Worrying Trends: Tech Cult and Human Loss
Today, with the prevalence of technocraticism and the worship of information in the information age, people's emotions have been reduced, and some humanists are worried that beauty and modern life cannot coexist. Faster and faster life, shorter and shorter relationships, more and more anxiety and worry, and less and less inner freedom, make it more and more necessary for us to think about the relationship between contemporary technology and humanities. The series of "Modern Technology and Humanistic Care" recently published by Guangdong Education Publishing House covers from the human nature and poetry of the knowledge age, the modern technological revolution and artistic transformation, biomedical technology and human future, technology and human life world and high-tech war and People and others have explored these issues in depth, and it should be a wake-up call. The humanities cannot be separated from science and technology Dr. Wang Qiang believes in "The Possibility of Network Art - The Revolution of Modern Science and Technology and the Transformation of Art" that technology and humanities have always been intertwined and developed together in human history, presenting a kind of I, I have a relationship with you. Countless precious heritages left in the history of human civilization, such as the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Qin Terracotta Warriors and Horses, Dazu Rock Carvings, etc., all reflect the perfect combination of technology and humanities. Many famous scientists in history are also great artists. For example, Aristotle wrote works such as logic, physics, astronomy, zoology, psychology, ethics, poetics, and political science in his life, and he has made achievements in many aspects of literature and science. During the European Renaissance, the rise of humanism, the development of literature, painting, and music liberated the imprisoned and repressed human nature and stimulated people's creative passion. Coupled with the economic and political changes at that time, natural science was liberated from theology , making great strides and becoming an important historical period for the joint development of science and technology and humanities. Leonardo da Vinci was a master of painting and a great scientist. Petrarch, famous for his sonnets and for his achievements in geography, was the one who drew the first map of Italy. At the end of the eighteenth century, Goethe not only wrote the immortal poetic drama "Faust", but also wrote as many as 14 volumes of works on the natural sciences. Nobel, the inventor, also wrote novels and plays.
The power of science and technology acts on the real world, bringing earth-shaking changes to people's lives, and also bringing fresh materials to artists and changes in artistic concepts, forms and means. Artistic innovation and technological progress always go hand in hand. Film and television art is the most inseparable art form with modern technology. Music, painting, sculpture, architecture and other arts are also closely related to science and technology. The generation and evolution of musical instruments, painting tools, sculpture materials, and building materials are closely linked with the development of new materials and technologies. The progress of musical instrument craftsmanship has played an invaluable role in the development of musical art. Since the 20th century, the development of music is inseparable from the development of recording technology. Since the 1950s, the development of electronic technology has formed a huge impact on the art of music. The use of painting materials is closely related to the progress of science and technology, and some new materials and even daily necessities themselves become the content of painting. Today's computer painting technology enables painting art to have new means of expression. Retrieving the Lost Humanities The tremendous power of science and technology has made earth-shaking changes in the human beings in the 20th century, and technology has also become the totem of mankind in the 20th century. The worship of science and technology leads people to misunderstand the power of science and technology, thinking that enjoying the latest technological products that act on human senses can bring great happiness, but in fact, enjoying technology and obtaining happiness cannot be equated. Scientific and technological products can indeed bring happiness to the senses, but the real source of a person's concept of happiness is his own humanistic quality, that is, the edification of the humanistic culture he comes into contact with. For the happiness of human beings, both technology and humanities are indispensable. The key is to put the two in what order and position. If we only pay attention to the development of science and technology and ignore the construction of humanities, it will inevitably bring about very serious consequences. Dr. Li Enlai expressed deep concern about this situation in the book "Tomorrow Me: The Development of Biological and Medical Technology and the Future of Humanity".
Although biology and medicine in the 20th century have certainly made remarkable achievements, the development and breakthroughs in cloning technology, birth control, organ transplantation, anti-aging, and transgender cosmetic surgery have enabled mankind to conquer nature and self-improvement. China has made solid strides, but Li Enlai believes that the emergence of these new technologies has sparked some intense legal and ethical social debate. For example, the safety and ethical issues of the application of genetic engineering technology, the human cloning technology breaks the traditional concept of fertility and the mode of reproduction, and makes the relationship between people ambiguous, chaotic and reversed, the sex selection technology brings about the imbalance of the sex ratio, and the new technology of eugenics interferes The traditional marriage and parent-child relationship have been destroyed, resulting in the instability of the family structure, and so on.
Far more than that, modern machines alienate human nature, environmental pollution harms human health, nuclear weapons threaten human existence, and there are energy shortages, resource depletion, food shortages, ecological imbalances, and so on. It seems that human beings are increasingly unable to dwell poetically on this digital earth, and the truth, goodness and beauty in life seem to be more and more difficult to find. Everything seems to be fulfilling the accusation of British scientist Pearson: the growth of science destroys the beauty and poetry of life. It was in the 20th century, when technology developed most rapidly, that human beings also tasted the bitterness of the loss of humanity.
Modern urbanites living in the jungle of reinforced concrete, despite the continuous improvement of living standards, people's troubles and anxiety have not been reduced at all, but sometimes more. Some humanists pessimistically predict that humans will eventually surrender completely to technology. There are also futurists who describe the future of human beings: the limbs will be degenerated due to reduced movement, the brain will be abnormally developed due to excessive thinking, the brain weight will account for about 1/3 of the body weight, and all dietary needs will be inserted into the stomach through a stick Nutrient delivery tubes are provided, and human feet will be reduced to eagle claws so that they can stand on a steel beam.
当今世界没有免费的午餐。现代科技既促进了社会的进步与发展，给人类带来前所未有的物质财富和娱乐享受，又在一定程度上破坏了社会的健康发展，人类的信仰危机、道德沦丧也是前所未有的。在不少西方学者看来，伴随现代科技迅猛发展的当代消费文化，已经变成一种令人生畏的意识形态，“多数大众性娱乐最终会沦落为‘反生活’的东西……它们最终会导致这样一种世界观：进步就是占有更多物质财富，平等就是大家都向低的道德水准看齐，自由就是无止境地但又不负责任地追求快乐。”
半个多世纪以来西方许多学者对片面追求科技发达带来的负效应作了深入的分析和批判。约翰·奈斯比特认为，“科技在不断提供消费可能的同时，也在消耗着人类的生命力，科技让你疲于奔命，科技让你冷漠疏离、抑郁疯狂，科技带来了具有潜在的毁灭人性的危险。”他把科技比作我们这个时代的货币。在生活中，为了从科技的重压中解脱出来、逃离开来，我们又求助于科技，要它提供最方便的速成方案。
呼吁科技的人性化
科技和艺术都包含着人性的因素。从本质上说，科技的进步和艺术的发展都有着共同的目的，那就是使人类的生活环境更加美好，物质享受更加舒适，精神生活更加丰富。对科学家而言，自然科学是一种人为的事业；对艺术家而言，人文科学是一项为人的事业。
但是吴国林博士认为，当代科技的发展日益表明，仅通过科学文化并不能把人类带向美好的未来(《发现灵魂——知识时代的人性与诗意》)。近代以来出现的科学文化和人文文化的分裂，给人类自身带来严重的负面影响。需要我们在尊重科学的前提下，坚持科学文化与人文文化的统一。科学精神，还应包括为人类生活更美好的奋斗精神。理性精神、有条理的怀疑精神和实证精神是科学精神的最基本方面。人文精神是指人文文化中的积极向上的精粹部分，而不包含人文文化中的糟粕部分。人文精神关注人和人生的价值和意义，如何使人的生活更加美好而有意义，当今科技发展存在着人性的失落等严重问题，亟需人文关怀。
实现科技的人性化，是当代众多科学家和艺术家的共识。20世纪初流行于美国文学界和大学讲坛的“新人文主义”美学思潮，就打出过用“人的法则”反对“物的法则”的旗号。新人文主义的代表人物之一、著名科学史家乔治·萨顿(George Starton)大力倡导这种以科学为基础的人文主义，目的就是要把科学和文化结合起来，使科学人文主义化，进而使科学“更有意义，更为动人，更为亲切”。他主张既要重视科学的物质价值，更要重视科学的精神价值。这种新人文主义的实质，是使自然科学与人文科学协调发展，使科学精神与人文精神有机地统一起来。
艺术具有教育机能和娱乐机能，但艺术的根本机能是使被现代技术所压抑的人性复归。日本学者今道友信在《关于美》中指出，美是艺术的理念。“艺术给人类带来了希望。艺术并没有遭到现存技术社会的破坏，反而依靠技术的发展，对技术发展带来的非人化倾向，发生着抵抗作用。”
在现代科技高度发达的今天，人是科学技术化了的人，科学技术是人化了的科学技术。文学是人学。文学艺术的主体和对象是科学技术化了的人。科技的力量在于取消个别，发现、寻找、重塑一般，而文学艺术正好相反。科技强调实用性，而艺术正是要抵御现实中的这种实用性。科技的发展，使人的日常生活越来越技术化、秩序化、条理化，而技术化、秩序化、条理化的日常生活毫无新意，使人丧失快乐，是艺术之大敌。文学艺术正是要在技术中挖掘美，在秩序中寻找新意，在标准中塑造个性。在艺术作品中，世界被描绘为人所创造的世界。艺术鉴赏者真正理解艺术作品时，他个人就与这个世界联系起来，他的精神、意志、情感都在审美愉悦中得到熏陶。
吸收了最新科技手段的艺术作品，可以在塑造真与美统一的健康人格方面发挥更大作用。一个人的人格美，标志着他在自我修养和自我实现方面所达到的高度。人格是人的主体性和自我意识的内在凝聚，是人的精神力量的最高体现。好的艺术品，恰恰可以用真善美塑造人的灵魂，陶冶人的感情，养成高尚、纯洁的人格，从而弘扬人文理想，为实现科技的人性化发挥更大作用。
(“现代科技与人文关怀”丛书包括《发现灵魂——知识时代的人性与诗意》、《网络艺术的可能——现代科技革命与艺术的变革》、《明天的我——生物医学技术与人类未来》、《被捆绑的时间——技术与人的生活世界》等，由广东教育出版社2001年4月出版)