Humane - what is it, what is humanity, who are humanists and what are their distinctive features

Updated September 11: 113,995 Author: Dmitry Petrov
Hello, dear readers of the KtoNaNovenkogo.ru blog. Such a quality of character as humanity in modern society manifests itself, unfortunately, less and less often.

It becomes unprofitable to be kind and sympathetic: they will perceive you as weak and spineless, they will take advantage of this and sit on your neck. There is an explanation for this - a decline in public morality, but that is not what we are talking about now.

What is humanity: what are its signs, who can be called a humane person is the topic of this article.

Humanity

The principle of humanity provides for the formation of optimal conditions for the social and intellectual development of the country's younger generation. It implies the development of a respectful attitude towards people, recognition of the individual’s right to freedom, social protection, development of individual abilities, improvement of mental and physical potential.

Humanism involves the creation of some kind of psychological filter against the negative impact of the social and natural environment, the formation of a sense of mercy among young people.

Who is a humanist

It’s not difficult to guess who a humanist is. This is an individual who loves a person and humanity as a whole.

Such individuals do not divide others into good and bad, accept them for who they really are, forgive those who have stumbled and give chances for correction, and help those who need it. They cannot remain indifferent to people’s grief, as they have a high level of empathy - they experience other people’s troubles as if they were their own.

Humanists are kind people who know firsthand about mercy and unconditional love, who have a flexible worldview: they do not expect ideality from others, they are able to enter into any situation , understand and accept the not-so-beautiful actions of members of society.

An impartial, maximally objective, non-rigid humanist is, first of all, a creative person.

After all, there are no frameworks for him, he is spontaneous, not tied to “good” and “bad”, stereotypes and conventions imposed by society. Thanks to internal freedom, he is free externally and therefore constantly receives different life experiences, developing spiritually and physically.

Features of mentality

Such qualities as humanity and justice have always been distinctive characteristics of the Russian people. The younger generation has always treated their parents and older people with trepidation and respect.

The word “humanity” is used by residents of Russia as a characteristic of a respectful and friendly attitude towards other people. And to develop this quality to the fullest extent, joint comprehensive activities of preschool, general education, and vocational educational institutions with family education are necessary.

How is humanity formed?

This happens in the process of socialization - the formation of personality, during which the child learns to interact with other people. The main sources of humanity are education and parental example. The child observes the behavior of adults, notices how they treat each other, him, the people around him, and their pets.

Sometimes parents raise their children very strictly, punishing them for any wrong action, even if no one had previously explained to them that this should not be done. In such situations, the child intuitively senses some kind of injustice, but cannot understand what it is. And this leads to internal conflicts that negatively affect the development of his humanity.

It is also important that the child communicates a lot with peers. This interaction requires his attention, participation, friendliness and other manifestations of humanity. And if he does something wrong, the reaction of other children will force him to correct his behavior. This way his socialization will occur in the most natural way.

Already at preschool age, the child begins to learn the rules of relationships with other people. In this case, the demands of adults play an important role. Children strive to observe them themselves and ensure that others adhere to them. If someone acts contrary to these rules, children may limit their interaction with him or complain to adults, expecting them to confirm the rule and explain to the naughty child that he should not behave that way.

Cartoons are an important source of humanity for children. They describe various everyday situations in which the main characters make mistakes and learn their price, quarrel and make peace, learn to do the right thing and set an example for young viewers.

Humanity is especially actively formed in a child during the “I myself” period. At this time, the child strives for independence and tries, without prompting from adults, to determine which actions are unacceptable and which are desirable. At the same time, he does not always make the right conclusions, but when adults correct him, he remembers the correct model of behavior and sticks to it in the future.

Continuity principle

A person’s humanity is formed through a continuous educational process. It is determined by many factors and is considered a multifaceted phenomenon, not limited by time or age. Education begins from the moment a person is born and continues throughout life.

The personality and its qualities are influenced to varying degrees by the social environment and natural conditions. Education is carried out not only in the process of educational activities, but also in extracurricular activities.

Some parents believe that a child is brought up only in cases where certain conversations are held with him, and the work of teachers in preschool institutions and educational institutions is carried out.

But Makarenko said that the most important aspect of continuous education is the family. The older generation must take responsibility through various institutions: preschool institutions, family, vocational educational institutions, and purposefully take care of the humanization of the younger generation.

Caring for children and the elderly

One wise man was asked what kind of society he could call developed and prosperous. To this the sage replied that he considers only a society to be civilized in which the elders are respected and the younger ones are cared for. Indeed, the humanity of a society can be judged by how it treats the defenseless who need care.

This category primarily includes older people. Having lived a long life, old people have accumulated rich life experience, which they pass on to the younger generation. That is why older people are more often asked for advice and help than others. At the same time, old people feel unprotected, they are periodically worried about poor health, and often have health problems. Showing concern for the elderly speaks of humanity, kindness and other high personality qualities.

In old age, it becomes more difficult to work; grandparents retire. To a greater extent, they need not material help, but communication and moral support. Seeing that a person takes care of the elderly, you can be sure that he will become a good friend, a parent for his children, and a reliable life partner.

Children especially need care. In infancy, a child's life is completely dependent on his parents. In the process of growing up, parents' care for their children does not stop; children are defenseless in society, cannot provide for themselves, and have not developed as individuals. Irresponsible parents abandon their children, leaving them to their own devices; such children face a difficult future and developmental problems. Therefore, parents must be aware of their responsibility to society, for the life and harmonious development of their child.

Explanation of the term

Discussing what humanity is, we note that translated from Latin this word means “humanity.” Humanism consists in recognizing any individual as a person who has the rights to a full life. It presupposes that the entire society as a whole and each citizen individually have the ability to recognize the value of a person and respect his dignity.

What is humanity in the modern world? It follows from the Constitution of the Russian Federation and is the right of every citizen of our country. As a principle of legal responsibility, humanism is manifested in a combination of coercion and persuasion, protection and protection of the benefits of a citizen, recognition of the highest value of his freedoms and rights.

At present, several main aspects of the manifestation of true humanism can be identified. And the main one implies demands to prohibit the use of violence, torture, and humiliation of human dignity.

And as a moral and legal category, humanism presupposes a humane, respectful attitude towards various subjects of legal responsibility, without taking into account the legality (illegality) of the behavior of the subject himself.

Man is the highest value of a fair society

A society can be considered fair if in it a person has value in himself, simply by the fact of being born into the world. It doesn't matter whether he is rich or poor, educated or illiterate, handsome or unattractive - he is a human being. An equal, respectful attitude towards different people, regardless of their nationality and personal characteristics, is where humanity is manifested.

In the distant past, society could hardly be called humane or civilized. Thousands of years ago, a slave system was established in most ancient states. There was no talk of compassion for slaves. Slaves were obliged to work for free for their masters, were completely deprived of their rights, and were outlawed.

The slave owner had the right to punish, sell, kill a slave, prohibit or allow him to marry. Because of this, slaves did not live long; their lives were spent in hardship and hardship. Inequality in society remained even after the slave system was replaced by feudalism. Serfs became a new, virtually powerless category of people in feudal society.

The problem of humanity has worried thinkers since ancient times, but the implementation of this principle in practice followed only after the abolition of serfdom, the establishment of democracy in society, and the principles of universal equality. Human civilization has come to the conclusion that man is the highest value, incomparable with any economic or social benefits.

The concept of humanity, as a quality of a spiritually developed personality, includes:

• The desire to understand the people around you;
• Willingness to help people and society;
• Recognition of someone else's freedom, granting the right to choose to another person;
• Forgiving someone's shortcomings;
• Compassion;
• Generosity;
• Willingness to accept the qualities of another person, different from oneself;
• Joy at the sight of someone else's happiness, and sympathy for someone else's grief.

How humanity is manifested, examples of humanity from the lives of schoolchildren:

1. During the physical education lesson, Vasya was unable to fulfill a single standard. He ran slower than others, constantly stumbled, and his movements were clumsy. But none of his classmates laughed at him, the children knew about Vasya’s health problems and showed sympathy for him;
2. A new student was transferred to 7-A - Alena Sidorova. Most of the children in the class did not want to communicate with her because the girl was poorly dressed and did not have a mobile phone. But Nastya Petrenko told her classmates that they were mistaken, that one should value a person’s personal qualities, and not beautiful things. After this, Nastya and Alena became good friends;
3. Sasha Fedorenko, a student of grade 9-B, saw during recess how a high school student beat a younger student. He immediately stood up for the baby, for which he received a fist in the eye. Sasha still managed to defend the first-grader, which he was very happy about; Sasha did not regret being there at that moment.

There are many examples of humanity in everyday life and history, but their essence boils down to one thing - showing love and respect for people.

Legal norms of humanity

One can trace the close connection between justice and humanism noted in the country's criminal code. Real humanism is expressed in relation to both the victim and the offender, and to the whole society. This principle is implemented in protecting a person, his interests and rights from offenses. There is a system of norms that establishes legal responsibility in the form of a basis for the activities of the police, prosecutor's office, and judicial authorities to carry out such a task.

Humanity is manifested in granting certain rights not only to the victim, but also to the perpetrator of the crime. In this case, it merges with the principle of legal responsibility, based on respect, philanthropy, and morality.

Another aspect of humanism is the specificity of its relationship with formal equality and the inevitability of legal responsibility. And in ethical and moral terms, mercy is assumed towards other people. For example, in legal practice there is a practice of pardoning and amnesty in relation to individual subjects of an offense.

The principle of humanism consists of a fundamental idea that is aimed at a merciful, humane, respectful attitude towards other people. Its main requirements include: prohibition of the use of torture, violence, and treatment aimed at degrading human dignity.

Examples of manifestations of humanity

Friends, let's move a little away from theory and look at specific examples.

One of the clearest examples of humanity is saving animals. Let's watch together these emotional footage of caring people helping an exhausted dog get out of a well:

There is another example of rescuing a dog, where not professional rescuers took part, but ordinary people who joined forces for a good purpose:

An equally striking example of the manifestation of humanity is the following video - the rescue of a wolf from a trap. Although the wolf is a dangerous animal for humans, this did not stop caring people from helping the wolf free itself from the trap:

There are many more similar stories, but even these few examples are enough to understand what humanity is and how important it is.

Humanity towards nature

Arguing about what humanity is, let us turn to the relationship between man and the surrounding nature. Modern man is cut off from it, using resources for his own needs. Since ancient times, there have been two approaches to the study of natural phenomena. The first path was to consume its gifts, and not to join the origins. The second approach is a manifestation of man’s humane attitude towards natural phenomena and is associated with the search for the optimal use of natural objects without negative impact on them.

It is environmental education, which has begun to receive special attention in all domestic preschool institutions, that is the first step towards the formation of a humane attitude towards nature. In order for a child to respect the environment from an early age and use natural resources rationally, it is necessary to teach him this.

Humanity also manifests itself in relation to other people, for example, to the older generation. Patriotic education, which has become popular nowadays, makes it possible to form pride in their native land and country in the younger generation.

What is humane?

I will repeat the definition of humanity once again (but in a slightly more expanded form) so that, based on it, we can identify the characteristics of a person who could rightfully be called a humanist.

A humane person can be identified by the following three characteristic features :

1. Altruism - this is the desire to help those in need completely free of charge, the tendency to care about others, to provide assistance without asking for anything in return. A striking example of the manifestation of this quality are people engaged in volunteering - activities aimed at helping others as much as possible.
   This is not done for money, fame or any other bonuses. The intentions of such people come from the heart. This is help for the sake of help.

   A person with a humanistic view of the world can be a donor, help orphanages, organize free holidays, care for the elderly in nursing homes, treat the wounded in a war zone, and so on.

2. Morality is a value system built on generosity, kindness (what is that?), acceptance and lack of selfishness. A humane individual is a humane person, raised as such from childhood. If a child has been taught cruelty in various ways and instilled with the idea that the world is dangerous, then it is unlikely that in the future a person will treat him with love.
3. Willpower is needed in this case to combat base feelings and desires.
   The same egoism is present in all people without exception; it is a given, necessary for survival and development. We differ only in the degree of self-love: there are those who never share anything or help anyone, and those who give their last for the benefit of others. Sometimes, in order to do the latter, you have to suffer a fair amount of doubt. A humanist is also a person, he must think at least a little about himself in order to live a full life. If you're down to the last pair of pants, it wouldn't be wise to give the pants to someone who doesn't have them. It's another matter if you have two pants.

If these three elements are not present in a person’s action, then there is no need to talk about humanity.

It often happens that people donate considerable sums to charity (as philanthropists do), and then shout about it on all corners, unless they hang up posters around the city. Such actions are dictated by vanity, and this is self-interest. The desire to help should not be accompanied by the expectation of return or payment for one’s good. Otherwise, this is already a trade relationship.

Indifference as a form of inhumanity

Indifference as a form of inhumanity
It is a mistake to believe that an emotionally cold person who is not touched by other people's troubles and misfortunes is humane. Of course, it’s not polite to pry into someone else’s life and scatter advice left and right when they’re not asked for. But the lack of desire to alleviate the suffering of the unfortunate person, to share his pain, is also not an example of humanity.

Humanity and social passivity are incompatible. If a person is not interested in what is happening around him, moves away from the team, prefers loneliness to live communication, then he has no opportunity to show humanity. And this social quality must be constantly trained. In the absence of practice, they go out, and the person becomes callous. He is no longer able to sincerely love, make friends and perform sublime deeds.

Indifference devastates an individual and devalues ​​his life. The emptiness in the soul requires filling, so a person is looking for at least some options for filling this emptiness. He has an increased risk of committing antisocial acts, because such an individual is not inclined to experience remorse, shame and guilt.

According to religious views, indifference is a sin. As practice shows, the most terrible crimes are committed with the tacit consent of indifferent individuals to these actions.