Moral ideal and other concepts of moral consciousness. Moral ideal and reality. The purpose of the moral ideal. Ideal and antihero. The ratio of moral and social ideal
Above, we examined a number of fundamental concepts of moral consciousness, the content of which is, one might say, the basis of moral culture. But a specific person in his daily life, in the most diverse, sometimes conflict situations, needs not abstract, abstract ideas, but a concrete example of behavior, an example to follow, a visual guideline for action.
In its most generalized form, such an illustrative example is expressed in a moral ideal, which, one might say, is a concretization for given historical, cultural, social conditions of ideas about good and evil, justice, duty, happiness, the meaning of life, and other concepts of morality. In reality, the ideal is either a living historical personality (most often idealized), or rather, its lacquered image - from Alexander the Great to Lenin, Sakharov and other outstanding figures of our time, poets, artists, etc. All the necessary moral qualities are often attributed to this image, if they are lacking and they make life according to ... Dzerzhinsky, Matrosov, etc. The hero of a literary work often acts as a real embodiment of the ideal. In the past, and partly today, there were many imitators of Pechorin, Bazarov, Rakhmetov, Korchagin, etc. The list of these "living" and fictional ideals can be continued indefinitely. However, it is important to emphasize: a person, especially a young person, has an urgent need for a worthy, authoritative ideal, which to a certain extent determines both the content of the moral values \u200b\u200bof a particular person and the technology for their implementation. Therefore, it is quite reasonable to conclude: what is a person's ideal, such is he himself (with certain reservations).
Of course, one must be aware that the ideal by its nature is something not only sublime, but also unattainable. As soon as the ideal lands and becomes feasible, it immediately ceases to play its functions - a "beacon", a landmark. However, the ideal should not be completely unattainable, an alien from other worlds. In this case, he is not able to stimulate the activity of the individual, because whatever he does, everything will be in vain. It is no coincidence that Jesus Christ - the embodiment of moral perfection for Christians - is a God-man, i.e. it contains both divine nature, inaccessible to a mere mortal, and human nature. The Christian ideal, say Orthodox theologians, is not expressed by a one-sided emphasis on the divine principle. They remind that Jesus Christ was born in a simple family of a carpenter, that he specifically helped the suffering and disadvantaged, condemned the wicked, etc.
But the real moral life of a person consists not only of goodness, justice, happiness, decency and nobility. There is a lot of evil, injustice, shamelessness, etc. in the world. The focus of the moral negative is expressed in a kind of antiideals, in antiheroes, etc. They are both concrete historical figures, from Herostratus to Hitler, and numerous heroes of the works of Gogol, Saltykov-Shchedrin, T. Bulgakov and others. Moreover, in this case, real historical figures, or rather their images, are most often attributed to only negative features. Apparently, in order for this anti-ideal to be more effective. It must be admitted that anti-ideals can also play a positive role: they vividly, in their own way, convincingly show how not to feel, think, act, i.e. they ward off evil.
Since the time of Plato, attempts have been made to create schemes of an ideal society (state), to construct various utopias (as well as dystopias). But it is worth remembering that social ideals can count on their present, and not on temporary embodiment, if they are based on eternal moral values, if they are consistent with moral ideals.
In our life we \u200b\u200boften use the word "ideal". But do we think about its meaning. Let's take a look at the explanatory dictionary. A synonym for the word ideal is the word "perfection". If you describe the meaning, it turns out that this is the highest point that a person can reach in his development. A person can have ideal beauty and character. But all these are external manifestations.
Interpretation of the term
After doing a little research, we could not find a consensus on the question "what are ideals?" The definition can be completely different and ambiguous.
The problem is that for each person who lives in a particular society, the interpretation of the term "ideal" is unique. A person follows his ideas, which are inherent in his subconsciousness. For some, these are the ideals of external beauty, but for others, these are spiritual ideals. But you cannot treat them as a static phenomenon. For example, in childhood, there may be the ideals of a prince or princess. They will have certain character traits, appearance.
As a child grows up, these ideals begin to change. This should be taken quite seriously. Many children take for ideals images that are not at all. Especially serious are the ideals that adolescents define for themselves. For example, an action hero who breaks the law. Following his ideal can lead a child to repeat the fate of his idol himself.
Sometimes a successful person is chosen as the ideal. Following his advice, you can achieve success in business yourself. The older generation considers veterans, heroes who saved their homeland and thousands of lives to be an ideal and a role model. But each person perceives ideals in their own way. Because everyone has their own system of values.
Examples of the ideal
The description of the ideal can be found in fiction, painting, architecture. But the problem is that in different eras a certain stereotype was taken as the highest point of perfection. The moral ideal can be external or internal. In the works of literature, you can find many examples of how a person who has external beauty, for example Helene in "War and Peace", can be far from ideal in terms of his spiritual content. Thus, we are unlikely to find a single point of view on what ideals are.
Ideal from the point of view of philosophy
The question of what ideals are has been of interest to people since ancient times. Today, the concept of morality and culture is gradually losing its meaning. In the minds of adults, not to mention children, there is a real confusion of a wide variety of cultures and values. At the same time, society cannot develop normally if there are no lofty goals and ideals. The concept of a moral ideal is present in the Orthodox religion, on which the culture of Ancient Rus was built. Children, in those days, were brought up in accordance with the idea of \u200b\u200bthe dogmas of the Orthodox Church.
Later, many philosophers, such as Lomonosov, studied ideals from their own points of view. It was their ideas that were incorporated into the system of raising children. The concept of the ideal can be found in the works of Kant, Pestalozza, Ushinsky. The system of spiritual values \u200b\u200bis embedded in many works of fiction. But the fact is that at different times, when asked what ideals are, people answered differently. Each culture has its own values.
About moral ideals
If you analyze the concept from a philosophical point of view, then you can find a division. There is an ideal that is defined as the highest point, value, a certain system of moral concepts. In which the moral ideal is a system based on moral requirements. Their combination forms a certain image of a person's personality. There are certain characteristics.
- From the point of view of the spiritual and moral value system, ideals are a model that deserves imitation. In this regard, examples can be cited from fiction and spiritual literature. Many heroes have a number of characteristics that make it possible to draw conclusions about their moral qualities.
- Throughout human evolution, the concept of "moral ideal" has constantly changed. So, in ancient Greece, according to Aristotle, the ideal from the moral point of view was the ability to self-contemplation. A person had to detach from ordinary worldly life in order to achieve the highest point of perfection. Kant, believed that the moral ideal is determined by the inner world of a person.
In order to perform actions that are worthy of an ideal personality, you need to be guided by certain rules. One way or another, but for every philosopher and psychologist there is his own concept of what ideals are.
Human cultural values
A person lives in a society. This or that society, if we consider it as a society, lives in accordance with its rules, traditions, which are also called culture. A person cannot exist without a specific goal. It is culture that puts forward certain goals for the individual. This is not a scientific definition. Science reveals causes that exist at certain time periods. The goals that a person sets for himself make it possible to predict the future. It is determined by the actions of the individual.
In the animal world, there is no value system from which the definition of what the ideals of culture are. But it exists in human society. Moreover, the goals that an individual sets for himself are largely determined by culture. The culture of a society is based on tradition. It develops at the genetic level. That is, it is passed down from generation to generation. Society sets before a person a difficult task - to preserve culture. Throughout the evolution of mankind, there have been a large number of different cultures. There was Chinese, Egyptian, Old Russian. Each of them took care of passing on their value system to the next generation.
Ideal human life
From all of the above, we can say that each person has his own system of values. Each person sets himself certain goals. Achieving them, a person realizes his ideal of life.
For one, the ideal in life is the family, for another material values. Each of us has his own ideal of life. Everyone makes an effort to achieve it. To do this, he sets goals for himself. This is very important, it is the goal that motivates a person to develop in the direction he needs.
Is it possible to achieve the ideal
If we consider the ideal as a goal to strive for, then we can turn to psychology. Much here depends on the answer to the question, what are the ideals of a person, as well as on his person. If there is a desire, then the goal set for yourself can be achieved. What is needed for this? First of all, you need to determine for yourself what exactly needs to be achieved. This could be the perfect family, or the perfect job. After that, on a piece of paper, you should make a plan for yourself.
Secondly, it is important to determine for yourself the time frame for achieving the set task. You should not immediately plan your actions for several years ahead. It can be a short period of time, during which it is possible to achieve certain results that will bring closer the realization of the goal.
It is very important to find the right motivation or reason for yourself. You need to support yourself with positive thoughts. Very often, obstacles arise on the way to achieving your ideal. Do not forget that without them it is impossible to achieve the goal. You need to treat them correctly. It is very important to get out of your usual comfort zone.
Finally
Having considered the question of what are the ideals of a person, one can draw conclusions. In pursuit of material values, one should not forget about morality and spirituality. The basis of moral values \u200b\u200bis laid in many religions. There must be a system that is based on culture. The soul should come first. It is about the development of spiritual qualities that you should take care of first of all. Then the life of society can become ideal.
focus, organizational center and at the same time a form of morality. Each of them exists as a pole of the dual opposition: the liberal ideal is the traditional one, the conciliar ideal is the authoritarian ideal, and so on.
Hybrid ideals occupy a special place. in particular, pseudo syncretism.
The poles of opposition are in a state of ambivalence among themselves. One of the ideals at a certain stage can be dominant, while the other - pushed into the background, perhaps even - a form of catacomb culture.
Polarities can pass into each other according to the laws of inversion, that is, through a logically instantaneous change of one pole to another. The inversion is under pressure from the mediation existing in the background, which requires an ambivalent transition, the interpenetration of the poles. Within each global period, stages arise, which turns it into a global modified inversion cycle. At each stage, its own specific version of the dominant N. and. Dominates, homogeneous N. and.
correspond to similar stages of another global period. Each version of the dominant N. and. characterized by a new consensus and can be seen as a ripple stage. The emergence of each new dominant N. and. usually marked by a certain increase in social energy, a strengthening of discipline, some improvement in economic performance, a decrease in outright slovenliness, etc. This wave of approval by N. and. reaches its apogee, but gradually its utopian character as a program for the structure of society comes to light, it turns out that its arrival was actually a departure from one pre-catastrophic state, from one threshold and a transition to another threshold, a pre-catastrophic state.
as a result, it begins to weaken, the growth of disorganization in society, the growth of an uncomfortable state; inversion fall of the dominant N. and.
leads to the domination of the new N. and. Within each global modified inversion cycle, as long as there is an established relationship between inversion and mediation, there are perhaps seven stages, seven versions of the dominant moral N. and.
Basic N. and. countries, that is, the veche and the conciliar and authoritarian that emerged from it, as well as the ideal of universal consent, arise in an abstract form as elements of mass inversion, carrying the illusion that all pressing problems of society will be automatically resolved when the domination of the existing N.
and. and asserting the opposite. This utopia leads society into an inversion trap, which is clearly revealed after the start of modernization.
The movement of the inversion wave requires from all groups of society, primarily from the first person, from the ruling elite, constant work on the interpretation of the new N. and., Which is expressed in the corresponding shifts in the hybrid ideal, in ideology, in concrete politics, which is the direct result of this interpretations, in the daily solution of the mediation problem. The conflict of this interpretation with the mass consciousness can lead to disastrous consequences.
When studying each N. and., The diversity of its versions, it is of great importance to identify in it a certain sociocultural core that gives impetus to the ideal. Such a core can be, for example, a local ancient community: a patriarchal family, clan, etc., the ideal image of which can be extrapolated to the entire society, to one degree or another identified with the ideal of a machine civilization and become the basis of the ideal of a community - society - a machine. ... This ideal prevailed in one form or another in the first stages of the second global period. In some cases, ideally, a certain cultural utopia of the kingdom of God on earth, the kingdom of Truth prevails, in others, on the contrary, an attempt is made to highlight some realities, for example, in local worlds of the middle level, that is, a feudal-type fiefdom (stage of stagnation) , self-government at enterprises, which should dictate the content of N. and. in general, etc. However, an appeal to real social relations can be no less a utopia than to the kingdom of Truth, since these relations themselves may either not fit into a large society, or they themselves may be the result of previous violations of socio-cultural law, represent a pathological the result of past inversion traps (for example, an industrial enterprise that has developed as a technological, but not as an economic phenomenon; the collective farm as a compromise between the state's desire to streamline the "liquid element" and establish production, etc.)
A moral ideal is a process based on the perception of moral requirements through a certain personality image. It is formed through a number of characteristics. Further in the article we will analyze in more detail the concept of "moral ideals" (examples of them will be given below). What can they be? What are the goals pursued?
General information
Spiritual and moral ideals of the individual serve. Society imposes certain requirements of moral behavior on people. Its bearer is precisely moral ideals. The image of a highly developed person in moral terms embodies those positive qualities that serve as a standard for relations and behavior between people. It is these characteristics that force a person in particular and society as a whole to improve their moral character, and therefore, to develop.
Attitude of scientists
Ideals and different times differed among themselves. Many famous thinkers and poets have raised this topic in their works. For Aristotle, the moral ideal was self-contemplation, knowledge of the truth and detachment from worldly affairs. According to Kant, within any personality there is a "perfect person". The instruction for his actions is the moral ideal. This is a kind of internal compass that brings a person closer to perfection, but at the same time does not make him perfect. For every philosopher, scientist, theologian there was his own image and his own understanding of the moral ideal.
purpose
Moral ideals undoubtedly contribute to the self-education of the individual. A person, through an effort of will and understanding that the goal must be achieved, strives to achieve and conquer the heights of the moral plan. Moral ideals are the basis on which norms are further formed. All this happens on the basis of interests in human life. Of no small importance is the life situation in which the person is. For example, during the war years, moral ideals were focused on the image of the courageous, valiant, wielding weapons, but using them only to protect their land and their relatives.
Impact on the development of society
The understanding of the moral ideal extends to the entire society. A person dreams of seeing himself in a society that will be built on humane and fair principles. In this case, the ideal is the image of such a society in which it is possible to express the interests of certain social groups, their concepts of higher justice and the social order that would be better.
The moral indicators of the social ideal consist of an equal distribution of the benefits of life between members of society, the relationship between human rights and obligations. High moral elements include the abilities of an individual, his place in life, contribution to public life and the amount of money received in return. Moral ideals determine positive indicators of life and the ability to achieve a happy existence. Striving for perfection, which is the ultimate goal of all efforts, a person and society should use only highly moral means.
Lenin considered moral ideals to be "the highest moral", combining positive characteristics. In his opinion, they represented everything necessary for people and were a model for society. The content of the ideal is built from the moral properties evaluated on the highest scale. Consciousness elevates to a superlative degree those highly moral traits, qualities, attitudes of people that are valid and real in their essence. Society and the individual strive to implement moral values. Each member of society must think with dignity and correctly, be able to build relationships and interact. The ideal is accompanied by certain positive emotional manifestations. These include, in particular, admiration, approval, the desire to be better. All this is a strong stimulant that makes a person strive for self-education and self-development. There are several types of ideal: regressive and reactionary, real and utopian. The content of moral qualities has changed in the course of history. The ideals of the past, because of their illusion and isolation from reality, not aimed at the activity of an individual, remained inaccessible. Even the essence of progressive high moral indicators took subjective wishes as a basis, without realizing the impartiality of the law and ways of achieving it.
Influence of modernity
During the communist system, moral ideals were called upon to serve the establishment, strengthening of the existing system. An indicator of the high morality of modern society is a harmoniously developed personality. She is distinguished by the desire for moral perfection. Society has certain moral requirements for its members. Together they form a model of a fully developed personality. Constantly enriching, replenishing with something new, they reflect the development of the moral practice of the socialist society. The society of the times of socialism puts in the first place the culture of the individual, an active civil position, a sense of non-discrepancy between words and deeds, honesty.
The moral ideals of our time have an active and effective character, associated with the needs of society. They take on real shape in the socialist interaction of members of society. modern times are actively working in the spheres of self-improvement and self-development. Plekhanov said that the more actively a person strives to achieve the social ideal, the higher he becomes morally. But even in socialist times, highly moral indicators, not coinciding with reality, go one step ahead. They set certain goals for a person, consisting in constant movement, a continuous process of development. Increasing the social activity of the individual, improving social practice and moral education - all this in a complex will help resolve the contradictions that have arisen between reality and the moral ideal.
(from the Greek idea - kind, image, representation, concept; English ideal, moral; German Ideal, sittliches; French ideal moral; Czech ideal mravni)
1. An unattainable prototype that can never become reality.
2. The concept of moral consciousness, in which the moral requirements imposed on people are expressed in the form of an image of a morally perfect personality, an idea of \u200b\u200ba person who has embodied all the highest moral qualities (virtues).
3. People's idea of \u200b\u200ba perfect personality, embodying the best moral qualities and being a role model, a standard of behavior, a goal to achieve which a person's efforts should be directed.
4. The idea of \u200b\u200bmoral perfection, the highest moral standard.
5. Ideas of moral perfection, most often expressed in the image of a person who has embodied such moral qualities that can serve as the highest moral model.
6. Focus, organizational center and at the same time a form of morality.
Explanations:
The moral ideal is based on people's dissatisfaction with their lives, the desire to make it better, happier through moral self-improvement or transformation of existing reality.
The content of the moral ideals of the past is changeable. They contained universal values \u200b\u200band always embodied certain needs and aspirations of people who lived in different historical epochs, expressed their dissatisfaction with the moral vices prevailing in a society of social injustice. The moral ideals reflected the socio-economic position of the class, corresponded to its criterion of morality and the social ideal.
In world culture, there have been several attempts to develop a moral ideal - from the first codes of ethics that arose in antiquity to the "moral code of the builder of communism." However, not all of them were supported by practice, they did not always receive public recognition.
In some cases, the Moral Ideal was dominated by some cultural utopia of the kingdom of God on earth, the kingdom of Truth; in others, on the contrary, an attempt was made to highlight some realities, for example, in local worlds of the middle level, i.e. patrimony of the feudal type (stage of stagnation), self-government at enterprises, which should dictate the content of the moral ideal as a whole, etc.
However, an appeal to real social relations may be no less utopian than to the kingdom of Truth, since these relations themselves may either not fit into a large society, or they themselves may be the result of previous violations of sociocultural law, represent a pathological result of past inversion traps (for example, industrial an enterprise that has developed as a technological, but not as an economic phenomenon, a collective farm as a compromise between the state's desire to streamline the "liquid element" and establish production, etc.).
The "Builders of Communism" as the moral ideal put forward the idea of \u200b\u200ba comprehensively developed and harmonious personality.
The concept of the moral ideal is more complex in comparison with the concepts of norms and moral quality. Unlike the moral norms that determine the behavior of people in everyday life situations, the Ideal indicates the ultimate goal of moral education and self-education of a person, gives him the highest model to which he should strive.
Usually the moral ideal also contains universal human values.
The moral ideal sets a model of behavior in most life situations and includes an aspect of comparison (good and evil).
Possibly closer approach to the moral ideal is the goal of moral education.
In the process of individual education and self-education of the individual, the idea of \u200b\u200bthe moral ideal can play a decisive role. Young people often take a genuine or literary hero as a model, follow the example of a person who is a moral authority for them.
