Acceptance Address by Mr. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (1983)

https://www.templetonprize.org/laureate-sub/solzhenitsyn-acceptance-speech/

28 11 3 years ago

The Templeton Prize is quite a spectacular achievement. This acceptance speech was given within the living memory of people in their 50's and older, and it was a kind of defining expression of late Cold War culture in America. It was bleak, but in response to having escaped the bleakness that overtook much of the world in the 20th century, and which at the time threatened to dominate it. It would be interesting to consider whether any of its warnings came true, and perhaps equally interesting if its views were verboten and too controversial to speak about even in the abstract. If this acceptance speech were too uncomfortable today, that might be something worthy of reflection.

euix• 3 years ago

I am currently reading Kolyma Tales, during the pandemic I read the Gulag Archipelago - while the times are different his critique and analysis of society and the way human being behave in bad times are just as relevant today in the West.

killthebuddha• 3 years ago

a decline into a contrived and pretentious quest where the artist, instead of attempting to make known the divine plan, tries to put himself in the place of God

and 40 years later we have TikTok

freedude2• 3 years ago

‘Men have forgotten God; that’s why all this has happened.’

He is exactly correct and that is the warning of the ages.

uvnq2• 3 years ago

I am worried we are currently headed down a similar terrible path.

In another thread about Ireland's new law to jail people for "hateful content" on their personal devices, when I said that I believed future measures could go further, sliding towards mass murder, due to the ideologues believing hate speech is literally violence and genocide (because the logical conclusion is to then allow violence to be used to stop the ill defined "hate speech"), I got 1 comment supporting consequences for free speech, citing the common anti-free-speech strawman "you are wrong in that free speech doesn't have consequences" and another comment supporting "the removal of bigots from society, violently if necessary" [1]

Read it for yourself, maybe I am misinterpreting it? I don't want to feed into some culture war flame war thing, but this is extremely disturbing to me. It's not about the comments, it is about the underlying beliefs of these ideologues in power, and the logical conclusion of their beliefs. Historically, it seems to me that peoples' behavior can be predicted by taking their beliefs to their logical conclusions.

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35867043#35869541

freedude2• 3 years ago

I believe you are correct, but I would encourage you to not worry. Instead put it in God's hands to be your protector.

There is only one solution to "hate speech" and that is not making it taboo and subjecting it to censure. The solution is more better speech. That being said one must define "hate" and it's opposite corollary, love. The modern misconception is love is nice. That has and always will be incorrect. Love is not nice, but love is kind. Kindness will always warn a person away from destruction, even if they don't like or welcome it. Hate is "nice" to the person that hates and only tolerates a person. It does not hold inherent value in the person but only in their status and ability to serve the desires of the hater.

Warning others in kindness and love can only be achieved when our speech is free.

pessimizer• 3 years ago

Rwanda's dictatorship relies on accusing everyone who disagrees with Kagame of being genocide deniers or planning genocide. In the end, hate speech/bullying laws becomes lèse majesté; it's the introduction of thoughtcrime. It ain't for the sake of minorities.

fatfingerd• 3 years ago

Solzhenitsyn is a good example of how a regime creates a consensus among its enemies where they begin to think they share a common philosophy.

Countries like Russia and Iran can (and at least in Putin's case do ¹) claim philosophical connection with him because they use God as tool against others, in a way similar to the gulags he describes.

[¹] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35879622

kashunstva• 3 years ago

Much respect for Aleksandr Isayevich’s writings but to distill decades of observation of human behaviour, individually and collectively into “They’ve forgotten God.” sounds like a short-circuit. After all, both good and ill have been done in the name of deities. Even Putin, whom Solzhenitsyn praised before the end of his life, claims divine approbation of his deeds. It’s hard to make the claim for “more God” when the results are ambiguous; so in Solzhenitsyn‘s writings on the subject I will s/God/humanist values/

knewter• 3 years ago

Yeah but I bet he meant God though

Acceptance Address by Mr. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (1983)

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