They say that times are no longer the same, that human values are obsolete and take on a different form. I can say with confidence that times are not the creator of good and truth. They never change, no matter what era we enter, it will always be pleasant to hear the truth, to know that you are sincerely loved and valued in friendship. But sometimes a person’s values can become distorted in the mind.
Bible teaching
The Bible is rightfully considered the most popular and best-selling book in the world. The wisest of the wise, she is able to instill love for man, freedom, and goodness. It is impossible to declare with certainty the non-existence of God, 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 it tried to unite us by faith in one and eternal human. How many millennia have passed since the book was written, how many generations have changed, what high level humanity has reached development - and sincere, pure love is still considered the most noble of feelings.
Do we follow spiritual values?
In the daily bustle, modern world Where we need to carve out a place for ourselves in the sun, we sometimes forget about human values. Education plays a major role in shaping attitudes and priorities. Family members lead by example little man what they believe in, value and respect. It is important that words are always supported by actions. Having fled from the family nest, under the influence of friends or external circumstances, a person often changes his priorities. Only when we have lost the people who love us do we turn to God and the Bible, which point out our mistakes. The current era is called a return to morality and spiritual values. Animal protection and conservation of nature, charity and donations to children in poor countries.
Undoubtedly, this is a feat on the part of humanity. But this begs the insidious question of whether this is selfishness. We take care of nature in order to prevent its 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 does not hurt. Giving a penny to a grandmother sitting near the crossing is considered odd: “I earned money hard work not to give it to her." Giving up a seat on a transport to a pregnant woman is also not our responsibility. But these seemingly small actions tell us 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, loyalty, and being needed. Do we demand honesty from others, but we ourselves are always honest with them? We want to be needed, but do we do anything for this? Human moral values lie in extorting them from others, without thinking about why others should give us what we are unable to provide in return.
A person needs to learn a lesson: we always get what we deserve. In order for changes to occur in your relationship 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.
Value: Love.
Qualities: value attitude to life, love for loved ones, friendliness, responsiveness.
Target: expanding students’ ideas about the eternal values of humanity, about the purpose of human life as the comprehension of the highest spiritual values.
Tasks:
To reveal the meaning and versatility of the concepts “value”, “universal values”, “spiritual values”;
Develop the ability to see value in people, events, circumstances;
To cultivate a respectful attitude towards universal human values, the spiritual experience of humanity, and towards each other.
Resources: video “Values of Life”, handouts with a list of values, a table of values by number of students, a box, hearts with the names of values.
During the classes
Positive attitude(concentration on breathing)
Teacher: Guys, sit up straight without crossing your arms or legs. We will now do a breathing exercise. When we concentrate on breathing, our mind becomes calm. As we inhale, we will absorb peace and joy. And when we exhale, we will exhale all worries from ourselves.
Let's get ready, guys. Let's close our eyes, keep our backs straight, and put our hands on our knees.
Inhale..., exhale... ( 9-10 times, slowly)
Take each other's hands and convey a piece of your warmth to your classmates, wish them and me success. Smile at each other. I am glad that you feel good, that you are comfortable, and that you are ready to work with me.
Announcing the topic of the lesson
Teacher: Guys, today we are starting to study the topic “ Eternal values humanity." We'll talk about what the word "value" means. Let's find out what significance spiritual and material values have in a person's life. Let’s share our opinion on what values are important to each of you.
Positive statement(lesson quote)
The teacher brings to the attention of the students a quote written on the board. You need to read it and explain the meaning:
Although we are mortal, we must not submit to corruptible things, but, as far as possible, rise to immortality and live according to what is best in us. (Aristotle)
(Students explain the meaning of the statement.)
Watch a video(teacher's gift)
The teacher invites students to watch the video “Values of Life,” which talks about the values of a young person’s life.
Issues for discussion:
Can we call these values universal?
(Students' answers)
Creative activities, group work
Position:“We believe that...”
Rationale: " Because…".
Confirmation:“This idea is confirmed by words from the text...; “We can confirm this...”
Consequence:"Hence…". The conclusion should not contradict the first statement, but may repeat it in some way.
(After discussing the texts, group speakers will present the results of the analysis carried out using the POPS formula).
Text for the first group
Kaleria Talchuk, Kazakhstan
Tick-tock, tick-tock... This is exactly what the steps of passing time sound like. Time is the most amazing thing on Earth. Until now, people have not learned to control this unbridled element. No one has yet managed to travel through time and subjugate it. Besides, time is the most important value of our life. Why?
Time is an inexorable executioner and a generous creator. It passes, takes away something old, outdated and brings something new, unexpected. People consider saving time to be the goal of progress. But everyone still misses it: housewives, pensioners, schoolchildren. We don't have time to listen to the birds singing in the morning because our ears are busy with headphones with new music; we don’t find time to look at the scarlet sunset, as our eyes are fixed on the computer monitor or TV; We have no time to breathe clean mountain air, and we breathe exhaust fumes, because our foolish deeds do not let us go. Being alone with nature is a waste of time.
So where does this precious time go? For empty conversations, computer games, airy dreams... Yes, now this is more important than laying your head on your mother’s lap if you suddenly run out of strength and need her support and love.
Alexander Krasny was right when he said that no amount of money could buy us a single extra minute of life. Therefore, we should spend all our time wisely, receiving joyful pleasure from every moment. Even a split second is important, especially if it decides someone’s life or, for example, the fate of a gold medal at the Olympic Games.
How often do we say to friends, parents, acquaintances: “I’m busy! I have no time! I have important business!” But sometimes it’s worth thinking about whether this matter is so important, whether it’s worth the time spent.
Do only what you need to do so that you don’t regret what you missed in the future. And no matter how trivial it may sound - save your time!
Text for the second group
Daria Gvozdik, Ukraine
I often ask myself: what do we value most in life? Money? But the time will come when no capital will be needed. Connections? But nothing lasts forever. A job? But why do you need a job if you have no one to work for? What then do we value? Our loved ones - we live for them. Our feelings - while we live, we need to feel. In general, I think that you need to value life. Life is given to us once, and every second, every minute and every hour lived will never return. Let's value life, value time.
What do we sometimes expect from life? Any miracles? But just look around you - how beautiful the world is! There are so many amazing things in the world: beautiful people, wonderful flowers, extraordinary butterflies... So many bright colors around: purple, gold, azure... How many strong feelings a person experiences: happiness, joy, sadness, sadness... How many smiles in the world: bright, affectionate, radiant... So many miracles around: a drop of dew on a lush aster flower, shimmering with millions of colors and shades, a sunbeam in the shadow of a branchy maple... How joyful it is in the heart when a friend walks nearby, when a star falls into the sea, when it rains drumming on the roof. How few words are needed to say: “I live!”, “I love!”, “I am happy!”
Let's appreciate the moments of happiness, friendship, love, light that life gives us. Let's appreciate time! Let's appreciate life!
Text for the third group
Lina Voronina. Germany
The main value for a person is life, but the main value of life is Chance. Yes, yes, it is Chance, with capital letters. Some call it Fortune, some Fate, some Providence. But it is not important. The main thing is that without Her Majesty nothing happens in this world. Even the beginning of a new life is essentially nothing more than the will of chance.
Believers say: “Man proposes, but God disposes.” I agree with this, because what is meant by the will of God is an accident, happy or not, but capable of turning everything in a different direction. But there is something else wise saying: “Trust in God, but don’t make a mistake yourself.” It indicates that “waiting by the sea for weather” (i.e., suitable chance) or being led by events is undignified and ineffective. It's like watching someone get hurt and not standing up for it.
I believe that life is an algorithm of chance with many solutions. A person’s task is to try to find a solution in every situation so that the next chance will be the most favorable of the possible ones (I apologize for perhaps excessive mathematization, but this is exactly how I imagine it). It follows from this that a person is free to try to be the master of his own destiny. I say “try” because there are times when nothing can be changed and you have to wait for the situation to end.
Yes, after all, chance is the main value of any life. After all, it is she who makes every life unique, original, leaves an imprint on people and the fate of their descendants. Therefore, it is important to learn to handle Her Majesty Randomness carefully, because she is known to be a lady of character.
Teacher's conclusion: Everything that is dear and vital to a person, that determines his attitude to reality, is usually called values. They were formed along with the development of humanity and its culture. Universal human values are significant for all humanity.
Game "I choose"
Teacher: Guys, now I invite you to make a choice of what is valuable to each of you. Think and decide which value you choose and why.
· health
· interesting job
· material well-being
· wisdom
· the love of one person for life
· beautiful, smart, well-mannered children
· independence
· success at work
· world peace
· parents' health
· outer beauty
· happiness
Issues for discussion:
How do you explain your choice?
Can this be bought with money?
What other value would you gain if you could?
(Students choose values and explain their choice.)
Generalization
- Guys, true personal wealth and the prosperity of a person’s life are possible only thanks to moral and emotional qualities. A person is truly considered rich only when he has the qualities necessary not only for himself, but also for the people around him. This wealth is not measured by the number of things a person possesses, but by what a person is able to give to others.
Homework
As homework Students are asked to complete the “My Values” exercise. In the table of values, you need to rank each one according to its importance in the student’s life and explain your choice.
| Active life |
| Health |
| Interesting job |
| The beauty of nature and art |
| Love |
| Financially secure life |
| Having good and loyal friends |
| Self confidence |
| Cognition |
| Liberty |
| Happy family life |
| Creation |
Final minute of silence
Teacher: Guys, I have prepared a gift for you. This box contains the “jewels of life.” I want to give them to you so that they will always accompany you in life and help you live in harmony with the world around you. And then peace, tranquility and love will reign in your souls! (Students take hearts with values from the box and read them out).
Now sit back, close your eyes and think about what new and useful things you learned in today’s lesson. Feel the value of your life and the lives of all people in the world. Send mental wishes of Love, Kindness and Warmth to all people.
Thank you for the lesson, goodbye!
Identifying values is important for every person. As a child grows up, he realizes which values matter most to him.
Concept of values
Values are those phenomena and objects that are most important to a person. Moreover, phenomena can be material and spiritual. It is important to note that the values of a particular society or person speak for themselves - for this reason, the topic of values is especially relevant in transitional times of social development.
Often value is viewed as a useful item that can satisfy a person's needs and ideals. Value can be called a kind of guideline in the life of every person, and even if 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 life guide a certain group of people.
In many ways, it is ideals and values that determine a person’s behavior, 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 important to all people. These include freedom, truth, beauty, justice, goodness and benefit.
These are the values that are important for a spiritually developed person. And at all times, for all nations and for all types of societies, these values have been eternal.
Values family life are also important. This is loyalty and devotion, love for children and your loved ones. There are transferable values that change along with the cultural and spiritual development of society.
What are the values of modern teenagers? Most of all, teenagers admire fictional characters who choose to take care of other, weaker people. This type of hero is characterized by 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 heroes who have already achieved something in their lives. They are interested in the real values of modern life, and not in fairy-tale characters. Such heroes are more interesting material benefit 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 out 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 is revealed, and even if his ideals are material and not distinguished by high morality, he comes to the realization that without higher values it is impossible to live a life with dignity.
Most often, such values manifest themselves in transitional periods. historical periods, during a war or revolution, when people need to build a new world and a new way of life.
What is the most important thing in life for you? And if you ask this question different people, you will probably get different answers. I would immediately say freedom and development. One of my best friends replied that the most important things in life for him were family and health. You will have your answer. All you need to understand is that what is important to you controls your actions. Depending on what your priorities are, your life will be structured. And in this article I would like to talk about the formation of a system of life values, because... I think it's very important point in progress
Why is the value system so important for every person?
It is important to understand that the presence of a system value orientations already speaks of a mature personality. Personal values determine our internal readiness to perform certain activities and indicate the direction of our development. To say more in simple words, then the system of values for a person is a certain vector of his development. The value world of every person is vast. However, there are certain “basic” values that determine activities in the main ones.
Life values do not arise overnight. They are the result of our life experience. Significant events in our lives, books, films, teachers, etc. play a huge role in this. Life values can change over time. There is nothing more permanent than temporary. At 15 you have one set of values, at 30 you have different values. Each person's values are individual, like fingerprints. The coincidence of the main life values strengthens relationships between people, which is very important in modern society.
Understanding your main life values is a very important thing. If you live a long and difficult life, and at the end you understand that such a life was not interesting, then it will be too late to change anything... If, on the contrary, you know well what you want from life, what is truly for you dear, every day of your well-structured life will be filled with meaning.
2 types of life values and 3 types of people
Actually exists a large number of values, but all of them can be divided into two large groups: material and spiritual.
- We can include material assets: an apartment, a car, a garage, jewelry, books, musical instruments, sports equipment, food, clothes, etc.;
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START DEVELOPING- to the spiritual: active life, life wisdom, love, responsibility, beauty, mercy, justice, self-improvement, freedom, beauty, health, knowledge, etc.
Depending on the created value system, each person can be classified into one of 3 groups:
- materialists;
- spiritual people;
- spiritual materialists.
I wonder which group you belong to?! Now stop reading for a minute and think. In which direction are your main development vectors directed? Toward the material? Or maybe towards the spiritual? Or both! Personally, I belong to the 3rd group. I am a spiritual materialist. But 5 years ago I was an inveterate materialist. Understanding the 7 areas of life helped me become more balanced and start living.
The value system of modern man, unfortunately, is similar to the Leaning Tower of Pisa, which is skewed in one direction. You ask where? Towards material values. Everyone simply froze in materiality, like blocks of stone. You can touch, see, buy material values, and they all depend on the time in which a person lives. For example, 300 years ago there were no cars and that means there was no value in them either. Now you’re just thinking about how to make money on a cool Mercedes. Imagine that Jesus walked around the Holy Land and just had a blast without an iPhone 7S! There are now 60% materialists, and every day there are fewer and fewer of them.
There are much fewer spiritual people. 30% percent. A person pays attention to spiritual values after 40-45 years. Wisdom comes, you begin to value health, you show more love for the world around you, freedom and creativity appear in life. You think more about God and life in general. The time for inner philosophy is coming. I want to be silent more and even be alone. But many become so absorbed in spirituality that they forget about the material side. Most of the great Creators were poor. “Creativity and freedom are important to me, but money doesn’t bother me” - only a person can say that life values which are directed only towards the spiritual world. And this is also a certain imbalance that needs to be eliminated. The faster the better.
Only spiritual materialists can be harmonious. In their value system, both are important. Personal development should be based on two types of values. Spiritual and material are two sides of the same coin. There is no need to deny one or the other. You need to connect, and then a powerful inner force will appear that can work wonders. One only helps the other. They don't interfere. What would happen if I had to ride a unicycle. You can drive, but the speed will not be the same. And the speed of development of your personality is very important in life. There are approximately 10% of spiritual materialists. And there should be much more! We must create new life On our new planet Earth!
7 of my main spiritual values
Health– this is the basis of life. One of the most important values. We begin to value health when “problems” begin in the body. Until that time, we drink, smoke, and it’s unclear what we eat. Other values are probably even impossible without good health. This is difficult to explain to the younger generation. They have their own values. Give time to your health first.
Time is an invaluable resource. It cannot be bought, exchanged, or sold. They give you 70-100 years to realize your potential. You watch TV series day and night. Maybe you shouldn't have come to this planet? Watch the movie "Time". The main resource there is time, not money. We turned everything upside down, chasing green pieces of paper.
Love- This is generally the basis of the universe. The magnet that connects everything. Love for yourself, loved ones, nature, your favorite business, life in general. Without a feeling of love, a person cannot be harmonious. Few people now live in real Unconditional love. My opinion is that many people say the word “love”, but do not fully understand what it is. Be grateful and loved.
Knowledge– this is the basis of your development. Previously, knowledge was difficult to obtain. People traveled to the other side of the world to get it. Now there is the Internet. This is a great benefit that was created to unite all knowledge. Many people again do not understand this. They give it to you, you don't take it. You think you know everything. Not at all…
Development– this is the basis for your freedom. Everything develops, everything grows, everything blooms. You probably like the smell of blooming roses. A scent that cannot be enjoyed. Only at a certain point a person stops developing. It does not reach its flowering stage. Flowering of your life. It ruins your potential.
Liberty is the basis for creativity. You have free will to create. You are free to make any choice. Your life is your choice. And only you are responsible for your choice. Real life begins when you are fully aware of your freedom. But in life, people often become slaves, forgetting this value. Working for my uncle takes up my whole life.
Creation is the ability of your Spirit. You have forgotten that you are the Creator. You think that only God can create. You are part of him, and he is part of you. You are one. A drop of water is no different in composition from the entire ocean. Same composition, same properties. It's hard to understand. To be a spiritual person means to be creative.
These are my main values in life. For you, they may not be the main thing at all. I will recommend doing one exercise that will allow you to create your own value system in life. Take a blank sheet of paper, a pen and write down everything that you value most in life. The list must consist of at least 100 values. Then go through this list and cross out the least important ones so that 50 remain. Those 7-9 life values that will remain at the end and will be the most important for you.
Now think about whether you devote most of your time and energy to these values. If it turns out that you are constantly busy with others, then you are more likely to serve other people’s values or those values that are not first on the list. Exercise not life values will help change your life! The main values in life are called the main ones because they are our beacons and allow us to make sure that we are moving in the right direction.
An outstanding French writer and public figure, a recognized master of the “biographical novel” genre, Andre Maurois (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 mid-20th century.
I believe that the external world exists independently of me, which I, however, can perceive only by passing it through my consciousness. Outside the window I see clouds, hills, trees swaying in the wind, cows in the meadow; Closer, I see a part of me that I call “my hand” and that writes these lines. I believe that this hand is deeply different in nature from the rest of the world. When a bird lands on a linden or cedar branch, I don’t feel anything; When a fly lands on my hand, it tickles me. As soon as I want, I will move my hand; but I am unable to move the clouds and hills. And my hand is not able to fulfill every desire I have. There is no need to 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, it obeys the outside world. I can send him towards trials and even danger, I can, through training or with the help of machines, increase his strength and expand the scope of his activity, but not indefinitely; It is not in my power to protect him from accidents and old age. In this respect, I belong entirely to the outside world, from head to toe.
My inner world- a more reliable shelter. Call it whatever you like - spirit, thought, soul; the name doesn't matter. Here my power is much greater than in the external world. I am free to disagree with certain views, to form conclusions, to immerse myself in memories; I am free to despise danger and await 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 creep into your head with debilitating consistency; 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 reality for me only within me. I judge him only by my feelings and how my mind interprets these feelings. I can't stop being myself and becoming the world. But without “this strange round dance” around me, I would have lost both sensations and thoughts at once. My head is crowded with images of the outside world - and only them. That is why I do not share the views of Bishop Burkle 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. Of course, I believe that the world of which I am a part is subject to certain laws. I believe this because it is 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 a little lower in the sky than today; I know that the constellations, these golden carnations hammered into the black firmament, 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 claim that on a scale of infinitesimal quantities it is impossible to accurately predict any event and that our laws are statistical laws. So what of this? Statistical laws take into account the existence of randomness. Any laws, including statistical ones, are effective and useful, since they allow us to predict many phenomena. Some materialists conclude from this that all phenomena are predictable, that the future is completely predetermined and that it is only due to our ignorance that 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 ones events of 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 gives rise to 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 human life and alleviated his suffering, the war, which had become crueler than ever, brought unimaginable suffering to the people. Frightened and 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. Firstly, I refuse to consider mine completely dependent on the system that was created by this mind itself. Who, if not man, discovered the laws of development of the external world? Who, if not he, brought order to the imaginary chaos of phenomena? It would be absurd if the power of the human mind ultimately led us to deny this power. Secondly, Scientific research, on which our belief in the orderliness of the world is based, never gave reason to consider the whole world to be a mechanism. Scientific data indicate that under certain conditions within a closed system, knowing the initial parameters, it is possible to predict the result. But predictions of this kind are limited in space and time; we have no right to interpret them broadly. The economy and history of our planet alone are so complex that they defy prediction. What then can we say about “the whole world” - after all, we don’t even know for sure what this arbitrary combination of words means?
Finally, thirdly, I simply do not understand how consciousness can arise in the depths of matter. I have always observed the opposite - how images of the material world arise in the depths of my consciousness. Moreover, 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. In speaking of the will, I do not claim that it can command me to do what I do not want. My will is not a force that exists independently of me. My will is my acting self.
Of course, a materialist will object to me: “You know that the abyss separating living and inanimate matter is becoming narrower every day. You know that with some viruses it is impossible to say for sure whether they belong to living or nonliving matter. You know that chemists have learned to synthesize molecules of such complexity that are found only in living nature. The day is not far off when science will explain to us how, at the dawn 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, a bridge has not yet been built across it. Neither chemists nor biologists have yet been able to solve the mystery of life; no living creature has a mind 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 omnipotent God, but such a religion is alien to me.
As for the origin of species, it seems to me that the remark of Lecomte du Nouy* is very significant: if we accept the hypothesis of natural selection and 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 the earth itself does not exist. “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 all I know is that I know nothing. I am skeptical of the stories of paleontologists and geologists who juggle millennia and base bold theories on Precambrian fossils that, upon closer inspection, turn out to be just bizarrely shaped cobblestones. But it is no easier for me to believe in the almighty and merciful Lord, who, in his right mind and strong memory, created Koch’s wand, a flea and a mosquito, and many centuries later crowned his work with a new victory: he threw it into a hostile and mysterious world man, endowed him with thoughts and feelings and forced this unfortunate creature to answer before the Creator for his actions. I don’t care about the question: how and why did a person come into this world? We do not know and, apparently, will never know the answer. I admit that infinitesimal beings who perhaps inhabit an electron are capable of discovering its nucleus and several neighboring atoms. But can they imagine a person or a cyclotron? And in general, none of this matters. I worry about something else: “Here is a man, here is the world. How should man, such as he is, act in order to subordinate to his power as much as his nature allows? the world and yourself?
I am neither a pure materialist nor a pure idealist. What do I believe in then? I limit myself to stating facts. In the beginning there was my mind, which, with the help of my 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 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. Was this reality created by a superhuman will? Does some higher power control our world?
Is this power moral and does it reward the righteous and sinners? I have no reason to say anything about this. The world of things knows no morality. Lightning strikes and cancer strike the good as often as the evil. The universe is neither friendly nor hostile to people of good will; Most likely, she's just indifferent. Who created it? Why is there not complete chaos reigning in it, why is it still subject to laws? What force threw us here, onto this lump of dirt spinning in endless space? I know nothing about this and I think that others know no more about it than I do. The various gods worshiped by peoples over thousands of years of human history were the embodiment of the passions and needs of believers. This does not mean that religions were useless; this means that they were necessary. But their task is not to understand the world. “If you get lost in the desert,” one kind priest told me, “I won’t give you a map, I’ll just show you where you can get a drink of water and try to instill courage in you so that you can continue on your way. That's all I can do for you."
“Christianity made a revolution by transferring fate inside man. It saw the source of our misfortunes in our own nature. For the ancient Greeks, myths, as a rule, were part of history - and nothing more. He released the demons of his soul, embodying them in myths. A 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 humane, not inhumane. The drama does not play out in the outside world, fate does not threaten from the outside, as Homer and Aeschylus thought; the outside world is neutral, drama and fate live inside a person. The dogma of original sin exposes the presence of the animal nature in the soul of every person. The child is born wild, greedy; If he weren't so weak, he would be cruel. Our first instinct is to kill. But the idea of atonement 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 torment, but this is also the reason for our victories.
I recognize the existence of a higher principle in man. “No animal could have done what I did,” said Guillaume, and in fact, man 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 - cut off people's heads or count them by their heads. A state where heads are cut off follows the path of violence. A company of killers gathers around one dictator, mistakenly called a party, although it is much more like a pack of wolves. This method of government is cruel, weak, short-lived. Forgetting about justice, the autocratic ruler sows destruction around himself and sheds rivers of blood. Omnipotence corrupts him, even if he is honest by nature. Everyone's intuition is better than the wisdom of the most brilliant individual.
Of course, the cynic will answer this 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 sages, heroes, and righteous people. There are a number of cases where herd mentality and vanity could coexist with hypocrisy and concern for saving one’s own skin, but a person nevertheless chooses a different path and does the “right thing”. Why does he do this? I believe because he obeys the voice of some higher principle that constantly lives in his soul. “Man is infinitely superior to man.” Moreover, there is no doubt that this principle, which can be called superhuman, since it pushes a person to actions that run counter to his personal benefit and the interests of his clan, is present in the consciousness of every person and makes its demands on him, unless he deceives himself or others . I am ready to call this universal human conscience god, but my god is not transcendental, 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 transcendental will in the world around me.
“But aren’t you afraid of living in an indifferent world that the gods have abandoned?” I have to admit, it's not scary at all; I will say more, for my taste it is much calmer to remain alone than to be forever surrounded by gods, as in Homeric times. In my opinion, it is more comforting for a sailor caught in a storm to consider the storm a play of blind forces, with which he must fight, calling on all his knowledge and courage to his aid, than to think that by some imprudence he has incurred the wrath of Neptune, and to seek in vain for a remedy 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 companions, telling us what to do, and holding our fate in their hands, but after all, luck awaited the ancient Greek sailor, in essence, only when he acted. He rowed, steered, maneuvered. This is available to us too. Only we can do it better because we know much more. We have learned to obey nature and control it. In the fight against the huge world around him, Ulysses could only rely on his own hands and a fair wind. We have conquered and put into our service forces the existence of which he did not even suspect: steam, electricity, chemical and nuclear reactions. Almost everything that the heroes of the Iliad and One Thousand and One Nights asked of 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 has denied him: it cures diseases, regulates birth rates, 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 become distribution rather than production. 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 become despicable like lead?” While therapy and surgery fought for human life and alleviated his suffering, the war, which had become crueler than ever, brought unimaginable suffering to the people. Man used his power over nature not for creation, but for destruction. Politics and economics did not keep 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 to their service.
Frightened, unhappy, these people became like their distant ancestors and, attributing supernatural power to their fears and hopes, they populated the indifferent world with gods and monsters... Do we really have nothing to hope for, will the unfortunate human race destroy itself along with the planet that serves as its refuge?
I believe that disaster can be avoided. I repeat again: the world is indifferent, the world is neutral. No vengeful fate is hiding behind black clouds, threatening us with death. The salvation of humanity is in the hands of humanity itself. There have often been cases in history when desperate people thought 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 Gallic or Breton cities and the misfortunes of the people, must have said to himself: “Now the human race will never again live in joy and contentment.” And yet, monasteries grew in the thicket of the forests; the monks began to cultivate the virgin land and nurture virgin minds; great people attempted to revive great states. They succeeded. Our task is easier - we have to protect a civilization that is still alive and in many respects prosperous from destruction. We are not sure of success, because a gust of madness may engulf those groups of people over whom we have no influence, and they will blow up the globe. But we can still, albeit indirectly, influence them. The firmness of our convictions and the speed of our decisions will disarm those who threaten the future of humanity.
I believe that newest 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 previous states. Modern military equipment too powerful to be worth 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 citizens of all countries of the world. I believe that nowadays it is the duty of all writers, scientists and statesmen to convince people of the need for creating such organizations. To be or not to be the globe - that is the choice we face. Either we shake hands with each other, or we destroy each other in a nuclear war.
As for domestic policy, then I believe in protecting democratic freedoms and human rights. I believe in them for two reasons. Firstly, I believe that without freedom there can be no talk of human dignity or the happiness of members of society. Living under police surveillance, flinching at every rustle, fearing arrest, exile or death, afraid to say superfluous word, constantly hiding your thoughts is not life. Secondly, I believe that freedom is the key to the strength of the state. Totalitarian states are colossuses with feet of clay; they look powerful only because of their propaganda, their ability to nip any conflict in the bud, and the speed and secrecy of political actions. Totalitarian regime misleads only romantics and the weak in spirit, who mistake the tyrant for a deliverer. But after a long struggle, freedom triumphs: this happened in both 1918 and 1945.
In a free country, government decisions 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 freedom, I can’t offer anything new. The state of terror and anxiety in which many human beings in many countries live today powerfully reminds us of the urgent need to restore to peoples the legitimacy that serves as the basis of happiness. Of course, every society needs police to maintain order, and the police should not 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 put pressure on the legislative branch. Members of the court must be appointed for life - otherwise ambition will not give them peace. A small number of highly paid and equal judges - this is the English system. Experience has shown that it pays off. The second law is the existence of a jury trial. Even if the jury is sometimes guided by political or parochial biases, if they are chosen from all segments of the population, the defendant has a much better chance of being judged fairly. In no case should you arbitrarily replace one jury with another, or hold sessions without a quorum. The third law: until the guilt of the suspect is proven, he must be considered innocent. He can be arrested only 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 return him to freedom.
I have listed the legal guarantees of freedom. The guarantee of these guarantees is political freedom. I call a state free or democratic where the minority recognizes the power of the majority, honestly won through 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,” said Kipling, “to cut off people’s heads or to count them by their heads.” A state where heads are cut off follows the path of violence. A group of like-minded people, backed by armed gangs or merciless police, can instill such fear in their political opponents that they immediately leave the scene. A company of killers gathers around one dictator, mistakenly called a party, although it is much more like a pack of wolves. Both ancient and new story indicate that this method of government is cruel, weak, and short-lived. Forgetting about justice, the autocratic ruler sows destruction around himself and sheds rivers of blood. Omnipotence corrupts him, even if he is honest by nature. Even if he himself were a saint, his successor would certainly turn out to be a monster. This system was tested hundreds of times, and each time it ended in failure. Caesar and Napoleon were men of rare intelligence and generosity. Nevertheless, Caesar was killed, and Napoleon, famous for so many victories, led France to defeat. Everyone's intuition is better than the wisdom of the most brilliant individual. The existence of an opposition is the main guarantee of democratic freedoms. This is my political credo.
As for private life, I believe that courage, honesty, loyalty, mercy have not lost their value and attractiveness in our days. “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 when left alone, without the help and support of the gods, does a person not lose his moral sense and give free rein to his animal instincts? Because he knows that in an indifferent universe, only those who trust people, who are connected with them by strong bonds of love, friendship, marriage, and patriotism, survive. 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 laws that give peace of mind and self-esteem.
It is not easy to cultivate a sense of duty, the ability to take on an obligation and fulfill it. Both our soul and body are stained by original sin; they are forever tormented by unrighteous desires, greed, hatred. I see two ways to resist temptation. First, remain true to your beliefs, no matter the cost. There are no small betrayals. Calmly listening to how your friend is reviled 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 faithful to your party, no matter what mistakes its members may make, than to change your views every day depending on changes in the political situation. Anyone who wants to renounce his beliefs will always find reasons for this. It was not for nothing that Alain called the mind a public whore.
Alain also said that “you need to put the lower in the foundation of the higher.” Therefore, the second way to remain faithful to duty is to take obligations not based on abstract reasoning, but in accordance with your 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 seen in the example of marriage.
People founded the first unit of society - the married couple - on instinct, on carnal attraction. I for a long time believed that marital fidelity was contrary to human nature. In marriage, desire is dulled; people change; they are attracted by novelty. I was wrong: loyalty is not contrary to human nature in general, but only to the animal nature living in man. He who is able to overcome the power of instinct, remain faithful to his commitment, turn love into friendship, finds happiness in the union of souls, hearts and bodies, which more than rewards him for the sacrifice he has made.
Everything that has been said about marriage also applies to other ties that connect people. No one chooses a friend for any abstract reasons. “For he is he, and I am I.” Friendship, like love, is based on kinship of souls. To recognize this relationship, as a rule, it is necessary to get to know the person quite closely. Life itself brings us closer 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 homeland” does not drown out the love for the “big” homeland. Quite the opposite. Love for the “big homeland” consists of attachments to the “small” homeland...
The human desire, in defiance of the blind elements, to build one’s own reliable and lasting world is wonderful. Sometimes a person succeeds, albeit for a short time, but more often he fails. Not everyone has the happiness of falling in love with all their hearts and finding a devoted friend. Those who are not given this find refuge in the arts.
Art is an attempt to create another, more humane 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 powerlessness 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. A person suffers from the fate that lives in his soul. He is oppressed by a futile struggle with desires or despair, by 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 both the sunset and the revolutionary procession without words. Both have their own beauty. The artist organizes and subjugates nature. He transforms her and makes her the way a person would create her, “if he were a god.” Racine puts the most painful passions into the strict, pure forms of his verse. Bossuet lulls death itself with the measured rocking of his long periods*. Arriving at the theater, the viewer finds himself in a new world created for him by the author of the play, the designer, and the 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 (Latin).]. Art needs a person; this man is an artist.
Similar to you and me, he is trying to create for us an orderly, intelligible world. But art also needs nature, the rampant elements and passions, the inexorable passage of time; contemplation of the abstract order alone will not awaken any feelings in us. We wish to see in a work of art nature transformed by the human spirit. Where there is no nature, the artist has nothing to transform.
Without passion there is no art. 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: anyone 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 melancholy, did not understand the greatness of his creations *, and we, who share Valerie’s woeful humility, will with pleasure recognize 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 humanity as wise laws or religious rites. I believe that an artist, by 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, although not always, we receive reward in this world. I don't know if we have an immortal soul. In my opinion, it is unlikely that a person’s thought would continue to exist after the disappearance of his senses, because thoughts are a consequence of sensations. However, the mechanisms of memory have not yet been sufficiently studied, so 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. 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 because it is the absence of images. You can’t think about her, because with her all thoughts disappear.
Therefore, we need to live as if we were immortal. Which - not for the entire human race, but for each person individually - is deeply true.
Notes
Lecomte du Nouy, Pierre (1883-1947) - French biologist.
“Christianity has undergone a revolution... The Crucifixion of Christ affects each of us...” (André Malraux). - Quote from the memoir “The Hazel Trees of Altenburg” (published in 1948) by Andre Malraux (1901-1976).
Alain (real name Emile Auguste Chartier, 1868-1951) is a French philosopher and literary critic who had a huge influence on Maurois’s worldview. The main work is “Judgments” (published in 1956).
“Bossuet lulls death itself with the measured rocking of his long periods” - It's about on oral sermons and “Funeral Orations” (1669) by Bussuet (Jacques Bénigne, 1627-1704); the style of these works is considered an example of oratory.
“Valéry, who did not experience Pascal’s hopeless melancholy, did not understand the greatness of his creations...” - The worldview of Paul Valéry (1871-1945) is the opposite of the philosophical concept of Blaise Pascal (1623-1662). Valerie is tormented by the thought of the tragic powerlessness of the human mind to penetrate into the essence of things. Pascal sees the tragedy of man in the initial inconsistency of his essence: the power of his mind, capable of understanding the world, is opposed by the insignificance of his nature, unable to overcome passions and suffering.
