Proverb with deep meaning: "Live and learn"

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:43

The great and mighty Russian language! It perfectly combines not only complex constructions, explanations of reality, society or the existence of God in the works of Mikhailovsky, Berdyaev or Solovyov, but also the beauty and simplicity of ordinary folk sayings and proverbs. A vivid example of this is the wise phrase: “Live and learn”. These four words contain not only a high moral sense, but also give scope for philosophical reasoning.

Sociological approach to the proverb

The meaning of the proverb “Live and learn” is that no matter how experienced a person is, he always has to learn from his mistakes. Another proverb "Life will teach" is also a variant of this phrase. From a sociological point of view, these phrases suggest that the processes of socialization or adaptation of a person to society never end in childhood. They continue even when we, in extreme old age, sit on a bench at the entrance and watch life fly somewhere. This goes againstthe philosophy of a well-known Austrian psychoanalyst, who flashes in jokes and funny stories as often as Lieutenant Rzhevsky. It's about Sigmund Freud.

How would Sigmund Freud react?

Surely, the famous scientist would have fallen into a stupor if we tried to prove to him that the meaning of the phrase “Live and learn” is far from ordinary. It does not smell of truisms and triviality here. The fact is that Freud, like many behaviorists, believed that the consciousness of any person is formed only in childhood. No wonder the famous Austrian himself said that “Everything is from childhood”, and adult life is a struggle with children's complexes, fears and neuroses. How can Austrians understand the great Russian spirit?

Erik Erickson and the meaning of the proverb

Since the beginning of the 20th century, a lot of time has passed, and scientists such as Anthony Giddens, Jurgen Habermas, Erich Fromm and other social philosophers discovered that a person learns the world and himself in it throughout his life. The phrase "Live and learn" is an excellent summary of Erik Erickson's work. American psychoanalyst identified eight stages of human life. At every stage, a person experiences a crisis. Thus, the first "oral stage", which lasts throughout the first year of a child's life, forms trust or distrust in the mother and the world. Already at the fifth stage, a young person (13-21 years old) forms a sexual and social identity. Life self-determination appears. At the last, eighth stage, which is called maturity or "ego-integration-despair”, a person develops an attitude towards death, youth, belonging to a generation, humanity.

The famous postscript "…and you will die a fool"

This proverb does not always express a positive attitude towards knowledge and the desire to discover certain truths. So, one postscript radically changes the meaning of the entire popular message: "Live a century - study a century, but you will die a fool." Not a single intelligent sociologist would by any means agree with such a phrase. Because, as we noted above, life is a process of knowledge. Every day, sitting at home in front of the TV or being in the chic foyer of the theater, going to work or school, talking with friends or hiding under the covers, reading a book, we learn something new. It can be a cultural or social code that allows us not only to communicate, but also to occupy a certain place in the social hierarchy. This can be the knowledge of the laws of the Earth through chemistry, physics, or the knowledge of epistemological categories of responsibility, honesty, truth and lies through philosophy. But not any communication, just like not any book, gives a person food for thought. Sometimes we get stuck in monotony and tautology. We read the same things, we talk about the same things. And here the postscript to the proverb already has weight. But can this be called a worthy life? O. A. Donskikh believes that conformity is the opposite of dignity.

Many writers can find the answer to the question, what does it mean "Live and learn". Shukshin in his story "Space, the nervous system and shmat fat"contrasts the conservative old man Yegor Kuzmich, a kind of aged Ivan the Fool on the stove, a developing schoolboy who asks scientific questions. "It's never too late to learn" is the main idea of this story.

Vivid examples of proverbs from the world of cinema

This idea has been raised millions of times in popular art. Suffice it to recall such Hollywood films as "Dallas Buyers Club", "The Social Network", "Forrest Gump" or "Personnel". In the comedy film "Personnel", the story tells about two young people who are used to selling expensive watches. But the time of the Internet has come and "salespeople", as they are usually called, turned out to be not so in demand. Here our heroes had to get out, retrain, show considerable resourcefulness. They decided to become interns at the biggest company in the world. And its name is Google. Hoping to get a job in the company, they began to learn new things and bring their ideas, ways of thinking and lifestyle into the world of the Internet company. So the proverb “Live and learn” applies not only to individuals, but also to large companies that have to adapt to modern realities.

As you know, IKEA used to sell matches, and now it is a Swedish giant whose furniture can be found in any home. History knows many such moments at the state level. Countries borrow each other's experience and develop. So, China borrowed the capitalist way of doing business, but leftwhile having its own socialist system. And now the People's Republic of China claims to be another superpower.

Main conclusion

In his book Mechanical Piano, the famous Dutch writer and science fiction writer Kurt Vonnegut said: “Remember, there is no one who is so educated that you cannot learn ninety percent of everything that he knows in six weeks.” "Live and learn". Who said? Does it matter? The main thing is that this phrase contains a great meaning, which, undoubtedly, would be supported by all great minds, from writers to scientists. For an ordinary little person, a proverb means constant development, the discovery of new areas. And only then will everyday life become much more colorful and interesting, our skills will become more diverse, and life itself will never be painted in gray and gloomy tones.