The “5-C Model” for Guiding Science and Technology: A Précis of Reasonable Moral Practice Amidst a Diversity of Worldviews
Moral practice and culture is supported and guided by various worldviews and religions; but at times worldviews have also depressed and destroyed ethics and civilizations. In this essay I present a view of five species-specific human capacities that I suggest have formed individuals and communities for millennia, independently of their specific worldview. Namely, these are Communication, Cooperation, Competence, Compassion, Cultivation. I posit that this 5-C operating system of reasonable and successful practice is interconnected with orientational systems in each and every ideology, philosophy and religion. Worldview systems review the benefits and risks of their practice in light of their own universals and visions. Herein, I posit that the 5-C system may provide a viable model to guide scientific and technological research, review, and uses, as well as the review and change of the social, economic and political structures that are the fabric of human activity and culture. While the practice system cannot verify inherent truths of orientational teachings, it does present the practical consequences of worldviews in the ethics of science, technology, business, and politics. Here, the 5-C operating system is presented as a general field theory and an open-source approach to successful planning, reviewing, and executing knowledge and tools (viz-. science and technology) in practice within the personal and professional spheres of individuals and operational communities.
Keywords: 5-C, communication, compassion, competence, cooperation, cultivation, ethics, science, technology, practice, theory, worldview