MODERN PHILOSOPHY: ITS CHARACTERISTICS AND CONSEQUENCES

MODERNISM is a militant revolt against religion and all the spiritual values it represents. This revolt had its seeds in the European Renaissance, especially in the unscrupulous political philosophy of Machiavelli. It burst into full bloom in the 18th century French philosophers of the “Enlightenment” and culminated in 19th century Europe with Darwin, Marx and Freud. From its birth-place in Western Europe, this malignant cancer has invaded virtually every country in the world destroying the indigenous cultures of Asia. Indeed, it is hardly an exaggeration to claim that modernism has become the prevailing universal faith. All who embrace this creed are eulogized as enlightened and progressive while those who are reluctant are stigmatized as backward, medieval and reactionary. It is for this reason that the leaders of Asia and Africa, after attaining political freedom, so often become even more fanatical in their devotion to modernism than their former colonial masters.

Modernism appears under the guise of many different labels—Communism, Socialism, Capitalism, Pragmatism, Positivism, Fascism, Nazism, Zionism, Kemalism and Arab nationalism.

A careful examination, however, will reveal all these modern ideologies, despite their mutual rivalries and hatreds to be merely different branches of the same tree.

A cardinal dogma of modernism is its repudiation of the Hereafter.

15 Rejection of the Hereafter inevitably leads to the conclusion that material prosperity and worldly success are the only worthwhile goals in life. It deals a death-blow to morality by denying man’s accountability for his deeds to God and destroying his faith that justice must ultimately prevail.

All modernist ideologies are characterized by man-worship. Man-worship most often appears under the guise of science.

Modernists are convinced that progress in scientific knowledge will eventually confer upon them all the powers of Divinity.

Another common form of man-worship is nationalism. Nationalism is characterized by the collective worship of one’s own particular group combined with hatred of foreigners and minorities.

Witness the persecution of the Jews in Nazi Germany, the Arabs in Israel, the Muslims of India and most recently, the Turks in Cyprus. Nationalism demands supreme allegiance to the all-powerful secular state.

Political leaders are deified. Their pictures and statues are displayed in public places everywhere.

Without exception all modernist ideologies reject transcendental values.

In other words, there is no such thing as any objective, absolute criteria for truth. Rather, truth and moral values are only relative and their validity limited to time, place and circumstance. Societies based upon Divine revelation are dubbed by the modernists as “static” and “petrified.” Mere change is considered a virtue for its own sake and the faster that things change, the better. The supreme virtue of modernism is to be “up-to-date.” Newness, whether it be the latest fashion in women’s dress, the latest 16 model car or the latest dance craze is prized above all else.

Another major goal of modernist ideology is to weaken family ties and home life as much as possible. Indeed, Marx in his COMMUNIST MANIFESTO (1848) advocated the elimination of the family entirely. This goal has, of course, been most successfully achieved in Soviet Russia and Communist China. In non-Communist countries the process is more subtle but no less effective. The major weapons employed against the family are: (1) industrialization, (2) urbanization, (3) “emancipation” of women. Actually all three operate simultaneously and go hand in hand.

Industrialization with its promise of high wages and other material benefits lures large numbers of the able-bodied from the close-knit, well-integrated society of the rural village to the anonymity of the large city.

In the process families are often broken up and separated. With industrialization the family ceases to be a self-sufficient economic unit.

As a result the father spends most of his time away from home and the mother, bored by housekeeping which mechanization has robbed of creativity and interest, also seeks outside diversions.

Although nurseries, kindergartens and schools increasingly assume a parental role, large numbers of children are left to their own devices and roam the streets almost completely unsupervised.

Under such circumstances, it is no mystery why juvenile delinquency has become epidemic.

There is no doubt that the “emancipation” of women has proved the most powerful and indispen17 sable weapon of all.

Every effort is made to lure women away from the home by making the role of housewife and mother as unattractive, unsatisfying and unrewarding as possible.

This is accomplished by subtle propaganda of the mass-media belittling the traditional feminine role and glamorizing those women who compete in careers with men. The wife who achieves economic independence from her husband destroys his role as head of the family. Consequently in families where the mother dominates, the children lose all respect for the father.

Most devastating, however, is the ever-increasing freedom for illicit sex.

No effort is spared to exploit and commercialize the female body. The results can be seen in the rapidly increasing number of pregnant brides, illegitimate children, abortions, divorces, sex crimes and cases of venereal disease.

In those countries dominated by modernism, polygamy is regarded as an unpardonable crime deserving of the most severe punishment whereas legal penalties are rarely enforced against illicit sex which is regarded as a purely private, individual affair.

Closely related to modernism’s lack of regard for the value of the family is its contempt for the aged.

In countries dominated by totalitarian nationalism, the glorification of youth is continually emphasized in special youth festivals, sports events, military parades and political demonstrations. In America and Western Europe the worship of youth finds its expression in beauty contests, and the constant emphasis on sexual attractiveness in the mass media. In all countries—whether Communist or non-Communist—wherever 18 modernism dominates, the social status of old people is extremely low. Conflict between generations is fostered by educating young people to regard their elders as hopelessly old-fashioned and out-of-date.

Modern young adults consider freedom from any responsibility towards their elders essential for their personal happiness. Those who do care for their aged parents regard it as an intolerable burden. Eventually the sick and infirm old people end their days in nursing homes or mental hospitals, regarded as useless and a social liability. It is not surprising why older people are ashamed of their age and try their utmost to preserve a youthful appearance as long as they can. Fantastic sums of money are wasted every year in America by women on hair dyes, cosmetics and reducing fads.

Women of fifty are supposed to feel guilty that they do not have the figure of a girl of twenty.

One of the greatest defects of modernism is its inability to take a comprehensive view of human life. For instance, Freudian ideology claimed that human health and happiness depends upon an uninhibited sex-life while Marx was convinced that economics was the center of existence. This extreme compartmentalism is common to all modernist philosophy. A single aspect of human life, such as sex or economics, is taken out of its proper context and its importance exaggerated beyond all reasonable bounds. In other words, the part is mistaken for the whole.

The evil of Western civilization is not incidental or merely caused by human weakness which fails to live up to “noble principles.” The “noble principles” themselves are lacking.

Western civilization is evil in 19 theory as well as in practice. This evil is a basic and integral part of its guiding philosophy and corrupts the whole structure. One may well object and insist that Western civilization has achieved greatness in many fields. However, it must be remembered that falsehood always parades itself under the guise of truth. That is why it seldom, if ever, appears totally black.