The value of human life: definition of the concept, meaning, purpose, features

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:41

In theory, all people recognize the value of human life, but when it comes to practical things, people have doubts. Did Hitler deserve to be spared his life if there was such an opportunity? Should a pedophile maniac live or die? These questions touch on the basic moral values of human life and the idea of whether it is the most important value. Let's talk about what values are, how they are related to the meaning of life and how its value is understood in psychology, philosophy and everyday consciousness.

Value concept

In philosophy there is a section called axiology, it is completely devoted to the study of values. Starting from the early stages of its life, humanity has been trying to answer the question of what value is, what is more or less valuable. BehindMillenniums have developed common ideas on this issue. Ordinary consciousness under value understands such a characteristic of a phenomenon as its special significance for an individual, for society or for the whole civilization as a whole.

The study of the problem of values has undergone a long evolution, and today philosophy believes that there are different types and characteristics of them. There is no single point of view on what the nature of values is and whether they can be objective or always subjective. Thinkers cannot give an unambiguous definition of this concept. In the most general form, philosophers believe that value is a set of spiritual and material objects that satisfy human needs. At the same time, the concept of values is social in nature. Society forms a complex of important objects that contribute to the development of society and people in it. Value orientation is the most important component in the structure of personality. Through them, a person comes to determine the meaning and value of human life as a whole.

Life as a value

On the path of its formation, humanity has not always believed that human life has some special significance. And only humanism as a social phenomenon began to consider human life as the highest value. However, even after this, many contradictions remained. Since often it can be sacrificed in the name of other values. And people themselves do not always remember that they possess such a treasure. In practice, the value of human life is deciphered in several basic principles. First, if we consider that this is the most significant andimportant thing in the world, then you need to recognize the right of any person to preserve it. And here again the question arises about the villains and their right to continue to live, taking the life of other people. The second principle is a careful attitude to any of its manifestations. This means that you need to protect both your own and other people's lives. And people can harm themselves: smoke, take harmful substances, etc. Another important thing is the need to promote life in all its forms and varieties. Here many insurmountable difficulties appear, for example, with meat-eating, because this is also the destruction of the living. If life is considered the main value, then it is necessary to live it in a particularly worthy way, otherwise it is wasted. Hence the need to develop a meaningful position and build your life on the basis of awareness and significance. If we consider existence in this perspective, it turns out that people, declaring the idea that this is the most precious thing that a person has, in fact, do not exist in accordance with this postulate.

The value of human life in philosophy

Throughout the history of human civilization, people have wondered what is the most important thing in the world. Ordinary consciousness, age-old wisdom quickly respond to it: human life. But philosophers, accustomed to doubting everything, say that there are no objective characteristics according to which existence on earth would in any case be a value. Only religious philosophy believes that the value of human life is determinedits divine origin. People receive it from God and have no right to dispose of it. And secular areas of philosophy and ethics are seriously thinking about the fact that a person should have the right to manage his life.

Today, these issues are once again being vigorously discussed and comprehended with attempts to legalize euthanasia in some countries. At one time, N. Berdyaev wrote that a person is the highest value, and it is this global value that allows society to integrate into something whole. Usually the question of the value of life in philosophy is reduced to the question of its meaningfulness. If a person exists with an understanding of why he does this, if he sets himself some spiritual goals, then his life is valuable, and if there is no meaning, then existence on earth is depreciated.

What psychologists say about this

Unlike philosophers, psychologists have a different approach to this problem. They say that people are all different and there can be no single universal measurement of the value of their existence on Earth. In their assessment, people usually do not proceed from objective characteristics, but from subjective ones. And then it turns out that Hitler's life has no value, but that of a loved one is very important. Psychologists proceed from the fact that the basic values of human life are the basis for the development of personality. They influence the orientation of the individual, his activities, social position, attitude towards himself, another, society. Based on their values, a person ranks needs, builds motivation. They aredetermine the interests, worldview and attitudes of the individual. Recognizing life as the most important value, a person chooses goals and formulates the meaning of his existence. Without this, it is impossible to live productively, develop, interact with other people. Thus, psychologists recognize the high importance of axiology. Only realizing that life is the main value, a person can be formed as a whole and productive person.

Meaning

One way or another, philosophers, psychologists, and ordinary people link two concepts: the meaning and value of human life. Ever since ancient times, philosophers began to reflect on the question of why a person lives. Centuries-old reflections have not brought final clarity to this issue. It is recognized that the meaning is the essence of all things and phenomena, respectively, the idea of the existence of the meaning of life, basically, no one doubts. However, there is a possibility that a person is not able to comprehend it. His cognitive horizon is rather narrow, and in conditions of information deficit (and a person does not know everything about life), it is impossible to comprehend the meaning with absolute accuracy. In general, most philosophers and ordinary consciousness agreed that the meaning of life lies in life itself. You need to live in order to live. A variant of meaning as a search for a path is also recognized. A person must look within and answer questions about what is most important to him.

Philosopher and psychologist with an amazing fate Viktor Frankl says that the search for and finding meaning makes a person mentallyhe althier and we althier. At the same time, he sees three ways to comprehend life: everyday work, awareness of the value of relationships with other people and their experiences associated with another person, and reflection on situations that bring suffering. Thus, in order to find meaning, a person must fill his time with work and concern for other people, and it is also necessary to be aware of experience and learn from it.

Target

Awareness of the meaning of life and one's own basic values helps a person to set life goals. The psyche of people is arranged in such a way that only actual goals can be the motivation for activity. Therefore, each person at his own level, but answers himself the question of why he lives. And usually this answer is linked to universal human values. If you ask a layman what is the most important thing in his life and why he lives, then, most likely, he will answer that the main thing is family and loved ones, and he lives for their well-being and happiness. Thus, the goals and value of human life closely interact with each other. The most common goal is to create a family and continue their kind. This goal is dictated by biology and society. Not for every person this goal is really relevant, which is why people often get divorced, sometimes leave children who, it would seem, they once wanted so much. Sometimes a person sets a goal for himself, and when he achieves it, he experiences disappointment and it seems to him that life has lost its meaning. This is often the case with older peoplewho achieved socially approved goals: education, career, family, but did not listen to their true desires. Therefore, the meaning of our stay in this world is precisely to understand what is needed and valuable for you and how to achieve really important goals.

Values

As we have already understood, the meaning of a person's life is linked to his goals, and they, in turn, are correlated with values. Important objects are beacons orienting on the path of life. The main values of human life help a person to choose the vector of life movement. They are a kind of core of consciousness and worldview of the individual. At the same time, society seeks to develop in people some universal values that society needs for effective functioning and self-preservation. Each era develops its own set of socially significant values, but some universal, universal values remain: freedom, peace, equality. But each person, in addition, forms his own package of important objects, it is their presence that indicates the maturity of the individual. They are called individual values, and they primarily affect the daily actions of a person. As they say, your shirt is closer to your body. Allocate different types of values, classifying them on different grounds:

- According to the degree of universality. In this case, one speaks of universal, group and personal values.

- According to the forms of culture. On this basis, material and spiritual values are distinguished.

- By type of activity. In this classification, many types are distinguished, including aesthetic, religious, moral, existential, political, legal, scientific.

Spiritual and material values

The most common is the classification of values according to the form of culture. And traditionally all values are divided into material and spiritual. Among the latter, moral and aesthetic ones stand out. What values of human life are the most important? Here, opinions are usually divided, some believe that without material values a person is not able to think about the spiritual. Materialists believe that being determines consciousness. And idealists think exactly the opposite and believe that the main thing is spirituality, and a person can refuse material we alth in the name of lofty goals. Psychologists also talk about the existence of spiritual materialists who believe that everything in a person's life should be in balance. Each person attributes something of his own to material values, but in general, this includes we alth, the availability of real estate and other property. Their peculiarity lies in the so-called alienability, that is, they can be lost, wasted. But spiritual values are inalienable.

Basic spiritual values

The formed complex of spiritual values indicates the maturity of the individual. This set allows a person to break out of bodily limitations, gain freedom and take responsibility for their life, its goals, and its meaning. At school, many wrote an essay “What is the value of human life?”, But at this age a person can only begin to think about the vectorits development, and sometimes does not even begin. A formed worldview, according to the observations of psychologists, usually appears by the age of 20-30, although for some it is much later. The recognition of spiritual values as decisive in life is a prerequisite for gaining freedom. Moral and aesthetic values are usually referred to this type of values as the most important ones. In addition, freedom, love, peace, life, justice,

are called universal spiritual values.

Moral values

Morality is extremely important in human life, it is morality that makes an individual a person with free choice and responsible choice. Moral values help a person to regulate relations with other people and society. The measure of these relations is good and evil, and a person decides for himself what he personally considers good and what is not. For each person, the set of moral precepts may differ, but there are basic postulates that are the same for all people. They are formulated in religious codes and have undergone few changes over the millennia. However, these values may vary depending on the group or professional affiliation of a person. For example, the set of values of human life in biomedical ethics will be interpreted primarily from the point of view of the relationship between the doctor and the patient. Patriotism, duty, diligence, honor, conscientiousness, philanthropy are universal moral values.

Aesthetic values

If morality is associated with the assessment of life and its phenomena from the point of view of Good and Evil, then aesthetic values areviewing the world through the prism of the Beautiful and the Ugly. The purpose and value of human life is often associated with the discovery, experience and creation of beauty. Everyone knows the phrase of F. Dostoevsky that beauty will save the world. And people really often strive to make the world around more beautiful, more harmonious and see their goals and objectives in this. Philosophers distinguish the following values in this subgroup: beautiful, sublime, tragic, comic. And their antipodes are the ugly and base. Aesthetic values are associated with the ability and desire of a person to experience deep and vivid emotions, the ability to feel the harmony of the world, the ability to perceive shades of feelings and moods of other people and their creations.

He alth as a value

A person who treats himself responsibly, understands that life is an important value, and he is obliged to save it, thinks about his he alth. But not only the people themselves, but also society is interested in people not getting sick. In axiology, it is customary to distinguish three types of he alth: moral, physical and mental. Saving each of them is part of the meaningful existence of the individual. He alth as the main value of human life is studied by a special section of philosophy - bioethics. Within its framework, he alth is understood as an absolute life value. The goal of a person is to maintain he alth, since it is a condition for achieving all other values. It is not in vain that in Russian there is a phrase: “if there is he alth, we will buy the rest.”

Love as a value

In philosophy, love is understood as a specific moral and aesthetic feeling, which is expressed in a disinterested desire for a chosen object, in readiness for self-giving, in responsibility towards this object. This is a multifaceted and diverse feeling, it can be experienced for the Motherland, people, animals, for some types of activities, for nature. Love is one of the main values of human life, as it is associated with moral and aesthetic experiences. She may be the purpose of existence.

Problems of values in the modern world

Sociologists note that today there is a process of devaluation of human values. There is a blurring of ideas about what is important and what is not. There is also the problem of the value of human life, which is associated with the growth of conflicts, as a result of which people die. European society seeks to spread its values to all world cultures and this leads to intercultural conflict. Today, the process of democratization is reaching its climax in Europe, individual values are beginning to prevail over social ones, and this is undermining the system that has been developing for centuries.