What kind of person can be called intelligent? Modern intelligence

Just imagine - you came to the district administration for a certificate and stood at office No. 158, waiting for the moment to slip through. And the citizens who arrived even earlier to guard the treasured office politely say: “Woman, you weren’t standing here.” Notice that they tell you this not rudely, but very affectionately. It turns out that the citizens did not humiliate themselves with rudeness, and you were not offended.

And why all? Because intelligent people gathered in line. By the way, who are they?

What is it anyway, intelligence - a sensitive state of mind, a Buddhist level of emotional maturity, multi-degree status or skyscrapers of books read?

Each statement has criteria: if in early spring your garden is a pioneer in terms of tulips, you are without a doubt a talented gardener; if yesterday you brought home a hungry kitten again, you are a kind and sensitive person; If you can conduct a reasoned debate for hours about the opposition to the literary significance of Pushkin and Karamzin, you are smart and erudite. At the same time, it is not a fact that he is an intellectual.

The debate about who can be classified as an intelligentsia has been going on for several centuries and continues today. Historical events And social norms The portrait of an intellectual has been changed more than once. We have compiled our own shortlist of definitions of this cultural phenomenon, written by personalities of national and municipal scale.

Repost in Russia is more than repost

IN Latin the word intellego was a verb and meant “to think, to understand,” i.e. broadcast the action.

Today's intellectuals are more inclined to observe and make assessments than to climb onto the barricades and from there, from nine to six, recklessly change the world.

The easiest way to find a Russian intellectual of the 21st century is on Facebook. It is here that he collects or sows a harvest of opinions, exchanges curtsies with pleasant citizens, picks with unpleasant ones and desperately resists evil - hypocrisy, stupidity and hypocrisy. Evil has a rating - the first place is occupied by any politics and arbitrariness of power, the second is the decline of morals, the third is near-religious debates, the fourth is the callousness and rudeness of officials, the fifth is all sorts of little things, such as PR nonsense of show business stars.

In terms of goodness, the modern intelligentsia is a club concept. Thanks to the spread social networks the intellectual is no longer an individualist. An intellectual shares bright thoughts, fiery appeals and spontaneous manifestos with club members - fortunately, today this is done with a simple repost. A repost in Russia is more than a repost.

And yes, whether you agree with it or not, trend of the modern Russian intelligentsia - mat. Moreover, the carriers of the ideology of swearing themselves have reliable arguments in this regard, like a safe door - firstly, we are not prudes, secondly, swearing gives imagery to speech, thirdly, swearing is a demonstration of personal freedom. It seems to us that intelligent swearing is simple foppishness. However, the intelligentsia does not like this argument.

Intellectuals vs intellectuals

In Russia it is generally accepted that, on average in the ward, the nature of a Russian person is subtler, more sensitive and sharper in perception than the nature of a thick-skinned European. This is partly confirmed by the emergence of an intelligentsia in Russia.

The West did not understand the subtleties and nuances of this phenomenon, but simply divided society into two teams - mental workers and manual workers. During the formation in Russia of a special class of idealists with a fiery heart and a sensitive soul, Western empires appointed lawyers and philosophers as the flower of the nation, calling them intellectuals. It turns out that Europeans simply did not single out the intellectual Jedi, the guardians of the spirituality and honor of their civilization, into a separate group, believing that an educated and law-abiding person brings comprehensive benefits to society and does not need additional social burdens.

Intelligentsia from encyclopedists

Now let's try to figure out the definitions.

Soviet encyclopedic Dictionary 1988 defines intelligentsia as "society, a layer of people professionally engaged in mental, predominantly complex, creative work, development and dissemination of culture"

Indeed, everything seems to be in its place - it’s not clear where to find the creative component in the work of an educated and even well-read local therapist? And an ideological downshifter - an inspired baker who once defended a dissertation on the influence of the north wind on Tsvetaeva’s poetic form - also has no chance of intelligence in this definition.

Intelligent Negativity

Lev Gumilev. Photo: gumilevica.kulichki.net

Many Russian philosophers did not hide their negative attitude towards the intelligentsia. So when Lev Gumilyov asked if he considered himself an intellectual, the historian replied:

« God save me! The current intelligentsia is such a spiritual sect. What’s typical is that they don’t know anything, they can’t do anything, but they judge everything and don’t accept dissent at all.”

Vyacheslav Pleve spoke about the intelligentsia like this:

“The Russian intelligentsia has one feature that is predominantly inherent to it: it fundamentally and, moreover, enthusiastically perceives every idea, every fact, even rumor, aimed at discrediting the state, as well as the spiritual-Orthodox power, but it is indifferent to everything else in the life of the country.”

Subsequently, Plehve, who spoke contemptuously of the intelligentsia, was killed by an intellectual bomber. So, “whoever comes to us with a sword...”

Here's an opinion Nikolai Berdyaev :

“The intelligentsia resembles a monastic order or a religious sect, with its own special morality, very intolerant, with its obligatory worldview... The intelligentsia is characterized by groundlessness, a break with all class life and traditions...”

Ivan Bunin also spoke quite sharply about the subject of controversy:

“If it weren’t for the people’s disasters, thousands of intellectuals would be downright miserable people. How then to sit, protest, what to shout and write about? And without this, life wouldn’t exist.”

It turns out that the main complaints that significant Russian thinkers made about the concept of the intelligentsia were superficiality, covered by a tendency to ostentatious restlessness and fussiness against the background of apathy and lack of initiative.

Today it looks like this: a significant person with high humane principles throws a sarcastic post online, scolding and ridiculing, say, the stupidity of official N. The post ends with the author’s piercing bitterness about the rusted system. That's all. No offers. No action. Every like and repost passed off as an action is not. This is a convenient illusion that you are bringing goodness and justice to the world. Just. Comfortable. For you!

Intelligent positive

Fortunately, there is an opposite view of the intelligentsia.

After the ideologists of the concept - Nikolai Chernyshevsky and Nikolai Dobrolyubov, the most a prominent representative of the beautiful-hearted Russian intelligentsia was an intellectual,“striving not so much for a political, but for a moral reorganization of the world.”

Continued the baton of intellectualophiles Leonid Andreev:

“First of all, this was not singing along with the powers that be. Secondly, a person with a heightened, downright debilitating sense of conscience. And thirdly, no matter how much you drink, you still remain a cultured person.”

Vasily Makarovich Shukshin

There are also more modern positive definitions. Vasily Shukshin wrote this:

« An intelligent person is a troubled conscience, a mind, ... a bitter discord with himself because of the damned question: “what is truth,” pride ... And compassion for the fate of the people. Inevitable, painful»

Subtleties of perception of the intelligentsia in modern history Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn clearly stated:

“In the Soviet Union, this word acquired a completely perverted meaning... All party, state, military and trade union bureaucrats ended up here... All office employees. With all the greater ease they include all teachers here (and those who are nothing more than a talking textbook and have neither independent knowledge nor an independent view of education). All doctors (and those who are only able to dabble in medical history with a pen). And without any hesitation they include here everyone who just walks around editorial offices, publishing houses, film factories, philharmonic societies, not to mention those who publish, make films or play the bow.

Meanwhile, based on none of these signs, a person cannot be included in the intelligentsia. If we do not want to lose this concept, we should not exchange it. An intellectual is not determined by his professional affiliation or occupation. A good upbringing and a good family also do not necessarily produce an intellectual. An intellectual is one whose interests and will towards the spiritual side of life are persistent and constant, not forced by external circumstances and even in spite of them. An intellectual is one whose thought is not imitative."

Based on the opinion of adherents, it can be argued that the most important characteristics an intelligent person - genuine sincerity, keen mercy, an unquenchable thirst for spirituality and stubborn, reckless cultivation of one's own personality. Say what you think. Help quietly. Be sure to thank. Always think. Something like this…

What do the intelligentsia think about this?

“And no one knew what the Rabbit thought about this, since the Rabbit was very well-mannered.” Remember, y? With the intelligentsia, despite their good upbringing, everything is different. A thin layer of society continues to make capacious, simple, laconic attempts at self-determination, which can be classified as aphorisms:

— An intelligent person is educated and erudite, constantly improving himself. His mind knows no peace;

— An intellectual observes the laws of decency and behaves culturally in any social environment, regardless of the level of intelligence, status and material wealth of those around him. When communicating with him, people begin to suspect that he absorbed the norms of etiquette with his mother’s milk;

— An intellectual is a person who can write this word without errors;

— An intellectual is a person who has three higher educations: the first was received by his grandfather, the second by his father, and the third by himself;

— An intellectual has intellect and knowledge, knows how to use them for his own benefit and not to the detriment of others, is tolerant, tolerant of the shortcomings of others and wise enough not to argue with fools;

— You can’t play an intellectual;

You can try on all the above definitions. You can consider yourself an intelligentsia or not. You don’t have to think about your own “classification” at all.

But we would be very interested to know your opinion - do you consider yourself an intelligent person and what do you mean by this concept?

Hello, dear readers. In this article you will learn what the problem of intelligence is in the modern world. Find out the meaning of this concept. Check out the examples. Find out what traits characterize an intelligent person. You will know what you need to do to become like this yourself.

Definition of the concept

Intelligence (translated from Latin means thinking, understanding) is a set of qualities of an individual that meets the expectations of a cultural society. There are also other definitions of this concept.

The ability to think, the ability to make independent judgments about the universe, about the manifestations of human actions.
Tolerant character, nobility, intelligence and reliability of words.
A combination of a hard-working mind, a noble soul and a truthful heart.
The ability to understand, accept everything new, always respect the opinions of other people, demonstrate one’s emotions, and not allow interference in the personal space of another person.
The ability to withstand rudeness, uncultured behavior, and fight back against injustice. Such an individual has high moral values and a developed sense of nobility.

You need to know what advantages intelligence has:

allows you to show emotions and gain new knowledge;
gives freedom, allowing you to express your thoughts;
an intelligent person can understand the meaning of the common good;
rewards with strength to resist evil injustice and rude civilization;
confidence in one's strengths and capabilities, self-belief;
An intelligent man or woman has the opportunity to show interest in life and be friendly to the people around him.

Characteristics of an intellectual

An intelligent person can be identified by the presence of certain qualities, especially if we consider an intellectual of the old school.

Pure patriotism, which is manifested by real actions.
Feeling compassion for the pain of other people and animals.
Soft, polite, compliant character.
Absence of a rude attitude towards any person, even if he behaves rudely towards an intellectual.
Craving for everything beautiful.
The ability to forgive people.
Sincere truthfulness, decent attitude towards others, respect.
Passion for education, constant self-development.
In the speech of such an individual, quotes and aphorisms are often used. idioms, there are no rude phrases.

Examples in the modern world

IN Everyday life a person meets intelligent people on his way and does not give it any importance, but it is they who make our life better, increasing its quality, they preserve spiritual and moral values.

An example of intelligence is a person who shows good manners, but does not behave in a pretentious way, and does not indulge in narcissism. Such an individual does not condemn anyone for wrong actions, but tries to determine their cause.

An example of intelligence is the writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn, who received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1970. In my time politic system tried to destroy him, he was sent to camps, into exile, censorship was imposed, but he could not be broken. Alexander Isaevich faced cancer and was able to defeat it. Not only was he educated, he also helped others and society as a whole. He was tolerant of people's personal shortcomings, while opposing social vices. Solzhenitsyn was a man of strong spirit, body and mind.

The situation with intelligence in the modern world is under threat. The fact is that today there is an acute problem of personality degradation, the consequences of mass media, social networks. However, you need to understand that human values will be preserved at any time, there will always be a place for compassion, the ability to put oneself in the place of other people, treat them with respect, and be tolerant. A sharp mind, together with inner freedom, a deep soul and a thirst for everything beautiful will always occupy a significant place in the process of evolution.

The current intelligentsia is not very different from the representatives of the last century. Such people are strong, they have a kind soul, they do not boast about their achievements and actions, they do everything to change the world for the better.

How to become an intellectual

Great attention must be paid. We are not talking about some kind of fantasy or romance novels, but about classical literature.
Education plays an important role. You need to understand that not every person with a higher education is an intellectual, while all intelligent people are highly educated.
The most great importance has the right upbringing. If I raise a child, I instill respect for other people, the ability to listen to others, the ability to sensibly relate to the point of view of each individual, then he will begin to develop the makings of intelligence.
Educational activities and charity also allow you to become an intellectual.
The inseparability of actions from words. A person who strives to become an intellectual will definitely be responsible for his words and actions.

Now you know what the essence of intelligence is. People must believe that intelligence is the culture of the soul. This is not an indicator of the level of education, these are actions that correspond to moral principles. Humanity vitally needs individuals with a bright soul, who will indicate the need for pure relationships without commercialism, the need to gain knowledge with subsequent development and spiritual growth.

In search of an answer to the question of who an intelligent person is, there is no need to become like the hero of the famous novel created by a duo of Soviet classics. The novel says that he never served anywhere because work would have made it difficult for him to think about what the true purpose of the Russian intelligentsia was. The night “gourmet” - a lover of other people's borscht and cutlets - included himself in this stratum of society.

What does it mean to be an intelligent person? Each period of development of society formulated its own definition of this concept. The outstanding Russian scientist and intelligent person Sergeevich, in his letter published in 1993 in Novy Mir, wrote that an intellectual must have intellectual freedom as the main moral category, limited only by his conscience and thought.

If you look into history, then for the second half of the 19th century, an intelligent person is a simple commoner who received an education and strived to become a people only due to his abilities and thirst for science, for knowledge. Its very origin implied a struggle, both against social inequality and against class. Representatives of such intelligentsia were the intellectual idols of youth of the 1860s - Pisarev, Chernyshevsky and Dobrolyubov.

In addition to the “raznochinsky”, at the same time an intelligent person of the “Chekhov” type appeared, who strived for a moral rather than a political reconstruction. Representatives of this group created sowing reasonable and good things, opened schools and hospitals for the poor, and taught peasant children. We find a striking correspondence to this type in the character of the hero of Flaubert’s famous work - the insightful Doctor Larivière, who despised rank and showed generosity and cordiality towards the poor patients. This and other similar images prove the interethnic character of this type of intellectual, somewhat diluting the often mentioned Russian monopoly.

Before the revolution, the writer Leonid Andreev, a friend of Maxim Gorky, gave a definition of an intelligent person as such, who could not tolerate humiliation from “ powerful of the world this,” had a debilitatingly acute conscience, and, no matter how drunk he was, he still remained cultured and well-mannered.

It has always been difficult for an intelligent person with the above set of qualities to live. But after the proclamation of Soviet power, he generally had to survive. According to the definition of the outstanding Soviet figure Lunacharsky, in order to recognize oneself as a genuine intellectual, three university diplomas are needed: the first is his grandfather’s, the second is his father’s, the third is his own. However, having three educational documents in a family does not guarantee anything - neither developed intelligence, nor the presence of external and internal culture. The above-mentioned definition is also untenable for the reason that it is unlikely that after the revolutionary executions, emigration waves, repressions, exiles and the Gulag, even such formally remained in Soviet Russia. mental work.

Of course, there remained in some places in the country real educated and cultured people who had not resigned themselves to power and cherished sublime feelings in their souls. Its prototypes are often found on the pages of the works of Fedin, Tolstoy, Bulgakov, Zoshchenko and others, but among the victorious boor such people were doomed to extinction.

True, the twentieth century (in its second half) showed the world its worthy and intelligent representatives, nurtured by the dissident and artistic and literary bohemian environment. All of them went through a path of spiritual transformation, based on internal freedom and the best domestic examples of literature, music and painting of the pre-revolutionary and Soviet periods.

The definitions given in this article are, of course, not exhaustive. Search, inquisitive readers, using your intellectual freedom and being guided by thought and conscience.

A person must be intelligent - you can often hear such a phrase, but not everyone can tell why this is necessary and what it means to be an intelligent person in our time.

What kind of person can be called intelligent?

If you conduct a survey on the topic of what kind of person can be called intelligent, what it means to be such a person, then it will be difficult to create an exact definition from scattered statements. Most would agree that the main qualities of an intelligent person are education and well-readness. The other part will say that the main thing is education, because an intelligent man will never say a rude word in the presence of a woman.

The funniest thing will be that both groups will be right and wrong at the same time. Probably the most accurate description of an intelligent person was given by D. Likhachev in his article “A person must be intelligent.” It said that education and upbringing only emphasize a person’s intelligence, but this quality is innate. Even a person without education, brought up in a family of hereditary hard workers, can be an intelligent person. Because this quality does not imply knowledge of the intellectual values of humanity, but the desire to know them. Intelligence is manifested in the ability to understand another person and not use these abilities to harm people. The speech of an intelligent person will not be replete with obscene words, because such people have a keen sense of beauty and cannot afford to violate it either with words or actions. To summarize, we can say that an intellectual is a person who knows how to be tolerant of people and the world. This is why you cannot be a fanatic (sports, religious, political) and remain an intellectual.

Although, in an attempt to understand what it means to be an intelligent person, you can take a simpler route and look into the dictionary. There we will see the definition of an intellectual as an educated person engaged in mental work. Which opinion most corresponds to what an intelligent person should be is up to you to decide.

Why should a person be intelligent?

If we agree with the last definition of an intelligent person, then there is no particular need to be such a person. Because there are a lot of working specialties that do not require higher education. But if we take into account Likhachev’s statements, the need to be an intelligent person will become obvious. Who do you prefer to communicate with - a person who does not respect the opinions of others, who tries to humiliate the interlocutor, or someone who listens to any point of view, trying to understand the opponent?

How to become an intelligent person?

But since we have decided that intelligence is an innate quality, is it possible to develop it in ourselves? Yes, you can learn to be an intelligent person, but this will require considerable willpower. You can read books as much as you like - fiction and scientific essays, memorize figures of speech and use them in your address, but this will not make you an intellectual. In addition to education, it is necessary to learn to think for yourself and respect other people’s opinions, love other people, and treat the world around you with care. And this is not a sectarian sermon, but a necessity, if there were no those who create works of art, who share warmth of soul with others, our life would be gray and our existence aimless. However, it’s up to you to decide who you should be – rudeness and anger are flourishing nowadays and, it seems, such people have a good life.

How many people of the current generation think about what intelligence is? How is it expressed and is it necessary for society at all? There were times when this word sounded like an insult, and sometimes vice versa - this was the name given to groups of people trying to pull Russia out of the darkness of ignorance and stupidity.

Etymology of the word

“Intelligence” is a word that comes from Latin. Iintelligence- cognitive power, the ability of perception, which, in turn, comes from the Latin intellectus- understanding, thinking. Despite the Latin origin of the word, the concept of “intellectual” is considered originally Russian and in the vast majority of cases is used only in the territory former USSR and among the Russian-speaking sections of the population.

The father of the term “intelligentsia” is considered to be the Russian liberalist writer Pyotr Bobrykin (1836-1921), who repeatedly used it in his critical articles, essays and novels. Initially, this was the name given to people of mental work: writers, artists and teachers, engineers and doctors. In those days there were very few such professions and people were grouped according to common interests.

Who is an intelligent person?

“Cultural and not swearing,” many will say. Some will add: “Smart.” And then they’ll add something about being educated and well-read. But are all doctors of science and great minds of this world intellectuals?

There are enough people in the world with a huge amount of knowledge, who have read thousands of books, polyglots and true masters of their craft. Does this automatically make them part of the intelligentsia, the social stratum?

The simplest definition of intelligence

One of the greatest minds of the Silver Age gave a very short but succinct definition of the concept of intelligence: “This is the highest culture of the human spirit, aimed at preserving the dignity of one’s neighbor.”

Such intelligence is that daily work is constant self-improvement, the result of a huge educational process on oneself, one’s personality, which first of all cultivates in a person the ability to be attentive and empathetic towards another living being. An intellectual, even if he commits a dishonest act under the will of circumstances, will suffer greatly from this and be tormented by remorse. He will rather do harm to himself, but will not be tainted by base things.

Universal human values inherent in an intellectual

According to the results of a social survey, the majority of people indicated the importance of education and good manners. But the great Faina Ranevskaya said: “It is better to be known as a good, but swearing, than a well-mannered bastard.” That's why higher education and knowledge of etiquette does not mean that in front of you is an intellectual of the old school. The following factors are more important:

Compassion for the pain of others, no matter whether it is a person or an animal.
Patriotism, expressed in actions, and not in shouting from the podium at rallies.
Respect for other people's property: therefore, a true intellectual always pays debts, but takes them out extremely rarely, in the most critical cases.
Politeness, compliance and gentleness of character are mandatory - they are the first calling card of the intelligentsia. Tactfulness is at the top of their attitude towards people: he will never put another person in an uncomfortable position.
The ability to forgive.
Absence of rudeness towards anyone: even if an impudent person pushes an intellectual, he will be the first to apologize for the inconvenience caused. Just don’t confuse this with cowardice: a coward is afraid, but an intellectual respects all people, no matter what they are.
Lack of intrusiveness: out of respect for strangers, they are more likely to remain silent than to be frank with just anyone.
Sincerity and unwillingness to lie: again, out of decency and love for the people around you, but more out of respect for yourself.
An intellectual respects himself so much that he will not allow himself to be uneducated, unenlightened.
A craving for beauty: a hole in the floor or a book thrown into the dirt excites their soul more than the lack of dinner.

From all this it becomes obvious that education and intelligence are not related concepts, although they interact. An intellectual is a rather complexly structured personality, which is why he is never loved by the lower strata of society: against the background of an esthete who has a keen sense of the world, they feel flawed and do not understand anything, which is why anger manifests itself, leading to violence.

Modern intellectual

What is intelligence today? Is it even possible to be like this in the arena of total degradation and dullness from the media, social networks and television shows?

All this is true, but universal human values do not change from era to era: at any time, tolerance and respect for others, compassion and the ability to put oneself in the place of another are important. Honor, inner freedom and the depth of the soul, together with a keen mind and a thirst for beauty, have always been and will be of paramount importance for evolution. And today's intellectuals are not much different from their brothers in the spirit of the century before last, when man - this really sounded proud. They are modest, honest with themselves and others, and are always kind from the heart, and not for the sake of PR. On the contrary, spiritually developed person will never boast of his actions, achievements and actions, but at the same time he will try to do everything possible to become at least a little better, knowing that by changing himself, he changes the entire world around him for the better.

Do modern society need intellectuals?

Education and intelligence now are as important an aspect as global warming or cruelty to animals. The thirst for money and universal adoration has so captured society that modest attempts by individuals to raise the level of human awareness resemble the painful efforts of a woman giving birth, who, despite all the pain, sacredly believes in a successful outcome.

It is necessary to believe that intelligence is such a culture of the soul. This is not the amount of knowledge, but actions in accordance with moral principles. Perhaps then our world, mired in the mud of a distorted mind, will be saved. Humanity needs bright-hearted individuals, intellectuals of the spirit, who will promote the purity of relationships without mercantile motives, the importance of spiritual growth and the need for knowledge as the initial basis for subsequent development.

When does the formation of moral qualities occur?

In order to be, or rather, to feel like an intellectual and not be burdened by this burden, it is necessary to absorb the inclinations with mother’s milk, to be brought up in the appropriate environment and environment, then highly moral behavior will be like a part of the being, like a hand or an eye.

It is for this reason that it is important not only to raise a child in the right direction, but also to set a clear example with rational actions, correct actions, and not just words.