How today to distinguish true mercy and humanity from false? First you need to understand what is generally humanity. Is it a way to achieve your own goals or a character trait that every real person should have? Can humanity be learned and how to do it? How is it different from philanthropy?
What is humanity
Humanity is a concept that embraces a love of humanity, a willingness to help people in difficult life situations, a humane worldview and the ability to commit acts of self-sacrifice for the sake of another. It simultaneously includes ordinary humanity, that is, the potential presence of people around people of a good, unbiased attitude towards other people, the absence of anger towards them.
Humanity is largely a philosophical category. It has been known to the world since time immemorial and has always been regarded as a blessing; Thus, the examples of manifestation of humanity that exist in history are set as an example for the younger generation, while older people are valued and respected.
What is philanthropy
Philanthropy is a more narrow-minded concept, which includes committing charitable assistance specifically to those in need, as well as providing support in the name of a general improvement in living standards. This term was widely used in the Enlightenment; subsequently, depending on the particular country and the policies pursued in it, the concept was filled with different content and constantly changed.
True philanthropy is not always characteristic of a philanthropist: it is worth turning to a work of culture in order to understand this. For example, in the famous Harry Potter series of books by Joan Rowling, Lucius Malfoy, Draco's father, donated generous amounts to the Ministry of Magic, but as a result, this did not stop him from speaking out on the side of evil in the war. The same can be seen in the cycle “Song of Ice and Fire”, on which the famous television series “Game of Thrones” was shot. Here, one of the heroines, Margery Tyrell, used charity and help to those in need in order to create in the eyes of society the image of the ideal queen, improve her image and raise her profile.
Similarities and differences
From the above sections, it becomes obvious that love for a person is not always identical to philanthropy, which often serves as a cover for achieving one's own, usually socially condemned and unworthy goals. The famous British writer Oscar Wilde generally believed that it is impossible to lean too heavily on philanthropy, otherwise you will lose all love for a person. Through the lips of one of his book heroes, Lord Henry, he said: "Philanthropists, carried away by charity, lose all philanthropy."
Today, there is an ever-increasing growth of “toxic charity” - a destructive branch of philanthropy, whose participants are not guided by their own internal principles and views while providing assistance, support, participation in socially useful actions. They do this in order to cash in on more gullible citizens who are ready to immediately donate money to the newly created fund simply because everyone does it. In this case, philanthropy is not help, but harm to the entire charity movement.
Be that as it may, modern history knows real examples of the manifestation of selfless and not requiring anything in return for mercy and compassion.
An example of humanity from life … And not even one!
Sympathy was shown by military orderly R. Barnett, who in 2003 was imprinted with a child in her arms. It would seem that this is unusual? The fact is that everything happened in Iraq, and the child was not Richard. The baby's family died in a shootout.
The following example is striking in how humanity can help throw away a bloody feud that has lasted for years. So, on the Global Network there is a photo in which doctors with dark skin rescue a representative of the Ku Klux Klan, a community whose main principle is discrimination and the fight against the black population.
Another case: in 2013 in Egypt, the most ordinary woman was the only one to stand in front of a wounded demonstrator, on whom a military bulldozer was moving, in order to protect the youth literally with her body.
Another surviving photograph depicts a French soldier who helps a Spanish woman and her children bring their belongings to a safe place after they crossed the border during the 1938 civil war.
One of the historical photos managed to capture a German soldier who was bandaging a wounded Russian girl in a trench. The time taken to create the picture is 1941.
By the way, today numerous cases of manifestation of humanity in wartime are known not only in relation to people, but also to four-legged friends of a person. So, in one of the photos, American soldiers with caution bandage the dog’s wounds. The picture was taken in 1944. Similarly, the animal, but, in this case, already a kitten, was helped by Frank Preitor. In the photo, he feeds a kitten from a pipette obtained somewhere, since the mother of the newborn died under fire, and there was no one to take care of him. This is the war in Korea, 1953.
Famous quotes by philosophers and cultural figures about philanthropy
Thanks to the above examples, it becomes clear that philanthropy is a much broader concept than it might seem at first glance. In fact, this is love for any manifestation of life in general, the ability to sympathize, come to the rescue when it is necessary, cast aside prejudices and hold out a saving hand.
Philosophers and artists have spoken of mercy like this:
- "Humanity is a meaningful feeling; only education develops and strengthens it." (Claude Adrian Helvetius).
- "To overcome oneself and return to what is proper in oneself is what true humanity is. To be human or not to be - it depends only on ourselves." (Confucius).
- "In everything and always showing humanity, we will forever preserve the memory of our appearance." (George Alexandrov).
