Alienation as a Mechanism of Interaction between Globalization and Culture Cover Image

Відчуження як механізм взаємодії глобалізації і культури
Alienation as a Mechanism of Interaction between Globalization and Culture

Author(s): Valery Filippov
Subject(s): Anthropology, German Idealism, Phenomenology, Globalization
Published by: Національна академія керівних кадрів культури і мистецтв
Keywords: globalization; alienation; society; humanity; crisis;

Summary/Abstract: The author studies globalization phenomenon through the lens of interaction between civilization and culture. Special attention was paid to the analysis of alienation problem that is inseparably connected with the globalization. Globalization is certainly contradictory in its essence. On the one hand, it is one of the variants of mankind unification in the community, as predicted by The Club of Rome and by A. Peccei in particular. We should note that society and community are two definitions, close by meaning, but not identical by content. Society is an abstract definition of humanity covered with systems of social relations. Community suggests a much more balanced, much more productive, much more anthropologized association of people into a certain unity, a system of interactions. Thus, globalization is a natural phenomenon of the society, which occurs when society is experiencing some growing difficulties in the implementation of its own goals. Globalization can be a kind of a social regularity, or, speaking more accurately, socially required. Alienation is a classic philosophical category postulated in the period of the German classics to a sufficient degree by Kant. But it was completely, and, one might say, exhaustively developed in the "Phenomenology of Spirit" by Hegel. Alienation is a very complex and very serious gradation of transition things into its opposite. This concept can be applied to the whole concept of globalization. Bringing together social groups, bringing together some cultural communities, at the same time it makes them exchange and mutate, i.e. globalization, in any case, is a certain mutation. On the other hand, going back to the category of alienation we should emphasize that alienation itself can not be interpreted as a purely negative process. Alienation is a need for change. It should be emphasized that globalization, viewed as a kind of alienation process, even replacing growth by development, in any case, is beginning to have an impact on the situation in culture; in fact, this effect proves to be dominating. It should be noted that the contradictions between civilization and culture are also a field of certain intensity that can threaten the prospects of human development. Speaking about the problem of interaction of civilization and culture, we have no right not to go back to the anthropic nature of man. When we address the issue of anthropic nature or human qualities, we have to note that there are several attributions defining these qualities. The first is the ability of a person to reflect, and secondly, the ability of people to self-awareness, and the third is the ability to communicate arising due to reflection and self-awareness. Turning to the issue of self-awareness, we can see that being able to reflect, a person is naturally aware of him/herself as a subject, present in the world, but he explores him/herself as the subject of goal-setting. In other words, s/he makes a goal, starts moving toward this goal, realizes it at the same time would have to judge it from the point of view of morality and values. Unfortunately, that is a challenge. Since in the globalized world, where boundaries of values are vague and morality is not the basic presumption of a living person, globalization blurs these boundaries and makes the horizon of reflection and self-awareness opaque. Reflection and self-awareness become potential rather than actually being present. And that is one more of basic contradictions appearing in collision of civilization and culture, or in the situation of globalization processes domination over cultural ones. Alienation is treatment of both oneself and other objects as alien ones. That is a famous statement of the German classics, the famous Kant’s "I" – "not I". Any alienation from me is experienced as "not me", so the situation of alienation itself is experiencing the other as alien. Quite clear in this case is that alien or other perceived as alien is perceived as hostile. In this case communication is not an exchange of morally axiological qualities, but a certain adaptation to the alien and a concealed though sometimes undisguised defence from the alien. When the boundaries of ethnic, cultural and national spaces are blurred and there is the globalization process, the opposition between "I" – "not I" or "I" – "the alien" becomes stronger. Thus, on the one hand, globalization complies with The Club of Rome prognosis, protecting the mankind from the increasing natural, ecological, economic and other crises. On the other hand, it does not protect the mankind from themselves and does not allow the humanity to realize what has been laid in its foundation by the anthropic basis of its being.

  • Issue Year: 2013
  • Issue No: 2
  • Page Range: 41-44
  • Page Count: 4
  • Language: Ukrainian