Barry Schwartz, psychologist, specialist in the psychology of choice, gave a very interesting mini-lecture () on the topic of the difficulty of choice and hypothesized that the difficulty of choice is one of the main reasons why depression is so common now, and why people feel unhappy. The topic is so important and interesting that very I advise you to read it in its entirety. Well, for those who do not have time, I will give here the key theses and conclusions.

It is traditionally believed that the more options for a person to choose from, the better, the freer and happier a person will be. But the second part of the statement, about happiness, turns out to be completely wrong. In practice, it really works out better for a person when he has many options, but the more options, the less satisfaction he experiences as a result of his choice, and the less happy he is. And if there are too many options, then the so-called choice paralysis, in which the choice will be endlessly postponed until tomorrow, from this there will be tension, then feelings of anxiety, guilt and, ultimately, depression.

And this applies to all situations of choice in life: from choosing a morning outfit and buying a new phone to choosing a profession, a spouse, a pension fund, options for treating a serious illness.

The abundance of options causes 3 negative effects, forming a vicious vicious circle:
1. Exceeding expectations. With an abundance of options to choose from, it seems that you can certainly choose an option that will satisfy us completely and completely. And the more options, the easier the problem seems to be solved, and the higher our expectations from the chosen option.
2. Frustration and guilt. The existence of an ideal option is, of course, an illusion. Any option has flaws, even if they are not visible at the time of selection. But when it turns out that the chosen option is not ideal, then another illusion arises - that the wrong choice was made! The best now seems to be some other, not chosen option. This results in disappointment and guilt due to the wrong choice.
3. Expect disappointment. When the situation described in paragraphs 1 and 2 is repeated many times, a person gets used to the fact that any of his choices brings disappointment. Here a third illusion arises - that he does not know how to make the right decisions, that he is stupid and unlucky. As a result - underestimation of self-esteem, delay in making decisions, avoiding decisions, loss of joy from life, anxiety, depression.

Barry Schwartz believes that this vicious circle is one of the main causes of depression in the modern world. Perhaps it is difficult to disagree with him.

And finally, the main secret of happiness from Barry Schwartz: FINALLY LEARN TO LOWER YOUR UNREAL EXPECTATIONS!

Parameter name	Meaning
Article subject:	Modern world
Rubric (thematic category)	Politics

The modern world is indeed contradictory. On the one hand, there are positive phenomena and trends. The nuclear missile confrontation between the great powers and the division of earthlings into two antagonistic camps are over. Many nations of Eurasia, Latin America and other regions, which had previously lived in conditions of lack of freedom, entered the path of democracy and market reforms.

A post-industrial society is being formed at an increasing pace, ĸᴏᴛᴏᴩᴏᴇ is fundamentally rebuilding the entire way of life of mankind: advanced technologies are constantly updated, a single global information space is emerging, a person with his high educational and professional level becomes the mainspring of progress. International economic ties are deepening and diversifying.

Integration associations in various parts of the world are gaining more and more weight, turning into a significant factor not only in the world economy, but also in military security, political stability, and peacekeeping. The number and functions of international institutions and mechanisms in the UN system are growing, pulling humanity into one whole, promoting the interdependence of states, nations, people. There is a globalization of the economic, and after that the political life of mankind.

But just as obvious are phenomena and trends of a completely different order, provoking disunity, contradictions and conflicts. The entire post-Soviet space is going through a painful process of adaptation to new geopolitical, ideological and economic realities. The situation in the Balkans exploded after decades of calm, painfully

recalling the events that led to the outbreak of the First World War. Conflicts flare up on other continents. There are attempts to split the international community into closed military-political blocs, competing economic groups, competing religious and nationalist movements. The phenomena of terrorism, separatism, drug trafficking, and organized crime have reached planetary proportions. The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction continues, and environmental threats are on the rise.

Globalization, along with new opportunities for socio-economic progress and the expansion of human contacts, also creates new dangers, especially for lagging states. There is a growing risk of their economy and information system being dependent on outside influences. The likelihood of large-scale financial and economic crises is growing. Natural and man-made disasters are becoming global in nature, and the ecological imbalance is aggravated. Many problems are spinning out of control, outstripping the ability of the world community to respond to them in a timely and effective manner.

The fact that a new, stable system of international relations has not yet taken shape exacerbates friction and contradictions. In this regard, in the scientific and political environment, alarmist scenarios for the development of world politics are born and become widespread - they predict, in particular, clashes between civilizations (Western, Chinese, Islamic, East Slavic, etc.), regions, the rich North and the poor South, even the total collapse of states and the return of humanity to its primitive state are predicted.

There are, however, reasons to believe that in the XXI century. sovereign states will remain the main actors on the world stage, and life on earth will continue to be determined by the relationship between them. States will continue to cooperate or compete in accordance with their interests, which are complex, multifaceted, diverse and do not always coincide with civilizational, regional and other vectors. Ultimately, the capabilities and positions of states will continue to be based on their combined power.

To this day, only one superpower has survived: the United States, and it begins to seem to many that the era of unlimited American domination of "Paque America-on" is coming. The United States undoubtedly has reason to claim the role of the most powerful center of power in the long term. Οʜᴎ have accumulated an impressive economic, military, scientific, technical, information and cultural potential, which is projected onto all the main spheres of life in the modern world. At the same time, America has a growing desire to lead others. The American official doctrine proclaims the existence of a US zone of influence in the world (the so-called core zone), which is supposed to eventually include the vast majority of states. The United States is favored in this policy by the fact that alternative social models (socialism, a non-capitalist path of development) are depreciated at this stage, have lost their attractiveness, and many countries voluntarily copy the United States and accept its leadership.

However, the world will not become unipolar. First of all, the United States does not have enough financial and technical resources for this. Moreover, the unprecedented protracted recovery of the American economy will not last forever, it will sooner or later be interrupted by a depression, and this will inevitably diminish Washington's ambitions on the world stage. Secondly, there is no unity in the United States in matters of foreign strategy, voices are clearly heard against overloading the United States with international obligations, interfering in anything and everything. Thirdly, there are states that not only resist American influence, but are capable of being leaders themselves. This is, first of all, China, which is rapidly gaining total state power, in the longer term - India, possibly a united Europe, Japan. At some stage, ASEAN, Turkey, Iran, South Africa, Brazil, etc. can make an application for leadership on a regional scale.

As for Russia, despite the difficulties it is experiencing, it does not intend to enter the zone of foreign influence. Moreover, our state has the necessary potential to gradually turn into a prosperous and respected center of power in a multipolar world - this is a huge territory, and colossal natural, scientific, technical and human resources, and an advantageous geographical position, and military power, and traditions, and the will to lead, and, finally, the demand for Russia as an influential power in various regions of the globe (CIS, Middle East, Asia-Pacific, Latin America).

The movement towards multipolarity is a real and natural process, because it reflects the will of established or prospective centers of power. At the same time, the transitional period, being associated with a struggle for influence, with a change in the balance of power, is fraught with conflicts. There are no guarantees that the rivalry between major powers and associations of states will automatically disappear after the formation of a new system of international relations. It is known from history that the multipolar system created as a result of the First World War did not prevent the unleashing of a new, even more destructive conflict two decades later.

No one knows how the new centers of power will behave in the 21st century, feeling their own superiority. Their relations with medium and small countries may well continue to carry a charge of conflict due to the latter's unwillingness to submit to someone else's will. This can be seen in the current US relations with North Korea, Cuba, Iraq, Iran, and so on. It is also characteristic that even those countries that voluntarily enter the zones of influence of centers of power are much more energetic in defending their rights than in the era of the Cold War. Thus, the Europeans are still ready to cooperate with the United States, but at the same time they are strengthening regional institutions, thinking about purely continental defense efforts, refusing to "march to the American drums" in all matters. Quite a few differences and disagreements exist between Washington and its partners in Latin America, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. There are problems in the relations of China, Russia, Japan, India with their smaller neighbors.

Another reality of the modern world, which will obviously remain in the 21st century, is the contradictions between the medium and small states themselves. After the end of the Cold War, their number even increased due to the elimination of the former bloc discipline, when the superpowers kept their wards "in check", the absence of regional leaders in a number of regions of the globe (primarily in Africa and the Middle East), the collapse of the USSR and Yugoslavia.

Mankind enters the new millennium with the burden of numerous territorial, religious-ethnic, ideological disputes. Conflicts, as before, can give rise to such motives as the struggle for resources, ecology, migration, refugees, terrorism, possession of nuclear weapons, etc.

A distinctive feature of the current era is the presence of a significant number of states that are experiencing serious internal difficulties. Moreover, as the recent financial crisis in Asia showed, dynamic economic systems are not immune to disruption either. The threat to stability in the state can come from the political system - both totalitarian, sooner or later doomed to collapse, and democratic. Rapid democratization gave free rein to various destructive processes: from separatism to racism, from terrorism to the breakthrough of mafia structures to the levers of state power. It is also obvious that knots of religious and ethnic contradictions persist even in the most developed countries. At the same time, internal problems are increasingly breaking out beyond state borders, invading the sphere of international relations. Despite, however, the high potential for conflict remaining in the modern world, there is still reason to look into the 21st century. with a certain optimism. Inspires him, first of all, the already mentioned growing interdependence of states. Gone are the days when large countries struggled to bleed each other. Russia does not want the US economy to collapse or unrest to spread throughout China. In both cases, our interests will suffer. Chaos in Russia or China will hit America equally.

The interdependence of the modern world will continue to grow under the influence of factors such as:

the accelerating revolution in the means of transport and communications, in microelectronics;

the ever more complete inclusion in world relations of the former communist countries, as well as the PRC, the states of the ʼʼthird worldʼʼ, which have abandoned the non-capitalist path of development;

unprecedented liberalization of world economic relations and, as a result, deepening of interaction between the national economies of most states;

internationalization of financial and production capital (now transnational corporations control 1/3 of the assets of all private companies);

the common tasks of humanity to counter the growing threats of a global nature: terrorism, drug trafficking, organized crime, nuclear proliferation, famine, environmental disasters.

The internal development of any state now depends on the external environment, support and assistance of other "players" on the world stage, in this regard, globalization, with all its flaws, "pitfalls", dangers, is preferable to the complete disunity of states.

The mitigation of contradictions in the international arena should be facilitated by democratization, which has covered a significant part of the planet. States that adhere to similar ideological attitudes have fewer grounds for mutual contradictions and more opportunities to overcome them peacefully.

The cessation of the arms race between the "superpowers" and their blocs, the realization of the danger of a reckless buildup of nuclear missile potential contribute to the demilitarization of the world community. And this is a factor that also contributes to the harmonization of international relations.

Reasons for optimism are also provided by the fact that in the era of globalization the system of international law is being improved, its norms are increasingly recognized. Most modern states subscribe to such concepts as renunciation of aggression, peaceful resolution of conflicts, obedience to the decisions of the UN Security Council and other international institutions, combating racism, respect for the rights of peoples and human rights, elective governments, their accountability to the population, etc. .

Finally, another heritage of mankind on the threshold of the XXI century. - this is the already mentioned growth of the system of global and regional organizations that have a mandate to deepen interaction between states, prevent and resolve conflicts, carry out collective actions on political and economic issues, etc. The UN is a universal forum that is gradually able to evolve towards becoming a kind of world government.

If this trend continues, then there is hope that power politics and unbridled rivalry between states will begin to fade into the background.

Modern world - concept and types. Classification and features of the category "Modern World" 2017, 2018.

Every year, Ford publishes a report that analyzes key trends in consumer sentiment and behavior. The report is based on data from surveys conducted by the company among thousands of people from different countries.

Rusbase took a look at a global study and chose 5 main trends that are now defining our world.

Trend 1: A new format for the good life

In the modern world, “more” no longer always means “better,” and wealth is no longer synonymous with happiness. Consumers have learned to enjoy not the mere fact of owning something, but how this or that item affects their lives. Those who continue to flaunt their wealth only cause irritation.

"Wealth is no longer synonymous with happiness":

• India - 82%
• Germany - 78%
• China - 77%
• Australia - 71%
• Canada - 71%
• USA - 70%
• Spain - 69%
• Brazil - 67%
• UK - 64%

I get annoyed by people who flaunt their wealth»:

• 77% - respondents aged 18-29
• 80% - respondents aged 30-44
• 84% of respondents aged 45+

Real life examples confirming the growing popularity of this trend:

1. Benefit from the results of labor is more important than profit

Example 1:

Rustam Sengupta spent a significant part of his life walking towards success in the traditional way. He received a degree from one of the leading business schools and got a high-paying position in the consulting industry. And so, returning one day to his native village in India, he realized that the locals are experiencing a shortage of the simplest things, suffering from problems with electricity and the lack of clean drinking water.

In an effort to help people, he founded Boond, a non-profit company designed to develop alternative energy sources in northern India.

Example 2:

When New York City lawyer Zan Kaufman began working weekends at her brother's burger shop, trying to break up the monotony of office work, she never imagined that this case could change her life so much. After moving to London a year later, she did not send resumes to law firms, but bought herself a street food truck, starting her own company, Bleecker Street Burger.

2. Free time is the best medicine

Millennials (ages 18-34) are increasingly seeking to escape the hustle and bustle of the city and social media addiction by choosing a vacation that is more unusual and interesting than lying on the beach at an All Inclusive hotel. Instead, they want to use the holiday for health benefits, favoring yoga clubs and culinary tours in Italy.

The total volume of the world industry of such extraordinary travels is currently estimated at 563 billion dollars. In 2015 alone, more than 690 million wellness tours were organized worldwide.

Trend 2: The value of time is now measured differently

Time is no longer a valuable resource: in the modern world, punctuality is losing its appeal, and the tendency to procrastinate everything for later is considered absolutely normal.

72% of people surveyed around the world agreed with the statement "Z Activities that I used to consider a waste of time now do not seem useless to me».

Over time, the emphasis shifted and people began to recognize the need for the simplest things. For example, to the question " What do you think is the most productive pastime? the answers were as follows:

• sleep - 57%,
• sitting on the Internet - 54%,
• reading - 43%,
• watching TV - 36%,
• communication in social networks - 24%
• dreams - 19%

British students have a long tradition of taking a gap year after leaving school and before entering university (gap year) to better understand which path to choose in later life. A similar phenomenon is gaining more and more popularity among American students. According to the American Gap Association, over the past few years, the number of students who have decided to take an annual break has increased by 22%.

According to the Ford poll, 98% young people who decided to take a year off from school said the break helped them decide on their life path.

Instead of "now" or "later", people now prefer to use the word "someday", which does not reflect the specific deadlines for completing a particular task. In psychology, there is a term "procrastination" - a person's tendency to constantly postpone important matters for later.

The number of respondents around the world who agreed with the statement " Procrastination helps me develop my creativity»:

• India - 63%
• Spain - 48%
• UK - 38%
• Brazil - 35%
• Australia - 34%
• USA - 34%
• Germany - 31%
• Canada - 31%
• China - 26%

1. We can't help but be distracted by trifles.

Have you ever come across a situation where, after a few hours of searching for the necessary information on the Internet, you find yourself reading completely useless, but extremely exciting articles? We have all experienced something similar.

In this regard, the success of the Pocket application is interesting, which postpones the study of fascinating publications found in the search process for later and helps to focus on what is really important right now, but without the risk of losing sight of something interesting.

At the moment, 22 million users have already used the service, and the amount of publications deferred for later is two billion.

2. Meditation instead of punishment

Delinquent Baltimore Elementary students should no longer stay after school. Instead, the school has developed a special Holistic Me program, which invites students to do yoga or meditation to learn how to manage their emotions. Since the launch of the program in 2014, the school has not had to expel any of its students.

3. If you want employees to work efficiently, ban overtime

The working day of the Heldergroen advertising agency in the suburbs of Amsterdam always ends at exactly 18:00 and not a second later. At the end of the day, steel cables forcibly lift all desktops with computers and laptops into the air, and employees can use the freed space on the floor of the office for dancing and yoga classes to work less and enjoy life more.

“It has become a sort of ritual between work and personal life,” explains Sander Venendaal, the firm's creative director.

Trend 3: Choice has never been more pressing

Modern stores offer consumers an incredibly wide choice, which complicates the process of making a final decision, and as a result, buyers simply refuse to buy. This diversity leads to the fact that people now prefer to try many different options without buying anything.

Number of people surveyed around the world who agreed with the statement “The Internet offers a lot more options than I really need”:

• China - 99%
• India - 90%
• Brazil - 74%
• Australia - 70%
• Canada - 68%
• Germany - 68%
• Spain - 67%
• UK - 66%
• USA - 57%

With the advent of the selection process becomes non-obvious. A huge number of special offers misleads buyers.

Number of respondents who agreed with the statement “After I buy something, I begin to doubt whether I made the right choice (a)?”:

• 60% of respondents aged 18-29
• 51% of respondents aged 30-44
• 34% of respondents aged 45+

With approval “Last month, I couldn’t choose one single thing from a lot of options. In the end, I decided not to buy anything at all.” agreed:

• 49% of respondents aged 18-29
• 39% aged 30-44
• 27% aged 45+

This can be explained by the fact that with age, purchases occur more consciously and more rationally, so this kind of question arises much less often.

Real life examples confirming the growing popularity of the trend:

1. Consumers want to try everything

The desire of consumers to try out a product before buying has an impact on the electronics market. An example is the short-term gadget rental service Lumoid.

• For just $60 a week, you can take a test to see if you really need this $550 gadget.
• For $5 a day, you can also rent a quadcopter to determine which model you need.

2. The burden of credit kills the joy of using a gadget.

Expensive equipment taken on credit is increasingly no longer pleasing to millennials, even before the loan is repaid.

In this case, the Flip startup comes to the rescue, created so that people can transfer a boring purchase to other owners, along with obligations to further repay the loan. According to statistics, popular products find new owners within 30 days from the date of the announcement.

And the Roam service began to work on the real estate market, which allows you to conclude only one long-term housing lease agreement, and then at least every week choose a new place of residence for yourself on any of the three continents covered by the service. All residential properties that Roam works with are equipped with high-speed Wi-Fi networks and the most modern kitchen equipment.

Trend 4: The Other Side of Technological Progress

Is technology improving our daily lives, or just making it more difficult? Technology has really made people's lives more convenient and efficient. However, consumers are beginning to feel that technological progress has a negative side.

• 77% of respondents around the world agree with the statement " The craze for technology has led to an increase in obesity among people»
• 67% of respondents aged 18-29 confirmed that they know a person who broke up with his other half via SMS
• The use of technology not only leads to sleep disturbance, according to 78% of women and 69% of men, but also makes us dumber, according to 47% of respondents, and less polite (63%)

Real life examples confirming the growing popularity of the trend:

1. Dependence on technology exists

The recent successes of the company's projects have shown that people become addicted to watching new TV shows in the shortest possible time. 2015 shows like House of Cards and Orange Is the New New Black made viewers look forward to each new episode in their first three to five episodes, according to a global study. That being said, new series like Stranger Things and The Fire have managed to hook viewers after watching just the first two episodes.

Modern smartphones have become an important part of the lives of children who can no longer do without them even a day. American researchers have proven that the time spent on smartphones has a negative impact on school performance. Children who “sit” on mobile devices for 2-4 hours every day after school are 23% more likely to fail to complete their homework compared to their peers who are not so dependent on gadgets.

3. Cars save pedestrians

According to the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a pedestrian is hit every eight minutes in the country. Most often, such accidents occur due to the fact that pedestrians send messages on the go and do not follow the road.

To improve the safety of all road users, it is developing innovative technology that can predict people's behavior, thereby reducing the severity of the consequences of road accidents and even preventing them in some cases.

Twelve experimental Ford vehicles drove more than 800,000 kilometers on the roads of Europe, China and the United States, accumulating an array of data, with a total volume of more than a year - 473 days.

Trend 5: Change of leaders, now everything is decided not by them, but by us

Who today has the most significant impact on our lives, the environmental situation in the world, the social sphere and health care? For decades, cash flows have predominantly moved between individuals and organizations, be they government agencies or commercial enterprises.

Today we are more start to feel responsible for the correctness of decisions taken by society as a whole.

To the question " What is the main driving force that can change society for the better? The respondents responded as follows:

• 47% - Consumers
• 28% - State
• 17% - Companies
• 8% - refrained from answering

Real life examples confirming the growing popularity of the trend:

1. Business must be honest with consumers

The American online store Everlane, specializing in the sale of clothing, builds its business on the principles of maximum transparency in relationships with suppliers and customers. The creators of Everlane have abandoned the exorbitant markups that the fashion industry is famous for, and openly show on their website what the final price of each item consists of - the site displays the cost of material, labor and transportation.

2. Prices must be affordable for consumers

The international humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders is actively fighting the high cost of vaccines. It recently refused to accept a donation of one million doses of a pneumonia vaccine because the formulation was protected by a patent, which negatively affects the price of the final product and makes it inaccessible to residents of many regions of the world. With this action, the organization wants to emphasize the importance of addressing the problem of access to medicines in the long term.

3. There should be more and more services for the convenience of users

To draw attention to the service l and reduce the number of cars on the roads, Uber launched drones with advertising posters into the skies of Mexico City. The posters urged drivers stuck in traffic to consider using their own car to commute.

One of the posters read: “Riding alone in the car? That's why you can never admire the mountains around." Thus, the company wanted to draw the attention of drivers to the problem of dense smog over the city. The inscription on another poster: "The city was built for you, not for 5.5 million cars."

What does it mean?

These are already part of our lives. They show what is going on in the mind of consumers: what they think about, how they make decisions about buying a particular product. A business must carefully study the behavior of its customers and be very responsive to changes.

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With the development of mankind and under the influence of the latest technologies, new problems appear that people did not even think about before.

They accumulate and over time begin to destroy modern society spiritually and physically. Everyone has heard about the global problems of modern society, such as the depletion of minerals, the greenhouse effect, overpopulation and the deterioration of the ecological state of our planet. In addition to global difficulties, any citizen can be affected, or are already being affected, by social, moral, economic and political problems. One of them can be attributed to various kinds of dependencies. Deteriorating living standards, job loss and lack of money for many lead to stress and depression. People want to forget and try to relieve nervous tension with alcohol or drugs. However, it is not only about bad habits, alcohol abuse or drug use. Modern society, like a virus, was struck by dependence on loans, computers and the Internet, as well as drugs imposed by advertising. At the same time, it is better to get rid of some modern problems or not have them at all, it remains only to adapt to others. After all, some of them are ordinary difficulties that can be overcome and gain invaluable life experience.

“ Read also:

The most common problems in society

Social inequality. Rich and poor citizens have always been and are. However, now there is a huge gap between these segments of the population: some people have bank accounts with fabulous sums, others do not have enough money even for meat. According to the level of income society can be divided into three groups:

• Rich people (presidents, kings, politicians, cultural and art figures, big businessmen)
• Middle class (employees, doctors, teachers, lawyers)
• The poor (unskilled workers, beggars, unemployed)

Market instability in the modern world has led to the fact that a significant part of citizens live below the poverty line. As a result, the society is criminalized: robberies, robberies, fraud. However, in the absence of strongly pronounced social inequality, the number of crimes is much less.

Credit cabal. Intrusive advertising slogans, calling to take now and pay later, are firmly planted in the minds of the people. Some people sign a loan agreement without looking, so they don’t know how dangerous quick loans are. Financial illiteracy does not allow you to assess your own solvency. Such citizens have several loans that they cannot repay in a timely manner. Penalties are added to the interest rate, which can become even more than the debt.

“ Read also:

Alcoholism and drug addiction. These diseases are a dangerous social problem. The main reasons why people drink are general insecurity, unemployment and poverty. Drugs are usually taken out of curiosity or in company with friends. The intake of these substances leads to the moral degradation of the individual, destroys the body and causes fatal diseases. Alcoholics and drug addicts often have sick children. Antisocial behavior for such citizens becomes the norm. Under the influence of alcohol and drugs, they commit various crimes, which negatively affects the life of society.

Breaking away from traditional family values. The family provides the necessary psychological support to each person. However, in modern society there is a departure from the traditional family, which is associated with the promotion of homosexual relationships, which are so popular in Western countries. And the legalization of same-sex marriages in some states destroys historically established gender roles. Indeed, even in the Stone Age, a man was the main earner, and a woman was the keeper of the hearth.

Imposed diseases and medicines. Drug manufacturers need unhealthy people, because the more sick people, the better the product is sold. In order for the pharmaceutical business to bring a stable income, diseases are imposed on citizens and a stir is created. For example, the recent mass hysteria surrounding bird and swine flu was accompanied by daily media reports of new victims of the disease. Panic broke out in the world. People began to buy all kinds of medicines, vitamins, gauze bandages, which increased in price by five or six times. So the pharmaceutical industry is constantly making huge profits. At the same time, some medications do not cure, but only eliminate the symptoms, while others are addictive and help only with constant use. If a person stops taking them, the symptoms return. Therefore, citizens are unlikely to ever be offered truly effective drugs.

Virtual world. Most children have free access to a computer from an early age. They spend a lot of time in the virtual world and move away from reality: they do not want to go out, communicate with their peers, and do their homework with difficulty. Even during the holidays, schoolchildren are rarely seen on the streets. Sitting at computers, children can no longer do without a world of illusions in which they feel safe and comfortable. Computer addiction is an emerging problem in the modern world.

“ Read also:

Attacks. Terrorist acts in different parts of the world are a serious social problem. Hostage-taking, shootings, explosions in the metro and airports, undermining planes and trains claim millions of human lives. Terrorism can be global, like ISIS and Al-Qaeda, for example. These groups want to get their hands on weapons of mass destruction, so they use global means to achieve their goal. Acting all over the world, they arrange terrorist attacks in different states with numerous victims. Terrorists can also be loners who are dissatisfied with the policies of their state, such as the Norwegian nationalist Breivik. Both varieties are heinous crimes that result in the death of innocent people. It is impossible to predict a terrorist attack, and absolutely anyone can become its accidental victim.

Military conflicts and interference in the affairs of other states. In Ukraine, Western countries staged a coup d'etat, which they paid in advance, provided informational and political support. After that, the US and the EU ordered to go to war against the inhabitants of Donbass, who did not want to obey the Ukrainian authorities. At the same time, Western countries, which are so fond of shouting about human rights, remained silent in this situation. And the United States financially helped Kyiv and supplied military equipment. When Russia provided assistance to the Donbass with weapons and food, it was instantly criticized by the West and accused of interfering in the affairs of Ukraine. At the same time, it was possible to agree on a truce, but Kyiv, at the suggestion of the US and the EU, chose war. The victims of political games were the inhabitants of Donbass. Thousands of people lived safely and suddenly lost everything, left without a roof over their heads. This is not an isolated case, the United States has repeatedly interfered in the affairs of the countries of the Middle East and other states.

Man is the highest stage in the development of living organisms on Earth, the subject of labor, the social form of life, communication and consciousness, a bodily-spiritual social being. In relation to a person, we use various terms: "individual", "individuality", "personality". What is their relationship?

Individual - (from individuum - indivisible) a separate living being, an individual of the human species (homo sapiens), a separate person. It is characterized by the integrity of the morphological and psychophysiological organization, stability in interaction with the environment, and activity.

Individuality is understood as the unique originality of a person, as opposed to a typical one. This is the most stable invariant of a person's personality structure, changing and at the same time - unchanged throughout a person's life. The freedom of the individual, its various manifestations are due to its individuality, which is expressed in the natural inclinations and mental properties of a person - in the features of memory, imagination, temperament, character, i.e. in all the diversity of human appearance and its vital activity. The entire content of consciousness, views, beliefs, judgments, opinions, which, even though they are common to different people, always contain something “their own” has an individual coloring. The needs and demands of each individual person are individualized, and everything that this person does, he imposes his own uniqueness, individuality.

It is necessary to pay attention to the fact that individuality and personality fix different aspects of socially significant qualities of a person. In individuality, its originality is valued, in a person who manifests the sociality of a person, independence, independence, strength. Individuality indicates the originality of socially significant qualities. So, Leonardo da Vinci was not only a great painter, but also a great mathematician and engineer. Luther, the founder of Protestantism, created modern German prose, composed the text and melody of the chorale, which became the "Marseillaise" of the 16th century.

It is only in society that the essence of a person, his abilities, social ties, his material and spiritual needs, as well as human consciousness, which contributes to understanding the goals of life and activity, is formed and realized. Personality is a concrete historical phenomenon. Each era gives rise to a specific social type of personality. The era in which a person was born, lives and forms, the level of culture of the people seriously affect his individual behavior, actions, consciousness.

The concept of personality is used in various senses:

1) as a human individual, the subject of social relations and conscious activity;

2) as a stable system of socially significant features that characterize the individual as a member of society.

Personality is usually understood as the social aspect of human versatility, the social essence of a person. Its formation takes place in the process of socialization, when patterns of behavior and cultural norms are mastered under the influence of the social conditions in which a person exists, but at the same time, taking into account his individual characteristics. Thus, personality can be considered as a dialectical unity of the general (social-typical), special (class, national), separate (individual, unique). Personality acts as a measure of the wholeness of a person.

Personality can be characterized from at least two positions: functional and essential. A functional characteristic of a person is a characteristic of a person in terms of social statuses and social roles that a person has and performs in society. The essential characteristic of a person includes such traits as:

Self-consciousness is a set of mental processes through which an individual
recognizes himself as a subject of activity. Self-awareness includes self-esteem and
self-respect;

Character - individual combination of stable psychological characteristics
person, which determines the typical way of behavior for this person in certain
living conditions and circumstances;

Will - the ability to choose actions related to overcoming external or
internal obstacles;

Worldview as a condition for purposeful, conscious activity;

Moral.

It should be noted that the process of formation of the moral "I" of the individual occurs gradually and is determined not only by age and social environment, but in many respects, by the person's own efforts. The following stages of the formation of the moral "I" of a person and the corresponding motives of behavior can be distinguished:

1) premoral level, when a person's behavior is determined by fear of
punishment and considerations of mutual benefit;

2) the level of moral development at which a person is guided by externally given
norms and requirements (desire for approval from significant others and shame in front of their
condemnation);

3) the level of autonomous morality, including an orientation towards a stable internal
a system of principles, the observance of which is ensured by conscience.

Morality is usually understood as the norms and values ​​that regulate human behavior. In a stricter sense, it is a set of norms and values ​​that orient people towards the spiritual, lofty ideal of human unity. The ideal of unity is expressed in solidarity and brotherly (merciful) love. Ethics is often understood as the same as morality. In a special sense, ethics is a philosophical discipline that studies morality. Traditionally, ethics is called practical philosophy, since its goal is not knowledge, but actions.

Morality acts as an expression of the individual's need to build harmonious relations with others, as a social form of relations between people, a measure of their humanity. The main forms of objectification of morality are virtues (perfect personal qualities), for example, truthfulness, honesty, kindness - norms containing a criterion for evaluating socially encouraged (requirements, commandments, rules), for example, “do not lie”, “do not steal”, “do not kill ". Accordingly, the analysis of morality can be carried out in two directions: the moral dimension of the individual, the moral dimension of society.

Since Greek antiquity, morality has been understood as a measure of a person's dominance over himself, an indicator of how much a person is responsible for himself, for what he does, i.e. as the domination of reason over affects. Reasonable behavior is morally perfect when it is aimed at a perfect goal - a goal that is considered unconditional (absolute) is recognized as the highest good. The highest good gives meaningfulness to human activity as a whole, expresses its general positive direction. People have different understandings of the highest good. For some it's a pleasure, for others - benefit, for others - love of God, etc. The orientation of the mind to the highest good is found in good will. According to I. Kant, this is the will, pure from considerations of profit, pleasure, worldly prudence. Morality as a volitional attitude is the sphere of actions, practical active positions of a person. The key question for morality is the following: how is the moral perfection of a person related to his attitude towards other people? Here, morality characterizes a person from the point of view of his ability to live in a human community. It gives human coexistence an intrinsically valuable meaning. Morality can be called a social (human) form that makes possible relationships between people in all their concrete diversity.

The next characteristic feature of morality is the unity of free will and universality (objectivity, universal validity, necessity). Morality is conceivable only under the assumption of free will, it is the autonomy of the will, its very legislation. I. Kant said that in morality a person is subject only to his own and, nevertheless, universal legislation. A person is autonomous in the sense that she herself chooses the law of her existence, she makes a choice between natural necessity and moral law. Morality is a universal law in the sense that nothing limits it, it is not a real universality, but an ideal one. The individual will is free not when it presents its own as universal, but when it chooses the universal as its own. The golden rule of morality provides an example of such a combination. "Do not act towards others in a way that you would not want others to act towards you." A specific mode of existence of morality is obligation.

In morality, the value attitude of a person to the world is realized. Value is not a generic property of something, but the attitude of an individual to an object, event or phenomenon as important, significant for a person. The most important values ​​for an individual determine a coordinate system for him - a system of value orientations. At the top of the value pyramid is the highest good, or ideal. In the structure of moral consciousness, the ideal occupies a key place, since it is it that determines the content of good and evil, proper, right and wrong, etc.

In a broad sense, good and evil denote positive and negative values ​​in general. The content of good and evil is determined by the ideal of moral perfection: good is that which brings one closer to the ideal, evil is that which moves one away from it. In situations of conflict, a person sees his task in making the right and worthy choice. Moral values ​​guide a person in his behavior. Following moral values ​​is perceived as a duty, non-fulfillment of duty as guilt and is experienced in reproaches and pangs of conscience. Moral values ​​are imperative (mandatory). Moral imperatives and the moral values ​​affirmed by them are over situational and impersonal, i.e. universal character.

Among the fundamental categories of human existence, the categories of freedom and the meaning of life and the correlation of freedom and necessity, freedom and responsibility are distinguished.

The problem of human freedom has two main aspects - social and natural. The social freedom of a person depends on the social structure - politics, economics, etc. Historical progress is the way to the development of social freedom. The more developed a society, the more free it is, the more freedom a particular person has. The natural aspect of freedom has as its content the free will of man. To what extent can a person in his life make a choice and follow it? What does this choice depend on? In philosophy, various concepts of human freedom have developed:

1. Fatalism. According to this concept, man is a being objectively
conditioned and clearly determined by external forces (divine or
natural). Everything that happens in the world with a person is the result of the divine
predestination, fate. Thus, according to the fatalists, man does not do the real
choice and has no real free will. This point of view has many
opponents who pointed out its absurdity. The historical life of man is constantly
proves that in the most difficult conditions, on the verge of life and death, he can choose the truth
or lies, freedom or slavery, good or evil.

2. Voluntarism: Man is a being absolutely independent of external circumstances.
Human actions are completely arbitrary and do not depend on any causes and factors.
other than the will of the individual. It proclaims the complete independence of the will of man from
realities of the world. In practice, his choice still depends on many reasons, both internal,
as well as external. A person is forced to reckon with these reasons and accept
decisions based on available options.

3. Scientist-oriented philosophy (Spinoza, Hegel, Comte, Marx) consider freedom as a conscious necessity. In this case, a real free will is recognized for a person, but at the same time, it is indicated that the choice and actions of a person are not carried out arbitrarily, but under the influence of certain reasons of a spiritual or material nature. The understanding of freedom as a conscious necessity puts necessity in the forefront, thus expressing the relation of the world to man, and not of man to the world.

4. Modern understanding of the problem of freedom includes the rejection of the absolutization of the areas of freedom and necessity (that is, to really talk about relative freedom); personification and individualization of freedom (subjects of freedom, a form of being of freedom); consideration of the structure of necessity and freedom and their interaction, and this interaction is the essential contradiction of human existence; the problem of the criterion of freedom (duty, moral choice, meaning of life, conscience, responsibility). Thus, the center of philosophizing moves towards the relationship of man to the world. The nature of this relationship largely depends on the properties and efforts of the person himself.

Here are some concepts of freedom, which are based on the relationship of man to the world.

According to the Russian philosopher V.S. Solovyov's freedom always requires a moral attitude to choice and to the implementation of a decision. Freedom is responsible conscientious behavior. As V.S. Solovyov, - a person lives simultaneously in two worlds: the world of the past (experience) - a necessity and the world of the future - an opportunity. The world of the future enables moral judgment, i.e. gives freedom, and the link between necessity and freedom is the goal.

E. Fromm emphasized that a person belongs to two worlds: actually human and animal, which means that he is aware of his greatness and impotence. Freedom is realized by the very life activity of a person, in the process of which he makes his choice. Thus, freedom is a conscious, free choice by a person of his line of behavior. The main goal of choice is to go beyond the limits of present necessity. Exit options: a) regressive - the desire of a person to return to his natural sources - nature, ancestors, natural life, rejection of individuality (mass, crowd), self-reflection; b) progressive - development of actually human forces and potencies. The forms of manifestation of freedom are, first of all, the game, creativity, risk, the meaning of life.

Viktor Frankl, an Austrian psychologist and psychiatrist, believed that human freedom should be determined, first, in relation to drives. A person either allows his instincts to determine his behavior, or not; secondly, in relation to heredity. Compensation of innate inclinations and properties can be considered as a conscious choice. Thus, a huge role in the process of freedom is played by culture, civilization; thirdly, in relation to the environment: the natural environment, the psychological predetermination of a person, the socio-cultural conditions of being. It turns out that freedom is the conscious development of a certain attitude to the environment, focused on "going out" beyond the boundaries of that Environment that no longer satisfies a person.

Man cannot change a single objective law of nature, society, but he may not accept them. It depends on a person whether to surrender "at the mercy" of the conditions, or to rise above them and thus discover his truly human dimension.

If necessity is a system of objectively real possibilities of human behavior in this particular life situation, then freedom is:

1. Conscious choice by a person of a variant of his behavior in a given situation,
according not only to the content of external circumstances, but also to the state of one’s own
spiritual world.

2. The ability of a person to "go beyond" the real situation, to design a different
situation and other internal state, as well as organize practical activities
to achieve this other.

3. An opportunity for a person to find his own meaning of life.

A person realizes his essence in activity, in purposeful activity, in which his free will is manifested. Freedom is the ability of choice based on the knowledge of necessity and activity taking into account this necessity. But freedom is directly related to the responsibility of the individual for his actions, and deeds, etc. Responsibility is a social attitude towards social values. Awareness of responsibility is nothing more than a reflection by the subject of being, social necessity and understanding of the meaning of the actions performed. Awareness of responsibility is a necessary means of controlling the behavior of an individual on the part of society through its self-awareness.

The formation of personality is impossible without observance of moral laws. Only morality makes it possible to affirm the personal independence of the individual. develops his ability to manage his activities, build his life meaningfully and responsibly. Irresponsibility and unscrupulousness are incompatible with individual independence, which is possible only when the individual's actions do not contradict the morality accepted in a given society. It is no coincidence that the greatest ethicist I. Kant wrote: “Act in such a way that the maxim of your behavior at any time could also be the norm of universal legislation.”

Each historical epoch forms its own values, which to one degree or another determine human behavior. In our time, such undoubted values ​​are social justice, peace, democracy, and progress. In the modern world, the person himself is proclaimed as a value of a special kind. And he can become it in reality, if he manages to overcome the colossal social inequality. The knowledge of these values ​​by each person serves as the basis for the formation of a holistic personality.

The problem of the meaning of life in the spiritual experience of mankind The meaning of life is an integration concept that combines a number of others in its content.

When considering the problem, the following questions arise: 1. Is the meaning of life only the result of a person's life, or can it be found in each individual life situation? 2. Does a person find the meaning of life in some "transcendent" values ​​(God, higher ideals) or should it be found in ordinary everyday life values? 3. Is the meaning of life connected with universal human values, or is it found in the individual, individual values ​​of each person?

There are different points of view as to what constitutes the meaning of life. The Marxist interpretation of the 20th century was to define the meaning of life as the final, objective, socially significant result of a life lived by a person. Another interpretation of the concept was the assertion that the meaning of life exists regardless of whether a person is aware of the meaningfulness of his being. As a result, the very life of a person, his freedom and uniqueness were excluded from the meaning of life. Another approach to the problem was that the concept of the meaning of life cannot be fundamentally separated from real life itself, therefore, it is not a scientific concept, but a general cultural description.

As W. Frankl stated, meaning is relative insofar as it refers to a specific person involved in the situation. We can say that the meaning changes, firstly, from person to person, and secondly, from one day to another. "There is no such thing as a universal meaning of life, there are only unique meanings of an individual situation." Thus, several conclusions are drawn:

The search for the meaning of life can never be completed, for the meaning of human life
consists in its search, and this search is called the life of man.

The meaning of life must be defined as a person's attitude to the situation in which he finds himself at any given time.

But the meaning of life cannot be taught, it cannot be imposed on a person.

At the same time, the affirmation of the individuality of the meaning of life does not mean a denial of certain common features and characteristics inherent in many different situations in which different people find themselves. For many people in similar life situations, there is a certain common content of life meanings. The general content of life's meanings is value. It acts as a guideline for people to search for their individual meaning of life in each situation (for example, the value of traditions and customs). In the system of human values, one can distinguish:

a) values ​​of creation. They are carried out in productive creative acts (industriousness, creation).

b) the values ​​of experience - the beauty of nature, art.

c) the value of communication. They are realized in the relationship of man to man (love,
friendship, sympathy).

d) the values ​​of overcoming the situation and changing one’s attitude towards it are realized in
a person's attitude to situations that limit his capabilities. Sometimes only the values ​​of overcoming oneself remain available to a person. As long as a person lives, he can realize certain values ​​and be responsible to himself for finding the meaning of life. The meaning of life must be found independently, in every life situation, it is overcoming the conflict between the Self and the Environment, a way of forming a personality.

Questions for self-study

1. Man, individual, individuality, personality - how do these concepts relate?

2. What is the functional and essential characteristic of the personality?

3. What is self-awareness of a person? What does it depend on?

4. How does a person's self-esteem develop?

5. How are necessity, freedom and responsibility interrelated?

6. What is the essence of fatalism and voluntarism?

7. What are the forms of manifestation of freedom?

8. Why are freedom, the meaning of life, happiness considered as fundamental categories of human existence?

9. Can there be creativity in conditions of lack of freedom?

10. How are the needs and interests of a person reflected in his value ideas?

11. What is morality? What is the "golden rule of morality"?

Exercises and tasks

1. "There are only three events in a person's life: birth, life, death. He does not feel
when he is born, suffers, dying, and forgets to live.(B.Pascal). Do you agree with
by the author? How would you describe a person's life?

2. Philosophers are known to think a lot about death. Try to interpret the following sentences:

"A free man thinks of nothing less than death."(B. Spinoza).

“As long as we are alive, there is no death. Death has come - we are not.(Titus Lucretius Car).

3. B. Pascal defined freedom for himself as follows: "Freedom is not idleness, but
the ability to freely dispose of their time and choose their occupation;
in short, to be free means not to indulge in idleness, but to
decide what to do and what not to do. What a great blessing such freedom! Is always
Does a person perceive freedom as a blessing?

4. Each person has many "roles" in life. Under various circumstances, meeting
different people, we behave differently: I have the same face and the same words when I speak
with the boss, and a completely different face and different words when I discuss something with my
friends. But there are people who always behave in all circumstances.
equally. They are equally polite and affectionate with adults and children, they are full of
dignity and are not lost when meeting with big bosses, they do not put on airs with their
subordinates, they don’t build anything out of themselves, they are always natural and simple. As a rule, this
adults, people of strong will and character. Have you ever met such
of people? And is this behavior possible in youth?

5. The psychology of the crowd is such that the brighter, more original and unique a person, the more
it causes envy and malice. If Mozart were not a brilliant composer, he
would have lived much longer, no Salieri would have envied him. We often hear:
be like everyone else, don't stick your head out, don't pretend to be clever! Maybe in these calls
Is there really some truth?

6. Do you agree that it is not so difficult to unlearn lying to others, much more difficult
to unlearn to lie to oneself, that is, to look at oneself honestly and sincerely?

7. How do you understand the phrase: “Death is not the end, but the crown of life”?

8. Is it possible to say that a person lives meaninglessly if he has never thought about the meaning of life?

9. Gorky at one time proclaimed: "Man - it sounds proud!". But neither N. Berdyaev, nor M. Heidegger, nor S. Frank, nor F. Nietzsche would agree with such a phrase. Why?