Socially Constituted Knowledge

More Comprehensive System of Ethics with Socially Constituted Knowledge

By collecting and improving the crystallization of predecessors’ wisdoms, people have gained more knowledge. Accordingly, they are now living in a society with advanced technologies, which are products of the intelligence. Wikipedia, an online “encyclopedia” that has collective information, has become the source that someone first turn to if he wants to find answers to some problems today; and the gene engineering , although as a central issue, has saved numerous people’s lives in recent years. They are two examples that people benefit from most. However, as people receive more specific and professional knowledge and master more advanced technology, some point out that,

In Buddhist ideas, all creature are created equal; the poor and the rich, the disabled and the able-bodied, human beings and animals, are all lives, make no distinctions between the high and the low. As an honorable Buddhist monk, the Dalai Lama knows the true essence among different lives very well, even in the modern word with advanced technology such as genetic engineering. Therefore, “the issue is no longer whether we should or should not acquire knowledge and explore its technological potential. Rather, the issue is how to use this new knowledge and power in the most expedient and ethically responsible manner” (Dalai Lama 134). As getting to know more about biology, people recognize that all lives are made up of flesh, blood, and bones. However, people have no rights to kill other lives by using the newest knowledge because ethical standards guide people to use the social constituted knowledge morally. With the given scientific evidence, more people believe that all lives on the earth have emotions, and they should be treated equally to human beings. Undoubtedly, those experiments on animals have made great contributions to genetic engineering, which have saved many people’s lives. However, by enjoying the achievements, people should reflect on themselves whether they respected those animals’ lives lost in experiments. Furthermore, since people usually say they are now living in an “open” world, what does the word “open” mean? Is “open” means people can do anything they want without worrying about others’ feelings? The answer is “no,” because “‘open’ meant two things: first, anyone, in principle, could contribute. Second, all of the content would be made freely available” (Poe 353). While most information is available on the Internet, if the contributors’ range is widened to all lives, people will find that both animals and humans can make contributions to technological developments. For