What values ​​are called eternal? Definition of values

Causes of diseases

Over several decades of medical work, it became clear to me that the cause of many diseases is human behavior. The idea arose to influence behavior even before a person develops health problems. I wanted to change children’s attitude towards health and lifestyle in general, but not only by instilling hygienic rules of behavior. There is a need to turn to eternal, universal, vital spiritual values ​​- love, kindness, beauty... The lack of a conscious attitude towards these spiritual values, in our opinion, hinders the manifestation of concern for health in general.
We are introducing a new concept - holistic health, because caring only about one’s own health, as doctors previously called for, has turned out to be ineffective. It is impossible to talk about holistic health without changing the attitude towards spiritual values ​​and the idea of ​​man as a part of nature.
Based on this concept, we have created educational programs for schoolchildren from 1st to 9th grade and for young people (separately for 10th and 11th grades), parents and educators. In these programs, all material is divided into 10 main topics, the content of which gradually reveals and deepens the essence of the problem raised.
The teacher, along with demonstrating the various attractive sides of real kindness, will definitely talk about the existence of false kindness.
It is difficult to distinguish true kindness from false, and even though adults often play it safe, they should still instill in children that without the permission of their parents it is impossible, for example, to accept treats or other offerings from strangers. This rule must be strictly observed.
The teacher's attitude towards the child must be kind and polite. This attitude will create a favorable climate for the educational process and improve the child’s health.
I remember my long-ago visit to a Spanish school with students from the Moscow State Pedagogical Institute. IN AND. Lenin. We entered the 2nd grade when the arithmetic lesson was already underway. Nobody paid attention to us. The teacher continued to explain the task and emphasized that the children themselves would check each other’s homework with complete goodwill - in a brotherly way. Some time later, when the check of the “right and left rows” was completed, two students approached the teacher. One of them (responsible for ventilating the classroom) opened the windows slightly, and the second began to conduct a physical education break.
After 5-7 minutes, both attendants returned to their places, and the teacher began to call several people to the board in turn, who solved arithmetic examples on the board, and solved the rest of the same examples in their notebooks. The examples with student comments were then checked. The calm, friendly and respectful form of communication both between students and between the teacher and students was noteworthy. After the bell rang, the students began to calmly leave the classroom without any crowds or noise.
The teacher whose lesson we visited behaved so naturally and spoke so warmly with the children that we, the guests, were amazed, especially since no one knew about our visit to this class in advance, we simply opened the nearest door.
I have remembered this lesson for 20 years, and I believe that it turned out to be instructive for the students as well. The teacher demonstrated a high level of behavior, and the children adopted the teacher’s tact and kindness and tried to demonstrate them themselves.
Material values ​​are always limited, but spiritual values ​​are unlimited. Each person can name several things that he especially likes and which he does not want to part with. But their number is limited. And a mother’s love, which she extends to her children, is limitless.
In addition to love, the eternal universal spiritual values ​​include kindness and beauty. Kindness manifests itself in our behavior and actions. Kindness is combined with inner, spiritual beauty.
Politeness is also an eternal and universal value, but in different nations, depending on established traditions, it can manifest itself differently. Try to prepare a story about the politeness that exists in your family. And when you talk about your activities that you like, try to highlight the spiritual and material among them. Try sketching your favorite activities.
As an example, we present two topics related to eternal universal human values, such as love, kindness, beauty...

1st–2nd grades

You already came across the concept of true and false kindness last year. Try to draw how you understand true and false kindness.
Children's poetess Agnia Barto wrote the following poems:
They dropped the bear on the floor, tore off the bear's paw,
I still won’t leave him, because he’s good!

How do you imagine the events that A. Barto spoke about, and why does the child think the bear is good? Perhaps this is a manifestation of real kindness, even to a toy? (It is advisable to give examples of several children's stories with their illustrations.)

Artist Natalya Bondyreva depicted a story about a bear whose paw was torn off. The boy tore his paw off, angry about something, and the girl was very upset and even cried, holding the bear’s paw in her hand. It’s good if you have a desire to understand the content of the drawing proposed by the artist. Try to explain both stories (from the poet and from the artist) from the position of true and false kindness. And if possible, write down your reasoning.
This picture also reflects another human feeling - thrift. Everyone is familiar with the feeling of frugality, especially in relation to those material values ​​that are dear to you. How and what spiritual values ​​do you protect?

The artist N. Bondyreva offers to discuss her drawing “Swan Family, or parental love" What do you think about this drawing? Try to give examples or sketches of your own polite and respectable behavior or that of your friends.

Poet V.D. Berestov wrote a poem:

Loved you for no special reason
Because you are a grandson,
Because you are a son
Because baby
Because you are growing,
Because he looks like his dad and mom,
And this love until the end of your days
It will remain your secret support.

3rd grade

Topic: “True and false kindness”

We already know that true kindness is when a person performs an act out of the kindness of his heart, without counting on his own benefit, much less causing harm to another: a person, animal, object or nature...
False kindness is associated with self-interest, benefit for oneself. Therefore, we must refuse gifts given by strangers! Under the guise of kindness, people may pursue their own gain.
Now let's think about what each of us experiences when we receive or give gifts. What is more pleasant - giving or receiving gifts? What kind of gifts are more pleasant to give to parents - homemade or purchased - and which of your gifts please them more? What gifts make you happy? Do you care who they are from, do you need these things and what is their price?
Probably, someone prefers to receive gifts, and someone prefers to give, because we are all different people, but most parents probably value gifts made by the child themselves. They talk about love for their parents.
When my daughter was in second grade, she gave me earrings for March 8th that exactly matched the brooch I had. This gift made me more sad than happy. Before that, she gave me something made with her own hands, and her gifts made me very happy. They had skill, creativity and her love for me. The donated earrings also contained love, attention to beauty, great desire please mom, but at what cost? After all, she was saving money, refusing lunches at school, harming her health, and even deceiving me, violating our sincere relationship.
Now I have grandchildren, they are already older than my daughter was then, and we still continue to discuss this episode and do not come to a common opinion. For me, those events remained as an example of false kindness. The daughter showed good will to please her mother on International Women's Day. But at what cost? The price is damage to health, deception, or rather temporary secrecy in the name of a surprise - the sincere relationship between a loving daughter and mother is broken.

Topic: “Eternal universal spiritual values”

Such spiritual values ​​as love, kindness, beauty and others are called eternal, universal, because they live for centuries and are recognized by all humanity. What values ​​should include politeness and self-esteem? Of course, to spiritual and moral ones, but they are talked about less often. Meanwhile, for younger schoolchildren, the concept of politeness should be explained first of all. This is a sensitive attitude towards other people, courtesy. These qualities are highly valued, although they cost nothing to a polite person. But internal self-respect, that is, a sense of dignity, increases in him.
In the previous topic, we already looked at different options for goodness - from a sincere desire to bring joy to another person to false kindness, which is actually aimed at destroying health. “Evil tongues are worse than a pistol,” said Alexander Griboedov. Indeed, a word can both please a person and deeply wound him.
Truly spiritual value is love, which even ancient people primarily addressed to God as the highest example of spiritual value. Love is vitally necessary due to the fact that without it, without purpose and meaning, it is difficult for a person to live. Love is one of the manifestations of instinct - an innate attraction to an individual of the opposite sex, the possibility of continuing the human race. But for love to be something more than an animal attraction, it must contain the following spiritual value - beauty. Beautiful love is romantic, real human love, not just an instinctual need.
Beauty itself is beauty in harmony. Harmony in human relationships is primarily manifested by politeness, when a person, by helping others, receives personal pleasure.

4th grade

Topic: “True and false kindness”

One king loved to hunt. One day he went into the forest for prey. I saw a deer in the forest, shot at it, but missed. The deer managed to flee from the insidious bullet. The king was annoyed by the failure and therefore, when he saw the bear, he began to aim more carefully. But during this time the bear also managed to escape. The king was completely upset and decided to collect mushrooms instead of hunting game. But he didn’t know much about mushrooms, and when he ate the mushrooms he had collected, he felt bad, lost consciousness and fell into a deep hole. The subjects, having discovered the king in the hole, tried to pull him out, but they failed. The king was doomed to death. Then the subjects turned to the animals and asked: is there anyone among them so strong that he can free the king from the pit? A bear and a deer came to the rescue, which the king almost shot. They were very strong and kind, and such people never take revenge. The deer asked to wrap one end of a long rope around his antlers, and lower the other into the hole to the king. So the deer and the bear managed to pull out the half-dead king. And when he came to his senses, they asked him: “Well, is it good to die prematurely?” The king agreed that killing was a bad thing.
From that day on, the king ordered to destroy all guns in his kingdom and turn the kingdom into a reserve, where animals were not only not killed, but, on the contrary, they were helped to live. In winter, when they lacked food, the animals were fed. And in the summer, when the river dried up, water was delivered to the forest through special pipes.

Topic: “Eternal universal spiritual values”

Let's try to give definitions of concepts that we use.
Kindness is a character trait and actions: responsiveness, mercy, spiritual disposition towards goodness and the desire to do it to others.
Dignity is an internal sense of self-respect and responsibility for the choice made, sometimes overcoming one’s own cowardice, lack of will and even cowardice. But the power of the human spirit helps moral personality survive.
Spirituality begins with aspiration for eternal universal human values ​​- love, beauty, kindness...
Holistic health includes the health of the individual, society, and their unity with nature. It can be achieved through constant work on oneself and the pursuit of moral perfection.
Personal health in a legal, civil society is the highest degree of individual responsibility for a holistic, caring and careful attitude towards complete well-being within and outside oneself. When a person feels the fullness of vital energy, the joy of being, the ability for daily work, especially creative work.
Beauty is a universal form of existence of the objective (material) and spiritual world in the human consciousness, revealing the aesthetic meaning of phenomena, their external and/or internal qualities that cause pleasure, enjoyment, and moral satisfaction.
Love is the highest, multifaceted, emotionally positively colored feeling for a person, idea, object, Motherland or other object. Love is based on trust, care and responsibility.

The following parable demonstrates a direct illustration of spiritual values.
The princess did not love anyone, although it was time for her to start a family. The young men who could become her suitors did not propose to her. But one day a soldier returned from the war without one leg and blind. He had many military achievements, but he was especially famous for his kindness and responsiveness. The soldier proposed to the princess, and she accepted the offer to become his wife. They fell in love very much, and within a year her husband grew a leg. When he regained his sight, he saw that his wife was unusually beautiful. The princess's former boyfriends could not understand how they had not seen her beauty before. And she was never beautiful before, love made her that way!

Maria KUZNETSOVA,
Candidate of Medical Sciences,
Associate Professor of APKiPPRO
The ending follows

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Conversation with teenagers

"Our eternal values"

Every person's life is the universe,

a loss that cannot be replaced...

Target– to instill in children an attitude towards life as a great value on earth, to develop moral qualities personalities

Guys, today we will talk about human values.

What are human values? What can a person value?

(Children's answers)

There are material, socio-political and spiritual values. Different social classes had different ideas about values: love, goodness, freedom, justice...

Each person has his own moral values, what he values ​​most, what is sacred to him.

What is value to you?

(Children list their values)

If a person knows how to correctly evaluate events, various situations, actions, he has the opportunity to make a choice between good and bad, kind and evil, useful and harmful.

If a person dreams of acquiring only material goods, he evaluates himself at the level of material goods: as the owner of a house, a dacha, a car...

If a person lives to bring good to people, alleviate suffering, bring happiness and joy to people, he evaluates himself at the level of this humanity.

Only a vital goal allows a person to live his life and find joy.

So, what are the main human values?

Listen to the poem by M. Andronov.

Along the path that led to the river,

Under a drooping poplar branch,

A dove was fighting in a child's fist

In full view of a flock of pigeons.

The dove was fighting, the dove was alive,

And his breadwinner is eight years old

I buried my dead head in the dust

And I haven’t seen a summer sunset in the village.

And the sunset was red from the fires.

The dove fought as if caught in a vice,

How he wanted to soar above the rooftops,

How I wanted to fly up to the winged family!

Life and death are intertwined into one ball.

The boy was killed by a Nazi mine.

He lay in the dust, and the dove

My heart was longing for a flock of pigeons.

Let's say, what is the most important human value sung in the poem?

Yes, life is what it is main value on the ground. And every person must take care of his own life and that of others. No wonder there is such a saying: “The life of every person is a universe, the loss of which cannot be compensated...”.

An outstanding teacher taught his students to value their own and other people’s lives, taught them to live beautifully and with dignity: in work, honesty, caring for each other. Makarenko devoted his entire life to children. He worked without any days off or vacations, he did not spare himself for the sake of the happiness of his children.

Every person has a choice - what to do with their life, for whom to live.

There are different ways to live in life,

It is possible in sorrow and in joy.

Eat on time, drink on time,

Do nasty things on time.

Or you can do this:

Get up at dawn

And, thinking about a miracle,

Reach the sun with your bare hand

And give it to people.

For life to become happy, you need to fill it with meaning. The need to live a full life is the need of every person, forcing him to seek and find the meaning of life. A person who feels his life is devoid of meaning cannot live, or he lives not a human, but a plant life. through the lips of his hero, he well expressed the existence of the need to have a meaning in life: “... the secret of human existence is not only in living, but in why to live. Without a firm idea of ​​why he should live, a person will not agree to live and would rather destroy himself than remain on earth.”

This is how the poet A. Isahakyan writes about life, about meaning.

To live for the sake of the joy of happiness,

To live is for the bitterness of tears.

To live for the sake of the word of participation,

Live for the beauty of dreams.

To live both in suffering and in affection.

In faith, lack of faith, in a dream,

In the rapture of a fairy tale

And in honor of spring.

M. Wilson writes that a person has a need that he does not forget about: “The powerful sweet desire to create is the same as: an idea, a car, a house, a dress, a plant grown from a seed, but to create exactly as intended. And when people are deprived of such an opportunity, they are missing something in life...”

You can give examples of creation from books. The spirit of creation and creativity truly reigned in the colony. The heart, hands, brain of every child were busy creative work. Every day they did something, created something, moved life along a given path. They were constantly on the move.

The same thought was expressed by Leo Tolstoy: “When a person is in motion, he always comes up with a goal for this movement. In order to walk 1000 miles, a person needs to think that there is something good beyond these thousand miles. You need to have an idea of ​​the Promised Land in order to have the strength to move.”

A. Anton Chekhov saw the meaning of life more simply: “A person must work, work hard, and this is the meaning and purpose of life, his happiness, his delight.”

You mentioned another value – faith.

What does faith mean? What do you believe?

Faith is conviction, deep confidence in something.

A Russian proverb says: “Good is to him who believes.” How do you understand this? What should you believe in? Why?

(Children's answers)

For a person to have a happy life, he needs to believe in himself. It is most important. Listen to the parable.

A man turns to God: “Lord, help me to believe in you.

How much I’ve been praying, but I still can’t believe it.”

To which God answers him: “Believe in yourself first, and you will believe in me.”

Indeed, self-confidence is a very strong thing.

Why do you need to believe in yourself? How do you understand: “According to faith let him be rewarded”?

The German writer and thinker Goethe wrote: “If you have lost a fortune, then you have not lost anything; you can make a fortune again. If you have lost honor, then try to gain glory - and honor will be returned to you. But if you lose faith in yourself, you have lost everything.”

Chekhov said: “A man is what he believes in.”

Let's discuss these two statements.

(Children's answers)

Faith grows from the very depths of human nature. A person cannot live without faith, without a point of support. His inner world must certainly include a developed sense of faith in something: in God, in Salvation, in Happiness, in Good.

Those who do not worship God

In a cruel grown-up age,

We understand little by little

That a person is strong in faith.

Belief in shrines gives a person spiritual qualities. He becomes kinder, more tolerant, and has his own dignity.

Imagine a person living without faith, he looks gloomily at the future. He has nothing to rely on, except perhaps his mind. Faith Serves

We are a guiding thread in the most difficult life situations. One of the philosophers said: “Faith is, first of all, the courage of the spirit, which rushes forward, confident that it will find the truth. She is not the enemy of reason, but its light.” And if a person sees this light, trusts his heart, then he overcomes everything in his path. Lack of faith is the main cause of spiritual emptiness.

When we live without faith,

Having no desire for the light,

The soul grows stale every day,

And the mind becomes a lackey.

If you lose faith in yourself, in another person, a breakdown occurs in your soul, the person becomes two-faced, hypocritical. No matter what vices the seeds of unbelief sprout, a person becomes morally thick-skinned, ethical values ​​do not exist for him. He vigilantly notices the slightest manifestations of immorality in the world around him, evil seems to attract him.

The heart was gnawed by the bitterness of doubts,

The mind is confused by the seething thoughts.

I would be glad to grab at a straw -

This straw will crunch in your palms.

What should I do?

Is it possible to swim out?

Is it possible to believe?

Is it conceivable... Believe! (Ya. Rainis)

From time immemorial, our people have always been distinguished by their strong faith, which is why they survived wars and bore all the hardships of life on their shoulders. For him, Faith, Love, Goodness have always been sacred.

Believe in great power love,

Believe sacredly in her conquering cross,

In her light, radiantly saving

A world mired in dirt and blood.

Believe in the great power of love!

Goodness, kindness are the eternal values ​​of man!

Kindness has long been valued in Rus'.

How do you understand what good is? Why should it be done?

(Children's answers)

said this: “Kindness is the only garment that never wears out. And Ludwig Van Beethoven: “I know of no other signs of superiority except kindness.”

Let's discuss these statements.

Chinese wisdom says that “the source of good and evil is in our soul, and not outside.” It depends on the person himself whether he will be kind or not. A spiritual personality is expressed in an active attitude towards good and evil, in the ability not only to see good and evil, but also to take everything that happens to heart. Ideas of good are the yardstick by which we approach explanation and evaluation. human relations around you. Good is when people contribute, help, give us the opportunity to feel richer, happier, more confident in life. a kind person notices first of all the good in others, the evil one notices the bad. You should always do good and you will see how many good friends you will have, how much happier you yourself will become. wrote: “While you are young and vigorous, do not get tired of doing good. If there is meaning and purpose in life, then the meaning and purpose is not in your happiness, but in something more reasonable and greater. Do good.”

Sometimes not only an action, but a simple word will make a person more joyful, happier. Don't forget to talk Nice words every day, but think before you say an offensive word or express dissatisfaction. After all, a word can hurt and damage the soul.

There is no need to skimp on a kind word.

Saying this word is like giving someone a drink.

You can’t rush with an offensive word,

So that tomorrow you won’t be ashamed of yourself.

But beware of offensive words

Isn't it the same as being afraid of your own shadow?

I know these truths from childhood,

And I need to think about them all my life.

Good must be active, active.

What does active good mean? Give examples.

But do you know what is the good of the ages?

We must love all living things, all living things,

No evil in thoughts or actions, -

This is the eternal truth, the holy truth!

All people are capable of many things,

But those are only beautiful who are kind-hearted!

It is not necessary to have great abilities or talent at all if anger rather than love lives in your heart.

Guys, I wish you not to lose the most important values: faith, goodness, love, so that you take care of your own and other people’s lives as the highest value on earth.

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 the value is presented in the form of an intangible object - in the form of faith and love - it is also real and can act as a life guideline for 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 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 interested in material gain and stability.

But it is on eternal values ​​that the world rests. And no matter what happens in the world, no matter what technological and material innovations are invented, eternal values ​​play an important role in the life of every person.

Without them, a person cannot develop spiritually and feel morally satisfied. In goodness and truth, justice and honesty, the fullness of a person’s life 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 historical periods, during war or revolution, when people need to be built new world and a new way of life.

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 is a safer refuge. Call it whatever you like - spirit, thought, soul; the name doesn't matter. Here my power is much greater than in the 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 illness. 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 argue 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, you can 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 Leconte 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 not the earth itself exists. “But in this case,” the Believer will ask, “do you, like us, believe that the Lord created living beings?” I believe only in what I know, and in this area 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. Eat whole line cases where herd sentiment 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 as 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 conquered and put into our service forces whose existence 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 his knowledge and power, modern people unhappy as 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 haven?

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 the latest discoveries will put an end to the closed life of individual peoples. Modern means of communication make it possible to govern territories much larger than previous states. Modern military technology is too powerful to make it worth taking risks and 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 in our days it is the duty of all writers, scientists and statesmen- convince people of the need to create 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, being afraid to utter an extra word, constantly hiding your thoughts - this is not life. Secondly, I believe that freedom is the key to the strength of the state. Totalitarian states are 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. A totalitarian regime misleads only romantics and the weak in spirit, who mistake the tyrant for a savior. 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 have long believed that marital fidelity is 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 to " small homeland"does not drown out the love for the homeland "big". 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 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 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” - We are talking about 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.