Konstantinos Konstantinidis – Amphiktyon
Thus far, we have witnessed science advancing in every field, but especially in the realm of technology. Yet, despite these achievements, the environment has not improved; on the contrary, it has deteriorated. The consequences are now visible across the planet and are experienced by the inhabitants of every continent.
The Humanistic Path
According to one view, this situation stems from the fact that modern science, instead of devoting itself to the study of man and deepening its understanding of human nature, turned in another direction.
It abandoned the endeavor of those remarkable thinkers who placed the problems of the individual and society at the center of their inquiry. Among them were Thales, Anaximander, Anaxagoras, Heraclitus, Pythagoras, Empedocles, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and many other Greek sages. According to this perspective, after the subjugation of Hellenism, the humanistic path was gradually forsaken and replaced by a materialistic one.
The Materialistic Path
Human beings were left at the mercy of their passions, which, by virtue of instinct and the imperfections of human nature, influence, direct, disturb, and often govern them.
Certain cosmopolitan and ideological systems believed that they could transform humanity and society through force. Their efforts, however, ended in profound failure.
Modern science showed little concern for the psychic, intellectual, and moral perfection of man. Instead, it concentrated on the investigation of natural phenomena and on their technical application. In doing so, it placed many discoveries and achievements at the service of humanity, while simultaneously pursuing the exploration of matter, life, and the universe itself.
The Contemporary Dead Ends
The result of this course, many would argue, has been the series of dead ends into which modern civilization has fallen—environmental, economic, cultural, and moral.
Humanity, still psychologically, morally, and spiritually incomplete, was entrusted with powers once thought to belong only to the realm of imagination. It was called upon to wield forces of immense magnitude without necessarily possessing the wisdom required to govern them.
Even today, human beings often act not through reason, moral discernment, or the power of spirit, but through primitive instincts, passions, and dogmatic prejudices.
It was therefore inevitable that grave and tragic errors would arise in the centuries that followed—religious and ideological fanaticism, bloody wars, revolutions, mass migrations, and social upheavals—particularly during the last century, the age of great scientific discoveries and unprecedented disruption of human life.
For example, nuclear knowledge and nuclear weapons have found their way into the hands of states and leaders who wield them as instruments of intimidation and destruction. Today humanity advances further into a new frontier: Artificial Intelligence, a tool capable of serving either noble purposes or destructive ones.
Just as a knife may be used to cut bread or to take a human life, so every great invention depends upon the character and intentions of the one who employs it. Such is the point to which we have arrived, and many fear that the downward slope has no visible end.
The First Cause
Yet few seek the root cause of things—the “First Cause” of which Plato spoke. Most expend their energies addressing only the outward manifestations of evil, while neglecting its source. But from one evil arise countless others, and thus the world sinks ever deeper into disorder and decline.
A recent example may be found in the tragic killing of a fifteen-year-old boy by a seventeen-year-old youth in Kallithea. Many rushed to assign blame to institutions and authorities. Far fewer pointed to the family, education, television, and above all the internet, which often transmits to the young patterns of violence, criminality, and self-destructive behavior.
According to this view, if contemporary youth were nurtured by a deeper humanistic and Hellenic education—one grounded in virtue, self-mastery, and the cultivation of character—they would be better fortified against the destructive influences of our age.
For no society can be truly elevated merely by multiplying its technological powers. Civilization advances only when knowledge is accompanied by wisdom, power by virtue, and progress by moral responsibility.(25/6/26)
Amphiktyon – Lieutenant General (Ret.) Konstantinos Konstantinidis
Writer – Member of the Society of Greek Writers
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