Our Cultural Agony

210 Pages·1973·10.111 MB·English

by  Vincent Vycinas (auth.)

OUR CULTURAL AGONY
OUR CULTURAL AGONY
by
VINCENT VYCINAS
II
MARTINUS NIJHOFF I THE HAGUE I 1973
© 1973 by Martinus NijhofJ. The Hague, Netherlands
Softcover reprint o/the hardcover 1st edition 1973
All rights reserved, including the right to translate or
to reproduce this book or parts thereof in any form
ISBN-13: 978-94-010-2397-9 e-ISBN-13: 978-94-010-2395-5
001: 10.1007/978-94-010-2395-5
To Audre-Audrey
my daughter and
co-operator.
GRATITUDE
Is expressed to Audre-Audrey Vycinas, Grade X student at Mount Prevost
School, Duncan, B.C., for editorial work concerning the language and
idiom of the study.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PruwACE ~
INTRODUCTION. 'THE CONTEMPORARY ANTHROPOCENTRIC WORLD 1
1. A Dynamic World 1
2. Man's Supremacy in the technological World 3
3. Anthropocentric "stabilization" of Things 6
4. Things of the Technological World 11
I. GODLFSSNESS 17
1. Some Traits of Mythical and Modem Man 17
2. The Anthropocentric Character of the Modern World 20
3. Technocracy 24
4. Godlessness and Philosophy 26
5. Godless Man 29
6. Poetical Aspects of Culture 35
7. The Twilight of Gods 41
8. Godlessness and Things 49
9. Godless Confusion and Godly Ambiguity 60
10. The Youth of the Technocratic World 76
II. TIm EVENT OF CULTURE 87
1. Philosophy and Things 88
2. Rational and Existential Things 91
3. Man and Animals 98
4. The Community 107
5. Culture's Finitude 112
III. CmuSTIANlTY 119
1. Christianity in General 119
2. Judaism 123
3. The Ecumenical Spirit 127
4. Prayer 138
VIII CONTENTS
5. Christianity and Culture 140
6. The Relativity of Christianity 147
7. Christianity's Incarnation in Culture 154
IV. NATURE'S PLAY 163
1. Historicity 163
2. Nature's Play 164
3. Man in Nature's Play 166
4. Animism 171
5. Individuality and Selfhood 174
6. Philosophical and Mythical Thinking 188
7. A Search for Gods 191
BIBLIOGRAPHY 197
INDEX 199
PREFACE
Cultural twilight means cultural disintegration or death. It means cul
tural agony. Such agony gradually fades into the dawn of tomorrow's
culture, just as the twilight of a summer's evening proceeds into the daylight
of the forthcoming day. Consequently cultural twilight or agony simul
taneously is the dawn - the milieu of birth - of future gods.
With these words a close interbelonging of the recently published
SEARCH FOR GoDS with the present study, OUR CULTURAL AGONY, is
stressed. Both of these books belong together and constitute one and the
same "story".
While SEARCH FOR GODS deals with man of tomorrow in his venture
to find the way which would lead him to his dawning gods, OUR CULTURAL
AGONY attempts to disclose contemporary man's ways of erring - his stray
ing ways. Moreover, just as the way towards man's future gods is simul
taneously his way to his true cultural self, so are his straying ways his ways
of a lack of self. Man's way to his true self is his authentic, innermost,
"bloody" or "ex-istential" way, while the way of his lack of self is his
inauthentic way. The inauthentic ways, generally speaking, are "democratic"
ways: they are the public and common ways of modem society, most typical
or characteristic of it. Accordingly, while SEARCH FOR GODS has an indi
vidualistic character, OUR CULTURAL AGONY has a social character.
The close relation of both of these studies frequently results in an over
lapping of passages here and there. This overlapping constitutes a praise
worthy, rather than a blameworthy, trait due to the importance, and es
pecially the difficulty, of the central points in both studies.
Perhaps the most significant difference between the two studies consists
in the individualistic or personal character prevailing in SEARCH FOR GoDS
and the social or cultural milieu in OUR CULTURAL AGONY. Here modem
technology's global venture with all its immense strength and undeniable
weaknesses comprises the whole of humanity in every part of the world
and rapidly eradicates the ancient ways of life.
x PREFACE
In spite of this difference, in the problematic of both studies prevails
the same abysmal ground of Nature's play. In SEARCH FOR GODS man's
innermost self consist in his response to this dynamic transcendental ground,
while in OUR CULTURAL AGONY humanity's cultural life serves this ground
in its disclosure or concealment.
In spite of the apparent supra-individualistic character of the present
study, it, nevertheless, seeks to help the contemporary reader, thinking or
meditating, or entangled in his daily tasks and looking for a way out, to
gain firm steps, one after another, in understanding his cultural inheritances,
the phase of Christianity of his times and perhaps most of all the mightily
prevailing technology along with the "unquestionably true" democra
tic liberties. Attempting to provide the modern reader with this under
standing, the present study helps him in finding his ideals, in freeing himself
for the sight of future gods and thereby in acquiring his true, profound self.
Duncan, 1971
Dr. Vincent Vycinas.
INTRODUCTION
THE CONTEMPORARY ANTHROPOCENTRIC WORLD
Today's man is caged in one or another cell of his gigantic technological
world, where he has his function and his place. With hardly any effort of
his own he occupies his place and begins to function there. Similarly he
"discovers" his ideals and the mission of his life in his cell; the very meaning
of his being is given to him without any real struggle, effort, or his own con
tribution to it.
He conveniently receives his well structured world as a gift from his
ancestors. These - having emerged from a dark cultural background, from
caves, gradually throughout the millennia have built a splendid world for
themselves and their progeny. Their work was crowned by a technological
world in the final cultural phase which excels all previous phases.
In spite of this, we, the modern men, know well that our world is not
completed: we are still improving and developing it. We, however, do not
question the brilliance of our technological world. We feel that we have
attained a true world, even though we still can improve it constantly to a
higher and higher degree.
1. A Dynamic World
The constant improvement of our environment means that we live in a
dynamic world. Thus we do not fit ourselves nicely into our cells, function
ing there in full comfort. We are restless and creative, even though we do
not question the basic structure and character of our world. Weare tempted
here, already in the introduction, to express a doubt of the true meaning of
modern man's dynamics. It could be that these dynamics, ultimately taken,
do not mean mere improvement of a nearly perfect world. They may very
well be deeply rooted dynamics by which man creates his cultural world
over and over again, instead of just improving it. Perhaps, the real reason
for modern man's dynamics - for his not resting in his technological