Personalizm tomistyczny wobec nowoczesnej i ponowoczesnej antropologii

Abstract

Thomistic personalism against modernand postmodern anthropologySummaryThe article is divided into four parts which discuss the following subjects:1) Anthropology of the late 19th and mid-19th century – consisting in the evolutionaryunderstanding of not only the genesis of man but also his personality,psyche, culture and morality. This approach contrasted with the Thomistictheory of man as a person, which was developed also at this time. Man understoodas a person can be characterized by the intellectual perception ofthe surrounding reality, the freedom to act, and the love for others which goesbeyond purely physical relations. A human being understood in such a waystands in opposition to every form of reductionism: biological, sociological,cultural, economic, and legal. Man as a person grows above the physical, alsoabove his body which – despite being an integral part of human existence –does not fall within the definition of a person. According to this view, mancannot be reduced to his body, which is obvious, but also carnality does notconstitute a central theme of anthropology, that being a person. As a consequence,the problem of the origin of the body becomes secondary and fromthis perspective, even the acceptance of the evolutionary origin of the bodilyorgans does not constitute a ground for negating the creative role of God inthe formation of man.2) Anthropology of postmodernism is characterized by the “fluidity” of thedefinition of man. This is caused by the “contingency” of man, which pointsto individuality, diversity and lack of one metaphysics that could cover allobjects. A postmodern man believes in historicism (looking at phenomenafrom the point of view of their historical evolution) and nominalism (thereare only individuals and their conventional names), so he can abandon anymetanarrative attempts to describe the essence of things. He creates hisown language of metaphors which he can use absolutely freely. Accordingto the theory of man as a person, postmodernism appears as a reaction to thebiological and socio-cultural reductionism that the science of the 19th and20th century – with its scientism and technocracy – offered to man. It seemsthat in this context one can pay attention to the typical characteristics of a person (constitutiva personae), such as individuality, intellectual characterand freedom of the human being, which all give rise to its subjectivity andfar-reaching autonomy.3) Anthropology of transhumanism advocates the widespread use of medicalscience (including manipulation of the DNA code) and advanced technologyin human development, leading to the transformation of man into theposthuman and beginning a new epoch of history called posthumanism.Posthumans will be beings with far greater capabilities than human beingstoday. In a discussion with transhumanism, the article referred to the fundamentalparadigms of philosophical thinking – Platonism and Aristotelianism.It was considered that transhumanism is a form of Platonism with itsdream of making man angelic or divine. It results from the concept of manas only the set of attributes and relations “mechanically” added to each other.According to Aristotelianism, the form of human being is immutable in itsessence, and it is only the properties and relationships of a human being thatchange. The Thomistic theory of a person belongs to a group of philosophiesoriginating from the Aristotelian school and – allowing for a great variabilityof features and relationships – it does not consider them to be able to changetheir subject – a human being into something else.4) Social philosophers and philosophical sociologists record a number of negativeanthropological phenomena related to the already existing postmodernand transhumanist “project”. These include primarily nihilism, scientism,materialism, and identity loss, all of which results in the infantilization ofthe human culture, and – in the economic field – in the economy of excessand lack, i.e. the continuous deepening of financial differences (fortificationsof the rich and ghettos of the poor), while in the area of health it leads to thedeterioration of the mental condition of man. It is suggested that the subjectiveand personal approach to man be opposed to extreme scientism, nihilism andthe objective and utilitarian use of man for the benefit and pleasure. Findingoneself as a person can be a way for people to get to know themselves andovercome a deepening identity crisis. Emphasizing the dignity of the personand concern for the common good may be an attempt to leave the civilizationof excess and lack. Establishing personal relationships and caring for otherscan inhibit the breakdown of interpersonal relationships, loneliness and theloss of a sense of security, and it may help improve the deteriorating spiritualcondition of the postmodern human.