Values of Age of Pluralism
Lyudmila Baeva - professor of philosophy
From the position of existential axiology values are considered
as dominants of consciousness and existence, which creatively influence the
internal development of a person and the surrounding world, filling them with
significancy and sense. The main direction of development of axiosphere of
contemporaneity is the transition from the classical values (the spirit, soul,
mind, order, humanism, progress, enlightenment and others) to neoclassical
values (material, hedonism, pluralism, tolerance, irrationalismand so on),
connected with the processes of pragmatization, informatization, globalization
of society.
From the position of existential axiology, suggested by the
author, values are considered as dominants of consciousness and existence,
which creatively influence the internal development of a person and the
surrounding world, filling them with significancy and sense. Values are
considered as Answers of a person to key existential question (of death,
loneliness, absurdity, lack of freedom), attempts to make the life, that had no
predetermined aim and sense, meaningful, to create (or change) yourself or the
world in accordance with your own preferences. Axiological creativity is a
representation of freedom of a person in relation to natural and social
programme, an opportunity to “recode” your own Ego and the surrounding world
towards a significant ideal, and consequently it is an important factor for
development.
The main dynamic trend of axiosphere of the present time is
transmission from classical values to neoclassical ones, connected with the
epoch of consumption, informatization, globalization etc. Classical values,
which had been developing since the antique classics to European classical
tradition of the 19th century, suggest the priority of spirit, soul,
sense, order, humanism, progress, enlightenment and so on. Global changes in
person’s attitude towards the world, nature, power, property resulted in
absolutely new orienting points, the essence of which consists in the turn to
corporality, hedonism, pluralism, tolerance, irrationalism and so on.
Neoclassical values suggest shifting of person’s attention and care from the
spiritual (intellectual and moral) sphere to the material (corporal and
external) one; replacing ethnic cultural dominants with globally unified ones;
transforming the cult of knowledge and enlightenment into the cult of pleasure
and naturality; leaving aesthetic and axiologic monism for “forced pluralism”;
“liberation” from conation to the ideal and transcendent world in the favour of
pragmatism and utilitarianism; substitution of creativity with consumption,
life – with the game, real relations – with virtual ones, contents – with the
form. All this changes the subject himself. The reasons for these changes are
the following:
·
crisis
of classical epoch principles monistic in their expression: evidence of Utopian
character of developing a perfect person, an entirely constructive sense, “a
fair-for-all society” etc.;
·
maintenance
of liberty in the conditions of “mass culture” as an opportunity for not well
educated majority to pronounce their values as primary ones;
·
globalization
changes, which result in confusion and conflicts in ethnic and confessional
sphere and realization of tolerance as the only form of potential relations
between civilizations;
·
informatization
processes that cause phenomena of virtual world and replace real processes with
simulated subjects, which dissolve a person in the collective consciousness of
the information network;
·
argumentation
of ambiguity and chaos as a constructive principle, pluralism and
multialternative approach as the principles of systems development;
·
cult
of “glamour” life, comprising and glorifying platitude, luxury, artificiality,
constant renovation, that is formed by the mass media of the “consumer
society”;
·
vacuity
of mass culture of chartbusters and simulacra; the esoteric is dissolved in the
exoteric, the elite is diluted in mass, as a result the intellectual and moral
searching for sense of life is replaced with emotionally-doped one, routine
triumphs over loftiness, form – over the notional content;
·
unification
of the lifestyle, forming stereotype consciousness and as a result political
apathy, inactivity, constant “boredom”, “being tired” of life, searching for
extreme entertainments, “escape from reality”, “existential vacuum”.
In the 20th century the world and the man faced the
threat of destruction, so a number of values, which had been dominating the
consciousness and creative activity of people, began to transform and corrupt.
Classical heritage of the Renaissance epoch proclaimed Man, Sense, Progress,
love for neighbors, duty to the motherland, altruism, freedom etc. as superior
axiological priorities. For several centuries humanistic, progressive,
patriotic approaches have been developed successively in European literature,
art and historical studies. But the 20th century failed to answer
the expectations. Two world wars, murderous revolutions, totalitarian regimes,
economic and ecological crises showed that sense is not the universal tool to
achieve the reign of justice, freedom and prosperity. As a response, the crisis
of classical system of values comes: humanism is replaced with antihumanism,
progressism - with pluralism, rationalism - with irrationalism. A. Schopenhauer
and F. Nietzsche, whose works became enormously popular in the 20th
century, were forerunners of the critics of classical values.
New postmodernistic principles avoid any categoricity and
uniqueness by all means, main priorities include freedom, tolerance towards
others, energy, innovations, creativity, knowledge, self-actualization etc.
Turning from universal total values to individualistic egocentric ones caused
the downfall of spiritual authorities that used to be inviolable. Crisis of
monistic doctrines, totalitarian regimes, normative ethics, religious orthodoxy
stipulated axiological personalism of the present, where the existence of a
person became of the primary importance. Ignoring individuality, that had been
lasting for a long period of civilization development, gave rise to
ultra-individualism and narcissism, the excess of which is very dangerous. They
evoke keen criticism on the part of supporters of classical culture, morality,
science and politics. The paradox of our epoch is intensification of plurality,
fragmentation, increasing role of the individual, personal against the
background of the expanding integration of forms of life, globalization of
information, economy and culture. Consolidation of cosmopolitan values
accompanies the strengthening of nationalistic mood, technocratic worldview
accompanies an outbreak of mysticism, mass culture accompanies egocentrism,
liberal priorities accompany the violation cult. We should note that classical
values outgrew to neoclassical, moreover they were “revolutionary” set aside
and swept away by the new generation.
Such “re-estimations of values” also occurred before alongside
with local social disturbances and change. Peculiarity of the present
phenomenon of values transforming is in its universal character, which is
caused by a certain stage of the mankind development – humanity passes through
a number of limiting states that multiplied, synthesized certain crisis
situations and tendencies. The humanity was united not only in the result of
“axial time” and development of scientific revolutions all over the world, but
also because of the merging of raw material, labor and financial markets,
creation of the global information network, common environmental, demographic,
military matters. But this unity is, however, only formal. Actually reunion of
peoples is very irregular and painful. Main problems of the globalization epoch
are connected with significant differences in the living standards of the countries,
entering this process; with national values domination over the international
ones; with monopolization (across the globe) in the sphere of economy, politics
and culture; with consolidation of the cult of science and its practical
interpretation; with commercialization of all spheres of life etc. The response
to these problems was clashes between civilizations, ethnoses, confessions,
conflicts of interior and foreign policy that resulted in a complete
reconsideration of values of the previous epoch.
The most significant changes in personal and social values were
caused by informatization (information revolution); liberalization
(postmodernistic revolution); global migration and integration (globalization
revolution); changes in scientific paradigms (synergistic scientific
revolution).
A person of post-non-classical epoch is free from moral, social
and political point of view, but is extremely dependent from economic and
information spheres. He is motive first of all by conation to material pleasures,
consumption and profit, that can never be satisfied. This prevents him from
feeling happy, harmonious, satisfied with achievement of his goals. The person
turns out to lose his principal bases: he has lost the values, God, community,
another person, and on the one hand, a person becomes unimportant for the
world, on the other hand, the constant rush for benefits deprived him of tight
coupling and rooting in the world. Key conditions of our life are changes,
uncertainty, forced innovations, virtuality of consciousness and relations.
“Stream of consciousness” turned out to be more valuable than logically framed
systems, the subject has turned his back on the object, and finally has lost
himself. The person does not learn the world, but “breaks it open” and uses.
The essence of the person is changing: today he is “using, consuming,
entertaining”. As he is “moving in a moving medium”, a person is in the state
of constant becoming, nonqualitative growing, he is just a bunch of freedom,
that can’t be actually spent for anything, except of consumption of various
amenities. The epoch of freedom turned out to be the freedom from ideology and
morality, and today we should understand that these notions do not have
immanent cohesion. The essence of morality consists not in external behavior
regulation, but in self-control and self-development. Thus, in an attempt to
fly from totality to freedom, it is important not to lose contacts with higher
values, but to find them yourself, to firm up as a person not because of forced
communication, ideologic treatment, zombiing, but due to personal growing from
primitive vital needs to relevant social, spiritual and moral ones. The
enlargement of the mind used to be prevented by some external reasons in the
form of ideological paradigms, conventional behavioral stereotypes, but now the
person is influenced by other factors: propaganda of egocentric lifestyle, cult
of enjoyment, virtual dependence, loss of connection with tradition.
Representatives of the new generation (“Generation-X”) chooses
independence of the community, they either plunge into the “virt” world, or
join together into various groups like “underground”, or keep in the
background, trying to hide, to get lost. Asociality and egocentrism become
characteristic not only rebellious teen-agers, but also of infantile young
people who have become the hostages of gorged consuming society. The mass,
globalizing society is on the threshold of principal changes of the worldview:
creation cosmopolitan value, synthesizing numerous cultural traditions of
people, removal of the three key antinomies “the West- the East”, “a Person –
Society”, “Society – Nature”. Removal of these antinomies is the main task of
the new generation which lives in the state of freedom, pluralism and global unity.
What does a list of contemporary values which should be kept in
conditions of pluralism and innovatory changes include? First of, moral values
– disinterested kindness, honor, honesty, respect to life, nonviolence,
cognitive values – truth, knowledge, science, social values- family, kids, love
and friendship, Another world vital values – life, safety, health. These values
belong to the category of those which loss can lead to a loss not only the
cultural achievements of society, but also to the destruction of man himself.
The difference of modern époque is that today not only the majority of
citizens are losing spiritual priorities (as happened before), but in that
elite, the subjects of high values are involved in a pragmatism and technocratism.
Regarding the value of aesthetic, mystical, existential types, they are more
associated with the uniqueness of individuals and their pluralism not
inconsistent with the Life, Culture, Freedom of Another, but condition of
conservation as a priority of those that were listed above – moral, social,
etc.
Among the most destructive to the culture and human vices of our
time, we could include moral pluralism as the admissibility and the
justification of evil, violence, theft, (plagmatization, corruption),
inspiritually as pragmatization, commercialization all aspects of life, the
subordination of their cult of material success, achievable at any cost,
aggressiveness as a starting point in relation to Another installation, which
involves more intolerant of dissent the behavior of a position of strength.
Destructive tendencies today are gaining strength and resistance
to them – a task primary of modern education and creative cultural elite.