The family is one of a number of basic social institutions that have been subjected to scientific study and affected by changes in science and technology. Because of the fundamental role the family plays in socialization, including the inculcation of moral behavior and ethical attitudes, it merits consideration in relation to science, technology, and ethics.

Throughout human history there has been a strong relationship between the family and technology. That relationship can be understood by tracing the successive technological revolutions that began with hunting and gathering societies and the discovery and use of tools and progressed through a series of technological societies, such as horticultural, agricultural, industrial, and postindustrial societies (Ribeiro 1968). Each successive step has altered ways of thinking and doing things by human beings, and this progression has been made possible primarily by new means of environmental adaptation. In the past families provided the organizational structure needed...