AD ALTA
JOURNAL OF INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH
FOUNDATIONS OF THE FAVORABLE HUMAN LIFE PATH
a
SERGEY A. ERMAKOV,
b
TATIANA V. SVADBINA,
с
OLGA A. NEMOVA,
d
VERONIKA A. KARNAUKHOVA,
e
GALINA A. KAZANTSEVA,
f
ALBINA A. KARPUKOVA
a
Lobachevsky State University of Nizhni Novgorod, Gagarin
avenue, 23, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia
b
Minin Nizhny Novgorod State Pedagogical University,
Ulyanova str., 1, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia
с
Minin Nizhny Novgorod State Pedagogical University,
Ulyanova str., 1, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia
d
Minin Nizhny Novgorod State Pedagogical University,
Ulyanova str., 1, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia
e
Minin Nizhny Novgorod State Pedagogical University,
Ulyanova str., 1, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia
f
Minin Nizhny Novgorod State Pedagogical University,
Ulyanova str., 1, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia
email:
a
ermacow1958@mail.ru,
b
tsvadbina@mail.ru,
с
403485@mail.ru,
d
kevs@mts-nn.ru,
e
kazantsga@yandex.ru,
f
alikata@ya.ru
Abstract: In the paper, theoretical and practical foundations of the favorable human
life path are considered. With regard to this, it is pointed out that human life path is an
objective and subjective reality incorporating bio-socio-spiritual principles that are in
the continuous dynamics (change and development). The paper aims at searching for
theoretical foundations to build one's favorable life path that is directly associated with
a positive focus of one's individual being. In the paper, the authors study potential
capacities for preserving and sustaining the physiological, social and spiritual
performance ensuring the human existence aimed at being in the good that acts as a
pillar of gaining well-being in life.
Keywords: human, life path, favorable path, virtue, dynamics of life, reality,
objectivity, subjectivity.
1 Introduction
Sooner or later, everyone starts thinking over the question how
to make their life favorable. This mainly happens at a mature age
(30 – 50 years old) when one approaches one's life consciously
(Ermakov, 2014, p. 73). Interestingly, with centuries having
passed, the question has remained as important for people as it
used to be. Moreover, the problems range of the meaning of life
gains especial relevance, importance and topicality in the age of
secularization of church, the rising philosophy of rationalism,
pragmatism, and the psychology of mass consumerist society.
The escalation of suicidal behavior among adolescents is quite
alarming for the public and makes them study this range of
problems especially closely. What is the reason behind suicide as
the top extent of self-criticism? According to the official data,
since the beginning of 2019, in Russia, the quantity of suicides
has amounted to some 2000 people, children and teenagers being
over one third of them. This is quite a large quantity for the
world of today, and a truly enormous one for the country
(Nemova & Svadbina, 2013). Incredible load at school, not
knowing how to solve any problems encountered, lack of
understanding and psychological support on the part of adults,
the increase of the Internet activity of suicidal groups (the "Blue
whale") – these are but few of the causes pushing the children's
fragile personalities to the decision to take their own lives
(Statistics of suicides in Russia, 2019). Meanwhile, there is one
reason which the authors believe to be the pivot one explaining
this kind of behavior – and this is the lack of meaning of life.
In the contemporary school education, it is on the quantitative
indicators that the focus is to a greater extent – i.e. children's
successfulness is evaluated by their marks and any certificates of
merit and ones of good conduct and progress they have. The
problems of upbringing and spiritual establishment of
personality landed at the periphery of the educational process.
The children get overloaded intellectually but they are not taught
mutual aid, mutual supportiveness, collective spirit and knowing
how to be friends. As a result, what the public gets is an
intellectually boosted, educated person yet completely immature
in terms of emotion and prone to stresses, emotional breakdowns
and depression. Thus, the paragon of external successfulness as a
life-purpose value is planted so early as in childhood, in the
years of schooling (Svadbina & Nemova, 2015).
The same paragon, model to be imitated is reinforced by the
present-day mass communications. Advertising, movies,
ostentatious and outrageous behavior of popular media stars and
politicians – all these work as a well-coordinated mechanism for
sustaining the outside visual indicators of the successfulness
cult. Psychology of the mass consumerist society imposes
pseudo-ideals and pseudo-values for the youth the flip side of
which is the feeling of continuous dissatisfaction, boredom and
lack of the true meaning of life.
It is no mere chance that for centuries the research into looking
for a meaning of life makes representatives of religious thought
contemplate and give their answers to the question. The analysis
of their works helps staking out the approaches to solving the
relevant task – how can one build the favorable life path? How
can one gain the meaning of one's existence? How can one find a
way out of the most difficult life situation and know exactly for
what life is worth living?
2 Literature Review
The interest in the topic of the human life path can be traced
down starting from the remote ages. So, in the Old Indian
philosophy represented first of all by Vedas and Upanishads, the
doctrine of two paths was developed: "path of the gods" and
"path of the ancestors". The Old Chinese thought made its
contribution to the development of the life path doctrine too, first
of all, owing to the efforts of Lao-tzu and Confucius. The
Ancient Greek and Roman philosophy also gave an eye to the
question of human life path. The problem was touched on by
Plato, Aristotle, Seneca, Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius et al. Their
achievements are so impressive that after many centuries
thinkers have been addressing the heritage of the antiquity
(Aristotle. Ethics, 2002).
However, it was philosophia patrum that left arguably the most
pronounced imprint on studying the human life path problems. Its
bright representatives – Anthony the Great, Athanasius the Great
(1994), Macarius the Great (1998), Ephrem the Syrian, Gregory
the Theologian, Basil the Great, Gregory of Nyssa, John
Chrysostom and others – developed an original doctrine on the
human life path. It was creatively conceptualized in the works of
the Russian ascetics of the Orthodox faith – Ignatius
Brianchaninov, Nilus of Sora, Theophan the Recluse, Seraphim
of Sarov, Ambrose of Optina (Agapit (Belovidov), archimandrite
(The life of Saint Ambrose, an Optina Elder, 2012), John of
Kronstadt and others. The authors believe the potential of
Christian anthropology goes far beyond the boundaries of a
purely religious understanding of human life and has a great
humanist importance.
A noteworthy contribution to studying the problem of looking
for the meaning of life was made by Viktor Frankl, an Austrian
psychiatrist, psychologist and neurologist, a former prisoner of
Nazi concentration camp, and the founder of logotherapy as a
method of existential psychoanalysis (Frankl, 1990). In his work
"Man's search for meaning" Viktor Frankl gives an illustrative
example of his own experience of individual's survival in
inhuman conditions, testing out as a doctor and a scientist his
own psychotherapeutic method of finding a meaning in the most
difficult life situations. According to V. Frankl, one of the major
life-purpose values is the value of love. Love can manifest itself
in various qualities: love for God, for one's work, for the cause
of one's life, for the close ones and relatives, for one's
Motherland and so on. As the Socrates of the modern times,
Viktor Frankl helped his fellows, prisoners like himself, to find
the meaning of existence, i.e. for what it is worth struggling for
life. The concepts and theories of the above authors are the
methodological basis for this paper.
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