Idea of progress: should we fear progress?

I’m going to talk about the notion « Idea of progress ». To begin with, I’d like to state a definition of progress. Progress is the idea that the world and the society can evolve positively in terms of sciences, technology, modernization and living condition. But progress is so powerful that sometimes, it can be scary. Indeed, science is a topical issue between those who consider that it is beneficial and those who consider that progress is going too faster which is dangerous. So, we are going to look at this question: "should we fear progress?"

I. On the one hand, I think progress is essential to evolve and it is indispensable for our comfort, and to make our lives easier. History is made of progress and evolution that have allowed the world to be what it’s today. Thanks to advances in sciences, medicine has become much more efficient, accessible and has allowed to save so much lives thanks to more and more sophisticated techniques. More recently, science permitted to perform a transplant on people with burnt skin and so change their life. Robotics, science, technology and biology allow progress. Wonderful inventions are due to advances such as the development of robots like the Japanese robot which look like a woman and which is able to think and make some move like humans. Cars are also the result of years of research, development and improvement which made possible to travel more easily and more quickly. And I think Internet is also an economic, social and numeric revolution. It gives access to information really quickly and really easily, it changed the way of life of the whole world.

II. On the other hand, progress can be dangerous in the hands of a bad person, or when it is abused, but also when they are badly controlled. It is true that internet allowed some liberty, like the liberty of inform ourselves. But it has never been so easy to a State to place under supervision all of its people. There are many debates about the progress of science like: «Should parents be able to choose their baby’s gender? ». I think that if you are not prepared to accept a boy or a girl, you should not be a parent.

Also, progress can become dangerous. For example, during world wars, sophisticated arms were devastating. During world war II, atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki destroyed thousands of lives. It can challenge the limits of technology. So where are the limits of progress?

As a conclusion, I’d say progress is neither all good or all bad. It’s not scientific knowledge that is either good or bad, but the application of it. Progress can be terrible if it is used abusively, but, in my opinion, progress is the result of a science more and more developed. Thanks to that, medicine for example is able to save and to improve so many lives. And not many people will agree to give up on it.

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