The Fall Of Public Man

This essay is devoted to a short exposition on fear. It derives its inspiration from biblical stories. The reason is that often time when God commissioned a servant, the question of fear came up. In fact, the greater the mission, the more likely God addressed the problem caused by fear, or at least warned against it. To state a simple fact about humans, most of us fear at some point. No one is a stranger to fear. The great thing about fear is that it can help or hobble us. Fear is a God-given emotion that, when rightly operating, helps us, warning us of potential danger. But, like all emotive responses, when it gains mastery over us, when it rules without the influence of reason or wisdom, fear can quench hope and hobble faith. It should be no surprise then that over and over, God tells those he has called to his service to "Fear not." This text will begin by looking at a story that is reported in 2 Chronicles in the 20th chapter. A close scrutiny will illustrate why fear is a double-edged sword. What is important is not the presence of fear but how one responds to fear. The command, "Do not fear" "occurs 365 times in the Bible, one for every day of the year." Another commentator observed that, God specifically told His finest, "Do not be afraid!" A brief look at the Old and New Testament personalities will suffice to show how God dealt with his prophets and disciples.

This essay is devoted to a short exposition on fear. It derives its inspiration from biblical stories. The reason is that often time when God commissioned a servant, the question of fear came up. In fact, the greater the mission, the more likely God addressed the problem caused by fear, or at least warned against it. To state a simple fact about humans, most of us fear at some point. No one is a stranger to fear. The great thing about fear is that it can help or hobble us. Fear is a God-given emotion that, when rightly operating, helps us, warning us of potential danger. But, like all emotive responses, when it gains mastery over us, when it rules without the influence of reason or wisdom, fear can quench hope and hobble faith. It should be no surprise then that over and over, God tells those he has called to his service to "Fear not." This text will begin by looking at a story that is reported in 2 Chronicles in the 20th chapter. A close scrutiny will illustrate why fear is a double-edged sword. What is important is not the presence of fear but how one responds to fear. The command, "Do not fear" "occurs 365 times in the Bible, one for every day of the year." Another commentator observed that, God specifically told His finest, "Do not be afraid!" A brief look at the Old and New Testament personalities will suffice to show how God dealt with his prophets and disciples.

This dissertation is an examination of the contemporary transformations of intimacy. It interprets them as a part of the general transformations that take place in the modern Western culture. The aim formulated above is achieved through the development of a coherent research perspective that allows to make a critical analysis of sociological and philosophical theories that concern transformations of intimacy, as well as to interpret them in the context of more general theories of contemporary socio-cultural processes.
The work is divided into three parts. The main objective of the first part is to develop the precise research perspective, as well as to define the scope and the object of studies. Intimacy is here defined as a field of culture in terms of socio-regulatory concept of culture. The second part includes a critical analysis of sociological and philosophical theories of contemporary transformations of intimacy. The proposed approach allows to organize diversified studies and to interpreted them as complementary. The third part analyzes the previously achieved conclusions in the perspective of the broader theories that concern the general state of contemporary culture.

Niniejsza rozprawa stanowi omówienie współczesnych przemian intymności oraz interpretuje je w kontekście ogólnych procesów zachodzących współcześnie w kulturze zachodniej. Wzmiankowany wyżej cel realizowany jest poprzez wypracowanie spójnej perspektywy badawczej pozwalającej na dokonanie krytycznej analizy socjologicznych i filozoficznych koncepcji dotyczących stanu współczesnej intymności oraz na zinterpretowanie ich w kontekście teorii diagnozujących ogólne przemiany dokonujące się w społeczno-kulturowej rzeczywistości Zachodu.
Praca podzielona jest na trzy główne części. Pierwsza z nich ma charakter metodologiczny, druga analityczny, trzecia syntetyczny. Główny cel części pierwszej stanowi precyzyjne określenie perspektywy badawczej, a także zakresu oraz przedmiotu badań. Intymność zostaje zdefiniowana jako dziedzina kultury w sensie społeczno-regulacyjnym. Druga część rozprawy obejmuje krytyczną analizę socjologicznych i filozoficznych koncepcji dotyczących współczesnych przemian intymności. Zaproponowane zostaje ujęcie pozwalające odczytać zdywersyfikowane pod względem aparatów teoretycznych oraz plasujące się na różnych stopniach ogólności badania jako komplementarne. W części trzeciej wyniki dokonanych uprzednio analiz interpretowane są w perspektywie ogólniejszych teorii dotyczących stanu współczesnej kultury.