authors: Svitlana Korniienko
Urgency of the research. Modern globalization, within the space of which economic, political, demographic, and socio-cultural transformations intensify, is characterized by its comprehensive and all-encompassing nature, allowing one to speak of its totality. The history of humanity is understood as the history of the improvement of communication tools, which visualize signs, symbols, and images, mixing the latter (M. McLuhan), ultimately overcoming the matrix of the linear development of civilization. Modern media are a symbol of the present and a powerful driver of change, transforming objective reality and the worldview models of 21st-century human existence.
Target setting. The transformations that the modern world is experiencing are changing the configuration of relationships between communities across the Earth’s space. A new project, “Earth without Borders”, emerges, made possible by information and communication technologies. From now on, the “nature – human – society” system has been supplemented by a new component: media, which has enabled the use of the concept of the Earth’s “media space”, enhancing the understanding of the changes taking place.
Actual scientific researches and issues analysis. The nature of media has been articulated in the works of J. Baudrillard, M. Castells, K. Kelly, M. McLuhan, S. Lesh, and others, which has allowed for the expansion of the research field based on the conceptualization of the terms “media reality” and “media space”. The contradictions of the Earth’s space compression are defined through concepts such as “electronic society” (M. McLuhan), “network society”, “digital society”, “digital human”, and others. Nature / Earth emerges as an object of manipulation in media reality (M. Serres).
The research objective. Media reality produces its own values and dimensions of human existence and the existence of the Earth, provoking new questions: firstly, the openness and closure of borders within the Earth’s space, and secondly, the situation of forming the media project of the Earth, which requires ethical justification.
The statement of basic materials. Media reality has acquired an ontological status and has become the foundation of a new cultural landscape, including the landscape of the Earth. Humans project their desires, avoiding the deeper understanding of the phenomenon of Earth, as the Earth serves as a platform for media presentations. This contemplation deepens the divide between humans and the Earth. The Earth takes on the meaning of an artificial reality, diminishing the sense of responsibility. The Earth’s space, in the context of modern technology, which creates a new dimension of existence, acquires a configuration that can no longer be accurately mapped, rendering the question of open or closed borders irrelevant. This refers to the emergence of virtual landscapes that replace the objective reality of Earth’s existence. This raises the issue of ethical attitudes toward the Earth in the context of transformational changes within media reality, which pushes Earth’s future projects into the background of an illusory world.
Conclusions. Instrumental reason has acquired a new configuration: The Earth and nature now exist to satisfy users’ needs, such as being visually captivating, reinforcing the perception of the Earth as an object of aesthetic pleasure. This displaces the sense of responsible stewardship toward the Earth, further exacerbating modern ecological problems. The Earth becomes an object of aesthetic consumption, erasing the understanding of the Earth as a living system. A gap is forming between the prevailing virtual images of the Earth and the real ecological situation, which requires deep analysis within contemporary philosophical and ethical discourse.
Keywords: human, Earth, media, media space, media reality, closed – open borders, ethics
References:
- Voronkova, V & Nikitenko, V 2022, Filosofiya tsyfrovoyi lyudyny i tsyfrovoho suspil’stva: teoriya i praktyka (Philosophy of Digital Human and Digital Society: Theory and Practice), L’viv-Torun’ : Liha-Pres, 460 s.
- Klein, N 2016, Zminyuyet’sya vse: Kapitalizm proty klimatu (This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate), per. z anhl. D. Kozheduba, Kyyiv : Nash Format, 480 s.
- Featherstone, M & Lash, S 2008, ‘Hlobalizatsiya, modernist i oprostorovlennya suspil’noyi teoriyi: vstup (Globalization, Modernity, and the Spacing of Social Theory: Introduction)’, Hlobal’ni modernosti (Global Modernities), ed. M. Featherstone, S. Lash & R. Robertson, Kyyiv : Nika-Tsentr, 400 s.
- Harari, YN 2018, Homo Deus. Lyudyna bozhestvenna. Za lashtunkamy maybutn’oho (Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow), per. z anhl. O. Dem’yanchuka, Kyyiv : BookChef, 512 s.
- Haar, M 1993, Song of the Earth: Heidegger and the Foundations of the History of Being, Indiana : Indiana University Press, 212 р.
- Heidegger, M 2006, The Origin of The Work of Art, trans. R. Berkowitz & Ph Nonet, Draft, December. Available from : <https://www.academia.edu/2083177/The_Origin_of_the_Work_of_Art_by_Martin_Heidegger>. [29 August 2024].
- McLuhan, M 1994, Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man, London and New York : The MIT Press, Reprint edition, 389 р.
- Merleau-Ponty, M 1964, Eye and Mind, transl. C Dallery, ed. J Edie, Evanston : Northwestern University Press, рр. 159–190, Available from : <https://www.academia.edu/10572479/Merleau_Ponty_Eye_and_Mind_1961>. [29 August 2024].
- Oliver, K 2015, Philosophy After the Apollo Missions, Columbia : University Press, 312 p.
- Rushkoff, D 1996, Media Virus! Hidden Agendas in Popular Culture, New York : Ballantine Books, 368 р.
- Russell, P 2008, The Global Brain: The Awakening Earth in a New Century, Edinburgh : Floris Books, 288 p.
- Serres, M 1995, The Natural Contract, transl. E MacArthur & W. Paulson, Ann Arbor : University of Michigan Press, 124 p.