The famous German philosopher of the nineteenth century - Arthur Schopenhauer believed that will is the fundamental substance and in the world it is omnipresent. The will manifests itself in every aspect of life: the crown of a tree reaches for the light, the grass breaks through the asphalt, a man strives for self-knowledge and self-realization. The concept of voluntarism, often sounds with a negative connotation due to blind worship in due time to ruling individuals, beginning with the history of the ancient world (Egyptian pharaohs, Babylonian kings and priests) and ending with modern history (A. Hitler, B. Mussolini, N. S. Khrushchev, LI Brezhnev).
What does voluntarism mean?
The word voluntarism comes from the Latin Voluntas - freedom, will. For the first time the term was used by the sociologist F.Tennis at the end of the XIX century. What does voluntarism mean - actions in all spheres of life, including politics, social life - based on subjective representation, own will and ignoring the person's objective real conditions.
What is voluntarism - this question with its nuances correspond to different branches of science. The unifying driving factor is the will, as opposed to the intellect. Ignoring the objective conditions leads to disastrous results for society and the country as a whole. The term is often used in the political, philosophical and psychological spheres.
Voluntarism in philosophy
Voluntarism in philosophy is an idealistic direction that assigns the main role to human or divine will in the development of society, nature and being as a whole. The founders of the current were thinkers and philosophers: Augustine, F. Nietzsche, A. Bergson, A. Schopenhauer, I. Skott, E. Gartman. Following the allegory - philosophical voluntarism personifies the struggle of the individual or nature with circumstances. In A. Schopenhauer voluntarism goes in close connection with pessimism. The world processes of the Philosopher, based on the source of the blind and unconscious will, were considered meaningless.
Voluntarism in Psychology
Will, as a cosmic force, which determines all the mental processes of man. Further under the influence of this trend of philosophy - deep psychology is formed (psychoanalysis of Freud, analytical psychology of CG Jung). The supporter of voluntarism, the psychologist W. Wundt believed that the individual's mental activity is the highest expression of the volitional act.
What does voluntarism in psychology stand for? Western psychologists of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries (G. Munsterberg, W. James) interpreted the will as the dominant factor over mental functions. Voluntarism as interpreted the effect of a special higher irrational, mostly unconscious force or essence, which drives the behavior of a person and causes his actions.
Voluntarism in Sociology
What is voluntarism in the social aspect? Sociology, as a science, studies many factors in the development of society and the individual. The concept of voluntarism is considered in the study of the sociology of behavior of the masses and its regularities. Research of motives and intentions of individuals, which are voluntary and individual moral choice. The realization of the desired in this case is not based on objective circumstances and does not take into account the possible consequences.
Voluntarist - who is this?
The famous phrase of the Sun King Louis XIV: The state is me! characterizes the ruler of France as a voluntarist. History from antiquity to the present offers many examples of the destructive influence of voluntaristic ideas. The voluntarist, in his subjective desire to realize what he wants, believes that following him society will benefit everyone. Any means are good for achieving. The personality of the voluntarist at the same time extolled, rises - this phenomenon known as the cult of personality was especially clearly manifested in the twentieth century. Well-known voluntarists:
- Caligula - the famous Roman emperor - dictator. Ruined the country. He suggested using the usual sea shells as money.
- Louis XIV - uttered the phrase: After us, even the deluge! The desire for luxury, entertainment - ruined the treasury and led France to decline.
- N.S. Khrushchev - the unsuccessful development of vacant lands, the desire to overtake and surpass the US, the erection of the Berlin Wall.
Voluntarism and fatalism
The principles of voluntarism are, in fact, the opposite of fatalism, and if voluntarism takes first place to the will, then fatalism is faith in everything is predetermined from above. Fatalists are people who do not recognize their active role in the creative process of beingness and the main role is assigned to gods and destiny. Fatalism and Voluntarism - worldview systems emerged from mythological and philosophical representations.