Technology in overcoming “natural barriers”

Philosophy

Abstract

This study is devoted to the historical reconstruction of the idea of technical conquest of the world. In antiquity, the view of the inviolability of the nature of things arose, which existed until the Renaissance, when the issues of human influence on the existing order of things became particularly acute and provoked the emergence of modern science. This new science, which set the course for experimenting, has questioned established ideas, including the idea of the impassability of natural barriers. Cell theory, viewing cells as the structural unit of the living, postulates the unity of the plant and animal worlds. The evolutionary idea proposed by Lamarck, and subsequently developed into a full-scale paradigm, suggests the transformation of the species diversity on the planet. The fascination with Darwinism gives impetus to researchers to conduct artificial hybridization and develop new plant varieties and animal breeds, thereby confirming the plasticity of living matter. The theory of the abiotic origin of life, which arose in the 20th century, connects the living and the nonliving in the natural history of chemical and biological transformations of substances. Decoding the DNA and the subsequent development of genetic engineering are aimed at finding the genetic basis of life and creating nature-like materials. Machine intelligence models demonstrate the possibility of acts of thought outside of human individuals and raise questions about the human nature and its specific features. On the basis of Russian cosmism, an exotic idea of immortality or technical overcoming of the threshold of death has been formed. All of the listed concepts and their practical results indicate the direction of the scientific and technical search in which the moment of truth is associated with the overcoming of natural limitations and creation of new natures in response to human demand.