https://doi.org/10.21697/stv.2017.55.1.01
Thomistic personalism against modern
and postmodern anthropology
Summary
The article is divided into four parts which discuss the following subjects:
1) Anthropology of the late 19th and mid-19th century – consisting in the evolutionary
understanding of not only the genesis of man but also his personality,
psyche, culture and morality. This approach contrasted with the Thomistic
theory of man as a person, which was developed also at this time. Man understood
as a person can be characterized by the intellectual perception of
the surrounding reality, the freedom to act, and the love for others which goes
beyond purely physical relations. A human being understood in such a way
stands in opposition to every form of reductionism: biological, sociological,
cultural, economic, and legal. Man as a person grows above the physical, also
above his body which – despite being an integral part of human existence –
does not fall within the definition of a person. According to this view, man
cannot be reduced to his body, which is obvious, but also carnality does not
constitute a central theme of anthropology, that being a person. As a consequence,
the problem of the origin of the body becomes secondary and from
this perspective, even the acceptance of the evolutionary origin of the bodily
organs does not constitute a ground for negating the creative role of God in
the formation of man.
2) Anthropology of postmodernism is characterized by the “fluidity” of the
definition of man. This is caused by the “contingency” of man, which points
to individuality, diversity and lack of one metaphysics that could cover all
objects. A postmodern man believes in historicism (looking at phenomena
from the point of view of their historical evolution) and nominalism (there
are only individuals and their conventional names), so he can abandon any
metanarrative attempts to describe the essence of things. He creates his
own language of metaphors which he can use absolutely freely. According
to the theory of man as a person, postmodernism appears as a reaction to the
biological and socio-cultural reductionism that the science of the 19th and
20th century – with its scientism and technocracy – offered to man. It seems
that in this context one can pay attention to the typical characteristics of
a person (constitutiva personae), such as individuality, intellectual character
and freedom of the human being, which all give rise to its subjectivity and
far-reaching autonomy.
3) Anthropology of transhumanism advocates the widespread use of medical
science (including manipulation of the DNA code) and advanced technology
in human development, leading to the transformation of man into the
posthuman and beginning a new epoch of history called posthumanism.
Posthumans will be beings with far greater capabilities than human beings
today. In a discussion with transhumanism, the article referred to the fundamental
paradigms of philosophical thinking – Platonism and Aristotelianism.
It was considered that transhumanism is a form of Platonism with its
dream of making man angelic or divine. It results from the concept of man
as only the set of attributes and relations “mechanically” added to each other.
According to Aristotelianism, the form of human being is immutable in its
essence, and it is only the properties and relationships of a human being that
change. The Thomistic theory of a person belongs to a group of philosophies
originating from the Aristotelian school and – allowing for a great variability
of features and relationships – it does not consider them to be able to change
their subject – a human being into something else.
4) Social philosophers and philosophical sociologists record a number of negative
anthropological phenomena related to the already existing postmodern
and transhumanist “project”. These include primarily nihilism, scientism,
materialism, and identity loss, all of which results in the infantilization of
the human culture, and – in the economic field – in the economy of excess
and lack, i.e. the continuous deepening of financial differences (fortifications
of the rich and ghettos of the poor), while in the area of health it leads to the
deterioration of the mental condition of man. It is suggested that the subjective
and personal approach to man be opposed to extreme scientism, nihilism and
the objective and utilitarian use of man for the benefit and pleasure. Finding
oneself as a person can be a way for people to get to know themselves and
overcome a deepening identity crisis. Emphasizing the dignity of the person
and concern for the common good may be an attempt to leave the civilization
of excess and lack. Establishing personal relationships and caring for others
can inhibit the breakdown of interpersonal relationships, loneliness and the
loss of a sense of security, and it may help improve the deteriorating spiritual
condition of the postmodern human.
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