Construct an argument that proposition that science and technology represent the human desire to control the environment,|Research essay
Instructions:
· Write a 2500-3000 word essay on one of the following topics;
· Draft versions may be submitted at any time for comment and a tentative grade;
Topics:
1. Select one prominent scientist (past or present) and describe that person’s most important scientific discovery.
2. Select one prominent technologist (past or present) and describe that person’s most important technological innovation.
3. Select one scientific theory (e.g., gravity, evolution, relativity, quanta) and describe how it affected humanity’s understanding of itself.
4. Select one energy source (e.g., steam, internal combustion, nuclear and describe how it altered the economic mode of production.
5. Select one method of communication (e.g., the printed page, radio/television broadcasting and describe how it affected politics and governance.
6. Construct an argument for or against the proposition that genetically modified organisms hold the key to a safe and reliable global food supply.
7. Construct an argument for or against the proposition that electronic data collection and storage poses the greatest threat to democracy and human rights.
8. Construct an argument for or against the proposition that the agricultural revolution and the beginnings of “civilization” was the greatest mistake humanity has made.
9. Construct an argument for or against the proposition that technology is the key to human survival on an overpopulated planet.
10. Construct an argument for or against the proposition that science should be publicly funded only when it is designed to produce an immediately practical product.
11. Select one medical procedure of recent invention and explain why it ought to be banned from use.
12. Select one
13. Construct an argument for or against the proposition that artificial intelligence poses an existential threat to humanity.
14. Construct an argument for or against the proposition that overpopulation poses the greatest existential threat to humanity.
15. Construct an argument for or against the proposition that there is no such thing as a “value-neutral” technology.
16. Identify a currently important social problem and describe the scientific or technological research that would be necessary to solve it.
17. Identify a currently prominent technology or product and explain why its invention or production represents an irreversible problem for humanity.
18. Identify a scientific or technological failure that was either a large wast of resources or that would have been disastrous if it had been successful.
19. Identify a scientific discovery that has resulted in the loss of religious faith and explain how and with what effect the pertinent religion has tried to accommodate it.
20. Identify one religious objection to a scientific theory and explain why that objection should not be included as a postsecondary science program.
21. On balance, do the costs outweigh the benefits of automation in the production of human goods and services?
22. On balance, does foreign aid to developing countries produce economic outcomes that justify the expenditures?
23. On balance, does investment in pharmaceuticals, foreign aid to developing countries produce economic outcomes that justify the expenditures?
24. On balance, does the investment in algorithms to rationalize and standardize decision making in one specific field of human activity justify the expenditures?
25. On balance, has technological innovation had positive effect on humanity’s aesthetic experience and judgement.
26. Construct an argument for or against the proposition that science and technology represent the human desire to control the environment, but has had the opposite effect.
27. Construct an argument for or against the proposition that science represents a universal way of knowing that can help reduce cross-cultural human conflict.
28. Construct an argument for or against the proposition that science represents a method of inquiry that is inconsistent with any society not committed to human freedom.
29. Construct an argument for or against the proposition that it is impossible to derive a moral truth from a scientific truth.
