Dějiny arogance - Psychologické důsledky neomezeného rozvoje – Zoja Luigi (2021)

Luigi Zoja, the author of the well-known collection of essays The Twilight of Fathers, explores the psychology of development and its limits in his book The History of Arrogance, starting from antiquity, the influence of religion and myths in this area on the present, and the consequences that are evident even today. The constant exploitation of the planet's resources and the boundless development of technology raise concerns within us. Logically, we ask ourselves, when did this endless race begin? Ancient Greece, which was at the birth of all today's Western thought, had a mortal fear of the hidden human desire for unlimitedness, which Greek thinkers considered arrogance, one of the sins. Those who desired to have or had too much of something were ruthlessly punished, yet the ambitions of the Greeks themselves ultimately reached such unprecedented levels that this taboo gradually ceased to apply. No culture can completely reject its roots, and although the gods lost their power and disappeared, the myth still remains and asserts itself in a more modern guise. Our fears of the constant growth of society reflect something more than just sensitivity to new technological or ecological problems – they bring to light psychological wounds and feelings of guilt that are ancient.