Abstract
Where does technological development promote quality of life and where does it endanger it? The instruments of evolution, above all homeostasis, are aimed at progress, not at quality of life. Happiness and sorrow, joy and pain are only the control instruments of evolution. Satisfaction is an enemy of progress; dissatisfaction drives development. People, companies, and states with the highest technological and social level of development determine the direction of development and dominate the less developed. Therefore, we must try to be leaders in evolution, especially in technical and social development, and at the same time use progress for the quality of life. Evolution puts us on the treadmill of differentiation through the needs for power, recognition and self-esteem. Convenience leads to a renunciation of privacy. Digital services generate an addiction to news and information and an ever less manageable complexity. Psychology, medicine, and religion can lead to quality of life, for example with healthy nutrition, drugs, brain stimulation, or virtual reality. A personal, digital happiness coach can be the goal, but will still be a long way off in 2030.
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Notes
- 1.
Once again, it should be pointed out that we do not know the goals of evolution but can merely observe how it works and, from this, identify a direction rather than a goal (cf. Sect. 1.2).
- 2.
Perhaps the ora et labora motto from the Rule of Saint Benedict is a more successful path to work-life balance.
- 3.
Time and again, this was borne out in the discussions I conducted regarding this book, not only by my discussion partners, but also by myself.
- 4.
Any findings to the contrary are most welcome via www.lifeengineering.ch.
- 5.
Some scientists will probably want to crucify me for my fuzzy modeling and the conclusions I draw from it. If they are able to provide exact and well-founded answers to the pressing questions on the basis of their research, I shall willingly oblige.
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Osterle, H. (2020). Evolution with Quality of Life. In: Life Engineering. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-31482-8_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-31482-8_5
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