CHAPTER 4: Developing Moral Intelligence: Global, Networked, and Embodied Approaches

We are living in a world that is undergoing a major transformation. Science, technology, and globalization have enabled humankind to improve living standard and create material wealth in an unprecedented speed and scale. Such development however is unsustainable and will lead to serious resource and environmental problems, if the international community can not collaborate to effectively address these issues. Also, there are widespread conflict between rich and poor, between political parties and ideologies, between countries, religions, and cultures. The Arab Spring, Europe financial crisis, U.S. housing, unemployment, and national debt problems, are just a few examples. In addition, there are widely shared concerns that without appropriate ethical disciplines and guidance, the awesome power of science and technology would sooner or later lead to disaster or even destruction of the human civilization.