Claremont Colleges Scholarship @ Claremont CGU Theses & Dissertations CGU Student Scholarship Spring 2021 The Corporate Character of Eudaimonist Virtue Ethics Cautioning the Invisible Environment of Harmful EMFs Resulting from 5G Technology Joseph Wayne Komrosky Claremont Graduate University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_etd Recommended Citation Komrosky, Joseph Wayne. (2021). The Corporate Character of Eudaimonist Virtue Ethics Cautioning the Invisible Environment of Harmful EMFs Resulting from 5G Technology. CGU Theses & Dissertations, 215. https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_etd/215. doi: 10.5642/cguetd/215 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the CGU Student Scholarship at Scholarship @ Claremont. It has been accepted for inclusion in CGU Theses & Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholarship @ Claremont. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Corporate Character of Eudaimonist Virtue Ethics Cautioning the Invisible Environment of Harmful EMFs Resulting from 5G Technology by Joseph Wayne Komrosky Claremont Graduate University 2021 © Copyright Joseph Wayne Komrosky, 2021 All Rights Reserved APPROVAL OF THE DISSERTATION COMMITTEE This dissertation has been duly read, reviewed, and critiqued by the Committee listed below, which hereby approves the manuscript of Joseph Wayne Komrosky as fulfilling the scope and quality requirements for meriting the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Philosophy. Darrell Moore, Chair Claremont Graduate University Associate Professor of Philosophy Patricia Easton Claremont Graduate University Professor of Philosophy Executive Vice President and Provost Grace Kao Claremont School of Theology Professor of Ethics Abstract The Telecommunications Corporate Character of a Eudaimonist Virtue Ethics Cautioning the Invisible Environment of Harmful EMFs Resulting from 5G Technology by Joseph Wayne Komrosky Claremont Graduate University: 2021 There is a current concern in environmental ethics that stems from the development of cell phone communication technology; namely, do the electromagnetic frequencies (EMFs) linked to the development of technology of 4G and 5G cause harm to the environment (e.g., plants, bees and other insects, the animal kingdom, and human beings)? Do EMFs cause or correlate to the collapse of bee colonies and/or lower sperm counts in men and increased rates of breast cancer in women? This concern deals with EMFs that are inextricably linked to the development of telecommunication technology of current 4G and future 5G. More specifically, there are concerns that these EMFs may cause harm to various members of the environment, such as plants and trees, bees and insects, other members of the animal kingdom, and humans— and that some of these harms are expressed as sperm reduction in men, breast cancer in women, and brain cancer in men and women. The thesis of this dissertation is that a normative person-based theory of neo-Aristotelian eudaimonistic virtue ethics provides an ethical framework that gives strong support for the conclusion that it is morally impermissible for a telecommunications corporate person with good character, to allow harmful EMFs associated with the implementation of 5G technology. Particularly in light of numerous studies and anecdotal evidence that suggests that this technology might be harmful to humans and the environment. I draw an analogy between persons and “corporate persons” to argue that corporations ought to consider character when making decisions about whether to introduce new technologies—in this case, the EMFs that accompany 4G and 5G—into the world. Furthermore, the primary point of this dissertation is the application of the practical ethics of character. I am specifically interested in the question of character in relation to the vetting questions, of the introduction, by telecommunications corporations, of new 5G technology into the world. The normative view developed in this dissertation has real-life practicality that if adopted by a telecommunications corporate person, of good character, would provide a model of practical moral reason sufficient to guide them to act compassionately towards the environment regarding the problem of 5G technology and the potential environmental harm EMF’s can bring. Moreover, my argument based on eudaimonistic normative principles does something that utilitarian and deontological action-based normative theories do not do, namely, focus on the nature and role of character. Character is able to provide insight and explanatory power even for an ordinary person to see why their actions are guided a certain way. Finally, I will demonstrate the efficaciousness of the character-based, eudaimonistic normative framework that brings to the application of the problem 5G and potentially harmful EMFs in our environment. Matthew 18:21-22 (NKJV): Then Peter came up and said to him, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?" Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven. Acknowledgements First of all, I want to extend my deepest gratitude to my dissertation committee: Dr. Darrell Moore, Dr. Patricia Easton, and Dr. Grace Kao. Without their expertise, patience, wisdom, and availability, the completion of this work would have been an impossibility. Dr. Moore’s expertise in political philosophy and virtues ethics as well. His understanding of the field of virtue ethics and the corporate enterprise has proven to be an invaluable resource for both this dissertation and throughout my PhD. Dr. Easton’s and Dr. Kao’s focus on precision and clarity of argumentation have forevermore transformed my approach to the text as well my approach to all future intellectual endeavors. My interactions with both of these scholars have simply made me a better thinker. Furthermore, a special thanks to Dr. Charles Young for the countless hours spent to ensure that I properly understood, at times, very complex philosophical concepts of philosophical Greek and how they related to my version of neo-Aristotelian virtue ethics, that I have developed in this dissertation, and above all, his insights into the philosopher Aristotle. I would also like to thank Dr. Devra Davis for her insights on the problem of harmful EMFs resulting from 5G technology, and especially her gracious time, in meeting with me. I also want to thank my dear colleagues Matthew Thompson, Shahram Arshadnejad, Ivan Tircuit, and Melissa Gholamnejad. I have been truly blessed to be surrounded by brilliant and insightful colleagues who, as ones who were and are struggling through the process, could encourage me as well as provide to me further insight so that I could refocus my approach. Finally, I want to thank my wife, mother, father, and my two dear children for the years of financial, intellectual, and emotional support. To my loving wife Stacee, thank you for the countless hours of emotional and intellectual support you have given me during this time in my life, as I could not have done this without your enduring support. Thank you for your vi unfathomable patience in seeing me complete this project with genuine arête and eudaimonia. Thank you for giving me the very idea of this environmental concern of 5G to explore! To this end, you are truly a gem and inspiration in my life. To my mom, thank you for all the many years of my life of believing and supporting me. You have been integral in my emotional and intellectual success. To my dad, thank you for instilling the moral virtues of responsibility and perseverance needed to take on such a massive undertaking in my life. To my wonderful children Chloe and Kye. Chloe, thank you for all of the years of your patience while I spent towards this enduring goal, as it was no small sacrifice on your part. You are truly my Edelweiss flower. Kye, thank you for your support, as Daddy completed his “interstation boot camp”, and all of the times you came out to talk to me while in my study. Your interruptions were precious, and very much needed. It is no small thing to say that I would not be the person I am without all of these people in my life. I want to give a special thanks to Brother Blaise for sharing his story with me about his beekeeping duties at the Prince of Peace Abbey, in Oceanside, CA. You put this wonderful idea of the possible harmful EMFs, and its impact on the environment, into my mind, when you shared with me about the harm it did to your bees. To that end, I thank you for your wonderful insight about this topic, as I will donating a copy of this dissertation to the Prince of Peace Abbey as a memorial to you. Until I see you in heaven, may you rest in peace brother. Last, but certainly not least, I want to thank Jesus Christ and my personal Lord and Savior. I could not have done this without Him. It is with His Wonderful Grace, that I was able to complete this dissertation. It is no small thing to say that I would not be the person I am without them. I owe my very intellectual development to them all. I have always viewed their respective (and often very vii different) intellectual interests and capacities in very high esteem. Their example could not help but to have engendered in me an unquenchable thirst for truth. Finally, I want to thank all of the crickets who sang to me in my office garage, during the many hours of the pandemic, as they were a part of this process. They helped me relax during the countless hours spent in pursuit of this current scholarship. I could not imagine finishing this dissertation without their peaceful music, as I believe they were cheering me on. viii Table of Contents Abstract Dedication Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ vi Introducing the Environmental Concern of 5G Technology ........................................................... 1 Chapter 1: The Corporate Concern of the Invisible Environment of 5G Technology ..................