FOR THE LOVE OF TECHNOLOGY AND FEAR OF APOCALYPSE

The central doctrine of Process Philosophy holds that man is in a state of Constant Change or Becoming. And rightly so. Man is continuously changing and human development is involved in an endless process of evolution. This can be likened to the Hegelian “Absolute Spirit” which is constantly developing and creating a whole new universe like a world of continuous formation. As man evolves, technology also evolves with him. Today, a state has been attained where the forces of good and evil, of right and wrong are at war. A balance must not only be maintained but also sustained or man stands to risk the loss of his humanity to the creations of his own hands.

I remember a wise man telling me many years ago that the greatest enemy of man is the self. A subjective notion, though, but one that will pass the validity test for intelligibility and perhaps truth, anytime. The quest about the “self” started with the ancient Greek Philosopher, Socrates. According to the thinker, the only way for philosophy to obtain practical results for the greater wellbeing of the society is through the acquisition of wisdom, which involves knowing oneself. For the philosopher, the self is akin to the soul. Both are one and the same and represent the intellectual and moral personality of humans. Socrates held the view that the soul or the self is the essence of the human person. It is the seat of knowledge and ignorance, good and bad, right and wrong. The true self, the inner being determines the quality of one’s life. Hence his maxim, “Man know thyself”.

Civilizations come and go. Kingdoms rise and fall. While man continues to evolve through time and history. Through the application of his knowledge, man has greatly improved his living condition and made the world a better place. Today, technology has not only sprung to an amazing level but has also catapulted man to heights of infinite achievement. In the 21^st century, breath-taking technological innovations have been recorded. Some of these include: Social Media, Multi-Use Rockets, Blockchain Technology, Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies, Mobile Operating Systems, 3-D Printing, Gene Editing, Electric and Self-Driving Cars, Smartphones and Tablets, E-readers, Drone Technology, Connected  and Data-Driven World, to mention but a few. To the left some may say, human ingenuity has also been applied to develop biological, chemical, atomic and nuclear weapons of mass destruction as well as sophisticated weapons of warfare. Man’s knowledge and ingenuity turning into his own worst nightmare and being a thorn in his own flesh. With a single touch of a button, man faces the risk of extinction at the hands of the child of his own brain and the product of his own endeavor. Too bad!!

It is important to mention that the opposition forces of good and evil, hatred and love, greed and generosity, jealousy and admiration, humility and pride, trust and betrayal are all essential compositions of our human nature. Laying credence to this, the great apostle of the gentiles Paul, reminded us that the good thing he wanted to do he never did, while the evil he wanted to avoid are the acts he performed. These opposing forces are powers in us that are part of who we are, we need to embrace them, learn to control them in order to make the most out of them.

Psychologists define self in three categories: Conscious self, Subconscious self and Infinite Intelligence. While conscious self carries out the day to day activities of man, the subconscious self is a reminder and recaller of events of the past, while Infinite Intelligence is a Higher Being through whom our desired wishes and prayers are answered. It is incumbent, therefore, that this inner self of man be guided by the Infinite Intelligence, in order to drive him to a positive application of his knowledge and guide his choices and actions to the path of love. This is necessary because the creative impulse that has helped man attain his enviable height in technology today is only a spark of the creative genius of the Infinite Intelligence.

It is imperative to sustain this balance of opposing forces in nature if an apocalypse through the use of man’s negative technological innovation, is to be averted. If any apocalypse should ever happen, it should be one ordained by the Infinite Intelligence destined for the set time and hour. The atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on the 6^th and 9^th of August, 1945 is only a bird’s eye view of an apocalypse triggered by man’s actions. This can conveniently be called a human apocalypse. Man’s technology destroying man. A near repeat of such humanity’s dark chapter was recently averted when NATO refused to impose a no-fly-zone over Ukraine in the wake of 2022 Russia invasion of Ukraine.

Biblical scholars and theologians believe that the rapture will certainly occur before the apocalypse happens. The rapture would be the Infinite Intelligence’s own way of removing the good people from the earth while the evil ones would be left in their own world, a world where evil begets evil and wickedness begets wickedness. With the balance taken away, the coast would then be clear for the apocalypse to be unleashed by the Infinite Intelligence, which would certainly take on a cataclysmic nature.

 

CONCLUSION

As human technology continues to trudge along the path of evolution, it is necessary that this balance of nature be sustained. Man must realize he needs the grace of the Higher Being in order to achieve this. He cannot allow his own creations to be his greatest undoing. Humanity may have survived the first Hiroshima, but a second Nagasaki might be the end of it all. The love of technology must be accompanied by fear of human apocalypse.