"Awe" is the two sides of the same state, respect for the heart and fear for the outside;

But this fear is not "fear" but a kind of shock after clear recognition. The psychological state of respect, respect and self-restraint is the integration of "surprise-reverence-belief" with respect;

And the respect in "awe" is also oriented to the all-encompassing and solemn heart of human beings, holding The same mental state.

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"Written on the Edge of Chinese" - "Being in awe"

This post was last published by Yuan Weixing on 2012-12-13 12: 35 Editor

Introduction Definition of Awe

Kant, the epoch-making philosopher in the history of modern Western philosophy, has a famous saying:

“There are two things. When thought about, they fill the mind with ever-increasing admiration and awe: the starry sky above me and the moral law in my heart."

This sentence spans the east-west barrier, Through the long river of time, it is still the motto of people's spiritual life.

In this sentence, we need to grasp a key word: awe.

What is "awe"? It means "both respect and fear". This is a person's emotional attitude towards things, which includes the dual emotional connotations of "respect" and "fear": "respect" means respect, respect, and courtesy, and "fear" means fear, timidity, and trembling. Here, "respect" reflects an attitude towards life, a pursuit of value, and a respect for the personification of things; "fear" is a warning limit for behavior and a kind of self-discipline of one's own words and deeds. It is a kind of self-restraint against irregular behavior. Awe is an attitude, a concept, a character, a realm, a kind of introspection, a kind of restraint, but also a kind of worry, a kind of wisdom, a kind of sensitivity, a kind of principle, and a kind of consciousness. In a word, it is the natural externalization of inner spiritual realm and value pursuit.

Looking at the 5,000-year history of Chinese civilization, people will understand that reverence is the essence of Chinese ethics and morality, the foundation of being a human being, the way to achieve things, the virtue of politics, and the foundation of governing the country. In our country, the ancients have long had incisive discussions on "reverence": there is a good saying that "a gentleman cultivates prudence through fear"; there is a saying that "those who are good at fear must be righteous, speak according to rules, act within limits, and occasionally violate the rules." There is the famous saying "Those who are fearful will have their families in order; those who are fearless will be neglected"; there is the optimistic view that "those who fear the law are the happiest"; there is the "gentleman's view" The powerful image of thunder is the warning of self-cultivation and self-examination through fear. A gentleman who is afraid of the power of heaven will correct his body, think about his mistakes, and correct them." "If you are fearless, you will do what you want and it will lead to disaster." There is the advice that "a gentleman has three fears: fear of destiny, fear of great people, and fear of the words of saints"; "Integrity", "a small person is not like this, a big heart will be slow and violent, and a careful person will be lustful and unrestrained"; there is the habit of "the heart of a gentleman is always in awe". ． ． ． ． ．

"Awe" in the Chinese context is often associated with "moral example". Confucius once said: "A gentleman has three fears: fear of the destiny, fear of the great, and fear of the words of the sages; fear of the villain who does not know the destiny, and fear of the words of the sages." "Destiny" is sacred to people and cannot be easily achieved. The "adult" is the bearer of the "mandate of heaven" and the representative of the social and political order; the "sage" is the interpreter of the "mandate of heaven" and the expressor of the order of the human heart. In reality, the awe of "Heaven" has transformed into the awe of "adults" and "sages". The object of Chinese people's awe is directed at moral models, which is realistic and concrete. People believe that as long as they express their respect for adults and saints, The awe of heaven must express the awe of heaven, because adults and saints are its spokespersons in reality. The "fear" here is proactive, and "fear" is derived from "respect". Between "respect" and "fear", "respect" is the cause and "fear" is the effect. "Fear" here does not simply refer to a kind of fear and obedience, but refers to a kind of active restriction and reflection on one's own behavior in order to realize life ideals and beliefs. It is a kind of moral self-discipline and expresses a kind of dissatisfaction. For the spirit.

In the Western context, "fear" often starts with "fear of God". The English King James Version of the Bible "Proverbs" says, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom"; the Bible "Hebrews" says, "Therefore, since we have received a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us give thanks and do what pleases God." and serve God with a heart of piety and reverence.” God, God, and Jehovah are secret, which makes fear have no concrete and observable object of intention. Since the intended object is immeasurable, it cannot become the value orientation of those who fear God. Fearing God does not mean wishing to become God, but restraining one's words and deeds according to God's requirements because of fear of God's punishment. Of course, this kind of fear is a fear connected with respect. If it is not connected with respect, then this kind of fear is no different from the instinctive fear of animals. In the Western context, between "respect" and "fear", "fear" is the cause and "respect" is the effect, and the order is irreversible.

However, whether in the East or the West, science and technology have advanced by leaps and bounds since mankind entered the industrial society. As a highly creative productivity factor, science and technology have put people's lives on the road to modernization. .

At the same time, affected by the progress of science and technology, people's spiritual world has also undergone some fundamental changes. What is more obvious is that the concepts of "only science and technology come first" and "only self first" gradually occupy people's hearts. Blindly regard conquering nature and transforming society as its only value pursuit. Under the guidance of this value concept, people have become narrow-minded and selfish, and instrumental thinking has become rampant. They have begun to focus only on themselves and what they can control and master, but they have neglected to examine their hearts and emotions. In pursuit of value, as well as listening to and paying attention to others other than themselves, people begin to appear "unscrupulous" and unable to adhere to their inner value order. The impact this has on individual psychological growth and moral and emotional development is prominently manifested in a weak sense of awe and a lack of awe.

In the past, there was an old saying that everyone knows. It said: "There is a blue sky three feet above the head." There is also: "There is a god three feet above the head. Don't be afraid of others and know yourself." Further, words More importantly, the Tao is "people can be bullied, but God cannot be bullied", or "people are doing it, and God is watching." There are so many aphorisms with the same meaning, which means that we should act with reverence. We don’t have to believe in the gods of heaven and earth, but we must believe in moral laws. We must revere life. Life is the greatest miracle in the universe. The greatest sin in the world is to take life innocently.

We must respect nature. Man is the son of nature. On the whole, he can only conform to nature and cannot conquer or dominate nature. No matter what great civilization humans create, nature will always be greater than humans.

We must respect laws and regulations. Laws and regulations are the basic guarantee for the development of human society. Without them, our society would be like an unchecked flood that would overwhelm everything.

We must respect social ethics. Social morality is a concentrated expression of the moral principles, cultural concepts and ideological traditions accumulated by a country, a nation or a group in long-term social practice. The decline of its binding force on people's behavior will lead to the chaos of the basic social order. .

We must respect traditional culture. In addition to differences in natural environment and race, the main differences between countries and regions in the world are differences in tradition and culture. We should respect our traditions and culture because they constitute our identity as Chinese people.

We must respect history. History refers to the overall development process of nature and human society, as well as the development of something and personal experience. In other words, history is the facts of the past. To revere history is to revere the present. If you respect history, you will be responsible for the present. If you are responsible for history, history will be responsible for you.

We must respect public opinion. Public opinion means the people's wishes, people's needs, people's judgments, people's voices, people's public opinion, and people's trust. Public opinion is not a plaything kneaded in the hands of officials. Public opinion is not water. It changes with the change of the container that holds it. It cannot be molded or deceived.

We must revere our faith. Faith is an extreme belief and respect for a certain idea, doctrine, religion or person, and uses it as a guide or example for one's actions. In this world, there is always a kind of faith that makes us full of strength, and there is always a kind of strength that makes us move forward.

In short, the times require us to be in awe.