The Eudys principle states that anything new introduced into a group, community, society, or civilization will, in due course either result in unwelcome offshoots or transform into something detrimental in one way or another to group, community, society, or civilization for whose benefit and betterment it was introduced in the first place.
Consider these:
Religions arose form an effort to comprehend the mystery of existence and find meaning in life. This led to a vision of the beyond. That vision arose from a sense of awe at the wonder and splendor of Creation. From that emerged the notion of all-powerful supernatural beings (Gods) which evolved into Monotheism: the existence of a single Almighty God responsible for everything in the world, and from whom came healthy ethical principles. Religions give meaning, purpose, and enrichment to life. But in due course, religions morphed into dogmatic beliefs and intolerant affirmation of one’s own version of the Divine. These in led to iconoclastic intrusions into religions not one’s own, as well as to religious persecutions and sectarian wars. Thus, from something good (eu) arose something bad (dys).
Science opened up humanity’s knowledge and understanding of the world, but it has led to spiritual anguish, and meaninglessness in Life
Technology has improved the human condition in a hundred ways (eu) but its impact on the environment is endangering our very existence on the plant (dys).
Political systems arose from the desire to enable all members of a society to live in peace and share material resources and fruits of the labors (eu). There was royalty and imperial authority. These led to authoritarianism and dictatorship. (dys).
Then came two and impactful political frameworks: democracy (eu) and communism (eu). Serious flaws (dys) developed in both these ideal systems of government.
On the economic plane, capitalism started as a powerful model for the generation of wealth (eu), while socialism strived to distribute that wealth more equitably (eu). But eventually in these also unhappy elements like corruption and exploitation crept in (dys).
Industrialization resulted in modern life (eu). And it led to pollution of rivers, lakes, oceans, air, and land. It has increased considerably the amount of carbon dioxide in the earth’s atmosphere, and smokestacks are belching poisonous gases. All this seems to be the cause of what we call climate change and global warming (dys).
Who would have thought that factories which produced large quantities of consumer goods (eu) would someday become a major source of environmental pollution (dys)? Moreover, studies suggest that people in industrialized societies are facing some serious psychological problems like depression (dys), which were absent in their pre-industrial phases.
After millennia during which the vast majority of people spent much of their waking hours in the production of food, came the industrial revolution: which led to radical changes in agriculture. With the emergence of modern mechanized and chemical agriculture, with its countless paraphernalia, millions were released from toil in the fields. Agricultural outputs were multiplied, and the quality of the foods produced were much improved (eu).
At the dawn of the twentieth century, many people felt good with the promise of abundance and satisfaction for everyone before long. This phase of hope barely lasted a few decades. In the second half of the twentieth century the Eudys principle kicked in.
Improvements in agriculture enable greater yields from the land (eu). In this context chemicals were made and used in large quantities to eliminate pests, but this led to many undesirable side effects. Consider the case of DDT. When first introduced it was very effective in killing mosquitoes which serve as vectors for malaria. It was used in controlling other diseases which were transmitted via insects (eu). But gradually, along with other insecticides, it became a menace for human health (dys), and had to be banned.
At one time fluorocarbons, in the name of Freon, served us well for sometime for refrigeration (eu). But soon it was discovered that worldwide use of refrigeration resulted in considerable amounts of this gas reaching the upper atmosphere where it destroys the ozone layers that filter harmful ultraviolet radiation from the sun (dys).
Consider nuclear energy. In the mid-twentieth century, there was the hope that eventually all our energy needs could be met by nuclear reactors all over the world (eu). Unfortunately, the threat from accidents in nuclear reactors far outweighs its benefits, as was illustrated in Chernobyl (dys) . An associated problem is the disposal of nuclear wastes (dys).
Religion, science, industrialization, energy exploitation, democracy, freedom of expression, the internet, globalization, fisheries, open-door immigration, even the United Nations Organization, are all subject to the Eudys Principle.
One can go on and on listing technological goodies that initially benefited us in many ways but soon turned out to be a nuisance or even a threat to our very existence.
Philosophically, Eudysism is an expression of historical pessimism. But factually it may be seen as historical realism.
The Eudys Principle reminds us of the Trojan horse, which looked like a trophy but was actually hiding forces that were inimical to the people of Troy.
The Eudys Principle is not unlike the second law of thermodynamics which forces every heat engine to have some waste: thus making a hundred percent efficient engine impossible, even in principle. Likewise, the Eudys Principle states that an absolutely harmless innovation in idea or practice, industry or technology is beyond human reach.
Spurts of Thought 