Oppenheimer: American Prometheus: Technology vs Moral Virtue

Christopher Nolan's new movie the Oppenheimer is based on a book called the American Prometheus where does this phrase, the American Prometheus's come from? It comes from a magazine called the scientific monthly which described the group of scientists that developed the atomic bomb as Modern Prometheus it says

"Moderns Prometheans have raided Mount Olympus again and have brought back for man, the very thunderbolts of Zeus".

So who is Prometheus? He is a figure from the Greek mythology. He stole fire from the gods to bring it to human beings. So that's what they're referring to when they say "raided Mount Olympus again", to bring this technology to human beings so that human life would prosper. The scientists that worked along with Oppenheimer brought the technology that fuels the sun nuclear energy to earth, so to speak. Which is why they are called the modern Prometheans.

So what's interesting is when the US won world war two, these scientists were seen as superheroes. And they were given a lot of admiration and adulation. The irony is Oppenheimer and a lot of other scientists didn't see themselves that way. They saw themselves as using technology to create violence and death. In fact Oppenheimer meets president Truman . And he says, "I have blood on my hands, Mr. President".

So Oppenheimer had this deep sense of guilt. That he'd helped create this atomic energy technology, which could be catastrophic to human flourishing. When Oppenheimer eventually died in 1967. The ambassador, George Keenan said this about Oppenheimer. He said,

"On no one did there ever rest with greater cruelty, the dilemmas evoked by the recent conquest by human beings. of a power over nature out of all proportion to their, our moral strength."

So what's he talking about? He's talking about. How in developing this atomic energy, we've gotten so much power over nature. But our moral capacity to use this power has not developed. We are like children playing with guns. We have this enormous power with it, but we don't have the moral capacity to know what to do with this power that has been given to us.

And this theme of power over nature and the moral capacity is something that Matthieu Pageau talks about in the book called the language of creation in which he says when the book of Genesis talks about the fall that human beings experienced with Adam and Eve eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. He says that passage could also be interpreted as the human longing for knowledge, which gives them power over nature.

But the problem is our moral capacity to handle that power is bankrupt. That power may become something that, that is destructive to us. So that's the dilemma here how do we use the power over nature in such a way that it doesn't become destructive to us? And this theme. This timeless question. Starts with the book of Genesis and it comes in so many different forms and Oppenheimer himself talks about this. He says "we have made a thing most terrible weapon that altered abruptly and profoundly the nature of the world thing that by all standards of the world we grew up in is an evil thing and by so doing, we have raised again, the question of whether science is good for man".

So this is a scientist seen as the Superman who helped the west win world war II decisively is doubting his own faith in science. The reason why that happens is really because he's doubting his faith in humanity to use this power for the ultimate benefit. He is afraid that human beings will use power to create destruction.

Science is good. Science is us using the intellect that God has given us to understand the world around us. But if our moral capacity is not developed in a way that can help us to handle the power then it can become destructive. And this question is something that is not just about atomic energy.

This question about how technology relates to our moral capacity is something that is with us, even with AI and with chat GPT, where there are a number of scientists that say, Hey, we need to pause. We need to stop and think about this and think about how this would affect humanity. And not just keep assuming that all form of progress will ultimately be for the benefit of humankind. So that's the timeless question that the book American Prometheus puts to us are we people that have the moral capacity to use the power that science gives us and if not, what are ways in which we could develop that moral capacity?

This is where our spirituality and our theology comes into play. For example, from a Christian theological standpoint we see the life of Jesus and his way of self-giving love as against seeking power as something that gives us moral virtues. And perhaps those virtues will help us to use the power that science gives us to create a space of peace as against trying to use the power that science gives us to dominate other people and create violence. So this timeless question of how do we develop our moral virtues and strengths so that we can use the power of science as a way of creating peace, instead of using power to create death and destruction is a question that comes in the book.