Has Modernity Failed? - 3
(Continued from last week)
It is now widely held that the period defined and dictated by the modernist philosophy and principles has ended. Now is a phase of transition into a new phase of human history called post-modernity or post-modernism. The term generally implies a broad spectrum of anti-modern penchants, on the one hand, and such as call for the revision of modernist fundamental assertions and ideas, on the other. It stands to reason that modernity failed in the sense that it has abruptly ended, and in the sense that it achieved little of what it had intended.
Modernity was guilty of naïve realism where the truth about the supposed objective natural reality, independent of whether anyone is thinking about or perceiving it, has been manipulated and attempted to be imposed on everyone globally. The pursued objective truth was regarded as independent of human beings and all of their intellectual and sociocultural influences. It was also believed that the descriptive and explanatory statements of scientists and historians could, in principle, be objectively true or false. This doctrine accorded science and scientists all the leverage they needed to ascribe a sense of functional sanctity to themselves and what they were doing.
The proponents of modernity and modernism were likewise way off the mark when they affirmed that through the use of reason and logic, and with the more specialized tools provided by science and technology, human beings were likely to change themselves and their societies for the better. It was reasonable to expect that future societies will be more humane, more just, more enlightened, and more prosperous than they were before. It was proven time and again – and it is still being the case – that the misguided pursuit of scientific and technological knowledge leads to the development of technologies for destruction, oppression, subjugation and exploitation. It was owing to that verity that to a majority of researchers, the most advanced 20th century was at the same time the bloodiest in human history, as it was fraught with wars, genocides and famines.
Another problem with modern man was that he gained a new - albeit faulty - conception of himself as a being endowed with reason and technological power, totally independent of Heaven and its revealed knowledge and guidance, “and ready to conquer Earth, both its non-European humanity and the order of nature.” Modern man further viewed himself – again entirely predicated upon humanism, naturalism, rationalism, individualism, and skepticism as the cornerstones of the modernist worldview - as a being whose solitary goal was bodily pleasure rooted in the stimuli of greed, self-centeredness, pride and vanity. Consequently, modern man became a prisoner of his senses and desires, which he had to seek to constantly satiate without limit. He showed no interest whatsoever in the potential significance of both his body and the surrounding natural world in the religious, metaphysical, and cosmological sense.
Relentless scientific discoveries and technological dynamics, fed with the unrestricted innovation and creativity spirit, created a sense of perpetual expectation, hope and insatiability. People wanted more of everything, and that those things be always better, faster, and brighter. There was so much in life to be experimented and enjoyed by everybody. Opportunities were limitless and life was not to be wasted on lethargy, traditionalism, and conformity. It was to be lived to the fullest. It could be asserted, therefore, that the pinnacle of modernity and modernism signified the birth of popular culture as a concept and social phenomenon with mass accessibility and appeal, personifying the most broadly shared meanings of a social system.
The Consequences of Modern Man’s Nihilism and Hedonism
The dire consequences of such a modernist philosophy and such a set of modernist behavioral patterns could be anticipated. And they were as pervasive and universal as the philosophy and lifestyles that instigated them. As Seyyed Hossein Nasr puts it: “Modern man has burned his hands in the fire which he himself kindled when he allowed himself to forget who he is. The problem of the devastation brought upon the environment by technology, the ecological crisis and the like, all issue from the malady of amnesia or forgetfulness from which modern as well as postmodern man suffer.” Modern man has simply forgotten who he is and how he is relatable to the spiritual realm and the realm of his Creator and the Creator of the whole universe. Living on the periphery of his own circle of existence, Modern man “has been able to gain a qualitatively superficial but quantitatively staggering knowledge of the world. He has projected the externalized and superficial image of himself upon the world. And then, having come to know the world in such externalized terms, he has sought to reconstruct an image of himself based upon this external knowledge.”[
One of the greatest crimes of modernity was the undue exaltation of man’s freedom. Such happened to the extent that it was held that man was so talented and capable that he could act independently of any other agent in the universe, while harboring the idea of a new world and indefinite material progress therein, which was set to be identifiable with the attainment of man’s inclusive welfare and happiness. It was additionally believed that only free man could change and form the world. On account of his newly acquired qualities – on top of which stood absolute freedom – man could do so “as he willed irrespective of any cosmic laws or even of the Divine Will.”
Thus armed with his rebellious and defiant tendencies against Heaven and the metaphysical world, selfish and avaricious personality, disoriented mind and character that lacked any genuine moral compass, modern man was set to cause in the long run more damage than benefit for himself, humankind and the natural world. He proved thereby that his modernity project was more of a mirage than an authentic and definite achievement. The global spiritual, moral and environmental crises that have been brought about by modern man and his science and its applications in the sphere of technology, have been unprecedented both in scope and intensity. So critical and so omnipresent are the crises that they could yet prove a cause of the ultimate demise of man as a species.
Having fully forgotten who he is, where he belongs and what his life purpose and mission are, artificial modern man has created artificial environments for himself and his operations. Concrete jungles, calling to mind the worst and most unpleasant aspects of modern predominant urban life, have become the rule of the day for modern urbanized man. From those artificial environments, nature, human natural disposition and, of course, elements of spirituality, have been excluded to the greatest possible extent. Nature has become desacralized for modern man. It has come to be regarded as something to be used, exploited and profited from to the fullest extent possible without any sense of obligation and responsibility towards it.
All the talk nowadays about sustainable development and peaceful coexistence with nature is not due to modern and postmodern man’s sudden change in attitude towards nature, life and himself. Rather, it is due to man’s realization that the natural resources of the world are dwindling at an alarming rate. As such, he will soon become unable to rampantly use and enjoy nature for his greedy and selfish ends, as he did in the past. As attractive as they seem, the notions of sustainability and preservation of nature aim only to prolong man’s raping and exploitation of the natural world as a means as well as object of his physical pleasure-seeking. Hence, the issue is never about nature, but about man; nor is it about the inherent interests of nature, but about the artificial and extravagant interests of man.
The harmony between man and his self, and between man and nature, has been damaged by modernity beyond repair. That is a fact everyone seems to be ready to admit. But not everyone realizes that this disequilibrium, with its internal and external manifestations in man and his existential contexts, “is due to the destruction of the harmony between man and God.”
Lastly, as an illustration of the scale of the problems faced by man today, according to the findings from a United Nations-backed panel called the Intergovernmental SciencePolicy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), up to one million plant and animal species face extinction, many within decades, because of human activities. Without “transformative changes” to the world’s economic, social and political systems to address this crisis, the IPBES panel projects that major biodiversity losses will continue to 2050 and beyond. “We are eroding the very foundations of our economies, livelihoods, food security, health and quality of life worldwide,” says IPBES chair Robert Watson.