THE TECHNOLOGICAL CIVILIZATION: FROM THE ABOLITION OF MAN (C.S. LEWIS) TO A POSTHUMAN FUTURE (F. FUKUYAMA)

In the course of time the line between the use and abuse of technology has been rather thin; the moment technology fails to place and maintain at its center the dignity and the sanctity of the human being, the sacredness of life, it ceases to be an instrument for the people and becomes an element of degradation and destruction of the very essence of humanity. With the advent of the industrialization processes continuous concerns about the role of technology in people’s lives began to be expressed. The tone oscillated between criticism and appraisal and at times it became even messianic and apocalyptical. The main research questions and objectives of the article are revolving around three main pillars: 1) to problematize whether the technological process could be interpreted as an abolition of man (C.S. Lewis) or as a conspiracy against all interior life (G. Bernanos) that today might be echoed and illustrated in the various expressions of posthumanism; 2) to analyze technology through the lenses of ends and means, technology as an instrumentum and a way of revealing (Heidegger), to question the nature of ethics needed as an antidote and the imperative of responsibility (H. Jonas), and the potential of a technology with a human face (E. F. Schumacher); 3) to reflect on the possibilities of transcending transhumanism (F. Fukuyama) while (re)humanizing dehumanization.