问答题 By the eighteenth century, the rise of industrialism in the west was accompanied by a decline of religion that cannot be seen as an accidental concurrence. And from then on the trend accelerates. As the average man becomes more enabled to live in comfortable houses, to escape most of the childhood diseases, to communicate rapidly through time and space, to move long distances with ease, his perception of Nature undergoes a startling alteration. 6 No longer does Nature seem quite so terrific and treacherous; for man is much less likely now to starve for want of food or perish from the heat or cold. His relation to the other animals and plants appears thickly veiled by air conditioning, frozen foods, automobiles and washing machines.
7 It has been said again and again that modern man"s comfortable life amidst the conveniences of technology has caused him to suffer a spiritual death and to feel empty, without purpose and direction. And that may well be the case. But nevertheless a radical distinction must be made here: the need for transcendence experienced by most human beings prior to modern times was a very different one from what is claimed to exist today. 8 For if the connection between the growth of industry and the decline of religion is a real one, the earlier spiritual lives appear as an escape from man"s vulnerable position in his battle with Nature. It was not that man"s sensitiveness to the idea of the good and the beautiful was any more developed in past history; rather, his need to escape from an intolerable physical life was greater than ours.
When I speak of man"s previous need for transcendence, I do not refer to the needs of great creative people—artist, craftsmen—who can never be satisfied with the status. 9 I speak of the masses of people whose spiritual lives were necessary to make their physical lives endurable and who, had choice been possible, would certainly have preferred physical comforts over spirituality. This situation does not for the most part now exist: TV and toilet make the need for God unnecessary. Man does not generally live in fear of Nature except when earthquake strikes, for he is mostly unaware of a connection with nature concealed by modern technology.
10 The present need for spiritual lives is based on sufficiency and not on deprivation, and it does not seek a haven in another world but rather a more beautiful version of this one. What I am concerned is what has happened as a result of the Industrial Revolution to man"s conception of his relationship with Nature.