INTRODUCERE N FILOZOFIE (2) 1

[Prima ntemeiere a modernit!"ii : F. Bacon] The basic assumption in Bacons thinking is that nature is impersonal and inanimate and canand indeed shouldbe dealt with in an objective manner. He says: For as all works do

show forth the power and skill of the workman, and not his image; so it is of the works of God; which do show the omnipotency and wisdom of the maker, but not his image; and therefore therein the heathen opinion differeth from the sacred truth; for they supposed the world to be the image of God, and man to be an extract or compendious image of the world; but the Scriptures never vouchsafe to attribute to the world that honour, as to be the image of God, but only the work of his hands; neither do they speak of any other image of God, but man. (Advancement of Learning, bk. II) Thus, for Bacon nature has to be understood and studied as an artifact, as

the work of Gods hands, not as something that has purpose and worth of its own. There is no impediment, therefore, to humans putting it to their use. Bacon speaks of putting nature to the test, for example, which is a phrase associated with torture during the Inquisition, and talks of the need to conquer, woo, unveil, and disrobe nature in order to force her to give up her secrets. Carolyn Merchant has argued that the uncritical acceptance of this Baconian language has had disastrous consequences for those of us in the modern world ... Bacon draws on the Bible to support his view that nature is an artifact. Nature is a creation of God and is in no way divine or suffused with the divine. It is matter, stuff, an inanimate resource awaiting human use [...] Nature and God were thus quite separate. But more than that, so conceived nature was an object and thus devoid of will; it was in no sense a subject. Humans thus became distinguished from nature by having will, a will that they could impose on nature. (...) [2] Bacon is thus doing something very significant when he attacks the contemplative life and stresses the value of the active life. He is repudiating a tradition in which the life of action received its meaning from the life of contemplation. All knowledge is to be referred to use and action, to the relief of mans estate (Bacon). He thus makes the life of action intrinsically worthwhile for its own sake and paves the way for a view of the world in which efficiency, pragmatism, and utility are the key virtues. In short, this was a vital step in laying the ground work for the view of the world that has led to our modern technological worldview (...) In the process of inverting the importance of contemplation and action Bacon made the world, instead of being something to contemplate, raw material for humans to use2. [A doua ntemeiere a modernit!"ii : Descartes ] Toate gndurile pe care le consacram c!ut!rii adev!rului, s! le fac s! nainteze mereu ntr-o ordine sigur!, ncepnd desigur de la lucrurile cele mai simple #i cele mai u#or de cunoscut, pentru ca ncetul cu ncetul s! m! nal" c!tre cunoa#terea celor mai dificile #i mai complexe, presupunnd o ordine chiar ntre acelea care prin natura lor nu se succed una pe alta (Reguli pentru cunoa!terea adev"rului). Nu mia fost greu s! descop!r cu cercetarea c!ror lucruri ar trebui s! ncep: #tiam c! trebuiau cercetate nti cele mai simple #i cele mai u#or de cunoscut; deoarece vedeam c! dintre to"i cei care c!utaser! adev!rul n #tiin"e, doar matematicienii au putut ajunge la ni#te demonstra"ii, adic! la ni#te ra"ionamente sigure #i evidente, n"elegeam n suficient! m!sur! c! ei s-au nvrtit n jurul celui mai simplu lucru dintre toate; de aceea #i eu trebuia s! cercetez n jurul aceluia#i prim lucru; chiar dac! de aici nu vedeam alt folos dect c!, ncetul cu ncetul, mi obi#nuiam spiritul s! recunoasc! adev!rul #i s! nu consimt! la ra"ionamente false" (DESCARTES, Expunere despre metod", II) [Ora!ul Ra"iunii geometrice] Vedeam c! edificiile ce au fost ncepute #i duse pn! la capt de acela#i arhitect sunt cu mult mai distincte #i mai elegante dect cele pe care le-au construit diver#i arhitec"i n dierse vremuri, ad!ugnd pere"i noi celor vechi. Astfel, acele vechi cet!"i, care ini"ial fuseser! doar sate nesemnificative, s-au dezvoltat cu ncetul n mari ora#e, ne apar totu#i ca amestecate #i dezordonate dac! sunt comparate cu cele noi pe care le-a trasat n cmpie, n ntregime #i n acela#i timp, vreun inginer (...) E adev!rat c! ar fi ciudat s! se d!rme toate cl!dirile unui ora#, doar pentru ca str!zile lui, ntr-o ordine #i ncadrare nou!, s! fie mai frumoase. Dar, n mod cert, nu este ciudat ca st!pnul unei case s!-#i d!rme casa pentru a-#i n!l"a una mai bun! n locul ei" (Ibid.) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------[Func"ionalismul secolului XX] Pentru cea mai mare parte a urbani#tilor progresi#ti, asemenea lui Le Corbusier #i discipolilor s!i, geometria devine punctul de ntlnire dintre frumos #i adev!rat; arta e condus! de o logic! matematic!. Geometria e baza ntreaga epoc! contemporan! e deci eminamente geometric!; visul ei se organizeaz! se organizeaz! nspre bucuriile geometriei. Artele gndirii moderne, dup! un secol de analiz!, caut! dincolo de faptele accidentale, iar geometria le conduce c!tre o ordine matematic! n m!sura n care a fost conceput! ca o expresie plastic! a modernit!"ii, ordinea material! pe care am definit-o suscit! o atmosfer! de manifest. Ruptura cu trecutul e asumat! ntr-un mod agresiv, provocator, noile valori (mecanizare, standardizare, geometrism), afirmate ntr-un stil de avangard!, expuse publicului pentru a-I cuceri adeziunea printr-o expresie de futurism Odat! definit individul uman n termeni de dezvoltare fizic!, de func"ionare, de productivitate, de nevoi-tip universale, ce loc mai e l!sat cmpului nedeterminat al valorilor de creat #i al dorin"elor posibile? (FR. CHOAY, URBANISMUL).
Esen"a modernit#"ii (I). Francis Bacon [Cele dou" c"r#i despre excelen#a !i progresul cunoa!terii divine !i umane, Humanitas, 2012 ; Noua Atlantid", Nemira, 2007]; Descartes, [Expunere despre metod", Paideia, 1995 ; http://www2.hn.psu.edu/faculty/jmanis/ descarte/truth.pdf ; ] Omul noul st!pn al lumii. "Eu sunt" ra"iune #i, ca atare, ntemeietorul lumii. (Compara"ie: "Eu sunt" n Biblie #i la Sf. Augustin). Subiect !i Obiect. Lumea ca spa"iu #i spa"iul ca "ntindere pur!". Ora#ul geometric.
1

David Hawkin , The Origins of Modernity and the Technological Society (http://www.sunypress.edu/pdf/60981.pdf )