THE EARTH AS THE MATRIX OF HUMAN LIFE

Abstract

The beginning of the XXI century is marked by a rethinking of many issues, one of which is the phenomenon of the earth. The latter was in the center of the discourse of socio-economic, socio-political, philosophical and environmental problems of our time. The history of mankind is the history of relations between the system «man – earth», characterized by ambivalence. Ukrainian philosophical paradigm has always gravitated to the space of human existence, actualizing the problem of human responsibility. However, it is the classics of Ukrainian literature that most acutely identified the problem of human relations with the earth.

According to the analysis of scientific literature, the interaction of man and the earth is considered as a practical relationship, as a sacred relationship and as a condition for the formation of the worldview. These modes are considered in the plane of absolutization of the unit approach. The earth as a phenomenon is connected with the social and individual consciousness, but the earth is not considered as a socio-cultural phenomenon. This situation demonstrates the need for a polyparadigm methodology.

More and more researchers note that the preservation of human existence can no longer be provided solely by increasing the material and technical base. It means that mankind should assimilate corresponding values of the attitude to the Earth. We are talking about overcoming the alienation of man from the earth as a consequence of the formation of technical civilization. One of the ways, according to the researchers, is the recognition of the sacred nature of the earth.

The attitude of man to the earth as to his «body» is embodied in existentials: project, purpose, freedom, responsibility, hope, fear, etc. Architectonics of the earth is a symbol of the house where the person feels harmony with the world around. This approach overcomes the opposition of «man – earth/nature» and forms different models of human behavior. Man presents himself through the attitude to the earth: the processes of socialization, cultural identification, etc. It is the consideration of this principle that is an important methodological basis for the construction of a new system of interaction «man – earth». The destruction of this connection is felt by man at the level of existential experience. A striking example of the formation of a new paradigm of understanding the phenomenon of the Earth is the «Earth Charter».

The earth appears as a multilevel phenomenon, where a person acts as a carrier of certain theoretical and practical ideas. At the same time, the earth is a space of human activity. The return to the categories of «beauty», «joy», «melancholy» indicates the beginning of the transformation of the paradigm of thinking. We witness the deviation from the idea of maximum benefit. These categories open new facets of earth existence and possibilities of their comprehension. Thus, turning to the metaphor «body» of the Earth outlines the possibility of creating an ontological image of the earth, and special attention is paid to the problem of actualization of those technologies corresponding to the essence of the earth.