The problem of human loneliness in the information society. The problem of loneliness in the modern world. We give people labels

Psychology and Sociology /12. Social psychology

Ph.D. Rogova E.E.

Southern Federal University, Russia

Social factors and aspects of loneliness in the modern world

The concept of loneliness as a socio-psychological phenomenon, differs in several types and types. Loneliness comes in cultural, cosmic, interpersonal, and social varieties and types.

Interpersonal type of loneliness is an episodic heightened feeling of tension and anxiety associated with the need to maintain friendly or intimate connections and relationships. It can be caused by a lack of desired social circle and is characterized by feelings of social and emotional isolation. Interpersonal type of loneliness can turn into hopeless apathy if it becomes chronic. Cosmic type of loneliness characterized by a feeling of loss of connection with existence, personal isolation throughout the world. A cultural view of loneliness often experienced by emigrants and migrants who are experiencing a change in their usual social environment, or by people who are convinced that generally accepted cultural norms and values ​​cannot be acceptable to them inner world. People are susceptible to the social type of loneliness feeling unaccepted by the surrounding society and the world as a whole. Particularly acute and chronic forms of loneliness, as a social phenomenon are called “rejection”, “ostracism”, “expulsion”, “resignation”.

Single people are more likely to experience feeling of social loneliness, than family men, and among single people he will quickly feel everything social aspects of loneliness someone who has been married before. Decisive moment of social type of loneliness here is the absence of all loving affection. Loneliness is more common in at a young age, than in adults, and is more acutely felt by young people. Divorced and widowed people in the older age group are less likely to feel lonely than young people prone to loneliness in a situation like this. A study of the behavior and actions of divorced people revealed that social type of loneliness makes them studysearching for someone more than just a conversation partner or a sex partner . Loneliness as a social problem disappears only when confidence appears in the reliability and trust in the partner, in the stability of the relationship.

Modern societies contribute to the spread of social loneliness. In different demographic groups, the number and ratio lonely men and women constantly changes, and with age the number of single women is increasing. The absence of a family is more tragic for a woman, but there are women who don't suffer from social type loneliness, without having a family. This type of woman easily changes one partner after another, without becoming attached to anyone and without wanting to legitimize their relationship. As a result of long-term adaptation to oneself and constant listening to one’s own condition, the social type of loneliness can often give rise to selfishness in such women.

IN modern society Conflicting loners have also formed: civilization against civilization, culture against culture, identity against identity. They are characterized by racism and nationalism. Or, more precisely, the new nationalism, this ideological construct, a hybrid of history, created as a result of the social and sexual mixing of different groups and disguised as multiculturalism, “the main theme of which is not biological heredity, but the insurmountability of cultural differences; racism, which does not seem to assert the supremacy of some groups or peoples over others, but only indicates that it is bad to abolish borders, that different ways of life and traditions are incompatible.

Social aspects of loneliness are decay social relations and connections of the inner spiritual world of man. Social loneliness should not necessarily be identified with the state of physical isolation of a person, quite often a person can be lonely not in isolation, and surrounded by your family, best friends and work colleagues. The concept of loneliness as a socio-psychological phenomenon, differs in several types and types. Of people, suffering from social loneliness, often characterized by concentration on one's internal personal space, low self-esteem, and excessive shyness. Lonely people feel unloved, worthless, and unnecessary. In their own minds and in the minds of the people around them, the absence of a loved one, friends or loved ones are signs of a loser. Probability social problem loneliness is high among divorced and widowed people who are undergoing long-term treatment in a hospital or who have recently changed their place of residence. Social type of loneliness of men and women has its own characteristics and differences. The absence of a family is more tragic for a woman. Conflicting loners have also formed in modern society: civilization against civilization, culture against culture, identity against identity. They are characterized by racism and nationalism.

Is loneliness in modern life a natural reaction to the development of society?

Maria Barnikova

Loneliness is a modern “disease” of our society, which psychotherapists are still trying unsuccessfully to overcome. Moreover, it is global in nature in developed and urbanized countries. That is, with the development of humanity, various phobias and sociological problems also evolve. In times distant from us, a person who tried to survive alone was doomed in advance to suffering and a difficult existence, […]

Loneliness is a modern “disease” of our society, which psychotherapists are still trying unsuccessfully to overcome. Moreover, it is global in nature in developed and urbanized countries. That is, with the development of humanity, various phobias and sociological problems also evolve. In times distant from us, a person who tried to survive alone was doomed in advance to suffering and a difficult existence, which is why they were considered martyrs, saints or hermits. Only together could a community of people develop productively, repel the enemy and lead a successful economic activity. In other words, a hundred years ago a person did not have the physical ability to remain alone and at the same time be self-sufficient and successful.

Loneliness Tendency

World Wide Web Internet, improvement of the international transport system and the globalization of world processes, gradually neutralized the need for close ties between people for the development of society. For example, today in many areas of activity (especially in the field of culture, high technology, scientific research– quite highly paid areas) the role of mass collective efforts to achieve success is no different from the disunited actions of individuals united World Wide Web, run by a small number of talented executives. In addition, the development of means mass media and the computer industry are attracting more and more attention. Significant investments are made in these projects cash, the goal of which is to hold the viewer’s attention for as long as possible.

And these are just a few of the main reasons stimulating the development of the trend towards a solitary lifestyle. A person has a real opportunity to be successful without close contact with society, and this is precisely the main reason for such a phenomenon as loneliness. But the need for communication and contact has not disappeared; it has simply atrophied, become distorted, and taken on false forms. Such pseudo-freedom, in fact, makes it impossible to lead a natural lifestyle. The worst scenario for the development of such a situation is the attempts of those with a lonely lifestyle to impose their opinion on others, in a way to find confirmation of the correctness of their actions among other people.

This does not apply to those people who, for certain reasons, have become lonely or cannot establish communication: disabled people, elderly people or those who suffer from mental disorders. It's about about those who voluntarily withdraw into themselves and sincerely believe that loneliness is a normal way of life, a natural reaction to the development of modern society. At the same time, many go further and reject family ties and values. The most mysterious factor in this situation is that the phenomenon of social loneliness in modern conditions affects young and middle-aged people who still have psychological and parental support from people of a more mature generation - their parents, who grew up in close conditions. public relations. It is difficult to predict what will happen in the future when a whole generation of single people grows up, raised by single people.

Hide from everyone

For many, loneliness is a kind of screen that allows them to hide their complexes or other shortcomings that will become more and more progressive over the years. Without trying to join society, opposing himself to it, a person unconsciously (in in rare cases this happens in full understanding of what is happening) is afraid to be himself and withdraws to himself. Such a “protective cocoon” gives the illusion that what is happening is correct and gives strength to maintain the effect of independence and success. Separated from the whole world by such a screen, it is convenient and pleasant to nurture in your own consciousness your pricelessness and uniqueness, to form high self-esteem and faith in a higher purpose.

This is exactly what happens to many physically and socially functional people. A nurtured image of one’s own importance, a la the center of the Universe, creates an unfounded confidence in the correctness of such actions. By withdrawing and concentrating all his attention on himself, unreasonably elevating his ego, a person gradually loses the ability to love and compassion - purely, lightly and sincerely. The heart hardens, sarcasm and cynicism appear, which are a cover for the most common envy of those people who have a cozy family hearth, a loving family, and true friends. But that same illusion does not make it possible to understand the real reaction of the soul to these phenomena; it bends and distorts what is seen, giving a person the opportunity to again engage in self-deception. Those who wander alone through life are unhappy in their own way, but at the same time quite often successful people in modern life. But just - is this life, to isolate yourself from the outside world within the confines of your “I”? Yes, each person is individual and unique, but the desires at their core, for thousands of years, remain the same: the need to be loved and loved, to be proud of your children and grandchildren in old age, to be desired and to have support in this difficult life in close friends.

Let's declare a fight against loneliness

Today it is becoming increasingly difficult for a person to understand himself; more and more factors arise that interfere with and distort the perception of these basic human needs. This is why more and more single people are appearing in cities. In large populated centers it is easier to find a surrogate substitute (it is different for each person) for real feelings, the absence of which causes real withdrawal. Most often, a single person is an individual who, at a certain stage, due to circumstances, opposed himself to society. That is why such a phenomenon should be temporary, but not permanent. It could have arisen as a defense mechanism in childhood due to the ridicule of comrades or during adult life from bullying by her husband, it happens like that. But it is very important to fight loneliness, not to close yourself off outside world, let in at least a small part of it and find the peace that is so necessary for a rebellious soul.

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Ministry of Education and Science Russian Federation St. Petersburg State Mining University

Loneliness

Philosophy 1st year students

Marova Ekaterina Evgenievna

Checked by Guretskaya E.M.

St. Petersburg 2012

Introduction

1. Philosophy of loneliness

Conclusion

Bibliography

Introduction

In modern society there is practically no positive attitude towards loneliness.

Modern society seeks to control not only social behavior man, but also his inner life. This is done, in particular, by limiting the ability to think alone. Accepted modes of behavior, ready-made moral assessments, and, in fact, the absence of any moral restrictions, social stereotypes transmitted by modern society, have led to the formation of a huge mass of people who are identical and easily controlled in their “sameness.”

Being with oneself for many representatives of the modern generation does not make sense, and loneliness is scary. As a result, individuality is erased, and the possibility of “exchange” as enrichment when communicating with other people is reduced. Accordingly, the value of communication itself decreases, quality is replaced by quantity. This leads to social isolation, anomie, alienation, the reasons for which are the fear of loneliness and the desire to avoid it in any way.

1. Philosophy of loneliness

Much has been written and said about the phenomenon of loneliness: philosophers, writers, poets - everyone has studied it in order to clarify its essence.

Loneliness has haunted man throughout his entire history. Nowadays it has become a social disaster, a real disease of modern society. Attempts philosophical understanding This phenomenon also has a very long tradition. But only in the 20th century, according to N.A. Berdyaev, the problem of loneliness has become “the main philosophical problem; problems of the self, personality, society, communication, cognition are associated with it.” . Among the existing philosophical schools, the greatest attention is paid to this issue in the existential and phenomenological directions. In the works of Sartre, Husserl, Camus, Buber, Heidegger and others, the loneliness of man in the world (thrown into the world) occupies one of the central places.

Loneliness is one of those concepts whose real life meaning, it would seem, is clearly presented even to ordinary consciousness. But this intuitive clarity is deceptive, because it hides the complex, sometimes contradictory philosophical content of the concept, which eludes rational description.

Loneliness is often seen as something destructive in relation to the individual, preventing her from living, putting up barriers and breaking her. And loneliness is often seen as a consequence of the pressure of the outside world on the individual, which forces her to fence herself off from it, to run away, while at the same time suffering from it.

Loneliness is almost always perceived by us as a tragedy. And we run from its top down, unable to bear communication with our own Self.

But escaping from loneliness is escaping from oneself. For only in solitude can we understand our existence as something needed by those close to us and deserving of concern and communication. Only after passing through the gates of loneliness does a person become a person who can interest the world. Loneliness is an axis that runs through our lives. Childhood, youth, maturity and old age revolve around her. In fact, human life there is an endless destruction of loneliness and a deepening into it.

Loneliness is insight. In its merciless light, everyday life freezes and all the most important things in life appear. Loneliness stops time and exposes us.

Escape from loneliness is an escape into loneliness - that same loneliness in a crowd, at work, alone with your wife and children. Escape from loneliness is an approach to the cosmic loneliness of old age.

How to avoid this loneliness? This question can only be answered through the emergence of a new, deeper question: “What is the meaning of loneliness?” The answer to it can only be the philosophy of loneliness.

The mindset of loneliness always opens an abyss before us. In solitude we meet God or the devil, we find ourselves or fall on our faces. Therefore, the topic of loneliness, like the topic of death, is forbidden to our consciousness.

Loneliness can be considered as a fundamental antipode to the very foundations of human society, humane interpersonal relationships and, ultimately, the very essence of man. Aristotle also noted that a person outside of society is either a god or a beast. Of course, centrifugal forces that tear a person out of his inherent social context and place him in the position of a “god” or “beast” are also associated with such phenomena as individualism, egocentrism, isolation, alienation, etc. But in the end, all these factors of different orders, reflecting complex processes social development society, lead to a single result - to a stable state of loneliness associated with the individual’s experience of his tragic “atomicity”, lostness and abandonment in the vast expanses of society that lose meaning for him. In contrast to objectively arising isolation, which may not be subjectively perceived as such, loneliness captures the internal, reflective discord of a person with himself, focusing on the inferiority of his relationships with the world of “other” people.

Loneliness is one of those problems that haunt a person throughout his entire history. Recently, loneliness has been called a social disaster and is now a dangerous disease, a multifaceted and insidious disease that evokes both compassion and protest.

Lawlessness, poverty, hunger, oppression, wars are the troubles of humanity. Their manifestations, as a rule, are obvious, and therefore the fight against them takes on the character of powerful protest movements that unite people with a common goal, elevating the human in man.

Loneliness is another matter. Most often, it does not advertise its attack on the individual. However, as American researchers W. Snetder and T. Johnson note, “loneliness is becoming a pervasive phenomenon in our society. Pronounced loneliness is the main problem both in terms of personal and public spiritual well-being.”

What is more of a person’s trouble or guilt in loneliness? Who is he, a victim of external circumstances who evokes sincere compassion, or an egocentric person who has committed a crime primarily against himself? It is not easy to give an unambiguous answer to these questions, especially since they do not exhaust all possible alternatives.

The serious illness of loneliness is pervasive and has many faces. It is naive to believe that only reflective subjects prone to philosophizing are susceptible to it. Loneliness sometimes befalls quite “prosperous” people. Neither material goods, neither involvement in the establishment, nor the outwardly prosperous existence of an individual who perceives the Western way of life as a given, is able to turn away from her the loneliness that sooner or later sets in, summing up the sad outcome of the entire life lived. The authors of the collection “The Anatomy of Loneliness” rightly note that many people experience the most painful state of loneliness not in physical isolation, but precisely in the center of a group, in the family circle, and even in the company of close friends.

All researchers agree that loneliness in the most general approximation is associated with a person’s experience of being isolated from the community of people, family, and historical reality. Naturally, “isolation” does not mean physical isolation, but rather a violation of the context of multifaceted connections that unite an individual with his social environment.

Loneliness, in contrast to the objective isolation of a person, which can be voluntary and full of inner meaning, reflects his painful discord with society and himself, disharmony, suffering, crisis of the “I”.

The theoretical and artistic understanding of loneliness has a long tradition. And it would be wrong to associate it exclusively with the 20th century, or with the development of capitalist production. Even in the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes, words are given confirming that loneliness was perceived by people of that era as a tragedy: “A man is lonely, and there is no other; he has neither son nor brother; and all his labors have no end, and his eye is not satisfied with wealth.” (4:8). The drama of a person’s loss of connection with the world of other people permeates this biblical text, which became practically the first distant echo of existentialist pessimism.

The deep roots of the philosophy of loneliness largely permeate the modern vision of man and interpersonal relationships. We are talking not only about philosophical reflection itself in the narrow sense of the word, but also about the widespread distribution of stable motives of loneliness throughout modern Western culture.

“For an artist, the drama of loneliness is an episode of a tragedy in which we all play and the performance of which ends only with our departure into eternity,” writes the famous French film director Jean Renoir. It is art, with its increased sensitivity to socio-ethical and psychological issues, reacts sharply to the influence of an individualistic philosophical position that kills humanistic values, leading the artist to the drama of loneliness.

“Loneliness is as rich as it is a non-existent theme,” continues J. Renoir. After all, loneliness is an emptiness inhabited by ghosts that come from our past.” The “ghostly” past gradually but powerfully begins to form a vision of the present, and as an alienated reality. This illusory reality turns into the dominant development of the artist’s creative individuality. Truly "the dead drags the living."

If we wanted to get the most sophisticated interpretation of the feeling of loneliness, then there would be nothing better than to turn to such authors as Pascal and Nietzsche. According to Pascal, a completely lonely person is thrown into a meaningless existence. In the bosom of an endless and empty universe, he is horrified to face his own loneliness. The feeling of deep isolation and abandonment that we find in certain pathological states is a wound for each of us from the moment we become aware of the extreme conventionality of our being and metaphysical exile.

“Contemplating the entire silent universe and a person left in the darkness to the mercy of fate, thrown into these nooks and crannies of the universe, not knowing what to hope for, what to do, what will happen after death. I am overcome with horror as a person who had to spend the night on a terrible desert island, who, having woken up, does not know how to get out of this island, and does not have such an opportunity" [Pascal].

Also in Nietzsche we find the statement that with the death of God, man immediately finds himself in a position of final loneliness. The "last man" in Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra actually realizes that we are all, and each of us individually, condemned to metaphysical loneliness. The loneliness of the last philosopher is terrifying!

"I call myself the last philosopher, because I am last man. No one except myself speaks to me, and my voice reaches me like the voice of a dying person! You help me hide my loneliness from myself and direct my path to many and to love through lies, for my heart cannot bear the horror of the loneliest loneliness, it makes me speak as if I were split in two." As Jaspers notes, Nietzsche wrote this in 1876, as a young professor, probably surrounded by friends. Thus Spoke Zarathustra had not yet even appeared on the literary horizon. But Nietzsche himself regards his work and the positions expressed in it more as a personal fact than as a representation of the universal condition of humanity.

We are born alone and live alone. Perhaps best of all, this position of man was expressed by Thomas Wolfe, describing in his first great novel the emergence of self-awareness in Eugene Gantt:

"And when he was left to sleep alone in a room with closed shutters, where strips of thick sunlight, he was overcome by inescapable loneliness and sadness: he saw his life lost in the gloomy forest colonnades, and understood that he was forever destined for sadness - locked in this round little skull, imprisoned in this beating heart, hidden from everyone, his life was doomed to wander along deserted roads. Lost! He understood that people always remain strangers to each other, that no one is able to truly understand another, that, imprisoned in the dark womb of our mother, we are born without knowing her face, that we are put into her arms as strangers and that, having fallen into the hopeless prison of existence, we will never escape from it, no matter whose arms hug us, whose mouth kisses us, whose heart warms us. Never, never, never, never" [Wolf T.]

2. Nikolai Berdyaev about loneliness

Loneliness is a contradiction." "Loneliness is tragic." But "through loneliness a personality is born," writes the Russian philosopher Nikolai Berdyaev. Like a chemist, he examines human loneliness through the magnifying glass of a microscope, reaches the atomic structure of feeling, explains where to look for a way out.

The philosopher himself says that “I” is primordial, cannot be deduced from anything and cannot be reduced to anything. The fundamental problem of the “I”, which casts light on its entire existence, is the problem of loneliness, which has been so little studied philosophically.”

The world, according to Berdyaev, can be divided into objective and subjective. Objects are everything that surrounds us. The philosopher does not like this world because of its certainty, because of man’s attachment to specific things, to put it quite simply. The desire for this objectivity gives rise to a feeling of loneliness in the human soul.

Man is immersed in existence, in objectivity. And here the birth of consciousness becomes an important event in the fate of the “I”. In many ways it makes a person lonely, but it also makes an effort to connect and overcome loneliness.

“The space and time of our objectified world are the source of loneliness and at the same time the illusory overcoming of loneliness. People are separated from each other by space and time, and they are united in space and time not in true existence, not in true communication, but in objectivity, in social everyday life. Movement in space and time is of fundamental importance for the “I.” The exit from a given space and time is, as it were, a way out of fixed, stabilized loneliness. But loneliness always presupposes a need for communication, a longing for communication. Loneliness in a certain sense of the word is a social phenomenon." .

Loneliness begins with a person being thrown into the world of things. Previously, in a small community, everyone felt comfortable, but now the individual is alone with the Universe. The “I” is in the world, subject to its influence, but at the same time belongs not only to the world. But also to myself. “There is nothing more disgusting and destructive than when the “I” is egocentrically immersed in itself and its states, forgetting about others, about the world, about the plural and the whole.” Here the philosopher allows himself a joke when he talks about the selfishness of some hysterical women who turn only to themselves.

In the modern world, loneliness has its own colors and shades. According to Berdyaev, the philosopher and the prophet are lonely in different ways.

“The position of the philosopher is truly tragic,” writes Berdyaev. “Almost no one loves him. Throughout the entire history of culture, hostility to philosophy has been revealed and, moreover, from the most diverse sides. Philosophy is the most unprotected side of culture. The very possibility of philosophy is constantly questioned, and every philosopher "is forced to begin his work by defending philosophy and justifying its possibility and fruitfulness. Philosophy is attacked from above and below, religion is hostile to it and science is hostile to it. It does not at all enjoy what is called social prestige."

But man, like the philosopher, tries to overcome his loneliness through knowledge. And through interaction with others like “me.” “In order not to be lonely, you need to say “we” and not “I”. Loneliness is a longing for communication. Overcoming it lies in meeting with another. But a person often perceives this event as a meeting with an object, a body, and not a soul and personality. And here there is a clash, if you like, a conflict, which the philosopher calls “incorrect reflection in another.”

Nikolai Berdyaev talks about the importance of the social “I”, about the varieties of the social person, about his interaction with others. True love and friendship, which is perceived by scientists as a meeting of personality with personality, can save. But not completely, because in all lovers there is not only union, but also confrontation. The team can also come to the rescue in the fight against loneliness if life is subordinated to social construction. Religion and God - as a means and way of getting rid of oppressive feelings. But Berdyaev, calling religion the embodiment of the objective world, argues that only God can help. “God is the overcoming of my loneliness, the acquisition of completeness and meaningfulness of my existence.”

3. Loneliness is a natural human state

Loneliness. How much negativity society has invested in this word. As a result, every person panics - to the point of mental convulsions, to a bouquet of neuroses, to spasms of consciousness - is afraid of being left alone, of not finding his concocted circle of friends, fictitious friends and worthless acquaintances. And a person doesn’t care that “friends” will disown and betray at the first opportunity. That the acquaintances are, for the most part, types who simply make you sick. That the group in which yesterday he was “on board” will turn away from him today only because the person did something not planned by the embedded behavior program. None of this matters, because he is part of society. Part of society. He is not a loser, because losers are lonely. He is like everyone else. A cell of a huge organism called a “crowd”.

loneliness phenomenon philosophy of Berdyaev

Living in a crowd is very easy. “Come on, it’s so convenient. Try it! You, as a small particle of the whole, will find a place everywhere, you will always feel at ease. You don’t even have to think. Feel like a neuron of the collective mind!” Yes, part of a huge human anthill. Feel human nature, undisguised by any highly moral veils. The intelligence of a crowd is the intelligence of the most stupid person in it. Why does a person in a crowd turn into a herd animal, capable of the lowest and most vile things? To looting, to murder, to senseless cruelty? Is it because in the frantic roar of this many-armed and many-legged monster it is very easy not to hear the choking panic cries of conscience?

"Are you with us? Wonderful! Get ready for life in Eden!" BUT. God forbid you start standing out. God forbid. Appearance. Behavior. Speech. Anything. Even thoughts. Just think about what is higher than those around you, and you will crumple up your life with your own hand and throw it in the trash. Who will you be when you lose the support of society? No one. An immaterial point. Zero coefficient. Asocial type. This is the philosophy of the crowd, hammered into the heads of everyone. "THERE IS SAFETY IN NUMBERS". Therefore, live and don’t rock the boat. Go with the flow. You can't change anything.

And in fact? Imagine a crowd of geniuses. Does not work? And the crowd of idiots? Easily? Because the word "genius" has only a singular number. The plural is either ridicule or nonsense. But idiots love to gather in flocks (often these flocks have beautiful names, like “cabinet of ministers.” Or “ The State Duma").

Loneliness is a natural human state. If Her Majesty Nature wanted the highest forms of intelligent life on our planet to be tied hand and foot by such a phenomenon as a “collective,” then we would not be mammals, but insects, like bees and their orderly swarm. And a person has a surprisingly free consciousness and thinking. Nature doesn't make mistakes. More precisely, its errors do not exist for long, do not build civilizations and do not travel beyond the atmosphere of their planet. But humanity took the wrong path when, from Stone Age caves, it took with it not only fire and tools, but also the cave lifestyle. So many millennia have passed, but everything remains the same. Still the same cave (only more comfortable), and people huddling together (only better dressed). Who knows, if the development of civilization had followed the path of individualism, we would not now be living under a social system much more perfect than this lame-legged “please-everyone” democracy?

If there are no people bustling around, in whose hubbub it is impossible to hear one’s own inner voice, a person ceases to be just an organism with a basic set of functions. He becomes a Personality. Creator. A thinker. New horizons open up for him, and his mind is ready to accept universal revelations. Have you noticed that in solitude and tranquility it is easy to think? Only in silence, alone with yourself, can you think through serious things and make the right decisions. If it seems to you that it is better to consult with knowledgeable people(from the crowd... from the anthill...) - this is not worldly wisdom. This is a primitive desire to have someone at hand on whom you could shift all the responsibility.

Any person in the crowd also feels the need to be alone. But he has created so many unnecessary connections in life, dead “links” that drain life force, that in the silence of loneliness all sorts of nonsense begins to pop into his head. "What will he/she say? What will he think? Did I act rightly with him/her? Is it good... Should I... Should I go... Should I say..." Naturally, he runs from loneliness. Once again making sure that the crowd is right and loneliness is evil.

Creativity is also not a collective process, because creativity by a crowd is handicraft. Poets don't huddle together to write poetry. A hundred sculptors do not dance around a block of marble, cutting off a piece. Artists do not gather around one canvas, each painting their own part of the picture. All people have particles of chaos. You are calm, focused, velvety silence surrounds you - and chaos changes its essence, rushing into the mainstream of creativity. In the hubbub and the flow negative emotions, in the soul-cutting cramped space, the seeds of chaos sprout as weeds of destruction and self-destruction.

You're lonely? Don't whine or beg to understand. Don’t expect people to run to you with offers of love and all-round friendship. It’s better to evaluate how much you need their friendship and understanding. And are they needed at all? Can't stand being alone? That's it, you're no longer a fighter. You are broken, and future humanity does not need broken people, bent by fate. Go ahead and become another colorless termite. A drop in the bucket. A grain of sand in the desert. Take your rightful place before another torn one takes it public opinion soul.

Many, with tenacity worthy of better use, are looking for their other half, or rather, a guaranteed salvation from “shameful” loneliness, a kind of indulgence of a “higher” biological order. The subsequent relationship between the two “halves” is an ocean of mental pain, hatred and jealousy, anger and irritation, generated by a misunderstanding of each other. So was it worth it?

Conclusion

Loneliness is not only a complex phenomenon of a person’s individual life, but also the most important social phenomenon that requires regular socio-philosophical, psychological and anthropological understanding.

Modern man is deeply concerned about problems relating to his individuality, his uniqueness; he desperately seeks his “identity” and is afraid of losing it. In addition, we strive to be ourselves, we fight for the unique integrity of consciousness, against the randomness of transient, changeable existence, against the general non-existence of scattered consciousness; and if we succeed to some extent in this, then we are horrified by the absolute loneliness of our position. And then we are again drawn back to the crowd, to friends, to political, social, moral actions, to writing books, to the pursuit of fame - all these activities and each of them separately represent an attempt to gain recognition from others that we We exist - separately, but not alone.

In its least pronounced form, we all experience loneliness as boredom; we constantly feel that we must occupy ourselves so as not to find ourselves face to face with the “nothingness” that is our own consciousness.

Bibliography

1. #"justify">. #"justify">. Berdyaev N.A. Me and the world of objects.

Mazurenko E.A. Loneliness as a phenomenon of individual and social life. - Arkhangelsk - 2006

Mateev D.A. The phenomenon of loneliness and the problem of communication impairment: socio-philosophical aspect. - Novosibirsk - 2008

Puzanova Zh.V. Philosophy of loneliness and the loneliness of the philosopher - Moscow

Khamitov N. Philosophy of loneliness. - Kyiv - 1995

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“People in modern society feel the deepest loneliness”, said the Dalai Lama while having tea with his old friend, Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

We are always very busy. And even when we meet each other regularly, we can remain just acquaintances for many years, and this cannot be called true human intimacy. And when we have no one to turn to for help or support, we feel alone.

Smile from loneliness

Sociologist Lynn Smith-Lovin conducted a study and found that the number of close friends most people have modern people decreased from three to two. We have hundreds of "friends" in in social networks, but real, truly close ones are becoming fewer and fewer. About one in ten participants in the study mentioned admitted that he had no friends at all.

“In the village there is a much more developed sense of community,” says the Dalai Lama. - When a personal or family problem arises, you know that you can turn to your neighbors for help. But even in cities with a population of millions, we are responsible for each other, even if we do not know each other personally.

We all belong to the same human race. Strangers can not be. It is worth seeing each other, looking into the face of any person, and we understand that this is a brother or sister. It doesn’t matter whether we know each other or not, you can always smile and say, “Hello.”

We live in a consumer society. There is no place for love in the materialist's picture of the world. He just works twenty-four hours a day, like clockwork. And we gradually become parts of a huge moving machine.

Human race

Buddhism has the concept of human interdependence on all levels: social, personal, subatomic. When we are born and die, we are completely dependent on those around us, and the independence that we think we gain in the interval between birth and death is a myth.

- If you focus on secondary differences - nationality, religion, skin color - the difference between us will be very noticeable. Like now in Africa, for example, where there is so much strife because of nationality. And people should simply consider themselves an African nation. Not to mention the fact that everyone generally belongs to a single nation - human. It’s the same with religions: Shiites and Sunnis, Christians and Muslims... We are all human. Religious differences are private. If the basis of perception is compassion for others as representatives of the same human species, we move to the primary level and forget about the differences of the second level. And you can empathize even with the enemy.

Everyone has the capacity for empathy. Scientists have discovered that man is merciful by nature. The problem is that at school they do not teach to develop natural human qualities, and the potential remains unrealized.

Ubuntu

The need to share and care for each other is inherent in us by nature. When we lose the opportunity to interact, we fade away. This is partly why solitary imprisonment is the worst punishment. It is impossible to realize oneself without the participation of others, says Archbishop Tutu.

In South African philosophy there is such a concept - “ubuntu”. It means that you can become a person only with the participation of other people. The teaching of Ubuntu says: “If I have a small piece of bread and I share it with you, it is for my good first of all.” After all, even at birth we were not alone. In order for us to be born, two people were needed. The Bible, the common book of Jews and Christians, tells a beautiful story. God says, “Adam, you must not be alone.”

We are part of a single organism and can only be people together.

Alone or lonely?

We often do not feel loneliness when left alone with ourselves, but we feel lonely in company, in a crowd of unknown people or at a party with people we barely know. Feeling cut off from the world and being alone are not the same thing. You can experience joy even when there is no one around; but you can't enjoy life if you're lonely.

Monks spend a lot of time as hermits, are they lonely? Here's what the Dalai Lama said based on his experience:

- Monks fence themselves off from the material world - not only physically, but also spiritually. We cannot touch God directly; the only way to do this is to serve His children, that is, humanity. For this reason, monks are never truly lonely. Much depends on perception. If a person experiences anger and negatively evaluates reality, he will feel isolated. Loneliness inevitably follows. But if his heart is open, full of trust and friendliness, even if he is all alone and prefers to be a hermit, he will never be lonely.

There are seven billion people in the world and an unlimited number of intelligent beings. If you remember this all the time, loneliness will never overtake you. Only love and kindness bring happiness. Only they give us strength and confidence, tame fears, teach trust, and it helps to establish friendly relations. We are social animals, cooperation is necessary for our survival, but without trust there can be no cooperation. Trust unites individuals and entire nations. By developing generosity and the ability to empathize, we create a more positive and friendly atmosphere around us and begin to see friends everywhere. If we are full of fear and mistrust, people will keep their distance from us. They will also have a desire to be cautious, suspicious and distrustful. And behind this comes loneliness.

The paradox is that we think too much about ourselves and our problems because we want to become happier, but such fixation leads to the opposite result. If you concentrate too much on yourself, the connection with others is disrupted and alienation occurs. Moreover, as a result, a person becomes alienated from himself, since the need for connection with others is an integral part of our nature.

With an open heart

The Dalai Lama is confident that if you treat others with kindness and compassion, you will never be alone. An open, kind heart overcomes loneliness. It’s amazing: today you walk down the street and perceive everything around you critically and judgmentally, you feel lonely and feel the gap between yourself and the rest of the world, and tomorrow you walk along the same street with a more open heart and accept people as they are, empathize with them and you realize that today everyone seems friendly and welcoming. As if internal state changes the mind and soul beyond recognition physical world and surroundings.

No one seeks solitude on their own initiative. No one will say: I want to feel lonely. People just become like this for different reasons.

- We must treat everyone in such a way that they feel special, accept them for who they are, and help them open up. It's wonderful to see how previously closed people open up, how beautiful flower, in the rays of human kindness and acceptance,” the archbishop noted.

You don't have to wait for others to open their hearts to you. Open up first and you will feel the thread connecting you with people. And it doesn’t matter where you are - on the top of a mountain or in the center of Moscow.

Post cover: illustration from the book.

Rollo May named two main reasons for the anxiety and despair of modern man, which were pointed out by Kierkegaard and Nietzsche. This is a person’s loss of a sense of being and his loss of his world. According to May, “twentieth-century Western man not only experiences alienation from the social world from him, but also suffers from an inner, painful conviction that he is alienated from life itself.” Rollo May is sure that “the problem of this loss of one’s world is also expressed not simply in the absence of interpersonal connections or in the lack of communication with loved ones. It has roots beyond social levels of alienation from life.”

Let's look at what is causing this below.

Humanity had an original idea of ​​the Universe as a cozy home for humans. Man had (along with other things) his place in a world inhabited and ruled by a multitude of deities and spirits. The man was not alone in feeling their influence. MAGICAL THINKING made it possible to “influence” external forces, which provided a feeling of reliability and “settledness” (in the words of Martin Buber).

The further evolution of human consciousness and worldview led to an understanding of existence as cooperation with God, a constant dialogue with Him. A person who ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of GOOD AND EVIL was given freedom of choice - whether to act according to the commandments or fall into sin, succumbing to earthly temptations and achieving goals that conflict with the “DIVINE VALUES”.

Ideas about the structure of the World, which undermined the geocentric theory of Ptolemy, turned the Earth into a grain of sand in the Universe. This made a person hopelessly lonely and defenseless in the face of a cold and indifferent Infinity, which does not care about the pain and suffering of an individual. The era of “disorganization” has arrived. As historical development and great scientific discoveries“...the original contract between the Universe and man was terminated, and man felt that he was an alien and a loner in this world,” writes Martin Buber. The person’s personality “has become homeless in the midst of the infinite,” which cannot but instill in a person the fear of restlessness and LACK OF MEANING. This is confirmed by the words of Blaise Pascal:

“When I reflect on the transience of my existence, immersed in eternity, which was before me and will remain after me, and on the insignificance of the space, not only occupied, but also visible by me, space dissolved in the immense infinity of spaces, unknown to me and not knowing about to me - I tremble with fear and ask myself - why am I here and not there, for there is no reason for me to be here and not there, there is no reason for me to be now and not later or before. Whose order, whose thought destined this for me? time and place?

Pascal is struck by the “fragility and insignificance” of man in the face of the Universe. "What is a person in the Universe? Non-existence in comparison with infinity, all that exists in comparison with non-existence, the average between everything and nothing. He is not able to even come close to understanding these extremes - the end of the universe and its beginning, impregnable, hidden from human gaze by an impenetrable secret, and equally cannot comprehend the non-existence from which it arose and the infinity in which it dissolves." Isn't this terrifying loneliness in its purest form and in all its powerlessness? The loneliness of the finite human self against the backdrop of cosmic infinity and indifference.

Descartes claims that God guarantees the connection between man and the world - between the consciousness of an individual person and the Absolute. According to Rollo May, “socio-historical situations in initial stages of the modern era were such that the “faith” in Leibniz and Descartes had an impact, i.e. reflected the fact that the world still belonged to everyone."

The denial of the presence or even the presence of God in the world, which took on unprecedented proportions at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, led to the consequences that we are dealing with today. As May writes, “now that God is not only “dead”, but a requiem has already been sounded over his grave, the complete isolation and alienation inherent in the relationship between man and the world has now become obvious. Let us put this question in less poetic terms: the collapse of humanistic and Judeo-Christian values ​​has occurred, and the consequences inherent in this situation have emerged as a result.”

The loss of a person’s connection with God (no matter what the circumstances) means alienation of consciousness from the world - and a breakthrough in the feeling of loneliness. A severely undermined or absent FAITH in one’s own divine PURPOSE, a lack of a sense of the DIVINE MEANING of one’s own life, sooner or later confronts a person with the experience of loneliness and final abandonment. Man turns out to be a speck of dust thrown into existence and flying into the abyss of non-existence.

Finding himself alone with the dispassionate world, alienated from it and from other people, a person experiences unbearable anxiety and a feeling of helplessness, inability to control circumstances. As Erich Fromm writes: "The experience of isolation causes anxiety; indeed, it is the source of all anxiety. To be isolated means to be cut off, without any possibility of using one's human powers. Consequently, it means to be helpless, unable to actively influence the world - things and people, it means that the world can invade me without me being able to react."

Martin Buber notes that modernity is “an unprecedented fusion of social and cosmic homelessness, fear of the world and life in a life-sensation of unprecedented loneliness. The individual feels at the same time like a foundling of nature, abandoned, like unwanted child, at the mercy of fate, and an outcast in the midst of the noisy human world."

Rollo May emphasizes that alienation “arises as an inevitable consequence of the time when, over the course of four centuries, the separation of the human subject from objective world. This alienation has been expressed for several centuries in the desire of Western man to gain mastery over nature, and now it manifests itself in alienation from nature and in a vague, unexpressed and half-repressed feeling of despair at real relationships with life, including interaction with one’s own body.”

Thinkers, philosophers, scientists, and religious figures of our time are trying to find man his worthy place in the universe. „ Work in progress over a new image of the universe, but not over a new world house... It is no longer possible to build a human home from this Universe,” writes Martin Buber, emphasizing that man is forced to accept as a fact his homelessness and being lost in the Universe.

The world is what it is. It is dispassionate, absurd and meaningless. To root himself in being, man is destined to create his world with his own hands. And if we are not able to create our own world, then we remain alienated from the world and from ourselves.