Tools and machines are almost universally thought of as beneficial, which would make their invention morally praiseworthy. Indeed, without tools it is difficult to see how human beings could survive, and the increasing adoption of machines shows that most people see them as salutary contributions to human affairs. Although isolated tools or particular machines may on occasion be criticized for their negative impacts, this is done mostly to improve technological implements or to reform their uses. Nevertheless, one may note important distinctions between tools and machines as such, and how these distinctions, independent of any particular uses, may be ethically significant.

Distinctions

What is the difference between a tool and a machine? This question is complicated by lexicographic shifts over time. The Greek and Latin words for machine (mechane and machina) name a kind of tool (organum or instrumentum) for lifting heavy weights. Classical...