New material and spiritual values: what is important for people in the 21st century

In this article we will tell you:

1. Concept of value
2. Examples of material assets
3. Spiritual values ​​in human life
4. Table of material and spiritual values
5. New material and spiritual values ​​in the 21st century
6. The golden mean between material and spiritual values
7. 5 factors influencing the composition of material and spiritual values
8. 3 ways to understand your life values

Time does not stand still; technology has long been integrated into our lives, making it easier and at the same time complicating it. Much is changing, new material and spiritual values ​​are appearing. What priorities are of particular importance to a modern person? And what exactly – morality or more mundane things – should you pay attention to?

Each of us is individual, therefore we all have our own value system. In this article, we have displayed the main points regarding material and spiritual landmarks, highlighting those that are of particular importance for a resident of the modern world. At the end of the material, you will be introduced to three ways to find out your key values, which determine your entire life path.

Concept of value

What are values? This is the importance, significance, benefit, usefulness of something. Externally, value appears as a property of an object or phenomenon. This should not be confused with price. Although sometimes price is directly related to it, these are still two words completely independent of each other.

Here is the most important thing to understand: value is something that a person determines for himself independently. Perhaps what is important to one may be completely insignificant to another.

Let us consider the main purpose of all material and spiritual values ​​created by man. Thanks to the values:

• everything unimportant gradually disappears from life;
• it becomes clear which things are worth paying attention to first and which can be postponed;
• you can determine the steps that need to be taken to achieve your goal;
• It’s much easier to make a life plan;
• it is easier to find a common language with people and establish business and friendly contacts;
• manages to live in harmony with oneself and others;
• life becomes more interesting, and many difficulties are easily overcome.

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Types of valuables:

1. Material (life). They can be divided into 2 subgroups: simple and higher order. The simplest include food, clothing, home and those items that are necessary in everyday life. Of a higher order are the material elements with the help of which man influences nature.
2. Spiritual. These include the inner world of a person and its content.

Are values ​​that important?

At first glance, the question of how important what is valuable does not sound very smart. But in life it happens that the real significance of the main essence is replaced or lost altogether

I remember an example from my student youth: we often donated blood, but we didn’t think at all that it would save someone’s life; it was important for us to get two days off. So lofty ideas were replaced by insignificant pleasures

But it's not that scary. It’s much worse when people drink alcohol and take drugs and kill their own lives for the sake of imaginary pleasure. Here, not only life and health are lost, but everything that makes a person a person is completely devalued - spirituality, morality, mental abilities, relationships with loved ones and friends. When they say that a person has no life values, they mean a completely lost individual.

Examples of material assets

Man has always sought to surround himself with objects that would make his existence much more comfortable and easier. That is why various material values ​​were invented, which are an important part of the life of any person.

Material values ​​are a collection of objects, money, property, the significance of which for a person is very great. For example, these include cars, real estate, gold and valuable jewelry, fur products, various equipment and furniture.

For some, these benefits are a vital necessity and even a goal; others can live with the minimum, but still be absolutely happy. But in any case, material values ​​are, to one degree or another, important and necessary for everyone.

Hierarchy of values

In the process of personal formation, each person sets his own hierarchy of values ​​and forms a certain ideal of behavior. Therefore, the question of the difference in the hierarchy of values ​​lies in personal experience and needs, which everyone consciously or unconsciously supports as the main norms of behavior.

By forming a certain hierarchy of values, one can refer to different selection criteria (pleasure, safety, benefit or virtue), because of which the value picture will differ even among peers of the same social group.

For example, health, family or religious values ​​often form the basis of the value hierarchy of the older generation, and they are inferior to others - professional, social or material.

On the other hand, among the younger generation, the emphasis will be on patriotic, professional or material values, while political or religious ones may be completely absent.

It is equally important to consider that the hierarchy of certain values ​​always helps to understand what a person values ​​most and what he is willing to sacrifice in the event of a conflict of value guidelines.

Spiritual values ​​in human life

Spiritual values ​​are a person’s ideas about good and evil, about ethics, formed by an era, religion, environment, nation. There are people who believe that such ideas cannot be changed. But at the moment we can say that this is a rather contradictory and, rather, incorrect statement.

Let's take the most basic example. Time does not stand still, everything around changes, so it is impossible to compare the spiritual values ​​of peasants in pre-revolutionary Russia and what is important now for a modern citizen. The same applies to comparisons of different religions, for example, Islam and Christianity.

For a large number of people, spiritual values ​​are primarily fundamental. They can be divided into 3 types:

1. Universal. This is all that is important for everyone - health, family, etc.
2. Moral. Responsibility for your thoughts and actions.
3. Aesthetic. They are directly related to art.

Spiritual values ​​include love, friendship, sympathy, respect for others, self-worth, faith, and creativity. We can't live without it. Thanks to these values, a comfortable and calm world is created around us, we understand the importance of some events or things and exist in harmony.

Human values

The evolution of humanity implies not only a change in man as a biological species, but also the evolution of the worldview of “homo sapiens”. According to Darwin's theory, humans evolved from apes. For lack of a better guess, we will agree with this theory.

It is obvious that the main values ​​of the ape-man were exclusively material: to get food, to protect themselves from predatory animals. Over time, man learned to hunt, make fire, and grow the necessary plants. Survival priorities ceased to be fundamental, and man’s worldview began to change.

New values ​​began to form - caring for loved ones, educating the younger generation, honoring wisdom, admiring the gods.

How do worldviews and life values ​​relate? Worldview is a system of values ​​of a particular individual, formed according to the principle of “what is good and what is bad.” Worldview is formed from birth, from the first “dos” and “don’ts” said by parents.

Throughout his life, a person comes under the influence of different people, different social groups. Under the pressure of external influences, the system of life values ​​can shift in one direction or another, as a result of which the worldview also changes.

The determining role in shaping the worldview of a particular person is played by the foundations of the society in which this person is forced to live (we do not choose the place and time of birth).

Thus, the value system of an aborigine tribe of cannibals from the wilds of the Amazon is fundamentally different from the traditional values ​​of residents of civilized countries. This proves that it is the established value system of a particular society that shapes the worldview of each of its members.

But the worldview is not static. Let's remember Hitler - in just a few years he managed to “correct” the worldview of hundreds of thousands of people, convincing them that only the Aryan nation is worthy of living and ruling the rest of the world.

But the most notorious Nazis (who are they?), who destroyed millions of civilians, were once cute, plump babies, they were raised by respectable parents and the system of instilled values ​​was also quite respectable.

The influence of external factors and individuals on changing the foundations of society and the associated value system cannot be underestimated. This is exactly what history warns us about.

Table of material and spiritual values

What conclusions can we draw based on this table? You probably noticed that some values ​​are repeated. It turns out that they are all inseparable and are in close interaction with each other. They seem to form a single system of human values.

Family values

Family values ​​are traditions, actions, traits that are cultivated in an individual family and are partially passed on from generation to generation.

Why partially? Future spouses grow up and are raised in different families, with different family structures. Having created their own family, a husband and wife unite their habits, tastes, and culture. As a result, something from the family value system fades into the background, and something new appears.

But the main thing in the family value system remains unchanged:

1. trusting relationship;
2. mutual respect;
3. confidence that a loved one will come to the rescue in any difficult situation.

It happens that starting a family does not live up to expectations of finding a partner with whom you would like to live together until a ripe old age and raise children together. There is no need to despair, fate will certainly give you another try.

New material and spiritual values ​​in the 21st century

Each century has its own system of material and spiritual values. Of course, among them there are those that should always be relevant, regardless of time, for example, compassion, impartiality, decency, the need to live in peace and tranquility. But with the other part of the values, constant changes occur. Much depends on what country a person was born in, what his nationality is and what kind of terrain surrounds him.

Currently, one of the main values ​​is freedom. Freedom means self-expression and full self-realization in any area of ​​interest, which gives a person a feeling of confidence and makes a person want to live and move on.

Nowadays calls for human values ​​are very relevant. Different countries advocate social equality, protest against discrimination, and call for collective resolution of conflicts. But we must remember that freedom is also a great responsibility. If you gain freedom, then you must control your actions and actions; they should not interfere or harm someone else.

The question arises: in 21st century society, behavior patterns and value systems correspond to the idea that people are immediately born with a tendency towards friendliness and the desire for self-realization? Rather, in our world everyone wants to live comfortably here and now. Due to this, a person strives to receive an education, implement his plans, exchange thoughts and creative endeavors with those who are also interested. This model of behavior applies to absolutely everyone and does not depend on environmental factors.

But we will be able to talk about what new material and spiritual values ​​were important for us in the 21st century only after some time, or rather, already in the 22nd century. It is after this time that the whole meaning of what is happening will be revealed and conclusions will be drawn about what we were able to preserve and pass on to the next generation.

Types of values

Types of values ​​have different classifications and always depend on the field in which they are used, be it philosophy, axiology, sociology or political science. In psychology, values ​​are initially divided into material and intangible.

They in turn have many subgroups. The main criterion by which certain values ​​are formed in psychology is the degree of need for something.

All human aspirations can be divided into 5 classes:

• material;
• spiritual;
• social (social and professional);
• thermal;
• instrumental.

Material values

Material values ​​in psychology describe the cultural and moral needs of a person.

The formation of material assets is more influenced by:

• the environment and the ideals and aspirations widespread in it;
• personal reasons;
• social opportunities.

In the long term, material values ​​shape human life goals and motives for activity, and help determine the area of ​​employment and one’s own interests. The need to satisfy the needs for money and other material items of existence is different for each person.

People have different attitudes towards the desire to purchase their own home, means of transportation and other comfort items. But for many people, it is material values ​​that are the foundation for development.

After all, having provided material needs, a person can either stop developing, or begin to develop spiritual or social values, the balanced development of which is the basis for the harmonious existence of a person in society.

To talk about the triviality of satisfying material values ​​is fundamentally wrong. Despite the fact that each person simultaneously develops his own values ​​in different areas, if the issue of satisfying material values ​​is closed, the development of other values ​​occurs faster and with better quality.

On the other hand, not every person needs to have a lot of material wealth (for example, a monk), or, on the contrary, a person may not want to develop beyond the accumulation of material wealth. The vector of development is always individual aspirations, which are influenced by many different factors.

Spiritual values

Spiritual values ​​are one of the decisive factors that determine the behavior and aspirations of every person. The definition of a person’s spiritual values ​​refers to his needs, beyond material and physiological needs, that is, to the ethical, aesthetic and cognitive spheres of activity.

The main spiritual values ​​of a person include such aspects of existence as:

• the possibility of expression of will and creative implementation of one’s own ideas;
• manifestation of all selfless actions;
• intellectual development;
• awareness of social norms of behavior;
• showing respect for other members of society.

This category of values ​​is more abstract, since it is not aimed at achieving visible and prestigious manifestations of human actions, but rather refers to any intangible manifestation of human existence in the world.

The main goal of spiritual values ​​is to maintain willpower and morale in difficult moments and in conflict situations.

Social values

Social values ​​from a psychological point of view characterize any manifestations of interpersonal relationships.

They form optimal norms of behavior in the environment, helping to take a certain position in society, express one’s own opinion and evaluate what is happening, without fear of being judged by others.

Social values ​​are laid in the foundation of every person’s consciousness; future goals and aspirations for self-realization and satisfaction of one’s own needs grow from them.

Social values ​​are a set of complex attitudes, and psychologists distinguish their three-component structure, which influences the thinking, behavior and reactions of a person in the environment. The formation of a person’s social values ​​is influenced by the character and needs of a person, but they are a reaction to such environmental conditions.

Namely:

• historical context;
• cultural environment;
• having one’s own interests and searching for opportunities to manifest them in society.

Also, social values ​​have a wide sphere of influence. On the one hand, they extend to political, legal, economic and any other human activity in which he interacts with other people, that is, social values ​​regulate the system of behavior of weak ties in society.

On the other hand, social values ​​regulate the relationship of an individual in his professional activities, interpersonal relationships with family, friends and in relationships in a couple, that is, they determine the rules of behavior in a close communication environment.

The most striking examples of social values ​​that help maintain harmonious relationships are:

• Love;
• respect;
• friendship;
• kindness;
• devotion;
• utility;
• highest social ideals.

On the other hand, many people have negative social values, such as selfishness, aggression, hatred and envy.

Adhering to such criteria, each person tries not only to develop his own interest in life in society, he also tries to be useful to others.

Terminal and instrumental values

Thermal and instrumental values ​​in human psychology describe the optimal means of achieving goals and aspirations in life. They are the fundamental beliefs of the individual and form the vector of development of human aspirations and goals.

Thermal values ​​lay the foundation for understanding what a person strives for at one time or another in life. Instrumental values ​​relate more to the means and ways of achieving what is desired.

From a functional point of view, instrumental values ​​are realized as standards and criteria for one’s own behavior on the path to achieving thermal values. Instrumental values ​​evaluate conditions and plan steps to achieve final values.

So, for example, decorating a house is an instrumental value, and the resulting feeling of comfort is a thermal value. Playing sports is an instrumental value on the way to achieving the final (thermal) goal - good shape or improved health.

The golden mean between material and spiritual values

Some people cannot find a middle ground and therefore fall into despair. For some, the most important achievement and goal is material wealth, while others are completely dissolved in the search for peace of mind and believe that money is not so important. The most striking example of such a contrast is India. In this country, various conversations about philosophy and spiritual enrichment have always come first. And now we can observe that most local residents barely survive and vegetate in slums.

This is a reason to think and understand that you should always look for something in between and should no longer pay attention to certain values. Only the right balance will lead to harmony in everything.

Don’t believe those people who tell you that material wealth is not important at all, and spiritual enlightenment is everything. Most likely, such a person is simply sick or he is lying to you. It is quite possible that he simply chose this way of defending and justifying his failure.

Quite often, it is material problems that force people to pay more attention to spiritual development. They try to prove to themselves and others that everything is fine with them and they don’t need anything. But let us repeat that everything is good in moderation, and finding the golden mean is what you really need to work on.

Material wealth, and more specifically, money, will always be evil for those who try to forget themselves and close themselves in their illusory world, or are simply sick. Quite often, one thing just leads to another.

However, quite often people think that happiness is measured precisely in the amount of money. In the 21st century, everyone around is talking about material wealth and calling on you to earn more. But if you look at this issue, then everything is not so simple. Recently, tragedies have often occurred when more than wealthy people go crazy and commit suicide. At the same time, there are many opposite examples, when, without much income, a person lived a truly happy life.

The importance of personal values

Values ​​are a fundamental aspect of the formation of a person’s essence in personality psychology.

No less important is the fact that regardless of whether a person is aware of his own values ​​or not, they express the significance of his actions, determine the reliability of a person’s decisions, form the mechanisms of interaction with other people, and also are the basis for self-realization.

Values ​​in psychology play an important role in the development of a person’s individual character traits. Moreover, values ​​are the result of the interaction between an individual and the environment in which he lives.

Their development is influenced by the constant relationship between the influence of subjective perception and environmental factors:

• the family component as a fundamental aspect of unconscious copying of norms of behavior in society and cognitive models of information perception;
• media influence;
• group values ​​(religious, national, youth and political)
• social status of a person, his family;
• career success;
• educational activities (school, university, vocational education and hobbies);
• level of personal development, success of differentiation and maturation of a person.

Values ​​in human psychology are also a good explanation of his social, cultural and political behavior: in every area important to a person, values ​​perform a specific function of activity that helps to realize the desired and avoid the unacceptable.

Stable individual values ​​have a strong influence on such aspects of personality as:

• self-awareness and stress tolerance;
• understanding your own strengths and weaknesses and their development;
• understanding the social value of one’s own actions;
• ensuring a high level of communication and team activity;
• strategic planning, turning plans into reality;
• adequate analysis of what is happening;
• self-reflection and willingness to change.

Thus, the assimilation of certain values ​​occurs from early childhood, but due to the active rethinking of life experience, the values ​​of each person can change.

The main catalyst for such changes is new life experience, the process of active rethinking of what is happening, changes in the needs and subjective perception of a person.

Thus, at the level of individual consciousness, values ​​govern a person’s life and activity, underlie any assessments and perceptions, and also influence final decisions.

Life values

Einstein gave a very succinct definition of life values:

Life values ​​(VVs), which are a priority for a particular person, shape his character. Therefore, a person is a product of the life values ​​that he follows.

All life cycles can be grouped into 2 groups:

1. personal life, family, relationships with people, i.e. spiritual and moral values;
2. work (business), welfare;

It happens that certain events in life force a person to rethink his life values.

The Great Patriotic War became such an event in the fate of our grandparents. For the boys and girls of that time, all their life aspirations faded into the background; the main thing became to survive in inhuman conditions and defeat the enemy.

In our relatively peaceful times, a variety of events can force you to rethink your own system of life values: the birth of a child, the death of a loved one, starting a family, serious illness, financial difficulties, etc.