The situation which humanity faces as a result of the development of knowledge is a novel one indeed. In mankind is not confronted with an apocalyptic, natural calamity, some continent-wide earthquake, a deluge or black death. Humans are not threatened by supranatural forces or cosmic events. Nature is not viewed anymore as an overwhelming, mysterious force, nor is it worshiped as in the past — at least not in Western culture. What today’s denizens of this planet have to contend with is a manmade situation. It is not being confronted with a threat, which is new, but the nature of threat. Humans have always been threatened by something, whether it be a natural or occult force, animals or their fellow humans. Next to the desire to live, fear has been one of the most pervading and permanent emotions experienced by humanity. The progress of knowledge has almost completely emancipated human beings from the fear of nature and occult forces. Dangerous animals themselves face extinction, obliging us to spend large sums to preserve specimens in zoos and reserves. But now that humans have become masters of the earth, they must face a new kind of threat and a new challenge.

Although the situation is new and unprecedented, it is nevertheless not accidental. To the contrary, it is the logical result of centuries or even millennia of rational, tenacious, well-intentioned efforts of generations of humans laboriously striving to progress so as to liberate themselves from misery, ignorance, fear and subordination to uncontrollable forces. The aim of this striving has been and still is the creation of a more satisfactory, more human condition. Together with the gradual realization of this aim, humans have been fulfilling, more or less consciously, the ancient dream of actualizing in the fullest way possible the powers contained in human nature. One should hardly be surprised by the cumulative consequences of the ingenuity and industry of our species. And yet, the fact is that we are unpleasantly surprised and experience great difficulty in understanding the causes of our predicament.

What makes the present situation so peculiar is the fact that, in contradistinction to preceding generations, humans have to think about themselves in terms of their whole species and envisage the issue of the survival of the species, not just of a particular human group, whether a class, a nation or a culture. They have to face themselves as authors of their predicament; they have to take stock of their own demiurgic powers and the consequences of the exercise of this power. Because of the development of knowledge and the resulting ability to do things, the rational animal has been confronted with himself in an unprecedented manner. He has encountered himself as a problem to solve on his way to new achievements. Consequently, he has to perceive himself as an increasingly powerful means and, at the same time, as a growing obstacle to his further development. It now becomes evident that, in order to survive, humans have to know and to understand themselves more and more and much better than ever before. Let us express this important fact in the form of a law:

Law XI: "The need of humans to understand themselves is proportional to the level of their knowledge and of their demiurgic capacities."

 

Such is the price of progress and the condition of further evolution of the rational species. It may well be an evolutionary device, the understanding of which helps to understand the direction in which our species is going.

In previous epochs the threats to human existence were presented from without. Nature was an overwhelming force which humans could worship but not master. Present day challenges, on the other hand, originate in the human being himself. Humanity has become humanity’s chief threat and problem. The mastering of outside forces has revealed a set of powers present in the rational animal which he has always desired to have. But once in possession of these powers he was faced with their unforeseen, unintended and surprising consequences. The consequences were not only unforeseen, but were, by and large, the opposite of the rosy expectations of Homo faber. Instead of facilitating and simplifying human life, they made life more complex and the survival of the human race more problematic. More than ever before, one can truly say that human problems are chiefly of their own making. This fact expresses the newness of the present situation; it is a measure of the progress accomplished by humans and indicates the need for a new approach to the study not only of knowledge, but also of human activity in general, in particular, of the "problematization" of their existence and of humanity as such.

The growth of destructive powers, the depletion of natural resources, the upsetting of ecological balance, overpopulation, "future shock" and the increasing inequalities of wealth and education among individuals and societies are all results of human rational activity. Obviously, the overcrowding of the earth, the abusive use of natural resources, the upsetting of the ecological balance, and so on, are critical problems which must be adequately analyzed and carefully solved. Much thought is being given to these problems, and many plans are being conceived of in hopes of saving humanity from the impending doom. But the solution to these problems cannot be found without solving a more fundamental question, one which is at the root of this dilemma. Strangely enough, the often quite sophisticated but partial analyses and predictions have failed to clarify the role of knowledge as the cause of the contemporary predicament. The fact is that all the above problems are the direct or indirect results of the development and use of knowledge. Overpopulation is the consequence of the development of medicine; hygiene and food production; pollution, atomic weapons and the depletion of natural resources are outgrowths of applied science; the inequalities of culture and wealth among individuals and nations are to a large extent the results of world views, applied science and education.

Let us stress again that if mankind is in a predicament, it is because it has developed extremely powerful kinds of knowledge which it has learned to use effectively for the attainment of its concrete aims. It would be tempting but futile to try to single out as the culprit one particular kind of knowledge, for instance, physical sciences or technology. As we are rapidly learning, the so called "soft" sciences are potentially more dangerous than the "hard" ones. The more value-oriented knowledge is, and the closer related its subject matter to the human subject, his nature or his behavior, the greater its potential to influence humans, to help them or to harm them. Suffice to mention the brain-washing techniques developed by psychologists.

In the light of what has just been said, and keeping in mind that knowledge engenders the need for more knowledge, it is plausible to conclude that the central issue of our times is the relationship between humans and their knowledge. The future of humanity will largely depend on its ability to solve this problem satisfactorily. Knowledge is developing into an evermore serious problem and is a potential threat for individuals and for humanity as a whole. It is a continuously growing advantage and equally increasing burden, preoccupying an ever larger number of individuals and institutions from local school boards to UNESCO. For a long time now, members of Western culture have been convinced of the value and power of knowledge. Present crises have revealed to them the shortcomings of their knowledge in general and the onesidedness of their approach to life and their perception of knowledge.