Desiderata as a categorical imperative in social work What is Desiderata then? Desiderata is a set of moral norms, it is certainly not a complete set of moral norms, but it shows us how one can live a happier style of life. Who is the author of Desiderata? One modern conception says it is Max Hermann. An extraordinary person who studied law, whose profession was a banker and whose second occupation was a writer. He spent his whole life in a small town in the state of Indiana, where he found time for contemplation and for seeking inner peace. This became the basis for writing Desiderata. According to him, Desiderata has the character of some kind of guide to a full and happy life. Desiderata (in Latin, what is desirable, the plural of desideratum) is a short poem in prose about how to attain happiness in life. As already mentioned, its author is perhaps the American lawyer and philosopher Max Ehrmann, who lived from 1872 to 1945 and published it for the first time in 1927.

There is, however, a legend, and that is accepted more or less from time to time, claiming that it is an anonymous text from the 17th century that was found in St. Paul’s Church in Baltimore.

Our most well-known set of norms, the Decalogue, is mainly devoted to negative behavior (e.g., you shall not kill, you shall not steal). As if the core idea of Desiderata were, in the words of contemporary psychology, a focus on punishment. There is no doubt that the modern person who acknowledges the values of the Decalogue is positively motivated and oriented toward behaviors determined by reward, which is characteristic of human nature. Pope John Paul II, after watching a recital with Desiderata, stated, as I quote: “an unusual moral mission born in the spirit of ecumenism and tolerance.”

The verses have been called by different names throughout history—Desiderata, Desiderata, the Baltimore Prayer, the Principles of Baltimore. The original, however, was without doubt called Desiderata. The word itself means “required, desirable, dreamed of, something that is wished for.” According to legend, the text was found on the walls of the old St. Paul’s Church in Baltimore in 1692, that is, in the 17th century. Europe was experiencing the Baroque period, and America the era of white colonization. The author’s name appears almost nowhere. As for where it was found, in 1876 a university was established there (meaning in Baltimore), and in Baltimore Edgar Allan Poe rests forever. Baltimore is the largest city in the state of Maryland. It was founded as the capital of the colonies in 1643. Many years later, in 1995, Pope John Paul II came to Baltimore. In the homily he reminded listeners of the founding of the city, its role for Catholicism and the significance of the Baltimore Catechism. So where is the truth? It is not that important. What is important is the substantive message of Desiderata, with particular attention to social work.

Desiderata is a very short work, written in plain and clear language. It contains wisdom from the biblical books. It consists of several shorter and longer sentences; there are a little over twenty of them, depending on the way it was translated. Reading Desiderata takes a little over a minute. And those twenty or so lines are important for several hundred thousand people, perhaps even several million. In any case, Desiderata has appeared in print runs of millions.

And what was the modern fate of the work? The verses became well known in the 1960s in the USA. It is a period tied to many social situations. In 1960 new protests against racial segregation broke out. A year later John Kennedy came to lead the country. The first American advisers traveled to Vietnam, in the autumn of 1962 the Cuban crisis arose, and in the following summer huge demonstrations and marches in support of human rights were held. Hundreds of thousands of people listened to Pastor King, who preached about a just America. Massive unrest broke out in Black neighborhoods from Chicago to San Francisco. Whites and Blacks died. The assassination of President Kennedy in 1963 and the beginning of the Vietnam War were the final blow in the macro-social crisis of that time. Clearly, this was a society with elements of anomie, that is, social chaos. In California at that time a youth counterculture was born—the hippie culture. The hippie revolution swept across all of America. Young people were turning away from values, norms, customs, and faith. And Desiderata becomes for a time the doctrine of this youth subculture.

The development of positive values in a person has a significant impact on both the physical and psychological condition of an individual. Envy, anger, aggression, and negative thinking are, in contemporary science, considered the root causes of depression, fear, and a whole range of civilization diseases of the digestive and cardiovascular systems. But developing such positive values as well as eliminating negative attitudes in an individual is very difficult. Yet one can also find other messages besides Desiderata. For example, internet messages of the Dalai Lama for the new millennium. Here are some of them: Remember that great love carries great risks…… Value yourself and others too, and be responsible for your actions….. Every day set aside a little time for yourself…… Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer…… In conflicts with close ones, never appeal to the past……. Share your knowledge—it is a simple path to immortality……

There may be several such texts, but none reaches the depth and simplicity of Desiderata and, above all, the noticeable humility of its creator. Max Ehrmann does not impose anything, he does not lecture, but he wants to share with others the ideas he considers important. The author called Desiderata something like a private guide to life. Desiderata’s ideas were implemented in social and therapeutic work with the mentally ill, alcoholics, and other groups of people. Desiderata’s ideas appear in various cultures, among the poor and the rich, among Americans and in many European countries. In correctional social work with the prison population, significant positive changes in life conditions were recorded in Poland among participants in both individual and group therapy. It is an understandable, meaningful text for everyone; it appeals to our humanity and motivates us to think and to self-reflection.

People need wise and simple life messages and orientation that help them cope both with their inner world and the outer world that surrounds us with permanent social change. Socially vulnerable and disoriented people need a compass just as a boat needs one on a stormy sea. We live in a world that has no alternatives, i.e., where alternatives are absent, a world that paralyzes socially weak and socially isolated people. Much of us is pushed into depression. Desiderata, to a certain degree, gives space for reflection and finding an alternative.

If you read this text once, I am convinced that you will return to it at some time and place with hope for some desirable and necessary change.

Desiderata

  • Walk calmly through the noise and bustle of this world and remember how much peace can be found in silence.
  • If possible, without whining and complaining, live in harmony with everyone.
  • Speak your truth calmly and clearly, but also listen to others to the end, even if they are overwhelmed and unaware—they too have the right to express themselves.
  • Do not waste your time in the company of noisy and aggressive people; they are your torment.
  • If you compare yourself with others, you may become conceited as well as embittered, because you will always find people both worse and better than you are.
  • Let your achievements and plans be the source of your joy.
  • Do your work from the heart, however modest it may be, for it is your only possession in life’s changing fortunes.
  • Be careful in what you get into—there is an abundance of deceit in the world. Yet let this not obscure your true virtue, for many people move toward noble ideals and life is full of heroism everywhere.
  • Be yourself, especially do not put on an act. And do not approach love cynically, for emotional coldness and disappointment are eternal like grass.
  • Calmly accept what comes with the years of your aging and let your youth pass with dignity.
  • Develop spiritual strength, so it can protect you in sudden misfortune. Do not torture yourself with products of fantasy. Many fears are born from boredom and loneliness.
  • Be healthily disciplined and kind toward yourself. You are a child of the universe and, no less than a tree and stars, you have the right to be here. Whether this makes sense to you or not. The universe is undoubtedly on the right path.
  • So live in harmony with God, whether He appears to you as anything, whatever you do and whatever your wishes are, and in this crazy world preserve the peace of your soul. Despite all disappointments, hardships, and lost dreams, the world is beautiful.
  • Be joyful; you will reach happiness.

Author: prof. PhDr. Pavel Mühlpachr, PhD. Institute of Interdisciplinary Studies Brno

[1] SWORZEŃ, M. 2004. Dezyderata. Dzieje utworu, który stal sie legenda. Poznaň : Media Rodzina, 2004. 100 s. ISBN 83-7278-102-8.

The lecture was delivered at the international scientific conference Applied Ethics in Social Work and Other Helping Professions, which took place on 20.–21. October 2010 in Piešťany and was published in the proceedings of this conference: MÁTEL, A. – SCHAVEL, M. – MÜHLPACHR, P. – ROMAN, T. 2010. Aplikovaná etika v sociálne práci a ďalších pomáhajúcich profesiách. Zborník z medzinárodnej vedeckej konferencie. Bratislava : VŠZaSP sv. Alžbety. 413 s. ISBN 978-80-89271-89-4.