THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE FREE PERSON

THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE FREE PERSON

Chapter One

The Landscape

The situation we observe today, in my view, is this: the sense of responsibility has diminished among the older generation; they do not feel accountable for the future and the morals of the younger generation, especially of their own children.

This truth reveals itself to us in the following picture: the young men and women coming out of school — both those who have just finished school and those who have completed university — cannot picture their future in any form; that is the first point. The second aspect is that young people, collectively and individually, en masse and one by one, are growing up unaware of the rules of conduct and manners that determine their worth, their value as human beings — or, to put it in modern language, of the basic skills that reveal human culture.

When young people eager to seek and know themselves begin to come of age, they face the question: who am I, and how should I live? Searching for an answer, they look about them and fix their eyes on everyone. They witness the pleasure of lust awakening in their bodies and the disorder in society, the way nobody cares about anybody, the way people deceive one another and wound one another, and they shrug and freeze for a while.

They take an interest in various sources and, relying on their nature and family environment, on the first impressions and feelings they encounter, gradually begin to shape their principles of life. They see the red lines in society — what is allowed and what is not. The most curious thing is that today red lines remain only in politics, nothing more.

Almost all the other red lines have been crossed, and they are being erased too. People raise a hue and cry over the moral — or, more precisely, customary — red lines that have grown extremely weak.

This is the world young people open their eyes to: everyone is chasing fun and laughter, no one agrees to hardship and difficulty, humanity is burning with passion to create as much comfort and luxury as possible; there is an overabundance of food; drinks of every kind; everything is delivered to the doorstep. People’s happiness and bliss, joy and gladness are measured by three things: wealth, pleasure and fame. Everyone says: if only I were rich.

If only I had lots of money, they say. If only I could buy a car for a lot of money, build a tall house, have soft beds, have beautiful furnishings, and so on. If only my eyes and body could delight in the things gained through this wealth — delicious food, sweet drinks, rest by the seashore, sport for the beauty of the body, and beautiful partners within reach!

And then, if only everyone knew and applauded me — how this comes about does not matter; the main thing is that people be impressed, point at me and say, what a famous person! That is why they run blogs, prepare all kinds of content, sing songs, dance, voice opinions that draw everyone’s attention on issues the public finds interesting; they poke their noses into every problem, whether it concerns them or not.

Every condition is in place to fulfill these desires: gyms, concerts, music and singing contests, festivals, social networks and incentives. However vulgar you are, no one will rebuke you. Whatever stunt comes to mind, you will not be punished — so long as your action is not written into the statute books under the name of a crime. Even if you commit a crime, it is as though hardly any hardship remains in it: if you kill someone, for example, you are jailed for 20 years.

Apart from the fact that in prison you cannot leave one place, food and drink are taken care of. A meeting with your loved ones every three months. You wouldn’t have seen them all that often in freedom anyway. The state feeds a murderer like you for free. On top of that, governments in the West even make demands: we protect the rights of convicted criminals, let them sleep on snow-white feather pillows. And so on.

In this context, the first question that occupies a young man or woman now growing up is this: “How can I work and earn money?”

Becoming a human being, defining principles of life falls by the wayside. The question of survival comes first.

Of course, the question of who I am and how I should live gets solved along the way: I am a social creature; I must work; to work I must have a profession; to master my profession I must study; to study I need diligence and patience, I need my parents’ money, I must make good connections, I must be hardworking and energetic, I must not upset the boss, I must get along with people, I must dress well, let my figure be in shape, let me not get fat, let me look smart, let me be a good talker, I must discover my status, I can’t afford to make enemies!

Let us add: let me not come down with an incurable disease, let my reputation not be ruined.

The question of why you are living disappears in this crush, because the process is so fast that there is no chance to stop and think for a moment: be quick, run, don’t be late, make money, celebrate, party, buy clothes, go to school, get your driver’s license, prepare for university, study, memorize, pass the exam, write your term paper!.. and so on.

If you fall behind in any of these things, you are finished: you become the most backward member of society: nobody remembers you, nobody invites you to gatherings, nobody respects you, nobody is interested in your content on Instagram.

On top of that, the voices of finger-length cockerel preachers who hatched from the egg only yesterday never stop shouting: gain soft skills; work on yourself; win a grant to a foreign university; read lots of books; set your goal clearly; jump in every direction until you find your place! — I have done all of this, look, follow my example! (in fact, I am lazier than a dog and filthier than a pig; what I am saying is just my character in the show)

And so everyone’s eyes are glued to the virtual world; one may break away from it to eat, dress, work and relieve oneself, but even in those moments it is impossible to tear oneself away from the virtual world:

“Society must awaken politically! Let’s be politically active! Look, John Locke... Look, Montesquieu... Look, the power of the powerless... This is the crystallized form of society’s thought... Political tautology and nepotism... One must distinguish between democratic principles and liberal views and an excessively conservative approach...”

“You are suffering the curse of the sins your ancestors committed... I will heal you... Get rid of your childhood traumas... Forgive everyone... Write all your sins on a single sheet of paper...”

“Women are oppressed by their husbands... Make time for yourself... You are a woman, don’t forget that...”

“The main issue is intimate life... We are ashamed of it... There’s no need to be ashamed, after all, this is life...”

“Society must think freely... Those who put obstacles in the way of thinking should be crushed under an asphalt-laying tractor... A biomass of forty million doesn’t understand creativity... Art for art’s sake... Paintings are for looking at, music is for listening to, poems are for reading...”

Of course, even quotations like these cannot capture all the noise that fills the virtual world, for there are senseless vines, songs as tasteless as their owners, and babble that is hard even to put into words, which it seems pointless even to classify; yet all these things today go round and round in the heads of almost everyone like an echo in a cave.

A pitch-black thicket. Night. Tree trunks, bushes tangled together, swamps; chirping and wheezing sounds are heard. The light of the moon in the sky barely passes through the thick branches and falls onto the forest floor.

At that moment a sudden thud is heard: from somewhere, simply out of nothingness, a brain and a heart, joined to each other as a single body, fall to the ground. Suddenly the surroundings start to hum: countless jackals, wild dogs, foxes and other predators spring out from among the trees and bushes. All of them want to make the brain and the heart their prey.

The brain gets up and shakes the dust off itself. The heart beats steadily. These two do not yet know these predators, and so they are not afraid. They look at everyone in wonder; everything seems interesting. Among them there are also all kinds of snakes: cobras, grass snakes, yellow snakes, black snakes, arrow snakes...

Strangely, none of them can attack the brain and the heart, because the brain and the heart become the prey of whichever of these animals they are drawn to; and so all the savage beasts show off their tricks: if only they could lure the brain and the heart after them...

The respected reader has probably understood the meaning of this scene: the brain and the heart are today’s child; the pitch-black forest is the virtual world; the predators are the sorcerers of the virtual world. Whichever predator the young heart falls captive to, it may have no chance to discover any truth at its root.

Why am I living? How should I live? What is peace of mind? Who is man? What is humaneness? Where is justice? What is truth?..

Such questions remain open. Tomorrow, the young man or woman, grown up and with a hardened mind, will care only for the body.

While they are still young, while their soul has not yet darkened, while their heart has not yet fallen ill, while their nafs has not yet chained them, they must understand everything. They must remain a free person. To be a free person, they are compelled to study systematically everything that has been said about the world, life and man.

I wonder, has mankind only now ended up in the situation described? How was it in history? How did the gradual change unfold?..

Akrom MALIK