ÔÈËÎÑÎÔÈß. Ñîöèàëüíàÿ ôèëîñîôèÿ
Doctor of Philosophy, professor R.Yu. Rakhmatullin
Bashkir state agrarian university, Russia
Society and Personality
In philosophy and psychology, there
is a difference between "man" and "personality". Man – this
is an anthropological category. Personality – characteristic of a person as a
social being. It is an essential part of society, without which no social life [1].
The historical process is a conglomeration of action pursuing their goal of
people. It turns out that each of us makes history. But – to what extent? On
the planet Earth is now home to more than 7 billion people. If we imagine the
direction of movement of history as the general line of the 7 billion of
forces, the contribution of the individual to society would be so small that
they can be neglected. Wants to or not separate individual story to move in the
desired direction to them, the event will still develop in its own way. In this
sense, it can be argued about the objectivity of social laws are independent of
the will and desires of individuals. This assumption, E. Bernstein said that it
makes no sense to apply the action to change society if the social revolution
would happen anyway. Bismarck said: We cannot make history; we must wait until
she did. We will not make fruit ripening that will put them under a lamp; and
if we pluck them immature, will only prevent their growth and spoil it.
Objecting to Bismarck, G. Plekhanov wrote that history is not made by itself it
is a product of both objective and subjective factors. This conclusion he comes
after analyzing the issue of freedom of the individual in society. Really, what
kind of freedom in society could be if the objective laws of society? I want to
or not, society will develop in its own way, but I still submit, go with the
flow of the river of history. Solving
the problem is in the definition of Plekhanov freedom given to Spinoza:
"Freedom is the recognition of necessity". Personality is so free in
a certain situation, how full of his knowledge of the situation. A man who does
not know the laws of life in prison and customs of its inhabitants, less free
in this institution than recidivist thief, for whom "the prison - his own
mother". Investigator who has worked on his specialty five years, feels at
work more freely than a young professional who is engaged in this work, only
five weeks. Of course, and convicted, and the investigator depend on the
situation in which they currently reside. Therefore, we can only talk about the
power of human freedom. Ëè÷íîñòü
íå ìîæåò áûòü àáñîëþòíî ñâîáîäíîé. Identity can not be absolutely free. Even a tyrant who has seemingly unlimited power depends on the fighting
efficiency of the army, the state of its state budget, etc. Live in society and
be free from society, said Marx.
From all this we have the following
conclusion: a free man can strongly influence the course of social development.
Why? Because he knows how events will
unfold. A man who knows, for example, of the impending catastrophe, can warn
people and make less significant impact of the disaster. If German politicians
late 1920-s knew about the negative consequences of National Socialism, maybe
there would be no World War II. In this sense, it can be argued that a person
can influence the course of history. A great man is seeing the consequences of
events better than others, so he is great.
Some ideas Plekhanov to some extent
consistent with the opinion of the famous philosophers of the twentieth century
H. Ortega y Gasset and K. Jaspers. They
see no reason impending doom of European culture that guide society in
democratic states are increasingly moving from aristocrats to people
"crowd". K. Jaspers writes that initiation of statesmen, politicians,
the crowd was in the twentieth century universal norm. When it is thought that
the mass has a mind of a higher order than an individual. "Some have
suggested that the mass lead somewhere and that truth is to know this and act
accordingly. Meanwhile the masses themselves do not possess the properties of
the individual; they do not know and do not want anything, they lack content
and are an instrument of the one who flatters their common psychological
impulses and passions. People in weight can easily lose your head, indulge in
intoxicating opportunity to become just another, follow the Pied Piper, which
plunge them into the abyss of hell; can arise from such conditions in which the
foolish masses will interact with manipulated tyrants" [2, p. 193].
Ortega y Gasset says that people are
always divided into two types – revolutionaries and the townsfolk. First
demanding for themselves, their distinctive qualities – duty and morality. The second "do not require any special
efforts themselves. For them to live - so do not change, always be what they
are, they do not understand those who seek self-improvement; a man adrift like
a cork" [3, p. 44]. And now the
townsfolk, taking advantage of democracy, decided to run society."A
characteristic feature of the present moment is that mediocrity, knowing that
she mediocrity, has the nerve to claim everywhere and all impose their right to
mediocrity", – wrote Ortega y Gasset [3, p. 47]. People who do not have special qualities to people management
that focus on low morale and aesthetic standards that are now in power, because
they are mass.
Thus, the objective laws are formed
as a result of pursuing their goals subjects. Then the direction of history
depends on the nature of the values and goals of the subjects of
history. If a society prevail animals aspirations and spirituality are not held
in high esteem, then such a society for its members builds a hell on earth,
fire which may be covered by other nations.
Conclusion:
The role of the individual in society and is determined by objective conditions
and subjective characteristics of the person. Good knowledge of the individual
situation in the society, objective laws of social process makes it possible to
more effectively influence the course of her social development.
References:
1. Rakhmatullin R.Yu. Sufi
Anthropology // Islamic Studies. 2013. 1. P. 64-74.
1. Jaspers K. The origins of the
story and its purpose. M., 1991.
2. Ortega y Gasset H. Dehumanization
of Art and other works. M., 1991.