Introduction
Nature, society, and technology are compared to each other in varying degrees, located in bizarre configurations by different scientists. Some see technology as a logical extension of nature, made possible by the triumph of the human mind. Others believe that technology is a dangerous game that, in the end, will quickly subdue a person and his intellect, which now seems invincible. Others believe that technology is just a wrapper in a vast space of geopolitics and social relations. People, especially investigators, should treat technology without childish admiration and undue reverence, but one cannot ignore how deeply human life is intertwined. Most often, technologies are considered in close connection with nature and with society. Technology intertwines with human life and has a mostly positive impact, making life more convenient; it brings many benefits to society, even though large corporations often misuse technology and harm the environment and nature.
Technologies and Nature
Nature for a modern person looks like an interesting concept that refers to pastoral plots and even family values. Nature seems to have everything traditional that parents tell their children about and what they are trying to teach them (Ginn, & Demeritt, 2009). These are all ideologically verified ideas, confirmed in advertising and marketing. Most people prefer to buy natural products; it can be natural cream, milk, chocolate, and a host of other products that people use every day.
In this regard, technology is opposed to nature: physics, chemistry, developments in biology, and engineering. Technology invades nature, changing the structure of products and depriving them of nutrition and usefulness. However, chemical and food technologies usually serve the opposite purpose: to saturate the foods and make them, for example, fresh for a long time (Ginn, & Demeritt, 2009). Here technology is opposed to nature as a fake created by human hands.
Nature is opposed to another concept, namely civilization. This concept is closer to technology because it is also associated with the old traditions’ development, progress, and dismantling. Civilizations are precisely technically centered cultures in which craft and art have reached unprecedented heights and are already knocked out of the natural context (Ginn, & Demeritt, 2009). Civilization is opposed to the ancient tribes, uneducated and inept, where exchange, patriarchy, and family relations between people flourish.
Sometimes nature is compared not only with civilization but also with the concept of culture. Culture originates from cultivation in agriculture, that is, from the production of food for the benefit of man, the first subjection of nature. Culture is the cultivation and cultivation of soil, wood, stone, and everything that can benefit a person. Subsequently, culture has become everything in general, which means the heritage of particular peoples or individuals. Culture is everything created by man, invented by a man living in nature.
Technology, however, can be an extension of nature, making it a broader concept. In a general sense, technology as nature will generally denote order, specificity, and meaning. Then the technology devalues the Cartesian understanding of the world, which divides a person according to dualism. All this follows that an adequate perception of technology is the continuation of nature and its triumph, perhaps. The conflict between nature and technology seems far-fetched, although it produces itself in debates and works on environmental topics. It is not the technology itself that plays the central role here, but the people who manage these technologies. Different people buy them, prioritizing not in favor of the health of others and nature. Thus, the problem of technology and nature turns out to be, in fact, a problem of nature and society.
Technology and Society
Most modern people can see how societies of different countries voluntarily subordinate their lives to technology. Some people become addicted to technology, and this is not about life-saving medical advances. Technology has given people comfort and the ability to save their strength and energy for priority tasks constantly. The idea of the guilt of the abstract notion of the technologization of the planet looks tempting. This idea is convenient for everyone: simplicity, mystery, danger, and incomprehensible consequences. Human consciousness always strives to simplify reality and the processes taking place in it. The idea that big money, corporations, and societies drive technology and the needs of several people requires taking into account too many variables. Thus, an ideological base is easily created around the idea of total technologization, in which it is convenient to believe.
Impersonal guilt is often convenient for people, as it allows expressions of varying degrees of severity, which usually do not require confirmation and evidence. Technology has continually been developed only by people and supported by them from the financial side. One of the greatest existential crises produced by the advances in technology is Robert Oppenheimer’s atomic bomb, and nuclear weapons themselves. This weapon puts before a person the question of his capabilities, life, and possible death. The use of atomic, chemical, and biological weapons always brings a wave of protests, denials, and condemnations.
Technology and its wonders are becoming the subject of reflection for many artists, filmmakers, and musicians. In addition, technology has been working closely with contemporary art for a very long time. For example, the electronic music revolution was possible by the Roland TR-808, a machine that was not difficult to operate and did not require specific education from the owner. Technology has forever changed the whole musical layer; this process cannot be reversed or ignored.
All this follows that technologies under the auspices and control of people with different priorities and goals have become a real treasure. There is no impersonal technologization that contradicts traditions and culture and destroys nature. Technologies in the modern world are human ideas created by human hands to achieve goals or simplify life. Anyone can see how technology makes their life easier: food is cooked faster and lasts longer in the refrigerator, and communication with family and friends is facilitated and accelerated.
Conclusion
Technology is usually considered in connection with nature and society. Technology seems like a logical extension of nature, but people, even some researchers, as something that opposes nature. Technology subdues nature, denoting rationality and Western material priority over the spiritual. At the same time, it is impossible not to focus on all technologies being controllable in the modern world. It is pointless to discuss the impersonal technologization trying to control nature and destroy it. Technology has always worked for the benefit of man, and the developers sought to make other people’s lives more comfortable. It has a price, but technology should not become a messenger of ideology. Therefore, I agree almost entirely with the claim that technology benefits society. However, this has its consequences often, they are unpleasant, and some, unfortunately, are irreversible. The misuse of technology benefits people in finance and power, therefore, society will continue to face the unfair use and distribution of technology.
Reference
Ginn, F., & Demeritt, D. (2009). Nature: A contested concept. Key Concepts in Geography (2nd ed.), 300-311.