Atheists love to bring up the evils of religion. As soon as they get chance to flaunt their high-level analysis, the Spanish Inquisition is summoned, the Crusades get flagged down and Islamic terrorism is drafted in. And of course, these are all stains on their respective religions. However, what is often ignored is technology and culture; how atheism and rationalism have also caused terrors and harms throughout the world.
Now, I don’t want to turn this into a debate between Rationalism and Religion; both serve a purpose and – taken together – are the keystone to any reasonable thinker’s mental palace. Both have caused suffering, both have caused relief. The genocides of the Second World War could never have taken place without hyper-rationalist thought; ISIS destruction of human relics could never have taken place without hyper-religious thought.
At the extremes, both are harmful.
But what I really want to examine today is how technology and culture have interfaced.
Quiet Change
Technology ushers in quiet revolutions: The Pill caused a revolution in sexual relations; Smart Phones a revolution in human to human communication; Airplanes a revolution in how the world connects. All these technological changes profoundly affected the way we live today – for better and for worse, as we are currently experiencing.
This is not exactly a radical thought, after all the invention of the Printing Press is widely understood to have been one of the most impactful events in shaping world history.
For me, one of the great ironies of technology and culture’s interaction is how many scientific advances are attempts to fix problems caused by previous inventions. Green technology proves a fantastic case study. Petrochemicals spew particulates into the air, causing air pollution. As a result, study into renewable energy gets investment. Indeed, some of this new technology harkens back to old technology. I read an article a few months back (which I can’t find now, annoyingly – but I’m not making it up) about the revolutionary new technology of… watermills.
And this leads me to a problem we have with scientific progress.
The Human Connection
Technology has greatly impacted everyone’s life – but not always for the better.
Many advances which we could no longer live without have separated us from our humanity. They have done this through reducing physical and spiritual connections to our existence.
This is because humanity is a union between three areas; the mind, body and soul. These must be conjoined in order for a rounded life. Neither individuals nor society can overlook even one of these aspects. Whilst they do not have to be entirely balanced – it’s natural for people to have a proclivity toward one or two areas – this doesn’t mean we can solely focus on those we instinctively lean towards.
We must embrace all three.
And culture’s obsession with technology (the mind) to the extent of ignoring the body (physical) and soul (spiritual) has hurt Western society.
The most obvious loser in this is the soul.
Physical and Spiritual Death
Culture and technology have reached a pre-eminence in Western society whereby religion is a mere afterthought. At least, this was my experience growing up in England. This is somewhat unsurprising. Humans are capable of – through the power of the rational mind – sending an image instantaneously to another person over thousands of miles. The spirit’s relationship with the hidden world – an eternally less visible presence – seems wavering by contrast.
But it’s not just the spirit which has been harmed by Western worship of the mind; the physical has also been diminished – albeit to a lesser extent.
Whilst many still extol the virtues of fitness – gyms, sports and athletic feats all play a role in Western culture – the population-wide level of health has never been lower. And a large part of this is due to technological advances.
Take the motorcar, for example. Prior to its invention, if humans wanted to traverse a small distance – perhaps to buy some essential supplies from the nearby shop – they walked. In doing so, they engaged themselves with their physical being; they were out in the weather, experiencing the physical sensation of the sun on the skin and the wind in their hair. They connected with the natural gait of their body, felt the effects of increased blood circulation and could interact with others doing the same.
Compare this with the modern experience; a convenient ride in a pre-controlled environment directly to the shop. After purchase, sit down and travel back. This prevents basic exercise necessary for human health.
Travelling everywhere by car disconnects us from what is right and pleasant to us all. In doing so, it separates us from humanity.
This is but one example of how technology has rippled throughout culture. It has increased convenience, but this has come at the expense of tactile experiences.
Quasi-Religious Experiences
Another great example is food. The invention of the microwave pushed an agenda of eating for convenience. Unfortunately, this came at the detriment of health. I won’t go into the nutritional problems here – though they are manifold – but instead how this invention caused a disconnection between the physical and spiritual.
I say this because I believe cooking is a quasi-religious experience. Through an alchemical combination of ingredients, heat and time you can turn disparate objects into a cohesive, delicious meal, providing joy to those who consume it.
“The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach,” the saying goes – implicitly understanding the power held by chefistry.
But cooking itself allows the experience of sensations, too. The sensation of heat, the effort of stirring and the chopping of ingredients all serve to connect us with our physicality. It leaves time to ponder and think; the space to dwell on spiritual matters; and the chance to give thanks for the ability to eat a delicious meal – a fitting reward for our own, or loved ones’ labours.
The convenience of a microwave meal cannot compete with this. Instead of seeing food a central feature of the day: a time for connection with family and friends; a meeting of the physical, spiritual and social, it is instead considered a box to be ticked as quickly as possible, ushering in the view that eating is for sustenance alone.
This has been taken to the extreme by Soylent; a work of modernist evil.
A change in attitudes resulting from this interaction of technology and culture has not been positive.
The Lust for Efficiency
At the heart of all this change is the desire for comfort and convenience. Anything not instantaneous is seen as a waste of time. By culture focusing on efficiency – as opposed to contentment – it loses so much of what makes us human.
It stops us from taking the time to peruse our thoughts, reflect on what is happening in our lives and removes the opportunity to find solutions to our problems. When you simply load dishes into a dishwasher and push a button, you lose 30 minutes of introspection; hands occupied, but the mind free to wander.
This is a type of meditation. In fact, the purposeful need to go and meditate held by so many is a direct result of the desire to maximise time efficiency. Instead of letting the mind bubble whilst doing tasks such as cleaning the dishes, we instead press a button and watch a video. As a result, we must free a different time to meditate in order to clear our thoughts.
The human animal needs these periods of reflection. We need to work with our hands and leave the mind free. We need to connect with the spiritual realm that surrounds us. We need to do physically demanding acts.
These acts are all fundamentally human.
And technology has stripped our culture from this humanity.
What a shame.
Thanks for reading.
PS: I’ve completed the first draft of my book. It’s going into editing now, so look out for future announcements on this.
Also, a great way to start getting in touch with your mind, body and spirit is through LifeMathMoney’s ‘Live Intentionally’ – Check it out using this affiliate link.
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