07-02-2021, 12:58 AM
(This post was last modified: 07-02-2021, 12:58 AM by Eric the Green.)
(06-30-2021, 05:20 AM)Captain Genet Wrote:(06-18-2021, 12:49 PM)Eric the Green Wrote: Myself, I don't think of post-modern as a fad, or even a philosophy, but a condition of our times for which the word is used. Modern progress as our most important product has lost its lustre for many people, because it threatens the environment and impairs the spirit by turning us into machines.
You yourself believe in this philosophy, so you don'r recognize it as a specific set of ideas.
Quote:But, I think there will always be technology and new developments. The question is for how much longer will it be seen as the definition of "progress"? In the post-modern view, real progress means greater freedom from authoritarian conformity. That has been part of the idea of "progress" since its beginning in the 18th century, anyway. Social progress and spiritual or artistic development are more important than tech progress, and toward the end of this century I predict this will dawn on more people. So in that sense, post-modernism is just a gateway to increased awareness of the limits of tech progress. But tech has its needed uses as well, so it's not going away.
I believe there are three ideas of progress, each flourishing in a specific period:
Enlightenment Idea of Progress - late 18th century. Challenged monarchy and organized Christian Churches, which worked together in what I call the Constantinian system, and fought for social freedoms and free markets (classical liberalism). Voltaire would be the most outspoken proponent of this kind of progress, which lost currency after the French Revolution horrified European public opinion.
Victorian Idea of Progress - 1870-1914. Focused on spreading civilization throughout the world and eliminating barbarism and superstition. Compared with the Enlightenment idea of progress, it was less interested in social freedom, and saw some behaviours like overusing alcohol, using illegal drugs and having extramarital sex as typical for uncivilized peoples and the underclass. Lost currency after the world wars, through some supporters like Prince Phillip remained until recently.
Millennial Idea of Progress - since the late 2000s, with forerunners since the 1980s. Unites enthusiasm for technology (especially microchips) with high social freedom. In a way it is similar to the Enlightenment idea, though it's less likely to involve support for the free market.
It looks like Dionysian saeculums produce an idea of progress involving high social freedom, while Apollonian ones produce an idea of progress involving eradication of uncivilized behaviours.
Quote:Humanities did not go away because of Leftist/Inclusivist stuff, and such stuff is perfectly rational. It's the best area on your diagram, and most academics these days are predominantly progressive because the alternative out in red rural America is so horrific. In any case, the reason humanities has declined is precisely the tech obsession, so you got that backwards. Politicians and pundits no longer view higher education as a place to develop the ability to express, create and debate ideas or to learn to read, write, speak, understand society, investigate or draw, etc., but to get a good tech job or get a business and finance career going.
In a way tech companies today are like drug dealers, making people addicted to the Internet and digital gadgets to make money on them. Being a drug dealer, or a tech dealer, is a fast way to get rich.
Quote:I think space travel will definitely become a tourist adventure for those who can afford it. It will never be cheap, and probably never fully safe, but many more people will afford it than can do so today. But fun, thrilling and spectacular as it is, is this really what makes the Apollo program the greatest thing since the invention of agriculture and writing, as you suggest? Without ET contact and knowledge of The Other Side, space travel and exploration yields few other benefits.
The route to a sustainable and prosperous future on Earth lies here on Earth-- in progressive politics, conservation, innovative eco-tech, human and civil rights, urban planning, reform of agriculture, support for culture, and lifestyle arrangements here on Earth, and those who study humanities and general higher education grasp this fact much better than those who don't, as election polls and returns clearly show.
It is possible space colonization will prove unfeasible. In this case, we might expect some thousands of years of the millennial saeculum, increasing stagnation until a natural catastrophe destroys us. It can be the fate of all intelligent species in the Cosmos. But I like the perspective of interstellar adventures better. If we colonize a few solar systems, we are practically immortal as a species. This is what makes space travel such a breakthrough.
Of course space travel requires elimination of some uncivilized behaviours. You cannot make a crew out of junkies or porn addicts.
I moved continuation of this topic to the Society and Culture forum under modernism and post-modernism