An interesting question on the agenda today: what is positive? Do not say that you have never heard of such a thing. Because “positive” and “adequate” are quite popular speech turns. The latter does not concern us today, but there will be a detailed discussion about the former.
Positive, negative and camera
Now, when almost everything is switching to digital technologies, people have begun to forget: positive and negative are concepts that are primarily associated with pictures. We will reveal their content.
A negative is a film (or plate) that contains an inverse image of a photographed scene.
A positive is a photographic image in which the distribution of hues (in black and white photography) and colors (in color) corresponds to a similar distribution in the subject of reality that the person was shooting.
But it is, for general development. The reader is hardly interested in photography. Firstly, because digital technology actually killed the negative and the whole old photography process. At least for the masses. And secondly, we are now interested in a completely different meaning of these words (negative and positive).
English-Russian dictionary
We still need to understand what positive is. Therefore, we will open a good English-Russian dictionary and read the corresponding translation of the word positive:
- positive;
- positive;
- sure;
- certain;
- forced;
- accurate;
- real;
- absolute;
- in the full sense of the word;
- reliable.
Possible translations of the word are given here, but English is contextual in the sense that the word may show meanings that are not in the dictionary. But this is another story.
As we can see, most of the definitions “sew” a word to objective reality in the same way as the vocabulary of professional photographers. It is all the more interesting to know what positive is in Russian realities.
Value
In the classical explanatory dictionaries of this word, of course, it is impossible to detect, but can this really stop ardent researchers? Never! Let us cite the modern meaning of the words “positive” and “negative”.
Positive is something that causes positive emotions, requires a positive assessment and / or approval. Yes, an important detail: while the word is considered slang.
For example, this video with kittens is very positive .
Thus, it is not difficult to establish what is negative. This is what causes negative emotions or they themselves. Example: there is one negative in the news .
I would like to develop this idea of confronting optimism and pessimism, which are now dressing up in new clothes of positive and negative thinking, but we are forced to stop at the station “Slovo-analogy” so as not to be distracted by anything.
Synonyms
What is positive, probably already understood? It is also clear that in Russian it is rather difficult to select meaningful analogues, because the definition covers a variety of phenomena and events with a plus sign. In Russian, the object of research is extremely blurred, if it comes to its meaning, but nevertheless we will try to give the reader some replacements. So:
- wondrous;
- kindness;
- location;
- positive rating;
- good;
- life affirming;
- benevolence;
- goodwill.
It is clear that the reader is interested in the synonyms of “positive”, but the meaning of this word depends to a great extent on the context, so its replacement is an attempt to catch a certain mood. Let's hope we succeeded.
New Stimulator - “Positive”
Now it’s fashionable to develop, lead a healthy lifestyle, see the bright sides in everything. Previously, it was called "optimism", and now - "positive thinking." For example, a car was stolen from a person, and he thinks: “That's good, finally I will buy a bicycle and I will save the environment from exhaust emissions.”
The main postulate of this kind of people is to look for something positive in everything. Failures should not oppress a person, for all this is only a lesson, and a total and inevitable victory can be seen somewhere on the horizon, like communism in its time.
A strange expression “to be on the positive side” appeared in the language, it is not difficult to unravel the meaning of the word in this construction: to see the bright side in everything. Moreover, supporters of the new doctrine are very aggressive. If a person is gloomy, gloomy and overly critical of reality, then he is offered to take courses where he will be taught the art of positive thinking. And he will completely change: the sun will also rejoice, read mantras about how to live well in the world.
And here’s a strange thing: why, if all these aspirations are so good on their own, is it very scary to live in such a society?
One thing is for sure: when a person is "on the positive," the criticality of his thinking decreases, and then disappears completely, as if it did not exist. Moreover, this is not our conclusion, the analysis of anti-utopias pushes this conclusion. A concrete example is Aldous Huxley's O Brave New World.
Negative Society
If the reader knows the content of the novel, then he will understand what it is about, and if not, then you should familiarize yourself with such an epoch-making creation. The first synonym for “positive” as a concept is the word “wonderful”. Of course, this is both a tribute to the Russian and English languages.
But what happened in a society in which need was defeated, both psychological and physical? It became perfect, and people stopped:
- think;
- be in love;
- empathize;
- to grieve;
- suffer;
- getting old.
The list does not seem to look so bad, only three top positions are of concern. The utopian society of Huxley destroyed family ties: “mother” and “father” - the words in that society were almost obscene, very indecent, and sexual freedom and entertainment prevailed. Meeting someone for more than a month is highly immoral! Children are raised in an incubator, and so that they already prepare in advance for specific activities in life. Labor remained only as a way of engaging people who do not know how else to spend their time.
Only a stranger or savage did not see anything beautiful in such a life, as he is called in the novel. The hero was raised in a traditional way, although in not the best conditions. He saw the horror of such a society in which "human, too human" died, and even death is no longer such a tragedy. People leave painlessly and easily, without lamentations and tears.
It is now clear what positive is and how terrible it is if the mindset of a certain thinking is brought to its logical end?
Optimism and pessimism
If the reader thinks that the opposition of positive and negative thinking is something new, then he is mistaken. Just before the rivals knew by other names, which we put in the title. It is difficult to say exactly when the crossing of swords of worldviews began. Probably, if you go deeper, you can find someone in Ancient Greece, but the history of philosophy is reminiscent of the correspondence antagonism of two Germans: G.V. Leibniz and A. Schopenhauer. The first said that our world is the best of the possible worlds, and the other that, on the contrary, it is the worst. By the way, if the reader thinks that the pessimist in this couple was tormented all his life and suffered, because with all his heart he hated “pink” optimism (or “positive”, the meaning of the word we are analyzing today), then he is mistaken. Schopenhauer had a wonderful appetite and with a smile on his lips moved into the other world. True, the philosopher lived a little by modern standards, only 72 years old, but he was not unhappy, and this is important.
The same can be said about the American classic Kurt Vonnegut, who admitted in one of his books: "I can tell you that all these years kept us [people of the same generation writer] in tone: hatred." And the author of "Slaughter №5" lived 84 years.
This means that pessimism does not affect life expectancy. In general, the quality and number of years lived is too complicated a quantity to depend on only one parameter, even if it is as important as thinking.
We hope the reader understands what “positive” means. In conclusion, let’s say: people should be able to balance between extremes and be realistic, that is, hold two opposing points of view on the problem in mind, see the pros and cons, advantages and disadvantages.