The Dehumanization of Man

  1. Lemma
  2. Ὁ ἀπανθρωπισμός τοῦ ἀνθρώπου
  3. Greek, Modern (1453-)
  4. Delli, Eudoxie
  5. Modes of interaction > Conflict - Concepts of knowledge and modes of reasoning
  6. 14-12-2016
  7. Sherrard, Philip [Author]. The Dehumanization of Man
  8. Δύο κείμενα περί ἐπιστήμης : Two texts on Modern Science - : Σύναξη, 1986.
    1. <p>Sherrard, P. (1986). The Dehumanization of Man (A. Apostolidis, Trans.) In <em>Two texts on Modern Science</em> (pp. 9-63). Athens:Synaxi Press.</p>

    1. Philip Sherrard traces the crisis back to what he believes is its true origin: the incremental replacement of a participatory and sacramental understanding of creation with the more detached scientific mentality that predominates today. He points out that the acceptance of this materialistic, mechanistic worldview leads to dehumanization — with drastic consequences for the natural world and the whole human life and society.

      Sherrard rejects the idea according to which modern science rests on pure, objective fact. He argues that Modern Science emerged from developments in medieval Scholastic thought and is founded on a host of unquestioned philosophical and metaphysical assumptions. Only once we have understood more fully these assumptions and subjected them to close scrutiny may we begin to recover and reinvigorate the fuller vision of human life and the cosmos that the modern scientific perspective has replaced.

      The author argues that there is nothing inevitable in the unfolding tragedies of environmental despoliation, unbridled consumerism and dehumanization, and cultural decay. Instead, he calls for a restoration of an intelligible/sacred cosmology in which the spiritual regeneration of humanity and the ecological regeneration of the earth are closely tangled up.

      Even though Sherrard’s judgement on modern science is over-schematized, his insightful approach in the generation and evolution of Modern science, could lead to a constructive reflection and critical revision of the impact of sciences and technological applications on human life. On the other hand, it is clear that he ascribes to the Orthodox tradition and spirituality the role of a critical corrective of Modern science’s deviations, acting as a remedy to the fragmentation of human self and social life which scientific mentality imposes.