| Today, on the holiday of St. Clement of Ohrid – summer, August 9, 2025 In Ohrid – the eternal Macedonian Holy City and its seven millennia In the world memory, next to the Holy Lake Ohrid – One of the three oldest lakes on Planet Earth, along with Tanganyika and Lake Baikal, In the Ancient Lychnidus and the Slavic Jerusalem, In the House of Urania at the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts, For the nineteenth time, the academic ceremony is taking place On the proclamation of the Winner of the World Prize for Humanism, And that act radiates along all meridians With the Eternal Sun of Humanism – From the first medieval school of humanism Which was founded by the eternally living saints of Ohrid, St. Clement and St. Naum, disciples of the Equal-to-the-Apostles The Thessaloniki brothers St. Cyril and St. Methodius – Declared Protectors of Europe Eleven centuries after their deaths, in 1980 By Pope John Paul Second. Because they believed that the "Civilization of Love" and "Nostalgia for Unity" could save Humanity, And every day of God, with everything that happens, We are overcome by the doubt that there is no salvation, That sinister thought, after the even more sinister reality, Which has taken and carries millions of innocent victims in its wake, While we utter these – often futile – words. Here, in Ohrid, with the founding of the Ohrid Academy of Humanism And the establishment of the World Humanism Prize in 2007, Guided by Saint Clement’s vision and blessing, Macedonia emerged onto the world’s spiritual stage with A holy and immortal idea – That it befits Ohrid to be declared the Center of World Humanism, Because another such city that would celebrate humanism At a time when nuclear powers and the tyranny of capital Threaten to destroy the World and Humanity – Another such city, declared the Center of Humanism – there is none! Therefore, today, on August 9, on Saint Clement of Ohrid – summer, Dear Svetlana Mojsov, we celebrate your scientific and humanistic work, We celebrate your life and creative path – From your birth in Macedonia in 1947 To your academic odyssey at Rockefeller University in New York. And therefore, before our eyes today a visit is taking place a real and imaginary Ohrid , in which it’s troubadours play, About whom the immortal poet Branko Miljković wrote: "Sing, beautiful old men, while above our heads The stars disappear like metaphors. Everything that is high – disappears, Everything that is low – will rot. When the ink ripens in the blood, everyone will know that It is the same to die and to sing!" Therefore, today, in your honor, Svetlana Mojsov, all the great names Of world humanism have come to congratulate you on your award and to greet you. Today, the House of Urania at MANU is full of visible and invisible guests To your life's feat. The first laureate, Daisaku Ikeda, has arrived – the Buddhist philosopher from Tokyo. Manoel de Oliveira has also come – the Portuguese film magician, Who danced a dance on the Ohrid port to celebrate his 100th birthday. The Russian Nobel laureate Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn has also come – The third consecutive winner of the World Prize for Humanism. Ravi Shankar has also come – the musical world alchemist from New Delhi. Nobel laureate Herta Müller has also come from Germany. Romano Prodi has also come from Bologna, Italy – The European visionary who said that Europe, If it does not find a word called "love" And which will enter the constitutions of all European countries, It will never realize its unification. Jean-Patrick Connerade from Imperial College in London has also come, Who wrote in the Parisian "Le Monde" that Ohrid humanism is at the foundations of European and world history. The world-famous director Peter Brook is also in Ohrid, With whose immortal words, after two thousand years of silence The Ancient Theater in Ohrid was reopened. Vida Ognjenović has also come from Belgrade, Who still believes that drama can change the harsh reality of the present. And among all that worldly constellation, the first Macedonian winner has also come – Academician Georgi Stardelov, Who in a brilliant essay raised The Ohrid School of Humanism as a world philosophical pedestal On the international memory. The Bulgarian painter with world renown – Svetlin Rusev, Who proposed the erection of a unique living Monument on a planetary level, In which the names of all winners so far and from now on will be entered. And after his departure to eternal life, The great Macedonian sculptor Zharko Basheski is shaping that memorial wonder. The Municipality of Ohrid has determined the location, And let us hope that a living person or institution will be found, Which in the unprecedented amounts of millions and billions Corruption and crime will allocate that pitiful sum, With which the Living Monument of Ohrid will be erected As the Center of World Humanism. And it will last in Eternity! Saint Clement, pray before the Lord That this act may be accomplished and may last forever in time, On the condition that the idea of world humanism also lasts, Because – God forbid – they can destroy it too! Dear Svetlana Mojsov, on your announcement as the winner Of the World Prize for Humanism, We have come from and your parents – Your mother Liljana and your father Lazar Mojsov – A name that is inscribed at the top of Macedonian and Yugoslav diplomacy And whose books even today open new horizons In our views of ourselves, Connected to the past that neighboring countries want to deprive us of. But a Bogomil apocrypha says: "The present is here, the future is unknown, The past is the most unpredictable!" And the past, the present, and the future of Macedonia Are protected by the rampart of St. Clement's humanism, Which is eternal and which, with the World Prize for Humanism, Will adorn world civilization! Dear Svetlana Mojsov, We announce you as the winner of the World Humanism Prize for 2025, For your invaluable contribution to modern world medical science, Biochemical discoveries and endocrinological achievements, Which brought you many prestigious awards and recognitions from all five continents, But this award that Intercontinental Macedonia returns to you Is from the depths of her heart and soul – For her and your destiny, Sung in the verses of Kocho Racin: If I did not build a house with high boxwood gates – A house the whole world is my brother! Heart – the widest gate, Heart – the highest house! Jordan Plevnesh St. Clement – summer, 2025, Ohrid | Денес, на празникот на Свети Климент Охридски – летен, 9 август 2025 Во Охрид – вечниот македонски Свет Град и неговите седум милениуми Во светската меморија, покрај Светото Охридско Езеро – Едно од трите најстари езера на Планетата Земја, заедно со Тангањика и Бајкалското Езеро, Во Античкиот Лихнид и Словенскиот Ерусалим, Во Куќата на Уранија на МАНУ, По деветнаесетти пат се одвива академската церемонија На прогласувањето на Добитникот на Светската награда на хуманизмот, И тој чин зрачи по сите меридијани Со Вечното Сонце на хуманизмот – Што уште од првата средновековна школа на хуманизмот Што ја основаа вечно живите светци на Охрид, Свети Климент и Свети Наум, ученици на рамноапостолите Солунските браќа Свети Кирил и Свети Методиј – Прогласени за Заштитници на Европа Единаесет векови по нивната смрт, во 1980 година Од Папата Јован Павле Втори. Бидејќи веруваа дека „Цивилизацијата на љубовта“ и „Носталгијата по единството“ можат да го спасат Човештвото, За кое, во секој Божји ден, со сè што се случува, Нè обзема сомнежот дека му нема спас. Тaa злокобна мисла, по уште позлокобната реалност, Која однесе и носи милиони невини жртви во неврат, Додека ги изговараме овие – честопати залудни – зборови. Овде, во Охрид, со основањето на Охридската академија на хуманизмот И востановувањето на Светската награда за хуманизам во 2007 година, Водени од Светиклиментовата визија и благослов, Македонија излезе на светската духовна сцена со Една света и бесмртна идеја – Дека на Охрид му прилега да биде прогласен за Центар на светскиот хуманизам, Бидејќи друг таков град што ќе го слави хуманизмот Во време кога нуклеарните сили и тиранијата на капиталот Се закануваат дека ќе го уништат Светот и Човештвото – Друг таков град, прогласен за Центар на хуманизмот – нема! Затоа, денес, на 9 август, на Свети Климент Охридски – летен, Драга Светлана Мојсов, го славиме Вашето научно и хуманистичко дело, Го славиме Вашиот животен и творечки пат – Од Вашето раѓање во Македонија во 1947 година До Вашата академска одисеја на Универзитетот Рокфелер во Њујорк. И затоа, пред нашите очи денес се одвива една реална и имагинарна Охридска визита, во која свират охридските трубадури, За кои бесмртниот поет Бранко Миљковиќ напиша: „Пејте, прекрасни старци, додека над нашите глави Исчезнуваат ѕвездите како метафори. Сè што е високо – исчезнува, Сè што е ниско – ќе иструли. Кога мастилото ќе созрее во крвта, сите ќе знаат дека Исто е да се умира и да се пее!“ Затоа, денес, во Ваша чест, Светлана Мојсов, дојдени се сите големи имиња На светскиот хуманизам да Ви ја честитаат наградата и да Ве поздрават. Денес, Куќата на Уранија на МАНУ е полна со видливи и невидливи гости На Вашиот животен подвиг. Дојден е првиот добитник Даисаку Икеда – будистичкиот филозоф од Токио. Дојден е и Маноел де Оливеира – португалскиот филмски маг, Кој заигра оро на охридското пристаниште за да го прослави својот Стоти роденден. Дојден е рускиот нобеловец Александар Солженицин – Третиот по ред добитник на Светската награда за хуманизам. Дојден е и Рави Шанкар – музичкиот светски алхемичар од Њу Делхи. Од Германија е дојдена и нобеловката Херта Милер. Дојден е и Романо Проди од Болоња, Италија – Европскиот визионер кој велеше дека Европа, Ако не пронајде збор што се вика „љубов“ И кој ќе влезе во уставите на сите европски држави, Никогаш нема да го реализира своето обединување. Дојден е и Жан-Патрик Конрад од Империјал колеџот во Лондон, Кој напиша во париски “Монд“ дека Охридскиот хуманизам е во темелите на европската и светската историја. Во Охрид е и светскиот легендарен режисер Питер Брук, Со чие бесмртно слово по две илјади години тишина Повторно беше отворен Античкиот театар во Охрид. Дојдена е и Вида Огњеновиќ од Белград, Која и денес верува дека драмата може да ја менува жестоката реалност. И меѓу сета таа светска плејада, дојден е и првиот македонски добитник – Академик Георги Старделов, Кој во еден брилијантен есеј ја издигна Охридската школа на хуманизмот како светски филозофски постамент На интернационалната меморија. На охридската визита е дојден да Ви честита и Бугарскиот сликар со светско реноме – Светлин Русев, Кој предложи подигнување на единствен жив Монумент на планетарно ниво, Во кој ќе бидат внесени имињата на сите добитници досега и отсега. И по неговото заминување во вечниот живот, Големиот македонски скулптор Жарко Башески ја обликува таа меморијална чудесија. Општина Охрид го одреди местото, И да се надеваме дека ќе се најде жив човек или институција, Која во невидените количини на милиони и милијарди Корупција и криминал ќе ја издвојат таа бедна сума, Со која ќе биде подигнат Живиот монумент на Охрид Како Центар на светскиот хуманизам. И тој ќе трае во Вечноста! Свети Клименте, моли се пред Господа Да се оствари овој чин и да трае вечно во времето, Под услов да трае и идејата на светскиот хуманизам, Бидејќи – не дај Боже – и неа можат да ја уништат! Драга Светлана Мојсов, на Вашето прогласување за добитник На Светската награда за хуманизам, Дојдени се и Вашите родители – Вашата мајка Лилјана и Вашиот татко Лазар Мојсов – Име што е запишано на врвот на македонската и југословенската дипломатија И чии книги и денес ни отвораат нови хоризонти Во погледите кон самите себеси, Поврзани со минатото од кое соседните земји сакаат да нè лишат. Но еден богомилски апокриф вели: „Сегашноста е тука, иднината е непозната, Најнепредвидливо е минатото!“ И минатото, и сегашноста, и иднината на Македонија Се заштитени од бедемот на Светиклиментов хуманизам, Кој е вечен и кој, со Светската награда за хуманизам, Ќе ја краси светската цивилизација! Драга Светлана Мојсов, Ве прогласуваме за добитник на Светската награда на хуманизмот за 2025 година, За Вашиот бесценет придонес во современата светска медицинска наука, Биохемиските откритија и ендокринолошки достигнувања, Кои Ви донесоа многу престижни награди и признанија од сите пет континенти, Но оваа награда што Ви ја враќа Интерконтинентална Македонија Е од длабочините на нејзиното срце и душа – По нејзината и по Вашата судбина, Опеана во стиховите на Кочо Рацин: Ако куќа не направив со високи шимшир порти – Куќа цел свет братски ми е! Срце – порта најширока, Срце – куќа највисока! Јордан Плевнеш Свети Климент – летен, 2025, Охрид |
SPEECH BY THE PRESIDENT OF OHRID ACADEMY OF HUMANISM JORDAN PLEVNES FOR THE LAUREATE SVETLANA MOJSOV8/11/2025
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 Distinguished guests and members of the jury:
It is a great honor for me to receive the 2025 World Prize for Humanism from the Ohrid Academy of Humanism and to join a distinguished group of previous laurates who made significant contributions to philosophy, literature, music, arts, politics and sciences. My interest in pursuing a career in science was encouraged by my education in former Yugoslavia, starting in my hometown in Skopje and later in middle and high school in Belgrade. During my childhood summers in Ohrid I would visit with my parents the Hydrobiological Institute and observe first-hand the efforts of the scientists working at the Institute to preserve the fish populations in Ohrid lake and especially the endangered Ohrid trout, pastrmka. I was fascinated by their dedication and commitment. My studies at the department of physical chemistry at the University of Belgrade prepared me for all my future endeavors in science. During my graduate and postgraduate years at the Rockefeller University in New York my studies with the glucose-regulatory hormone, glucagon, set the stage for my discovery of GLP-1 in the early 1980’s at the Endocrine unit at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. My independent biochemical studies and later collaborations with clinical investigators at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston between 1983 and 1992 established that GLP-1 is a new hormone that regulates glucose metabolism and has therapeutic potential for treatment of diabetes. It took another 18 years for Novo Nordisk to develop the first GLP-1-based medication, Victoza, for treatment of diabetes and in 2014 Saxenda for weigh loss. In 2017 Novo Nordisk developed a more efficient GLP-1-based medicine for diabetes, Ozempic and in 2021 Wegovy for more significant weight loss. The discovery of GLP-1 highlight how development of new medicines takes a long time to develop and is a collaborative effort between academic institutions and pharmaceutical companies. But it starts with a discovery at academic and research institutions. It is my privilege to have contributed to the scientific efforts that impact the health and lives of millions of people. Thank you very much.  Svetlana Mojsov (born December 8, 1947 in Skopje, Yugoslavia, now Macedonia) is a Macedonian-American biochemist celebrated for her pioneering discovery and characterization of the gut hormone glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP‑1), whose identification set the stage for an entirely new class of diabetes and obesity medications. After completing a B.S. in physical chemistry at the University of Belgrade in 1971, Mojsov moved to New York in 1972 to join the laboratory of Nobel laureate R. Bruce Merrifield at Rockefeller University, where she embraced the art of solid-phase peptide synthesis and, in 1978, became the first person to synthesize crystalline glucagon reliably—an achievement long deemed unattainable by her peers.
Following her doctorate, Mojsov remained at Rockefeller as a postdoctoral and research associate, refining synthetic chemistry techniques and delving into peptide regulation. Then in 1983 she relocated to Boston to lead the Howard Hughes Medical Institute peptide synthesis facility at Massachusetts General Hospital and hold an Instructor in Medicine appointment at Harvard Medical School. It was here that her transformative contribution began: scrutinizing the proglucagon gene sequence—initially decoded in anglerfish and rodent research—Mojsov intuitively recognized the biologically active core of GLP‑1: the 31 amino acid fragment now known as GLP‑1 (7–37). She chemically synthesized this fragment, developed antibodies specific to it, and in collaboration with endocrinologist Joel Habener and peptide physiologist Gordon Weir demonstrated in rats—and later in human studies—that GLP‑1 potently stimulates pancreatic insulin secretion, establishing the peptide’s role as one of the central incretins in glucose homeostasis. Returning to Rockefeller University in the 1990s, where by 2002 she held the title Research Associate Professor, Mojsov continued her research into peptide biology and its evolutionary dimensions. One of her notable contributions in this phase was demonstrating that in teleost fish, GLP‑1 does not function via a dedicated GLP‑1 receptor as in mammals, but through a receptor that also binds glucagon. Her findings offered significant insights into how metabolic regulation has diverged across vertebrate species. For decades, Mojsov’s role remained overshadowed in the scientific narrative of incretin and GLP‑1 biology. Publications and award committees frequently credited programmers such as Habener, Drucker, and Holst. Prompted by extensive coverage in “Science”, “Nature”, “STAT News”, and “El País” during 2023, she came into sharp public focus as a scientist whose contributions had been marginalized, particularly as a woman in a male-dominated field. She actively requested corrections in reviews and journal articles that omitted her role—editorial changes followed in leading journals such as ”Nature”, “Cell”, and “The New York Times” . Recognition of her rightful place in GLP‑1 science accelerated rapidly. In 2023 she received the VinFuture Prize and was listed among Nature's 10 most influential scientists shaping the field that year. In February 2024 she was awarded the Pearl Meister Greengard Prize—dedicated to outstanding women scientists—on the Rockefeller campus; her honorarium was pledged to Rockefeller’s Women & Science Initiative. In April, Time magazine included her in its 2024 list of the 100 Most Influential People for her pivotal contributions to medicine, along with Habener and Drucker. September 2024 brought the prestigious Lasker–DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award—often dubbed “America’s Nobel”—shared with Joel Habener and Lotte Bjerre Knudsen of Novo Nordisk, for her role in discovering the GLP‑1 hormone and enabling the creation of GLP‑1 agonist therapies that have transformed diabetes and obesity care worldwide. Additional honors followed swiftly: in 2024 she shared the Princess of Asturias Award in Technical and Scientific Research, the Tang Prize in Biopharmaceutical Science, and the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Biology and Biomedicine; in 2025 she received the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences, the Warren Triennial Prize, election to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and the Distinguished Medical Science Award from the National Library of Medicine. Colleagues across institutions describe Mojsov as reserved and intensely focused on the rigor of her science rather than public acclaim. One peptide chemist noted that although her later prominence was less than some of her male peers, the overlap of foundational discoveries clearly aligned with her contributions. She consciously declined to lead her own large laboratory and often helped junior collaborators advance while staying out of the limelight—choices driven by personal balance rather than prestige—and that shaped a career defined by integrity and persistence. Mojsov frequently reflects on her motivations: she entered science driven by curiosity, not profit, and has stated that financial reward was never her goal. Although she did gain limited royalties briefly, she took satisfaction in seeing her scientific predictions realized over decades and in knowing that millions of lives have benefitted from medicines rooted in her early discoveries. Today, the story of Svetlana Mojsov stands as a testament to how critical insight, technical skill, and steadfast advocacy can reshape scientific history. Her efforts have helped correct the record in publications and policy, raising broader awareness of how scientific credit is assigned—and why equity in recognition matters. Mojsov is the daughter of Lazar Mojsov, a distinguished Macedonian diplomat in ex-Yugoslavia, and former President of the UN General Assembly, and is married to immunologist Michel C. Nussenzweig.  Nicolas Petrovitch Njegosh - Crown Prince of Montenegro, was born July 7, 1944 in Saint Nicolas du Pélem (Côtes d’Armor). He obtained his architectural diploma in 1971 at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris and has since worked as an independent architect. His professional experience has spanned several directions: Self-construction, urban environment, town planning, construction of industrial and agricultural buildings, renovation of administrative and commercial buildings. After 70 years of exile from the Petrovich Njegosh family, following the annexation of Montenegro to Serbia, he returned to Montenegro on the occasion of the repatriation of the bodies of King Nikola, Queen Milena and Princesses Vijera and Ksenija the October 1, 1989. Inspired by this event and shortly after, the fall of the Berlin Wall, he created and directed the Biennale of Contemporary Art in Cetinje, the royal capital of Montenegro from 1991 to 2002. These reunions with Montenegro allowed him to renew contacts with several members of European royal families, some of whom were linked by marriage to the Petrovich Njegosh family. From the start of the Yugoslav conflict, he launched an appeal for peace following the first bombing of Dubrovnik and called on the Montenegrins not to participate in the conflict. During the period of the conflict, he created and chaired the IZBOR association (legal defense of victims of ethnic discrimination in the former Yugoslavia). He also created and chairs the SEM association (Solidarity Europe Montenegro) which organizes several humanitarian aid campaigns in Montenegro. Since 2002, he has organized with the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts (Paris la Seine) several architecture and town planning workshops in the village of Gornja Lastva, in Montenegro. Five years after the regained independence of Montenegro, in July 2011, the Parliament of Montenegro passed a Law on the status of the heirs of the dynasty, which included the creation of a Petrovich Njegosh Family Foundation. The Foundation of which he is President has a triple field of action: Solidarity, Environment and Cultural Heritage. Since 2012 the Foundation has initiated, supported and accompanied more than 200 projects in these different sectors in Montenegro. On April 21, 2017, he was decorated in Paris, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with the rank of Knight of the Legion of Honor by Madame Florence MANGIN Director of Continental Europe.  Letter of acceptance of World Prize for Humanism 2024 Winner of the World Prize for Humanism for 2023, with which the Ohrid Academy of Humanism celebrates the name of St. Clement of all world meridians, is Victor Friedman, a world-renowned linguist, Slavist and Macedonist, professor at the University of Chicago, USA.
Professor Friedman is the seventeenth winner in a row of this exceptional recognition with which Ohrid, the UNESCO city, has already crowned Nobel laureates Alexandr Solzhenitsyn, Herta Müller, world legends Daisaku Ikeda, Ravi Shankar, Peter Brook, Manoel De Oliveira, Romano Prodi, awakening the sources of spiritual memory from the first medieval school of humanism, founded by the students of St. Cyril and Methodius, the protectors of Europe. The award ceremony will be held on August 9, 2023, on the "Summer St. Clement", because at the same time on that day, the Memorial-landmark on the Dolna porta square in Ohrid, whose artistic founders are the Bulgarian painter Svetlin Russev and the Macedonian sculptor Zharko Basheski, will be ceremonially unveiled. With that memorial, on which all previous winners of the World Prize for Humanism will be recorded, the ancient Ohrid and its millennial history will be declared in European memory as the Center of World Humanism. Mayor Kiril Pecakov will present the prize to the winner Friedman, and then after the speech by Ambassador Plevnes about the exceptional scientific and humanistic work of Friedman, the laureate will deliver his solemn acceptance speech. At the ceremony, to which all previous winners will be invited, in the presence of a larger international assembly of guests, including representatives and mayors from Ohrid's sister cities from Europe and the cities under the auspices of UNESCO, Romano Prodi, former President, will give appropriate speeches of the European Commission and winner of this prize, Jean-Patrick Connerade, from Imperial College London, President of the European Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters, and German Nobel Laureate Herta Müller. The ceremony is expected to be attended by the General Director of UNESCO, Audre Azoulay, as well as presidents of international cultural and educational foundations from Europe and the world. The councilors of the Municipality of Ohrid proposed that the international act of declaring Ohrid as the Center of World Humanism should be marked with a "Path of Humanism" that will lead from the Dolna Porta to St. Sofia and on which the names of the recipients of the Prize for Humanism will be placed.   Paradoxes of Humanism - Dalimír Hajko There are few words in the vocabulary of modern culture that are as abused as humanism. In the name of humanism, the civilizational backgrounds of countries change violently, in the name of humanism, religions are attacked - because they do not suit the ideas of the attacker. Humanism is a paradox in its very essence. For an individual to become a true humanist, he must deny himself and focus on his surroundings, on other people, and on other beings. In a sense, even on inanimate nature. He does not prefer humanity in himself, but in relation to others. Mankind has survived a century of catastrophic proportions, experienced defeats of good, achievements of evil. Who has the right to speak of humanism as a worldview, of humanity as a positive passion? Humanism can also act in a way as a narcotic or even madness. He wants to drown out the impending catastrophe and build futurological illusions. But at the same time it brings a person back to himself. In an abstract philosophical projection, it is an anthropological constant. Humanism is as simple as it is mysterious. There is nothing simpler than "loving humanity" and nothing more complicated than loving a particular person - a part of this humanity - often groping, betrayed and abandoned by all people. The nobility and pervasiveness of the idea of humanism is reflected in the ability to kiss a leper. But it is also certain that we should not try to enter the lives of others against their will. Our time is influenced by the general insignificance attributed to the individual. It is suppressed by an explosive social dynamic, which transposes the ideas of humanism in the life of the individual with his needs, passions and loves into the position of abstract pacifism, which, however, often acquires a militant dimension. The idea of humanism is often oversaturated with spiritual pride. "I am a humanist, who is more"? Not spiritual pride, but spiritual vanity. Cruel humour. Humanism is a process of purification. It must not be filled with hatred for life, it must not be saturated with fear, especially not with fear of the world. Indeed, the world is cruel and inhuman, and we are always tempted to succumb to bigoted, dark and fanatical ideas. The patience of vice is infinite. At the same time, we often think that we are doing the right thing, even that we are doing good. We lack the idea of faith that would strictly define the boundaries of our lives. And their power lines do not run in the direction of our egoism, but also in the direction of our ignorance. Let us be silent if we cannot assess the situation comprehensively and impartially. Then we do evil - and regret it. There is another paradox: Humanism is also a revelation of the mystery of sin. For he who believes in humanism necessarily presupposes the possibility of the existence of its opposite - antihumanism. How should a humanist treat a bearer of anti-human beliefs? Should he suppress, destroy, re-educate him? But who would be the arbitrator of our action here? Humanism is not a self-serving product of our convictions. Its principles are not determined by anyone. One of the heroes of Graham Green's novel The Heart of the Matter, reminiscent of a small provincial town, says, "Here one can love the human being as God loves it, who knows the worst about it." The criteria of sin and its borders are different for individuals as well as for social groups, religious conglomerations, civilization triads. We should not confuse humanism with compassion or altruism, with charity. This is not to say that it is more than the virtues mentioned. It is neither more nor less, it is different. It grows out of a paradox and lives a paradox. Its main message is to overcome the paradox, but the main paradox is to realize the impossibility of such a procedure. We often imagine humanism as a series of deeds, ideas, concepts or relationships between which one is intertwined without identifying with them as a whole. The essence of the paradox is that we identify with some without problems, with others after discussion, and some we reject. However, the question is whether any whole exists at all. Whether the holistic perception of humanism is legitimate and correct. Can we call any actions of a person who has previously committed evil an act of humanism? Is it even possible to think about humanism at all in the relation to good and evil? And to create a coherent idea of humanistic action? What seems bona fide to some as a humane act of good, others may perceive as inhuman evil. This is clearly reflected in the field of politics. The policy of forcibly exercising power convinces us of this, so to speak, on a daily basis. Every politician wants good for others. At least he claims it and maybe he believes it. These questions are notoriously known: What is the success of humanism? Is it humane to enjoy the achievements of civilization when millions are starving? Is it humane to destroy the moral foundations of civilizations because, from our point of view, they are inhumane? And - let me have a heretical idea - is it humane to protect predatory animals when we cannot protect the weak and helpless? And ultimately – is fury humane at all in the substantive meaning sense of the term? Who decides whether it is humane to fight against something that, in our view, seems inhumane? Is it humane to repress people with a different belief when we cannot fully accept our own? Instrumented political practice on a daily basis shows the bizarre consequences of the progress of the social sciences, which are accompanied by abstractions such as universal human rights, pluralism and democracy. The fight for peace is sometimes more precious to us than a peaceful life in peace. Life, not death. "For me, every contempt of death is ridiculous," Saint Exupéry wrote. "If it is not rooted in the responsibility we have taken on, it is only a sign of mental illness or a fad of youth." But responsibility requires constant truths. Who knows whether the dogmatists we so often rebel against in the name of progress and necessary change are at least partially right when they convince us of the need to believe in constant truths. Life is born from life, image from image, feeling from feeling. What is humanism born from? There is only one premise for humanism: it is the goal of action. It is like in the art of archery, which the philosophy of Zen Buddhism teaches us: the trajectory of the bullet is not primarily important, the goal it is aimed at is paramount. If the shot of our action is guided by the idea of the final image of the human state, then it also circumvents our weaknesses, hesitations, uncertainties, many twists and turns - it has a picture of the future ahead of it. In the name of this goal, it acts as a substantial anticipation of this future. However, the paradox of the goal lies in the fact that the symptoms of the coming transformations are invisible and insensitive, that the individual as well as society is confronted with them only afterwards and with a considerable delay. Therefore, they are often ineffective and misunderstood. People who are old, sceptical, and therefore wise, they know, they have had time to acquire this knowledge; people of everyday practice longing for quick success will only understand this in the future. Humanism cannot be fixed on static values - it is born from the movement of the mind - it is dynamic because it responds to a problem in the coordinates of permanent change, but seeks stability in these changes. The image of the search for permanence in change allows us to better realize the hidden dimensions of life. We have to deal with our limitations and abilities. Approach the world together with other pilgrims in this valley of decision. There are different styles of archery and different types of bows. Each requires a different force applied to each part of the archer's body so that the arrow reaches the target accurately and infallibly. Concentrating on the target requires the person to be in line with the arc of the bow, to feel the path of the arrow, and thus achieve the accuracy of the hit, find peace in motion, immobility in speed. In other words, each situation requires a different weapon, a different solution, a different way to reach the goal. Humanism is the path of a pilgrim seeking truth in a sea of untruth, reality in the unreal, light in the dark. But to see, we must first understand darkness, its significance for the concentration of our energy. If we want to achieve a sense of inner peace, we should unravel the mystery of unrest, understand the essence of the insecurity that surrounds us in today's hectic times. Because none of us is an abstract personality, we must intuitively feel a concrete, full presence. It is the ability to accept the circumstances of our lives. Presence calls us to actions that lead to the essence of humanity. The only salvation for humanism is to encourage people to be more sensitive to the problems of their companions. Each of our thoughts on life and creation should give us above all the courage, the courage to live and create, the courage of new beginnings. And even when our work is perhaps beyond the zenith. This courage is our freedom. It survives untouched even in times of adversity, in times of moral uncertainty and political volatility. Our freedom is the opportunity to start at any age, to always revive our intentions and actions, to always re-shape and reform relationships, to always re-create things that are beautiful, great and good. Unless the power of this courage ceases to work in us, the power of possibility, the power of new initiative, we are free, we are the freest of beings, because we have received a gift, the greatest of gifts. The possibility of freedom is our power, which is often hidden, almost unknowable, intangible. But if it can proceed from his privacy and become a public, in the best sense profaned word political force, it can also form the basis for public, political freedom, it can define the secular, profane space of mundaneness for sacred, miraculous things. It can be useful for everyone. It is the most valuable thing a person can have and pass on to others. Парадоксите на хуманизмиот |
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