"Philosophy of life" is an irrationalistic direction, formed in late XIX- early 20th century It arose as a reaction to the crisis of classical Western rationalism. Most widespread philosophy of life acquired in the first quarter of the 20th century. Subsequently, this direction loses its independence and its principles are used by existentialism, personalism, phenomenology and, especially, philosophical anthropology. Representatives of the “philosophy of life” are Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900), Henri Bergson (1859-1941), Wilhelm Dilthey (1833-1911), Simmel (1858-1918), Oswald Spengler (1880-1936), etc.

"Philosophy of Life" considers everything that exists as a form of manifestation of "life". At the same time, the concept of “life” is considered as a primary holistic reality, which is identical to neither spirit nor matter and can only be comprehended intuitively. The founders of the “philosophy of life” believed that the basis of life and its manifestation is will. Thus, in the teachings of the German philosopher A. Schopenhauer, which can be considered one of the sources of irrationalism, the primacy of freedom relative to the mind is defended. He argued that freedom, that is, motives, desires, incentives to act and the very processes of implementing these actions are specific and relatively independent. At the same time, and this is the main thing, the will determines the direction and results of mental cognition. That is, the will must be put in place of the mind, independent of the control of the mind and having neither cause nor basis. This is "absolute free will." In addition, freedom permeates the whole world; it is the first principle and the absolute. The world, according to A. Schopenhauer, is nothing more than “will and imagination” (see his work “The World as Will and Imagination”, section “Primary Sources”).

F. Nietzsche also considered will to be the basis of life. But life is not a manifestation of an abstract world will, as with A. Schopenhauer, but of the “will to power.” This will is not only the determining, main stimulus of human life, but also of life in general, of existence as such. “To understand what “life” is,” writes F. Nietzsche, “and what kind of aspirations and tension it is, this formula applies equally to trees and plants, and to animals.” And further: “Why do the trees of the primeval forest fight each other? Because of power!” (see his work "The Thirst for Power").

The very name of this irrational trend in philosophy indicates its central concept - “life”. It acts as a primary reality, an integral process, as the continuous creative formation of the “living”. Life resists a runny nose, everything inorganic, frozen. Therefore, if “life” is in constant motion and contradiction, science cannot be effective means knowledge of this life. This is explained by the fact that science, using analytical method, decomposes the phenomena of life into separate parts. Science is able to explain the connections between them, and therefore it can change the world in favor of man, create new objects, processes, etc. But science (mind) is powerless to understand the essence of the world. The mind is always humanly oriented, has a goal, and “life” is higher than any sense of purpose. Therefore, it is not rational, but intuitive forms of knowledge that move to first place.

The truth is not accessible to everyone in the learning process, its knowledge is undemocratic in nature, and the problem of “aristocratization” of knowledge arises. Hence the high appreciation of the individual and her creativity. A person realizes himself as an individual in history and culture. Her work responds to “life”; it is both a process and at the same time the result of biological and social adaptation. Man lives in history, but history has no objective laws. She has a share, and man has a share. General history people are a fiction.

Every culture and every civilization has its own destiny. They arise, develop and collapse according to the cycles of time. Civilization and culture have their own specificity and originality, and therefore cannot seriously influence each other. Each of them has its own values, which change from time to time. There are “life” values ​​that do not depend on the specifics of cultures. These are values ​​that reflect “herd instincts”, slave morality, mass prejudices (equality, justice), etc. The main attitudes and values ​​of the “philosophy of life” are the desire for life, the absence of fear of death, the desire to be stronger than others, the will to power, nobility and aristocracy of spirit.

LIFE

LIFE

EXCHANGE OF SUBSTANCES. With chemical t.zr. metabolism is a combination of many relatively simple reactions, each of which can be reproduced outside the body, since it does not contain anything specifically vital. What distinguishes life qualitatively is that these are numerous in living bodies. reactions that are elements of metabolism are strictly coordinated with each other in time and space so that this entire order is naturally directed towards constant self-reproduction and development of the living system as a whole. And this order is developed in the process of adaptation of the organism to the conditions external environment(see A.I. Oparin, Life, its nature, origin and development, 1960 p. 13). Metabolism consists of two closely related processes: assimilation, which consists of the construction of substances characteristic of a given living body from food coming from the external environment, and dissimilation, which consists of chemical metabolism. the breakdown of substances in the living body with the release of energy necessary for life. The processes of assimilation and dissimilation are in constant complex contradiction with each other, which constitutes the source of metabolism as a process of self-development of a living organism. About half of the proteins are human. The body's metabolic process is replaced in 80 days. In some tissues this exchange occurs faster. In the blood plasma it takes 10 days, in other tissues it is slower (see A. Policard et S. A. Baud, Les structures inframicroscopiques normales et pathologiques des cellules et des tissus, P., 1958, p. 22). Despite the replacement of some atoms by others, structural elements living bodies retain the constancy of their structure, their orderliness. Living things have a developed selection mechanism. assimilation of environmental agents. Living bodies do not allow all substances to pass through environment, and the process of substances entering the living body from the environment is associated with the active activity of the living body, according to which enzymes are located on the surface of cells that facilitate the penetration of various substances into the cell. Certain substances are selectively retained in the living body or in its individual organs. Thus, the thyroid gland accumulates a large number of iodine, snake venom concentrates zinc, and higher plants Usually they do not give up the nitrogen they receive until death. Thus, the metabolism developed during adaptation provides even the most elementary organism with a certain internal. peace, i.e. the ability to maintain, within certain limits, the constancy of its composition and structure. One of the most important issues G. is the problem of self-renewal of energy. resources of the living body. Already at the end of 19 and the beginning. 20th centuries precise experiments have shown that metabolic processes in living bodies obey the law of conservation of energy, i.e. the first law of thermodynamics. Thus, it was established beyond doubt that the processes of life are fundamentally the same type as the basic energetics. processes of nature in general. Further development scientific knowledge showed, however, qualities. difference between bioenergetics and physical chemistry of inanimate nature. This was discovered in the study of the applicability of the second law of thermodynamics to living bodies. According to this law, only processes can occur in closed systems that are accompanied by an increase in entropy or in which it remains constant. Maximum entropy is a chaotic state. thermal movement of molecules, in which heat cannot be used for smoldering purposes. mechanical work. Living bodies, however, are open systems that continuously receive energy from the outside in the form of chemicals. energy food products, and also, if they are capable of photosynthesis, in the form of light energy, and are spontaneously released from decay products. Living bodies can temporarily delay and slow down processes leading to an increase in entropy. This is achieved by storing energy in various types of chemicals. compounds, the most important of which is adenosine triphosphate. This substance has macroenergy. connections, i.e. chemical bonds, the destruction of which releases a large amount of energy. Green plants use light energy to synthesize adenosine triphosphate, and this compound, along with certain other macroenergetics. substances stands in the center of energy. exchange of all known living bodies. Living bodies have systems that allow them to regulate the release of their stored energy. Thus, living organisms, like open systems, have the quality of self-renewal energy. potential, being at the same time highly non-stationary, so that self-renewal and their use of energy. resources is a constant self-renewal of both structure and function. This means that the living body is in a constant process of development: “Life... consists, therefore, first of all in the fact that the protein body in each given one is itself and at the same time different, and that this does not happen due to any or a process to which it is subjected from the outside, as happens with dead bodies" (Engels F., Anti-Dühring, 1957, p. 77). Metabolism, in essence, is the mechanism of this process of self-development, the source of which is the main components of metabolic processes - assimilation and dissimilation. The complexity of a living body as an open mobile (non-stationary) system of a huge chain of reactions is produced in the biological process. devices.

V. Ryzhkov. Moscow.

The problem of life and the second law of thermodynamics. Numerous attempts to list the differences between living and nonliving things lead to the indication of properties observed in living nature, but not to the identification of creatures. differences, manifested as (see V.I. Lenin, Soch., vol. 38, p. 132). Such creatures. the difference must constitute a certain law of phenomena, characteristic of inanimate nature, and, the opposite, no less general law, characteristic of living nature. The statement that the laws of living and inanimate nature are the laws of physics and chemistry leads to mechanism. If the laws of biology are contrasted as “supernatural” inanimate nature, then from the correct premise of qualities. the uniqueness of living things, we move to the position of vitalism. The way out of the situation is to indicate the pattern that determines the origin of life from inanimate nature and determines its originality. The commonality of the phenomena of living and inanimate nature consists, firstly, in the fact that all living and inanimate bodies are composed of the same chemical atoms. elements, secondly, in the fact that the law of conservation of energy operates in both living and inanimate nature. Therefore, it can be argued that it is not Live nature somehow transfers energy to living nature.

However, there is another very general one - this is the second law of thermodynamics, an attempt to use it to explain liquid phenomena led to a number of difficulties. “The situation is more complicated with the second law, which expresses the statistical tendency of nature towards disorder, the tendency towards equalization and thus the depreciation of energy in isolated systems, which is usually expressed as an increase in entropy.

In contrast, in organisms not only does there not be an increase in entropy, but it is even possible to decrease it. Thus, it would turn out that the basic law of physics is to disorder, an increase in entropy, and the basic law of biology, on the contrary, is an increase in organization - a decrease in entropy" (Oparin A.I., Life, its nature, origin and development, 1960, p. 17). In relation to the second law of thermodynamics, the phenomena of life are opposite to the occurrence of phenomena in inanimate nature. This also follows from the analysis of the second law of thermodynamics made by Engels: “... the heat emitted into the world must be able to somehow... again concentrate and begin to actively function" ("Dialectics of Nature", 1955, p. 20). This feature of living things has attracted the attention of scientists since the end of the 19th century. Thus, in 1886 L. Boltzmann said: "The universal, covering the entire organic world, is not per substance: chemical elements organic matter found in abundance in air, water and land; This is also not a struggle for energy - it, unfortunately, in an inconvertible form, in the form of heat, is generously dispersed in all bodies; this is a struggle for entropy, which becomes available during the transition of energy from the blazing sun to the cold earth" (quoted from the book: Timiryazev K. A., Izbr. soch., vol. 1, 1948, p. 364). I agreed with this conclusion and it was concretized by K. A. Timiryazev, who saw in chlorophyll an intermediary between radiant energy dissipated in cosmic space and the energy of organic substances arising in plants under the influence of light (see ibid.).

The emergence of living nature from nonliving nature occurs historically at a certain stage in the development of nature, so it is natural that the problem of their fundamental difference in general and specifically in relation to the second law of thermodynamics has attracted the attention of geochemistry. Geochemistry considers liquids as specific. on the surface of the Earth, which bears the biosphere, and explores the most common and most creatures. side Zh. from t. view. its distribution on Earth and interaction with other forms of movement of matter in the form in which they specifically exist on our planet. In this sense, geochemical. t.zr. turns out to be closer to a wide coverage of all manifestations of life from bacterial activity to geochemical. changes caused by industrial human activity. With such an analysis of the phenomena of life, i.e. When comparing the energy of living and inanimate nature, it is precisely the special energy of the biosphere that provides qualities. difference between living and nonliving.

The most complete understanding of life as a process of accumulation of effective energy and the impact of accumulated energy on inanimate nature was developed by the creator of biogeochemistry, V. I. Vernadsky. “In their totality, animals and plants, all living nature, represents a natural phenomenon that in its effect in the biosphere contradicts the Carnot principle in its usual formulation. Usually in earth's crust as a result of life and all its manifestations there is an increase in effective energy... Clausius entropy has no real existence; it is not being, it is mathematical, useful and necessary when it makes it possible to express natural phenomena in mathematical language. It is true only within the premises. The deviation of such a basic phenomenon as living matter in its impact on the biosphere... from Carnot’s principle indicates that life does not fit into the framework in which it is established" (Izbr. soch., vol. 1, 1954, p. 219–20).

The list of scientists who have discovered the opposite of the flow can be continued natural phenomena in living and inanimate nature with t. sp. the second law of thermodynamics, i.e. taking as the main law of biology "anti-entropic" nature biological. phenomena. In any case, we can say with confidence that the nature of the relationship to the second law of thermodynamics is energetic. processes in inanimate nature and in living organisms (in which they are carried out as metabolism) form creatures. the opposite of the flow of processes in living and inanimate nature. An open question remains the problem of how the transition from processes of increasing entropy to processes of decreasing entropy occurs in nature. The situation is even more complicated by the fact that there is still no precise definition of what entropy is. (This should not be confused with the question about how entropy is calculated.) Without understanding “what” increases in inanimate nature, it is impossible to understand “what” decreases in the phenomena of life. However, it is possible to indicate the actual. a mediator between two laws; this medium is radiant energy. The release of radiant energy into space is a consequence of the second law of thermodynamics. The impact of radiant energy on the atomic-molecular structures of a substance causes its restructuring with the emergence of organic. substances of living nature. This effect of radiant energy, which is carried out from the outside and manifests itself in life phenomena as the influence of the environment, is apparently the cause of “anti-entropy” processes.

P. Kuznetsov. Moscow.

IRRITABILITY. The ability of living bodies to respond to the influence of the environment with a spontaneous reaction that does not correspond to physico-chemical. the nature of the stimulus is known as the property of irritability. In the process of evolution, the simplest forms of irritability, characteristic of the lower types of living organisms, starting with single-celled organisms, plants, animals with a low-organized nervous apparatus (tropisms, taxis), are replaced by highly organized forms of behavior.

The latter are related to the development nervous system and develop from specific behavior, the unit of the cut is unconditioned reflexes, to individual behavior – the highest nervous activity, the basic elementary unit of the cut is, and the apparatus is the cerebral cortex (see Instinct, Psyche, Consciousness). Although the property of irritability of living beings is related to the property of reflection common to all matter, it also contains qualities. differences. The main thing is that living organisms are self-regulating systems, and their “mechanism” of reflection is designed on the principle of feedback, so that the effect of the reaction is correlated with the needs of the organism; Thus, irritability turns out to be a means of control, regulation and adaptation. behavior.

Development, old age and death. Every living body goes through a cycle of individual development (ontogenesis). During development, a change in forms is observed, in chemical. and physical condition, as well as changes in functions. It is possible to distinguish between an ascending development curve, in which an increase in the complexity and intensity of the function is observed, and a descending curve associated with aging processes (see N. P. Krenke, Theory of cyclic aging and rejuvenation of plants..., M., 1940). The very process of ontogenesis already contains signs of aging, which is briefly expressed in the famous formula of Engels: “To live means to die” (“Dialectics of Nature”, 1955, p. 238). There have been attempts to explain death as the result of the irreversible decay of a single complex and very labile substance. Loeb, for example, mistakenly thought that the living body has some kind of initial reserve of this substance and that its consumption leads to death. In fact, the causes of aging and death lie at the very basis of the process of life as constant self-renewal. During embryonic development, periods of intensive growth and intensive differentiation alternate. Highly differentiated cells of the nervous system, like those, lose their ability to reproduce, and there are no less of them in the brain of newborns than in the brain of an adult. Lack of reproduction, i.e. renewal, leads to the accumulation of metabolic products in cells, to unfavorable relationships between the cell mass and its surface, etc. In accordance with this, the nutrition of highly differentiated cells deteriorates. The continuous vital activity of these cells is associated with the formation of metabolic products, some of which are difficult to dissolve or insoluble and are deposited in the cells as ballast (for example, “age pigment” in nerve cells). Loss of division closes the path to renewal for cells that are so important for the body as a whole, such as nerve cells. Cell differentiation and loss of their ability to divide can be considered the most important causes of aging. As a result of these processes, the intensity of metabolism and, consequently, the self-renewal of the body are weakened. “As soon as this continuous component of the protein body ceases, this constant change of nutrition and excretion, from that moment the protein body itself ceases its function, it decomposes, i.e. dies” (Engels F., Anti -Dühring, 1957, p. 77).

PHILOSOPHY OF LIFE (Lebensphilosophie) is a general overview of an extremely wide range of philosophical concepts, and in most cases the term was used by certain thinkers not to characterize their philosophy as a whole, but to clarify its individual aspects. In this sense, Dilthey traces his concept of life to thinkers such as Seneca, Marcus Aurelius, Augustine, Machiavelli, Montaigne and Pascal. Sometimes Socrates, French moralists and Goethe were also called “philosophers of life.” The concept has remained most popular in German-speaking culture; in English and French, if it was used, it was, as a rule, interpreted from a biological point of view. IN in a broad sense philosophy of life is a direction of Western European philosophy at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century, whose representatives, adhering to different philosophical positions, opposed the classical ideal of rational philosophy. Characteristic of this trend was greater attention to the problem of man, attempts to consider him in “integrity” and in all the diversity of his mental powers or to highlight certain aspects of his nature as basic, fundamental (“will” by Schopenhauer, “will to power” by Nietzsche) . What all these efforts had in common was that they were in opposition to the traditional idea of ​​"reason" and, accordingly, to German classical philosophy. The concept of “man”, or “life”, becomes one of the key ones for this tradition. Philosophy of life in the broad sense includes Nietzsche, Dilthey, Bergson, Spengler, Simmel, Klages, Spranger, etc. Philosophy of life in the narrow sense is represented by both Dilthey and the school based on his philosophy. Much of the responsibility for uniting all these disparate philosophies into one “current” lies with Rickert’s Philosophy of Life (1920), in which the author attempts to refute the ideas that gained extraordinary popularity in the first decades of the 20th century and show that they are a symptom of a general crisis philosophy. The outcome of the confrontation between the philosophy of life and neo-Kantianism took shape in the 1920s–1930s. not in favor of the latter trend. Thus, Cassirer, in a famous discussion in 1929 in Davos with Heidegger, complained about the injustice of the younger generation of philosophers who identified neo-Kantianism with outdated philosophy and blamed this movement for the crisis in which philosophy found itself at the beginning of the 20th century. The general critical attitude of the philosophy of life towards Kant was indeed reproduced in the attitude of existential philosophy (primarily Jaspers) towards neo-Kantianism. In German philosophy, two periods can be distinguished when the term “philosophy of life” became popular: the end of the 18th - beginning of the 19th century and last decades 19th – early 20th century. At the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, philosophy of life became synonymous with “philosophy of practical life” as a reaction to the rationalist philosophy of Kant, Wolff and their school with its division into theoretical and practical philosophy. In the last decades of the 18th century. formed philosophical direction, who first began to use this term. “Practical philosophy”, “life wisdom”, “science of life”, “art of living”, etc. were used as synonyms. This “practical philosophy” was to be aimed at disseminating ethical and pragmatic principles of behavior, to be addressed not to the “specialist”, but to those who are in real life. In the same sense, the philosophers of the Enlightenment also spoke about the philosophy of life. The development of a pragmatically oriented philosophy of life is prepared by the awakening of interest in pedagogical problems (under the influence of Rousseau), the intertwining of pedagogy and psychology (especially experimental - Pestalozzi, Herbart).

In the title of the work, the term “philosophy of life” (Lebensphilosophie) was first registered in the anonymously published treatise “On Moral Beauty and Philosophy of Life” (author G. Schirach); somewhat later, “Works on the Philosophy of Life” appeared (K. Moritz, 1772). In 1790 even the Journal of the Philosophy of Life appeared. The term “philosophy of life” is becoming popular and penetrating into fiction. In the beginning. 19th century philosophy of life is used to refer to the systematic constructions of authors who do not belong to the number of professional philosophers, characterizing the rich life experience that arose from real life. This experience is systematized and summarized in numerous collections of aphorisms, which contributes to the popularity of the philosophy of the Enlightenment. At the same time, another understanding of the term is being formed, closer to the tradition of the philosophy of life of the late 19th century: in 1827, Schlegel in his “Lectures on the Philosophy of Life” opposed all kinds of taxonomy; philosophy of life seeks to combine “philosophy” and “life” itself, “poetry” and “thinking”; for the first time, the superiority of philosophy of life over “ theoretical philosophy”, logical proof is contrasted with “experience” and “experience of truth”. These trends have a strong influence on the school of German romanticism. Rationality of thinking is contrasted (including in Schleiermacher, Novalis) with the spontaneity of faith and the living needs of the “depths of the soul” (des Gemütes). Although two circumstances - the special role of the heritage of ancient philosophy and a specific attitude towards Christianity - constitute a significant difference between the “romantic” philosophy that had formed by the beginning of the 19th century and Nietzsche’s philosophy of life, the latter as a whole inherits one of its most important features- anti-rationalism. In The Birth of Tragedy, Nietzsche talks about how the Greek “theoretical man” tried to reconcile art and science with life. The antagonism between history as a science and life also becomes the theme of his “On the benefits and harms of history for life.” History (Historie) should not be a “pure science”, but should serve “ whole life", which is a non-historical force. Young people must again “learn to live,” “life precedes knowledge.” At first, Nietzsche hopes for a new “birth of life,” a renewal of the Dionysian “fullness of life” through art and music; subsequently, however, he admits that the philosopher should be more attentive to the “tragic” in life. While by the mid-19th century philosophy of life was quite often used to refer to philosophical disciplines about the organic and biological processes of life, as well as the quality general concept for various biological theories of life, Nietzsche opposes the organicist understanding of life (primarily Spencer), believing that the physiological preservation of itself by the organism is only a secondary phenomenon of a deeper phenomenon - life as a spontaneous, aggressive and formative force. It is on this understanding of life as “appropriation, damage, overcoming and suppression of the alien, the weaker” that one of the key ideas for Nietzsche is based - the “will to power”.

K con. 19th century a tendency becomes noticeable aimed at overcoming the rationalistic dualism between subject and object (Bergson, Dilthey). It is believed that in the phenomena inner life, its mental and historical-cultural manifestations (Dilthey) it is impossible to find a foothold for new philosophy. Bergson also believes that science will never achieve the full richness of life: physics and chemistry are not able to fully explain the mystery of the body with their mechanistic methods. Bergson's idea that the rational method is not able to embrace the “fluid continuity of life,” “life as a flow,” turns out to be extremely important for the philosophy of W. James. In turn, pragmatism (Dewey, James) contributes to the formation of an extremely broad tradition, conventionally designated as a philosophy of life in that it shows the importance of the theory of truth for human life. Dilthey, like Bergson, denies traditional metaphysics. Both thinkers strive to transfer the methods they developed for the particular sciences back into the whole of philosophy. Bergson at the same time assumes the existence of a non-rational possibility of knowledge, which he calls intuition and which, in contrast to discursive knowledge, is a complex comprehension of an object, through which we are transported “inside the object in order to merge with it.” It is thanks to this that intuition, which itself has a vital nature, can “lead us to the very depths of life.” Dilthey offers a whole range of methods (descriptive psychology, comparative psychology of individuality, historical method, method of analyzing objectifications of human life, etc.), which together, in his opinion, can bring us closer to the mystery of human life. At the same time, the focus on understanding life distinguishes Dilthey’s philosophy from all poetically free sketches of the so-called. “life philosophies”, as well as from irrationalistic trends in the philosophy of life. Even more precisely, the specificity of Dilthey's philosophy is determined by the fact that it is a historically oriented philosophy of life. “What a person is, only his history can tell him.” The concepts of “life” and “historical reality” are often used by Dilthey as equivalent, since historical reality itself is understood as “living”, endowed with life-giving historical force: “Life... in its material is one with history. History is just life viewed from the point of view of integral humanity...”

The three most important representatives of the philosophy of life at the beginning of the 20th century were Simmel, Scheler and Spengler. Simmel also believes that intelligence “tears apart the material” of life and things, transforming them into tools, systems and concepts. Although “life” and “concept” are not completely opposed, he believes that life follows not a rational, but a “vital” logic; It is impossible to give an exact definition of life, but it can be understood as “constantly overstepping boundaries.” This is precisely the meaning of life, which life cannot have in itself. Simmel also believes that it is inherent in life to produce “more life”, “to be more more life"and form something "larger than life" - that is, create cultural formations(cf. Hegel’s “objective spirit” and Dilthey’s “objectification of life”, as well as the discussion of cultural problems in neo-Kantianism). The position of Scheler, who believed that life is a “primordial phenomenon” that cannot be dissolved either in the phenomena of consciousness, or in bodily mechanisms, or in the combination of these two aspects, being a precedent for a unique combination of the philosophy of life and phenomenology, has had big influence on Heidegger. Spengler's philosophy of life combines individual elements of Dilthey's philosophy (the opposition of the humanities and natural sciences), but rejects the method of description. Spengler's more biologically oriented philosophy of life attempts to "take a more unbiased look" at world history, to see “the spectacle of a multiplicity of cultures,” each of which has “its own form... its own idea, its own life, its own death.” In the 20th century, the ideas of the philosophy of life developed mainly. thinkers who, to one degree or another, rely on Dilthey. Meanwhile, individual representatives of the philosophy of life (Litt, Spranger, Klages) are often reproached for excessive acceptance of the irrational aspect of the philosophy of life; they are credited with a certain share of responsibility for the development in the 20s of the 20th century of a vulgar philosophy of life, the development of anti-liberal sentiments in Germany, which, along with the comprehension of the experience of war and the exaltation of the “experience of war” (Jünger brothers (see F. Jünger, E. Jünger) etc.), according to many modern sociologists and political scientists (Sontheimer et al.), contributed to the rise of the National Socialist party to power.

I. A. Mikhailov

New philosophical encyclopedia. In four volumes. / Institute of Philosophy RAS. Scientific ed. advice: V.S. Stepin, A.A. Guseinov, G.Yu. Semigin. M., Mysl, 2010, vol.IV, p. 210-211.

Literature:

Nietzsche F. Op. in 2 vols. M., 1996; Bergson A. Creative evolution. M., 1909; Simmel G. Problems of the philosophy of life. M., 1898; It's him. Favorites, vol. 1: Philosophy of culture. M., 1996; vol. 2: Contemplation of life. M„ 1996; Spengler O. Decline of Europe, M.-P., 1923; vol. 1. M„ 1993; t. 2. M., 1998; Dilthey W. Gesammelte Schriften. Lpz., 1911; Gottingen, 1959.

Philosophy of life: Schopenhauer, Nietzsche.

The irrationalistic trend that emerged at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Its emergence was associated with the rapid development of biology, psychology and other sciences, which revealed the inconsistency of the mechanistic picture of the world. At the center of this philosophy is the concept of life as an absolute, endless, unique beginning of the world, which, unlike matter and consciousness, is active, diverse, and eternally moving.

Arthur Schopenhauer - German idealist philosopher; gained fame as a brilliant essayist. He considered himself a follower of Kant. When interpreting his philosophical views, the main emphasis was placed on the doctrine of a priori forms of sensuality to the detriment of the doctrine of the categorical structure of thinking. He distinguished two aspects of understanding the subject: the one that is given as an object of perception, and the one that is the subject in itself. The world as a representation is entirely conditioned by the subject and is a sphere of appearance.

Schopenhauer is a supporter of voluntarism. Will in his teaching appears as a cosmic principle underlying the universe. The will, being a dark and mysterious force, is extremely egocentric, which means for each individual eternal striving, anxiety, conflicts with other people.

Schopenhauer's aesthetic ideal lies in Buddhist nirvana, in the killing of the "will to live", in complete asceticism.

Friedrich Nietzsche is a German philosopher, one of the founders of modern irrationalism in the form of philosophy of life. His views underwent a certain evolution from the romantic aesthesia of cultural experience through the “revaluation of all values” and criticism of “European nihilism” to the comprehensive concept of voluntarism.

The main provisions of Nietzsche's mature philosophy are:

everything that exists is the will to power, power;

the world itself is a multitude of world pictures, or perspectives, competing with each other, emanating from centers of power - perspectivism.

Nietzsche is a decisive opponent of the opposition of the “true world”, accelerated in European culture, to the empirical world, the origins of which he sees in the denial of life, in decadence. Nietzsche connects the criticism of metaphysics with the criticism of language. The deep internal inconsistency of Nietzschean vitalism is manifested in the question of the relationship between the truth of a particular doctrine, idea, concept, etc. and their historical genesis. Main works: “Human, too human”, “The Gay Science”, “Beyond Good”, “Anti-Christian”.

PROBLEMS OF EXISTENCE IN A. SCHOPENHAUER, F. NIETZSCHE, A. BERGSON, K. MARX

Arthur Schopenhauer(1788–1860). One of the brightest figures of irrationalism is Arthur Schopenhauer, who was dissatisfied with the optimistic rationalism and dialectics of Hegel.

The basis of the world, according to Schopenhauer, is the will, which subjugates the intellect.

How much stronger the will is than the intellect, according to Schopenhauer, can be judged by one’s own actions, because almost all of them are dictated not by the arguments of reason, but by instincts and desires. The strongest instinct in life is sexual love, i.e. procreation, and in fact, the reproduction of new generations for suffering, torment and inevitable death.

Schopenhauer denied all the dogmas of Christianity, including the immortality of the soul. According to Schopenhauer, the dominance of world evil and faith in God are incompatible.

Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900). Friedrich Nietzsche is a German philosopher and philologist, the brightest promoter of individualism, voluntarism and irrationalism.

According to Nietzsche, the world is a constant becoming and aimlessness, which is expressed in the idea of ​​​​the “eternal return of the same.”

Following Arthur Schopenhauer, Nietzsche called the will the basis of the world:

As the driving force of formation;

Like an impulse;

As "will to power";

The will to expand your Self, to expansion. Nietzsche's central concept is the idea of ​​life. He is the founder of a movement called the philosophy of life.

In man, according to Nietzsche, the main thing is the principle of corporeality and, in general, the biological organic principle; intelligence is only the highest layer necessary for the preservation of organismic formations, primarily instincts.

Henri Bergson.Henri Bergson (1859–1941) - French thinker, representative of intuitionism and philosophy of life.

Bergson's views can be defined as a retreat from the materialistic-mechanistic and positivist direction of philosophical thought.

His most important teachings are: about the intensity of sensations; time; free will; memory in its relationship with time; creative evolution; the role of intuition in the comprehension of existence.

Bergson proposed life as a substance as a kind of integrity, different from matter and spirit: life is directed “upward”, and matter is directed “downward”.

The meaning of life, according to Bergson, is understandable only with the help of intuition, interpreted into a kind of sympathy, accessible to direct insight into the essence of an object through merging with its unique nature.

Problems that interested Bergson:

Soul and body;

The idea of ​​spiritual energy;

Dreams, etc.

They had special meaning for him because:

He wanted to “free” the spirit from the body and thereby prove the possibility of the immortality of the soul;

His interest in spiritualism and telepathy was connected with them.

Karl Marx. Karl Marx (1818–1883) - philosopher and socialist, creator of the “Communist Manifesto”, founder of historical materialism.

Marx and Engels create their new philosophy, called “new materialism”.

Applying materialist dialectics to the analysis of social life, K. Marx made two discoveries: the “secret” of surplus value in capitalist society; materialistic understanding of history.

PROBLEMS OF CONSCIOUSNESS IN A. SCHOPENHAUER, F. NIETZSCHE, K. MARX, A. BERGSON, W. JAMES

Arthur Schopenhauer(1788–1860). Arthur Schopenhauer did not agree with the concept of the mind as the area of ​​conscious mental activity of human consciousness, introducing unconscious irrational aspects into it.

Schopenhauer saw the basic fact of consciousness in representation.

Intuition is the first and most important type of knowledge. The whole world of reflection is built on intuition.

According to Schopenhauer, truly perfect knowledge can only be contemplation, free from any relation to practice and to the interests of the will. Scientific thinking is always conscious, because it is aware of its principles and actions, but the activity of an artist, on the contrary, is unconscious, irrational: it is not able to understand its own essence.

Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900). The form of presentation of philosophical ideas by Friedrich Nietzsche is aphorisms, myths, sermons, polemics, declarations.

According to Nietzsche, consciousness combines:

The ancient attitude towards the value of the objective world, the focus of attention on it;

Personal skill of working consciousness with oneself. Nietzsche sought to create the foundations of a new “superman” morality to replace the Christian one, to find a new path of religious consciousness. The world, according to Nietzsche:

This is life that is not identical to organic processes: its sign is becoming;

This is the will to power.

Karl Marx(1818–1883). Karl Marx was the founder of the idea of ​​the secondary nature of consciousness, its conditionality, determination by external factors and, above all, economic ones.

According to Marx, it is not consciousness that determines being and the world of phenomena, but vice versa: being determines consciousness, consciousness is conscious being.

Karl Marx argued that man, his consciousness and his entire spiritual life are determined by graceless socio-economic relations.

Marx proposed to analyze consciousness and its content through the study of objective and practical forms of human activity, that is, to analyze consciousness woven into the existence of people.

Henri Bergson (1859–1941). Henri Bergson is one of the brightest representatives of the philosophy of life.

Bergson's most important philosophical work is “An Essay on the Immediate Data of Consciousness,” in which he introduces the concept of “pure duration” - the essence of consciousness and being.

Bergson in his philosophy addressed the life of our consciousness: after all, it is given to us directly in our self-consciousness, which shows that the thinnest fabric mental life there is duration, that is, continuous variability of states.

Bergson's doctrine of the nature of consciousness and conditions of possibility open society at one time it was characterized as a revolution in philosophy.

William James (1842–1910). William James is a North American philosopher, in his opinion, consciousness is divided and has a purposeful structure.

One of James's most famous works is "Does Consciousness Exist", in which the philosopher denies the existence of consciousness as a special entity related to something.

In his opinion, personality (a certain volitional center), and not consciousness, refers to the flow of sensations and experiences, which are the last reality given to us in experience.

Z. FREUD, HIS FOLLOWERS AND OPPONSES

Sigmund Freud is an Austrian psychologist, neuropathologist, psychiatrist; he is characterized by research into the phenomena of the unconscious, their nature, forms and methods of manifestation.

Freud's major works, containing philosophical ideas and concepts:

- “Mass psychology and analysis of the human “I””;

- “Beyond the pleasure principle”;

- “I” and “It”;

- “Psychology of the unconscious”;

- “Dissatisfaction in culture”;

- “Civilization and analysis of the human “I”” and others. Freud put forward:

The hypothesis about the exclusive role of sexuality in the emergence of neuroses;

Statement about the role of the unconscious and the possibility of its knowledge through the interpretation of dreams;

The hypothesis that the mental activity of the unconscious is subject to the principle of pleasure, and the mental activity of the subconscious is subject to the principle of reality.

For Freud's philosophy, the main idea is that people's behavior is controlled by irrational mental forces, and not by laws social development that the intellect is an apparatus for masking these forces, and not a means of actively reflecting reality and understanding it more and more deeply.

Freud's main research is the role of the most important, in his opinion, engine of human mental life - “libido” (sexual desire), which determines the contradictions:

Person and social environment;

Person and culture;

Man and civilization.

Through the lens of sublimation, Freud considered:

Formation of religious rituals and cults;

The emergence of science;

Self-development of humanity.

From the philosophical side, Freud gives his understanding of man and culture. For him, culture appears as a “Super-I”, based on the refusal to satisfy the desires of the unconscious; it exists due to the sublimated energy of libido.

In his work “Dissatisfaction in Culture,” Freud concludes that the progress of culture reduces human happiness and increases a person’s sense of guilt due to the limitation of his natural desires.

In considering the social organization of society, Freud focuses his attention not on its supra-individual character, but on man’s natural tendency to destruction, aggression, which can be curbed by culture.

Carl Gustav Jung, a Swiss psychologist, philosopher, cultural scientist, began his career as a close associate of Sigmund Freud and a popularizer of his ideas.

After Jung's break with Freud, there is a revision of ideas about the origin of human creativity and the development of human culture from the point of view of “libido” and “sublimation”, the repression of sexuality and all manifestations of the unconscious through the “Super-Ego”.

“Libido” in Jung’s understanding is not just some kind of sexual desire, but a flow of vital-psychic energy. Jung introduced into scientific research such objects as the doctrine of karma, reincarnation, parapsychological phenomena, etc. The main works of K.G. Jung: “Metamorphoses and Symbols of Libido”; "Psychological types"; “Relationships between the Self and the Unconscious”; "An attempt at a psychological interpretation of the dogma of the Trinity."

The most interesting representative of neo-Freudianism was Erich Fromm.

Main works: “Escape from Freedom”; “Concept M

PSYCHOANALYSIS OF Z. FREUD AND NEO-FREUDISM, CONSCIOUS AND UNCONSCIOUS

Sigmund Freud - Austrian psychologist, neuropathologist, psychiatrist, he studied the phenomena of the unconscious, their nature, forms and methods of manifestation.

Freud's main works, which contain philosophical ideas and concepts: “Mass psychology and analysis of the human “I””; “Beyond the pleasure principle”; “I” and “It”; “Psychology of the unconscious”; "Dissatisfaction in Culture"; “Civilization and analysis of the human “I””, etc.

Freud put forward a hypothesis about the role of the unconscious and the possibility of its knowledge through the interpretation of dreams.

Freud assumed that the mental activity of the unconscious is subject to the pleasure principle, and the mental activity of the subconscious is subject to the reality principle.

The main thing in the philosophy of Sigmund Freud was the idea that people’s behavior is controlled by irrational mental forces, and not by the laws of social development, that the intellect is an apparatus for masking these forces, and not a means of actively reflecting reality and understanding it more and more deeply.

The most important, according to Freud, the engine of human mental life is “libido” (sexual desire), which determines the contradictions of a person and the social environment, a person and culture, a person and civilization.

In his psychoanalysis, Freud considered:

Formation of religious cults and rituals;

The emergence of art and social institutions;

The emergence of science;

Self-development of humanity.

Freud argued that the main part of the human psyche is unconscious, that a person is in a constant desire to satisfy his drives and desires, and society constitutes a hostile environment that seeks to limit or completely deprive a person of satisfying his passions.

According to Freud, the personality is divided into the id; I (Ego); Super-I (Super-ego).

It is the sphere of the unconscious, subordinate only to the principle of pleasure; it has no doubts, contradictions and denials.

Freud divides any instincts and associated drives into two opposing groups:

Ego drives (instincts of death, aggression, destruction);

Sexual instincts (life instincts).

Freud proposes to consider the consciousness of the individual as a system of external prohibitions and rules (Super-ego), and the true content of the individual (Ego) as something “supraconscious” (It), which contains impulsive drives and passions.

According to Freud's philosophy, consciousness creates various kinds of norms, laws, commandments, rules that suppress the subconscious sphere, being for it a censorship of the spirit.

The subconscious sphere manifests itself in the areas:

Abnormal (dreams, accidental slips of the tongue, slips of the tongue, forgetting, etc.);

Abnormal (neuroses, psychoses, etc.). Neo-Freudianism - a direction in modern philosophy and psychology, combining the psychoanalysis of Sigmund Freud with American sociological theories. The main representatives of neo-Freudianism:

Karen Horney;

Harry Sullivan;

Erich From et al.

The main idea of ​​the neo-Freudians was interpersonal relationships. Their main question was how a person should live and what to do.

Society is recognized as hostile to the fundamental trends in the development of personality and the transformation of its life values ​​and ideals.

THE IDEA OF SUPERMAN IN F. NIETZSCHE

Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) - German philosopher and philologist, the brightest promoter of individualism, voluntarism and irrationalism.

There are three periods in Nietzsche's work:

1) 1871–1876 (“The Birth of Tragedies from the Spirit of Music”, “Untimely Reflections”);

2) 1876–1877 (“Human, too human”, “Motley opinions and sayings”, “The Wanderer and his shadow”, “The Gay Science”) - a period of disappointment and criticism - “sober”;

3) 1887–1889 (“Thus Spoke Zarathustra”, “Beyond Good and Evil”, “Twilight of the Idols”, “Antichrist”, “Nietzsche against Wagner”).

For Nietzsche, knowledge is interpretations, closely related to the inner life of a person; he rightly notes that the same text allows for multiple interpretations, since thought is a sign with many meanings. To understand a thing, you need to translate the human into the natural, therefore one of the most important means of cognition is the translation of the human into the natural.

According to Nietzsche, man is a “sickness of the Earth”, he is fleeting, he “is fundamentally something erroneous.” But it is necessary to create a genuine, new person - a “superman”, who would give a goal, would be the winner of “being and nothingness” and would be honest, first of all, before himself.

The main problem of man, his essence and nature, is the problem of his spirit.

According to Nietzsche, spirit:

This is endurance;

Courage and freedom;

Affirmation of one's will.

The main goal of a person’s aspirations is not benefit, not pleasure, not truth, not the Christian God, but life. Life is cosmic and biological: it is the will to power as the principle of world existence and “eternal return.” The will to live must manifest itself not in the miserable struggle for existence, but in the battle for power and superiority, for the formation of a new person.

In his work Thus Spake Zarathustra, Nietzsche proclaims:

That man is something that must be overcome;

All beings have created something that is higher than themselves;

People want to become the ebb of this great wave, they are ready to return to the beasts rather than overcome man.

The real greatness of man is that he is a bridge, not a goal. Nietzsche wrote: “Man is a rope stretched between animals and the superman.”

Nietzsche's superman is the meaning of existence, the salt of the earth. In his opinion, the place of the deceased God will be taken by a superman. Nietzsche believes that the idea of ​​the superman as a goal that must be achieved returns to man the lost meaning of existence. A superman can only emerge from a generation of aristocrats, masters by nature, in whom the will to power is not suppressed by a culture hostile to it, from those who are able, united with their own kind, to resist the majority who do not want to know anything about the true purpose of modern people.

Nietzsche, under the influence of Dühring’s physical and cosmological research, developed the idea of ​​eternal recurrence, which should compensate for the hope for a possible life lost along with Christianity. eternal life behind the coffin. If you logically follow this idea, then people are doomed to eternity, because they already live in eternity. Eternity, according to Nietzsche, coincides with the moment.

The main feature of irrationalism of the 19th century is the criticism of reason, science, logic, and systematicity, since rationality and its consequences destroy the ever-becoming and developing life itself. Representatives of this trend, the Danish thinker Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855), German philosophers Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) and Friedrich Nietzsche (1844 1900), believe that the central characteristic person is something irrational, mystical, incomprehensible by means of science and logic, inexplicable and inexpressible in the conceptual thinking.

The reason for the emergence of irrationalism is the crisis of German transcendental philosophy. Representatives of the non-classical type of philosophy saw in I. Kant and G. Hegel only pure theory and scholastic schematism, which do not explain, but only simplify and schematize contradictory and mysterious life. Therefore the central task non-classical philosophy is to discover behind the dominance of rationality a certain primary irrational reality (“hungry will” in A. Schopenhauer, “absurd faith” in S. Kierkegaard, “will to power” in F. Nietzsche).

Like other representatives of non-classical philosophy, Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) argues that the basis of man, his generic essence, is not reason, but some blind, unconscious life force, unreasonable will. The mind plays a secondary role in human life and is dependent on the will.

Criticizing German classical philosophy, A. Schopenhauer, however, uses the main ideas and achievements of the latter. A. Schopenhauer's main work, “The World as Will and Representation” (1816), was written under the direct influence of the philosophy of I. Kant. Just as I. Kant distinguishes between “appearance” and the unknowable “thing in itself,” A. Schopenhauer considers the world as representation (“appearance”) and as will (“thing in itself”). The world in which a person lives is declared by the philosopher to be an inauthentic world of representation. Everything here is an appearance, a mirage, a veil of Maya. In this world it is almost impossible to distinguish between reality and dream, reality and appearance. In the world as a representation there is no place for freedom, since here everything is subject to the power of reason, the dominance of space and time and the law of causality.

The true meaning of the world, the philosopher believes, is hidden and represents irrational will. Will is the heart of the world, the grain of everything that exists, it manifests itself in all objects and phenomena. The will does not submit to the power of reason, it is reckless, eternal and infinite, absolutely free. The main property of the will is overcoming itself. The eternally “hungry” will must “devour” itself, because it represents an endless striving, an eternal becoming. Its properties are insatiability, eternal dissatisfaction with what has been achieved and endless overcoming of its frozen, ossified forms. The highest manifestation of will, according to A. Schopenhauer, is man, therefore in his nature one can also find an eternal desire for the unknown, constant conflicts and the struggle with the world and with oneself, all this is a constant source of endless suffering for a person. Man, the philosopher believes, is doomed to suffering, and getting rid of it is impossible. Being a big fan of philosophy Buddhism, A. Schopenhauer proposes to get rid of inevitable human suffering by denying life itself, the source of which is the will (the cause of all suffering). The ideal and model for A. Schopenhauer is the asceticism of Christian ascetics and the achievement of Buddhist nirvana: a person remains to live, but life means nothing to him.

For Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855), who is often called the ideological forerunner of the philosophy of existentialism, the problem of human personalities, its originality and uniqueness, its tragic fate becomes the most important theme of all philosophy.

The main thing in a person, S. Kierkegaard believes, is not the mind, but a mystical irrational riddle, which the philosopher calls existence (from Lat. - existence). Reason and existence are opposite things. If Descartes says “I think, therefore I exist,” then S. Kierkegaard declares: “the less I think, the more I exist,” thereby showing that the mind is completely helpless in revealing the secret of existence.

Existence is the deep mystical essence of a person, his core, a mystery that cannot be described or rationally defined in concepts. No scientific or rational methods are suitable for understanding man. A person can penetrate into the essence of human existence and discover the meaning of his life only in certain critical situations of vital choice, in so-called existential situations, when the meaning of human life is discovered. The “meeting” with one’s own existence does not occur in abstract thoughts, but in difficulty, risk and “either-or” choice. Trying to reveal the essence of existence and discover the meaning of human life, S. Kierkegaard in his work “Stages on the Path of Life” examines the various stages of human existence.

At the aesthetic stage (symbol - Don Juan), a person is turned to the outside world, immersed in life feelings. The values ​​of this stage are youth, health, beauty. A person strives to know and experience all types of pleasure: from the most base, physical to the highest intellectual. This is the position of hedonism (life is pleasure). But what more people indulges in pleasures, the stronger his dissatisfaction and disappointments become. A person is overcome by boredom, which brings him to the brink of despair. A person realizes the untruth of his way of life and the need to choose a higher stage.

At the ethical stage (symbol - Socrates) a sense of duty dominates. Man voluntarily submits to the moral law. The disadvantage of this position, Kierkegaard believes, is the subordination of man to a universal law, that is, to something external to his own existence. It turns out that even at this stage a person cannot be himself in the true sense.

Only at the religious stage (symbol - Abraham), when reason cannot save a person and help him, does a person find himself alone with himself and the true absolute. Only an absurd faith can save a person. S. Kierkegaard believes that the meaning of human existence is revealed only through existential fear, through despair associated with the abandonment of reason. Fear, like fire, burns all bridges, all illusions and reveals the true essence of a person and the meaning of his existence. As if “turning inside out” dialectics G. Hegel, Kierkegaard believes that comprehending the meaning of human existence, revealing the secret of existence and connecting with the transcendental world occurs instantly as a result of an irrational leap.

Criticism of the rationalism of previous classical philosophy is also observed in the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900), in whose work three stages are distinguished: 1. “Romantic” period (1871-1876). The main works of this period: “The Birth of Tragedy from the Spirit of Music”, “Untimely Reflections”. This is the period of romanticism, passion for classical ancient literature, the music of R. Wagner, and the philosophy of A. Schopenhauer. 2. “Positivist” period (1876-1877). Main works: “Human, all too human”, “Motley opinions and sayings”, “The Wanderer and his shadow”. This period is characterized by a fascination with Nietzsche natural sciences, especially biology and the theory of Charles Darwin. 3. “Destructive” period (1877-1889). Main works: “Thus Spoke Zarathustra”, “Beyond Good and Evil”, “Towards the Genealogy of Morality”. At this stage, the main headings of Nietzsche’s philosophy were formulated and revealed: “the will to power”, the furnace return of the same thing, the revaluation of all values, European nihilism, the idea of ​​the superman.

In his early work “The Birth of Tragedy from the Spirit of Music,” dedicated to the analysis of ancient Greek culture, F. Nietzsche identifies two ontological principles that permeate Greek music, tragedy, philosophy and the entire culture as a whole.

The Dionysian principle is an irrational, excessive, strong-willed principle. Nietzsche characterizes it as soaring, dancing, creative, creating. This is the beginning of universality and unity. Apollonian - the beginning of reason and harmony, symmetry and measure; the beginning is systematic, conceptual, scientific, theoretical. F. Nietzsche believes that at the beginning of development in Greek tragedy, for example, in Aeschylus, the Dionysian choral principle predominates; the harmonious unity of the Dionysian and Apollonian principles is revealed in the tragedies of Sophocles, where the parts of the chorus and heroes are almost equal; and later, gradually, the Apollonian principle begins to come to the fore, in particular in Euripides. In the middle of the 5th century BC. the Apollonian principle turns into a purely theoretical Socratic principle, emasculated, lifeless and dead. F. Nietzsche considered Socrates himself a “murderer” ancient philosophy and culture and the first Western European in spirit.

" - M.: Alpina Publisher, 2011

We have been taught since childhood that the basis of all achievements is hard work, that we need to set ambitious goals for ourselves and strain every effort to achieve them. The author refutes these generally accepted ideas and draws paradoxical conclusions using the examples of such outstanding personalities as Michael Jordan, Yogi Berra, Richard Branson, Tiger Woods and many others.

How to Develop an Effective Philosophy

Most of us already have our own philosophy, or at least the beginnings of it. Over the years, everyone has developed their own attitude towards life and work. The only pity is that our principles are not the fruits of our thoughts, but borrowings - from elders, from folk wisdom, from the media and society with its main message of “be like everyone else.”

This compilation of philosophical baggage often not so much helps as it deprives the chances of success. If you follow the popular wisdom that " repetition is the mother of learning“, you won’t get far, because the pursuit of perfection is a reliable guarantee of failure in critical circumstances. Calls for realism (" Every cricket knows its nest") and others in the same spirit only clamp down on the imagination and bury hopes for great achievements. In this sense, the favorite admonition of parents and teachers is no better “ The quieter you go, the further you'll get" The wits, however, add “ from where you are going" And I completely agree with them: in order to make a breakthrough, sometimes you need to take risks and act immediately.

Review your principles - are they pulling you back instead of moving you forward?

Let's say you already have a correct, effective philosophy of life. For example, are you sincerely convinced that “ we are all humans" So what " humans tend to make mistakes" But when it gets hot, you involuntarily succumb to defeatist moods.

Let’s say, before an interview you wind yourself up: “It’s a bloody nose, but they have to like me, because there will probably be a lot of applicants for such a fabulous place.” This idea can only be interpreted in the sense that during the interview you “forbid” yourself to be human (denying yourself the right to make a mistake). So, in fact, your correct philosophy is just empty slogans that gather dust somewhere in the back of your mind and do not in any way affect your behavior in critical situations. I will even assume that many readers completely agree with everything that I talked about in the first part of the book, but only these smart thoughts exist on their own, not being embodied in their real life.

So make sure that the thoughts that float through your brain every day and hourly, and especially in difficult situations, those life principles that you proclaim.

What would you do if I asked you to write down these principles?

Do you grab the organizer as usual or Personal diary, which is kept in a safe under a secure lock, or would you prefer to write them on small pieces of sticky paper and stick them on the bathroom mirror or on your computer monitor so that you can thoughtfully contemplate and be imbued with them every day? What I mean is that philosophy is only as good as you make it practice. It is much easier to develop a philosophy of action if you understand two things.

1. A good philosophy of action should be simple and unambiguous.

You shouldn’t complicate your philosophy, otherwise, when you get down to business, you will think more about it than about the actual matter at hand. So I would suggest limiting yourself to one or two guiding principles. The main thing is to figure out what could become a stumbling block on your path to extraordinary thinking. Your philosophical principle should remove this obstacle.

Let's say you can't control your excitement - as soon as you step into the spotlight, your veins are shaking, your palms are sweating and your stomach is twisting in a knot. Then it is useful for you to remember that the human body is designed to function more effectively under stress than in a state of serene calm.

Physiological manifestations of the “fight or flight” syndrome signal that your body is preparing to work in overdrive. A useful principle might emerge from this:

• moments of psychological pressure are a great chance to demonstrate your talents.

Not to say that this was news to you - at least, this kind of hackneyed truth is often emblazoned on thin strips of paper that are baked into fortune-telling cookies. But that’s the beauty of extraordinary thinking: it is accessible not only to the intellectual elite, but also to less educated people. Even if this is a cliche, there is still a grain of truth in it, and there is no shame in taking it into service. In short, don’t complicate your philosophy of life; simplicity is the key to effectiveness.

2. You must have your own philosophy of action that suits you personally.

This is precisely the case when the principle of universality is unacceptable. The philosophy of action is custom-tailored clothes; those from someone else will not suit you. It should correspond to your and only your nature. Take me for example. My main enemy is impatience. I have many projects, each better than the other, and I really want to tackle them all at once! But no, each of them deserves that I put my whole soul into them. And therefore my personal philosophy is built around the principle:

• Just as pitches in baseball fly in order, first one, then the other, so things are done - first one thing, then another.

Through thorns to philosophy

Remember where you start your work day. What is the first thought that comes to your mind when you sit down at the table? (I hope it’s not about what you want to please yourself more - a bun or a bun?).

Most people immediately open their diaries and, as if in a whirlpool, dive headlong into everyday affairs - in accordance with plans, a list of tasks and a “every day” strategy. In short, the day begins with thoughts about what needs to be done. But in order to accomplish what is planned top level, you need to give yourself time to think about how to do it. Otherwise, the technical aspects will obscure the most important thing - the approach to business, and this is what distinguishes an outstanding performer from an mediocre one.

In the heat of affairs that besiege us from all sides, we have no time for philosophies. It is at least impractical to talk about lofty matters when deadlines are pressing. But no! A powerful philosophy of action - the very best practical way fight what is most stopping you from thinking extraordinary.

For anyone who dreams of being on par with outstanding performers, I, as a doctor, prescribe a continuous course of study, during which we will discuss, one by one, all the obstacles that stand between you and super-achievement.

Let's say your main problem is jitters in front of superiors. As soon as the boss calls you on the carpet or asks a question over the phone, you fall into a stupor, and your speeches are more reminiscent of baby talk than the report of a competent specialist. So you need a principle that allows you to think differently about the fight-or-flight response your body responds to when you experience stress. Moreover, during the working day there are plenty of such situations. Here are examples of philosophical principles that are useful in dealing with excessive worry:

• stress makes the human body function more efficiently;
• crucial moments - best opportunity demonstrate your professionalism in all its glory;
• worry about results contributes to success;
• if the work does not make you worry, this is the first sign that it is painful for you, of little interest or, in principle, of little significance.

If your problem is that you take a long time to try things on and get stuck at the stage of preparing for a task instead of dealing with it directly, in other words, if you have the syndrome of a hyper-responsible loser, arm yourself with one of the variations of the following axioms:

• to win at competition, exercises alone are not enough;
• If you sit at a school desk all your life and run through training sessions, you will not achieve success in your work;
• putting in the effort is like competing in long division with a pencil and paper. You risk making a mistake, and the one who has a calculator will get ahead of you.

Another effective way develop your philosophy - imagine what toasts will be made in your honor at the banquet on the occasion of your retirement. What words will your colleagues find for you? Do you really want to hear something like:

• « This is an exemplary workaholic, he lived by work and at work»,
• or " It happened that I stayed late and was already getting ready to go home, and he was still poring over his papers.»,
• or " For the sake of work, he hurt himself into a cake»?

And by the way, what do they say about you in the smoking room? What nickname did you earn from office wits? Do they mimic your eternal lament: “It’s rare that things turn out the way we would like” or “I always expect the worst.” Or maybe your colleagues imitate your decisive gait or adopt your signature winning gesture? It is worth stretching your imagination a little, and you will understand what kind of reputation you would like to earn and what shortcomings your personal philosophy of action. If it is also effective, nothing and no one will stop you from thinking and acting extraordinary.

Positive thinking or positive action?

Negative thinking is a powerful and controlling force. If you see the world only in black and expect every minute the next trick of evil fate, it is very difficult to gain true confidence and selfless devotion to your work. “Thinking positively” is a good thing in principle, but it often becomes an obstacle to extraordinary thinking.

Positive thinking focuses more on achievement specific purpose than to realize a dream. Moreover, it returns the performer to the " active learning", prompting you to analyze the stream of thoughts rushing through your consciousness - are they positive or not so positive? Great performers know how to trust their conscious minds and master the art of positive action. They do not tend to think about what great things they have to do; they act positively, but they think extraordinary. It's a huge difference.

An outstanding surgeon in the midst of an operation will not mentally praise his own genius: “Oh, how great I am! Nobody could do it better than me! He would consider this not only stupid and undignified, but also extremely dangerous to the patient's life. During the operation, the surgeon does not even think about the sequence of his actions. He performs the required manipulations one after another, completely trusting his skill and experience, and he does not have any thoughts in his head, neither negative nor positive. This is typical of any top-class professional who simply does what he knows how to do well, enjoys the work and is not worried about how good the result will be, knowing that it will be the best of all possible under the given circumstances. He will not doubt himself for a moment, and do you know why? Yes, because when a top-class professional gets down to business, his confidence is already at full capacity. For him it is the same natural state of soul as his faith is for a religious person.

The philosophy of action is not a mantra that you need to repeat while doing something, but a guideline that will not allow you to stray from the mode of extraordinary thinking, no matter how circumstances force you to return to old habits and common stereotypes.

Fighter's philosophy

Do you know what the main problem proprietary recipes for effectiveness like the 12-step program? They set a course for a certain result once and for all, ignoring the fact that life is constantly changing and is generous with the most incredible surprises. Instead of stocking up on a remedy that, even if it will save you, will only be from one misfortune, it is better to arm yourself with something more universal that will help maintain the mode of extraordinary thinking, even when everything goes awry.

I'll tell you incredible story, which actually happened to one pilot. During a planned flight, his plane suddenly veered to the right, spun, and he began to uncontrollably fall into a tailspin - the altimeter seemed to go crazy. It was not possible to level the course, since the car almost did not obey the steering wheel. But the pilot was not at a loss and took the emergency actions that he had been trained to do: he slowed down to slow down the uncontrolled rotation, adjusted the position of the right wing aileron, leaned on the rudder to level the course, and radioed the controllers to prepare an emergency landing. However, the pilot landed successfully, but when he jumped from the cockpit to the ground, he could not believe his eyes: the left wing was missing, as if it had been cut off with a razor. It’s incomprehensible to my mind how he managed to fly on one wing, and even land?! The pilot himself didn’t know. Moreover, the on-board instruments did not react in any way to the loss of the wing, although perhaps this was for the better? If he had found out that he had lost his wing, he would not have been able to act so calmly, and most likely, having realized the catastrophic nature of the situation, he would have jumped with a parachute. And so, not realizing the true scale of the incident, the pilot clearly reacted to the emergency situation and came out of the situation with honor! Apparently, he was guided by the same philosophy as emergency services personnel, from ambulances and rescuers to special forces:

• do what you do (hard).

In emergency situations, some stubbornly cling to negative thoughts, moaning that the chances of getting out are close to zero, while others stubbornly do what they can, what they were taught.

At lectures, I often give the example of a parachutist: he pulls the ring, but the parachute does not open. He pulls the reserve parachute ring, but it also misfires. What to do? He has little choice: crash or try to save himself. The chance of survival is negligible, but hasn't this happened? It happened! Some were lucky enough to get stuck in tree branches, others miraculously corrected the trajectory of their fall and “made it” to the reservoir. Of course, even in these cases there are some broken bones - but is this really such a high price to pay for the happiness of staying alive? A skydiver whose parachute has failed, but whose ability to think extraordinarily has not failed, knows that the chance save yourself there is always.

Instead of giving up, he will look for a forest, or a body of water, or something else that could slow his fall, thereby increasing his chance of survival.

He will spread his arms and legs to increase air resistance, and figure out how to group himself in order to soften the impact on the ground as much as possible. To be honest, I can’t imagine what else a parachutist could do, but I’m sure that his extraordinary working brain will suggest at least some way out. In the words of Samuel Johnson, The prospect of losing your life is amazingly stimulating to the brain.

Now, so you can start making own philosophy of action, I offer you options for key philosophical principles that you can adjust at your own discretion. Let me just remind you that a philosophy of action that can lead you to success must meet the following requirements:

1) be simple and unambiguous;

2) personalized, i.e. personally yours;

3) keep you firmly in the extraordinary thinking mode, no matter how great the temptation to return to your old ineffective thinking habits;

4) relate directly to the process, and not to a specific result, i.e. be driving force, not a road map.

How to turn stress and anxiety to your advantage

• Under the influence of stress, the body is able to function more efficiently.
• Psychological press is a great chance to show yourself with best side.
• The more important the moment, the more the acquired skills are used.
• Under powerful pressure, graphite is transformed into diamond.
• If you want to succeed, be prepared to be tested, tested for strength and critically evaluated.
• If work does not make you worry, this is the first sign that it is a burden to you, is of little interest or, in principle, of little significance.
• Every single day, do something that challenges you, that tickles your nerves, makes you anxious, and tests your morale.
• Life is meaningless if you don't feel its fullness.

Healthy Commitment

• Being a workaholic does not mean being dedicated.
• Instead of working harder, work smarter.
• Perfection does not come with experience either; there is no such thing as perfection.
• To win in competition, exercise alone is not enough.
• Whatever you do, there is always a way to make it fun.
• Would you agree to do this for nothing?
• The experience gained is a reward in itself.
• And the salary is just an additional bonus.
• If something is worth doing, it's worth doing well.
• If something is worth doing, it is worth doing poorly (addressed to talented people whose passion for excellence comes at the expense of performance).
• Success comes from internal talent, not external talent.

Confidence in your strength

• We are all human, and nothing human is alien to us.
• Everyone puts on one leg and then the other when they pull up their pants (with the exception of one fellow from Rice University and yours truly).
• You will win (succeed), it's only a matter of time.
• If you can see it in your mind's eye, then you can do it in reality.
• It didn’t work out today - no problem, try again tomorrow.
• Don't take the result too personally.
• Appreciate yourself not for what you have done, but for your “highlights”, fads and mistakes.
• There are no guarantees about anything. If you feel like you need guarantees to do something useful, don't do it.
• The more exciting a project is, the less obvious what will come of it.
• The team that makes the most mistakes wins (John Wooden).
• See every obstacle as an opportunity to advance and succeed.
• See every obstacle as a potential opportunity to have fun.
• Everything I do is the best I can do.
• I will never compare myself with others - this is futile and harmful.

Chasing your dream

• You have the right to think as you like; your thoughts are valuable to yourself, and whether others appreciate them does not matter.
• Those who follow their dreams have a sure chance of achieving something worthwhile.
• Live for the sake of becoming happy and realizing your dreams, and not for the sake of money, ranks and titles.
• Instead of chasing the standard attributes of success, better understand what you are capable of in life.
• Whatever talents nature has given you, they will be enough to achieve success.
• Don't envy other people's abilities, rather develop your own.
• A person is born, lives and dies. We are not given the opportunity to change this order of things, but we can improve our lives.
• It may not be in our power to control events, but it is in our power to control our reaction to them.
• Everyone writes their own biography.
• If you want something to happen, it will inevitably happen.
• Behind every great idea and innovation there is a person who first implemented it.

There are many great philosophies of action that could serve as the basis for your own. The principles I have proposed do not fully embrace the philosophy of action that I have discussed in this chapter. But don't let this bother you. That's the beauty of your own philosophy of action, that you can create it from scratch.

If you don't know where to start, take an honest look at your strengths as a performer and admit to yourself the flaws in your thinking when you're under stress. This is the shortest path to an effective philosophy of action.