Life is a celebration, but death is just around the corner. Attitudes towards death in different cultures

Perhaps only those who understand how fragile life is know how precious it is. Once, when I took part in a conference in Britain, the BBC interviewed its participants. At this time they talked with a really dying woman.

She was afraid because Everyday life I didn't think death was real. Now she knew it. And she wanted to tell those who would survive her only one thing: take life and death seriously.

Take life seriously...

There was an article in one newspaper about a Tibetan spiritual teacher. He was asked the question: “Doesn’t it seem unfair that for sins in past lives, about which I know nothing, I am suffering today in this life?” And the teacher replied: “Can you, young man, cancel this?” - "No".

- “But you have good chance Make your next life normal if you start behaving normally in this one.”

To this one could add: “Yes, and it is also within your power to make this life happy. After all...

At night, before you fall asleep, do this 15-minute meditation. This is death meditation. Lie down and relax. Feel as if you are dying and that you cannot move your body because you are dead. Create the feeling that you are disappearing from your body.

Do this for 10-15 minutes and in a week you will feel it. While meditating in this way, fall asleep. Don't ruin it. Let meditation turn into sleep. And if sleep overwhelms you, enter it.

In the morning, the moment you feel awake, don't...

It is strange, of course, that the idea of ​​death as “the land from which no traveler returns” is so widespread among us and so firmly rooted in our minds. One has only to remember that in all countries of the world and at all times about which we know at least something, travelers constantly returned from that world, and it becomes very difficult for us to explain the popularity of this extraordinary delusion.

It is true that these astonishingly false ideas in to a greater extent...

Ending.

Touching personal freedom, realizing it, will arise in you only if you experience the temporary nature of existence, the temporary nature of your current personality. Temporality. You must understand. This is the detail that is most often missed by those who are interested in spiritual processes.

But the fact remains a fact. The speed of knowledge depends on the level of consciousness with which we come here. Each of us carries something that can be defined as “potentiality.” Each of us has qualities...

The concept of death began to worry man since he realized himself as Homo Sapiens, that is, a reasonable person, that is, he began to bury his dead. Man is the only thing Living being, on earth, aware of death, but not yet fully aware of its meaning.

Death is only realized by those lives that are self-aware, and is sadly misunderstood only by human beings.

What is there behind the veil, if there is another life or everything ends here? These...

Both are true. When I call death the greatest of all truths, I call your attention to the fact that the phenomenon of death has huge reality in this life - in what we call "life" and understand by "life"; in terms human personality, which consists of what I describe as "I".

This person will die; what we call "life" will also die. Death is inevitable. Of course, you will die, and I will die, and this life will also be destroyed, turned to dust, erased. When I call death...

We are constantly asked this question about life in the afterlife: “Will we find our friends and recognize them?” Of course yes, because they will change no more than we; Why then can’t we recognize them? Attachment remains, attracting people to each other, but in the astral world it becomes stronger.

It is also true that if a loved one left the earth a long time ago, he may already have risen above the astral plane. In this case, we need to wait and we will reach this level to join it...

general description of work

The relevance of research

There is now a growing awareness that the spiritual dimension human experience is a full-fledged area of ​​research and study within psychological science. Modern psychology involves the formation of an idea of ​​the mental and spiritual development of the individual in the context of a transcultural and multi-level approach to solving the problems that humanity faces at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries. In this regard, a special place in the system of psychological knowledge is occupied by the existential-humanistic paradigm, which considers the development and formation of personality as a person’s creative search for his purpose, agreement with himself, and the actualization of his capabilities. The life path of an individual is associated with the passage of various critical situations, which, according to E. Yeomans, “can be described as stages of destruction, when some of our natural ways of seeing the world, knowing ourselves and relating to the environment occur.”

The most powerful critical situations of an individual are those associated with awareness of one’s own mortality (incurable illness, participation in combat, etc.) or confrontation with the death of another (experience of the loss of a loved one). However, in the existential-humanistic paradigm, any critical situation can be considered as a kind of “confrontation with death.” Moreover, death in this context is understood as a transformative process, the rejection of old, familiar ways of being and the selection and improvement of new ones that are more adequate to the changed conditions.

A critical situation is experienced by individuals in different ways. On the one hand, it can have a destructive effect, increasing anxiety and depression, feelings of helplessness and hopelessness, which can lead to a life crisis. And on the other hand, to give meaning to life, to make it more complete and meaningful. In any case, a collision with a critical situation is painfully experienced by the individual and changes his attitude towards life, death, himself and values, which forms different life strategies helping a person get out of a critical situation. Everything noted above allows us to speak about the need for psychological assistance to persons in critical life situation.

However, an analysis of the literature shows that at the present stage of development of psychology, despite the social demand and practical orientation, the theory of crises is not sufficiently developed - its own system of categories has not been developed, the connection of the concepts used with academic psychological concepts has not been clarified, and ways and mechanisms for overcoming critical situations have not been identified.

As theoretical and methodological basis dissertation research The leading methodological principles of psychological determinism, development, unity of consciousness and activity, activity, systematicity, complexity are advocated (K.A. Abulkhanova-Slavskaya, B.G. Ananyev, L.I. Antsyferova, L.S. Vygotsky, V.N. Panferov, S.L. Rubinstein), ideas about the life path as an individual system for solving such existential problems as life - death, freedom - responsibility, loneliness - communication, meaning - the meaninglessness of life (,), personality as a subject life path and the system of object-evaluative and selective relations to reality (K.A. Abulkhanova-Slavskaya, B.G. Ananyev, L.I. Antsyferova, I.B. Kartseva, A.F. Lazursky, V.N. Myasishchev, S. L.L. Rubinstein), individual coping with critical life situations, constructive and non-constructive strategies for such coping (L.I. Antsyferova, R. Assagioli, B.S. Bratus, F.E. Vasilyuk, N.V. Tarabrina, V. Frankl, E. Fromm, J. Jacobson).

Target Our research is to find out the individual’s attitude to life and death and their relationship in various critical situations.

Hypothesis lies in the assumption that a person’s attitude towards life and death includes rational and emotional components that interact differently in various critical situations, which determines life strategies for coping with them.

Particular hypotheses:

1. Rational and emotional components of the relationship to life and death have varying degrees expression in critical situations.
2. The attitude towards life and death in various critical situations has both general and specific features.

Tasks:

1. Conduct a theoretical analysis of philosophical and psychological literature on the subject of research.
2. Select and develop diagnostic techniques adequate to the purpose and hypothesis of the study.
3. Identify the emotional and rational components of attitudes towards life and death in critical situations.
4. To study the relationship between attitudes towards life and death in various critical situations - imprisonment, participation in hostilities and cancer.
5. Determine general and specific features of attitudes towards life and death.

Object of study: men 20 - 45 years old, prisoners in prison (35 people), women 35 - 60 years old with cancer (36 people), men 18 - 25 years old, who took part in hostilities in "hot spots" and were wounded (35 Human).

A total of 106 people took part in the study.

Subject of research are the emotional and rational components of attitudes towards life and death, their interrelation and influence on life strategies for coping with critical situations.

Research methods were selected in accordance with the basic principles and ideas of existential-humanistic psychology, to identify the desire for meaning, the questionnaire “Meaning Orientations in Life” (adapted by D.N. Leontiev) was used, the locus of control was the questionnaire “Level of Subjective Control” by J. Rotter, and the methodology for assessing the richness of one’s life path was used "Assessing five years of life" E.I. Golovachi and A.A. Kronika, recording personal changes in a group of women with cancer - a scale of personal growth, the degree of acceptance of the elements of life - the author's methodology "Acceptance"; attitudes towards life and death - author's questionnaire.

For statistical data processing, correlation, factor and comparative analysis were used using the STATISTICA application package.

Scientific novelty dissertation research is to build an empirical typology of life strategies for coping with critical situations. The personality structures these situations according to such emotional and rational components of the attitude towards life and death as:

1. Attitude to life - acceptance of life, life as growth, life as consumption, non-acceptance of life, ontological security, self-acceptance, responsibility, desire for growth;.
2. Attitude towards death - acceptance of death, death as a transition to another state, death as an absolute end, non-acceptance of death, fear.
3. Vision of meaning - the presence and absence of meaning in life and death. This typology allows us to identify a system of relationships of an individual to himself, others, life and death, and also defines a set of psychological characteristics inherent in an individual in various critical situations and helping him to cope with them.

Practical significance of the study is determined by the possibility of using the results obtained in group and individual psychological assistance to clients who are in a critical life situation or experiencing post-traumatic stress. Psychotherapeutic work in these areas requires knowledge of how death and, accordingly, one’s own life in such states are understood, as well as what personal resources and life strategies are used to cope with critical situations.

The dissertation materials are used in lecture courses in preparation practical psychologists in psychological counseling, psychological assistance and correction, in the form of a special course for undergraduates in the psychology of personality and individuality, as well as in psychological training for psychology students.

The following provisions are submitted for defense:

1. The relationship between the rational and emotional components of the attitude towards life and death in critical situations determines 8 life strategies for coping with them. “Striving for growth”, “Searching for the meaning of life”, “Love of life”. "Fear of Life", "Seizure of Life", "Fear of Change", "Self-Deprecation" and "Hedonism".
2. In coping with a critical situation, two main directions can be distinguished related to the individual’s attitude to this situation - “A critical situation as an opportunity for growth” and “A critical situation as suffering.”

Approbation of research results: the main theoretical principles were presented at scientific and methodological seminars for graduate students, meetings of the Department of Psychological Assistance of the Russian State pedagogical university named after A.I. Herzen, in the SSS of the Institute of Biology and Human Psychology, as well as through publications and speeches at scientific-practical, scientific-methodological and interuniversity conferences (Tsarskoye Selo Readings - 1999, Ananyev Readings - 1999, Human Psychology and Ecology). The content of the dissertation was used in lecture courses on psychological counseling and in a special course on the psychology of individuality for students of the psychological and pedagogical faculty of the Russian State Pedagogical University named after A.I. Herzen. The results of the study were presented at seminars at the International School of Counseling, Psychotherapy and Group Facilitation at the Harmony Institute of Psychotherapy and Counseling; on their basis, a psychological training program, “Finding Yourself: The Gift of Accepting Change,” was developed, as well as in individual psychological counseling. 7 publications have been published on the research topic.

Scope and structure of work

The dissertation consists of an introduction, 3 chapters, a conclusion, a bibliography, including 157 sources, including 10 on foreign languages, appendices The thesis is presented on 195 pages, includes 7 tables and 25 figures.

Main content of the work

The first chapter outlines the philosophical and psychological aspects of the problem of attitude towards life and death in critical situations; the second chapter is devoted to a description of the methods and organization of the study, the third presents the results of the study and their analysis. The appendices contain experimental materials and proprietary methods for studying attitudes towards life and death of persons who are in various critical life situations.

In the introduction the relevance of the study is substantiated, the object, subject, hypotheses, purpose and objectives of the study are determined, the scientific novelty, practical significance and testing of the results. The provisions submitted for defense are formulated.

First chapter"An existential-psychological approach to the problem of life and death" is dedicated to theoretical analysis problems of attitude to life and death in philosophy and history of psychological science, as well as understanding the critical situation in foreign and domestic psychology. The first paragraph of this chapter analyzes philosophical ideas about life and death from the primitive communal stage of human development to the existential knowledge of death in the philosophy of the 19th century. It is noted that death is one of the fundamental parameters collective consciousness and attitude towards death, according to such scientists as F. Aries, M. Vovel, O. Thibault, L.-V. Tom, P. Shanu can even serve as an indicator of the level of development of civilization.

The desire to know death leads to the fact that already in ancient philosophy two main concepts were formed: belief in the immortality of the soul (this concept in a transformed form entered Christianity) and acceptance of the absolute finitude of life, a call for “the courage to be.” These concepts in one form or another have passed through the entire history of civilization, revealing the diverse aspects of man’s attitude to life and death not only in different eras, but also in different cultures.

Unlike the eastern study of death, where, according to P.S. Gurevich, “...we proceeded from the fact that the process of dying is inevitable and is integral part human existence,” the Western strove to overcome death leads to the fact that by the beginning of the Enlightenment, the integrity of life and death was destroyed: life began to be considered one and only, and death turned into a force that destroys this life. Existentialists tried to smooth out a similar dichotomy in the understanding of life and death (S., J.-P., etc.), considering death as the last opportunity, thanks to which existence can achieve its highest form, and a person - a deeper authentic being.

The final change in attitudes towards death occurred already in the 20th century, in which, according to many historians, the attitude towards life and death was completely deformed, and positive and negative accents in the assessment of these phenomena shifted. The tendency to oust death from the collective consciousness, gradually increasing, reaches its apogee in our time, when, according to F. Aries. society behaves “as if no one dies at all and the death of an individual does not make any hole in the structure of society.” F. Aries called this attitude towards death “inverted death.”

An analysis of the literature shows that people’s attitudes towards death have changed along with their worldview throughout the course of human history. These relationships were built from the understanding of death as a natural continuation and completion of life to their complete rupture in human consciousness, dividing them as two different entities, their mutual negation.

In the second paragraph ideas about life and death in the history of psychological science are considered, psychoanalytic and existential-humanistic approaches to understanding life and death are analyzed. Psychology at the beginning of the 20th century “picked up” from the hands of philosophy the image of death, which by that time had become confusing, rejected and completely separated from life. This “inheritance” inherited by the first concepts in psychology (behaviorism and psychoanalysis) was expressed in insufficient attention to the topic of death. Personality, organism, psyche and, accordingly, the purpose of all human life were understood in these directions mechanistically.

3. Freud's landmark discoveries in the field depth psychology attracted to further research many brilliant thinkers, such as A. Adler, R. Assagioli, W. Reich, E. Fromm, K.-G. Jung. The ideas of R. Assagioli and K.-G. deserve special attention. Jung, which, despite their psychoanalytic “roots,” were the basis for the development of ideas of humanistic and transpersonal approaches to personality. Their works were an important step in understanding the path of life as an ambiguous and sometimes dramatic process that leads a person to transformation and spiritual transformation through crises and confrontation with the dark sides of the psyche.

In contrast to psychoanalysis, in the existential-humanistic paradigm, represented by the works of such authors as J. Bugental, A. Maslow, R. May, K. Rogers, V. Frankl, I. Yalom, etc., as well as in transpersonal psychology (C . and K. Grof, S. Krippner, K. Naranjo, etc.), much attention is paid to the problems of life and death higher value. In this direction, not only their rightful place in the system of psychological knowledge and influence on the formation of personality is recognized, but also their close relationship. It is shown that the understanding of life and death at the present stage of development of psychology has begun to move closer to each other, increasingly integrating the experience of human existence.

In the third paragraph a critical situation is considered as a model of a confrontation with death, an understanding of the crisis and critical situation by foreign and domestic psychologists is given, and the significance of critical situations for the development of personality is considered. It is noted that although the problems of crisis and critical situation have always been in the field of view of psychological thinking, as independent discipline crisis theory appeared relatively recently. The understanding of the crisis by such foreign psychologists as R. Assagioli, S. and K. Grof, T. and E. Yeomans, D. Thayarst, K. Jung is described, and the triggers of the crisis are revealed.

Situations that require a person to change their lifestyle, way of thinking, way of knowing and seeing the world, or attitude towards themselves and others can be described as critical. A critical situation can become a turning point in a person's life; lead to a crisis. Any crisis contains both positive and negative components. The negative component is that a person in a critical situation is characterized by being overwhelmed with unresolved problems, a feeling of hopelessness, helplessness, and experiencing life as a “dead end.” But a crisis is not only a “threat of disaster,” but also an opportunity for change, a transition to a new stage of personal development, a source of strength, and this is its positive aspect. Thus, the nature of the crisis is described as transformative, since it simultaneously brings not only the rejection of old, familiar ways of being, but also the search and improvement of new ones.

IN domestic psychology critical situations and associated personal changes were considered in the structure of the life nougat of the individual by K. A. Abulkhanova-Slavskaya, B.G. Ananyev, L.I. Antsyferova, V.F. Vasilyuk, T.E. Kartseva, S.L. Rubinstein. Currently among domestic authors the problem of crisis situations is developed in most detail by F.E. Vasilyuk, considering the crisis in the structure of a critical situation.

Analysis of the literature allows us to give working definitions of a critical situation and crisis. A critical situation is a situation in which a subject cannot realize the basic needs of his life and which confronts him with the need to change his way of being (attitude towards himself, others, life and death). A crisis is a person’s reaction to a critical situation, which is expressed in the person’s inability to resolve this situation in a a short time and in the usual way, subjectively the crisis is experienced as a “dead end”. Any critical situation can potentially become a crisis situation for an individual (that is, leading to a crisis), which depends on the adaptive capabilities of the individual.

In domestic psychology, the occurrence of critical situations in a person’s life is understood as a prerequisite for personal changes - changes social situation personality development, roles change, the circle of people involved in interaction with him, the range of problems being solved and the way of life change.

In the fourth paragraph the experience of a person’s encounter with death as a result of critical situations is considered.

It is noted that a confrontation with death as a critical situation is inherently ambivalent on the one hand, it can have a destructive effect on the individual (expressed in an increased fear of death), and on the other hand, it can give meaning to life, make it more complete and meaningful. Based on the works of R. Assagioli, J. Bugental, T. and E. Yeomans, S. Levin, A. Maslow, R. May, J. Rainwater, W. Frankl, E. Fromm, I. Yalom, etc., possible personal reactions to encounters with death. Possible mechanisms for suppressing the fear of death are also considered, ranging from the desire for power to depression or increased sexual activity.

Chapter two“Methods and organization of research” is devoted to methods and organization of research into the attitude towards life and death of persons in a critical life situation.

In the first paragraph The stages of research into the problem during 1995 - 2000 are revealed. At the first stage (1995 - 1997), the goal, objectives, theoretical approaches to research. The philosophical and psychological understanding problems of life and death. The ideas of foreign and domestic psychological schools about a critical situation and its significance for an individual’s life path were also studied. At this stage, a pilot study was conducted, the results of which made it possible to formulate the concept of the dissertation research and determine the methodological basis.

At the second stage (1997 - 1999), various options for critical situations were selected - imprisonment, participation in hostilities and cancer. Next, a study was conducted of the attitude to life and death of persons in these critical situations.

At the third stage (1999 - 2000), the data obtained were analyzed and summarized using quantitative correlation, factor and comparative analysis.

In the second paragraph provides a description of the surveyed sample, which includes prisoners in prison, military personnel injured during hostilities in “hot spots” and women with cancer.

Serving a sentence in places of deprivation of liberty is for most people a strong psychological stress, which is due to the characteristics of the penitentiary environment. Such a radical change in living conditions is a critical situation for many prisoners, which brings them face to face with questions of their own existence.

The study involved male prisoners (suspects and accused) held in pre-trial detention center No. 6 of the Main Directorate of Execution of Punishments of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation. A total of 35 prisoners took part in the study. The age of the subjects was from 20 to 45 years. Most of them were convicted under Art. Art. 145, 148, 158, 161 (theft, robbery, robbery, hooliganism) of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

The situation of cancer is undoubtedly also critical for the individual, since it is associated with a real danger to life, it is a direct confrontation with the possibility of one’s own death. Like any other critical situation, it actualizes whole line existential problems: the need to accept death, rethinking life, accepting responsibility, etc. The study involved 36 women with cancer (breast cancer) aged 35 to 60 years. All of them were treated after surgery.

Our study also took part in conscript soldiers who were treated for their injuries at the S.M. Military Medical Academy. Kirov. All of them took part in hostilities in Chechnya and Dagestan for from 2 months to 1 year.

In the third paragraph The second chapter describes the organization and methods of studying attitudes towards life and death in critical situations. At the main stage of the study we used personality tests D.N. Leontyev, J. Rotter, E.I. Golovakha and A.A. Kronika, as well as the author’s methods for identifying attitudes towards life and death.

In the third chapter“Results of a study of an individual’s attitude to life and death in a critical situation” presents the results of the study and their interpretation. The data described in the first three paragraphs were obtained, respectively, from samples of prisoners, military personnel and cancer patients and were analyzed using quantitative, correlational and factor analysis. The dissertation contains illustrations that clearly show the features of ideas about life and death depending on the critical situation, as well as correlation galaxies reflecting the interconnections of these ideas.

The first paragraph of this chapter is devoted to the peculiarities of understanding and attitude towards life and death in a situation of deprivation of liberty (see Table 1).

Relationships to life and death
in various critical situations

Table 1

	Prisoners	Military personnel	Cancer patients
	Death as a transition to another state
Attitude to life	Accepting responsibility for yourself and your life, as well as suffering, old age, the variability of life and meaning Rejection of father and sexuality	The desire for high meaning in life, acceptance of goodness and love Less identification with male role	Rejection of love, the present Taking responsibility, taking care of health; reliance on willpower
Meaning life	In personal growth, achievement and development	Loss of meaning in life and the desire to find it	In activity Low meaning of life
Attitude to death	Acceptance of death	Attitude becomes more meaningful Acceptance of death	Rather, non-acceptance of death.
Meaning of death	In the transition to another level of spiritual development, growth	In development and growth, in transition At the logical conclusion of life	In transition to another level
	Death as the absolute end of life
Attitude to life	The presence of meaning and understanding of life as growth and constant movement are denied; non-acceptance of mother, variability, one’s life, responsibility, suffering Acceptance of sexuality and body Life as a super value	The understanding of life as growth is denied Acceptance of sexuality, masculinity, father and mother; acceptance of oneself in the physical, spiritual and temporal aspects; acceptance of meaning, love, responsibility, goodness	Acceptance of your femininity, yourself, husband, mother, father, your life, future; accepting old age, fears, love, change and personal growth Taking responsibility Focus on experiencing life in the present moment
Meaning life	In the richness of life, in pleasures and delights	In the “present”, in pleasures, delights	In the “present”, achievements and family relationships
Attitude to death	Rejection of death	Acceptance of death Thinking about death causes negative emotions	Awareness of its inevitability Acceptance of death
Meaning of death	The meaning of death is denied	The meaning of death is denied	To its logical conclusion; peace

So, for a person deprived of freedom, it is typical to live in the present day, and with a tendency to receive as many experiences and impressions as possible. The meaning of life is seen either in obtaining pleasures and benefits, or in helping and caring for others. The attitude towards the life of prisoners includes such components as ontological security (experience of a close connection with the parental family and acceptance of the mother, father and one’s childhood), identification with the male role and reliance on higher values ​​(including meaningfulness of life and responsibility).

The rational element in the understanding of death lies in the ideas of transition to another level of development or in absolute finitude, moreover, such ideas are formed in childhood and tend to persist in mature age. The emotional component is quite dynamic and changes with age, from fear of death to acceptance of its inevitability or, in another version, avoidance of feelings associated with the awareness of mortality.

Analysis of the results shows that among prisoners, the understanding of life and death is closely linked. Moreover, the idea of ​​death as a transition to another state (the concept of the immortality of the soul) turns out to be more constructive for their understanding of life, and ideas about their own finitude deform the picture of life, introducing into it elements of an “existential vacuum” (lack of meaning in life and death, non-acceptance of oneself and one’s life, ontological insecurity). It can be concluded that the idea of ​​life as constant growth is transferred to ideas about death, which allows a person to be responsible for everything he does and less likely to avoid feelings regarding death. An interesting fact is that long-term serving of a sentence in places of deprivation of liberty stimulates the formation of just such a concept of life.

Statistical analysis made it possible to identify various strategies for coping with a critical situation (by strategy we mean a system of attitudes towards life and death, chosen by the individual and aimed at overcoming a critical situation):

• "Striving for growth." This strategy is characterized by an understanding of life as constant growth, movement towards goals and achievements. This attitude to life is associated with taking responsibility for oneself and loved ones; the personality's focus on caring. Knowledge of one's own mortality can strengthen the individual's desire for further development, making the individual more inclined to accept death and conscious attitude To her.
• "Self-deprecation." This strategy has such features as a person’s non-acceptance of himself and his life, a feeling of ontological insecurity and a lack of meaning in life. Death in this case is perceived as a kind of deliverance from the hardships of earthly existence, but at the same time it instills a feeling of fear.
• “Hedonism.” This option is characterized by a consumerist attitude to life, in which the idea of ​​personal growth and development is denied. This approach to life is expressed in concern for one’s own health and the acceptance of illness and suffering. The concept of death in this case can be anything.
• "Love of life". This strategy is characterized by perceiving life as the highest value, which is associated with acceptance of oneself, one’s body and life path. As a result, the significance of the past increases significantly, and any changes are perceived as a threat to stability. Death is deprived of meaning and is understood rather as an absolute end.

Thus, the results obtained indicate the following: the restriction of freedom gives the individual not only the experience of confronting one’s own finitude, but also an appeal to one’s own transcendence, which is expressed in ideas about one’s own life as an endless process of growth and development, as well as in accepting responsibility. Such changes in worldview lead to the fact that many prisoners turn to religion while in prison.

The second paragraph is devoted to the peculiarities of understanding and attitude towards life and death by military personnel who took part in hostilities (see Table 1).

For conscripts who have passed through "hot spots", as well as for prisoners, it is typical to live in the present, with a tendency to receive as many positive impressions as possible, as well as future goals. They also see the meaning of life in obtaining pleasure and benefits, or in caring for the family.The attitude towards the life of military personnel is based on a sense of ontological security, identification with the male role (which is noticeably strengthened by the direct experience of destroying the enemy) and reliance on higher values.

The results show that the ideas of the immortality of the soul, laid down in childhood, have great moral significance for the individual in the formation of ideas about life - goodness, love and meaning. An interesting fact is that active participation in hostilities (associated with the killing of the enemy) carries with it a tendency to destroy children's ideas about the immortality of the soul and changes the concept of death towards absolute finitude. This experience promotes avoidance of feelings associated with dying. At the same time, the concept of life changes towards a consumer attitude towards it, and the meaning of life - towards satisfying the need for a rich life with impressions and experiences. As can be seen from the results obtained, the experience of directly destroying the enemy (killing a person) deforms military personnel’s ideas about the direction of their own lives. She is deprived of her future development and “freezes” in the place of the traumatic experience. This may explain the fact that some soldiers who have passed through “hot spots” seek to return to them.

Passive participation in war (not associated with killing the enemy and frequent combat) leads to the formation of the concept of death as a transition with a more conscious attitude and acceptance towards it. The concept of life during this period becomes unclear, contradictory, with a tendency to search for meaning.

Obtained using various types statistical analysis the results can be presented in the form of connections between attitudes towards life and death. They determine four life strategies in this critical situation - “Self-abasement”, “Love of life”, “Seizure of life” and “Search for the meaning of life”. The first two strategies are similar to similar strategies among prisoners. Let's consider those that are specific to military personnel:

• “Capture of life” is characterized by a feeling of ontological security, as well as a strong identification with the male role, which is closely related to the experience of direct destruction of the enemy. This worldview entails the denial of meaning in death, and the meaning of life is seen in emotional saturation. Such a person does not see the point in growth and development.
• “Searching for the meaning of life” - this strategy is characterized by unclear ideas about one’s own life, the desire to find its deep meaning. Life is understood here rather as constant growth, and death is seen as a transition to another level of development.

Thus, the results of the study indicate that participation in hostilities changes the attitude of military personnel to life and death. The direction of these changes will depend on the individual’s ability to integrate the traumatic experience associated with military operations and the direct killing of the enemy.

In the third paragraph describes the features of understanding life and death in the situation of cancer (see Table 1).

The results show that among life-meaning orientations in this critical situation, tendencies to live in the future and the present prevail. The meaning of life is seen mainly in caring for others, which reveals the peculiarities of a woman’s role and can be considered as a personal resource for coping with a crisis, as well as a way of protection.

The attitude towards life of women with cancer differs in its characteristics from the attitude of men. The leading factor is not a sense of ontological security, but a focus on love. This confirms the well-known idea of ​​love as the main life value and the basis for the development of a woman’s personality. It is also interesting that in addition to relying on higher values ​​(meaning, responsibility, goodness), it is important for women to move towards wisdom, where the male and female essence are equally significant.

The results of the study showed that the idea of ​​death as a transition to another state in cancer patients is associated with the presence of internal conflicts and increased responsibility for their recovery. This suggests that belief in the immortality of the soul can be used not only as an incentive for recovery, but also as psychological protection. The concept of death as an absolute end is more constructive in the case of cancer, as it allows a woman to live in the present and accept many aspects of her life.

Analysis of the results allows us to assert that in women with cancer, in relation to death, the system-forming component is not the rational (as in men), but the emotional component - acceptance of death and feelings towards it. This indicates such a feature female psychology, as a tendency to build relationships based on emotional connections, which indicates the presence of gender aspects in relation to life and death in critical situations.

The results of a study of women with cancer made it possible to identify the following four life strategies: “Love of life”, “Striving for growth”, “Fear of life” and “Fear of change”. Let us note those that are characteristic of this sample:

• "Fear of life." This strategy is characterized by the presence internal contradictions in the personality structure. The concept of death as a transition acts in this case as a psychological defense.
• "Fear of change." In this strategy, the main characteristics are concern for health, a high level of control, non-acceptance of the present, and a focus on the stability of life. Death is understood as the absolute end.

The findings indicate that acceptance of death is a likely element of personal growth. An intransigent attitude towards death leads to a focus on the well-being of the body, while reducing the chances of an open relationship with the world, authenticity and satisfaction with life. It can be argued that facing death in a critical situation of cancer reduces the “fear of fear” (fears weaken) and increases tolerance to the variability of life. The individual is calm about the fact that expectations very often run counter to real achievements.

In the fourth paragraph This chapter provides a comparative analysis of the general and specific features of attitudes towards life and death in various critical situations.

Analysis of general trends in various samples suggests that in critical situations a person is faced with the need to “inventory” his ideas about life and death. Coping with a critical situation can take place in two different, but nevertheless interconnected ways, depending on the individual’s attitude to this situation. We have identified two such relationships - “Critical situation as an opportunity for growth” and “Critical situation as suffering”.

In the first case, a critical situation is perceived by a person as an opportunity for a deeper, more authentic existence and includes the following components: acceptance of fate, a sense of ontological security, meaningfulness of life, responsibility, desire for growth, acceptance of the spiritual and physical aspects of one’s personality, tolerance for the variability of life , as well as acceptance of feelings towards death and belief in the immortality of the soul.

In the second option, a critical situation is perceived by the individual as punishment or atonement and is expressed in concentration on one’s suffering - illness, old age, fears, evil, helplessness and loneliness. This attitude towards life is associated with ideas about death as an absolute end and fear of it.

A comparative analysis of attitudes towards life and death depending on the critical situation showed that significant differences between the samples are associated with the characteristics of male and female psychology, as well as with the characteristics of the situations themselves.

Women with cancer experience a lesser sense of ontological security, are more inclined to accept helplessness and loneliness, but less inclined to accept responsibility and sexuality; They see the meaning of life in caring for others, and they often experience negative feelings towards death.

Military personnel differ from other samples in their greater acceptance of life, father, avoidance of feelings towards death, as well as a tendency to see the meaning of life in its richness.

Prisoners are more likely than military personnel to see the meaning of life in growth and more often than cancer patients to believe in the immortality of the soul.

Thus, we see that a person’s attitude towards life and death in various critical situations is connected with the attitude towards this situation, its characteristic features, as well as the characteristics of male and female psychology.

The results of the study made it possible to construct an empirical typology of life strategies for coping with critical situations (see Fig. 1). As we can see from the figure, the typology is based on the relationship of such components as attitudes towards life, death, and a vision of meaning.

Life strategies for coping with critical situations

Rice. 1.

As a result of the study, we came to the following conclusions:

1. The attitude towards life and death is a system, the main emotional and rational components of which are: the degree of acceptance of life and death, ontological security, self-acceptance, vision of meaning, responsibility, desire for growth, the idea of ​​death as a transition to another state or as an absolute end .
2. The interrelations of the emotional and rational components of the attitude towards life and death determine 8 life strategies for coping with critical situations: “Striving for growth”, “Search for the meaning of life”, “Hedonism”, “Self-deprecation”, “Love of life”, “Fear of life” , "Fear of Change" and "Life Seizure". A strategy specific to prisoners is “Hedonism”, for cancer patients - “Fear of life”, for military personnel - “Search for the meaning of life” and “Seizure of life”.
3. Critical situations change the individual's attitude towards life and death. The direction of these changes will depend on the individual’s ability to integrate the traumatic experience associated with a critical situation, as well as on the attitude towards the situation itself.
4. The individual’s attitude towards a critical situation is manifested either through positive attitude to oneself and the idea of ​​transcendence of one’s own personality (in this case, a critical situation is perceived as an opportunity for growth), or through concentration on one’s own suffering (in this case, a critical situation is perceived as punishment or atonement).
5. Specific features of attitudes towards life and death, depending on the critical situation, are associated with the conditions of these situations, as well as with the characteristics of male and female psychology. Thus, those imprisoned are distinguished by the emergence of the idea of ​​their own transcendence; combatants - by the desire to make the most of life and avoid feelings towards death, women with cancer - by focusing on suffering, caring for loved ones and fear of death.
6. Acceptance of death is a possible element of personal growth in a critical situation.

Thus, the goal has been achieved, the research objectives have been solved.

In custody done general analysis the obtained data, the main life strategies for coping with critical situations are highlighted, and prospects for further research are outlined.

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5. Psychological characteristics adaptation of prisoners to places of confinement. / Ananyev Readings - 1999. 40th anniversary of the creation of the country's first laboratory of industrial (engineering) psychology at St. Petersburg (Leningrad) University. Abstracts of the scientific and practical conference October 26 - 28, 1999 / Ed. A.A. Krylova - St. Petersburg: St. Petersburg State University, 1999 - P. 148 - 149 (co-author).
6. Psychological aspects readaptation of persons released from prison. / III Tsarskoye Selo Readings. Scientific and theoretical interuniversity conference with international participation. Vishnyakov readings "Continuous pedagogical education: theory and practice" April 16, 1999, T 5, St. Petersburg - Boksitogorsk, Leningrad State Educational Institution, 1999 - P. 192 - 195 (co-authored).
7. Existential crisis and its resources among prisoners (in press).

Bakanova A.A. ,

RUSSIAN STATE PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY NAMED AFTER A. I. HERTZEN
As a manuscript
Abstract of the dissertation for the degree of candidate of psychological sciences
19 00.11. - psychology of Personality
Saint Petersburg
2000

Perm “contemporary artist” Alexey Ilkaev made adjustments to the city landscape: in the plywood installation installed on the city embankment - the inscription HAPPINESS IS NOT SOAR - replaced the first word with the much more realistic DEATH. The reshuffle and change of emphasis alarmed local officials, resulting in a scandal. At the height of the investigation, the artist Ilkaev admitted his guilt in his crime by writing a letter of repentance. Almost came to the police and confessed. And so I’m wondering: is this just another artistic gesture of a conceptual auctioneer or is it all for real? If the latter, then to what degree of ugliness did the cultural inquisition reach in the once progressive city of Perm?? After all, this is exactly like under Stalin, when poets, writers and artists, some of them great, wrote humiliated repentances and petitions, confessing political myopia, petty-bourgeoisism and insufficient proletarian enthusiasm... Apparently, DEATH in Perm will again be replaced with HAPPINESS. So that no one doubts. But then I would advise setting fire to this entire structure on a dark night, as Pyotr Pavlensky did.

In St. Petersburg, meanwhile, film director Alexei Krasovsky (not to be confused with his namesake Anton, who fell in love with Putin like a man) set out to make the film “Poazdnik” - a “black” comedy, the action of which takes place under New Year V besieged Leningrad. As soon as this became known, a “hate group” was formed, mainly consisting of the ubiquitous deputies, who called the very idea of ​​​​the film blasphemy and mockery and demanded that the film be closed. I understand that those suffering from incontinence know little about cinema, so I remind you of a very recent and very famous precedent: the film “Life is Beautiful” (1997) by the Italian actor and director Roberto Benigni, which received all possible main prizes, from Cannes to Oscar, and became an absolute classic. This is also a comedy, and not even a black one, about the Holocaust and the death camp with gas chambers. The topic, you see, is no less terrible than the Leningrad blockade. However, neither the Italian parliament and the government, nor even the all-powerful and worldwide Jewish “behind the scenes” vetoed the film. I don't think this even occurred to anyone.

Among those who especially zealously attacked the renegade filmmakers was a Duma deputy named Sergei Boyarsky. The surname is rare, I decided to check it out - and alas! Son. Born in 1980. I was spinning... It’s like this: dad is a musketeer, daughter Lisa is a lovely girl and a good actress, and nature rested on her son: a demagogue and a young guardian-type fossil fell out of the boyar’s nest. And a corresponding career. So much for “Dinosaurs”... Did you, Misha, really not let your child listen to the Beatles during his childhood and adolescence?!

What do we know about death? Throughout the centuries-old history of mankind, the topic of death was probably one of the most widespread; more has been written about it than about many other things, since, apparently, there was not a single full-fledged person who did not think about what would sooner or later await him and what causes such great horror. Those who could, embodied their thoughts, attitudes, and fears about the inevitable physical end of every human being in philosophy, religion, myth, science, and a variety of art. Many researchers of historical development human consciousness suggest that it was the fear of death that was the driving force in the development of human culture.

Death has been a constant problem that has accompanied humanity throughout its history. Each subsequent generation received this pain and this fear from previous generations, tried to somehow answer this question, and then passed on both the problem itself and its achievements in solving it to the next generations, who repeated a similar path.

Death is the process of cessation of existence of complex biological systems that consist of large organic molecules, loss of their abilities to self-produce and support their existence as a result of the exchange of energy and matter with the environment. The death of warm-blooded animals and humans is associated primarily with the cessation of breathing and blood circulation.

Attitude to the problem of life and death in Western culture.

In all of human history, there has never been a more grandiose and geographically expanded culture than the Western one. The almost absolutely dominant religion - Christianity - has several branches; how nowhere in the world can one trace contrasts, sometimes increasing, sometimes decreasing, but always significant, between science and religion; there are dozens of philosophical trends - and all this is found both existing in the general cultural array and in national manifestations, for each culture perceives certain universal values ​​almost always through the prism of its worldview, and is in the process of interaction between its components.

Christianity is one of the three world religions, and, obviously, the most widespread and influential. How does the Christian religion influence a person’s worldview, his value picture of the world, the psychology of his attitude towards life and death? The religious (in this case, Christian) worldview and worldview has certain positive psychotherapeutic features in relation to the worldview positions of non-religious people. Christians are prone to empathy and sensitivity; they usually have a positive picture of the world, themselves and others in it (“God is almighty, and if so, he created a completely just world in which there is the possibility of salvation for everyone,” “The Lord loves everyone and serves as an example for us,” etc.). Death is perceived relatively calmly, since if a person lives in accordance with the biblical commandments, then it opens the way to heaven after physical death, that is, death, in principle, can even be desirable (this can happen when a person is in difficult and extremely difficult conditions of its existence; but even in this case, the fear of death will not be absent - it will only recede, replaced by stronger states of faith and hope than itself, on the one hand, pain and suffering, on the other).

Psychological phenomena of faith and hope are constant companions of religious worldview. Thus, the phenomena of faith and hope have a decisive influence on orientation to the problem of life and death in Christian culture. A certain dependence can be traced: obviously, the more religious a person is, the more diligently and carefully he fulfills the religious commandments, the greater will be his faith and hope for the posthumous path to heaven, the greater will be the confidence in his life and in his actions, the more positive there will be a picture of the world (in any case, connected with the individual segment of reality, with one’s life) and oneself in it.

Materialistic and agnostic worldview

Along with the Christian one, a materialistic and agnostic worldview is also widespread in the spaces of Western culture. What is the content of these philosophical positions? Here, victory over death is a spiritual and psychological state of a person in which he exalts himself over death, with his actions and inner world, proving his greater importance than it, thus immortalizing himself in his relations with the world on a value-oriented level. To do this, a person must so realize the potential of his “I”, so fulfill his life tasks (which would also, very preferably, coincide with the moral and ethical categories present in him and in society), that he could comprehend his life as passed (perhaps not yet fully realized) is the correct path and deeply felt the justice of victory over death and the transition to the reality that awaits it after physical death (regardless of what ideological position a person occupies).

Attitude to the problem of life and death in Muslim culture

There is a certain commonality in attitude towards the problem of life and death between Christianity and the moderate part of Islam. There is nothing strange in this, because the three most prominent world monotheistic religions - Christianity, Islam and Judaism - have the same spiritual and historical roots. At the same time, speaking about a certain commonality between Islam and Christianity in relation to the problem of life and death, it is necessary to note existing differences, which, among other things, are associated with the peculiarities of the psychology of carriers of the Muslim religion. If Christianity refers to love in its relationship with God (and in this matter it treats man more humanely in his relationship with the Absolute), then Judaism and Islam tend to place great emphasis on submission and fear.

The attitude of Muslims to life and death boils down to the following dogmas:

1. Life is given to man by Allah.
2. He has the right to take it away at any time, regardless of the person’s wishes.
3. A person does not have the right to end his own life of his own free will, but he can do this to his enemy, which is considered an honor, and in war, valor.
4. Life must be lived with dignity in order to go to heaven.
5. Honor is greater than life.
6. The afterlife is endless and it is precisely this that is the ultimate goal of all those who lived before and are living now.
7. Life is given only once.
8. Everything in this world happens according to the will of Allah”

However, modern Islam is not represented only by its moderate part. Since Islamic fundamentalism, along with which terrorism and religious fanaticism exist, is one of the greatest problems of the modern world, the bearer of an aggressive psychology with a bright expressed relationships to life and, in particular, to death (perhaps it would be more correct to say – by leveling the latter), then highlighting its most important strokes and aspects seems especially important. In principle, the corresponding fanatical psychology is not much different from the psychology of fanatics in general: blind faith in certain (the main place here is occupied by religious) ideals, ready answers to some questions and ignoring others, a rigid, unchangeable picture of the world, intolerance towards dissidents, lack of empathy for them and the corresponding attitude towards them, aggression, including direct physical aggression, which is also associated with the inability to prove their position in life logically, with reason.

Attitude to the problem of life and death in India

India is one of the most significant, unique cultures of humanity, with its very long history, measured in more than four thousand years. Its cultural world is extremely stable; India successfully restored itself even after terrible historical cataclysms and almost win-win resisted aggressive and dangerous foreign political forces and cultural-ideological systems. . The fact that India has long ago achieved cultural, religious, philosophical, and generally worldview tolerance, tolerance towards others deserves modern world at least respect and can be an excellent example for other cultures and multitudes of people.

The spiritual world of India is represented, as already mentioned, by religious and philosophical diversity. On the territory of India, such religions as Brahmanism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, etc., and philosophical schools - Lokayata, Samkhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, etc., were created and developed.

Hinduism is a religion that states: people share the fate of all nature, that is, birth, life, death, and after it - rebirth on Earth again, after which the cycle repeats again and again. These ideas found their direct expression in the idea of ​​reincarnation, that is, (eternal) reincarnation, called “samsara”. Hindus believe that a person’s present life determines his future life, its quality, and here we see the moral component of this worldview. The caste system fits very harmoniously into this worldview, and it is allowed that the least worthy are embodied even in animal form.

What's interesting is that even in philosophical directions In the materialistic direction in India, the idea of ​​death or the fear of it is noticeably neutralized by the transitional stages of matter, that is, a person (his body) is included in the eternal circulation of matter in the world, and talking about death as the disappearance of a person may not be entirely incorrect from the point of view of representatives of these directions .Attitudes towards suicide differ from those found in Christianity or Islam. Here it is not presented primarily as something forbidden or sinful. Here suicide looks completely hopeless, it makes no sense. In fact, if a person’s next life is determined by current actions, karma, then suicide will make the next life even more painful and unhappy. Problems and suffering encountered throughout life must be endured with honor and endurance, as this makes karma more favorable, both for the future life and for the present one; suicide has the opposite effect.

The problem of death is not really relevant in India - in the sense of the absence of expressed fear of it, it is to a large extent (compared to other cultures, of course) accepted as proper and comprehended relatively calmly, and this has been the case throughout last millennia Indian history

Attitude to the problem of life and death in China and Japan

China and Japan are a whole cultural world, large, massive and unique in its volume, significance and power of influence on all humanity.

Chinese worldview

Life is very valuable for the Chinese, and this is due to the fact that there is no really significant emphasis on the concepts of heaven and hell (in general, the other world or worlds) in China, and to the fact that Chinese culture cannot be called noticeably religious. A person’s fear of death does not have a significant “counterweight”, sufficient psychological compensation, expressed in teachings about the other world, paradise, etc., that is, even religious and philosophical teachings China (not to mention other categories of culture) do not have effective remedy noticeable neutralization (relative to, for example, Christianity or Hinduism) the fear of death. A person values ​​his life, he holds on to it as an almost uncompensable value.

Japanese worldview

Japan is a country that, in the last twentieth century, not only rose from its knees after defeat in the Second World War - both politically and economically - but also received the status of one of economic leaders peace. Major existing in Japanese culture religious worldviews- Shintoism, Buddhism and a special form of the latter - Zen.

The morality of Shintoists is simple: great sins must be avoided - murder, lying, adultery, etc. Since Buddhism penetrated into Japan, these two teachings have influenced each other so much that in this country many elements of one of them can be found in the other. Buddhism in Japan has its own characteristics, which were expressed in the movement of Zen. Regarding Shintoism, Buddhism offers much greater hope for posthumous salvation, so it is quite obvious why many Japanese can turn to it when the phenomenon of death begins to find its active manifestation in life. On the other hand, the value of life and the experience of its many joys is not the prerogative of Buddhism, including its Japanese uniform– Zen; Shintoism places a definite and significant emphasis on these aspects of life.

When considering the problem of life and death in Japan, it is necessary to consider such a historical phenomenon as a special suicide ritual - hara-kiri, in which certain features of the Japanese attitude towards life and death are manifested. Harakiri developed into its historically best known form from the rites of the ancient tribes that existed in and around what is now Japan on the mainland. It was from those times that the human stomach was associated in Japan with the concept of life, and death blow in rituals, as a rule, it was applied precisely along it. By long tradition along with the death of the master, his closest servants and property were also buried in his grave - to provide him with everything he needed afterlife. To make death easier, servants were allowed to stab themselves.

Harakiri was mainly the prerogative of warriors and acted universal remedy exit from almost any predicament, in which the samurai found himself. As a rule, the decisive factor was the value of honor - this sociocultural and moral-ethical phenomenon itself was, apparently, one of the determining ones in Japanese culture - next to which life looked like a clearly secondary phenomenon. The factor that ensured this state of affairs in society and mass psychology, was the creation of an aura of courage and celebrity, which persisted even during the times of subsequent generations, around those who committed hara-kiri to themselves. Another decisive determinant was the influence on the psychology of people of the Zen movement, which - like Buddhism in general - promotes complete disregard for death as such.

Having examined the attitude towards death among the main and most significant cultures, we can say that it has never been the same.
Tolerance, faith and hope among Christians, fear and submission to fate among Muslims, the calm attitude of Hindus, the primacy of honor over life among the Japanese...

The soul is immortal, barren, it can be saved or perish. People accept or reject these statements depending on their faith and religious statements. If there is one thing we can say with certainty, it is that we are all mortal. But when asked what awaits us after death, representatives different cultures answer differently. And each of us decides for himself what he believes in.