Uncertainty as a prerequisite for the updating of human eschatological views in the modern world

Анотація

The article deals with the peculiarities of eschatological views of man and society in the world processes going on nowadays. The author pays attention to the fact that eschatological views are to a greater or lesser extent typical for both believers and the secularized population. Eschatological views of a modern person are considered to receive a new impetus to actualization due to the uncertainty of future prospects of humanity prospects of humanity as a whole and each individual as well. It is noted that since the twentieth century, "any ultimate goals of history", not necessarily apocalyptic, are considered eschatological events.

Uncertainty about the future provokes deep fears of a person, one of which is the fear of death. In the context of this study, the fear of death, alongside with the fear of the unknown, is interpreted a factor in the formation or strengthening of eschatological views. In a contemporary person's mind, they are formed and re-formed due to uncertainty caused by one of the most stressful events of 2019-2020 - the Kovid-19 pandemic.

The mass media play a significant role in spreading eschatological views in the modern world, highlighting not only facts and statistics concerning it, but also speculations about the pandemic. We can observe two major trends: who foresaw modern events and how it will end according to the "prophecies" of varying degrees of trust. Considerable attention is paid to literary and cinematographic works, which provided, in one way or another, contemporary events.

The popularity of genres made the works in question widely spread and discussed. "Conspiracy theories" are also analyzed, as they occupy a special place in explaining the causes of nowadays events. The article considers the impact of a pandemic on a person in modern social interactions, who is in a state of anxiety due to the possibility of losing the necessary social ties, place of work, etc. The author also points to some features of social eschatological nature that were provoked by Kovid-19 pandemic. Some disturbing prospects that may take place in the future and manifest themselves in the sphere of social eschatology are outlined.