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THE NEW HUMANISM AND THE PARADIGM OF KNOWLEDGE
IN THE GLOBALIZATION ERA
Sorin IVAN, Associate Professor, PhD, ”Titu Maiorescu” University of Bucharest
Abstract: The Renaissance Humanism, based on the principle "man is the measure of all
things", exalts man and sets him at the centre of the universe. The human type created by
Humanism is homo universalis, and the humanistic paradigm of knowledge is the holistic
knowledge. The contemporary world promotes a new humanism, which is centered on man,
on his fundamental values, rights and freedoms. The European Union is itself built on the
principles of this vision. The New Humanism develops in the context of globalization and of
the global expansion of new technologies. Globalization involves processes that lead to the
massification of human society, culture and knowledge, to the massification and
mediocrization of the individuals. Information technology, through the access to a huge
amount of information, fosters a new kind of knowledge: the surface, informative knowledge.
In the New Humanism, through the effect of globalization and technology, the paradigm of
knowledge is formed by the computerized, globalized and massified knowledge, quantitative,
not qualitative, superficial, not profound. In this framework, man is the center of the universe,
but of the virtual universe, becoming himself a virtual man. The new age is thus defined more
by a virtual anthropocentrism than by a real one. The man of globalization and technology, in
which the New Humanism is trying to develop, is homo virtualis.
Keywords: Renaissance Humanism, New Humanism, globalization, information and
communication technology, knowledge, paradigm, homo universalis, homo virtualis
From the Humanism of the Renaissance to the Contemporary New Humanism
The humanism of the Renaissance is based on the idea of recovering the ancient
models of existence, thought, and spiritual being. This model is to be found in ancient Greek
and Roman culture, in which literary, philosophical, and artistic works outline an exemplary
type of humanity and human existence, which were lost to western culture during the Middle
Ages. A key to understanding humanism as a philosophy is to be found in the name itself,
which is derived from the Latin term humanitas (meaning human nature, civilisation and
kindness). From a philosophical perspective, humanism places man at the centre of the
universe, at the top of the ontological and axiological scales of creation and being. This
anthropocentrism has its origins in Greek and Latin culture. We find the starting point of this
vision of man and his place in the universe in Greek philosophy in Cicero, but more
importantly in Protagoras, who states: "Man is the measure of all things". Humanism is based
on reason and rationality, which serve as instruments of understanding of the world, seeking
truth and interacting with the universe. Humanism exalts man, his intellectual powers and his
ability for higher understanding, in an anthropocentric vision in which everything revolves,
and is ordered, around the human being. In this representation, which originates in the ancient
ideal of the human being, the humanistic man is endowed with all the essential, defining,
qualities of being, emblematic of his position in the universe. He is a being at the junction of
reason, ethics, and aesthetics, based on the values of reason, morals and beauty, and defined
by harmony with oneself and the world.
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On this philosophical basis, humanism promotes a type of holistic knowledge, using
the instruments of reason, science, and artistic sensibility. It is a model of knowledge whose
starting point is the great works of the Clasical Antiquity, which are known as "studia
humanitatis", and which develops the anthropomorphic vision in the new context of
humanism and the European Renaissance. Humanism is, in fact, the philosophical framework
of the Renaissance. The humanist paradigm of knowledge is encyclopaedic knowledge, which
includes sciences, humanities, and arts, in a holistic approach that is integrated,
interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary (in more modern terms), and as a result, is able to
explain and provide representations of the world and the universe. And man is at the centre of
this universe. The humanist model of knowledge gives a special importance to reason,
science, and logic, in other words, to rational and scientific understanding, while rejecting
religious beliefs, dogmas and revelations, as well as transcendence and mystical experiences.
In general, the humanism of the Renaissance, defined as a movement based on rationality, is
associated with atheism and agnosticism, with the rejection of the idea of living and attaining
knowledge through a relation with a metaphysical entity, that is to say, divinity.
In this gnoseological and ontological context, the man created by the humanist vision
of the world is able to span all the fields of knowledge with his mind force. By having access
to knowledge, in all its domains, he gains access to universality. The iconic man of
Renaissance humanism is homo universalis. Representative figures of this human type, which
is defining for the aspirations of humanity during the age of the European Renaissance,
include: Pico della Mirandola, Erasmus of Rotterdam, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo,
Galileo Galilei, Francis Bacon etc. An iconic figure of humanism is Pico della Mirandola, the
author of the famous work Oratio de hominis dignitate (Oration on the Dignity of Man),
which is considered to be the fundamental text of European humanism and the manifesto of
the Renaisssance. (1486). The dignity of man lies, fundamentally, in knowledge, and this
assures his place in the universe. This is the fundamental thesis of the famous work, which
lies at the foundation of the European Renaissance. Pico della Mirandola was a man with an
outstanding intellect and genius during this age of spiritual effervescence and reaffirmation of
man, and to this day he has remained an icon of humanism and of holistic knowledge, which
he promoted through his works. He was the one who asserted, with splendid pride, his
capacity to know, to cover, using only his intellectual ability, the entire span of knowledge,
and even a little more than that, when he wrote another of his famous works: De omnibus
rebus et de quibusdam aliis (Of all things that exist and a little more). Because of his genius,
which covered all the fundamental aspects of knowledge, Pico della Mirandola is the most
representative figure of humanism, and he embodies the humanist and Renaissance ideal of
man: homo universalis.
More than half a millennium after the rise of Humanism and the Renaissance, the
contemporary world is once again animated by a new incarnation of humanism, which is
based on principles and values. The new tendencies can be described in a relatively general
term: the New Humanism. During the 20th century, there were several attempts at
establishing a new movement or doctrine based on the principles of a new humanism or
neohumanism; however, these attempts did not have any notable effects on the evolution of
ideas and existence. The new contemporary humanism is not necessarily a philosophical
doctrine or movement, but rather an ideology that was born out the aspirations of the
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contemporary man in an age of global conflicts, collective tragedies, and a variety of
totalitarian governments and dictators. It represents a wide conceptual framework for the
evolution of modern civilisation, which contains a set of directions for the evolution and
becoming of states, societies, and individuals, in the spirit of working together to achieve
common ideals. This theoretical framework is built around man, with all his rights, liberties
and obligations, and is structured as a series of universal principles and values which are,
essentially, humanist in nature. The New Humanism is a philosophical, political, and cultural
option, which is constantly reasserted at the level of the European Union institutions. It is,
essentially, a culturally-based option, which attempts to recover the model of the humanism
of the Renaissance, or at least certain elements of it, because that particular model led to an
age of prosperity in Europe. From this point of view, it represents a return to history, in order
to recover a paradigm which was exemplary for the civilisations and cultures of Europe of a
certain epoch.
Through its philosophy and objectives, the founding of the European Union is a
turning point in the evolution of Europe, it is the beginning of a new Renaissance, which is
meant to stimulate and make the most of Europe's incredible intellectual and cultural
potential, so that the Old Continent may stand out on a global scale. This new humanism
attempts to restore the connection to an age of major importance in the evolution of Europe,
which deeply impacted its development, and resulted in prosperity on several levels. And this
age, it can be said, lasted for several centuries, because it was continued, gloriously, one
might add, through the Enlightenment, in the "century of lights". From this point of view, the
New Humanism means to adopt a certain philosophical vision, to reclaim and reassert a series
of principles, models, values, and ideals, which have had astounding effects on the
civilisations and cultures of Europe. It could be said that the New Humanism is an attempt to
recover the humanism of the Renaissance, in an age when Europe, under the guidance of the
European Union, is going through a new type of renaissance. Understood from this
perspective, this modern humanism creates a framework within which the states in the
European Union and the entirety of Europe, with all its societies and individuals, can develop.
One can say that there exists continuity in discontinuity on the humanist coordinate, at least as
far as the humanist vision of the world is involved.
At the level of the European Union, as far as ideology is concerned, the New
Humanism is based on a series of principles and rights that are essentially humanist: equality
of rights, equal opportunity, gender equality, fight against discrimination, positive
discrimination, the right to education, social inclusion, freedom to travel, the right to work,
freedom of speech, etc. On the level of civilisation and culture, there are a few defining
principles, such as: respecting and promoting linguistic, cultural, and religious identity, unity
through diversity, multiculturalism and multilingualism. Unity through diversity is the
fundamental principle of the European Union. At the centre of this concept is man, with his
rights and obligations, aspirations and ideals. The New Humanism is conceived as a
framework that will enable man to become all he can be, and desires to become. With this
idea we go back to the model of the Renaissance Humanism, where man was at the centre of
the universe. In the context of this philosophy and vision, we can talk about the
anthropocentrism of the new humanism. It then follows that the new humanism continues the
basic concept of Protagoras, which has been filtered through the humanism of the
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Renaissance: “Man is the measure of all things”. It remains to be seen exactly to what degree
this humanist principle can be applied on an existential level, or if it only stays true at a
theoretical and ideological level.
A very important aspect of the New Humanism is the fact that the European Union
bases its progress on knowledge. European policies often talk about a knowledge-based
society and economy, about the Europe of Knowledge. Knowledge is the ultimate value of
man. In this context, academic education and scientific research play a crucial role.
Knowledge, through its two main sources, higher education and research, ties, once again, the
New Humanism to the humanism of the Renaissance. To understand this, one needs to look
no further than the glorious tradition of the great European universities throughout the Middle
Ages and the Renaissance: these institutions served as centres where elite knowledge was
promoted and European elites were formed, and their contribution to the development of
Europe on the whole was essential.
But the New European Humanism crosses the borders of the Old Continent, being an
international current. It is a tendency that manifests itself with prevalence on the theoretical
and conceptual levels, and less, if at all, on a practical level. The same values and principles
that the European Union is based on are being promoted on a global scale, by means of the
policies implemented by international organisations and institutions. Fundamental freedoms
and human rights, and the preservation of identity and cultural and linguistic diversity, etc.,
are concepts that are being promoted across the world. Today’s world bases its evolution on
them. Furthermore, there exists, on an international level, a concept with a special, highly
humanist, sonority: the alliance of civilisations, which promotes the idea that humanity as a
whole has to overcome the difference between civilisations, languages, cultures, and
religions, in order to achieve a synergy between the nations of the world. All of the above
falls under the category of the New International Humanism. In the context of the process of
globalisation that the world is undergoing, the new European and international humanism
becomes the new humanism of the globalised world. In theory, man, with his rights and
aspirations, still sits at the centre of this humanism.
The Paradigm of Knowledge in the Era of Globalisation
The space of the new contemporary humanism is a world caught up in the process of
globalisation. It can be said that in this framework, this new form of humanism is meant for a
certain type of human, the man of globalisation, or the globalised man. However, this is only
a stage of a transition to a new type of human, which is slowly becoming more clearly
outlined, and which we find to be defining, as shall be explained.
Globalisation launches a new paradigm of human existence, which crosses all geographical
borders, divides between continents, countries, and regions, differences between civilisations,
languages, traditions, and religions, etc., and ignores global diversity, by generalising a
certain set of principles, rules, and policies, by creating joint institutions, by promoting
cooperation in all areas of human activity, by transforming the world into a common space
governed by global institutions, and global policies and interests. Globalisation has a holistic
nature, as it affects all aspects of existence. As such, it also targets, whether directly or
indirectly, domains such culture, spirituality, and knowledge itself. Overcoming, with time, or
even erasing cultural differences altogether, levelling forms that are initially diverse,
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eventually leads to uniformity and massification. We have to take into account the fact that
today's world is governed by economic criteria and objectives, primarily by material values,
and much less by spiritual ones. The ideal of progress and of economical and political power
is constantly moving the contemporary world away from religion. In the context of a world
that is going through the process of globalisation, culture (understood as a comprehensive
domain) is also affected. The massification of existence leads to the degradation of culture; it
levels it and turns it into a mass phenomenon. In this context, one can speak about the
massification of culture, even a mediocrization of it. The process is easy to understand, as
globalisation of diversity and cultural differences leads to thee creation of uniform
populations, which are relatively homogeneous, and have common tastes, common moral
landmarks and ideals. These are promoted through mass-media and digital technology on a
global scale. Culture is simply adapting to an audience whose tendency, under the rule of
globalisation, is to become increasingly homogeneous. This process of massification is not
restricted to culture; it affects knowledge on the whole. Globalisation, massification,
uniformization, all these processes create a model of existence which, at least as far the logic
of the entire process is concerned, leaves no more room for elites. Culture, as discussed
above, knowledge itself, are becoming a mass phenomenon that appeals to greater numbers of
individuals, but whose average level and aspirations are poorer.
All this has repercussions not only on the world and civilisation on the whole, but
also, or rather, particularly, on the individual. The biggest risk is that globalisation will lead to
a gradual deculturalization and despiritualization of the individual, to a loss of their identities
as a result of the process of erasing specific differences between them, to the individual’s
massification and uniformization, which will eventually lead to planetary anonymity. In other
words, to the individual’s turning into a globalised man, lacking identity, tastes, moral
landmarks, and ideals, a man who leads a mediocre existence, consumes mediocre cultural
products and is limited to having mediocre knowledge.
There appears a contradiction between the New Humanism, which defines the
aspirations and ideals of man in today's world, and globalisation, which tends to become the
new framework for human existence, with its diversity reduced to the lowest common
denominator. The New Humanism, following the model of the Renaissance humanism,
reasserts the anthropocentric nature of the latter, but in different terms, and places man at the
centre of the globalised world, as it promotes identity and diversity in an environment built to
protect them. At the same time, globalisation carries the risk of erasing the individual's
cultural identity, of leading him into mediocrity through the processes of massification and
uniformization, of making him blend in the amorphous mass of world's population, losing him
in the anonymity of the process. It is evident that, at least on a conceptual level, the New
Humanism cannot be based on globalisation, if it is to follow the model of the Renaissance
humanism. That is, unless the New Humanism uses the globalised man as a model for
humanity. However, this would be a contradiction in terms, a dystopia of sorts, in an age
when the values of humanism have to be reclaimed.
The process of globalisation has to be understood as being directly linked to the global
spread of new technologies, particularly information and communication technologies (ICT).
At a technological level, ICT is central to human existence and civilisation, and therefore to
the process of globalisation. At present, digital technology offers complex support for human
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existence, both from a technical point of view in all domains and aspects of human
endeavours, but also as a communication platform and medium of knowledge. From this
perspective, globalisation occurs within ICT. The impact of technological advances on the
individual is major, and it has led, and continues to lead, to a new form of existence, where
technology has a predominant role in the life of the contemporary man, on all levels, be it in
his public or private, professional or personal, life. For the individual, as we have discussed
before, technology offers technical, communicational and informational support. And most
importantly, information technology offers everyone a portal to universal knowledge, through
the internet. Using the internet, the modern man has access to a whole universe of knowledge,
at least in many, if not all, of its dimensions and aspects. But there is also a great risk involved
in using the internet: the relatively easy access to information can result in superficial
knowledge, which has more of an informative, rather than reflexive, nature, since it is most
often the case that the subject lacks an in-depth understanding of the topics he is trying to
learn about. The fact that people are learning from the internet favours spreading rumours and
inaccurate information; to use an analogy, learning through the internet is often like sailing on
vast expansions of deceptive waters, instead of diving into the depths of knowledge. It is
important to understand that even information obtained from quality sources is not always
scientifically accurate, as it can be reformulated and simplified from other sources. Because
he has easy access to an enormous, practically unlimited, volume of information and data, the
pioneer of knowledge, called the internaut, has no more incentive to study, perform in-depth
research, and gain a complex understanding of topics. He has a certain utilitarian approach, an
extreme pragmatism based on data, on basic information, and not on content, on ideas, with
their complex build-ups and demonstrations. Such development of concepts and ideas, which
define knowledge in all its complexity and epistemological and philosophical beauty, are to
be found in books. The internet offers a different type and model of knowledge, which is
simple, effortless, schematic, and is limited to data and the formal nature of things, without
delving into the complexity of their content. In this manner, the internet, as an iconic
expression of information technology, promotes a new paradigm of knowledge. And, given
the global spread of the internet, the new paradigm of knowledge is also spreading globally.
The process of globalisation creates the perfect environment for its proliferation, within the
very philosophy that it defines. We can therefore talk about a new paradigm of knowledge
within the process taking place in the age of globalisation. And this paradigm becomes
defining for the globalised man.
From Homo Universalis to Homo Virtualis
Homo universalis is the quintessence of European humanism, the philosophy that the
Renaissance was built on. He embodies the human ideal promoted by this philosophical and
cultural current, which sets out to recover the ancient Greek and Latin model of culture and
civilisation. He is a man of virtue, on the rational, intellectual, ethical and aesthetical levels, a
man in harmony with himself and the universe. In fact, he stands at the centre of this universe,
which is seen through the eyes of reason, from the perspective of universal harmony. The man
of the Renaissance and of humanism is ultimately defined by knowledge, and this knowledge
is comprehensive, covering sciences, humanities, and arts - in short, all the fundamental fields
investigated by man. As such, humanism promotes the paradigm of holistic knowledge, which
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is superimposed on the known universe, at whose centre man lies. The icon of this
representation is Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man, .
Civilisation evolves, and with it, humanity's needs for knowledge. Over the past two
decades, humanity has seen dramatic developments at an accelerated rate, especially in the
last few years, as a result of information technology. It goes without saying that we cannot
remain anchored in one cultural model. However, one must see precisely what is entailed by
the metamorphosis of one paradigm of knowledge into another, of one type of man into
another.
The model of holistic, encyclopaedic knowledge can no longer become a reality in our
time. The volume of information is enormous, and it continues to grow every day. A single
man’s intellect can no longer span all the vast expansions of knowledge. In our age, the iconic
man of the Renaissance, homo universalis created by humanism, can no longer exist.
In the Age of Globalisation and information technology, holistic knowledge is not
possible any more, for objective reasons: the increase in the volume of information and of
human knowledge on the whole. Other causes, also objective, are related to globalisation and
its philosophy. As a result of massification, uniformization and globalisation of individuals,
knowledge, at its core, is also going through a process of decline, from the level of the elites
to the level of the masses. We also have to take into consideration the type of knowledge that
the internet promotes and favours: and eclectic and superficial knowledge, which is based on
informational utilitarianism and pragmatism. However, in certain contexts, there are also
subjective causes. In this complex framework, perhaps the individual himself - the regular,
average person - no longer has any penchant for the act of knowledge, understood as study,
research, and act of intense reflection, creativity, and innovation. Having easy access to
information, he narrows knowledge down to information and data bases; at a psychological
level, because of the accessibility of information in modern times, he has lost touch with the
challenge of gaining knowledge. Living in a world that is saturated with information
delivered through information technology, he does not feel motivated to further explore the
universe of knowledge. Therefore, the very idea of "knowledge" is changing fundamentally,
and the repercussions can be seen on a practical level. Thus, a new paradigm of knowledge is
taking shape even clearer: the globalized and massified knowledge, with a technological
support.
As a result of the new paradigm created by technology, we can give a new name to the
globalised man: the virtual man. The term "virtual" carries the meaning that is being promoted
through digital technology, which creates a virtual space, and therefore defines the individual
who spends his time in this virtual space of communication and knowledge. Through
contamination, he becomes a virtual man himself, that is, a man who is attached to this
universe, whose existence takes place, to a large degree, in this space. In other words, a man
whose existence is displaced, more and more each day, from the real world into the virtual
one. On the other hand, the syntagm virtual man also carries another meaning, a much graver
one, because of its implications for the human condition itself. The man whose life is
increasingly dependent on the virtual space gradually loses his humanity, his human potential,
and becomes a being who lives in an alternate universe created by technology. He drifts
further and further away from his human identity, and his humanity gradually becomes a
virtuality, a mere possibility. His existence transferred from the real to the virtual plane, the
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digital man ends up being defined as a man existing on the level of possibility and virtuality.
The virtual man is the man that has a potential existence as a human being, the man who lives
according to the digital paradigm, and who projects his humanity as virtuality and possibility.
Essentially, the virtual man is the individual who can be human, with all the complex aspects
of human nature, but who is less and less human, because he lives in another dimension: the
virtual one. The virtual man is the man unfulfilled as a human, transferred to another type of
existence, the digital one.
The virtual man is the man of the digital era and globalisation. He has turned human
existence into a space of information technology, which has created an immense digital
network on a global scale. This global network creates a medium for an alternate existence, a
new dimension of human existence. Today’s man lives, to a great degree, in this fourth
dimension of existence, the digital one. If we were to imagine a representation of the virtual
man of the age of globalisation, starting from Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man, then he
would be a multi-connected, cybernetic man, standing at the centre of a network of infinite
wires and synapses, which tends to expand across the whole universe. This network opens
portals for him, through its innumerable connections, to the world, but at the same time, it
closes him inside, keeping him prisoner. Through technology, he has crossed the boundaries
of space and time, and has pushed the limits of human knowledge further and further. The
technology and the digital universe created through it are the expression of man's desire to be
limit-free, of a continuous search for freedom. But in his search for more freedom, man has
limited his freedom. Living at the centre of the digital network he has created for himself,
man, paradoxically, limits his freedom, becoming increasingly easier to monitor and control
him. Tied up in the infinite digital connections and synapses, he becomes prisoner to the
fourth dimension of existence. And when it comes to knowledge, yet another paradoxical
phenomenon is taking place. Although the volume of knowledge is growing exponentially,
aided by the new technologies, the horizon of human knowledge is becoming increasingly
restrained. Knowing more, the contemporary man knows less and less. Technology favours a
type of informative superficial knowledge, as opposed to substantial, ideational knowledge of
a reflexive nature. It is, therefore, a limitation through knowledge. This type of knowledge is
emblematic of today's digital man. Thus, he falls victim to his own utopia and becomes the
protagonist of a new universe which resembles, through its implications, a dystopia. In this
space, the digital man is gradually transformed in a virtual man: homo virtualis.
There is a big distance from the humanism of the Renaissance to the New Humanism
of globalisation. Homo universalis is a free man, having been freed from the dogmas of the
Middle Ages; he is a free-thinker, who places reason and knowledge above everything else,
thus placing himself at the centre of the universe. He is a man of harmony, of reason, of truth,
morals, and beauty. As a matter of fact, reason, truth, the good and the beautiful, are all parts
of a whole which constitutes the entirety of existence. The universal man of the Renaissance
has a mind and a soul, and he uses both to transform his existence and the universe into a
noetical space, of thought and knowledge, but also of beauty, of representations of ideas in
sensible forms. The contemporary man is the creator of technologies which have
revolutionised human existence. He has conceived a new paradigm of being and
understanding, through digital technology, through which he intends to dominate knowledge
and the universe. But now he risks being controlled by technology, being conceived by it,
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becoming a mere bit in a network that is superimposed on human existence like an invisible
superstructure. Living in the virtual universe, homo virtualis has strayed far from the model of
holistic knowledge, from the ideal of universal harmony, in which reason, ethics and
aesthetics coexist. Existing and obtaining knowledge through technology means losing touch
with the ethical and aesthetical dimensions. The virtual man gives significantly more
importance to the mind than to the soul. Freed from dogmas, far-removed from the
metaphysical horizon of existence, and increasingly non-religious, atheist and agnostic, he
bases his existence on cold, objective, reason, which is, in turn, based on technology. Homo
virtualis relies on his mind, and not on his soul, and has a digital life in the fourth - the virtual
- dimension, as opposed to living in the human dimension of existence, where truth, good, and
beauty coexist. Homo virtualis turns technology into his new dogma and religion.
Conclusions: The New Paradigm and the Virtual Dimension of Existence
The humanism of the Renaissance appeared in a time when, after the Middle Ages,
humanity wanted to recover and reassert its humanity, its freedom to think and be, and the
individual, his condition of a free being living in the universe. It was a time of rediscovering
human dignity and liberties, and a time during which civilization flourished. The human
condition was redefined in the terms of a new paradigm of existence. This was based, starting
from the ancient Greek and Latin model, on reason, morals, and beauty, in a formula where
knowledge is the ultimate virtue. Aspiring to knowledge, to comprehend everything that
exists using the powers of the mind, is what places man at the centre of the universe, it is what
turns him into homo universalis.
The New Humanism of the contemporary age attempts to recreate the model of the
humanism of the Renaissance, which in turn was rooted in the Classical Antiquity, when
Protagoras said: "Man is the measure of all things". The New Humanism places man at the
centre of the modern world, a world of diversity, antagonistic interests, and conflicts. He
defines himself through fundamental freedoms, rights, principles, and values focused on the
individual and meant to transform the world into a space of coexistence and communion, of
unity through diversity. The New Humanism has to be understood in the context of a process
which is reshaping the world from its foundations: globalisation. Globalisation is taking place
in the age of information technology, which is also reshaping the entirety of human existence
by itself. The new technologies, particularly the digital ones, create a new paradigm of
existence and knowledge, in which man becomes a new being: homo virtualis. There is a
great difference between homo universalis and homo virtualis. The plenary man of the
Renaissance becomes the man connected through a million wires to a global network, the
digital man, whose existence, knowledge and humanity are paradoxical, as he lives
predominantly in the fourth dimension. A new model of being is born, by virtue of which
human existence takes place in a space created by technology, where man risks losing his
humanity. At the same time, a new paradigm of knowledge is starting to take shape, that is,
digitalised knowledge, which is vast on the surface, but not in depth, and focuses
predominantly on data, and not ideas. In this age of globalisation and digital technology, the
New Humanism becomes a type of globalist and technologised humanism, faced with a large
number of obstacles and limitations, most of which fundamental, because they concern human
knowledge, identity, dignity, and even freedom. The danger of moving from one paradigm of
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being to another, from homo universalis to homo virtualis is, in the ultimate sense of the
metamorphosis, the supreme one: the loss of man's humanity.
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