What are the values ​​of human life. The system of human life values: types of values ​​and the formation of the system

What is the sense of life? How to live a fulfilling and happy life? What is truly valuable in life? Am I living right? These are the main questions to which we are all trying to find the answer ... In this article I offer you a new opportunity to reconsider your life priorities and find answers to these "eternal" questions.

When I became seriously interested in this topic and began to search, I found that the best answers to these questions are given to us by people who in their lives have come face to face with their death.

I studied best-selling books about people who found out that they were going to die very soon and changed their life priorities; collected various studies on the topic of “what is regretted before death”; added a little Eastern philosophy and the result was this list of five true values ​​in the life of every person.

If not for my illness, then I would never have thought about how wonderful life is.

1. Identity

Everything in life has a purpose. Every living creature on the planet has its own mission. And each of us has a role to play. By realizing our unique talents and abilities, we find happiness and wealth. The path to our uniqueness and mission lies through our desires and dreams since childhood.

Individuality is the highest value in the world.
Osho.

One woman (Bronnie Vee) worked for many years in a hospice, where her task was to alleviate the mental state of dying patients. From her observations, she revealed that the most common regret in people before death is regret that they did not have the courage to live the life that was right for them, and not the life that others expected of them. Her patients regretted that they never realized many of their dreams. And only at the end of the path did they realize that this was only a consequence of their choice that they made.

Make a list of your talents and abilities, as well as a list of favorite things in which they are expressed. This is how you will find your unique talents. Use them to serve others. To do this, ask yourself as often as possible: "How can I be useful (to the world, to the people with whom I come into contact)? How can I serve?"

Feel free to quit your unloved job! Do not be afraid of poverty, failure and mistakes! Trust yourself and don't worry about the opinions of others. Always believe that God will take care of you. It is better to take a chance once than to regret later that you have lived a gray and mediocre life, "killing yourself" at the same time at an unloved job to the detriment of yourself and your loved ones.

Always remember that you are unique and your mission is to maximize your uniqueness to the world. Only then will you find true happiness. This is what God intended.

Discover your divinity, find your unique talent, and you can create any wealth you want.
Deepak Chopra

2. Self-disclosure and spiritual growth

Stop being an animal! .. Of course, we need to satisfy physiological needs, but only in order to develop spiritually. People mainly chase after material well-being and are preoccupied, first of all, with things, and not with the soul. Then, as the primary meaning and purpose of human life is to realize that he is a spiritual being and, in fact, does not need anything material.

We are not human beings with spiritual experiences from time to time. We are spiritual beings who have human experiences from time to time.
Deepak Chopra

Realize God within yourself. Man is a transitional being from an animal to a spiritual one. And each of us has the resources to make this transition. Practice the state of “Being” more often, when you have no thoughts and you do not need anything, when you just feel life and enjoy its fullness. The state of "here and now" is already a spiritual experience.

There are people among us, not many, but there are those who understand that it is necessary to start saving money for old age while it is still far away, so that a certain amount can be accumulated ... So why not at the same time take care of what is more important than money, about soul?
Eugene O'Kelly, Chasing the Escaping Light

And there is no need to improve yourself, you are already perfect, because you are spiritual beings. Engage in self-disclosure.

To know oneself as best as possible in order to be as big as possible for the world is the most important task of a person.
Robin Sharma

Even when you achieve goals, true success is not associated with achievement, but with those changes in consciousness that have occurred as an inevitable consequence of your progress towards these goals. It's not about the realization of goals, but about what happens to you in the process of achieving it.

3. Openness

How often, in the face of death, people regret not having the courage to express love to their loved ones! They regret that they often suppressed their emotions and feelings because they were afraid of the reactions of others. They regret not allowing themselves to be happier. Only at the end of the journey did they realize that being happy or not is a matter of choice.

Every moment we choose a reaction to a particular situation, and each time interprets events in its own way. Be carefull! Keep track of your choice every moment.

What goes around comes around.
Folk wisdom

What needs to be done to become more open?

1. Unleash your emotions and feelings. Take a ride on the coolest attraction and shout at your pleasure; share your feelings with other people; become an optimist - rejoice, laugh, be merry, no matter what.
2. Accept yourself and life as it is. Allow yourself to be who you are, and events happen by themselves. Your task is to dream, move and observe what miracles life brings you. And if something does not turn out the way you wanted, then it will be even better. Just relax and have fun.

I'm dying and having fun. And I'm going to have fun every day I have.
Randy Pausch "The Last Lecture"

4. Love

Sadly, many people only in the face of death realize how little love was in their life, how little they rejoiced and enjoyed the simple joys of life. The world has presented us with so many miracles! But we're too busy. We cannot take our eyes off our plans and pressing problems in order to look at these gifts and enjoy them.

Love is food for the soul. Love for the soul is the same as food for the body. Without food, the body is weak, without love, the soul is weak.
Osho

The best way to raise a wave of love in your body is through gratitude. Start to thank God for everything that he presents to you every moment: for this food and a roof over your head; for this communication; for this clear sky; for everything you see and get. And when you find yourself annoyed, immediately ask yourself, "Why should I be grateful now?" The answer will come from the heart, and believe me, it will inspire you.

Love is the energy from which the world is woven. Become a missionary of love! Give compliments to people; charge everything you touch with love; give more than you get ... and move through life from your heart, not your head. It is it that will tell you the right way.

A path without a heart is never joyful. Already in order to reach it, you have to work hard. On the contrary, the path that has a heart is always easy; it doesn't take much effort to fall in love with it.
Carlos Castaneda

5. Relationships

When life goes by and in everyday worries we often lose sight of our family and friends, at the end of the path we will feel desolation, deep sadness and longing ...

Spend time with those you love and value as often as possible. They are the most precious thing you have. Always be open to communication and new acquaintances, it is enriching. As often as possible, give people your attention and admiration for them - all this will return to you. Help with joy and selflessness, give and just as gladly accept gifts from others.

Bliss is also contagious, like any disease. If you help others to be happy, by and large you help to be happy for yourself. .
Osho

PS: Recently I came across an interesting poll on the Internet: "What will you regret before you die?" 70% of the participants answered “When the time comes, then we'll find out ... ».

So what will you regret at the end of your journey?

Every day we are faced with the need to solve some problems and circumstances that constantly test us for strength. And in today's world of all sorts of worries and stresses, our life values ​​play a huge role, which are a kind of pointers on the path of life.

If everything we say and do corresponds to ours, life is correct and meaningful, and we ourselves are satisfied and confident in ourselves. However, it often happens that our actions are at odds with our deepest beliefs, which is why irritability. And this is an indicator that something is wrong. In addition, such feelings can make us unhappy, and only when we always act according to our conscience, both self-esteem and a state of happiness are preserved.

The life values ​​of a person can be safely called his internal compass, by which it is necessary to check all steps. After all, when there are certain attitudes, it is much easier for a person to think over actions and, which is the basis of a productive and fulfilling life.

But let's think about what our values ​​in life can be.

Value is the significance, importance, usefulness, and benefit of something. Outwardly, it appears as one of the properties of objects or phenomena. But their usefulness and significance are inherent in them not by virtue of their internal structure, that is, they are not given by nature, they are nothing more than subjective assessments of specific properties involved in the field of public interest in them and feel the need for them. The Constitution of the Russian Federation says that the highest value is the person himself, his freedom and rights.

Use of the concept of value in various sciences

Depending on what kind of science is studying this phenomenon in society, there are several approaches to its use. So, for example, philosophy considers the concept of value as follows: it is the socio-cultural, personal significance of specific objects. In psychology, value is understood as all those objects of the society surrounding the individual that are of value to him. This term in this case is closely related to motivation. But in sociology, values ​​are understood as those concepts that are called sets of goals, states, phenomena worthy of people striving for them. As you can see, in this case, there is a connection with motivation. In addition, from the point of view of these social sciences, there are the following types and spiritual. The latter are also called eternal values. They are not tangible, but sometimes they are much more important to society than all material objects put together. Of course, they have nothing to do with economics. In this science, the concept of value is considered as the value of objects. At the same time, two types of it are distinguished: consumer and the first represent one or another value for consumers, depending on the degree of usefulness of the product or its ability to satisfy human needs, and the second are valuable in that they are suitable for exchange, and the degree of their significance is determined by the ratio that is obtained with an equivalent exchange. That is, the more a person realizes his dependence on a given object, the higher its value. People living in cities are completely dependent on money, because they need it to buy the most essential goods, namely food. For rural residents, the monetary dependence is not as great as in the first case, since they can get the products necessary for life, regardless of the availability of money, for example, from their own garden.

Different definitions of values

The simplest definition of this concept is the statement that values ​​are all those objects and phenomena that are capable of satisfying human needs. They can be material, that is, tangible, or they can be abstract, like love, happiness, etc. By the way, the set of values ​​that are inherent in a particular person or group are called. Without it, any culture would be meaningless. And here is another definition of value: it is the objective significance of the variety of components (properties and signs of a particular object or phenomenon) of reality, which are determined by the interests and needs of people. The main thing is that they are necessary for a person. However, value and significance are not always equivalent. After all, the first is not only positive, but also negative, but the value is always positive. That which satisfies cannot be negative, although everything is relative here too ...

Representatives of the Austrian school believe that basic values ​​are a specific amount of goods or goods that are necessary for satisfaction. The more a person realizes his dependence on the presence of a given object, the higher its value. In short, the relationship between quantity and need is important here. According to this theory, goods that exist in unlimited quantities, for example, water, air, etc., are not particularly significant, since they are non-economic. But the goods, the amount of which does not satisfy the needs, that is, there are fewer of them than necessary, are of real value. This view has both many supporters and opponents who fundamentally disagree with this opinion.

Variability of values

This philosophical category has a social nature, since it is formed in the process of practice. In this regard, values ​​tend to change over time. What was meaningful to this society may not be so to the next generation. And we see this from our own experience. If you look back in time, you will notice that the values ​​of the generations of our parents and ours differ in many respects from each other.

Main types of values

As noted above, the main types of values ​​are material (conducive to life) and spiritual. The latter give a person moral satisfaction. The main types of material values ​​are the simplest goods (housing, food, household items, clothing, etc.) and goods of a higher order (means of production). However, both those and others contribute to the life of society, as well as to improve the quality of life of its members. People need spiritual values ​​for the formation and further development of their attitudes and perceptions of the world. They contribute to the spiritual enrichment of the individual.

The role of values ​​in the life of society

This category, in addition to being of some importance to society, also plays a role. For example, the assimilation of various values ​​by a person contributes to the acquisition of social experience, as a result of which he joins the culture, and this, in turn, influences the formation of his personality. Another important role of values ​​in society is that a person strives to create new goods, while preserving the old, already existing ones. In addition, the value of thoughts, actions, various things is expressed in how important they are for the process of social development, that is, the progress of society. And on the personal level - the development and self-improvement of a person.

Classification

There are several classifications. For example, according to her, material and spiritual values ​​are distinguished. But according to their significance, the latter are false and true. The classification is also carried out by areas of activity, depending on their carrier, and by the time of action. According to the first, economic, religious and aesthetic ones are distinguished, the second - universal, group and personality values, and the third - eternal, long-term, short-term and momentary. In principle, there are also other classifications, but they are too narrow.

Material and spiritual values

We have already managed to tell about the first ones above, everything is clear with them. These are all the material goods that surround us that make our life possible. As for the spiritual, they are components of the inner world of people. And the initial categories here are good and evil. The former contribute to happiness, and the latter - everything that leads to destruction and is the cause of discontent and unhappiness. Spiritual values ​​are true values. However, in order to be so, they must coincide with the significance.

Religious and aesthetic values

Religion is based on unconditional belief in God, and it does not require any proof. Values ​​in this area are guidelines in the life of believers, which are determined by the norms and motives of their actions and behavior in general. And aesthetic values ​​are everything that gives a person pleasure. They are directly related to the concept of "beauty". They are associated with creativity, with art. Beauty is the main category of aesthetic value. Creative people devote their lives to the creation of beauty, and not only for themselves, but also for others, wishing to bring those around them true joy, delight, admiration.

Personal values

Each person has their own personal orientations. And they may differ from person to person. What is significant in the eyes of one person may not be valuable to another. For example, classical music, which leads fans of this genre to a state of ecstasy, may seem boring and uninteresting to someone. The personal values ​​are greatly influenced by such factors as upbringing, education, social circle, environment, etc. Of course, the family has the strongest influence on the personality. This is the environment in which a person begins his primary development. He gets the first idea of ​​values ​​in his family (group values), however, with age, he can accept some of them and reject others.

The following types of values ​​are personal:

• those that are components of the meaning of human life;
• the most general semantic formations that are based on reflexes;
• beliefs that relate to desired behavior or the completion of something;
• objects and phenomena to which the individual has a weakness or is simply not indifferent;
• what is important for every human being, and what he considers his property.

These are the types of personal values.

A new approach to defining values

Values ​​are opinions (beliefs). Some scientists think so. According to them, these are biased and cold ideas. But when they start to activate, they mix with feelings, while getting a certain color. Others believe that the main values ​​are the goals that people strive for - equality, freedom, welfare. And also it is a way of behavior that contributes to the achievement of these goals: mercy, empathy, honesty, etc. According to the same theory, true values ​​should act as some standards that guide the assessment or choice of people, actions and events.

How to understand what is the difference between spiritual and material values? What are the options for personality development in this regard and what to expect on each path of development? Consider these topical issues today in more detail later in the article.

Human values: a general concept

To begin with, it is worthwhile to understand the concept of "value" in general: what is it in general human understanding? The word "value" comes from the word "price", that is, it is something that has a price, significance, weighty preference, expressed in various objects of both the material and the subtle spiritual world.

The main types of human values ​​are divided into three groups:

1. Spiritual - something that does not have a clearly expressed physical form, but at the same time significantly affects the quality of life of both an individual and society as a whole. They are usually subdivided into personal, that is, having importance for a specific individual, group - having weight for a certain group of people (community, caste, nationality), as well as universal, the significance of which is not influenced by the level of consciousness or life of a person.
2. Social - a type of value that is important for a certain circle of people, but there are individuals for whom it is absolutely not important, that is, it is not something necessary for a full life. An excellent example is the ascetics in the mountains of Tibet, hermits living in solitude in the forests or traveling the world.
3. Material - this type of value is predominant for more than half of humanity, since it became the basis for another status - social. The basis of material value is not only objects of personal property, but also of the surrounding world.

All kinds of values ​​have in themselves the main reason and driving force for the development of an individual, group, society or humanity as a whole, which is an indicator of success and progress.

In various life situations, a person is sometimes forced to make a choice between the development and feeding of the material or spiritual world, which determines the further development of the individual, and hence the overwhelming majority of society.

Spiritual values ​​are a litmus of the morality of society

There are several types of spiritual values, and all of them are based on one goal: to make an individual a more developed personality from the point of view of the non-material world.

• The fundamental values ​​in life are freedom, love, faith, goodness, peace, friendship, nature and life in general. The absence of these factors calls into question the further development of a person, even at a primitive level.
• Moral values ​​determine the relationship between people from the standpoint of morality. This is honor and honesty, conscience, humanity and compassion for all living things, respect for age and experience.
• Aesthetic - associated with the experience of beauty and harmony, the ability to enjoy the moment, sound, color and form. Music by Beethoven, Vivaldi, paintings by Leonardo da Vinci, Notre Dame and St. Basil's Cathedral - these are the aesthetic values ​​of humanity beyond time. For an individual specific person, such an important object can be a statuette donated by a loved one, or a picture drawn by a three-year-old baby.

A person who lives by spiritual values ​​will never have a doubt what to choose: attend a concert of his favorite artist or buy the fifth, but very fashionable boots. For him, the duty to aging parents is always primary, he will not be able to satisfy his selfishness and send them to a nursing home.

Social or collective values ​​of a person

Social values ​​of a person are twofold: for some they are primary and important to the highest degree (politicians, actors, clergy, world-class scientific researchers), for others, on the contrary, they do not play any role, and a person absolutely does not care what others think of him and what position he ranks on the social ladder.

All types of social values ​​are subdivided into several more types:

Political + level of social ladder: for some people it is extremely important to be at the helm of power, to be respected and respected by everyone.

Communicative - it is important for the vast majority of people to belong to a group or cell, be it "Krishna Consciousness" or a circle of cross-stitch lovers. Communication by interests gives a feeling of being in demand, and therefore important for the world.

Religious: For many people, belief in divine powers and the associated rituals in daily life provide a foundation for later life.

Natural and economic (environmentally oriented): few people want to live in ecologically hazardous areas, places with strong gas pollution or seismically hazardous zones - this is an indicator of personal natural values. At the same time, the concern of mankind as a whole about the environment is also included in this section, as is the preservation of rare animal species.

Material assets are the main stimulus of the modern world of consumers

All physical objects that make a person's life as comfortable as possible are material values ​​that supposedly make life happier and more diverse.

Unfortunately, modernity is too preoccupied with caring for the external, material world, and few people actually realize that houses, cool cars and wardrobes full of clothes, like iPads, are only temporary and imaginary values ​​that are relevant only in a limited familiar life. And if you move a person without his "toys" to a space independent of them, then he might be able to realize that these things, in fact, are worthless and are not primary values.

Personal values ​​of an individual

This type of values ​​is a combination of all the above aspects, but taking into account the individual priorities of a person.

So, one person will have in the first place the desire to achieve a high position in society. This means that its main value is social. The other will have a fervent desire to understand the true meaning of being - this is an indicator of spiritual value that stands above all.

A person's priorities in choosing personal values ​​are an indicator of a highly developed being

All types of values ​​of an individual perfectly show who a person really is and what awaits him in the future, because the previous experience of many thousands of people is pointless to ignore. If a person has chosen material goods as a priority, believing that they will make him happy for life, then he will eventually understand (if not stupid!) That all these “toys” that come and replace each other give a feeling of happiness and satisfaction for a short time , and then again you want something else.

But people who have chosen the spiritual path and high values ​​not only know, but also feel that their life is full, interesting and without capital investments: it does not really matter for them whether they have a popular car or an old Moskvich - after all, their happiness does not come from the possession of things, but lies in the love of life or God.

Can all three types of values ​​coexist peacefully in the mind of one person?

This idea is very well illustrated by Krylov's fable "The Swan, Cancer and the Pike": if you torn to all sides at once, then in the end nothing moves anywhere, remains in place. But a group of like-minded people or a nation, and indeed the whole of humanity as a whole, is quite capable of such a task: some will be responsible for material values, using them for the good of everyone, while others will raise the spiritual level, preventing society from deteriorating morally.

Last updated: 6/02/17

Every person has days when he is overcome by doubts whether he lives this way, whether he does what he does. He asks himself questions: why am I living, why not everything turns out the way I want. Such vague anxieties and feelings that you are going somewhere wrong, that you are doing something wrong, do not give you the opportunity to enjoy life.

In order to sort out these doubts, ask yourself a few questions: What is important to you in life? What do you value most in people? What do you value in yourself? What must be present in your life to make you feel happy? What principles, in your opinion, cannot be abandoned? What kind life values Do you think the main?

If you want to understand yourself, first of all, you will need to understand your system. life values... Make a list of everything without which you think your life loses its meaning. Write what life values already in your life, and what should be.

The most main values ​​in life each person:

1. Health: the better your health, the happier you are. Health is the most important thing to value in life, and which needs to be constantly taken care of.

2. Love: there should be love in every person's life. It's great if you have a loved one. But perhaps it is the love of your parents for you or your love for your parents, love for your children, love for your neighbor, and finally, it is love for yourself.

3. Family: what could be more important than a happy family life?

4. Friendship: do not forget how important it is to you to understand how important the support of friends is, how much they mean to you.

5. Success: for you it can be work, career, respect and recognition, material well-being. Answer the questions: What does success mean to you? What does it mean to you to be successful?

As you can imagine, this is not all life values, and for you they may not be the main... You can write on your list: a stable financial position, confidence in the future. Another person will write: personality development, spiritual values, self-realization. The third will write: youth, beauty, travel. And he will prioritize in a completely different way.

Write down, if possible, everything that you value in life, being careful not to miss anything. Explore the list and choose from it the main For you life values... Write them down as they decrease in importance. Those life values that took the first 7-9 lines of the list, and there are your main values ​​in life... Now think about whether you devote most of your attention to these values, whether you spend your time and energy on them. If you realize that you are busy with completely different things, it will become clear to you why doubts come to you. It will become clear to you why you do not feel absolutely happy - you are serving not your own, but other people's values, or those values ​​that are far from the first on your list.

Try to change your life! that's why they are called the main ones, because they mean much more to us than others, they are our beacons in life, and allow us to make sure that we are moving in the right direction!