Можем ли мы надеяться на прогресс в понимании «прогресса»?

Abstract

The article discusses the question raised by A.L. Nikiforov about the meaning and significance of scientific progress. It is shown that scientific progress, in ac­cordance with the original meaning embedded in this concept, should be consid­ered in the context of the universal development of the human reason, which covers not only the cognitive assimilation of the natural world, but also the con­struction of a harmonious society, and the improvement of man as such. Based on this, it is problematic to talk about autonomous scientific progress that does not affect the spiritual sphere. It is shown that changes in the understanding of progress refer not only to scientific or social progress, but to the whole com­plex of beliefs associated with the idea of the world development. The author traces the historical transformation of the three key concepts underlying the dis­course of progress, which the researcher of the metaphysics of progress Alain de Benoist identifies as the most stable. First, the idea of linear progress, based on the mechanistic ontology and reductionism, is replaced by the concept of so­cial evolution, based on the interaction of organic systems and subsystems. Sec­ondly, the idea of the fundamental unity of humanity and a single science gives way to an irreducible multiplicity of cultures and metaphysics. Third, the idea of a controlled transformation of the world is replaced by the concept of uncer­tainty. The author traces the transformation of the idea of progress into the idea of the complication of the world. A characteristic feature of the discourse of complication is that it speaks of a distributed agent of the world process, thereby relieving man of exclusive responsibility for the course of history. The author defends the point of view that changes in the understanding of progress are an expression of increasing conceptual and ontological complexity.