Content

Introduction

The concept of “universal” most often appears as something significant not for some limited circle of people: a class, social group, party, state or individual, but as something that matters for all of humanity. Such values ​​and objects include the entire range of problems whose solution ensures the survival of humanity. This range of problems is called the global problems of our time. Global problems include awareness of the tragic prospects of humanity in the face of a nuclear threat, the threat of starvation and environmental disaster, forcing humanity to overcome the narrow horizon of local, particular, relative values ​​and turn to the search for universal human values. Humanity is driven to this not only by the desire for survival, the instinct of self-preservation, but also by man’s deep need for an organic connection with others. This need has now become more conscious and urgent, which is expressed in such a little-explored phenomenon as the growth of elements of planetary consciousness. At an immeasurably higher level, while preserving individual self-expression, humanity seems to be turning to the time when the individual was seen not only as a representative of a clan, tribe, community, but also as a representative of all humanity.
This circle of universal human values ​​is a consequence of historical necessity; it is mundane in nature and contributes only to the external unification of people in the struggle for survival. However, along with this meaning, the term “universal human values” has a broader ideological character. Universal human values ​​are considered as transcendental, going beyond the limits of existing existence. Transcendental values ​​are understood as ultimate, historically non-localized; they are, to one degree or another, inherent in all peoples, although not all are expressed in the same way. Transcendental values ​​are determined by the peculiarities of the cultural and historical development of a particular country, its religious traditions, type of civilization, characteristics of the mentality of the people, their aspiration for something that includes an unclear element and requires special respect and piety.
The aspiration of humanity towards some other, higher reality is the most important and ineradicable psychological need, giving an impulse to activity, development, creativity, without which no great achievements are possible. “The greatest beauty that was achieved in this world,” wrote N. Berdyaev, “was connected not with the fact that humanity set itself purely earthly goals in this reality, but with the fact that it set itself goals beyond the boundaries of this world. The impulse that drew humanity into another world was embodied in this world in the only possible, highest beauty for it, which always has a symbolic nature, not a realistic one.”
Universal human values ​​are an ideal, a symbol, a model, a regulatory idea, and as such they have the right to occupy an appropriate place in our consciousness and worldview. In this sense, universal human values ​​are not just a fiction, an empty dream - behind them is the deeply lived historical experience of mankind, its patronage and aspirations. The modern era has not only highlighted the role of universal human values, but also shown their contradictions and dynamics, and in different interrelated plans. We are talking about contradictions in the very nature of universal human values, about contradictions between them and specific historical phenomena, and about heterogeneity in the system of these values. And yet, the inconsistency of universal human values ​​has not led in history to a refusal to present them as an integral, consistent ideal.
From all that has been said, it follows that one of the most important tasks in the modern world is to establish on a planetary scale the idea of ​​​​the priority of the humanistic principle in it, and therefore the form of mastering reality in which this humanistic principle is reflected most naturally and holistically. Dostoevsky’s formula “Beauty will save the world!” - aphoristic and symbolic, like any prophecy, but there is no paradox in it. The world today is truly on the brink, and the possibility of its salvation depends primarily on whether the development of artistic culture and the spirituality contained in it will have time to outstrip the development of negative processes leading to the collapse of everything, the end of history. That is why it seems extremely important to us today to talk specifically about universal human values.

1. The essence of global problems

By the end of the 60s, a threat to the genus Homo sapiens began to emerge in the minds of scientists. It is connected with the scientific and technological revolution that has begun in the world and also threatens to change the entire biosphere of the Earth, making it unsuitable for human existence.
The “machine civilization” that appeared in the 18th century revolutionized the entire way of life in developed countries. It has expanded man’s connection with his habitat, caused and is causing colossal damage to it, polluting land and rivers, seas and oceans, causing dangerous climate change on the planet, thinning the upper layers of the atmosphere, poisoning industrial zones with chemical waste, and fields with pesticides.
Currently, an increasing number of philosophers, sociologists, and historians are inclined to think that at the present stage of human development, a single civilization is being formed on the entire planet. The acceleration of this idea in science and public consciousness contributed to the awareness of the globalization of social and cultural processes in the modern world.
What should be understood by the term globalization of social and cultural processes? The etymological term “globalization” is associated with the Latin term “globe” - that is, Earth, Globe and means the planetary nature of certain processes. However, the globalization of processes is not only their ubiquity, not only the fact that they cover the entire globe. Globalization is associated, first of all, with the internationalization of all social activities on Earth. This internationalization means that in the modern era all humanity is part of a single system of socio-cultural, economic, political and other connections, interactions and relationships. Thus, in the modern era, compared with past historical eras, the planetary unity of humanity has increased immeasurably, which represents a fundamentally new supersystem, connected by a common destiny and common responsibility. Therefore, scientists and philosophers consider it legitimate to talk about the formation of a single civilization and the need for a new planetary style of thinking.
Every technological revolution leads to profound changes not only in the productive forces of society, but also in the entire way of life of people. The peculiarity of the modern technological revolution associated with information society is that it creates fundamentally new prerequisites for the universalization and globalization of human interaction. Thanks to the widespread development of media and communications, the deepening division of labor and specialization, humanity is uniting into a single socio-cultural entity. The existence of such unity dictates its requirements for humanity as a whole and for the individual.
The higher the level of technical production and all human activity, the higher should be the degree of development of the person himself, his interaction with the environment, hence the new requirements for the individual: it must harmoniously combine high qualifications, masterly mastery of technology, extreme competence in one’s specialty with social responsibility and moral universal values.
However, the globalization of social, cultural, economic and political processes in the modern world, along with the positive aspects, has given rise to a number of serious problems that are called “global problems of our time”: environmental, demographic, political, etc. A specific analysis of each of them falls within the competence of special sciences: sociology, demography, etc. Philosophers, on the other hand, concentrate their attention on ideological issues of meaning in life, and consider these problems from the point of view of the possibilities and prospects for the survival of mankind. And in this aspect, the environmental problem comes to the fore. What is the essence of the environmental problem? Generally speaking, the essence of the environmental problem lies in the clearly revealed and deepening contradiction between the productive activities of mankind and the stability of its natural environment.
These changes are the fruit of all cultural-transformative and, above all, productive human activity. Scientists' calculations show that the technomass produced by humanity in one year exceeds the biomass produced on land by 10 times. From these calculations it follows that humanity has already created an artificial environment that is ten times more productive than the natural environment. The artificial environment gradually and inevitably advances on the natural one and absorbs it, and this is one of the most important factors causing the environmental problem facing humanity.
In this regard, the problem of widespread distribution of production and products in the environment, primarily radiation and toxic types, becomes particularly acute for people. More than 200 million tons of toxins enter the atmosphere. And this, in the foreseeable future, may cause an increase in atmospheric temperature, and after this, a rise in sea levels and the flooding of large areas of land. As a result, hundreds of millions of people risk becoming “environmental refugees.”
The global problems of our time and, above all, the sharp aggravation of the environmental problem, have set humanity the task of finding new ways of development and restructuring its relations with the environment.
Of all the global problems, the problem of war and peace until recently seemed to be the most burning problem of our time. To solve it, it is necessary to limit and then stop the arms race.
However, numerous difficulties stand in the way of disarmament: the enormous inertia of the arms race, the high level of military spending; large scale international arms trade; significant geopolitical ambitions.
The environmental problem in its modern form arose in the 60s of the current century. An environmental crisis is a sharp deterioration in the condition of the natural human environment (biosphere) as a result of increasing poisoning and pollution of land, water, and atmosphere. The consequences of disruption of the Earth’s gas shell can be catastrophic due to the so-called “greenhouse effect” and the resulting warming of the Earth’s climate. Colossal damage will be caused to industry, agriculture, fisheries and forestry, and natural ecosystems in general.
The world community, concerned about this problem, has begun to develop measures to jointly resolve it. The Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer was signed in 1985, and the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer was signed in 1987.
Now the demographic situation on Earth has become explosive. Now the population has exceeded 5.5 billion and threatens to reach 8-10-12 in three or four decades.

2. Transformation of values ​​in the context of global problems

What is happening today at the level of civilization represents a kind of transition period. It is based on a profound change in the paradigm of social development. The aggravation of global problems and the multifaceted integration of the world lead to the need to form a global consciousness as a reflection of the new reality. The objective laws of the development of civilization have called into question the rationality of many orientations that acted as priority areas of development. The negative features of the prevailing orientation towards power, dominance, “to have”, direct benefit, etc. have become quite obvious. Numerous wars and conflicts, disunity and confrontation between peoples, polarization of the world, degradation of the natural environment - this is not a complete list of global problems generated by man himself.
The anticipation of a systemic crisis of civilization, the fear of losing one's own immortality, force us to reconsider the prevailing values. This awareness occurs following the first attempts to find a way out of the current situation through reforming the existing system of relations and production activities, but the question quickly arises about the leading role of internal human qualities. Any social reorganization means, first of all, a crisis of values ​​for one reason or another, losing their significance. Today “we are talking about the fundamental foundations of human existence, about the development of new values ​​that are designed to ensure a strategy for the survival and progress of mankind. It is necessary to reconsider the previous attitude towards nature, the ideals of domination, oriented towards the forceful transformation of the natural and social world, it is necessary to develop new ideals of human activity, a new understanding of human prospects.”
In general, old values ​​are being replaced by peace, consensus and non-violence, democratization and humanization of relations, prevention of development at the expense of environmental destruction, creative self-realization, reason.
The central link in this is the person himself, his life and development, a person who is able to foresee the consequences of his actions and does not allow deviations from the balanced development of the “Man - Society - Nature” system.
Is it possible to solve global problems as such by relying entirely on scientific and technical progress? It is obvious that beyond the achievements of science, the creation of resource- and energy-saving technologies, the transition to alternative options for raw materials and energy, the development of microelectronics and information technologies, even technologies capable of restoring the natural environment to some extent, there remains a wide range of issues that need to be resolved in the field of the human spiritual world. The development of science and technology, after all, does not guarantee that all advances will be used for good in the true sense of the word.
etc.................

Lecture 24 - 26. Philosophical understanding of global problems of our time.

Plan.

1. Society and nature.

2. Club of Rome and the study of global problems.

3. Main groups of global problems

Main literature:

1. Global problems and universal values. – M., 1990.

2. Glazachev S.N., Kozlova O.N. Ecological culture - M., 1998.

3. Semenov V.S.. Lessons of the 20th century and the path to the 21st (socio-philosophical analysis and forecast). - M., 2000.

1.Society and nature.

Philosophically, nature is primarily related to society, since it is a natural condition for the existence of people. Society appears as an isolated part of nature, which is a condition and product of human activity. The role of nature in the life of society has always been significant, since it acted as the natural basis of its existence and development. Man is natural due to the biological basis of his existence, at the same time he is supernatural, since he develops complex forms of social life.

NATURE is the totality of natural conditions for the existence of man and society.

Reflecting on the significance of nature for society, some philosophers came to the conclusion that it plays a decisive role in its development. This position is called geographical determinism.

GEOGRAPHIC DETERMINISM - the idea that it is the geographic environment that completely determines the development of society.

Currently, on our planet there is a process of transition of the upper shell of the planet-biosphere occupied by living matter into a new geological state - the noosphere, that is, an area transformed by the mind and work of man in accordance with his goals and needs.

NOOSPHERE is the sphere of interaction between nature and society, within which the mind becomes the main determining factor of development.

The first signs of deterioration in the quality of the biosphere due to the development of technogenic civilization appeared already at the end of the 19th century. And in the 20th century. humanity had to abandon the view of nature as a simple source of raw materials for the development of production. It was realized that the planet and its living shell are a single system.

In the modern era, the interaction between society and nature takes on a fundamentally new character. Nature is increasingly becoming involved in human activities and at the same time requires protection from incompetent interference in its processes.

Today, humanity is experiencing the deepest crisis that has ever occurred in history. The crisis is caused by objective phenomena on a planetary scale; experts identify dozens of urgent problems facing the world community. Some of them are related to the relationship between humanity and nature, others - to relationships within the community of people. The first group of global problems includes the environmental crisis and the threat of environmental disaster, the second group includes preventing the use of weapons of mass destruction, the arms race, reducing the economic gap between the population of the most developed countries of the world (the so-called “golden billion”) and the vast mass of the poorest population.

ECOLOGICAL CRISIS is a type of ecological situation characterized by a violation of the dynamic balance of the “society - nature” systems.

The essence of the modern environmental situation can be reduced to three main points:

♦ there is a very rapid depletion of humanity’s natural resources;

♦ the natural environment is polluted too quickly, which leads to catastrophic consequences;

♦ The population is growing too quickly.

The first two of them are directly generated by the scientific and technological revolution. From a purely ecological crisis it has turned into a general crisis of civilization, deforming all aspects of life: economic, social and spiritual. The modern ecological situation and the crisis contained in it are primarily of a civilizational nature; they are generated by the entire course of the civilizational development of mankind.

2. Club of Rome and the study of global problems

Global problems are interconnected problems that concern all people, the solution of which is associated with planetary actions.

The following problems can be called global:

♦ an impending environmental disaster associated with environmental pollution, depletion of mineral resources, the appearance of ozone holes, the greenhouse effect, deforestation, acid precipitation;

♦ demographic crisis, which can lead to overpopulation of the planet;

♦ economic crisis, which consists of an ever-increasing gap between rich and poor countries;

♦ military danger.

COMMON CAUSES OF GLOBAL PROBLEMS

Objective natural processes occurring in space

Global problems attracted the attention of scientists in the 60-70s. XX century, when the Club of Rome was created - an informal organization of scientists who first applied the method of mathematical modeling to the study of socio-ecological processes. The president of the Club of Rome was a major Italian businessman and outstanding humanist Aurelio Peccei, who decided to build predictive models using the best computers of that time. In 1968, he gathered reputable researchers, called this meeting the Club of Rome and appealed to sponsors to fund the research. The research program was developed in the book “World Dynamics” by the American economist J. Forrester, who is considered the founder of global forecasting based on system analysis. It is his merit that he attempted to use mathematical methods and computers to create a version of a model of economic development of society, taking into account two important factors - population size and environmental pollution. The first report to the Club of Rome was entitled “The Limits to Growth.” A dynamic model of the world was built, which included population, investment, land space, natural resource use and pollution as input data. The forecast came as something of a shock:

if those existing at the end of the 60s remain. trends and rates of economic development and population growth, then humanity will inevitably come to a global environmental catastrophe at the end of the 21st century. A thorough, repeatedly tested calculation on a computer showed that if we continue the observed trends in the future for all indicators, then during the first half of the 21st century. mineral resources, starting with oil, gas, coal, will dry up, environmental pollution will become irreversible, and industrial and agricultural production will begin to decline. The contours of the imminent end of the world and the death of humanity appeared. This is how global studies emerged as a new direction, covering the global problems of our time.

The next model by M. Mesarovic and E. Pestel, “Humanity at the Turning Point,” was more specific. The authors divided the world into ten large regions - five developed and five developing - and concluded that in the foreseeable future of the very next decades, disaster will first occur in developing regions, and then in developed countries.

The third report to the Club of Rome, “Revisiting the International Order” (1976), listed all the major global problems (food scarcity, environmental degradation, decline in mineral resources and energy, ocean pollution, population growth and urbanization, poverty in developing countries, arms race) and expressed recommendations for stabilizing the situation.

The fourth report was carried out under the direction of Erwin Laszlo and was called “The Goals of Humanity” (1977). The recommendations were that population and production growth should be reduced to zero. The solution was seen in zero industrial and demographic growth, which was considered unrealistic, since no country was prepared for such actions.

Scientists of the Club of Rome formulated the concept of “limits to growth” - limitations in the development of modern civilization, which are determined by the capabilities of nature, when the standard of living of developed countries turned out to be unattainable for developing countries due to environmental limitations. The way out was seen in the following measures: the creation of a world government, the decisions of which would be binding, and most importantly, a change in mentality, abandonment of the ideology of consumerism, the formation of new values ​​and standards.

3. Main groups of global problems.

Let's take a closer look at each of the global problems.

Ecological problem. But technical civilization, based on industrial production, leads to predatory use and depletion of all the natural capabilities of the planet. Thus, experts calculated that in the United States energy consumption is 6 times higher than the world level and 30 times higher than the level of developing countries. If developing countries were able to achieve an increase in mineral resource consumption to the level of the United States, known reserves of oil would be depleted in 7 years, natural gas in 5 years, and coal in 18 years. At the current pace of technological development, energy production on Earth in 240 years will exceed the amount of solar energy falling on our planet, in 800 years - all the energy released by the Sun, and in 1300 years - the total radiation of our entire galaxy. This, of course, cannot happen, since nature prohibits it. Consequently, the existing rates of economic growth must be reduced, humanity must develop along a different, alternative path.

Among the manifestations of an impending environmental disaster, researchers also name a shortage of fresh water, the risk of depletion of the ozone layer, pollution of the World Ocean, soil degradation and desertification, acidification of natural environments, and their chemical pollution with artificial, non-recyclable substances. There are three main sources of air pollution: industry, domestic boilers and transport.

Throughout its history, man has faced natural disasters, but in the 20th century. Dangerous man-made disasters appeared. Having got rid of the threat of being eaten by a wolf, a person can get run over by a car. According to experts, more people die in man-made disasters and accidents than in all natural disasters combined.

The future of the biosphere has become the subject of close attention of representatives of many branches of scientific knowledge, which in itself can be quite thorough for identifying a group of philosophical and methodological problems of environmental forecasting.

Demographic problem. With the emergence of a global demographic problem, the name of Malthus was remembered, who 200 years ago stated that the capabilities of the Earth are growing in arithmetic progression, and the number of humanity is growing in geometric progression, therefore wars are necessary and salutary. Now the situation is such that it is necessary to reduce either the planet’s population or people’s needs by 10 times, since relying on high technology is still unrealistic. The world population is growing at a rate that could double every 35 years. If we assume that such rates will continue in the future, then by 2400 humanity will fill the entire land surface shoulder to shoulder.

XXI century met more than 6 billion people. The most difficult countries from a demographic point of view are China, where there are already 1.1 billion people, and India, which will have about 1.5 billion people by 2050. Daily population growth is now 232 thousand people, annual growth is 85 million

Demographic growth was caused by the fact that in the post-war period, basic hygiene and health measures were carried out in former colonial and dependent countries, such as vaccination of the population, the fight against epidemics, disease and famine. As a result, the mortality rate of the population sharply decreased while the birth rate remained high. Of particular danger is the gap between accelerated population growth and insufficient industrial growth. Poverty increases, rather than reduces, incentives to have more children, since children are an important part of the family labor force.

Are there any means to solve the demographic problem? In recent decades, China has been pursuing a strict birth control program: during the years of reform, 200 million children were not born in China. It should not be forgotten that China can implement such a program only as a country with a command-and-control system of management. The highest population growth rates are now in India, and Chinese measures are absolutely inapplicable there. It is curious that sociologists say that there is only one factor that inevitably leads to birth control: women’s education. It is in those countries where there is excessively high population growth that the social status of women is very low.

Economic inequality. Of the 6 billion people on earth, one is the “golden billion” with a high level and quality of life, sharply differing in its lifestyle from the other 5 billion.

There is a small group of highly developed countries with a stable political system, the latest information and computer technology, with a high level of prosperity, and the majority of countries living within the framework of industrial, or even pre-industrial technology, with mass unemployment, population growth, and instability of internal life.

Military danger. Humanity found itself in the 20th century. in an unprecedented situation of real danger of self-destruction. The result of a major thermonuclear war can only be the death of civilization, the death and suffering of billions of people, the social and biological degradation of the survivors and their descendants. Physicists and environmentalists called the consequences of the use of nuclear weapons “nuclear winter.” The military threat remains the most dangerous global problem. Although the feeling of fear and sense of doom has decreased recently, there is no reason for complacency. Nuclear tests are being carried out, the number of countries possessing nuclear weapons is expanding, and their miniaturization is underway. Fundamentally new types of weapons are being tested.

Albert Einstein was once asked: “How will people fight in the third world war?” He replied that he did not know what they would use to fight in the third world war, but he knew for sure that in the fourth world war they would fight with clubs.

Some researchers believe that the coming information civilization should also become ecological. The basic conditions for salvation and transition to a new alternative civilization involve the suspension of fuel, energy and mineral raw material imbalances, global demographic balance, restoration of the ecology of the planet, general and complete disarmament and humanity as a value system. An alternative civilization is a low-energy, highly sustainable, environmentally friendly, completely demilitarized and truly human civilization.

Modernity is characterized by the desire to restore the unity of man and nature. We can say that the philosophy of the 20th century. denies the opposition of subject and object, man and nature, characteristic of the New Age, which began to be understood as the house in which a person lives. It is no coincidence that the word ecology itself means “the science of the home.” Humanity does not know the way out of the environmental crisis, which continues despite the implementation of programs to develop waste-free production and improve environmental legislation. The main problem, according to the Club of Rome, is not in nature, but in the values ​​and ethical ideas of man and society. The principles of humanism must relate not only to man, but also to nature. From traditional humanism, which declares man to be the highest value, one should move to eco-humanism, which presupposes a careful attitude towards nature. By treating nature responsibly, humanity also treats itself responsibly.

The Internet contains some interesting data about the “global village”:

“If you reduce all of humanity to a village of one hundred inhabitants, taking into account all proportional relationships, this is what the population of this village would look like:

♦ 57 Asians;

♦ 21 Europeans; » 14 Americans (northern and southern);

♦ 8 Africans;

♦ 52 will be women;

♦ 48 men;

♦ 70 non-white;

♦ 30 white;

♦ 89 heterosexual; » 11 homosexual;

♦ 6 people will own 59% of the world's wealth and all will be from the USA;

♦ 80 will not have adequate housing conditions;

♦ 70 will be illiterate;

♦ 50 will be malnourished;

♦ 1 will die; » 2 will be born;

♦ 1 (only one) will have a computer;

♦ 1 (only one) will have a higher education. If you woke up healthy this morning, then you are happier than

1 million people who won't live to see next week.

If you have never experienced war, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture or hunger, you are happier than 500 million people in this world.

If you can go to church without fear or threat of imprisonment or death, you are happier than 3 billion people in this world.

If you have food in your refrigerator, you are clothed, you have a roof over your head and a bed, you are richer than 75% of the people in this world.

If you have a bank account, money in your wallet and some change in your piggy bank, you belong to the 8% of wealthy people in this world.”

PROPOSED MEASURES TO SOLUTION GLOBAL PROBLEMS

	Spiritual crisis	The revival of spiritual culture in its secular and religious forms, the development of science and education, ethical education, the formation of a new spiritualized worldview
	Threat of world war with weapons of mass destruction	Limiting the production and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). Gradual reduction of arsenals, prohibition of the production, storage and use of weapons of mass destruction
	Depletion of natural resources	Limiting resource consumption, development and use of resource-saving technologies, development of new energy sources, restoration of biosphere reserves, development of technologies for obtaining new materials, development of natural resources of space (solar system, etc.)
	Uneven socio-economic development of countries and regions	Political and economic integration of states, assistance from developed countries to third world countries, balanced cultural and socio-economic development in various regions of the planet
	Potential danger of comet and meteorite destruction	Creation of a global system for tracking near-Earth space, and a system for comet-meteorite protection of the planet using nuclear and laser weapons
	Mass diseases	Scientific research into the causes of mass diseases, development of new medicines and treatment technologies, creation of a global system for the prevention of mass diseases, popularization of a healthy lifestyle
	Rise of terrorism	Development of uniform legal standards for all states, increasing the role of the UN in resolving local conflicts, closer cooperation between law enforcement systems of different states, eliminating cultural, economic and political causes of terrorism, expanding intercultural dialogue, political and socio-economic integration of states into a single planetary community
	Deepening environmental crisis	Development of an environmentally oriented worldview, development and implementation of waste-free environmental technologies, construction of treatment facilities, transition to environmentally friendly energy sources, reduction of emissions of freon, carbon dioxide and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, restoration of the planet’s biosphere, prohibition of construction that can negatively affect biogeocenoses, without environmental assessment, tightening legal liability for non-ecological use of natural resources, moving environmentally hazardous production into space, beyond the biosphere and atmosphere of the planet

	Demographic problem	Regulating population growth in regions of demographic “explosion”, stimulating the birth rate in “aging” countries, political and socio-economic integration of states into a single planetary community, ensuring intensive development of socio-economic infrastructure in overpopulated areas, uniform distribution of the population across the planet, creating colonies of settlers on the planets of the solar system
	Global climate change and geophysical characteristics of the planet	Reducing emissions of freon and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, banning the testing of nuclear weapons on Earth, moving the population from unfavorable climatic zones, creating colonies of settlers on the planets of the solar system
	Increased seismic activity on the planet	Prohibition of nuclear weapons testing on Earth, development of seismic warning technologies, construction of buildings and structures taking into account the seismic factor, development of rescue services, creation of settlement colonies in space

The collection of works by famous foreign authors - Teilhard de Chardin, A. Schweitzer, R. Higgins, R. Atfield, E. Fromm, K. Jung, etc. - reflects a wide range of views and approaches to the role and responsibility of man in the context of exacerbating global problems modernity. The book highlights the views of scientists exploring the value origins of the global crisis of society, discussions about whether a fundamentally new global ethics is needed. The ethical problems posed by new social movements that have arisen in connection with the threat to human existence and life on Earth and the specific search for ways to humanize modern reality are considered. Publisher: "Progress" (1990) Format: 84x108/32, 495 pages. ISBN: 5-01-001586-2

See also in other dictionaries:

GLOBAL PROBLEMS- an area of ​​philosophical research in which the prerequisites for solving global problems of our time are determined, the philosophical aspects of social, demographic, environmental forecasting, and the search for ways to restructure the world are analyzed... ... Modern Western philosophy. encyclopedic Dictionary

GLOBAL PROBLEMS- a set of problems affecting the vital interests of all humanity and requiring agreed upon international agreements for their resolution. actions on a global scale. From the decision of P.g. further social depends progress in the modern era. To P.g... Russian Sociological Encyclopedia

ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS- ECOLOGICAL ETHICS (environmental ethics, English environmental, from environment environment) a direction of philosophical research in which not only well-being and social issues are considered as moral problems of a person... ... Philosophical Encyclopedia

Schrader, Yuliy Anatolievich- (10/28/1927 08/24/1998) special. in computer science, methodology of science, philosophy. religion; Ph.D. physical mathematician, doctor of philosophy sciences, prof. Genus. In Dnepropetrovsk. Graduated from mechanical engineering. ft MSU (1946), asp. Moscow State University (1949). In 1949 1950 and 1956 1961 he worked in Scientific...

JOHN PAUL II- K. Wojtyla with his parents. Photo. Beginning 20s XX century K. Wojtyla with her parents. Photo. Beginning 20s XX century (05/18/1920, Wadowice, near Krakow, Poland 04/2/2005, Vatican; before the election of Pope Karol Józef Wojtyła), Pope (from October 16... ... Orthodox Encyclopedia

Chumakov, Alexander Nikolaevich- (b. 10/01/1950) spec. in the region Philosopher global problems, social Philosopher and ecology; Dr. Philosopher sciences, prof. Genus. in the village Northern Astrakhan region. Graduated from Philosophy. ft MSU (1981), asp. ibid (1984). Currently vr. Ved. n. With. at the Institute of Philosophy of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Prof. Moscow legal in that... ... Large biographical encyclopedia

Rockefellers- (Rockefellers) The Rockefellers are a dynasty of the largest American entrepreneurs, political and public figures. History of the Rockefeller dynasty, representatives of the Rockefeller dynasty, John Davison Rockefeller, Rockefellers today, Rockefellers and... ... Investor Encyclopedia

12 Lynn White Jr. Historical roots of our environmental crisis // Global problems and universal human values. M., 1990, pp. 194-195.

With the advent of the capitalist mode of production, which entailed the industrialization of society, a sharp change in man’s relationship with nature occurs. Millions of hectares of land are used for the construction of factories and huge cities. Mineral resources are being intensively developed, extracted and used: oil, gas, coal, copper, etc. The French scientist F. Saint-Marc writes that French society, from the point of view of material well-being, “highly values ​​natural space, which produces material wealth, which in turn degrades and destroys it. But it values ​​it little, and often does not value it at all as a source of intangible benefits that preserve the integrity of space. Protecting nature is almost unprofitable for its owner; by destroying it, he makes a huge profit."

13 Saint-Marc F. Socialization of nature. M., 1977. P. 35.

Modern society is experiencing a deep environmental crisis.

Due to the increasing exploitation of natural resources and further pollution of the environment, the threat of the death of earthly civilization has arisen. The same F. Saint-Marc writes that “a four-engine Boeing jet flying on the Paris-New York route consumes 36 tons of oxygen. The supersonic Concorde uses over 700 kilograms of air per second during takeoff. The world’s commercial aviation burns every year "The same amount of oxygen consumed by two billion people. The 250 million cars in the world require the same amount of oxygen as the entire population of the Earth needs."

Man unwisely interferes in all spheres of nature, which leads to a sharp deterioration of the earth's landscape; many animals have either completely disappeared or are on the verge of extinction. The appearance of ozone holes indicates that not only the biosphere, but also the Earth’s atmosphere may change.

Great damage to the natural environment is caused by the production and testing of new types of weapons, especially nuclear weapons. The production itself requires tens of thousands of valuable minerals, the peaceful use of which would provide enormous benefits to all peoples and states. And the testing of nuclear weapons has a detrimental effect on the animal and plant world. "When nuclear warheads explode, highly radioactive substances are formed. Immediately after the explosion, radioactive products rush upward in the form of hot gases. As they rise, they cool and condense. Their particles settle on drops of moisture or dust. Then the process of gradual fallout of radioactive fallout begins on the surface of the earth in the form of rain or snow... In a few weeks or even years, radioactive substances carried by air currents will end up thousands of kilometers from the place of their formation." In short, life is completely destroyed where nuclear weapons are tested, and is under threat in other parts of the globe. Not only nuclear, but also non-nuclear weapons cause enormous damage to the natural environment.

14 Saint-Marc F. Socialization of nature. P. 63.

15 Vavilov A.M. Environmental consequences of the arms race. M., 1984. P. 58.

The Chernobyl accident in 1986 demonstrates the devastating consequences that can result from the spread of radioactive substances. They poison the atmosphere, plants, animals, and humans. In a word, life completely dies where radioactive waste appears.

We live in an era of globalization, which has embraced all aspects of public life - economic, social, political, spiritual, etc. Globalization further exacerbates the environmental crisis because it does not respect political boundaries. Transnational corporations, for example, operate wherever there is an opportunity to make huge profits. At the same time, they care little about preserving the natural environment.

Since nature acts as a single whole, damage to it in one region or another of the globe affects the entire planet. For example, a violation of the ecological balance in Africa is very destructive not only for the Black Continent, but also for other continents. The Chernobyl accident occurred on the territory of Ukraine, but its consequences affected those regions that are thousands of kilometers away from Chernobyl.

We demand from nature as much as it essentially cannot give without violating its integrity. Modern machines allow us to penetrate into the most distant corners of nature and remove any minerals. We are even ready to imagine that everything is allowed to us in relation to nature, since it cannot offer us serious resistance. Therefore, we do not hesitate to interfere with natural processes, disrupt their natural course and thereby take them out of balance. Satisfying our selfish interests, we care little about future generations, who will have to face enormous difficulties because of us.

Thus, the modern era is experiencing a deep environmental crisis. Society has entered into an antagonistic contradiction with the natural environment. Is there a way out of this impasse? Some, being pessimists, answer this question in the negative. Others, holding an optimistic position, answer in the affirmative.

According to the first, the long evolution of nature led to the emergence of intelligent life on Earth, and now homo sapiens destroys its parent, but along with it dooms itself to death. Here's what Donella Meadows, Dennis Meadows and Jorge n Randers write: "If demographic growth, industrialization, pollution, food production and natural resource depletion continue at the same pace, the planet will reach the limit of its reproductive potential in about hundred years. This will most likely lead to a sudden, uncontrolled decline in population and a decrease in production capacity." The latter believe that the current situation does not cause any particular concern, that people will sooner or later find a way out of a difficult situation, create new types of energy, artificial nature, and thereby be able to continue producing material and spiritual values, increasing the wealth of civilization.

16 Donella Meadows, Dennis Meadows, Jorgen Randers. Beyond the permissible: global catastrophe or stable future? // New post-industrial wave in the West. Anthology. Edited by V.L. Inozemtseva, 1999. P. 576.

In my opinion, one cannot be an absolute pessimist, because pessimism leads to inaction and ultimately to fatalism. But you cannot be an unbridled optimist, since such optimism can calm people down and thereby prevent them from making any optimal decisions. First of all, you need to be realistic, objectively assess the current situation and act in accordance with it. At the same time, we must proceed from the fact that without constant and continuous contact with nature, without interaction with it, society will simply perish. Therefore, the conversation should not be about stopping the use of natural resources in order to completely break the “society-nature” relationship, but about establishing relationships that would not harm either nature or society. From now on we must be guided by the formula: “nature - society - nature”. This means that society interacts with nature and at the same time restores it. Modern civilization is able to do this. Every person must realize and understand that his life and well-being are completely dependent on the vitality of the natural environment. Ultimately, he must feel, as Higgins puts it, rational fear, that is, fear associated with an understanding of impending danger. Such fear is the source of true courage and has nothing in common with pathological and hysterical fear, which dooms people to inaction.

The world community, and first of all the politicians of developed countries that cause the greatest damage to the natural environment, must ensure that every person, every state takes into account not only personal, but also international interests. I do not think, as is sometimes suggested, that it would be possible to form some kind of world government to which all nation states could obey and which would solve all global problems, including environmental ones. The power of egoism is too great, denying general interests and absolutizing private ones. But under the auspices of the UN, much can be achieved.

In the formation of environmental consciousness, a special role belongs to the media. They should engage in less politicking and more sounding the alarm, constantly reminding people of the environmental danger that threatens their lives. A person must formulate an ecological consciousness that will automatically respond to any violation of the ecological balance. People will constantly take into account the need to protect the natural environment.

Scientists all over the world can and must create environmentally friendly technology for the production of material goods, for the production of high-quality and economical cars. And states, first of all, should focus not on high profits, but on such profits that do not destroy nature, but contribute to its restoration. In turn, the world community needs to take strict sanctions against those states that cause irreparable damage to nature.

One can object and say that there is a huge distance between what should and what is, and that what should be can remain a good wish. This is true. But it is important to show that it is possible to overcome the environmental crisis. If world civilization ignores this opportunity, it will perish and thereby demonstrate its inability for self-preservation and self-development

Cruel: “Either he (the person) must change, or he is destined to disappear from the face of the Earth.”4 The purpose of this work is to consider the philosophical aspects of the relationship between man and Nature in the conditions of an impending environmental disaster, the ways and possibilities of forming that new system of values, with the help which will prevent Humanity from sliding towards its own destruction. ...

But also the general population. In this regard, possible scenarios and concepts for the global development of civilization are being developed, which will be discussed later. Chapter 2. Aspects of the ecological crisis Modern man is increasingly experiencing a sense of the temporal limitations of life and an awareness of the spatial limitations of our habitat, although the consequences of human activity...

Negative consequences that are tangible now (for example, environmental pollution, soil erosion, etc.) and potential dangers (depletion of resources, man-made disasters, etc.). Modern environmental disasters The fact that the modern environmental crisis is the other side of scientific and technological revolution is confirmed by the fact that it is precisely those achievements of scientific and technological progress that served...

It is this circumstance that allows us to talk about the presence of a global environmental crisis and the threat of environmental catastrophe. Scientific and technological progress and nature in the modern era. Modern processes associated with an increase in the intensity of human impact on the natural environment, the increase in the variety of forms of its transformation not only put on the agenda the study of necessary...

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