Does material and technological progress always contribute to human rights, preserve human dignity and create conditions for equality and justice?
Although current developments in biotechnology, genetic engineering, artificial intelligence and robotization open up new possibilities for humanity, they also raise very serious concerns. It is becoming ever more urgent to address the questions: What are the fundamental limits of human identity? What role does the spiritual dimension of the human being play in this context? How can we describe and preserve the image of Man in the present, complex era of human existence?
Does material and technical progress always promote human rights and human dignity? Does it always create conditions for equality and justice? We cannot ignore the worrisome fact, that some directions of technological development threaten to undermine the very essence of Man as a rational and spiritual being, and also to "dehumanize" social and economic relations.
To respond to these new challenges, society needs a system of integrative spiritual values, embodying the noble destiny of human life. Now is the time to rethink past experience and to consider what would actually happen, if the spiritual basis of our existence were eliminated from everyday life. It is necessary to rethink, in a deep and comprehensive way, the basic human right to having a spiritual identity, to having spiritual values; the right to strive for spiritual self-improvement, inspired by moral ideals, as a basic human need. It is also important to reflect upon how to defend the human potential for spiritual development and to guarantee the individual’s right to realize that potential.
