Security is mostly a superstition. Does not exist in nature, nor the baby man can prove it. Avoid the danger is not safer in the long run, which openly exposed to it.
(Helen Keller)
(Helen Keller)
More of hope is the fear that leads to look carefully for the future: from novice to a lover of extreme sports, fresh from a spouse of marriage to an heir potential, from a farmer a hypertensive, all in their way, are organized so that the future does not bring with it surprises. Through protracted and detailed exercises, or special affection, or commitment and discipline, everything is being done to prevent contingencies. The vision is the indispensable gift for those who want to take care of the future, namely the knowledge to predict and prevent what could happen unfortunately. In this sense it is important to learn from previous experiences, and know how to perceive warning signs unfavorable changes before they happen.
In fact, the man in its long history has not done much other than try to imagine and to prevent disasters that could befall him. His talent has largely used to defend against the dangers still present, although not always possible. The nature, though welcome him, offering food and comfort, he could always go crazy suddenly showing the face of terrifying and deadly floods, fires, earthquakes and other catastrophic events. Coexistence with other beings and are much stronger and faster than he considered it an excellent food, forced him to develop the insight necessary to anticipate future moves and to avoid entering them on the same street. The cave and the club were probably his first measures to protect against natural phenomena and extraordinary threat to risky encounters. The danger of being deprived in a moment from all that was closest to his heart has so distracted by his immediate needs and thus ensure that his attention was talking about the future. This effort has allowed him to return with some certainty in its more usual chores. The struggle for survival, therefore, was and still is in many ways, the fight against everything that stands in its quiet life and its projects. The research of caves
increasingly safe and comfortable from the first fire which was used to keep away the wild beasts, you may well say, man has walked on the streets. His genius enabled him to make progress against all forms of unimaginable unexpected because of his experience and his knowledge collected and processed in suitably diverse areas, areas which in modern times occurred with the names of the different sciences. Under the application then of his scientific knowledge into practical tools, namely the technical, the fight against it has almost imponderable, in moments of great enthusiasm, considered the master of his fate, to be considered able to predict every evil unexpected event. With science and technology, man has thus found a formidable weapon against the fear of sudden obstacles to the achievement of its intent. Even the fight against the fear of illness and death, while far from won, sometimes he appeared as a way to be able to be traveled successfully. However, despite all the efforts undertaken and intelligence he has not been possible to avoid that occur with a some regularity of unpredictable catastrophic events. The human pretension to control the bizarre mutability of its environment has thus proved to be a vain hope, a false illusion. Perhaps a cruel irony of a Supreme Being at the very time that it takes more strength to his will to become the architects of their own destiny, man must unfortunately see a disastrous event that inevitably feel at the mercy of forces over to him.
The disaster caused by the Lisbon earthquake of 1755 is just one of many cases destroy the dream of man on the chance to check out unexpectedly. The vehemence of its impact disillusorio is determined by the fact that it is precisely inevitably occurred at a time when the Enlightenment had spread cylinder engine optimism about the possibility of withdrawing from the unpredictable domain. Faced with the disaster response to Lusitanian Voltaire, Rousseau and Kant have also learned so downcast because as perhaps in no other age was believed to bring the man on the street in the control of their destiny. Since succeeding his disenchantment Lisbon earthquake modern man has not yet lifted. So much so that the Poem on the Lisbon disaster of Voltaire, Rousseau's response to the letter, the short essays in which Kant reflects on the physical causes of the earthquake Lusitano are the voices of a problem that remains current. Their views on human reactions to the unpredictability of natural disasters and moral certainty deliver a disillusioned awareness of humans that until now the fabulous progress in all areas of science and technology have not yet scratched: if there are forces unleash their destructive fury of the 'man is unprepared and has no chance to defend themselves.
The last 250 years have not passed in vain, however, and you can see significant differences from the past. Even the scientific thought of the Enlightenment put us on a path that we are still taking: the weather, for example, are no longer considered in the category of superior forces, invisible, and malignancies that can be countered only with the search for higher forces and just as invisible. Phenomena are not entirely incommensurable as they can be investigated in their causes and expected. Now you can prepare when a disaster arrives: there is a time to build protective barriers, to evacuate the populations of entire cities. To some extent you can even think about not only how to defend itself, but to act directly on the phenomena: one is considering the possibility of mechanical engineer who can remove the fog to the safety of motorists, many then swear on the effectiveness of gun shots against time. Even for earthquakes, there is already who think they can be prevented. In many cases it is certainly impromptu actions of cheaters, but it is the history of science teaches us that over time some charlatans were subsequently considered great innovators.
However, despite all the expensive scientific apparatus, man is freed of his ancestral sense of insecurity, not complete control over his fate. This is primarily because science contributes frequently to the spreading of insecurity even as it undertakes to reduce or even eliminate it. The prevention of side effects often manifest fact that, in turn, and so undermine their own security to be achieved. In the era of the Cold War, for example, the arsenals bear sophisticated and powerful nuclear weapon if one could be a top defense against the hostile powers through their deterrent effect, the other exposed to the risk of terrorist attacks, natural disasters or even always possible simply human error or negligence cause an explosion at least as catastrophic to a hostile attack. It is also known as the defense of their wealth by transforming their home into a bunker and a kind of direct communication to a target decidedly criminal, thieves and criminals is indicated precisely where they can find what they are always looking. There are obviously many more possibilities to show how the increase in security goes hand in hand with increased risk. Think of the technology used to run vehicles: supporting the disengagement, the devolution and irresponsibility of the driver, tends to produce at least as many risks as those that prevent. Or you just think defensive impulse as old as the man who relies on the carrying of weapons: the mild city used to challenge the most remote or scissors garden does not have cards in hand so promising when it is forced to duel learn against criminals who have and know how to make professional use of guns or sawed-off shotguns last generation.
Science and technology then they can do nothing when the individual Everyone has to deal with tragedies involving only the unique and unrepeatable circumstances of his life. One could feel a sort of relief to learn that, thanks to medical advances, it belongs to a privileged generation to a life expectancy greater than all others. However, no living being can entrust his general serenity in this figure because it can always happen by chance to be shot dead by a tile that an evil gust of wind blows the roof fall while walking down the street safely. The personal dimension destroys the certainties offered by any statistical calculations as large numbers can not contemplate the misfortunes to which they individuals.
For all these reasons, albeit important, however, there is no need to give up science and technology. Their function is of great importance though perhaps not exactly what is generally recognized and that they enjoy great social prestige. While some antibiotics for bacterial infections ABS braking systems for vehicles rather impetuous to avert otherwise inevitable tragedies every day, as is also true for many circumstances of life science and technology can not act in any way. However, the fact that, by virtue of their ability to solve certain problems, the narrino their success as a triumphant time, recounted the stories of mythological heroes, and sometimes even a stray for their mission of saving humanity, means that they have assumed a role of great importance for the modern man. Precisely meet her very human impulse to feed the playful illusion of power being what it is, its tendency to forget what their limits. Thus, if you rely on them as we rely on the pleasure of a gay, temporary and partial representation of the self and the world, then you can ask them what they can give without investing inhuman tasks. It should, therefore, that science and technology are taken, in addition to their limited utility, as dream and fantasy like. A man does not know what games to play at any time be betrayed by the seriousness with which the Seer himself and his world. The risks are more dangerous than that to which we encounter, without being able to recognize, even transforming them into instruments of protection. Thus there is a danger of inviting incediari at home with the intent to protect against fire. Accepting an indispensable part of unpredictability, learning to live with it instead maintains vigilant and prepare for them. At worst, facilitates the task of tremendous human reconciled with what is happening, whether foreseeable or not.
