“What is Man?”: Answering Kant’s question

Abstract

Within B.G. Yudin's philosophy the question: “What is a Human being?” is itself the most fundamental characteristic of human existence as such. Human beings are a special kind of beings: unlike all the others, they are concerned about the meaning of their own existence. If Human beings have any “center” of their identity, it is that problem. For B.G. Yudin the answer to this fundamental anthropological question is two-part. Within the concept of anthropogenic phase transitions, he describes the boundaries of Human beings as natural beings which are gradually becoming their own artifacts, overcoming the line between the Artificial and the Natural. Within the concept of techno-science and bioethics B.G. Yudin poses the problem of the Human being as a subject of specific modern forms of cognition, reinterpreting the traditional understanding of the answer to the question: “What could we know?” (What do you mean “to know” in contemporary science) and “What should we do?” based on the fundamental differences in our understanding of good and evil. His answer to Kant's third question: “What can we hope for?” is based on a belief in science and in a special role of critical philosophical reflection, without which scientific progress cannot realize its humanistic mission.