We live in a world filled with our technology.  Everywhere you turn you can see the products of technology in one form or another.  Within the past five years the world has experienced an explosion in the variety of ways people can communicate with each other.  The speed of life has indeed accelerated to an unbelievable pace.  In the same way, although maybe to a slightly less dramatic degree, those things that we have termed the "liberal arts" – things that bring out and demand the creativity and originality of the human being – have also grown and changed and matured with time.  While they may appear to be at opposing ends of the reality spectrum, it is this confrontation between technology and art and the cooperation between these two apparently disparate entities that has brought about the greatest enlightenment in the mental, emotional, intellectual and social aspects of our lives.

From the very beginning of the course we have been able to recognize that technology has both good and bad characteristics.  Mary Shelley's Victor Frankenstein is one such example where technology became an instrument of tragedy.  To quote from my Frankenstein Quiz:

Through Victor's obsession with science and technology, the reader
is able to recognize a story about one man's struggle with knowledge,
power and responsibility, and the consequences when that knowledge
and power are not used wisely.  (1)

His obsession with creating life had very serious repercussions on himself and the people he loved.  In Hawthorne's short story "The Birthmark," we see that Aylmer's overconfidence in technology and science brought about, like Frankenstein, the death of his wife and thus the destruction of the emotional component of his life.  Similarly, there are those in our world today who believe that computers can do all the work for them, that with things like spell-check and grammar-check we no longer need to think critically for ourselves.  If left unchanged, this is an attitude that will have a profoundly negative impact on our society and technology in the future.  In these examples, we see people placing too much trust in the power of technology while ignoring the "humanity" in themselves: their consciences, their hearts and the unique abilities that each homo-sapien possesses.

One implication that we should realize is that we can only benefit if technology and the liberal arts are used in conjunction with one another, when the best elements of each are combined and utilized.  Victor Frankenstein's attempt to create life went awry because he did not have any reason for going through with his experiment other than to satisfy some indescribable desire inside of him.  On the other hand, doctors today are saving hundreds of lives using the powers of science and modern medicine.  The credit can be attributed to the intermingling of the science of medicine ("technology") with the emotional desire of the doctor to help another human ("liberal arts").  In "The Education of Henry Adams," the cathedral is another good example of combining technological innovation and architecture with creative insight and artistic inspiration.  Similarly, computer technology can be used today not only as a means of communication and the sharing of information, but as an educational tool to stimulate the imagination and accelerate the pace and quality of learning.

The key is to recognize that while technology provides us with a great power, it demands from us an equally great awareness of our responsibilities.  We must recognize that the decisions we make today will set precedent for the people of tomorrow.  We are responsible for using this technology for the benefit of all people and not abusing it because of greed or pride or anger.  Used in the wrong way, one can expect to see technology manifested in a dim Johnny Mnemonic future that favors a handful of specially skilled (and selfish) individuals.  Used in the right way, however, technology can bring about the reverse effect.  Coupled with the creativity and originality contained in all liberal arts and embodied in the human spirit – from painting to psychology to music and history – technology can bring about a very bright future indeed.

Jay R