Granì (Jan 2017)
The ethics of truth in the era of technological civilization and the information
Abstract
The technological civilization and information society give a lot of advantages to a modern man in various fields. However, at the same time, we do not see a decrease in hostility and injustice in the society. Moreover, technological progress has led to the fact that human civilization is on the verge of a serious challenge caused by environmental disasters and opportunity for unprecedented disastrous consequences of the World War III. In these circumstances, the search for the causes of the current crisis is actual as well as the development of concepts that can contribute to overcoming this crisis. One of the most promising theories in this context is the ethics of truth. In modern civilization the issue of the importance of truth is shifted to the periphery of the intellectual discourse. Modern civilization uses only substitutes of the issue. Veracity in science together with popular opinions in the field of information circulating are such substitutes of truth. However, these substitutes do not fully reflect the true contents of the truth issue. The truth is not confined to the veracity of a celebrity’s opinion. Analyzing the theories by H. Jonas, В. Hübner, V. Stepin and T. Voronina, the study argues that the processes of losing of the meaning of life are intensifying in the modern civilization. We argue that a lack of a proper attention in modern civilization to the issue of truth inevitably stimulates processes of diluting the meaning of human life. Based on the theories by G. Hegel, H.-G. Gadamer and J. Neidleman T. Osborne, the study demonstrates that without thinking about the issue of the truth one cannot come near to the transcendent, and thus, his life could not be convincingly endowed with meaning, fullness and a purpose of existence. Understanding the issue of truth is especially important in conditions of the modern civilization, because our civilization is facing the possibility of self-destruction as a result of its unscrupulous using of capabilities of destructive technologies. In order to survive, humanity has to try and find the purpose and meaning of its existence, which lie beyond the selfish needs and short-term benefits. The possibility of this depends on human understanding the importance of the ethics of truth. It is important to develop H. Jonas’ ideas about human responsibility for future of the mankind by the idea of responsibility for meaningfulness of human future. Stimulating public interest for the truth can not only warn against return in the future to a situation when the civilization is on the verge of death, but also endue the human existence with fullness.
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