The inexplicable generosity of Chubais (Session ten) It is very wise and touching that when current high-ranking officials travel along the country’s roads, the roads are blocked, and vigilant traffic cops do not allow the cars of ordinary citizens to get close to the armored ones

True and false history Studying history, and not myths about it, seems to me fundamentally important point. After all, in this sense, we are an unhappy people: each generation rediscovers history and, as often happens, begins to believe in the side paths of scientific thought. We

Putin's tenth message to the Russians 20 years have passed since the day when Yeltsin and the young reformers carried out shock therapy with Russian people in 1992, they seized all the people's wealth of the country, trampled on the Constitution, shot people's deputies in the center

False deafness (part one) Sometimes a lecture gives rise to a topic for the next one, disrupting the class schedule, but I have a positive attitude towards this, because the theory is dry, my friend, and the tree of life always wants to eat. So this is an extraordinary lecture for senior officers and cadets. Not

False deafness (Part yours) We are moving further through the Galaxy. The curious cadets have already galloped off to get Watts’ book, and the cunning cadets are sitting and waiting for the second part of the lecture, hoping that they will quickly sort out everything about the mysterious “Chinese room”. Well, as everyone else already okay, in this room

True and false honor

D. Likhachev vividly discusses true and false honor in the tenth letter of the book “Letters about the Good and the Beautiful.” It was these arguments that I took as the basis for my essay. Likhachev writes that a synonym for true honor is conscience, which is located in a person’s subconscious, does not allow him to calm down, “gnaws” from the inside. Likhachev calls false honor “the honor of the uniform.” This means that a person “in office” often acts not according to his convictions, not according to his conscience, but as required by conditions and instructions. In this case, personal gain often prevails over other people's problems.
Reflecting on true honor, I remembered the famous Russian translator Lilianna Lungina. Her memories were recorded by O. Dorman and published in the book “Interlinear: The Life of Lilianna Lungina, Told by Her in Oleg Dorman’s Film.” I remember the episode where the translator talks about Klavdiya Vasilyevna Poltavskaya, the director of the school where the girl studied. In the difficult years of repression and total surveillance, Klavdia Vasilievna was guided in her work by her moral principles. The director took the girl, whose parents were arrested, to live with her and gave her the opportunity to finish school. Poltavskaya sheltered a homeless boy, picking him up on the street, and for moral reasons told everyone that he was her distant relative. For Klavdia Vasilievna, it was important that the children trusted her and were not afraid of her. At the same time, she was strict with her students. In my opinion, the school principal is an example of true honor because her actions never went against her conscience.
But an example of false honor, in my opinion, is the head of MTS Knyazhev from the story “Potholes” by V. Tendryakov. The truck driver was driving fellow travelers along a bad road. Suddenly the car overturned and one of the passengers suffered a serious abdominal injury. Knyazhev was the first to take up the stretcher and carried the bleeding wounded man eight kilometers off-road. Having reached the first aid station, he left the stretcher and proceeded to his job responsibilities. When it became clear that the victim was dying, that hours and minutes were counting, they turned to Knyazhev with a request to allocate a tractor for delivery young man to the area. But the head of MTS categorically refused to give an order, citing instructions. For the bureaucrat Knyazhev, his own importance as a guardian of the law turned out to be higher human life. A few hours later, he finally allocated a tractor, but not because his conscience awoke in him, but because of the fear of party punishment. But time was lost; the young man died on the way to the regional center. This example clearly illustrates the idea of ​​D. Likhachev’s “honor of the uniform.”
In conclusion, I want to say that people who act according to their conscience never expect applause and gratitude, but do good deeds quietly and from the heart. This distinguishes them from people whose honor is false. “Do good throughout the whole earth, do good for the benefit of others. Not for the beautiful thank you to someone who heard you nearby,” urges singer Shura. And I completely agree with him.

427 words

The essay was sent by site user Nikita Vorotnyuk.

At first glance, the statement of Dmitry Sergeevich Likhachev, a famous scientist, writer and public figure, about the existence of so-called false honor seems somewhat strange and incomprehensible: honor, understood as the highest dignity of a person, cannot be false. In this case, it can probably already be called dishonor. But the great Russian thinker of the 20th century interprets the concept of honor in exactly this way, denoting its two possible components - truth and lie. Let us try, following the scientist, to understand that there is true and false honor.

Let us turn to the letter “True and False Honor” from the famous collection of letters for youth “Letters about Good.” D.S. Likhachev writes: “...ideas about honor can be completely false, and these false ideas cause colossal harm to society.” How to understand this author's statement? He talks about the so-called “uniform honor,” which falls heavily on the shoulders of officials. However, the writer makes you wonder: is it really difficult for modern officials and those in power to observe the unwritten laws of honor? It turns out that it is almost impossible! And when circumstances require it, understood by the author as his own selfish interests, then the expression “honor of the uniform,” distorted by modern bureaucrats, appears. It is precisely this that forces officials to defend false projects, insist on the continuation of obviously unsuccessful construction projects, and demolish cultural monuments. There are quite a lot of examples of such violation of honor. One cannot but agree with Likhachev on this: for modern officials there is no concept of honor; for them there is only a great desire to hide their shortcomings and failures, to defend the right to continue to live and work exclusively in their own interests, and not for the benefit of people. This is a false honor that should be called and recognized as dishonor.

But what is true honor in Likhachev’s understanding? The author gives a simple and unambiguous answer. Honor is the conscience of a person, the internal measure of everything good and bad, which will not allow you to stumble and do anything bad or immoral. And then there will no longer be the notorious “honor of the bureaucratic uniform,” but simply honor - a universal concept and principle in accordance with which the life of a decent person should be built.

Thus, we can conclude: true honor is conscience. Today, in a spiritless world, this concept is so important and significant that everyone who considers themselves human should be aware of it. False honor is the unwritten rules of solidarity between officials acting in the interests of the state and people, but only out of consideration of their own benefits and aspirations. It is impossible not to admire the conclusions of the Russian thinker, who at the turn of the century warned about the consequences of true and misunderstanding honor.

Searched here:

• what is true honor and imaginary honor - essay - miniature

D.S. Likhachev

Letters to young readers

LETTER TEN
HONOR IS TRUE AND FALSE

I don't like definitions and am often not ready for them. But I can point out some differences between conscience and honor.

There is one significant difference between conscience and honor. Conscience always comes from the depths of the soul, and by conscience one is purified to one degree or another. Conscience is gnawing. Conscience is never false. It can be muted or too exaggerated (extremely rare). But ideas about honor can be completely false, and these false ideas cause enormous damage to society. I mean what is called “uniform honor.” We have lost such a phenomenon, unusual for our society, as the concept of noble honor, but the “honor of the uniform” remains a heavy burden. It was as if the man had died, and only the uniform remained, from which the orders had been removed. And inside which a conscientious heart no longer beats.

“The honor of the uniform” forces managers to defend false or flawed projects, insist on the continuation of obviously unsuccessful construction projects, fight with societies protecting monuments (“our construction is more important”), etc. Many examples of such defense of “uniform honor” can be given.

True honor is always in accordance with conscience. False honor is a mirage in the desert, in the moral desert of the human (or rather, “bureaucratic”) soul.

LETTER ELEVEN
ABOUT CAREERISM

A person develops from the first day of his birth. He is focused on the future. He learns, learns to set new tasks for himself, without even realizing it. And how quickly he masters his position in life. He already knows how to hold a spoon and pronounce the first words.

Then, as a boy and a young man, he also studies.

And the time has come to apply your knowledge and achieve what you strived for. Maturity. We must live in the present...
But the acceleration continues, and now, instead of studying, the time comes for many to master their situation in life. The movement proceeds by inertia. A person is always striving towards the future, and the future is no longer in real knowledge, not in mastering skills, but in placing oneself in an advantageous position. The content, the real content, is lost. The present time does not come, there is still an empty aspiration to the future. This is careerism. Internal anxiety that makes a person personally unhappy and unbearable for others.

LETTER TWELVE
A PERSON MUST BE INTELLIGENT

A person must be intelligent! What if his profession does not require intelligence? And if he could not get an education: that’s how the circumstances developed. What if environment doesn't allow it? What if his intelligence makes him a “black sheep” among his colleagues, friends, relatives, and simply prevents him from getting closer to other people?

No, no and no! Intelligence is needed under all circumstances. It is necessary both for others and for the person himself.

This is very, very important, and above all in order to live happily and long - yes, long! For intelligence is equal to moral health, and health is needed to live long - not only physically, but also mentally. The Bible says: “Honor your father and your mother, and you will live long on earth.” This applies to both an entire nation and an individual. That's wise.

But first of all, let’s define what intelligence is, and then why it is connected with the commandment of longevity.

Many people think: an intelligent person is one who has read a lot, received a good education (and even mainly a humanitarian one), traveled a lot, and knows several languages.
Meanwhile, you can have all this and be unintelligent, and you can not possess any of this to a large extent, but still be an internally intelligent person.

Education cannot be confused with intelligence. Education lives by old content, intelligence lives by creating new things and recognizing the old as new.

Moreover...Deprive authentically intelligent person of all his knowledge, education, deprive him of his very memory. Let him forget everything in the world, he won’t know classics of literature won't remember greatest works art, will forget the most important historical events, but if at the same time he retains sensitivity to intellectual values, love of acquiring knowledge, interest in history, aesthetic sense, he will be able to distinguish a real work of art from a “thing” made only to surprise, if he can admire the beauty of nature, understand the character and individuality of another person, enter into his position, and having understood the other person, help him, will not show rudeness, indifference, gloating, envy, but will appreciate the other if he shows respect for the culture of the past, skills well-mannered person, responsibility in resolving moral issues, the richness and accuracy of one’s language - spoken and written - this will be an intelligent person.

Intelligence is not only about knowledge, but about the ability to understand others. It manifests itself in a thousand and a thousand little things: in the ability to argue respectfully, to behave modestly at the table, in the ability to imperceptibly (precisely imperceptibly) help another, to take care of nature, not to litter around oneself - do not litter with cigarette butts or swearing, bad ideas (this is also garbage , and what else!).

I knew peasants in the Russian North who were truly intelligent. They kept their homes amazingly clean and knew how to value good songs, knew how to tell “happenings” (that is, what happened to them or others), lived an orderly life, were hospitable and friendly, treated both the grief and joy of others with understanding.

Intelligence is the ability to understand, to perceive, it is a tolerant attitude towards the world and towards people.
You need to develop intelligence in yourself, train it – train your mental strength, just as you train your physical strength. And training is possible and necessary in any conditions.

That training physical strength contributes to longevity is understandable. Much less understands that longevity requires training of spiritual and mental strength.

The fact is that an angry and angry reaction to the environment, rudeness and lack of understanding of others is a sign of mental and spiritual weakness, human inability to live... Pushing around in a crowded bus is a weak and nervous person, exhausted, reacting incorrectly to everything. Quarreling with neighbors is also a person who does not know how to live, who is mentally deaf. An aesthetically unresponsive person is also an unhappy person. Someone who cannot understand another person, attributes only evil intentions to him, and is always offended by others - this is also a person who impoverishes his own life and interferes with the lives of others. Mental weakness leads to physical weakness. I'm not a doctor, but I'm convinced of it. Long-term experience has convinced me of this.

Friendliness and kindness make a person not only physically healthy, but also beautiful. Yes, exactly beautiful.

A person’s face, distorted by anger, becomes ugly, and his movements evil man lack grace - not deliberate grace, but natural grace, which is much more expensive.

A person's social duty is to be intelligent. This is a duty to yourself. This is the key to his personal happiness and the “aura of goodwill” around him and towards him (that is, addressed to him).

Everything I talk about with young readers in this book is a call to intelligence, to physical and moral health, to the beauty of health. Let us live long as people and as a nation! And veneration of father and mother should be understood broadly - as veneration of all our best in the past, in the past, which is the father and mother of our modernity, great modernity, to which it is great happiness to belong.

Quoted from:
D.S. Likhachev. Letters about good. SPb.: “Russian-Baltic information center BLITZ", 1999.