Science and Modern Humanism

Abstract

The article proposes an understanding of science as a process of production of human­istic values and their translation in society, as well as an analysis of reflection on sci­ence from the point of view of humanistic ideals. This is one of the key topics of
cultural/historical epistemology, the leading representative of which is Vladislav Alexandrovich Lektorsky. In the paper, the meaning of scientific humanism is re­vealed through answers to three questions similar to the Kant’s ones: about the possi­bility of cognition, communication and normativity. These possibilities are understood as three forms of freedom: freedom of oneself, freedom with others, and freedom to transcend one’s limits. The question of freedom is the problematization of science in terms of its conformity with the values of humanism, as well as of how humanism itself is consistent with the pathos of scientific inquiry. The main thesis of the article says that the humanistic nature of science consists not so much in mastering the forces of nature or discovering its secrets, not in truth or benefit. Rather, science compels man to think historically and critically about himself and his present. True humanism is not a measure of all things by the human arshin, not the exaltation of man, but the bringing him into consciousness; not an adaptation to circumstances, but going be­yond one’s limits; not a concept, but a constant revision of the current state of affairs.