Future Global Ethical Issues (Excerpt from the State of the Future report)

5. Drivers of Value Change

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  The family is the fundamental nucleus and should be given priority in any program that tries to look for solutions for a fair and just world.
  

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  Within this timeframe, cognitive science is likely to directly challenge many of the tenets of religion--existence and nature of the soul, of free will etc. The current right-wing backlash against science and secularism can be expected to reach a peak.
  

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  The borders separating science and religion can become sharper or more blurred.
  

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  Most of these issues will create conflict between religious and non-religious groups.
  

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  For most of these questions, the answer is that people/corporations are going to do these things regardless of public opinion or government sanctions. They will happen, so the question of "resolution" is either easy or easily compromised.
  

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  Presentation of violence in media should be prohibited or at least considerably restricted.
  

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  Advertising generally harmful things (weapons, spirits, drugs, tobacco products) should be prohibited or at lest controlled globally.
  

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  Is "civil discourse" a thing of the past (in the media, amongst legislators, between people in the streets or public meetings, etc.)?
  

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  Unexpected disasters will have an increasing probability and will have the capacity to provoke major shifts in values (as did 9/11 in the US)
  

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  The degree to which climate change and resource depletion influence the lives of people in society will have the greatest influence on people's ethical response to environment, social and economic issues.
  

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  The greater internationalization of semi-closed countries such as China will change the balance. It is likely that some Islamic countries will maintain or increase social restrictive conformity. Africa remains an open question and we should probably expect social inequalities to increase, to the detriment of women and children.
  

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  Corporate social responsibility will undergo enormous progressive changes and will become one of the most important factors of the world politics and provide reallocation of the world resources to solve all-human problems during all period up to 2050.
  

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  How to preserve western values (democracy, open society, pursuit of happiness, individual freedom), after religious and national minorities become majority (e.g. Moslems in Western Europe)?
  

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  The mutation of the human values in the decades to come strongly will be influenced by technological advances. It seems to me that these advances, without a suitable and coercive axiological frame, could end at the proliferation of "hedonists" social groups that are looking particularly for the material satisfactions over "the traditional" values.
  

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  Novels and apocalyptic and futuristic films are an evidence of the permanent tendencies to influence the collective subconscious mind and are dangerously becoming general models or guidelines of conduct.
  

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  Science should fight blind believers in order not to become a religion.
  

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  People will not change much from what they believe today. Many people have absolutely no opinion on some of these issues, because they are too fundamentally occupied with staying alive.
  

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  The more technology advances, the more in touch with nature and spiritual things that most people will want to get, not the less so
  

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  Most values will increase or decrease according to technological advancements, more widespread knowledge and higher living standards.
  

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  Some values will increase in 2025 because technology is not yet advanced enough (like security over individual freedom) but will decrease by 2050 when technology allows such a degree of advancement that the lost value will become important again, e.g. right now you need economic progress to reach happiness; this will increase in the next 20 years but once most people reach a high standard of living (widespread economic progress) other more intellectual values will become more important.. Once a value is fulfilled in such a way that it is no longer a concern to most people it becomes less important. If it was lost (which progress will probably not allow to happen in most cases) it would become important again.
  

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  One issue which I believe may resurface is that of the possibility of the emergence of religious values from reformed (orthodox) churches, and an increasing importance being placed on societal (i.e. localized society) values. These give rise to the themes of "fundamentalism" and "tribalism.”
  

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  Surprisingly little attention is devoted to education about ethics. Pupils are taught mathematics, physics, history, literature, but almost nothing about ethics. It is common to lead pupils in accordance to accustomed morality only.
  

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  Throughout history we can perceive a natural human tendency to strengthen positions sustained by traditions and religious beliefs.
  

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  I don’t think that there is any contradiction between science and religion. My reasons include:
  

Science and religion are dealing with different parts of reality and usually ask different questions;

There are scientific elements included in religious teachings;

Also the science could become as dogmatic as religion in bad sense. There is a contradiction, however, between dogmatic totalitarian religion (as in the Taliban or American Protestant traditionalists) and science. But religion itself is not of totalitarian nature.

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  It is difficult to make any estimation for some questions, because we don t know how the political situation will be changing in the future.. In the nineties we witnessed general trends toward more open and democratic societies practically anywhere in the world, but with growth of terrorism (especially after September 11th attacks) fear is growing and personal freedom is undermined even in the most democratic countries. So, any judgment about security and freedom is variable depending upon unpredictable political developments and events in future.
  

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  I wonder how some religious scholars or leaders would have answered these, and what are the differences between various religions and their global impact? Their influence should not be underestimated.
  

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  Humanity drifts with its demographics. I note the impossibility of treating others as you would like to be treated. I can’t imagine the 21^st century without a strong hint of xenophobia.
  

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  The existence of global ethical norms is as important as the existence of a body of international laws observed and enforced for all.
  

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  Would the advent of global ethical norms unduly constrain the differences among groups or the evolution of values?
  

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  We should go back to the traditional values as they would be the universal values accepted by all; some examples: freedom, democracy, solidarity, etc.
  

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  These issues require much thought. Different cultures and religions represent barriers for consensus and I believe that it is necessary to set these barriers aside to be able to have shared solutions before it is too late.
  

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  The mind, imagination and the value of the human being are irreplaceable. In that sense, ethics should first consider the humans and never the machines. They are creation of the human beings and are subject to its governing.
  

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  A responsible ethics towards humanity, shouldn’t allow unilateralism or impositions of the power of a few
  

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  The transition from individual ethical considerations to macro-ethics, which would consider the set of values that are valid and accepted by all humanity, is not going to be easy. It will be the same as nature imposed and forced humans to accept its rules as a prerequisite for survival. I consider that in about 50 years this will be evident for science as well as for the conscience of most of human beings.
  

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  Ethics, values, religion are undergoing accelerated changes in the last years and they will suffer in the years to come. Nevertheless there are some principles relative to the person, the family, and the environment that will be maintained.