Moral Dimension of Man in the Age of Computers

Reason has very often been seen as the highest faculty of man and, therefore, a strong tendency to attempt to analyze man mainly in terms of the rational dimension exists. This tendency was strong in antiquity and was given renewed attention in the seventeenth century. In recent times, developments and advancements in computer science have given the notion renewed scientific support. In this tradition, man is not only analyzed in terms of rational faculties, but is often reduced to them. The philosophical conclusions drawn from computer science strengthen the view that man's highest faculty is reason. This work argues that this view of man is limited and insufficient because man is primarily a moral being, and the rational dimension is only instrumental in the developing and in exercising what is most important in man: the moral dimension.