Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Homo Techne and Dualism

The developments of the past 500 years, culminating in the most extraordinary event in not only Human history, but in terrestrial history, strongly suggest that Homo Sapiens has become Homo Techne.  Nevertheless, many prominent Philosophers of the era adhere to the former concept.  Now, there is at least one pervasively held systematic reason for maintaining that concept of Human.  For, Technical Reason involves a coordination of Mind and Body, and, hence, their parity as factors in it.  But, for the most part, beginning with Parmenides, Philosophers have subscribed to a variety of pseudo-Dualism, in which Mind and Body are severed, with Mind conceived as superior to Body in some respect.  As a result, Homo Sapiens has been the predominant concept of Human, with Homo Techne, a derivative, inferior mode of being.   One notable exception to this tradition is Spinoza, according to whom Mind and Body are equally vital coordinated aspects of human behavior, and, hence, are hospitable to Technical Reason. Of course, Spinoza does not anticipate the rapid technical developments, culminating in extraterrestrial exploration, of the next several centuries.  But, his doctrine, perhaps uniquely, provides a ground for them.

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