Honorable ladies, gentlemen, dear colleagues, you are cordially welcomed to the fifth year of the New Social Education of Man conference.

I am honored that you came to the Orthodox Faculty of Theology to enrich the precious community of this conference with your scientific and personal knowledge. We all suspect, and even know, that the quality of life in the entire society depends in many ways on the efforts of educated and pro-socially acting people. From experts with a high motivation to do good and for the benefit of many people, a good life in a given society also results.

The question is, to what extent is a person in the particular society in which he lives - as an individual responsible for his development and life? Allow me to make a few comments on the topic of a person's responsibility for his life. I will express myself simply as follows: the nature of a person's social life is formed by the values ​​he professes, by which he is guided, on the basis of which he behaves and acts.

But what does a person prefer today? What material, mental, spiritual values ​​does it profess? Is it true that what values ​​we profess are what we are? The internalized values ​​of a particular person can be guessed from his attitudes and interests. However, his values ​​become fully visible only in his actions, in his actions and deeds.

But what is happening to the values ​​of contemporary people in our geo-social space? It can be said that we live in "the age of the great crisis of human values." Do today's people live in accordance with the spiritual, mental and physical genotype of a person? The questions and answers are related to what meaning and significance is attributed to human life.

People today seem to be adopting destructive ways of living. From the actions of many, it can be concluded that people today increasingly lack common sense in their approach to their own lives. In relative prosperity, people have completely forgotten the childlike, virginal approach to life, the true living with an open mind and heart. They are often influenced and distorted by the speculative way of life, which is applied in society as a monetary concept, meaning that money has replaced law, morality and God. They are affected by the pernicious influence of information. People do not always know how to detect manipulative practices with their awareness by the mass media or the Internet, which today are the main bearers of public opinion based not on pure truth, but on half-truths and lies.

Except, a cultured person essentially needs to develop the spiritual side of his personality and longs for truth, freedom and self-development. Nowadays, the species called cultured man is disappearing. Today's society consists primarily of civilized people. However, it makes a difference whether a person is cultured or civilized. As we have already mentioned, self-development and the spiritual side of life are essential for a cultured person. For a civilized person, material well-being and personal profit are essential. It expands socially and is itself both a manager of success and a manager of failure. The culture of nations, especially spirituality, order and discipline have been replaced by the civilizational trends of the masses of people, mainly consumerism, chaos and mindless entertainment.

It seems that the unique concept of the development of the human being, neither the humanistic self-realization of the person, nor the spiritual refinement of the people has been anchored in the epicenter of the main concern of world management. However, people themselves have a choice, because they have two ways of acting: reaction and response. (Osho, 2007.)

If a person responds with a reaction, then he is acting unconsciously. Because it only mechanically reacts to external stimuli. Such an ignorant person is predictable and easy to manipulate. He acts irresponsibly, usually out of ignorance and psychological immaturity. If a person responds with a response, then he acts consciously. Because he is aware of external stimuli. Such a conscious person is unpredictable and cannot be manipulated. Acts responsibly, as a rule, based on knowledge and psychological maturity.

The responsibility of a specific person for his life depends on his own life wisdom, which he can reach:

  • By gaining life insight and perspective by knowing, experiencing, acting.
  • Realizing one's own life path by learning the skills necessary for life.
  • By working on your own spiritual, psychological and social development by learning and educating yourself.

Man is a child of Heaven and lives on Earth. If we want to understand him, we must skillfully know and respect his spiritual, mental and physical properties. Social education of a person is an important way of developing people's consciousness, which probably becomes "a critical condition for the preservation of life on this planet." (S. Grof, 1992, p. 2018.)

However, to what extent is today's man as a person responsible for his life? The answer may also arise from the contributions of this conference.

I wish us all a creative negotiation. Thank you for your attention.

Prof. PhDr. Mária Machalová, CSc.