The Crisis of Western Civilization and the Problem of Freedom
Wojciech DASZKIEWICZ
Katedra Metafizyki, Instytut Filozofii, Wydział Filozofii, Katolicki Uniwersytet Lubelski Jana Pawła II, Al. Racławickie 14, 20-950 Lublin, Poland , Polandhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-3904-293X
Abstract
Freedom is one of the fundamental attributes of man. The drama of human freedom takes place in the inner core of the human person where, by choosing a practical judgment about the good, man determines himself to act, constituting himself as an efficient cause and real source of action. The act of decision is the heart of freedom; it is at the same time the moment of one’s self-determination as an author of an act. Freedom of action and choice is inherent in the very structure of human action and its denial leads necessarily to the negation of human nature as the principle of action. In modern Western civilization there is a tendency to absolutize freedom. Freedom is sometimes identified with the possibility of unlimited consumption, which entails anthropological consequences. To overcome the crisis of Western civilization, it is necessary to reflect on the human being and his actions. In such a context, freedom turns out to be based only on the truth about reality and about man as a person.
Keywords:
freedom, culture, civilization, crisis, personKatedra Metafizyki, Instytut Filozofii, Wydział Filozofii, Katolicki Uniwersytet Lubelski Jana Pawła II, Al. Racławickie 14, 20-950 Lublin, Poland https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3904-293X
