In our times of global crises and chaotic upheavals the pillars of our civilization have become fragile. We live in an era which K. Jaspers once described as an “Axial Period” with uncertain future prospects. Mankind in our Western civilization has lost basic certainties and many of our contemporaries walk like nomads through deserts of non-commitments. Thus it is not surprising that fearfulness (“angst”) has become a characteristic symptom of our oversaturated societies. As a result of biotechnological progress and the rapid development of K1 the question arises about mankind itself.
Modern Man in the 21st century is in danger of mutating into an Avatar of himself or herself. For a long time now the finance flows have gone out of Man’s control and have seized power of Man’s life. Man, his or her genes, health, practical life have been downgraded with sheer cynicism into a product. In the fantasies of his omnipotence to optimize his species Man is proclaimed as a deficient being that has to be optimised. Our humanist concept of Man is challenged more and more commandingly with regard to freedom and responsibility in the face of creation and human dignity, although these questions are predominantly motivated by commercial interests. In particular, modern medicine with its diverse technological or biotechnological possibilities has its place in the centre of this epochal situation of upheaval.
Today it is vital and essential to return to ourselves and, most of all, the question arises as to how we can live in the future as human beings and how we can survive in an emotionally cooled down world. At this very point art is challenged, too.
The Artist Michael Imhof, MD
