Juan Rodriguez
May 2, 2018
REL 3171-0001
The scope of Jewish Ethics; technology and economics
The ideals and morality of Jewish ethics applies to all people regardless of race, gender, education or religious background. The ideals of Jewish ethics are very closely related to those of Christianity/Catholicism since they are based on the same God and the same religious backgrounds and texts. The tradition of Judaism goes back thousands of years and is a worldwide basis for ethics and morality in the modern world. When it comes to the scope of Jewish ethics the idea that it only applies to Jewish people is mistaken because it is a basis of morality that all people should follow and have because it is basically the same rules that many other religious backgrounds have, monotheistic or polytheistic. For example, a law that pertains throughout Jewish and Christian/Catholic values is do unto others as you would wish them to do unto you, this rule applies to all people of all backgrounds because not only is it a sign of respect, but it is a logical an ethically correct thing to do in any culture. Technology and Economics are two very important topics where the ethical scope of Jewish ethics is not as clear.
Technology is an important aspect of morality because it can be used in extremely unethical and immoral ways, like identity theft and hacking. Ethically it is incorrect to steal someone’s identity and pass off as them for personal gain like fake ID’s or duplicating credit cards. Hacking can also be used to steal people’s identities and during times or war it can be used to steal information or influence elections. This is clearly a breach of privacy and boundaries that cannot be crossed. Jonas’ paper on the imperative of responsibility states that, “Ethical significance belonged to the direct dealing of man with man, including the dealing with himself; all traditional ethics in anthropocentric” (Jonas 4). This basically says that the ethical dealing that men have are always between man and man or man and himself, this means that your morality is based on you and what you believe is right. This ideal can obviously be very subjective but it basically boils down to the statement listed in the introduction do unto others as you would wish them to do unto you and the dealings of man rely heavily on this law. The idea that all human dealings are between man and man regards to many Jewish laws such as, love thy neighbor as thyself, subordinate your individual good to the common good and instruct your child in the way of the truth, the common denominator in all of these laws is that man is dealing with man.
Technology is the most important advancement humans have made in their history, the ability to thrive, advance and evolve due to technology is something that no other advancement has been able to do. The Jonas essay puts it as, “Now, techne in the form of modern technology has turned into an infinite forward-thrust of the race, its most significant enterprise, in whose permanent, self-transcending advance to ever greater things the vocation of man tends to be seen, and whose success of maximal control over things and himself appears as the consummation of his destiny” (Jonas 9). The term techne is word deriving from greek meaning craftsmanship or craft. This statement implies that since technology is the most important advancement in history it has taken over the destiny of people. It compares it to the concept of homo sapiens being homo faber which means that humans have to ability to control their own destiny using tools, like technology. Due to the importance of technology now the idea of ethics and morality need to come into play when speaking about technology and its impacts to society.
Some imperatives to follow are clearly stated in the Jonas essay, “Act so that the effects of your actions are compatible with the permanence of genuine human life; or expressed negatively; act so that the effects of your actions are not destructive of the future possibility of such life” “Act so that the effects of your actions are not destructive of the future possibility of such life; In your present choices, include the future wholeness of Man among the objects of such life” (Jonas 11). These ideals translate directly to technology in that all actions taken through technology should show value to human life and the importance of it. The actions of technology have many implications on the lives of people and these implications can have a positive or negative effect on it. People should always keep in mind that the prospects of new technology should never degrade the quality of human life. The basic imperative of this quote is to show respect and value to other people’s lives when doing something that can affect them. This idea in its most basic from boils down to do unto others as you would wish them to do unto you. This imperative again applies to all people of all different backgrounds.
In general, the aspects of Jewish ethics that apply to technology state basically that people are allowed to use technology in the most positive, productive and beneficial way possible without losing respect and importance to human life. “When we then ask what human qualities are held to procure the qualification, that is, to constitute a life pleasing to God, we must look at the life prescriptions of the particular creeds-and these we may often find to be just those prescriptions of justice, charity, purity of heart, etc.” (Jonas 13). This is basically just a wrap up the previous ideals that state that the most important thing is life is the respect and value for human life and that no matter what people achieve or do the idea of keep that value and respect must be at the forefront of it all. The prescriptions that this quote talks about refers to the establishment of a claim founded on the basis of a long or indefinite period of uninterrupted use or of long-standing custom, and the long-standing custom refers to Jewish laws and customs. The life that pleases God is the most important aspect to any religious life and that all of our actions should be based on that. Jewish ethics applies to all people in technology because of the fact that people experience the aspect of technology and the effects of technology every single day. The importance of Jewish ethics in technology and its influence on all people around the world is seen by the effect it has on people’s lives and the different events that have happened because of it.
Economics is another aspect of life where Jewish ethics and morality can be applied. Tamari’s paper puts this clearly in her work, “Economics as a discipline-and, for that matter, every known economic system and every available method of creating, distributing and consuming wealth-has deep religious, cultural and social roots” (Tamari 165). This stems from the history of the creation, distribution and consumption of wealth which has been a part of human life since its beginning. The different economic systems all solve different ethical and moral concerns that have to be asked but they also have questions stemming from them. Capitalism and communism are two prime examples of this. Capitalism rewards the hard worker and gives them more wealth and opportunity, but the question that arises from this is since all people are created equal why are some people entitled to more if they are not better or more important than the other. Communism rewards population as a whole but creates a bit of problem when it comes to work, the question that arises from this is if people work harder than others and apply their skills more effectively why are they not rewarded for their effort or why do they not get more even if they have earned it. Capitalism has clearly throughout history without exception worked much more effectively than communism because of humans trying to find the easiest way of achieving their goals, so why work when you will be getting the same as the guy who works 18 hours a day. “Economic activity and economic policy often create moral and ethical problems at the same time that they solve other problems” (Tamari 165).
Economics in general is basically about supply and demand and these two forces drive markets in and out of inflationary situations and recessions. Economic insights and rules are meant to regulate this and since this aspect is so important in human life it is very important that ethics, religion and morality be a part of it because it not then the value of human life and God are lost. “Judaism, as a value system, provides solutions to questions of equity, mercy and peace” (Tamari 166). This basically says that Judaism provides answers for the morality, the religious integrity and the importance to human life in situations like economics, but it does not say the best way of how this is to be done. “Any legal system, especially a religious and moralistic one, cannot operate effectively a philosophical and ethical framework.” (Tamari 166-167). This is a simple idea that applies to all different types of economic systems especially capitalism and communism.
Capitalism has been an economic system since the beginning of economic systems, this is based on hard work rewarding individuals and this economic system stems from religious institutions. Communism began to become popular in the 20th century and it is a moral framework that states that everyone is created equal and everyone should have equal wealth and equal opportunity. Capitalism is a religious legal system and communism is a moral system so they both require philosophical and ethical frameworks. Tamari explains in her essay a very simple concept that stems from Jewish ethics, “Each individual has the freedom and the right, within his legal jurisdiction, to use his property as he wishes, and others engaged in the same activity cannot prevent him from doing so. At the same time, there has to be some ordering force or mechanism, some cultural or legal framework, to ensure that these activities are not carried out at the expense of or the detriment of other people’s wealth, health, or freedom” (Tamari 167). The imperative states basically that someone has the right to do whatever they want with everything they own and no one can stop them from doing that but they cannot affect other people or the things they have. The important part about this ideal is that people have their space and they are entitled to do anything but it is not right to disrespect or destroy another person’s space. Jewish ethics in economics applies to all people because not only do they experience the effects of economics every day but also the history of economics revolves around religion, morality and ethics.
The overarching theme through both of these aspects of technology and economics and how Jewish ethics pertains to them is the to respect the human dignity and property of other people. Jewish ethics states throughout both of these themes that the most important thing is to always respect human dignity and morality. Technology can be used in immoral and unethical ways but it is also an extremely important aspect of human life and human history so ethics also needs to be a part of the conversation. Jewish ethics plays a part in technology more specifically in that the advancements made in technology cannot interfere with the dignity and importance of the human person and the image of God. Jewish ethics plays a vital role in economics and it is more clearly see in the two most basic forms of government and distribution of goods, wealth and services. Communism is a morally based ideal of government and capitalism is a religiously based form of government and by definition morality and religion need influence from ethics. The scope of Jewish ethics includes all people, everyone in the world experiences technology and experiences the impacts of economics every single day and the importance of ethics and the aspects of Jewish ethics are incorporated in every aspect of it. The importance of human dignity is extremely important in everyone’s life and Jewish ethics plays a part in this in that the central theme of Jewish ethics in human dignity and how people should not disrespect that and abuse of it.