Prof., Ph.D., B.Th. Vladimir Katasonov

TWO WAYS OF CIVILIZATION

 

Christian civilization began from Jesus Christ preaching: Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven has come near (Mt.4:17). The origin of the evil was defined: the human heart. The reason of human disasters was shown: the moving away from God. Nature itself was involved in this moving: natural catastrophes, hostility of nature to man. The remedy to overcome this state was done too: Jesus Christ and His Church. Man, a center of creation, must be changed. Russian saint of XIX century, Seraphim of Sarov, said: Win the peaceful mind, you will be saved and thousands around you !.

 

A Renaissance project: achivements

From the Renaissance time on the new project of European civilization is in progress. Man wants to reconstruct nature for his own purposes, for his comfortable being. Not to change himself, but to change the surroundings. The emerging science, tied closely with technology, serves as a main means for this goal. Knowledge is understood as a power (Fr. Bacon). They invent a lot of the New Atlantis projects, which all has a family trait: the active use of science to resolve the problems of human life. The question about the changing of human being himself goes away in the background. A guarantee of the comfort being, here and now, for this man, independently of his moral life, becomes the main.

Today after four centuries experience in realization of this project we in a sense sum up, assess achievements and expenses of this venture. We disclose again contradictions of this project, known already in the dawn of Modern times. The achievement of happiness in this life and connivance to all desires and passions are scarcely compatible. The man, regularly smoking or using drugs, abusing of alcohol, is destroying his health, he finds scarcely stable happiness Even the preservation of health needs a definite asceticism, an ascetic discipline: a definite diet, regime of sleep and work, physical load etc.

By the end of XX century we realized the falsity of optimistic and irresponsible vision of nature as a bottomless storeroom of good things and resources for man. Suddenly, we understood that stock of these good things is finite, they can come to an end, and there can be not enough for everybody And those resources, that can be restored, can be lost hopelessly, because man destroys by his activity natural circles of restoration. Suddenly, we realized that the Earth is our common great home, where everything depends one from another and where one should maintain order, otherwise it begins to ruin and becomes unfit as a place for our life. However we have no other place in Cosmos, and in this sense the problems of ecology are imperative.

Nevertheless, notwithstanding the worry of ecologists, the irresponsible and unlimited exploitation of Earth resources continues. The waste products of mans vital activity pollute more and more the Earth. Megapolices throw out a huge mass of rubbish, waste products, including radioactive ones. The cars throw out an enormous quantities of combustion products, polluting the atmosphere. Unlimited heat emission caused already the Polar ice thawing and the rise of the world ocean level. In its turn, it threatens global catastrophes to all the Earth, including submerging of the great parts of land and vanishes of the whole states At the same time, there is no opportunity to stop this process: economic egoism of states and mercenaries of great corporations turn out to be stronger than a common sense We are already in the beginning of the global ecological catastrophe.

The development of science and technology put the problem of responsibility of every our action in the world. As in the life of an individual, all his actions, both physical and mental, are an actualization of his spiritual essence, personhood, what is a definite drama of person society relations, as well in our relations with unreasonable nature we have to pay for all our actions. But it is a tragedy that we dont control very often our influence on nature, those far consequences it can give birth. So e.g., in the case of genetic engineering we try to solve vital immediate problems, having no opportunity to assess consequences of genetic changes in posterity. Another example, the total computerization of technological and social information, which can lead both to technogene catastrophes, because of errors in the programs, and to new electronic forms of totalitarism.

 

Social and political spheres

They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, Peace, peace, when there is no peace, said prophet Jeremiah in VII century B.C. From that time the mankind have moved on rather far along the way of technological progress. If we had peace on the Earth, the modern technologies could guarantee for mankind rather good life. But as in the time of the great prophet, there is no peace. And what is worse, the history of science and technologies proved convincingly the permanent tragic nature of its progress: man strives to apply first of all, for military needs, for needs to master an other to ones will every new successful scientific theory or invention. The spirit of violence becomes all embracing, it poisons even very high human motives. I am not personally a Nietzsche follower, neither classic nor postmodern. I dont think the will to power to be a characteristic ontological feature of human being. Rather the contrary, I consider the hypertrophied will to power of modern man to testify his strong spiritual sickness. You know, we have other testimonies: as a rule, the realization of this will to power doesnt give man happiness, and often leads him to the final tragedy

Peace remains for man an unreachable dream. The origins of hostility are enrooted, at first, in his own heart: lust, envy, mercenariness, spite. The totalitarian power, driving by force and frightening in soul underground the human aggressiveness, becomes almost only way to establish a peaceful life (the strong hand). Nevertheless, the human freedom turns out to be stronger. The Big brother can intimidate man, but cant persuade him. And all totalitarian regimes are fraught with much more aggressive revolutions

The moral history of humankind shows, too, impossibility to resolve the problem of communal life without Gods help. No arguments, no reason can convince human freedom, human self will. If man will want himself, choose freely the ideal of humanity given in Jesus Christ, then only he can resolve the problem of human unity. The testimony of that is the fact itself of Church existence.

 

Other way

XX th century of crisis, summing up 400 years attempts to realize the Renaissance project, testifies in favor of a fundamental truth: man is not a self subsistent being. Two points:

v    He is that neither in a sense of his cognition: we never know all, in completeness. But the action demands a consideration of all its consequences!

v    Nor in a sense of self consciousness: man cant relay upon himself, his ideals can be destroyed in a moment, if they are not in correspondence with that what he wants, with Ideal sought by the depth of his heart. Mans desire doesnt depend on his will!

Because of that we need so much the revelation: Gods Himself testimony about world and man. They reveal us a little side of Truth, that cant be catching by human reason only. In particular, for our action it isnt enough of our science, our cognition. We cant assess all its consequences in principle. So, to be successful we need additional guarantees, and the best one is Gods help, Gods blessing we ask in our prayers. In our relations with neighbor the necessary guarantees of peace are the following of Gods commandments again: humbleness, patience, love. All the other, in particular, an affective attachment to man or rationally conditioned solidarity, are not sustainable, are usually passions only Man is very week in moral sense and all his natural affections can be cut very quickly. But the moral asceticism, taken by a Christian for testimony of faithfulness to Gods will, permit people to maintain peace and create a room for the growth of high and generous human qualities.

The experience of such life was exposed both in West and East in Medieval Europe. Francis of Assisi and Sergius of Radohezh examples show not only the great changes in human personality under the influence of Gods graceful energies, but the changes in all the surroundings: animals loose their hostility to man; the nature begins, with Gods help, answer human will (springs emerge, one finds food, and even the dead rise again !). Only in God man will find that sustainable development and New Atlantis that he tries unsuccessfully to build by his own forces.

In Russian religious philosophy there were several attempts to overcome the contradictions of modern civilization. One of the most interesting is Nikolay Fedorovs Philosophy of the common cause[1]. The main idea of Fedorovs project is to bring in human culture and industry a moral sense: to make them work neither for war nor for production of womens trinkets, but for serious task, concerning all the humankind: the victory over death. The beginnings of this process Fedorov could reveal in many features of the civilization present to him: agriculture, meteorology, astronomy, museology etc. Fedorov interpreted Gospel as an appeal to man to turn seriously to the fundamental problems of human existence. Fedorovs philosophy is double faced: on the one hand, he wants to realize Christian ideal of the common brotherhood, but on the other hand, he hopes to conquer the death by the immanent to history technological means. Both Christian roots of the doctrine and Renaissance fascination by human technology one can see here very clear. Notwithstanding the utopical character of Fedorovs project, many of his ideas are very deep, correct and useful for Christian re-thinking of the ways of our civilization.

To overcome the dead ends of our civilization we need not a sacrifice by science and cognition, but that of tragic illusion that man can live well on Earth without God Certainly, the life with God isnt always full of peace. God tempts man and man demands much from God. Nevertheless only in synergy with God finds man his genuine place in Cosmos. He will cover you with pinions, and under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and buckler (Ps. 91:4).

 

NOTES

 



[1] The best way for Western reader to make the acquaintance with Fedorovs philosophy is the book: Hagemeister M. Nikolaj Fedorov. Studien zu Leben, Werk und Wirkung, München,1989.



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