Although rhetoric about wages and jobs often emphasizes the effects of globalization, questions remain as to whether United States workers are paid adequately to sustain a reasonable standard of living. One solution is to implement a living wage, which is accurate and specific to a local economy but more computationally complex than a one-size-fits-all minimum wage. When considered economically, a living wage has the potential to increase business and production costs as well as lower profits and cause job loss. From ethical viewpoints articulated in Catholic social thought, sustainable wages enhance human dignity by supporting human agency, encouraging creativity, and permitting contributions to the common good. This article explores whether the positive ethical outcomes of implementing a living wage outweigh any possibly negative, unintended economic results.
Modern warfare utilizes artificial intelligence (AI) combined with remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) to enhance battlefield strategy and create advantages against adversaries. Military drones extend the range of combat, which limits risks, thereby minimizing casualties and loss of human life. With onboard AI systems, drones provide more data and facilitate rapid decision-making for greater situational awareness during conflicts. Military leaders also theorize that remote missions would be physically, emotionally, and psychologically easier for drone pilots, thus reducing mental health issues that plague fighter pilots. However, the intersection of AI with military drones creates unique situations of stress and trauma. RPA personnel manifest symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that adversely affect their spiritual health and well-being.
Simply reading sacred texts across religious boundaries rarely achieves an “aha moment” or an encounter with ultimacy. The possibility of engaging with ultimacy requires establishing some necessary conditions. Any attempt to compel an experience results in false spiritual encounters rather than permitting authentic ones to occur. Therefore, a balance is necessary between being open to the possibility of a religious experience and seeking, but not forcing, an encounter with ultimacy. Placing oneself in a prayerful or spiritual state, for example, achieves the potential for encountering ultimacy by actively reading and meditating on various traditions’ sacred texts. These diverse writings relate others’ encounters with ultimacy and reveal multiple perspectives and imaginative descriptions of the transcendent. An encounter with ultimacy entails an open, willing, prayerful demeanor, intellectual curiosity, a rich imagination regarding divine imagery, and a sincere effort at understanding such a religious experience. A Christian contemplative process known as Lectio Divina satisfies many of these requirements. The method is general and flexible enough to utilize with sacred texts across religious boundaries; it invites a person to slow down, read, pay attention, respond with wonder, and humbly submit to the transforming presence and revelation of ultimate reality.
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