THE GLOBAL PROBLEM OF MODERNITY AS AN EXPRESSION OF THE TECHNOGENIC CIVILIZATION CRISIS

As a result of the rapidly expanding process of technization, European civilization began to acquire a technogenic character. Its most essential feature is the loss of human power over technological progress and its consequences [1].

Technogenic civilization is a special type of civilization development based on the accelerating progress of science and technology, the rapid change of the objective world and social ties, the dominance of scientific rationality in culture which acts as a self-sufficing value.

Technogenic civilization is characterized by:

1. A special idea of nature. Nature is the sphere of application of human forces (“nature is a workshop”).

2. Man is seen as an active being aimed at changing the world.

3. Outward orientation of the human activity, i.e. the transformation of objects, rather than a person himself.

4. Emphasis on the technical and technological optimality of the development of equipment and technologies [2].

With the development of technogenic civilization, some contradictions between them began to appear resulting in major problems in our time. First of all, it should be called ecological – the entire planet Earth was under the threat of death. Equally important are the negative social consequences of scientific and technological progress. Despite all the achievements of technology, a man has not become better, cleaner and happier. In the sphere of production, the problem of connecting a person with technical complexes has arisen [2].

At the end of the 20th century, the amount of knowledge doubles every 10-15 years. Technologies become obsolete, and fundamentally new ones tend to replace them. A difficult problem is the preparation of new generations. Thus, modern technogenic civilization acquires a self-sufficient character accompanied by the loss of human power over technological progress and its consequences. The aggressiveness of man's technical intervention in the nature has given rise to a global ecological crisis.

The global problems of our time are a complex of social and natural issues. Their solution depends on the social progress of mankind and the preservation of civilization. These problems are characterized by dynamism, arise as an objective factor in the development of society, and require the joint efforts of all mankind to eliminate them. Global problems are interconnected. They cover all aspects of people's lives and concern all countries of the world.

Let us take a closer look at some crucial global problems.

* The North-South problem is the gap in development between rich and poor countries, poverty, hunger and illiteracy. The essence of this problem is in the lack of unity among people. The world is in a state of political competition between developed and rich countries, while second- and third-order countries are needed only for profitable agreements in the field of resources and labor. The governments of developed countries are not interested in social and humanitarian support for the third-order countries due to the unprofitability of these decisions from the standpoint of selfish interests.

* Prevention of thermonuclear war and ensuring peace for all peoples, prevention of unauthorized spread of nuclear technologies, radioactive contamination of the environment. Mankind has created weapons for its own destruction. Recently, a trend towards militarization has been clearly visible on the world stage. The largest states allocate a huge amount of funds for the development of the military industry. First of all, this is due to a number of disagreements in world politics. Most likely, this is the most terrible and urgent problem of our time. Humanity has reached the critical point of no return having developed dangerous technologies capable of destroying the planet in one day.

* Preventing catastrophic environmental pollution, reducing biodiversity and providing humanity with resources. Industrialization began in England at the end of the 18th century. Since then, it has become much more widespread. The destruction of nature for the sake of resources and the construction of industrial or human settlements has led to the destruction of the habitats of many living organisms resulting in population decline. Industrial waste and emissions of harmful substances lead to the destruction of the ecosystem which affects all the inhabitants of the earth, including humans. It is worth noting that there are man-made disasters, the fault of which is the human factor. The consequences are very tragic, both for the Earth and for humanity.

* Global warming and ozone holes. Emissions of substances lead to atmospheric pollution and, in particular, to the creation of a greenhouse effect due to the multiple excess of carbon dioxide concentration. The consequence is climate change, for example, an increase in temperature, humidity, which, in turn, provokes the melting of glaciers, and, as a result, a rise in sea levels.

* The problem of cardiovascular, oncological diseases and AIDS. First of all, air pollution has a negative impact on health. It leads to a deterioration in well-being. The second reason is the negligent attitude of people to their bodies. These include: bad habits, low mobility (which is also a consequence of the development of technology), neglect of hygiene standards, poor-quality nutrition.

* Demographic development (demographic explosion in developing countries and demographic crisis in developed countries). There is a tendency to rethink the concept of family. Conservative views fade into the background.

Among the social and cultural universals of Western European culture underlying technogenic civilization, it is necessary to note the rapid, exponential change in the objective world which affects the way of life, the dynamics of social ties, the change in the ratio of tradition and innovation in cultural and civilization development; the dominance of scientific rationality; puritan ethics; orientation to the autonomy of the individual, his rights, freedoms; a special understanding of power, strength of one's character and nature. There is a globalization of lifestyles (mass culture, food, clothing) which is facilitated by mass communications and modern transport.

What is the essence of the crisis of man-made civilization? Can humanity find ways out of it? Let us proceed from the fact that humanity has a chance to overcome this crisis, first, through a conscious change of priorities in the scale of cultural values, the creation of a new attitude towards nature, the formation of an ecological culture. Another important condition for overcoming technogenicity is a change in the principles of measuring technology, its criteria and assessments, including the system of these assessments, along with technical and technological optimality and economic efficiency, as well as the social and cultural human dimension. And, finally, the most important condition for overcoming the crisis is also the revolutionary changes in engineering thinking and actions that have appeared at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. There are three stages in this process:

1. Understanding of the problem.

2. Understanding of methods and means of equipment operation;

3. Social and cultural understanding of technology.

The essence and importance of the further development of technology is in the evolving of such design strategies and control systems that would ensure human survival. The more technogenic civilization develops, the more acute will be the need for spiritual, moral, legal, philosophical, religious, cultural improvement and development of a man, because only a “a man of culture” will be able to preserve his human essence, his human substance and his human image in the technotronic civilization with its robots, “thinking intelligence”, “cloning” of natural and artificial beings with its vast horizons of technocratic possibilities and prospects.