The problem of the perfect man as a problem of a sustainable society in a globalized world

Abstract

Summary. The purpose of this article is to refer to the origins of Eastern, more precisely, Chinese anthropology, which formed the image of a perfect person, and to substantiate the relevance of the implementation of this image in the contemporary European mass consciousness, which is in crisis due to the ideological vacuum regarding patterns of behavior and means of life. Methodology. It is productive to apply the methods of historical-philosophical analysis and the philosophical-anthropological approach to the possibility of analyzing and investigating the problem of human self-improvement, its motives and the cultural background that contributes to this phenomenon. Scientific novelty. The article examines the realities of the crisis of industrial man, which came about due to the devaluation of the idea of Man and the ideal of man in the New Age, which actualizes today the appeal to the anthropological developments of ancient Chinese philosophical thought, which preserved the image of a perfect man and defined the main criteria for his identification. It is possible to form the image of a perfect person of our era only on the basis of similar images of previous eras, therefore, turning to Eastern wisdom contributes to the philosophical understanding of the reconstruction of the ideal of a person, understood and accepted by the mass consciousness. The proposed model of an ideal person is a step on the way to building applied philosophical and anthropological knowledge about the self-development of a person in the conditions set by the crisis. Conclusions. The first thing that catches your eye when you get acquainted with the concept of an ideal person in ancient Chinese treatises is the understanding of the phenomenon of selfimprovement as a condition for spiritual development. The second point, which I would also like to note, is the understanding of spiritual development through the improvement of moral consciousness, which is possible as a result of the painstaking work of an individual on his character traits. A condition or motivation for self-improvement is certain human abilities, the main of which is the ability to change or transform. In this context, the meaning of the well-known pair of opposites: good and evil is revealed. Goodness is the ability to renew, the highest form of creativity; evil – backwardness, inhibition, inability to update. And this is the third point, which I also wanted to pay attention to. Two geniuses of Chinese philosophical thought – Lao Tzu and Confucius – developed the concept of a perfect person, identical in terms of goals, but different in the ways of achieving them. So, a modern person who has the ability and motivation to change can choose one of the options offered by Chinese anthropology and psychology. To achieve career growth and material well-being, the concept of Confucius, so popular in modern China, is suitable. Well, if a person seeks profound metamorphosis, then the experience of the Taoists, popular among supporters of positive psychology, will be useful to him.