Horuzhy, S. S. Concerning the Value of Personal Contacts in the World of Humanitarian Communication

Abstract: Analysis of veritual and mass media technologies of communicaton shows a current tendency towards degradation of communication, depletion of its spiritual, personal and existential features and loss of the ‘depth of communication’. This tendency allows to speak of hierarchy of communication forms starting from meaningful personal communication to totally formal ‘protocol communication’ of computer systems. Quite on the contrary, philosophers and spiritual practitioners see the hierarchy of communicaitno forms starting from simple empiric communication – through the forms relevant to the stages of spiritual practice, - up to absolutely meaningful communciation that serves to exchange not only information but also existence. This is that Byzantian patristics called ‘perihorisis’. Since the degradation of human communication is one of the threats for the current anthroplogical and social situation, cultiviation of personal communcation and communcation form should be viewed as one of the strategies to overcome the anthropological crisis. New opportunities of such cultivation reveal the oncoming process of the society and conciousness reaching the post-secular paradigm.

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