CC BY
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Zamilova Rimma Ramilyevna, Namangan State University, teacher, the Faculty of Philosophy E-mail: [email protected]
Heroes and heroic as the ethic-philosophical research objects
A moment is enough to become a hero, but a lifetime is needed to become a respectable person
Paul Brula
A true hero is notable for disposition’s simplicity and senses’ tenderness at the peacetime, courage and bravery at the wartime and flaming love for his mother country
FeodorNickolaevich Glinka
Abstract: In the present article the ethic-philosophical analysis of the phenomenon of heroes and heroic is considered. The «heroic» and the classification structure ofheroic behaviors and the compositions ofheroic images are analyzed here.
Keywords: hero, heroism, heroic, heroism phenomenon, heroic behavior, the classification of heroes.
The object of the ethic-philosophical research is good and evil, people’s moral behavior, moral value, because these characteristics show themselves at the daily routine of a person, society and socialization process. Heroes and heroic are reasonably represented as a definite characteristic of human activities and uppermost a person’s moral behavior.
Heroes and heroic, as T. Carlyle wrote, is the undoubtedly extensive theme: «It’s boundless and as extensive as the world history indeed. Because the world history is the history of what mankind has done in the world, and to my way of thinking, it’s virtually the history of great people who did a good work here, on earth. They, the great people, were the humanity leaders, educators, models and, to wide extent, creators of all that the whole mass of human beings generally aspired to realize and wanted to achieve. Generally speaking, all done in the world is an external material result and practical realization of ideas belonging to great people who were sent to our world» [1, 7]. Thus, the social-historical development process of society is the results of activity and creativity of great people. The whole T. Carlyle’s ethical-philosophical concept is directed at this idea. He insisted that: «Society is based on the heroes honoring» [1, 17] and «The world history is the biography of great people» [1, 19].
Though the research genesis of heroes’ activity and heroic has dated from Herodotus, but it became as the object of special ethic-philosophical analysis only owing to Т. Carlyle. It was he who regarded heroes and heroic as many-sided broad social phenomenon going with the whole history of mankind. His classification of heroes and heroic arouses admiration up to the present time. He classified heroes as: hero as an idol, hero as a prophet, hero as a poet, hero as a shepherd, hero as a writer and hero as a leader. Т. Carlyle wrote: «The power of the world consists in its great people; because of their activities the world is not a desert... An eminent person is a true creator of moral» [1, 860].
Indeed, the heroic action of the individual doesn’t happen on a desert island or hollow place, but among the people in the
process of social activity. It doesn’t matter as far as a person is a man of genius, eccentric and courageous, but his social activities and heroism are linked to reality and lives and fortunes of surrounding him people. The ignoring of social environment impact on individual heroic actions leads to the denial of social determinacy of his activity, making personality cult, excessive praising and heroes’ absolutization. G. V. Plehanov named it as «optical illusion». He wrote: «Playing the role of «a good sword» that saves public order, thereby Napoleon removed the other generals, who could play it as well as him, from that role. Social wants of energetic military leader were pleased and social organism blocked the other talented military men’s way to the military leader position. Its power became inauspicious for other talents’ manifestations in this field. So, the optical illusion happens in such kind of situations. The personality of Napoleon is quit exaggerated, because we put down the whole social power, that proposed and supported him, to it» [2, 327].
Just that social need proposed Napoleon, who was «unsociable hermit», «ungracious Corsican» and «not notable for large stature and physical strength» (characterized by A. Z. Manfred), as a candidate to the history arena and made the hero of «enslaved Corsican people» out of him [3, 21]. This is what Napoleon, unknown yet but already thinking of the purport of life and the fortunes of his nation, wrote: « If it was necessary to strike down the only person for my compatriot’s liberation, wouldn’t I immediately make my way to plunge the sword of vengeance for my motherland and violated rights into tyrant’s chest?» [3, 21-22]. A. Z. Manfred took a correct notice: «That who avoided people of the same age, taciturn and unsociable lieutenant was a true child of his time and inspired all his ideas and hopes. It was not just «corsism», as Masson supposed in due time, but a dream of Corsican people’s liberation. It is much more profound and broader, it is vivid and permanently regenerated connection with the whole spiritual life of the epoch, it’s heated arguments and discords, and it’s thunders and lightning storms» [3, 22-23].
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Therefore, the individual can realize the dream of his life and his creative abilities and influence on march of history only through the social. Historical period proposed heroes itself. Perception and understanding of heroism have been changing, but even in different epochs there was the image that was of great value for people irrespective of their belonging to various cultural-historical traditions.
Also, it is impossible to deny the role of a person in society reforms and socialization. A man is chargeable for content and results of his activities. Heroism is a responsibility for the actions that a hero accomplishes for something or somebody. It’s necessary to consider heroic in the dialectical unity of individual and social, conscious and unconscious, and due and estimated. Nowadays, historical events’ subject can act not only as talented people, a nation or nations, but also every person who is ready to serve his epoch, his nation and the whole humanity. Not the exceptional and uncommon person’s behavior makes him as a subject of social-historical process, but his conscious actions, discharging his duties, social and governmental norms’ and laws’ compliance. Today, a broad action field is opened not only for «initiators» and «great people», but for all those who «have eyes to see and ears to hear», and a heart to love their neighbors. «The conception “the great" is a relative conception. In a sense of morality, “the great” is everyone who, according to Gospel, «lays down his life for his friends» [4, 334].
Heroes and their heroic actions are classified into the following types:
1. mythological and magic heroes;
2. historical people;
3. religious figures;
4. intellectual heroes;
5. reformers;
6. heroes of labor;
7. heroes-warriors;
8. heroes of literature and art.
We realize that this classification is imperfect; so, it might be supplemented or gone over again or transformed on the basis of reading of the matter.
In science literature the term “mythological and magic heroes” is named «cultural heroes» [5, 245]. But it’s too broad definition for this term, it can be considered as one of the ancient forms of heroic.
We don’t know all the heroes’ names of the remote past. Our ancestors knew those who invented the wheel, discovered the flame, started to cultivate the land, to fly in the sky, to catch fish, trained the animals, and built the towns and countries. «According to Greek mythology, Prometheus brought some flame, which he stole form Zeus, to people, and he also revealed the secrets of useful arts. The Polynesian demigod Maun performed even more staggering exploits. He brought not only flame (which he took from Erebus, not form the sky), but also the taro root crop (Colocasia esculenta, one of the main cultivated plants in Oceania) and и a miracle fish hook for fishing. Moreover, Maun slowed down the sun running in
the sky and unsuccessfully tried to overcome the death. Polynesian people are also sure that he brought a sweet potato, a coconut and a dog, and created a spear and the first snare».
It’s more than enough heroes are in myths and fairy tales of Central Asia nations. For instance, a wide spread hero’s image in the myths of Khorezm oasis is Ambar-ona, the patroness of women and women’s work. The specialists-students of folklore say that heretofore there are the myths about a long and unsuccessful traveling of Ambar-ona in search of her son Khoobby-Khoja (a typical myth subject about the deity of fertility). Her name is associated with the origin of rites about crops growing stimulation — a spring dish prepared from sprouted wheat grains (sumalak) and calming down the water element, as it often happened along the river Amudarya [5, 245].
Or, there is also a character, a hero of a numerous of Uzbek and Tajik myths and legends, Bibi-Seshanba (Lady Tuesday), who is the patroness of a family happiness, hand spinning and weaving, cotton processing, and embroidery. Bibi-Seshanba, in the likeness of a fine-looking old woman, helps a poor girl who is related to the home hearth (in one of the Uzbek fairy tales a stepmother hid an orphan girl into the home hearth, but Bibi-Seshanba saved the girl and helped her to find her beloved boyfriend) [6, 26]. Thus, she came forward in defense of the oppressed and the insulted people, and gave them happiness.
Myriads of books were written about historical heroes. Herodotus, Thycidides, Plutarch, A. Toynbee, N. A. Berdyayev and E. Fromm reflected on creative activity of a human being, his heroic acts and heroism. There will always be interest in the professional and personal life of the historical figures, in reverse, every researcher and representative of creative branch tried to uncover something new, overlooked and unexplored in the acts of the historical figures. T. Carlyle wrote: “The history of a picturesque individual is worth to be known. The strength of will, that became ingrained in a human being, who was created alike us, has something attracting in it, so we come running from all the corners to witness all its manifestations. We try to learn more than anything about each person, who has chosen own distinct life j ourney, no matter where the journey leads, and how he makes it and what he comes across along the way” [1, 264].
The researchers, assuredly, search for the positive in the professional and personal life of the historical figures to display them as the ideals of moral conduct, symbols of virtues and patriots of their land. These outstanding and great people’s biographies were published in such series as: “Life of outstanding people”, “Eureka”, “Lives in art”, “Pedagogic library”, “Philosophic heritage”, and “Ethical thought”. But, from time to time, works about historical figures, where they were shown as negative heroes, appeared. Such kind of a historical person was Alessandro Cagliostro, who became a character famous in story and song for his eccentric behavior. T. Carlyle had chosen him as a hero for his famous work “Historical and critical experiments”. Here how he characterize Cagliostro: “a healer of all sicknesses, a rejuvenator, a friend of poor and helpless, a grand master of Egyptian lodge, a psychagogue, a great kofta,
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a prophet, an illusionist and bard, a first-magnitude liar acquainted with all secrets of lie, — in one word, the king of liars” [1, 312]. But, the most incredible is that T. Carlyle univocally asserts: “Biographies of all notable peopls, no matter if they are moral or immoral, are worthy to be written” [1, 313]. The philosopher probably proceeded that “immoral teaches moral better and more effectively than morality, without morality there would not be morality”, as “in the great book of history the largest pasquinade is in the miraculous bond with the heroic act itself” Indeed, the lives of the great historical figures are not only many-sided, but also contradictory. In addition to that these figures went down in history as people of social-historical process, and those, who changed the regular march of history. For example, such a person was the great Sahibkiran, a commander Amir Timur. “It is said”, — writes I. A. Karimov, “that the great figures are the creation of history, reviving a memory tough life of our ancestor Sahibkiran. This quote may be complemented with the following: the great individuals are born from the nations’ suffering and pain. Amir Timur, who thought that the meaning of his life was “healing nation’s ailments”, became the great son of our folk” [7, 161].
Initially only the tribal leaders, priests, shamans, healers and sorcerers were religious figures. As famous theologian
S. A. Tokarev notes: “The cult of ancestors is not universal and, it is quite important, not a primitive phenomenon. It is peculiar to a relatively late stage of historical development, the stage of the patriarchal clan system” [8, 255].
Saints, prophets and founders of religion started to appear simultaneously with the development of society. “The hero is no longer treated as God among people alike him, but God-inspired man or a prophet. This is the second phase of the cult of heroes” [9, 47].
One of the first religious figures, the hero — creator of religion, was a prophet and a legendary person Zoroaster (Za-ratushtra).
An essential idea of Avesta (the holy book of the Zoroas-trians) is the dialectical unity of light and dark. At the head of the spirits of the light is Ahura Mazda, while the spirits of darkness are led by Ahra Mainyu. Both of them have equal rights as the Givers of life, but Ahura Mazda created all bright, clean and good for life; in front, Ahra Mainyu created all evil, dark and impure. Relying to the opinion of leading experts in Avesta, culture experts and historians, Doctor of Philosophy, Professor T. Mahmoudov asserted that the birthplace of “Avesta” and Zoroaster was in Khorezm [1, 9].
Among the religious leaders, who went down in history as the heroic figures, a prophet and the founder of Islam Muhammad (Mahomet) can be named. Being Christian and admiring his life and deeds, T. Carlyle gave him the following characterization: “We”, he wrote, “by no means, will not see Muhammad as something empty and unnatural, as a miserable ambitious man and a deliberate deceiver, but we can not imagine him like this. Harsh tidings announced by him to the world, were also the real news, serious, dull-sounding voice emanating from the unknown depths. The speeches of this man were
not false. Neither false was the outreach, committed by him here on earth. There was no slightest vanity or delusiveness. He is the fire mass of life that was thrown out of the bowels of the great nature to light the world, as the Creator of the world commanded to do so. And mistakes, shortcomings and even insincere actions of Mohammed, if the existence of such was ever quite thoroughly proven, cannot shatter this basic fact for him” [10, 51].
Great religious leaders and heroic personalities were also Sufis. Sufism developed within Islam, according to John. S. Triminghem, “almost nothing drawn from Muslim
sources” [10, 27].
Moreover, J. S. Triminghem wrote that “gradually a vast and complex mystical system formed that regardless of the amount of adoptions from Neoplatonism, Gnosticism, Christian mysticism, or from other systems, we may consider after the Sufis themselves as inner doctrine of Islam, the mystery that lies at the heart of the Qur’an” [11, 27].
The great Sufi teachers as Ibn Arabi, Manai and Omar Khayyam, Saadi Sherozi, Farudiddin Hattori, Jaloliddin Rumi, Hafiz, Jami, Ansari and the founders of tariqas (orders) as Na-jmiddin Kubro, Bogouddin Naqshband, Ahmad Yassavi Abdu-kadyr Gilon and other men of wisdom left a remarkable imprint on the spiritual life of the East. The most common trend in Sufism is a doctrine based on the concept of “holism”, “con-substantiality” or “oneness of the (divine) existence “Wahdat al-vuzhud” According to this doctrine a man should tend to God, grasping God’s world and have a desire to “be with him” through the perfection of his spiritual world and morality is the goal of Sufi’s temporary life. Spiritual and moral perfection of a man and his virtue was approved by the Sufis, while deception, wiles, violence, cruelty and injustice were condemned by them. Many works on Sufism, which reveals its ethical and philosophical implications, appeared over the last years. For example, revealing the ethical and philosophical viewpoints of Majid Havafi regards Sufism, Ph. D., Professor H. Alikulov wrote: “Havafi was characterized by a more sharp and open criticism of the heartless rulers, particular vices of the feudal society, fallen morals of the Shah’s court ministers, officials, collectors of taxes, deceit, double-dealing, bribery of the clergy: the sheiks, Waziris, muftis etc.” [12, 112]. This is truly a heroic attitude against vices and injustice, a rebellion against greed, acquisitiveness, spread among those in power and the clergy.
Intellectual heroes are those who, through their scientific discoveries, social and philosophical ideas made a significant contribution to the development of civilization, defending freedom of thought and facilitated intellectual progress of mankind. Such heroes were Socrates, Confucius, Lao-tse, Buddha, Biruni, Ibn Sina, Ibn Khaldun, Ibn Arabi, Ibn Rushd (Avorroes), Galileo, Copernicus, F. Bacon, R. Descartes, Saint-Simon, David Ricardo, Rousseau, Voltaire, Diderot, Pascal, Goethe, Fleming, Charles Darwin, Karl Marx, Friedrich Nietzsche, F. Dostoevsky, L. Tolstoy, Bach, Wagner, Salvador Dali, Siqueiros, N. Paganini, S. Freud, P. Picasso, Shakespeare, B. Shaw and many others. These are the men of intellectual
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creativity, thanks to them, scientific and philosophical ideas are continuously passing from generation to generation, from nation to another nation, and thus humanity evolves as a whole socio-cultural entity.
Contemporary socio-philosophical science claims that all people with their potentialities are outstanding individuals [13, 402]. However “the frequency of potential geniuses and outstanding personalities is determined by the figure of exponent part 1 : 2 000 - 1 : 10 000. While developed and realized themselves as a genius, an outstanding personality is even smaller, that is to say that only one out of ten born geniuses managed to manifest him” [14, 3-4].
The socio-historical evolution has always been accompanied by the emergence of new reformers. Reformers are the people who desperately feel the need for social change, who are actively involved in the transformation of society; they put forward new ideas and projects and try to make a difference. As history shows, such reformers are often politicians, political leaders, those who care about the future of the people and nation. M. Gandhi, with his idea of “non-resistance to evil” and by consolidation fellow-countrymen around him, attained freedom of India from British rule. Mustafa Ata-Turk, relying on the progressive forces of Turkey, led the country to a democratic path of development and modernized social life of his country. In 1986-1992 the president of the Republic of the Philippines, Corazon Aquino, after she had taken over the government, “compared her country with a big house, where she will clear the debris from the basement to the attic” [7, 17].
A chief reformer of Republic of Uzbekistan is I. A. Karimov. Thanks to the president, Uzbekistan gained an independent statehood, has implemented market economy and multiformity of forms of ownership, and pursues social-political reforms in the area of public administration, democracy development and country modernization. The most important thing in I. A. Karimov’s reformatory activity is an aptitude for convincing people of the society reorganization necessity and ability to get them involved in the reforming process.
I. A. Karimov determines the main point of his reformatory activity as: «We always have to convince people by our actions and determinations that it’s possible to reform and reach our aims only because of their getting into the act of reformation process» [13, 317].
The labour heroes make a great contribution in organizational framework improvement and material and spiritual values increase. Thanks to their work, well-being of the people goes up, the new roads and tows are built, the new generation is brought up and a healthy life-style is became firmly established.
History ascribes amazing capacity for work, selfless labour and utmost devotion to the great individuals. P. I. Tchaikovsky considered that: «an inspiration is such kind of guest which doesn’t like to visit the lazy; it only comes to those who invite it». Tomas Edison is famous for his phrase: « A genius is one percent of inspiration and ninety-nine percents of sweat». Isaac Newton said that: «A genius is the patience of thought
concentrated in a certain way». When he was asked how he could disclose the secrets of classical physics, he always answered that: «I was thinking about it all the time».
Historical literature is full of stories about heroes-war-riors. Without their heroic deeds none of victories was won and none of marches was made, independence and freedom weren’t established. Heroes-warriors showed themselves not only during the war and pitting their strength against the enemies, but they are needed in times of peace. While there are state borders, each frontier or motherland’s defender is able to become a hero-warrior.
Heroes of literature and art are devided into positive and negative, the good and the bad, real and fictitious characters. An artistic reflection of heroic in literature and art is a cognition result of social life laws, a synthesis moment in an imagebearing reproduction process of social reality. Literature and art borrow the topics from the social reality. Even fantastic, detective, surrealistic, cubistic and modernistic novels and paintings have an objective character, because artists’ and writers’ self-consciousness is a subjective reality reflection.
Over a period of further centuries heroic-romantic poetry “Hamsa” by Alisher Navoi still continues to impact the whole world and inspire the young poets and writes, who try to be alike him. “Hamsa” includes five lyric poems and they are different, but united with the main idea and heroic deeds. Navoi’s favourite heroes are usually the representatives of different nations. All of them have the best qualities of human character. The poems’ heroes are Farkhad and Shirin, Leyly and Mej-noon, Iskander, who are still well-known not only in Islamic world but also in other countries. Heroes of his poems are endowed with unusual diligence, courage and selflessness; their heroic deeds are contrasted with cowardice. As an example could be not only positive characters but also negative images. The poem’s distinctive feature is a fiction phenomenon that is called «an optimistic tragedy».
In the works of literature of such kind of writers and poets as A. Kadiriy, Aybek, H. Alimjan, S. Ahmad, Zulfiya, A. Kahhar, G. Gulyam, A. Aripov, E. Vakhidov, B. Baykabu-lov, H. Davron and others, the sharp images of hard-working people are created, ancestors’ dreams and expectations are shown, the Uzbek people’s struggle against foreign oppressors and invaders are depicted. No selflessness or altruism can be taken into account as a heroic deed if it isn’t devoted to the great idea of servicing to the people and defending of virtue, humanism and justice, glorifying of love and beauty. This top level of heroic found its expression in the works of literature as «Days gone by» by A. Kadiriy, «Navoi» by Aybek, «Diminutive bird» by A. Kahhar, «Commander» by A. Aripov, «Yadgor» by G. Gulyam, «Horizon» by S. Ahmad, «Treasure» by P. Kadirov, «Mukaddas» by A. Yakubov and others. The heroes of these works of literature of Uzbek writers and poets portray not only people’s life, their deeds in social justice and triumph of goodness and integrity, but also effect on peoples’ aesthetic feelings and develop philanthropy, responsibility and high moral ideals.
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References:
1. Карлейль Т. Герои, почитание героев и героическое в истории. - М.: ЭКСМО, 2008.
2. Плеханов Г. В. Избранные философские произведения. - Т. I., II. - М.: Политиздат, 1956.
3. Манфред А. З. Наполеон Бонапарт. - М.: Мысль, 1980.
4. Плеханов Г. В. Избранные философские произведения. - Т. II. - М: Политиздат, 1956.
5. Бромлей Ю. В., Подольный Р. Г. Создано человечеством. - М.: Политиздат, 1984.
6. Женщина в мифах и легендах. - Ташкент: Гл. ред. энциклопедий, 1992.
7. Каримов И. А. Мыслить и работать по-новому. - Т. 5. - Ташкент: Узбекистан, 1997.
8. Токарев С. А. Ранние формы религии. - М.: Политиздат, 1990.
9. Карлейль Т. Герои, почитание героев и героическое в истории. - М.: ЭКОМО, 2008.; Махмудов Т. “Авесто" дакида. -Тошкент: Шарк, 2000.
10. Тримингэм Дж. С. Суфийские ордены в исламе. - М.: Гелиос, 2002.
11. Аликулов Х. Отношение Мажида Хавафи к суфизму (Из истории суфизма: источники и социальная практика). -Ташкент: Фан, 1991.
12. Пекелис В. Твои возможности, человек. - М.: Знание, 1984.
13. Пешкова В. Феномен гения. - Ростов на-Дону: Феникс, 2006.
14. Великие женщины XX века. - М.: Мартин, 2002.
Rakhmonov Bahodir Ubaydullayevich, Senior scientific researcher of Samarkand State University E-mail: [email protected]
Nature and spirituality of man and history
Abstract: In the article problems are examined nature and spiritual to activity of man in history and development spiritually-psychical the phenomena of man within the framework some by the processes of history.
Keywords: nature and psyche of man, consciousness, history, reason and ethics.
Рахманов Баходир, старший научный сотрудник-исследователь Самаркандского государственного университета им. Алишера Наваи, Узбекистан, Самаркандская область
E-mail: [email protected]
Природа и духовность человека и история
Аннотация: В статье рассматриваются проблемы природа и духовная деятельности человека в истории и развития духовно-психическое явления человека в рамках некий процесам истории Ключевые слова: природа и психика человека, сознание, история, разум и этика.
История всегда с огромным пиететом относилась и относится к сильным мира сего, но в соответствии с закономерностью, согласно которой масса, в конце концов, выполняет свою «уравнивающую функцию» перед разумом, сила, в конце концов, уступает разуму даже в «ходе истории», которая в отношении природы человека весьма расточительна, как, например, в случае с убийством Архимеда римским легионером в Сиракузах или разрушением Персеполиса в ходе «красивого» героического завоевания Александром «варварской» Персии. «И от нас зависит, — наивно полагал А. Камю, — чтобы Запад воспитал своих анти-Александров, которым предстоит вновь завязать гордиев узел цивилизации, разрубленный варварским мечом» [1, 374].
Но пока, к сожалению, почти никто не воспитал «своих анти-Александров». Наоборот, в истории часто побеждали (хотя и не навсегда) легионеры, якобинцы, «вожди наций» и т. д. Но это — только те, кто оказывался на «поверхности истории». Однако многие «средние» (в массе), как сказал бы Ортега-и-Гассет, чаще поддерживали в истории Александров, нежели «анти-Александров». Масса так же представляет природу человека, как и «избранные», хотя и в иной форме, иным способом и на ином уровне. Масса, в основном, внутренне связана с историей и служит ее фундаментом. Без массы нет и истории. Но каждая «средняя личность» в массе все-таки представляет и природу человека, хотя и не в достаточной степени. Больше того, она не только представляет природу человека, но и является ее носителем.
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