THE FATE OF MAN IN A SCIENTIST-TECHNOLOGICAL ERA.

CHAPTER ONE

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

Our world is fascinated by so many scientific achievements. Today, almost everything falls under the spell of scientific and technological advancements. And philosophy, which is concerned with the ultimate basis of reality, is not also free from glorifying the activities of science. 

Science and technology have become household names in almost every nook and cranny of our global world. Astronomical discoveries are possible due to what science and technology can offer to man. Transportation and communication are brought to their fastest and simplest level as a result of scientific and technological advancements. There is a boost in equipment for the improvement of human health. All these scientific and technological advancements are geared towards making life easier for man.

However, given this glorification of science and technology, there still remains a lacuna in human life. In the midst of all these scientific and technological advancements, one can still notice an element of fear and anxiety in human life. In spite of all the glories of science, mankind is turning away from it. What can we say is the reason for this man’s reaction that was noticed during the past twenty years? The result of current researches as well as the applications of science in modern warfare poses a threat to man’s security of life. It is becoming obvious that science is not fulfilling the role that it should be playing. It has claimed to be a god and is somehow devouring humanity. As a result of this, man is constantly losing his humanity in the very technological society.

More still, the very rationalism that underlies the rubrics of science is under attack. There seems to be a flight from rational to non-rational way of thinking. Often, it seems man’s reason should be denied in order to re-instate his humanity as in ways of mystical experience.

But can there be an answer to this problem? Can it be really taken that man’s reason has created some powers that are beyond his control? If man has realized the inherent malaise of science, what ways can be followed in resolving the problems? It is obvious that man created these problems. And so its resolution must as well come from man. In battling with these problems, Alexander Denis proposed two outstanding answers. He based his answers on ethics and metaphysics. In other words, since man is endowed with freedom and morality, the general good of man should be considered in every human endeavour. Secondly, man’s recognition of the ‘Being of beings’ and his complete submission to this being from whom other beings take their origin is quite fundamental.

Thus, this long essay is primarily concerned with highlighting the implications of these answers for the main purpose of bringing man back to the real “state of nature.”[1]