Les différents types de progrès (document en anglais)

I Different types of progress

1. technological

Le progrès technique désigne les phénomènes permettant l'amélioration des techniques de production (moindre coût, diversification, diffusion plus large des produits).

L'un des avantages premiers du progrès technique est de réduire la pénibilité du travail humain, grâce à des machines..

–Robots, automated production : technological progress improve our life everyday for exemple with car, phone, computer, internet, even with dishwasher

– Cheap and rapid transportation across the world enabling transport of products all over the world

– Advances in global communications networks facilitating the exchange of information.

– The internet – advantages and disadvantages (have we become to dependent on technology, is it isolating us from one another?)

Unemployment, environmental consequences, isolation,

2. scientific

- Medical advances:  cures for illnesses such as AIDS and certain cancers : now medecine improvement allows us to live longer and in better health, with for exemple, transplantation, chimio therapy,

– Cloning

– Performance enhancing drugs

– Genetically modified organisms

– Designer babies : pgd can be seen as an achievement since it prevents genetic diseases in future babies. However, PGD raises some issues. Indeed, it also seerves cosmetic purposes (color of eyes, gender...) It also allows parents to pick the embryo who will become very intelligent.. GD can leads to eugeni cs and it can create a society with second-class citizens..

– Space travel

- Medicaments to cure diseases

On top of that, the willingness of scientific to create  robot more and more powerfull and functional can represent a threat for Humanity.   On the extract untittled Man Vs Machine, we discover a robot smarter that its own creator. But, if robot could surpass humans, could they dominate us ?

Question of ethic, necessity to find a limit..

3. political / social

– Democracy

– DDHC

– Women’s rights : obtaining the vote for women, the fight for equality, equal pay : One hundred years ago, America was segragated. Black people were considered  inferior to white, but thanks to progress encouraged by soe heroes like Martin Luther King or Rosa Parks, america is now better and fairer.

– Increased recognition of minority groups: ethnic, racial or religious minorities.

...