What kind of world do we really live in? If we were to use Beck's words from his work Metamorphosis of the World (2016), then we could answer: we live in a metamorphosis of the world.
The world we live in, the author emphasizes, is not simply changing, but is undergoing a process of metamorphosis. The term metamorphosis derives from the Latin, and its key meaning is a change of form; a moment when something becomes something else, and it implies a total transformation into a different type, a different way of being in the world. Metamorphosis, therefore, calls for a much more radical transformation, recalling our image of the world, in which the old certainties of modern society crumble and something entirely new comes to light: "glimpsing, in the tumult of the present, the structures and norms of the future."
Beck and the image of the world
According to Beck, we are witnessing a withering of our worldview. This worldview is understood as: "for every cosmos there is a corresponding nomos, which grounds empirical and normative certainties about the world, its past and future." What is happening? What is happening is that these certainties are progressively losing their supremacy, ceasing to be certain; in other words, they are losing their place as fixed stars in the complex architecture of the universe.
To describe the metamorphosis of these certainties, the author employs the concept of the Copernican Turn 2.0. This expression initially refers to Galileo Galilei, who discovered that it was not the sun that revolved around the earth, but the earth around the sun. Today, the situation is not the same, but in some ways similar. Beck makes this point clearer by using climate change as an example: "It teaches us that the nation is not the center of the world.
The world does not revolve around the nation, but nations revolve around those new fixed stars that are the world and humanity.” Identifying the new fixed stars—the world and humanity—requires the promotion of a set of current, innovative, and future topics capable of generating lifeblood for our world and our humanity. In this regard, it is important to focus on one concept: the teaching of human understanding.
From the book The seven knowledges necessary for the education of the future by Edgar Morin.
According to Edgar Morin, the problem of understanding seems to have become crucial for human beings, and it is imperative that it contribute to one of the goals of education. Educating to understand mathematics or any other discipline is one thing; educating for human understanding is another and requires a reform of mentality. Human understanding requires person-to-person knowledge in a climate of sympathy and generosity. Understanding requires developing processes of empathy, identification, and projection into the other. In this regard, Ricoeur employed the term "solicitude" to describe this movement of the self toward the other, stating that "the deepest ethical instance is that of reciprocity, which constitutes the other as my fellow man and myself as the fellow man of the other."
The ethics of understanding, Morin emphasizes, is an art of living that requires, above all else, disinterested understanding. It demands great effort, because it cannot expect any form of reciprocity. The ethics of understanding requires argument, rather than excommunication. Understanding neither excuses nor accuses: understanding requires us to avoid peremptory condemnation, as if we ourselves had never experienced weakness or committed errors. If understanding precedes condemnation, we will be on the path to the humanization of human relationships; on the path of metamorphosis that makes the human species truly human.
Human understanding for Morin
In addition, Morin identifies two founding elements that facilitate the possibilities of human understanding:
- Good thinking: this is the form of thought that allows us to understand the complex (it simultaneously apprehends text and context, being and environment, local and global); it allows us to understand the objective and subjective conditions of human behavior.
- Introspection: this is the mental practice of self-examination that fosters understanding of one's own shortcomings or weaknesses, thereby facilitating understanding of those of others. If we realize that we are all fragile and inadequate beings, then we can discover that we all need mutual understanding and support. This critical self-examination allows us to decentralize ourselves, thus enabling us to recognize and evaluate our own egocentricity.
Building on what has been said so far, the author emphasizes the urgent need to connect the ethics of understanding between people with the ethics of the planetary era, which requires globalizing understanding: "Globalization in the service of humanity is understanding." According to Morin, cultures must learn and relearn from each other, and this becomes possible through open, democratic social structures. We must no longer belong only to one culture, but also to Earth. For the future, we should strive not to dominate, but to care for others, to improve and understand. Only by following this path will it be possible to pursue a rich and complex process of development, simultaneously material, intellectual, emotional, and moral.
James Assennato
Bibliography :
- Beck Ulrich (2016), The metamorphosis of the world, Polity Press, Cambridge.
- Morin Edgar (2001), The seven knowledges necessary for the education of the future, Raffaello Cortina Editore, Milan.
- Ricoeur Paul (1997), Person, Morcelliana Publishing House, Brescia.
