What is a conviction? This is a negative assessment of the behavior, appearance or lifestyle of another person through the prism of their own concepts about the norm and based on the personal experience of the judge. This concept is closely connected with such definitions as “slander” and “gossip”, however it is characterized by comparative conclusions, against which the convict tries to look better than his “victim”.
What it is?
The conviction of most people that they have the right to their opinion in evaluating someone else’s life is based on their confidence in their own infallibility, which Morois Andre wrote about: “Everyone is sure that the rest are wrong when they judge him, and that he himself not mistaken when judging the rest. " The notorious position of "just retribution" is most noticeable when the condemning himself badly needs a vowel and public confirmation of his "perfection", and precisely when he least deserves it.
So what is a person’s judgment? Ideally, one would consider the sincere intention of one object to indicate the erroneous action of another in order to adjust the model of its behavior. However, in reality, the constant and painful dissatisfaction with oneself has taken root in human nature so much that the need to condemn, strike morally, and humiliate has become akin to the need to rise, and even took on the form of a synonym for this definition. What is condemnation and how does it help self-actualization of the pagan?
Why would people try on the role of God?
Every day, consciously or not, but each person tries on the role of a judge from the Higher Mind, acting as an accuser on an uncountable number of issues that do not concern him at all. Trying to eradicate this trait in oneself is completely useless, since it is the dark side of any rational being. But too keen on searching for a speck in the eyes of others, it would be nice to recall the words of T. Solovyeva that "only those who have not even a hint of success in their life judge the loser".
What is a conviction? This is a sentence imposed on the basis of one's own view of justice. And justice, as well as its framework and the main tags, each person has his own, albeit with some common features, but convenient for him personally. Can these specific quantities be applied to someone else? Of course not. But a person does this by almost losing control over the sense of proportion and not noticing that the negative projected directly on the opponent has long been his personal outlook on life.
Reasons for Condemnation
The motive in condemning the actions of another person may not be connected in any way with his behavior, and in general, only indirectly relate to the object. Often the opponent is chosen almost by random selection, and the direct reason for the evil tongue lies in the low self-esteem of the judge, who thus decided to compensate for their discontent by belittling the chosen “victim”.
Other reasons to put someone else's life on public display may include:
- outdated concepts and values (for example, the unacceptability of a couple's marriage before marriage);
- lack of objectivity and narrow view on various circumstances;
- envy pushing to belittle other people's virtues;
- the method of manipulating the opinions of others (imputation to a person of guilt or responsibility);
- the denial of their shortcomings by emphasizing and exaggerating flaws in another person.
And finally, a common cause of censure and condemnation is considered banal boredom and the absence of other topics for conversation. Basically, the manner of communicating through implicit condemnation (in the form of empathy) is inherent in the fairer sex.
Church point of view
What is condemnation in Orthodoxy? The Church treats such a vice as slander against the neighbor very strictly, reasonably believing that one of the most serious mortal sins - pride - is hiding in the desire to condemn another person. A condemning man cannot remain impartial, nor is he capable of humility, which is obligatory for a Christian.
In the words known to every adult, “Do not judge, let not you be judged!” The whole essence of the Orthodox view of a controversial issue is concluded. Man is naturally prone to idealization, but this condition is dangerous by the presence of a shadow side. It is impossible to point out someone’s perfection without emphasizing someone’s flaws, and the comparison takes place at a reflex level. The mother praises her child, implying that other children are less gifted and obedient, the husband admires the economic wife, condemning the less troublesome neighbor.
The church teaches: each person must first of all take care of himself, of his actions. None of the people is so perfect as not to cast shadows, but if everyone thinks to himself that he is worthy of forgiveness, then it would be normal to apply the same position in relation to others.
Condemnation and conviction - is there any difference?
What is moral condemnation, if not a statement of the fact of someone else's imperfection? In the origin of accusatory morality, despite the fact that outwardly these concepts seem similar, other motives should be sought. The accuser does not seek to “work for the public,” because his goal is to correct the person, not to expose him in an unsightly form.
The Gospel of Matthew quotes the words of Jesus, which fully disclose the meaning and delicacy of such a step as reproof: “If your brother sins, go and convict him between you and him alone ...” The reproof should benefit the sinned and in no case serve to exalt the truth . In some cases, especially if the accuser feels anger or hostility towards the opponent, it is better to refrain from intelligible speech.
It is dangerous to act as a convict to someone who leads an immoral lifestyle and is prone to petty passions. Even a vain layman, stocked with good intentions, risks in his convictions lowering himself to condemnation, causing a wound to the sinner and even more hardened himself.
Condemnation as legal liability
What is legal conviction? This is a recompense to a person for his misconduct, made in court and in accordance with the legislation of the country of residence of the defendant. The fact of the appointment of punitive measures in relation to the convicted person indicates the proof of his guilt in full or in part.
A convicted person, depending on the preventive measures chosen by the court, may temporarily lose the right to freedom of movement, exit from his country, and conduct his previous activities. In special cases, the seizure of property owned by him, the deprivation of parental rights or any privileges assigned earlier (allowances, benefits, etc.) is provided for.
Conditional conviction
What is conditional conviction, is still the subject of controversy among jurists. So, some lawyers attribute the punishment, left without actual execution, to the methods of preventive influence on the object, while others see a measure of criminal law nature a real threat to human well-being. The last moment affects mainly the moral and ethical side of the life of the punished.
Conditionally convicted persons are obliged to regularly provide information about themselves to the executive inspection bodies; he cannot leave the country without special permission, change his place of residence. In addition, the convicted person, when making a decision in court, has a number of duties designed to serve to correct the offender, as well as to limit his stay where it can harm others (or someone specifically).
What is condemnation in social science
In a science such as social studies, much attention is paid to the concept of social control, which can also be called regulation of the position of the individual in the group of his belonging. The public is always sensitive to the manifestations of deviant (distorted) behavior of individuals. Depending on the area in which a violation of social norms was discovered, society, through the existing control mechanisms, takes appropriate measures to eliminate the factors of failure.
Sociologists call the following forms of manifestation of public control:
- Internal - a person himself controls his actions, taking as a model the norms of behavior adopted in his society. The indicator of control in this case is the conscience of the individual.
- External - control is carried out by the public, using such levers of moral or legal condemnation as publicity, reprimand, court decision or complete (partial) isolation of an individual from social life.
It is proved that the lower a person develops a sense of self-control, the more likely it is that he will have to face the harsh influence of public control institutions (court, attention of supervisory authorities, compulsory treatment, etc.).
How to get rid of the manner of condemning everyone
If we explain in simple words what moral condemnation is, it turns out that this is a criticism of a derogatory property, coming from a person with one purpose - to expose an opponent in an unattractive light. Censuring, a person cannot be objective, because the assessment of the behavior of the “victim” put forth by him comes from a set of his own values, which no longer allows him to be impartial.
The habit of condemning everything around looks very ugly from the side. If a person understands his shortcoming and seeks to get rid of him, he needs to learn to control his thoughts and realize common truths:
- perfect mistakes form the experience of a person, therefore they are an indispensable part of the life of every person;
- Before decrying the behavior or appearance of another person, one should look at the situation with his eyes and from the top of his experience - perhaps he could not have acted otherwise;
- stereotypical thinking is a serious obstacle to understanding the motives of other people;
- the habit of condemning, as well as envy, is born out of idleness, therefore the main recipe for self-improvement lies in constant employment;
- one who condemns should always remember that he, too, can become the object of unflattering comments, especially from his former “victims”.
The need to see faults in other people often originates from one's own low self-esteem, therefore, without adjusting one's own behavior one cannot get rid of a habit.
A simple story with morality
So what is conviction? In conclusion, we can recall the old story, often used in the sermons of moralists, about a certain family that moved to a new home. A woman who was a wife and mother in this family was known as a good housewife and did not miss the opportunity to boast of her ability to do household chores.
And so, the heroine of the story began to notice that the woman from the house opposite was hanging clothes on the clothesline every day, streaked with dirty stains. Every time this happened, the evil-spoken wife called her husband to the window and told him that their neighbor was a completely worthless hostess, unlike her, so attentive and caring.
This went on for a week, until one morning the gossip girl saw the neighbor again hanging up the laundry, only this time white as fresh snow. Surprised, she again called her husband and shared this news with him. What did he answer? That, tired of his wife’s eternal injustice, he just got up early that day and cleaned up the dirty window through which the grumpy mistress looked into the neighbor’s yard.
I would like to summarize today's topic with the words of William Shakespeare: “You are trying so hard to judge the sins of others, start with yours and you won’t get to strangers!” If all people, before they condemned and brought to public display, the shortcomings of their neighbor, thought about their own cons, in the world there would be much less negativity and reason for contention.