The Image of the Future through the Prism of the Scientific Views of J.A. Condorcet

The research examines the views of J. A. Condorcet, one of the most prominent representatives of the galaxy of European enlighteners. The detailed development and substantiation by the French thinker of the idea of social progress, the main driving force of which is the human mind, still arouses research interest today, more than 230 years later. The current radical change in philosophical views on human improvement and human nature in general is associated with the spread of transhumanist ideas. Attempts to establish a new world order are accompanied by the development of an image of the “desired future” in the form of a social model of the transhumanist concept. Its popularization and the desire to move from the host of philosophical ideas to the practical sphere are facilitated, first of all, by reliance on a modern scientific and technological foundation, the increased capabilities of nano-, bio-, info- and cognitive sciences. The authors of the research focus on the question: are today’s ideas about human improvement a reconstruction of intentions based on the ideas of the 18th century enlighteners, taking into account the achievements of modern scientific and technological progress and transformed to meet the “demands of the time”? Or is the movement towards a bright future, the pursuit of happiness as the main goal of humanity seen by thinkers of the past and today’s transhumanists in completely different ways? The authors turn to the scientific heritage of J.A. Condorcet, containing ideas of progress that served as a certain guideline in the course of subsequent social transformations. The representative of the French Enlightenment saw the potential for human improvement in the development of intelligence, morality, science, art, literature, believing that the main guarantee of achieving success in this field is ensuring the availability of universal education. Condorcet sets a high standard for the future, an example of the proper attitude of the state to the education and upbringing of its citizens, not leaving aside the importance of such material driving forces of progress as the development of industry, agriculture, etc. The work emphasizes that, despite all the utopian views of the enlighteners, their ideas about the power of reason have not lost their significance today, since they represent strategic guidelines for the elevation of each person, his spiritual growth due to a decent education and upbringing, familiarization with new knowledge, the disclosure of creative abilities, i.e. through personal and cultural improvement.