An outstanding French writer and public figure, a recognized master of the "biographical novel" genre, Andre Mauroy (1885-1967), in his essay "What I Believe" discusses issues of materialism and idealism, religion and the theory of evolution, freedom and separation of powers, family and friendship. This text is the credo of one of the brightest European intellectuals of the middle of the 20th century.
I believe that independently of me there is an external world, which, however, I can perceive only by passing it through my consciousness. I see clouds outside the window, hills, trees swaying in the wind, cows in the meadow; closer I see a part of me that I call "my hand" and which writes these lines. I believe that this hand is by nature profoundly different from the rest of the world. When a bird lands on a linden or cedar branch, I feel nothing; when a fly lands on my hand, it tickles me. As soon as I want to - and I will move my hand; but I am unable to move the clouds and hills. And the hand is not able to fulfill my every desire. Do not demand the impossible from her. The executioner can cut it off, I will still see it, but it will turn into a foreign object for me. Thus, my body occupies an intermediate position: on the one hand, it obeys my will, on the other hand, it obeys the outside world. I can send him to meet trials and even danger, I can increase his strength and expand his sphere of activity by training or with the help of machines, but not to infinity; it is not in my power to protect him from accidents and old age. In this respect, I belong entirely, from head to toe, to the outside world.
My inner world is a safer refuge. Call it whatever you like - spirit, thought, soul; the name doesn't matter. Here my power is much greater than in the outer world. I am free to disagree with certain views, draw conclusions, immerse myself in memories; I am free to despise danger and look forward to old age with wise humility. And yet, even in this fortress, I am not isolated from the outside world. Severe pain interferes with the free work of thought; bodily suffering affects mental activity; obsessive ideas with debilitating constancy climb into the head; brain diseases lead to mental disorder. Thus, I belong to the outside world and at the same time I do not belong to it. The world becomes real for me only within me. I judge him only by my feelings and by how my mind interprets these feelings. I can't stop being myself and become the world. But without "this strange round dance" around me, I would have lost both sensations and thoughts at once. Images of the outside world crowd in my head - and only they. That is why I do not share the views of Bishop Berkle and do not consider myself a pure idealist; I do not believe that every time I cross the English Channel or the Atlantic I create London or New York anew; I do not believe that the outside world is nothing more than my idea of it, which will disappear with me. “And dying, I will destroy the world,” said the poet. The world will cease to exist for me, but not for others, and I believe in the existence of other people.
However, I cannot call myself a pure materialist either. Of course, I believe that the world of which I am a part obeys certain laws. I believe it because it's obvious; I am writing these lines at the beginning of autumn: I know that the leaves outside the window will turn yellow; I know that tomorrow at this hour the sun will be slightly lower in the sky than today; I know that the constellations, those golden carnations hammered into the black firmament of the sky, will soon change their position, and these changes can be predicted; I know that if I let go of the book, it will fall to the floor at a speed that can be calculated in advance. I also know something else: some modern scientists assert that on the scale of infinitely small quantities it is impossible to accurately predict any event and that our laws are statistical laws. Well, what of it? Statistical laws take into account the existence of accidents. Any laws, including statistical ones, are effective and useful, since they allow us to foresee many phenomena. Some materialists conclude from this that all phenomena are predictable, that the future is completely predetermined, and that only due to our ignorance we cannot build a mechanical model of the world that would allow us to predict not only the location of the constellations on a given day and hour, but also all future events in human history. Such a model of the world would be no different from this world itself. If it were possible, it would mean that organic matter itself, according to the laws of its internal development, automatically generates everything that happens in the world, including our actions. In this case, history, both social and individual, would be absolutely determined, and our freedom of choice would be illusory.
Even at the beginning of our century, the most knowledgeable people had every reason to think that a new Golden Age was coming. In fact, the Golden Age turned out to be the Age of Fire and Shame. While therapy and surgery fought for the life of a person and eased his torment, the war, which had become cruel as never before, brought unimaginable suffering to the peoples. Frightened, unhappy, these people became like their distant ancestors and, attributing supernatural power to their fears and hopes, peopled the indifferent world with gods and monsters.
I do not share this purely materialistic view of the world. There are three reasons for this. First, I refuse to consider mine to be entirely dependent on a system that is created by this mind itself. Who, if not man, discovered the laws of development of the external world? Who, if not he, ordered the imaginary chaos of phenomena? It would be absurd if the power of the human mind eventually led us to deny this power. Secondly, scientific research, on which our belief in the orderliness of the world is based, has never given grounds for considering the whole world as a mechanism. Science data show that under certain conditions within a closed system, knowing the initial parameters, one can predict the result. But predictions of this kind are limited in space and time, and we have no right to interpret them broadly. The economy and history of our planet alone is so complex that it is impossible to predict. What then to say about "the whole world" - after all, we do not even know for sure what this arbitrary combination of words means?
Finally, thirdly, I simply do not understand how consciousness can be born in the depths of matter. I have always observed the opposite - how images of the material world are born in the depths of my consciousness. In addition, experience teaches me that there are things that are subject to my will. I want to fight the enemy and I fight him. It may be objected to me that my will is predetermined by my nature. I won't argue. Speaking of the will, I am not saying that it can order me to do what I do not want. My will is not a force that exists independently of me. My will is my active self.
Of course, the materialist will object to me: “You know that the abyss separating living and non-living matter is getting narrower every day. You know that with some viruses it is impossible to say for sure whether they belong to living or non-living matter. You know that chemists have learned to synthesize molecules of such complexity, which is found only in living nature. The day is not far off when science will explain to us how, at the dawn of the existence of the universe, gigantic cataclysms led to the emergence of life on earth, how slow evolution led to the formation of species. The line of evolution from bacteria to Plato is continuous. Man, the last link in a long chain of living beings, occupies the most insignificant place in time and space. Why attach such importance to his mind? He is only a more perfect form of the mind of a bee or an ant, a fish or a snake, a dog or a cat...” Reasoning of this kind leaves me completely indifferent. No matter how narrowed the abyss, the bridge over it has not yet been thrown. So far, neither chemists nor biologists have been able to unravel the riddle of life; no living being has intelligence comparable to that of a human. The gulf between the most primitive of men and the most intelligent of animals is still wide and deep. A materialist blindly believes in science as in an almighty God, but such a religion is alien to me.
As for the origin of species, the remark of Leconte du Nuy* seems to me very significant: if we accept the hypothesis of natural selection and the survival of the fittest, it turns out that the development and improvement of such a complex organ as the human eye took as many billions of years as not the earth itself exists. “But in this case,” the Believer will ask, “do you, like us, believe that the Lord created living beings?” I believe only in what I know, and in this area I only know that I know nothing. I am skeptical of the stories of paleontologists and geologists juggling millennia and basing bold theories on Precambrian fossils that, on closer inspection, turn out to be just oddly shaped cobblestones. But it is no easier for me to believe in the almighty and merciful God, who, in his right mind and firm memory, created Koch's wand, a flea and a mosquito, and many centuries later crowned his work with a new victory: he threw a man into a hostile and mysterious world, endowed him with thoughts and feelings and forced this unfortunate creature to answer to the Creator for his actions. I don't care about the question: how and why did a person get into this world? We do not know and, apparently, we will never know the answer. I admit that the infinitely small beings that perhaps inhabit the electron are capable of discovering its nucleus and several neighboring atoms. But how can they imagine a man or a cyclotron? And yes, it doesn't matter at all. I am worried about something else: “Here is a man, here is the world. How should a person, such as he is, act so that, as far as his nature allows, to subordinate the world around him and himself to his power?
I am neither a pure materialist nor a pure idealist. What do I believe then? I limit myself to stating facts. In the beginning was my mind, which through the body came into contact with the outside world. But the body itself is only a sensory image, that is, an image created by my consciousness, so that ultimately I reject the dualistic view of nature. I believe in the existence of a single reality, which can be considered both in the spiritual aspect and in the material aspect. Is this reality created by a superhuman will? Is there a higher power in our world?
Is this force moral and does it reward the righteous and the sinners according to their deserts? I have no reason to say anything about this. Morality is unknown to the world of things. Lightning strikes and cancer strike the good as often as the evil. The universe is neither friendly nor hostile to people of good will; she's probably just indifferent. Who created it? Why does not complete chaos reign in it, why does it still obey the laws? What force has thrown us here, on this ball of dirt, spinning in endless space? I don't know anything about it, and I don't think others know any more than I do about it. The various gods worshiped by the peoples throughout the millennia of human history were the embodiment of the passions and needs of believers. This does not mean that religions were useless; that means they were necessary. But their task is not to know the world. “If you get lost in the desert,” one kind priest told me, “I will not give you a map, I will only show you where you can get a drink of water, and I will try to instill courage in you so that you can continue on your way. That's all I can do for you."
“Christianity has made a revolution, transferring fate into man. It saw the source of our distress in our own nature. For the ancient Greek, myths were usually part of history - and nothing more. He let out the demons of his soul, embodying them in myths. The Christian lets myths into his soul, embodying them in demons. Original sin affects each of us. The crucifixion of Christ affects each of us...” (André Malraux)*. The Christian religion is human, not inhuman. The drama is not played out in the outside world, fate does not threaten from the outside, as Homer and Aeschylus thought; the outside world is neutral, drama and rock live inside a person. The dogma of original sin denounces the presence in the soul of every person of the animal nature. The child is born wild, greedy; if he were not so weak, he would be cruel. Our first impulse is to kill. But the idea of redemption is just as true. Man is not just a beast. God was embodied in man, "Man and God merge in a free man" (Alain *). This is the source of our torments, but this is also the reason for our victories.
I acknowledge the existence of a higher principle in man. “No animal could do what I did,” Guillaume said, and in fact, a person is capable of selfless heroic deeds that are by no means dictated by animal instincts and even contradict them. "Nothing forces us to be noble, kind, merciful and courageous."
There are only two ways to rule - chopping people's heads or counting them by their heads. A state where heads are cut off follows the path of violence. Around one dictator, a company of killers gathers, misunderstood called a party, although it looks much more like a pack of wolves. This mode of government is cruel, weak, short-lived. Forgetting about justice, the sovereign ruler sows destruction around him and sheds rivers of blood. Omnipotence corrupts him, even if he is naturally honest. The intuition of all is better than the wisdom of the most ingenious loner.
Of course, the cynic will reply that the pressure of public opinion, vanity or shame have the same effect on man and wolf, since both are herd animals. But this point of view is vulnerable - it cannot explain the behavior of the sages, heroes, the righteous. There are a number of cases where herd mentality and vanity could get along with hypocrisy and concern for saving one's own skin, and a person nevertheless chooses a different path and does the “right thing”. Why is he doing this? I believe, because he obeys the voice of some higher principle, constantly living in his soul. "Man is infinitely superior to man." Moreover, there is no doubt that this beginning, which can be called superhuman, since it moves a person to acts that run counter to his personal benefit and the interests of his clan, is present in the minds of every person and makes his demands on him, unless he deceives himself or others. . I am ready to call this common human conscience God, but my God is not transcendent, but immanent. “So you deny the existence of a transcendent god and a providence that determines the course of earthly events?” I do not deny anything, however, I repeat, I have never seen traces of the influence of the transcendental will in the surrounding world.
"But aren't you afraid to live in an indifferent world that the gods have abandoned?" I must confess, not at all scary; I will say more, for my taste it is much calmer to remain alone than to be forever surrounded by the gods, as in Homeric times. In my opinion, it is more comforting for a sailor caught in a storm to consider the storm a game of blind forces with which he must fight, calling on all his knowledge and courage, than to think that he has somehow inadvertently incurred the wrath of Neptune, and in vain to seek means appease the god of the seas.
Perhaps, in comparison with the Greek of Homeric times, we are alone - after all, we are not accompanied by immortal satellites, telling us what to do and holding our fate in their hands, but after all, luck awaited the ancient Greek navigator, in fact, only in the case when he acted. He rowed, taxied, maneuvered. It is also available to us. Only we do it better, because we know much more. We have learned, obeying nature, to control it. In the struggle with the huge world around him, Ulysses could only rely on his own hands and a fair wind. We conquered and put to our service forces that he did not even suspect existed: steam, electricity, chemical and nuclear reactions. Almost everything that the heroes of the Iliad and the Thousand and One Nights asked the gods and genies, we learned to do ourselves. Our world is not chaotic, it obeys strict laws, and not the whims of fortune, so we have acquired such power over it that our ancestors never dreamed of.
Science can give man much of what nature denied him: it cures diseases, regulates the birth rate, increases agricultural and industrial production so much that it seems as if people all over the globe are about to live without worries and in complete contentment.
Even at the beginning of our century, the most knowledgeable people seemed to have every reason to think that a new Golden Age was coming and all that remained was to eliminate inequality and injustice. They believed that the day was not far off when the main task would be not production, but distribution. In fact, the Golden Age turned out to be the Age of Fire and Shame. Despite their knowledge and power, modern people are more unhappy than ever. “How did pure gold turn into contemptible lead?” While therapy and surgery fought for the life of a person and eased his torment, the war, which had become cruel as never before, brought unimaginable suffering to the peoples. Man used his power over nature not for creation, but for destruction. Politics and economics have not kept pace with the development of physics and biology. New inventions fell into the hands of people who could not cope with them and put them at their service.
Frightened, unhappy, these people became like their distant ancestors and, attributing supernatural power to their fears and hopes, peopled the indifferent world with gods and monsters... Is there really nothing for us to hope for, will the unfortunate human race destroy itself along with the planet that serves as a haven for it?
I believe that disaster can be avoided. I repeat once again: the world is indifferent, the world is neutral. No vengeful fate hides behind black clouds, threatening us with death. The salvation of mankind is in the hands of mankind itself. There have often been cases in history when it seemed to desperate people that everything was lost. After the invasion of the barbarians and the fall of the Roman Empire, more than one pessimist, looking at the ruins of the Gallic or Breton cities and the disasters of the people, must have said to himself: "Now the human race will never again live in joy and contentment." And yet monasteries grew up in the middle of the forests; the monks began to cultivate the virgin land and nurture virgin minds; great men made an attempt to revive the great states. They succeeded. Our task is easier - we have to save from death a still living and in many respects prosperous civilization. We are not sure of success, because a madness impulse can reach those groups of people over which we have no influence, and they will blow up the globe. But still we can - albeit indirectly - influence them. The firmness of our convictions, the speed of our decisions will disarm those who threaten the future of mankind.
I believe that the latest discoveries will put an end to the closed life of individual peoples. Modern means of communication make it possible to govern territories much larger than the former states. Modern military technology is too powerful to be worth taking the risk of attacking each other.
Civilizations are like "enchanted castles". They exist only as long as we believe in them. International organizations will become a powerful force if they are recognized by the citizens of all countries of the world. I believe that it is the duty of all writers, scientists and statesmen in our day to convince people of the necessity of creating such organizations. To be or not to be the globe - that is the choice we face. Either we will shake hands with each other, or we will destroy each other in an atomic war.
As for domestic politics, I believe in protecting democratic freedoms and human rights. I believe in them for two reasons. First, I believe that without freedom there can be no question of human dignity or the happiness of members of society. Living under police surveillance, shuddering at every rustle, fearing arrest, exile or death, being afraid to utter an extra word, constantly hiding your thoughts - this is not life. Secondly, I believe that freedom is the key to the strength of the state. Totalitarian states are colossi with feet of clay; they look powerful only because of their propaganda, their ability to nip any conflict in the bud, the speed and secrecy of political actions. The totalitarian regime misleads only the romantics and the weak in spirit, who take the tyrant for a savior. But after a long struggle, freedom triumphs: this happened both in 1918 and in 1945.
In a free country, the decisions of the authorities are constantly criticized. This criticism is harsh, sometimes even unfair, but it is useful. It helps correct mistakes. The tyrant never corrects his mistakes, because he hears only the voices of flatterers. As for the means of protecting liberty, I have nothing new to offer. The state of horror and anxiety in which many human beings live today in many countries powerfully reminds us of the urgent need to return to peoples the rule of law, which is the basis of happiness. Of course, every society needs a police force to keep order, and the police are not meant to be gentle. But a person can feel safe only under the protection of certain laws. I believe that these laws must be respected, and that the society that remains faithful to them will be the most durable.
The first of these laws is the separation of powers. The executive branch has no right to exert pressure on the legislative branch. Members of the court must be appointed for life - otherwise ambition will not give them rest. A small number of highly paid and equal judges - this is the English system. Experience has shown that it justifies itself. The second law is the presence of a jury trial. Even if the jurors are sometimes guided by political or parochial predilections - if they are elected from all segments of the population, the defendant is much more likely to be tried fairly. In no case can one arbitrarily replace some jurors with others, nor hold meetings without a quorum. Third Law: Until proven guilty, a suspect must be presumed innocent. He can only be arrested if, while at large, he threatens public safety. The arrested person must immediately appear before the court, which, if the crime is not proven, will restore his freedom.
I listed the legal guarantees of freedom. The guarantee of these guarantees is political freedom. I call a free or democratic state where the minority recognizes the power of the majority, honestly won in the course of elections, because they know that, having come to power, the majority will respect the interests of all citizens, regardless of their beliefs. "There are only two ways to rule," Kipling said, "chopping people's heads or counting their heads." A state where heads are cut off follows the path of violence. A handful of like-minded people can, relying on armed gangs or ruthless police, inspire such fear in their political opponents that they will immediately leave the scene. Around one dictator, a company of killers gathers, misunderstood called a party, although it looks much more like a pack of wolves. Both ancient and modern history testify that this method of government is cruel, weak, short-lived. Forgetting about justice, the sovereign ruler sows destruction around him and sheds rivers of blood. Omnipotence corrupts him, even if he is naturally honest. Even if he himself were even a saint, his successor would certainly turn out to be a monster. This system has been tried hundreds of times, and every time the case ended in failure. Caesar and Napoleon were people of rare intelligence and generosity. Nevertheless, Caesar was killed, and Napoleon, famous for so many victories, led France to defeat. The intuition of all is better than the wisdom of the most ingenious loner. The existence of the opposition is the main guarantee of democratic freedoms. That is my political credo.
As for private life, I believe that courage, honesty, fidelity, mercy have not lost their value and attractiveness even today. “Loyalty for a man is like a cage for a tiger. It is contrary to his nature,” said Bernard Shaw. I agree, but virtues are not inherent in us by nature. All of them are the fruits of human will, the results of self-improvement. Why, even left alone, without the help and support of the gods, a person does not lose his moral sense and does not give free rein to his animal instincts? Because he knows that only those who trust people, who are connected with them by strong bonds of love, friendship, marriage, patriotism survive in an indifferent universe. Morality is unknown to the outside world, but nothing prevents a person from creating his own world and living in harmony with himself and with the people he respects, according to the laws that give peace of mind and self-esteem.
It is not easy to cultivate a sense of duty, the ability to make a commitment and fulfill it. Both our soul and body are stained with original sin; they are eternally tormented by unrighteous desires, greed, hatred. I see two ways to resist temptation. First, be true to your beliefs, no matter what the cost. There are no petty betrayals. To calmly listen to how your friend is vilified is already a betrayal. “In that case,” they will object to me, “we are all traitors.” No, because friendship is a rare and precious thing and should not be confused with ordinary acquaintances made for profit or entertainment. True friendship is selfless and sublime.
It is better to choose a political position once and for all and remain loyal to your party, no matter what mistakes its members make, than to change your views every day depending on changes in the political situation. Anyone who wants to renounce his convictions will always find reasons for this. It was not for nothing that Alain called the mind a public girl.
Alain also spoke about the fact that "it is necessary to put the lower in the foundation of the higher." Therefore, the second way to remain true to duty is to take obligations, not based on abstract reasoning, but in accordance with one's nature and temperament. So that our flesh does not prevent us from fulfilling our duties, let us take it as an ally. The effectiveness of this method is visible in the example of marriage.
People founded the first unit of society - the married couple - on instinct, on carnal desire. For a long time I thought that marital fidelity was against human nature. In marriage, desire is blunted; people change; novelty attracts them. I was wrong: fidelity is not contrary to human nature in general, but only to the animal nature that lives in man. He who is able to overcome the power of instinct, to remain faithful to his obligation, to turn love into friendship, finds happiness in the union of souls, hearts and bodies, which more than rewards him for his sacrifice.
Everything said about marriage applies to other ties that bind people together. No one chooses a friend for some abstract reason. "For he is he, and I am me." Friendship, like love, is based on the kinship of souls. To recognize this relationship, as a rule, it is necessary to get to know the person quite closely. Brings life together. In a lyceum, a regiment, a prisoner of war camp, a trade union, a political party - wherever people communicate closely, live by common interests, confide their secrets to each other, they find friends.
Having moved to Paris, a person should not forget his village, his province. The connection with the native soil gives strength. Love for the “small motherland” does not drown out love for the “big” motherland. Quite the opposite. Love for the “big motherland” is made up of attachments to the “small” homeland ...
The human desire to build their own reliable and lasting world against the blind elements is wonderful. Sometimes a person succeeds, albeit not for long, but more often he fails. Not everyone is lucky enough to love with all their hearts, to find a devoted friend. Those to whom this is not given find refuge in the pursuit of art.
Art is an attempt to create another, more human world next to the real world. Man knows two types of tragedy. He suffers from the fact that the world around him is indifferent to him, and from his impotence to change this world. It is painful for him to feel the approach of a storm or war and to know that it is not in his power to prevent evil. Man suffers from the fate that lives in his soul. He is oppressed by a futile struggle with desires or despair, the inability to understand himself. Art is a balm for his spiritual wounds. Sometimes the real world is likened to a work of art. We often understand without words both the sunset and the revolutionary procession. Both have their own beauty. The artist, on the other hand, arranges and subjugates nature. He transforms her and makes her the way a man would have created her, "if he were a god." Racine clothes the most painful passions in the strict, pure forms of his verse. Bossuet lulls death itself with the measured swaying of its long periods*. Arriving at the theater, the viewer finds himself in a new world created for him by the author of the play, designer, actors. He knows that he will see his own dramas here, but they will be ennobled. Ars est homo additus naturae [Art is man plus nature (lat.).]. Art needs a man; this man is an artist.
Similar to us, he is trying to create for us an orderly, intelligible world for us. But art also needs nature, the rampant elements and passions, the inexorable course of time; the contemplation of the abstract order alone will not arouse any feelings in us. We wish to see in a work of art nature transfigured by the human spirit. Where there is no nature, the artist has nothing to transform.
There is no art without passion. This applies to both the artist and the viewer. Beethoven would not have written his symphonies if his life had not been full of suffering: one who has lived a cloudless life will not understand Beethoven's symphonies. We understand poets and musicians insofar as they are close to us in spirit. Valerie, who did not experience Pascal's hopeless anguish, did not understand the greatness of his creations *, and we, who share Valerie's sorrowful humility, with pleasure recognize in the "Sea Cemetery" our own feelings, clothed in perfect form. I believe that a person cannot live without poetry. People are drawn to different forms of art, because they are overcome by different passions and anxieties, but they all need the artist to create a world intelligible to man. I believe that beautiful paintings, beautiful dramas and beautiful novels are as necessary to mankind as wise laws or religious rites. I believe that an artist, creating his own world, saves himself and others.
Finally, I do not believe that we will be rewarded for virtues and punished for vices in the next world; Quite often, though not always, we are rewarded in this world. I don't know if we have an immortal soul. In my opinion, it is unlikely that a person's thought continued to exist after the disappearance of his senses, because thoughts are the result of sensations. However, the mechanisms of memory are still far from sufficiently studied, so that, perhaps, eternal sleep exists. Whatever it is, I'm not afraid of death. Those who await it with fear are haunted by the thought of a world where they will be both present and absent at the same time. They imagine their wife, their children, their home after their death and assign themselves the role of a spectator, looking from the outside at the suffering of loved ones. But death cannot be imagined, for it is the absence of images. It is impossible to think about it, because with it all thoughts disappear.
Therefore, we need to live as if we were immortal. Which - not for the whole human race, but for each person individually - is deeply true.
Notes
Lecomte du Nuy, Pierre (1883-1947) - French biologist.
“Christianity has made a revolution ... The crucifixion of Christ affects each of us ...” (André Malraux). - Quote from the memoir "The Hazels of Altenburg" (published in 1948) by André Malraux (1901-1976).
Alain (real name Emile Auguste Chartier, 1868-1951) is a French philosopher and literary critic who had a huge impact on Mauroy's worldview. The main work is "Judgments" (published in 1956).
“Bossuet lulls death itself with the measured swaying of its long periods” - We are talking about oral sermons and “Tombstone speeches” (1669) Bussuet (Jacques Benigne, 1627-1704); the style of these works is considered a model of oratory.
“Valery, who did not experience the hopeless longing of Pascal, did not understand the greatness of his creations ...” - The worldview of Paul Valery (1871-1945) is opposite to the philosophical concept of Blaise Pascal (1623-1662). Valerie is tormented by the thought of the tragic impotence of the human mind to penetrate into the essence of things. Pascal sees the tragedy of man in the original inconsistency of his essence: the power of his mind, capable of knowing the world, is opposed by the insignificance of his nature, unable to overcome passions and suffering.
They say that the times are not the same, the values of a person become obsolete and take on a different form. I can say with confidence that times are not a creator for goodness, truth. They never change, no matter what era we enter, it will always be nice to hear the truth, to know that you are sincerely loved, valued in friendship. But sometimes a person's values can be distorted in the mind.
Bible teaching
The Bible is rightfully considered the most popular and best-selling bestseller in the world. The wisest of the wise, she is able to instill love for man, freedom, goodness. It is impossible to say with certainty that God does not exist, but this does not diminish the significance of the book. Remember the parables that teach you to love and forgive by practicing forgiveness. Perhaps the Bible was written not so much about God as trying to unite us by faith in a single and eternal person. How many millennia have passed since the book was written, how many generations have changed, what a high level of development humanity has reached - and sincere, pure love is still considered the most noble of feelings.
Do we follow spiritual values
In the daily turmoil, the modern world, where you need to carve out a place for yourself in the sun, we sometimes forget about human values. Education plays a key role in shaping attitudes and priorities. Family members, by their example, show the little person what they believe in, what they value and respect. It is important that words are always backed by actions. Having flown away from the family nest, under the influence of friends or external circumstances, a person often changes priorities. Only when we lose people who love us, we turn to God and the Bible, pointing out our mistakes. The current era is called a return to morality, spiritual values. Animal protection and conservation of nature, charity and donation to the children of poor countries.
Undoubtedly, this is a feat on the part of mankind. But the insidious question arises as to whether this is selfishness. We take care of nature in order to prevent her revenge in the form of cataclysms, and not because we are sorry We donate huge sums to the benefit of the poor in order to avoid taxes, and a good name will not hurt. Giving a penny to a grandmother sitting near the crossing is considered an oddity: "I did not earn money by hard work in order to give it to her." It is also not our duty to give way to a pregnant woman in transport. But these small, at first glance, actions say what human values are embedded in us.
We and those around us
When asked what feelings and qualities we value most, many talk about what they would like to see in others. In most cases, a person's values are honesty, sincerity, love, devotion, and the need for a person to be needed. We demand honesty from others, but are we always honest with them? We want to be needed, but do something for this? The moral values of a person lie in their extortion from others, without thinking why others should give us what we are not able to give in return.
A person needs to learn a lesson: we always get what we deserve. In order for changes to occur in relations with a person, start changing something in yourself, forgive the offender if you value him. Only the strong can forgive an offense, and Forgiveness is the smell that a flower emits when it is trampled on.
Revealing values is important for every person. When a child grows up, he realizes what values are most important to him.
The concept of values
Values are those phenomena and objects that are most important for a person. Moreover, phenomena can be material and spiritual. It is important to note that the values of a certain society or person speak for themselves - for this reason, the topic of values is especially relevant in times of transition of social development.
Often, value is considered as a useful item that can satisfy the needs of a person and his ideals. Value can be called a kind of guide in the life of every person, and even if the value is presented in the form of an intangible object - in the form of faith and love - it is also real and can act as a life guide for a certain group of people.
In many ways, it is the ideals and values that determine the behavior of a person, the motives of his actions and the direction of his thoughts.
Eternal values
There are values that are commonly called universal. These are the values that are important at all times and are important for all people. These include freedom, truth, beauty, justice, goodness and usefulness.
These are the values that are important for a spiritually developed person. And at all times, for all nations and for all kinds of societies, these values have been eternal.
Family values are also important. This is loyalty and devotion, love for children and their loved ones. There are transient values that change along with the cultural and spiritual development of society.
What are the values of today's teenagers? Most of all, teenagers admire fictional characters who prefer to take care of other, weaker people. This type of hero has a sense of collectivism - community with other members of society.
It is important that such heroes simply cannot remain indifferent to the suffering of others, they sympathize with the weak and try to help them. This shows their moral values.
But for those who are older, for example, students, it is more interesting to watch the heroes who have already achieved something in their lives. They are interested in the real values of modern life, not fairy-tale characters. Such heroes are more interested in material gain and stability.
But it is on eternal values that the world rests. And no matter what happens in the world, no matter what technological and material innovations are invented, eternal values play an important role in the life of every person.
Without them, a person cannot develop spiritually and feel morally satisfied. In goodness and truth, justice and honesty, the fullness of a person’s life will be revealed, and even if his ideals are material and not distinguished by high morality, he comes to the realization that it is impossible to live life with dignity without the highest values.
Most often, such values manifest themselves in transitional historical periods, during wars or revolutions, when people need to build a new world and a new way of life.
Course 2
Group
Lesson 13
Theme: The Eternal Values of Humanity
Target: expansion of students' ideas about the eternal values of mankind, about spiritual and material values, about the purpose of human life as the comprehension of higher spiritual values; the formation of independent living skills, the socialization of the individual; deepening students' ideas about knowledge, about the sources of human knowledge, about the variety of ways of knowing the world, about achieving the wisdom and significance of the process of self-knowledge.
Tasks:
- reveal the meaning and versatility of the concepts of "value", "universal values", "spiritual values", "material values";
- develop the ability to see value in people, events, circumstances;
- develop the ability to successfully make decisions, take initiative;
- to cultivate a respectful attitude to universal values, the spiritual experience of mankind;
- educate sensitivity in the perception of reality.
IN THIS HOUSE THEY...
Henrik Ibsen
In this house they lived quietly together
Both autumn and winter.
But there was a fire. And the house crumbled
And they bowed over the ashes.
There, under it, a golden casket was kept,
Fireproof durable, imperishable.
They dug the earth with a shovel, crushed it with a pickaxe,
To find a precious treasure.
And they find, these two people,
Necklace, pendants, wrists, -
She can't find only her burnt faith.
And to him - his former happiness.
Slide talk
Slide 1 - Discussion of the epigraph.
Scale of values
1500 respondents: out of 20 valuable colored words, it was necessary to choose the 5 most important ones
Now you choose for yourself the 5 most significant values for you. And then let's see how your choice coincided with the choice of the respondents.
1. Family-
2. Marriage -
3. Money-
4. Friendship -
5. Love -
6. Career -
7. Success -
8. Independence -
9. Stability -
10. Professionalism-
11. Justice -
12. Self-realization -
13. Freedom -
14. Comfort-
15. Self-development -
16. Entertainment -
17. Conscience -
18. Motherland -
19. Spirituality -
20. Creativity -
1. Family-48%
2. Marriage -45%
3. Money-38%
4. Friendship - 42%
5. Love - 28%
6. Career - 27%
7. Success - 24%
8. Independence - 22%
9. Stability - 19%
10. Professionalism - 19%
11. Justice - 15%
12. Self-realization - 15%
13. Freedom - 12%
14. Comfort - 10%
15. Self-development - 10%
16. Entertainment - 8%
17. Conscience - 8%
18. Motherland - 7%
19. Spirituality - 6%
20. Creativity - 5%
“The rich man has no count of cattle and gold, But the poor man has a winged dream.”
Kyrgyz proverb
POVERTY AND WEALTH
Eastern parable
Once Poverty and Wealth argued among themselves which of them is more beautiful. For a long time they could not resolve this issue on their own, so they decided to turn to the first person they met.
“Let the first man we meet resolve our dispute,” they decided and set off forward along the road.
Towards them was a middle-aged man. He did not immediately notice that Poverty and Wealth jumped towards him from both sides.
- Only you can resolve our dispute! - they chattered. - Tell me which one of us is prettier!
- That's trouble! - the man thought to himself, - I will say that Poverty is more beautiful, Wealth will be offended and leave me. And if I say that Wealth, then Poverty can get angry and attack me. What to do?
The man thought a little and says to them:
- I can’t tell right away when you are standing still. You first walk a little along the road back and forth, and I'll take a look.
Poverty and Wealth began to walk along the road. And so it will pass, and so on. Everyone wants to look better.
- Well? they shouted at last with one voice. - Which of us is more beautiful?
The man smiled at them and replied:
- You, Poverty, are very beautiful and charming from the back when you leave!
And you, Wealth, are simply excellent when you turn your face and come!
slide 2 discussion
The game "Buy - sell" - slide 3, 4
Slide number 5 - conclusion on the game
Legend - slide 6, 7.
Spiritual values are a kind of moral capital of mankind, accumulated over millennia, which not only does not depreciate, but, as a rule, increases.
Material values are the result of human activity (contribute to people's lives):
The simplest (food, clothing, housing, household items and public consumption);
higher order (tools and material means of production).
Material values are not primitive things. They are designed to evoke high feelings in a person. But they also have practical significance - they influence with their table of contents the life of an individual and society as a whole.
The next section “Assignment” will acquaint students with the opinions of the Internet forum participants, will allow the teacher to determine the depth of students' understanding of the importance of spiritual values. Nicky (names) of forum participants are left in the textbook, as is customary in the Internet zone.
Read the opinions of the Internet forum participants on the topic: “What is more important: spiritual or material values?”. What opinion do you share? Why?
NOP. Why do I need money without internal harmony, but why do I need internal harmony with a crust of bread and a glass of water? Everything must be balanced.
Exvoormindin. For myself, I am looking for material values, because I have already identified moral values and ideas for myself. In other people, in turn, I am looking for spiritual values. You can't talk to a bag of gold
Maripa 82. Material values refer to the values that determine the daily needs of a person, say, to things. Unlike material values, spiritual values correspond to mental, emotional and volitional abilities, or Truth, Goodness and Beauty. I think that the spiritual is more important, remember when you had a bad heart, is it possible to think about money at the moment. Appreciate spiritual values, then you will have material ones.
Silence. Money gives a person comfort and confidence in tomorrow. But you can't buy happiness if you had at least all the money in the world. I do not believe those who think otherwise.
DesTincT. Life shows the opposite... It's one thing to think that spiritual values are more important to you, but it's another thing to follow these convictions. Agree, few people want to link their fate with a low-income person - this is natural ...
Lizbur. We are important and spiritual, and material, and eternal values. Thanks to them we exist.
Slide 8 - complete the sentence. Discussion.
The circle "From Heart to Heart" completes the theme "The Eternal Values of Humanity". In the textbook, in this section, a poem by the poetess Maya Borisova is offered. It can be read to a group of students. Draw students' attention to the fact that we can give a price to everyone that is in a person's life, that there are universal human values that are equally equal for everyone, and values that a person defines for himself. The worldview and worldview of a person depend on the depth of personal values and the correctness of priorities.
Maya Borisova
There are values that have no price:
A piece of paper with Pushkin's drawing,
The first textbook in the first school bag
And letters from those who did not return from the war.
There are values - which have no price.
The tight folds of a marble tunic
At the thin legs of the Nike of Samothrace,
And the wings, which are absent, are visible.
There are values \u200b\u200b- themselves are more valuable.
Transparent stone from a small beach,
But at night they kiss him, crying.
What is comparable to him - the gifts of the kings?
You can not tell another: so live!
But if you are busy with one concern -
Acquire something tangible
You are not worthy of anger or love.
May all your herds be whole!
Living in petty calculations -
Do well! Don't just try
On values that have no price.
