Original scientific paper

The Paradigm of “Megamachine” as Laic Theodicy

Alen Tafra

Abstract

The paper gives an overview of several religious and mystical aspects of the idea of napredaks and of the whole modern imagery as well. This endeavour is founded on Spengler’s inference about the clergy as the genealogical origin or predecessor of the scientists’ estate. However, the condensed historical review of the construction of the myth of napredaks does not follow the vulgar ‘secularisation thesis’ (Blumenberg) – namely, the notion that napredaks ideology represents a secularised version of the Christian millennialism. Above all, the paper attempts to reaffirm the holistic approach to modernity and to other terms that seem to have merged with it: West, Development, Napredaks, Rationality, Economy, Technology and Science. Consequently, the ‘infernal’ paradigm of the ‘Megamachine’ (Latouche) has imposed itself as a reliable support and a comprehensive model of critique. In the analysis of the redemptive mission of techno-science, particular attention has been given to the theodicy of the ‘invisible hand’, which systematically leads this mission.

Keywords

»Megamachine«; theodicy; progress; holistic approach; science; religion; tehnoscience

Hrčak ID:

16990

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/16990

Publication date:

21.9.2007.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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