethical action. Just think of bystanders witnessing a car accident or fistfight quickly drawing out their phones to record the drama rather than taking action to help the victim.
The general view is that digital technology impacts our ability to respond appropriately by degrading our capacity to notice the morally salient features of a given situation. Although tech companies apply "persuasive technology" to manipulate and modify human behavior, solely blaming technology for our moral decay completely misses the point. As any data scientist will tell you, correlation is not causation. Technology is indeed contributing to and amplifying a phenomenon that has been happening for decades — but it is not necessarily the cause of the problem.
We've turned the concept of basic goods upside down
Aristotle was one of the earliest proponents of the idea of basic goods, a set of things necessary for human flourishing and well-being. Philosophers and theologians further developed the concept of basic goods throughout history, and it became the core of Natural Law theory, which posits that certain moral principles are inherent in human nature and can be discovered through reason and observation of the natural world.
Basic goods include things like life, health, knowledge, friendship, and aesthetic appreciation. These goods are seen as necessary for human flourishing, and therefore, provide a basis for moral judgment. Actions that promote basic goods are considered morally right, while actions that undermine them are considered morally wrong. Natural law maintains that these rules of right and wrong are inherent in people and are not created by society or court judges. Basic goods are objectively valuable and universally applicable.
Aristotle and the Greek Philosophers spent quite a great deal of time thinking about how such goods were related to happiness. Aristotle's view is that certain goods (e.g., life and health) are necessary preconditions for happiness and that the possession and exercise of virtues (goods of the soul) is the core constitutive element of happiness. The virtuous person alone can attain happiness, and the virtuous person can never be miserable in the deepest sense, even in the face of misfortune which keeps him from being happy or blessed. So happiness combines an element over which we have greater control (virtue) with elements over which we have lesser control (health, wealth, friends, etc.).
To Aristotle, true happiness (eudaimonia) is achieved through the virtuous pursuit of one's potential and the realization of one's highest nature. Virtues are habits of the soul by which one acts well for the sake of what is fine and noble. As Aristotle puts it, virtuous actions express correct (right) reason. They are acquired through practice and habituation. One becomes virtuous by acting virtuously, i.e., by acting as the virtuous person acts, doing what one should, when one should, and in the way one should. And the virtuous person comes to take pleasure in acting virtuously.
Aristotle argued that eudaimonia can only be achieved through living virtuously (practicing virtues like courage, wisdom, good humor, moderation, kindness, etc…). Today, when we think about a flourishing life, virtue doesn't come to mind. Instead, we think of a life of financial success, good health, and with access to a range of material goods. The concepts of basic goods and eudaimonia have lost meaning in our modern society, where flourishing equals good qualities plus good material fortune, and virtue is seen as an obstacle, rather than essential to happiness.
We are practicing vanity, and calling it virtue
The main problem with social media is that we can now easily disguise our vanity as a virtue!
People on all sides engage on social media pretending their platforms are about political causes when, in fact, they just provide the perfect opportunity to talk about themselves. Tragedies, political discourse, and even private matters become opportunities to practice our vanity and be rewarded with praise, likes, and followers. Having turned the concept of basic goods upside down, we are now free to practice our vanity, pretending we are the most virtuous people on earth.
The root cause is our progressive culture where we can’t tell right from wrong and are terrified to enforce any moral and ethical behavior or expectation.
Morality, which was once seen as objectively valuable and universally applicable, has now become subjective and determined by one's subjective mental states like pleasure and desire. If a life is wanted, the right thing to do is to preserve and fight for it. However, in circumstances where a life is unwanted, then there is nothing wrong with terminating it. Abortion and euthanasia are morally accepted from this perspective. Calling for the death of a black person is racist, but chanting death to zionists is seen as a fight for 'liberation' and 'decolonization'. In this subjective and relative world, our vanity becomes a virtue.
"Virtue was vanity dressed up and waiting for applause."
― Richard Flanagan, The Narrow Road to the Deep North
Societal decay is the inevitable result of moral relativism
Tech platforms are contributing to and amplifying our loss of empathy, our lack of regard for others, and our neurotic obsession with our own image. But it's time we all took our share of responsibility.
We've created a culture where happiness has become completely disconnected from virtue, and morality has become subjective. In such a culture, anything is permissible and no one can be held accountable for their actions. Without a shared understanding of right and wrong, and what is necessary for human flourishing, individuals become stagnant and fail to reach their full potential. Societal decay becomes the inevitable result of moral relativism.
Yes, technology is harming our mental health, but our progressive culture is harming our souls and preventing us from living a flourishing life.
‘If a life is wanted, the right thing to do is to preserve and fight for it. However, in circumstances where a life is unwanted, then there is nothing wrong with terminating it. Abortion and euthanasia are morally accepted from this perspective. Calling for the death of a black person is racist, but chanting death to zionists is seen as a fight for 'liberation' and 'decolonization'. In this subjective and relative world, our vanity becomes a virtue.’
This quote!!
It is interesting how likes and follows equate to some type of moral currency.
I also find the concept of moral relativity interesting. Of course we’d want to bend what is considered right and wrong to suit our agenda of the day. How is anyone supposed to know how to be a good person when it all depends on how someone feels in that moment? It takes away the value of morality when it is simply based on convenience.