Our vulnerable position

Abstract: Today outer –often opposing- influences are endless; varying from contact with group features such as cultural, economical, national distinctions to differences in individual religious beliefs, sexual behavior, political views, ecological consciousness, etc. … Being confronted with this otherness leads to a crumbling, an unsettling notion of the known, the established values which throughout time were thought to have become one’s own; leading to confusion and resulting in the questioning of the self. A learning and growing process which does not become easier with all the changes in our contemporary Western society… How do we, contemporary Western human beings deal with the apparent freedom and insecurity we are confronted with in our society?The essay starts off by looking at some of the major shifts in our contemporary society. A first important change is the space-time compression. The consequences of this shift, such as the dissolving of nations, hybridizing of national identities, globalization and theuncertainty it brings forth, are explored from different angles.Fast-moving trends have caused a confusion of beliefs and identities and as there is not one principle provided, one has to learn to grasp the contrasts. Today there is a taste for heterogeneity, causing a shift towards openness, inclusion and tolerance. Even though it is on its dispositions that contemporary society thrives, it also means that opposing extremes exist next to one another.In our ‘information society’ innovation of communication and knowledge occupy a significant role. Besides the confusion caused through the space-time compression, all truly transformative advances in knowledge bring along the downside of uncertainty and incalculability.Along with these ‘sources for uncertainty’, there is also a short look into possible certainties in contemporary life, since traditional religions and modern substitutes are not satisfactory and a strong belief in anything today seems rather improbable.A possible source for answers and improvements which is given are the humanities. They confront people with making judgments about the relationship between facts and values.It is important in creating awareness in an ‘information society’ since innovations are value-free. Humanities can have the ambition to bring people towards each other to take up new forms of identification that are open for collaboration and unity.