Richard Dawkins once said “why” was a silly question. And in a sense, this reflects the attitude of many of his contemporaries. “How” has become a much more important question for most people. How does our body produce this chemical? Or how do the stars move in the sky? This is largely due to a shift from philosophical inquiry to scientific inquiry: a shift marked less by the “big questions” and more by questioning the big things.
But even philosophy has become increasingly concerned with questions of “how.” Philosophy of Mind is increasingly popular as more psychologist-philosophers in the vein of Dan Dennett ask less “why think x” and more “how is the brain responsible for making us think x.” That is, even the progeny of Socrates are less concerned with what to know and more concerned with how one does the knowing.
Unfortunately, this bodes poorly for society as a whole. While Google develops auto-piloted cars and dabbles in human augmentation no one bothers asking “why.” Sure, some 30-something ex-Doom junkie has given some reasons for why, but the question has been left underdeveloped. No one asks why we should want to remove humans from every possible equation. People say things like “it gives the old an opportunity to drive” and “it may reduce accidents.”
But what of the fact that it fundamentally changes the way human beings think and work? Do we want to be people sitting in boxes, listening to our iPods while Hal drives us to the drive-thru pharmacy for our Valium? No, no. Wrong question. Better one: how do we develop the technology?
Morality has met a similar stumbling block. Autonomy continues to be defined as “the right to do what I want.” When classically it was defined as “the ability to overcome my desires, which otherwise enslave me.” But the question now is not “why should my every desire be a right,” but “how can I go about making my every desire a right.” But then again we’re just brain-computers powered by neurons, computing information and reacting to stimuli.
Perhaps, then, ask “why” more often in your life. “Why am I doing this” should precede “how am I going to get this done.” And maybe, just maybe, if we do so it might be easier to find the beams in our own eyes without concentrating on everyone else’s splinters.