Well, at least the West was also blessed by the Renaissance -- which gestated European humanism. Morin identifies two divergent explanations for the essence of humanism. One extols the Judeo-Christian tradition. The other is about Ancient Greece -- because it's in Greek thought that human spirit and rationality affirm their autonomy. The best case can be made that humanism developed a Greek message, revitalized in Renaissance Italy. A few minutes contemplating Botticelli's Spring at the Uffizzi may be enough to clinch the case.
Auschwitz =Hiroshima
Morin also reminds us that, "in the democratic city of Athens, goddess Athena does not govern, she protects." The true meaning of democracy is that "responsible citizens have the government of the city in their hands." Hard to fit Merkel, Cameron, Hollande or the new House of Saud capo into this description.
In parallel, as European barbarism evolved, Morin also reminds us that it has always treated The Other -- think the Global South -- as barbarian, instead of celebrating a difference and seeing the opportunity of mutual enrichment through knowledge and human relations.
There are exceptions, of course. So in our current pitiful condition the least we could do is to heed the lessons of Spinoza -- for whom reason was sovereign; not "a cold, glacial reason, but a profoundly compassionate reason." Spinoza was a spirit as independent as Montaigne -- another one of our inspiring models.
Morin is implacable; if Auschwitz was supreme barbarism, so was Hiroshima. He qualifies Brussels, correctly, as an "European techno-bureaucracy"; insists that Turkey is "a European power," especially after the fall of Byzantium; and fondly remarks that "Russian culture brought sensibility and a human depth to European culture," as "Russia is also European." Try telling purveyors of Cold War 2.0 about it.
So all is not lost, even though we must admit barbarism is also us. Morin tells us that to think seriously about barbarism is to contribute to regenerate humanism. So even under siege, and under the aegis of a global civil war, we shall resist, with our hearts and minds. No pasarà ¡n.
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