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Introduction

1. The concepts of “age” and “generation”

2. Historical aspect of the development of intergenerational conflicts

3. Causes of intergenerational conflicts

4. Generational conflict in the family sphere

5. Consequences of conflicts between generations

Conclusion

Bibliography

INconducting

In the twentieth century, the problem of relationships between generations became noticeably worse. The problem of continuity and conflict in the relationship between “fathers” and “children” can be considered as the interaction of counter flows of information and activity, as features of the transmission of cultural values from generation to generation.

It always exists, but the content of the problem, the severity of the contradictions, is of a particularly specific historical nature. In modern Russian society, there is a transformation in the attitude of younger age groups towards the older generation in the direction from traditionally respectful to non-traditional, not typical for the Russian mentality, condemning, blaming, rejecting. At best, we are talking about an absolutely indifferent attitude, both at the state and at the everyday level.

In such conditions, older people found themselves to be an abandoned generation, deprived of sympathy, empathy and help from younger members of society. There has been a break in the centuries-old tradition of Russian society, which is so painful not only for older people, but also for all other members of society. Changes in Russia that completely reject the experience of previous generations lead to conflict and a gap between generations.

Destabilization in our country, the focus of people’s consciousness on survival affects how the younger generation perceives the elderly. Young people do not have a clear idea of the life of the older generation and often dramatize their social position, giving rise to prejudices and creating stereotypes, which, in turn, is projected onto intergenerational relationships.

In the mass consciousness, in both hidden and explicit form, the attitude towards older people as a useless category of the population is fixed; a model is widespread in the public consciousness, which is characterized by the approval of a strategy of ousting old age from the sphere of access to prestigious values, power, and other peripheral resources the state of their problems. Society's attention is focused more on the problems of young people than people of retirement age.

The purpose of this work is to consider the problem of “fathers and sons” (intergenerational conflicts).

Achieving this goal involves solving the following tasks:

Define the meaning of the concepts “age” and “generation”;

Consider the historical aspect of the development of intergenerational conflicts;

Identify the causes of conflicts;

Study generational conflicts in the family sphere;

Describe the consequences of intergenerational conflicts.

1. The concepts of “age” and generation

The term “age” is used wherever there is a need to record processes and changes that occur over time.

Age-related processes are considered from three perspectives:

Individual development.

Social-age processes and age structure of society.

Age symbolism.

The temporal aspects of an individual person are realized in his temporal characteristics. Social-age processes and the age structure of society can be described in terms of age stratification. By dividing into age strata, one can imagine the process of sequential change and continuity of generations.

The concept of “age” is a sign of belonging to one generation, but belonging to the same generation does not mean equality of age. Generation is a concept denoting different aspects of the kinship and age structure of the historical development of society.

Firstly, a generation is a link, step, knee in the chain of descent from a common ancestor; these are people “of the same blood, in ascending and descending order, with their forefathers and descendants.”

Secondly, the concept generation denotes a group of people homogeneous in age - a cohort. The totality of peers forms the age stratum of the population. These are, for example, young men who have undergone initiation, or a broader concept - youth, pensioners.

Thirdly, the concept of “chronological generation” is of great importance for social analysis, with the help of which a certain period of time during which a particular generation lives, stages of ontogenesis, the process of socialization, and the life path from childhood to old age are characterized.

Fourthly, the concept of “generation” is used as a spiritual and symbolic one, uniting the historical and cultural community of contemporaries, whose lives are connected with some important historical events, permeated with the “spirit of the times”, the unity of ideological moral positions (for example, “Komsomol members of the 20s ", "Generation of the Great Patriotic War").

A.I. Afanasyeva defines a generation as “an objectively emerging concrete historical aggregate of people close in age and formed in the same historical period, characterized by specific demographic features.” The concept of “generation” is most fully revealed by I.S. Con. He identifies several meanings of this concept:

Degree of descent from a common ancestor (genealogical generation);

Peers, i.e. people born at approximately the same time;

Contemporaries, i.e. people of different ages living at the same time;

The length of time from the birth of parents to the birth of their children.

So, generation is a concept that denotes different aspects of the kinship and age structures of the historical development of society.

The generational approach in sociology involves analyzing the coexistence of three life dimensions in a social situation: the generation of young people, the generation of mature people and the generation of old people. The existence of three different times represents forward movement, development. Otherwise, history would have stopped and the possibility of radical change would have disappeared.

The life cycle of each person is characterized by multifaceted variability. It includes such phases of life as: childhood, adolescence, adulthood and old age. At different stages of life, a person plays different social roles - child, student, worker, father, grandfather. Childhood and adolescence is a period of apprenticeship, assimilation of the norms and values of a given society. The period of maturity is when norms and values are assimilated as fully as possible in accordance with individual capabilities. During old age, the individual lags behind the process of changing social structures (they change much faster than the aging individual is able to adapt to them).

Old age in modern semantic orientation denotes a certain stage of individual life, equivalent in relation to other stages, of significant duration (the specific share of old age is a part of life). In 1962, a symposium of gerontologists approved age gradations, later adopted by foreign scientists: 40-60 - average age; 60-75-old age; 75-90-senile age; over 90 are long-livers.

Old age as a phenomenon of human life is represented by two qualitatively different aspects of its existence. Biological and social aspect, “social old age”. Biological old age is a natural phase of individual development, and social old age is the final stage of the age structure of society. As such, it is represented by the corresponding age socio-demographic group (“generation”) of old people. In understanding the essential nature and, accordingly, generational criteria and boundaries of social old age, two distinct approaches have emerged, functional and chronological.

Functional, reflected the centuries-old specificity of social old age as a process of increasing loss by an individual of his physical performance. Social old age is the inability of a person, due to age, to provide himself with everything necessary. As a result, there is a transition to someone else's dependency. This widespread understanding and definition of social old age is widespread in both domestic and foreign science.

The chronological approach takes shape in the conditions of an industrially developed society of the twentieth century and reflects the birth in it of a fundamentally new social institution: old-age pensions, which immediately required the introduction of a strictly formalized age threshold for old age. In the structure of social old age, formal social old age (“passport”) is distinguished - characterized by the crossing of the official age “limit of old age” by a given person, but the preservation of the established lifestyle and social status.

Real old age is characterized by the presence of significant role shifts in the life of a person who has crossed the “threshold of old age.” Moreover, the nature of these shifts depends on what kind of life took place in previous years.

2. Historical aspectdevelopment of intergenerational conflicts

The picture of the position of an old person in society, as evidenced by the history of mankind, changed dramatically: it was full of brilliance in some periods and filled with darkness in others. It would be comforting if the evolution of the situation of old people went in one direction - towards improvement. However, it is not.

In ancient times, old people did not die of natural causes. Because in the then struggling communities of people, there was no room left for those who, due to physical weakness, ceased to be a full-fledged participant in the production of food. At the dawn of civilization and in the early stages of cultural development, the central figure was the mature man. He was an expert of the surroundings and the owner of long life experience and, thanks to this, was an object of respect in the primitive horde. But, with the onset of old age, when his strength and memory refused to serve him, the stock of this experience and knowledge became unusable. Then the helpless old man was abandoned to the mercy of fate, so primitive societies were societies without old people. P. Holbach notes that such a custom existed among nomads: old people who could not follow the nomadic tribe were deprived of their lives. C. Helvetius pointed out the destruction of old people by wild tribes that subsisted on hunting. They killed old fellow tribesmen who could not participate in hunting animals. In Little Russia, the custom of getting rid of old people was also practiced. They were taken to a remote place in winter and lowered into a deep ravine. At the same time, they were placed on the bast so that when lowered they would not break or linger on the slope. When this custom was banned, they began to resort to isolating old people in an empty hut, where they died of hunger and cold.

In an era when old people were killed en masse, infanticide was also widespread for similar reasons. Because children and old people were on the periphery of public life. In ancient times, as in our time, there were conflicts between generations - primarily between adjacent generations, fathers and children. The warrior fathers did not want to give way to their children who had undergone initiation; they resisted this in every possible way because they still felt strong and energetic. The ritual of initiation arises in the culture of mankind as a means of harmonizing the psychology of relations between the older and younger generations. It is impossible to give an exact answer to the question of when they stopped killing the elderly. The extinction of this cruel custom is associated with economic progress and means that it occurred at different times among different peoples.

American anthropologist and ethnographer L.G. Morgan divided all human activity into three main eras: savagery, barbarism and civilization. In accordance with this, he divided the first two eras, that is, the era of savagery and the era of barbarism, into three sub-periods, differing in the level of development. He distinguished in each of them the lowest, middle and highest levels. The destruction of old people stops at the average level of the era of savagery.

It is believed that one of the most important factors that contributed to the preservation of the lives of old people was the use of fire. The ability to cook food reduced the previously widespread infanticide. The position of the old people changed: they helped the women look after the fire and were the keepers of the fire.

The next historical event that had a positive impact on the fate of the elderly was the beginning of agriculture. The old man preserved the food supplies of his fellow tribesmen and was needed by his tribe.

Over time, not only do the elderly stop being destroyed, but the younger generation begins to show respect for them. Scientists speculate that this may be because in the early stages of civilization, reaching old age was quite rare. Old people were respected as the richest people in personal experience, historians of the family, guardians of long-standing traditions, educators of people, mediators between the living and the dead, and masters of ceremonies. The ancient Greeks associated old age with wisdom, this made the old man an essential figure in society, an elder, his functions included governing the country and leading the education of the younger generation.

The cult of ancestors appears, which is, apparently, historically the first ideology that consolidated the dominance of elders in society. It was believed that the magical power of an individual increases as he grows older and reaches its maximum when he passes into the status of an ancestor, that is, after his physical death. Using this power, it was believed, the elders could punish the younger ones for disobedience. With the development of the political sphere, with the advent of leaders, it was their ancestors who were prescribed great magical power; the leaders, and then medieval monarchs, acted as the fathers of society. It should be noted that even where the cult of ancestors was not so developed, the old people were considered close to the deities, and had what was supposed to be mystical power. They were the keepers of ritual and religious knowledge, which largely determined their authority. The old people also remembered precedents, which was used in judicial practice. They did not share their knowledge, but kept it to themselves, which turned the old people into monopoly owners of important social information. This in turn strengthened their high position in society. Old people enjoy the greatest influence in the era of so-called classical antiquity (the triumph of old age - in ancient Hellas and ancient Rome). Gerontocracy was established here for a long time, its expression was the age limit required to occupy positions in the governing bodies of the state.

In ancient Rome, raising children was primarily the responsibility of the family. While the child was small, he was raised by his mother, then by his father; later, when the teenager began to participate in public life, he was usually supervised by a personal friend or family patron. During the Renaissance, the functions of the family were limited to the reproduction of a new generation, the transfer of acquired property and the family name. Society in the Middle Ages did not connect the future with children. In the Age of Enlightenment, the family is once again charged with the responsibility of caring for and raising their children.

Technological progress of the 18th century. provided an improvement in living conditions, and its duration increased accordingly. The long-preserved prestige of old age began to crumble with the development of industry. In the 19th century, as a result of two revolutions - industrial and demographic - the ranks of elderly people began to increase, but at the same time their positions began to weaken. The pursuit of maximum profit becomes the goal of all undertakings and decisions of business people and industrialists. Their ideology condemns people who are not yet old to job loss and destitution. The Industrial Revolution gave the reins of power to the young, that is, the role of youth in society emerges. Scientific and technological progress, having created new, almost limitless sources of material wealth and comfort, has deprived a large mass of people of moral demands on themselves, a sense of responsibility for the present and the future, respect for work, and traditional norms of public morality. Scientific and technological progress “fuels possessive instincts,” but it also undermines the authority of seniority. New equipment and technologies, informatization of the way of life (from leisure, education, production, politics to the spiritual world of man and from childhood to old age) significantly affect the life of people, often striking a blow to the advantages of traditional wisdom and the authority of the elderly. According to S.N. Parkinson, technological progress does not take into account seniority. If previously the knowledge and skills acquired in youth were enough for a person to last his entire working life and the new generation learned from the previous one, and social status and specialty were most often passed on by inheritance, then with the introduction of an innovative type of life activity the situation is changing.

The relationship between past, present and future takes on a new meaning. Old people have remained on the sidelines of public life due to age-related conservatism, unable to adapt to rapidly changing realities. The unequal position of different age cohorts in public life, in turn, is fraught with the emergence of social conflict between them. During periods of revolutionary changes in social life, these contradictions intensify significantly. Older people lost their former economic power, and universal suffrage deprived them of political primacy.

In the 20th century, the situation of old people worsened significantly. In the course of historical development, a stereotypical image of an old man was formed. Ideas about old age in social, psychological and biological aspects have expanded. Respect for age, which was still the rule in the last century, is disappearing, giving way to indifference or even a certain kind of hostility towards old people. Society denies respect to old people. Our society makes old age a devalued period of life. The opinion that old people are useless consumers; by their existence they contradict the fundamental principle of the development of modern civilization, where everything is subordinated to the search for profit.

In different historical periods, there were different models of attitude towards old people. Respect for hoary antiquity is a characteristic feature of the Russian national tradition. V.V. Kolesov notes that: “The entire ancient Russian period passes under the sign of reverent respect for the old, senior in position and age. According to the chronicle, in Ancient Rus' the elders spoke on behalf of the tribe; in the city, the “elders of the city” also usually spoke forward. The age and social characteristics of the person in a semantic sense completely coincided.” The social experience passed on from generation to generation, constantly enriched and developed, was of great importance. Adherence to traditions was reflected in the daily life of the younger generation, including methods of farming, forms of settlement, thinking skills, and methods of special training and guidance. The life of sons was not much different from the life of fathers and even grandfathers. The pace of social change was slow.

Traditions are the dominant ideas associated with the cult of ancestors. In accordance with them, elders had mystical power, using which they could determine the fate of younger relatives. There were prohibitions that clearly distinguished the behavior of elders and younger ones. For example, taboos (prohibitions) often took the form of avoidance. They limited ritual contacts between elders and younger ones and strictly regulated the behavior of one relative to the other. For example, a nephew might not even be allowed to touch his uncle (mother's brother). Regulation also concerned verbal behavior. In particular, the younger one did not have the right to speak first. He was also often forbidden to chew, smoke, spit, and in conversations with elders he was obliged to use only the most polite addresses and expressions.

The deep-rooted respect for old people is also associated with the peculiarities of the evolution of the family among the Slavs. In Ancient Rus', and later in Russia, multi-generational families survived for a very long time. This contributed to the maintenance of hierarchical relationships, in which elders turned out to be the dominant figure over household members. The father of the family was the head of the family, and preserved the customs and traditions of his ancestors, which brought him respect and created an attitude of obedience to him. Younger family members showed sensitivity and responsiveness to the elderly; this was determined by the characteristics of the socializing role they played. Usually the old people, more than anyone else around their relatives, satisfied the spiritual needs of the children: they told them fairy tales, parables, and mythological legends. They cared for the children, doing daily housework, and encouraged the children to be active as they entered the lives of the adults around them, with little or no punishment.

There is interesting information about the dominance of youth in Russian traditional culture, in particular when solving important “worldly” matters. For example, in the middle of the nineteenth century. young peasants fought more decisively for common peasant interests. The weight that youth had in the traditional community is apparently explained by the militarized nature of the Russian state, in which the supreme power always relied, first of all, on the army, consisting of youth. To put it differently, the government has long tried to snatch youth from the influence of the traditional sector, win them over to their side and, with the help of these military youth, influence the masses. Historical evidence suggests that youth conscripted into military service ignored traditional norms of behavior requiring obedience to elders.

History shows that there is a problem of struggle for power between the old and the young belonging to the ruling class. The old had experience, knowledge, memory, and the young had strength, health and good adaptive abilities. Thus, in traditional societies, the place of each person was determined from the moment of birth, and the ways of interrelating generations and passing on experience were also determined and unchangeable. A different picture is observed in modern dynamic society, which constantly confronts each new generation with new problems and tasks of self-affirmation and choosing the paths of its development. In such a society, the experience of previous generations cannot fully meet the challenges of the present and future. The mechanisms for transmitting experience change, as a result, the “image” of each generation is formed.

Currently, there are strong changes in the economic life of the country; the older generation devotes itself entirely to work, trying to survive in our difficult times. In this regard, such an important problem arises as a decrease in the educational function of the family. Of course, it’s good when grandparents take care of children. The assistance provided by older young family members is very diverse. Most often it is expressed in caring for young grandchildren and great-grandchildren. The importance of this help can hardly be overestimated. Here is the advantage of individual education, the value of close communication with the child in the first years of life, and a great guarantee of protecting him from diseases that are so common in preschool institutions. But when the younger and older generations live together, there is often a lack of understanding of each other. The reasons for the lack of mutual understanding are objective differences associated with new social conditions, differences in views on life, mismatch of values and psychological characteristics of older and young people. There is evidence of domestic violence against older people in different forms: physical, emotional and economic. Instead of an unsatisfied need for communication and care, the older generation feels a desire to protect themselves from conflictual relationships with their offspring. And in most cases he wants to live separately from his relatives.

Thus, in different historical periods, attitudes towards old age were different. This is due to the different roles of the legal principle, different degrees of development of democratic institutions, the specifics of cultural traditions, and historical precedents. The existence of different models of attitude towards old people in different historical periods, among different peoples does not exclude the perception of the old man as different, different with all the ambivalence that this concept contains: he is at the same time subhuman and superhuman, and an idol, and an unnecessary worn-out thing. In the public consciousness, old people were either exalted to the role of saints, or degraded to outcasts, merging with the poor, wretched, and useless.

3. Causes of intergenerational conflicts

Generational conflict is the process of the emergence, manifestation, collision and resolution of contradictions both between representatives of the same generation (intragenerational conflict) and between representatives of different generations (intergenerational conflict). Conflict interactions within and between generations act as a factor in the destruction or strengthening of social ties.

In society, as in nature, there is an infinite number of cause-and-effect relationships and dependencies. And conflicts here are no exception; they can also be generated by a variety of reasons: external and internal, universal and individual, material and ideal, objective and subjective, etc.

In a general sense, the cause of a conflict is the phenomenon that determines its occurrence. What are the reasons for the aggravation of contradictions between generations?

The degree of harmony or conflict between different generations of people depends on the compatibility of value orientations, the basic norms of life of “fathers” and “children”, on the possibility of adequate, successful socialization of youth, on the conditions for favorable interaction with older generations, on the individual’s compliance with the requirements of age-related social status, on the degree of institutionalization of age roles (for example, the presence or absence of youth organizations).

The aggravation of intergenerational relations is associated with a number of social phenomena of our time:

1. Scientific and technological progress, which undermines the authority of seniority, but we will not dwell on this, although very important, reason for the emergence of the conflict between “fathers” and “children”, as we previously considered it (the reason).

2. Neglect of the past, since each new generation must master it in greater and greater completeness. Unfortunately, representatives of younger generations do not always strive to listen to the “recipes” of an aging civilization and take into account its experience; sometimes they completely reject existing life experience and do not want to learn from past mistakes. In other words, young people strive to show their independence and ability to “create” their own history without looking back at the past.

3. The type of education of “complacent undergrowth”, for whom there is an innate feeling of lightness and abundance of life, devoid of any restrictions. Excessive benefits, but not excessive worries, themselves disfigure life activity and produce defective natures of the “darling”, “heir”, who is not interested in anything except himself and the satisfaction of his own desires and needs. He considers his mental and moral level to be more than sufficient, he does not feel responsibilities, does not know difficulties, and taking care of someone, especially representatives of the older generation, is out of the question.

4. This leads to another reason for intergenerational friction - a change in attitudes towards elders (old people) and disrespect for age. However, it should be noted that this reason arose not so long ago and is, perhaps, the most characteristic of modern society, in which, it seems to us, the sense of cohesion and collectivism has been completely lost, and personal gain comes to the fore.

We can talk endlessly about the causes of intergenerational conflicts, since there are a huge number of them. So, in addition to the reasons that we talked about above, we can highlight a whole series, for example, differences in the value orientations of representatives of different generations, and this reason is reflected in all spheres of people’s life (family, work, education, etc.) ; socio-economic changes in the country, which, as we know very well, have a significant and significant impact both on society as a whole and on its individual representatives.

Thus, we can conclude that generational conflict is a very complex and ambiguous social phenomenon, which is based on a huge number of causes (problems).

4. Generation ConflictVfamily sphere

Intergenerational conflicts, like social conflicts, are a process of emergence, manifestation, collision and resolution of contradictions both between representatives of the same generation (intragenerational conflict) and between representatives of different generations (intergenerational conflict), and conflict interactions within and between generations act as a factor of destruction or strengthening social connections.

Intergenerational relationships at the micro level of social connections, in the family, are especially significant, since, unlike a large social group, in a small social group, people’s relationships are of a direct nature. It is very important for every person to know their past, their genealogy, and the life history of their ancestors.

For the first time, the problems of family and intra-family interaction were mentioned in the works of Plato, Anaxagoras, Aristotle, Zeno, where the family is considered as the first experience of society, and the role of the family in maintaining social order is analyzed. Of particular importance for understanding family relationships and interpersonal communications were the works of I.S. Kona, A.G. Kharcheva.

Problems of interaction between children and parents are inherently associated with the inheritance of traditional cultural norms.

E. Byrne, R. Richardson, T. Haris considered the age periods most favorable for the assimilation of social norms and values, as well as the formation and development of the emotional connection between parents and children. It is the family that acts as a powerful institution of social design, laying the foundations for the development of the value potential of the future person of the new generation.

Parental attitudes are a multidimensional phenomenon that reflects, on the one hand, the individual ideas of each person, based on his personal experience, formed by social reality; on the other hand, it is the experience of previous generations, learned by inheriting certain sociocultural traditions and values. Parental attitudes are transmitted from generation to generation and are determined by the social group in whose field they are formed. The depth of recognition of parental attitudes is directly dependent on the possibility of social use of the experience accumulated by previous generations, awareness and analysis of inherited parental attitudes, ensuring the flexibility and efficiency of adaptation of individuals in society.

The family provides solutions to problems related to individual safety and emotional support, protection of the rights of everyone in the family, provides the physical, psychological, spiritual basis for the life of all its members, and is an intergenerational system of inheritance of sociocultural constructs and parental attitudes.

Family has always played an important role in all stages of a person's life.

He grew up in a family, his personality was formed in a family, he raised his children in a family, enriched his world of feelings, the brightest of them were associated with family affairs. Thus, the family seemed to be a natural habitat for an elderly person; from the family he hoped to receive material, physical and spiritual support.

As a consequence of the transformation of the family under the influence of industrial development, urbanization and increasing mobility of the population, ties between generations within the family, as well as between brothers and sisters, are becoming increasingly weak and shallow.

Under these conditions, the opportunities and, at times, the desire of the middle generation to provide assistance to old parents are reduced.

In old age, a person's social ties become limited to those with family, primarily spouse, children and grandchildren, and perhaps also siblings, and these relationships have a profound impact on quality of life and its evaluation. The opportunity to take part in the life of the family, at least meeting with them regularly, providing mutual assistance and various kinds of services gives the old father or mother not only natural satisfaction from the manifestation of his cordiality, but also a feeling of security and recognition of his role in the family and society. It is widely believed that all this could be provided by a traditional large family, especially a peasant family, and to a large extent also a craft family, united by a common source of livelihood, which is the family workshop. The individualism accompanying industrial development broke the community of production and consumption characteristic of the traditional family. According to many, this is what led to the distance between parents and children, to the loss by older people of the support of young people, which they could always count on in case of need.

The family plays an exceptional role in the later stages of an individual's life. It represents the immediate social environment of an elderly person, which can have both a positive and negative impact on his adaptation to the living conditions that have changed after retirement, and on his assimilation of a new social role.

It can also be noted that the strongest factor connecting the older and middle generations are grandchildren. The desire to bring maximum benefit to them often forces retirees to make a certain compromise, sacrificing other needs and taking on unnecessary responsibilities at home. Many pensioners are faced with misunderstanding on the part of the middle generation, who believe that the family should be almost the only object of interest of an elderly person, and who perceive the latter’s contribution as something self-evident.

The family is a unique, irreplaceable support system for older and older people and the main element in the system of relationships between generations, or at least it should be so. However, at present, in the family and household sphere, an elderly person turns out to be more helpless than a child, since he cannot use a computer, cannot learn to drive a car, does not know how to use complex household appliances, and cannot help his grandson do his homework. His ability to harness a horse or mend linen and clothes will not be needed by his grandchildren, who have only seen a horse in a picture, and as for linen, the civilized world is moving to disposable items.

In a family consisting of several generations, older people (usually grandmothers) are destined for the fate of domestic servants, but even here conflicts arise, say, between an adult daughter and her mother. The latter doesn’t wash things right, buys things wrong, or cooks things wrong. The problem of caring for children and raising grandchildren is also a vast field of conflict between three generations: a grandmother’s attempts to raise her grandson to be kind, merciful, and sympathetic are met with hostility by parents who would like to see the child as an individualist, tough, hard-working, competitive in the business world.

The older generation performs an important social function of connecting generations, being a necessary link in a chain that goes back to the distant past. But the memory of the past today is more accumulated in books, films, photographs, and CDs than in the unreliable memory of old people. Even in the family circle, the transmission of family traditions from the older generation to the younger, the memory of ancestors, as a rule, is not realized. Today, when surveying high school students, it is becoming the norm that many young people cannot name the place of work and position of their father or mother, not to mention the biography of their parents, especially their grandparents. As for more distant ancestors, they must be absolutely outstanding people so that great-grandchildren can know something about their life activities (and not just from family legends, but from books and the media).

The causes of the most frequent conflicts in families of three generations are the distribution of roles and the struggle for dominance. The older ones have experience, the younger ones should listen, but for some reason they don’t want to.

The disintegration and fragmentation of a large family is an objective process. In the West it began earlier, in our country later. The nuclear family, parents - children, becomes predominant. This is due to many complex processes - industrialization, urbanization, scientific and technological revolution. But here, probably, one cannot underestimate subjective and psychological factors. Was life easy for children where the elders commanded, sometimes quite despotic? Escaping from dictatorship can be considered a socially progressive and necessary phenomenon. Young people were driven away from home by the desire for self-affirmation and the search for opportunities for this. And today, although almost nothing remains of the former parental authority, they crave autonomy, especially after marriage. Wise parents understand this desire and meet it if they can. But, alas, not every parent can provide the newlyweds with separate housing, and living together can be very difficult, even with a mutual desire to understand each other and give up something. It seems to parents that they are doing a good deed, teaching them to be smart, and sometimes young people get divorced because of this “good”. While overprotecting adult children and freeing them from solving many life problems, parents at the same time complain about their lack of independence. Relationships are especially difficult in families where the elders do not have their own interests or personal goals, and they completely identify their life prospects with the lives of their children.

Often, conflicts arise due to the fact that it is easy for young people to change, rebuild, update, and rush for fashion, while older people value more what they are used to. This is more likely not an old-fashioned taste, but a special wisdom. Unfortunately, children, seeing their parents as support, do not always notice in time that a new stage in the relationship has begun, a new distribution of roles, when they must take care of their parents.

Thus, older people have long been transmitters of cultural traditions and held influential and authoritarian positions in society, thus serving as positive role models for young people. Such relationships between generations were natural, since they satisfied the basic needs of both children and adolescents and the elderly. Today, this knowledge and professional skills are acquired by the masses through social institutions and become obsolete several times during the life of one generation. Thus, old people turn into “carriers of the past” - outdated values, outdated professional knowledge, unnecessary standards of behavior that only interfere with the adaptation of the active population, due to this, various kinds of disagreements (contradictions) arise that outgrow conflicts.

5. Consequencesconflicts between generations

The main negative consequences of intergenerational conflict include the following:

Increased misunderstanding.

Stress and deterioration of emotional state.

Growing social tension.

Increased misunderstanding.

One of the negative consequences of the conflict between “fathers” and “children” is usually associated with the reluctance of representatives of different generations to understand and accept the opinions (position) of the opponent. This is more typical for representatives of modern youth, who strive to be independent in everything and do not want to listen to the opinions of the older generation, as a result of which the existing misunderstanding between generations is further intensified and complicates the already difficult situation of the relationship between “fathers” and “children” .

Stress and deterioration of emotional state. Any clash, dispute, and even more so conflict, one way or another, affects the emotional state of its participants, and most often this influence is not at all positive. A change in a person’s emotional state leads not only to a deterioration in his mood, but also to the emergence of stress, which in turn can develop into deeper forms, which can result in disruptions in people’s health.

Growing social tension. In cases where the conflict cannot be resolved or at least smoothed out for a long time, due to the reluctance of the warring parties to make concessions towards each other, there is an increase in social tension, which can result in a new, more serious and large-scale conflict than the existing one. Well, if the increase in tension occurs openly, then there is a possibility, albeit not great, that it will be resolved peacefully, perhaps even so that both sides will be satisfied with the results. If the increase in tension occurs in a hidden form, that is, representatives of different generations (opponents within one generation) keep their discontent inside, then such a conflict is quite difficult to cope with, because it acquires the properties of a “time bomb” that can explode at any moment and the consequences of the “explosion” will be negative not only for the participants in this collision, but also for society as a whole.

In addition to the negative consequences, there are also some positive consequences of intergenerational conflicts, but they are all associated with its successful completion.

Among the positive consequences of the conflict between “fathers” and “children” are:

Changes in the value-normative system of its participants.

Solving pressing problems.

Relieving social tension and establishing a new balance of power.

Changes in the value-normative system of the conflict participants.

If the conflict ends favorably, if all its participants managed to find a compromise solution, and they were satisfied with the results, then each participant may reassess their value system. Having comprehended everything that happened, they begin to adequately look at the ideas that the opposing side put forward, find pros in its proposals and cons in their beliefs, as a result of which there is a reassessment of their normative and value systems, into which sometimes some adjustments, and sometimes they (systems) can change dramatically.

Solving pressing problems. Conflict resolution not only leads to a change in the opinions and views of the parties to the conflict, its cause or themselves, but also allows you to solve a number of problems. Firstly, the end of the conflict already presupposes the solution of the problem that lay at the heart of this conflict. Secondly, during the conflict, opponents (representatives of different generations), without noticing it themselves, in addition to the main problem that caused the conflict, solve a number of smaller problems.

Relieving social tension and establishing a new balance of power. A conflict that has been resolved always not only makes it possible to solve many different problems and influence the views of its participants, but also to smooth out social tensions between them, and this is possible not only in the case of a complete settlement of the dispute, but also when the first steps towards making a mutually obsolete decision.

However, we should not forget that the conflict will never be resolved, and, therefore, even the removal of social tension on one issue cannot prevent the emergence of friction on others, and, consequently, the conflict itself.

To summarize the above, it should be noted that the conflict of generations manifests itself in different aspects of people’s lives, that is, it determines the position of generations in society, reflects the different living conditions of different generations, shows the relationship between generations in the process of communication, everyday life, and others. It is based on many different reasons (including the influence of processes occurring in society), and, consequently, consequences, which are most clearly manifested after its settlement.

Zconclusion

The problem of generations is one of the eternal ones, and this problem is not biological (at this level it also exists in animals) and not even demographic, but sociocultural or cultural-historical. In this sense, the term generation itself is not defined. It conveys, first of all, people’s involvement in certain social events (processes) that significantly influence the life of society, and the associated commonality of goals, socio-psychological attitudes, and value orientations that characterize the specifics of their mentality. We are talking about changes in the methods and types of continuity, the cultural and historical meaning of which is highlighted by the attitude towards tradition.

In conditions of sharp social changes, of course, the conflict of generations is more clearly revealed, since age characteristics affect the ability to adapt to changes, so that sociocultural characteristics seem to be intertwined with demographic ones. But this does not mean their identification.

Generation is a temporary category. The change of generations is the flow that goes through history, ensuring the transfer of social information, culture, and accumulated experience from one generation to another. But the specific nature of the relationship depends on historical conditions. Therefore, a historical approach to the problem is extremely important. Each society, each era develops a certain type of intergenerational relationship, and certain mechanisms for the transmission of culture over time.

In traditional societies, the place of each person was determined from the moment of birth, the problem of personality does not stand there as an independent one, the ways of interrelating generations and transferring experience are defined and unchangeable. The picture is different in modern dynamic society, which constantly confronts each new generation with problems and tasks of self-affirmation and choosing the paths of its development. In such a society, the experience of previous generations cannot fully meet the challenges of the present and future. The mechanisms of transmission of experience themselves do not remain unchanged, and the “image” of each generation is formed accordingly.

Since generation is a temporary category, the problem associated with the attitude of each generation to the past, present and future is inevitable. For Russia this is a particularly acute problem. The rejection of the ideology of the past led to the collapse of the “connection of times”, the sense of belonging to the history of one’s country, one’s homeland.

Analysis of the value aspects of interrelations and relationships between generations is also very important, since the value system has changed. The mechanisms of “social inheritance” and the ways of self-affirmation of new generations are changing. Now young people have gained greater independence, including in choosing what they perceive from the past, and, at the same time, the influence of material considerations and economic factors in determining their behavior has increased. The old, predominantly traditionalist mechanism of social inheritance is breaking down, and a new mechanism capable of protecting young people from antisocial influences, moods, and actions has not yet been formed.

The main range of modern problems of intergenerational relationships in our society is determined by Russian history and the transitional state of society itself. Changes in Russia that completely reject the experience of previous generations lead to conflict and a gap between generations. Currently, the process of mastering the idea of individuality as the most important social asset is underway. This process goes in two directions: on the one hand, economic entrepreneurship, on the other, the sphere of private life, personal connections and relationships. At the same time, young people have some starting advantages - plasticity, freedom from stereotypes, a real supply of friendly forms of communication. It is the elders who experience the greatest social, cultural, and emotional deficits. There are differences in the value orientations and preferences of young and old, which are manifested in the preferences of the private and public spheres of production and consumption. The division of generations is facilitated by the fact that the younger generation took advantage of the opportunities for upward mobility, while the older generation slid down the status ladder.

Generational distance has influenced changes in the attitude of young people towards older people. Since the younger generation does not have a clear understanding of the life of the elderly, it tends to dramatize their social situation. This is how stereotypes are born when the probabilistic nature of information about reality is transformed into a categorical judgment of a deterministic nature. Elderly people are perceived as sick, poor, lonely, without social significance, and unable to perceive new things.

In modern Russian society, although to a lesser extent than in Western countries that have entered the era of modernization, an attitude is being formed towards older people as unnecessary to society. Our European mentality softens this utilitarian attitude towards older people as having spent their resources and whose place is in a landfill. True, in the West, the culture of usefulness of people with disabilities, which includes the majority of old people, is evolving towards a culture of dignity.

Modern social problems burden not only the young and old, but also the middle generation, who are often responsible for the care and support of other age groups. It is clear that the lack of intergenerational contact affects all age groups.

In today's situation of general disunity and intransigence, the resumption of intergenerational contacts could become a stabilizing factor in modern society.

WITHlist of literature

1. Afanasyeva A.N. Historical process and generational change. - In the book: Continuity of generations as a sociological problem. M. 1973.

2. Vdovina M.V. Intergenerational conflict in the modern Russian family // Sociological Research 2005. No. 1.

3. Con. I.S. Sociology of personality. M., 1967.

4. Molevich E.F. Towards an analysis of the essence and form of social old age. //Sociological research. 2001. No. 4.

5. Spasibenko S.G. Generations as subjects of public life // Socio-political journal. 1995. No. 4.

6. Saralieva Z.N., Balabanova S.S. An elderly person in central Russia // Sociological Research. 1999. No. 12.

7. Shapiro V.D. Social activity of older people in the USSR. M.:, 1983.

Generation Conflict

It is impossible to unequivocally answer the question of how generational conflicts manifest themselves. Many factors play a big role: from the degree of importance of the essence of what is being discussed to the characteristics of the nervous system of the interlocutors. However, perhaps the biggest role is played by where they occur.

In family

Such conflicts occur most often. Sometimes even every day. But they all have different scales:

So, we can take as an example a situation where parents forbid a minor daughter to walk until nightfall; she gets offended, does not understand the older generation, and harbors a grudge against them. This refers to serious conflicts that can leave a big mark on family relationships.
And here, for example, is the following situation: every time the grandmother “encourages” her grandson to eat more, to which he says that he is already full. This is also a kind of conflict, but it does not leave serious marks on mutual respect, mutual understanding, support, etc.

It is also worth considering that it is family differences between generations that often cause a more acute reaction, a desire to be understood. Therefore, they are often considered relatively more dangerous for a person than those that occur in society between unfamiliar or even strangers.

In society

These include all those conflicts that occurred outside the family: with neighbors, in a store, in a clinic, etc. Very often they occur due to some human factors: the one who argues or starts a quarrel did not get enough sleep / was nervous before / was sick, etc., so he is not able to control himself so as not to take it out on a stranger.

However, some individuals deliberately provoke quarrels because they want to “get off” with a stranger, so as not to do this in a collision with a loved one.

The danger of such conflicts lies in the fact that the interlocutor often falls into a rage when a stranger, not knowing the entire life situation of the opponent, begins to tell him what he is doing is wrong, unreasonable, etc. It is possible to avoid all sorts of disagreements outside the home by indifference to what is happening behind the scenes. outside of “their territory”.

Resolution methods

For many, the most significant issue is probably not what the disagreement is, but how to resolve it. Here are the three most appropriate methods:

Arguing your position. To prove that you are right, it is not enough to simply stand your ground. You can try to convince your interlocutor that what was said is not just an opinion, but an opinion based on something: experience, reading from a reliable source, example, etc. But at the same time, it is important to listen to the interlocutor who holds a different point of view. In some situations, both opinions are true, so when the circumstances are clarified, the conflict between the older and younger generations can be quickly resolved.
Compromise. Restrained people who know how to listen and analyze come to him especially easily. Practice proves that in situations where there are two different opinions, it is possible to find a “golden mean”, the essence and outcome of which will satisfy both sides. A compromise sometimes lies in the fact that opponents follow first one opinion, then another. Perhaps one of them will clearly see the usefulness/sanity/expediency of the decision of someone whose point of view was not accepted at first.
Concession. If one of the parties wants to end the conflict, it is better for them to simply refuse to win. The fact is that when entering into a debate, different generations can argue for a long time about who is right and what the outcome will be. This can also lead to a variety of consequences, which often negatively affect the relationship between these people. There are three options to resolve the situation:

everyone remains unconvinced (that is, both sides stop proving they are right);
one of the parties agrees (“Okay, maybe you’re right”);
the conflict does not begin initially due to the fact that one of the interlocutors, who has the opposite point of view, simply decides to remain silent (this method is especially relevant in case of minor disagreements).

Are there any positive aspects?

It would seem, what positive aspects could there be in the fact that conflicts occur between two generations: relatives, friends or complete strangers?

Nevertheless, there are advantages to such conflicts:

Society is moving forward with great strides. This can be achieved to a greater extent thanks to the views of young people who strive for development in all areas. By discovering more and more new facets of this world, it is possible to achieve great success in many situations that previously seemed problematic or even insoluble. To a greater extent, this concerns science, technology, medicine, etc. However, it is worth considering that modern development does not always have a positive effect on society. An example would be some fashion trends that corrupt moral principles, attitudes towards health, reports from the media and much more.
Experience exchange. Each of the conflicting parties always argues its position with certain facts: it will be better, more useful, more beautiful, more convenient, cheaper, etc. Often such explanations at first seem insufficient and unconvincing. But then, when a mistake or victory in this dispute is obvious, the older or younger generation adopts this experience.

Video: Generation Conflict

Introduction

In any community of living subjects, three main generations can be distinguished: older, mature and young.

Conflict between generations is a normal, constant component of the relationship between “older” and “younger”. Such relationships are determined by the very structure of biological life. In nature, the old is replaced by the new, and this process does not stop in space-time. In human society, the natural succession of generations should be viewed as the constant reproduction of cultural differences. At the same time, the parties to the conflict are divided by the way in which this or that generation goes through the stages of growing up and acquires legal capacity. The modern in culture can preserve itself only by running the constant risk of obsolescence. The traditional in culture is preserved through continuous renewal.

Generational conflicts in the family

Whenever we talk about the conflict between generations, between “children” and “fathers,” we move on to considering the problem at the micro level. That is, ultimately, we explore the problems of relationships in the family. Relationships in any family represent a current model of generational conflict (even if hidden). The example of a family reveals typical generational contradictions that exist in society. The relationships between generations in a certain set of families can be typified according to certain characteristics; it is in this way that sociology and conflictology study the age and value structure of the entire society. And so, summarizing the results and drawing conclusions, we can explore the conflicts of each new generation with the previous one at the macro level.

In any society, at different stages of its existence and development, it is possible to identify groups that are most prone to various forms of manifestations of conflict at different levels. It is also possible to identify the most conflict-free representatives of a generation, conditionally uniting them according to certain value, cultural and psychological characteristics. Each new generation is characterized by a special worldview, spiritual appearance, interests, and attitude to status in society.

Relationships in society in the twentieth century. (especially in the second half) was characterized by noticeable conflict among the young. That is, youth culture played a dominant role in the initiation and development of changes in society (this, however, was the case before). The main difference between this process in the twentieth century. and currently it is that the culture of “young people” is determined not by the mainstream of the generation, but by various underground forms, that is, youth subcultures. In general, generational conflicts and youth subcultures are an object of constant study for modern cultural studies, conflictology, sociology and social psychology.

What is characteristic of the 20th century for Russia? What is it especially about our country that worries and excites the consciousness of people who take responsibility for resolving the conflict between generations?

First, let us highlight the problems common between generations (as a gap that leads to increased conflict potential in society), dominant in all countries:

- continuity and transmission of cultural values from generation to generation;
- familiarization with family values and socially significant ones (education, healthy lifestyle);
- transfer of property by inheritance;
- degree of dependence and responsibility between generations;
- state policy in relation to different generations;
- the relationship between traditions and social innovations in society.

Modern research shows that some of the main factors in generational conflict are the following:

- lowering the social status of older people;
- changing the nature of work in industrial society, as a result of accelerating the pace of scientific and technological progress;
- youth devaluing the accumulated experience of older generations;
- the spread of an unspoken state policy of removing older people who have reached retirement age from work.

These trends contribute to the devaluation of old age in the eyes of the younger generation and the strengthening of the gerontophobic (fear of age) attitude in the mass consciousness.

In 1962, a symposium of gerontologists approved age gradations, later adopted by foreign scientists: 40-60 - middle age; 60-75 - old age; 75-90 - old age; over 90 are long-livers. Old age as a phenomenon of human life is represented by two qualitatively different aspects of its existence: biological and social. Biological old age is a natural phase of individual development, and social old age is the final stage of the age structure of society. Social old age is the inability of a person, due to age, to provide himself with everything necessary. As a result, there is a transition to someone else's dependency. This widespread understanding and definition of social old age is widespread in both domestic and foreign science.

American anthropologist and ethnographer L.G. Morgan divided all human activity into three main eras: savagery, barbarism and civilization. He announced the postulate that "all great epochs of human progress coincide - more or less directly - with epochs of expansion of the sources of existence." It is believed that one of the most important factors that contributed to the preservation of the lives of old people was the use of fire. The ability to cook food reduced the previously widespread infanticide. The position of the old people changed: they helped the women look after the fire and were the keepers of the fire.

An old man is at the same time a sub-human and a super-human, an idol, and an unnecessary worn-out thing. In the public consciousness, old people were either exalted to the role of saints, or degraded to outcasts, merging with the poor, wretched, and useless.

There are two fundamental points of view on the relationship between generations:

- in modern society there is a big difference between generations and this gap is increasing;
- the idea of growing intergenerational differences is illusory. Nothing new has happened in this regard.

Any society at all stages of development is characterized by the so-called “fathers and sons” contradiction. It can safely be considered eternal. In modern culture there is a pronounced layer of innovations that constantly hack and rebuild the cultural tradition, thereby complicating the processes of socialization and human adaptation to the constantly changing conditions and demands of life. The complication of sociocultural reality is accompanied by a breakdown of traditions and norms. And this problem is not biological, but sociocultural. This is the problem of changing the methods and types of continuity, the refusal of continuity, the destruction of tradition, and therefore the destruction of culture. Culture can only develop based on tradition. A change in the types of continuity and attitude towards tradition is not at all associated with the denial of one’s own history; it presupposes the development of an ideal and the search for means of life that are adequate to it. The idea of age and attitude towards age had a direct impact on the entire social life of the state and on the life of every family.

The book “Fathers and Sons” was written in the sixties of the nineteenth century. This is a story about unhappy love, new beliefs and the eternal problem of mutual understanding between different generations. It is the latter theme that is presented in the novel from various points of view.

The basis of disagreement in the novel

The topic of mutual understanding between parents and children is an eternal one. It was especially successfully revealed by the Russian classic. The conflict of generations in the novel “Fathers and Sons” is a difference in views on the political, cultural and social situation in Russia in the second half of the 19th century. It was 1860 that became a turning point in the history of the empire. Constant uprisings of dissatisfied peasants forced the government to abolish serfdom. This divided people into two camps.

In the first there were representatives of the old world, nobles and rich people. The second part is supporters of a new, free era, where people were valued and respected. Evgeny Bazarov, the hero of the novel “Fathers and Sons,” belonged to those who wanted revolution. He is a nihilist, which means he does not recognize authorities and laughs at generally accepted values. His ideas are shared by Arkady and his beloved Anna. But at the same time, he becomes an enemy for a close friend and for his parents.

A clash of views

The conflict gains its greatest development due to the stubbornness and misunderstanding of two representatives of different generations and eras. This is a meeting of the beliefs of the democratic revolutionary and the liberal nobleman Nikolai Petrovich Kirsanov. The first one tries to work for the benefit of society. The second one cares more about his own benefit. However, both of them are energetic and confident in defending their beliefs. In general, they are varied.

They relate to religion, philosophy and even poetry. The characterization of the novel “Fathers and Sons” is a brief description of the events that actually took place in Russia in the 1860s. Conversations and are conversations between people of those turning-point years for society.

Discrepancies in the Kirsanov family

It is also important to consider the relationship between Arkady and Nikolai Petrovich. These two, father and son, are also representatives of different generations. Arkady is Evgeny Bazarov's best friend and also his obedient student. He strives to understand nihilism and immerse himself in the theory of democracy as much as possible.

His father is an avid liberal who is embarrassed by his connection with the common people. In particular, he is ashamed of his love for a young woman named Fanechka. The first conflict of generations in the novel “Fathers and Sons” arises between the father and Arkady. But the love they cherish for each other is stronger than the misunderstanding regarding their views on society.

Kinship is stronger than conviction

So, over time, Arkady abandons his theory and stops trying to join in the creation of a new world. Nikolai Petrovich is not far behind. At the end of the novel, he marries the commoner Fanechka. And Arkady chooses the modest and quiet Catherine as his wife. Their conflict is resolved.

Characteristics of the novel “Fathers and Sons” - an analysis of the society of that time. Turgenev shows that Bazarov’s thoughts did not take root, the conflict that arose in this family hesitated, never reaching a logical solution. But at the end of the book, during the double wedding of father and son, the author makes a minor point and says that neither of them looks happy.

The author and Bazarov's parents

Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev does not hide his attitude towards the older generation and instills love for this in his reader. His tender feelings of gratitude and respect can be seen in the description of Dear, charming spouses, from the first lines we are attracted by the warmth and friendliness that emanates from them.

The conflict of generations in the novel “Fathers and Sons” could not have been so vivid if the author had not so clearly revealed the images of old people to the reader. So, he introduces us to Arina Vlasevna and Vasily Ivanovich. Mother is a sweet old lady who equally believes in God and folk superstitions. She is the embodiment of hospitality, peace and kindness. Father, a respectable man who rightly earned the respect of his acquaintances. He is sincere, warm-hearted and even tries to join the new ideas of the generation.

Their only son is the greatest joy in their life. Knowing about his difficult character, his parents try to indulge him as much as possible. They tiptoe around him and show only part of their feelings for their beloved child. Evgeny Bazarov, the main character of the novel “Fathers and Sons,” reveals himself to us from the other side in his home.

The role of Bazarov's whole life

An unapproachable heart is not so unapproachable. From the first lines of the novel, the reader observes how Eugene treats the older generation with disdain. Corrosive, pompous, narcissistic, he refuses any other people's thoughts. His arrogance and coldness are repulsive. He is inhuman and indifferent to old age.

But once he gets to his parents' house, most of his contempt disappears. The main theme of the novel “Fathers and Sons,” the difference between generations, is clearly expressed precisely in the relationship between Evgeniy and his parents. A change in environment changes Bazarov's way of thinking. He becomes softer, more tolerant, more gentle. Despite the fact that he rarely visits his homeland, he passionately loves his loved ones, although he diligently hides this behind a mask of absent-mindedness. His main problem is that he has never learned to express his feelings, especially if it concerns bright, positive emotions. It was precisely this wall of inability and misunderstanding that parents faced.

Conflict of views

In his work, Turgenev revealed a simple and painful truth - the difference between generations. Bazarov's old-fashioned parents only worsen, although not intentionally, their relationship with their son. All the characters in the novel “Fathers and Sons” are very strong personalities, and for them to break their own views in favor of others is unacceptable.

The young man does not share his philosophy with his parents, representatives of another generation. They are devout, and he is an atheist, they are people of the first half of the century, he is of the second. And the parents, knowing about their son’s isolation, do not try to get into his world of new principles. So, both the first and the second rejoice at the small amount of intimacy that exists.

Perhaps, if Eugene’s life path had been longer, he himself had become a father, then over the years he would have understood what was not revealed to him, a young dreamer. And then the conflict of generations in the novel “Fathers and Sons” could find a logical solution. But the author decided to correct the situation in the destinies of his readers through the grief of the characters.

A world that has not matured to Bazarov’s views

The events in the novel take place from May 1859 to the winter of 1860. These are significant years for the history of Russia. It was then that new ideals were born. And the first who began to distribute them was Evgeny Bazarov. But the world was not ready for his beliefs, so the only thing left for the lonely hero was to give up his attempts to change the country. But fate chose a different path for him.

Death put an end to suffering on earth, where no one understood him. Along with Bazarov’s death, all the conflicts that the author created in the work were resolved. The story of the novel “Fathers and Sons” is the story of a rootless man. He was forgotten by friends, supporters and his beloved. And only the elderly parents continued to mourn their only joy.

The problem of “fathers and sons” arises in all spheres of human life: in the family, in the work team, in society. This issue can be resolved if the older generation is more tolerant of the younger generation, perhaps agreeing with him somewhere, and the “children” will show more respect.

Intergenerational conflict is part of human conflicts that arise in the process of development and decline of the family institution, as well as the functioning of the family as a small group.

Intergenerational conflicts in the family are, first of all, conflicts between parents and children, grandparents and grandchildren. Obviously, conflicts between parents and young families (including along the lines of “mother-in-law-daughter-in-law”, “mother-in-law”, etc.) can be classified as intergenerational, as well as between family members who are permanently or for a certain period of time legally equated to blood relatives, for example, between adoptive parents and adopted children, adoptive parents and children.

The degree of harmony or conflict between different generations of people depends on:

1. Compatibility of value orientations

2. Basic norms of life of “fathers” and “children”

3. From the possibility of adequate, successful socialization of youth

4. From the conditions of favorable interaction with older generations

5. From the individual’s compliance with the requirements of age-related social status.

Let us highlight the causes of the conflict between young people and the older generation. As a rule, there are several such reasons; they can accumulate over years and depend on the personality characteristics of family members or on the specifics of the family and even the situation in society. For example, this may be the incompatibility of the interests of the parties, material problems, immoral behavior of family members, housing problems, differences in the social status of generations, the remoteness of residence of “fathers” and “children,” peculiarities of cultural behavior, growing up of children, different values of the young and the older generations, struggle for power and influence in the family, etc.

Very often, conflicts occur because parents do not want to admit that their child has matured. Representatives of the adult generation believe that age and experience allow them to dictate the younger generation’s behavior, make comments, and demand that they follow their advice. In their opinion, there is a decline in morals among young people (for example, disrespect for age). Young people, in turn, believe that they have sufficient knowledge, and age in this case does not play a special role. Due to such disagreement, tension arises between the parties and they are unable to get to the root of the problem that has arisen in their relationship. Instead, the list of mutual claims and disagreements is growing, but no way to resolve them is being found. In order to reduce conflicts to a minimum, it is necessary to take into account the personal psychological characteristics of each of the participants in the conflict.

There are several factors due to which sometimes young people do not want to adopt the experience of the older generation:

1. The situation of the older generation is aggravated by the presence of past experience and modeling of life according to the model of their upbringing.

2. The criteria for the social development of young people are increasingly the acquisition and improvement of their own social status, the achievement of social maturity.

In individual psychological terms, the younger generation is characterized by a not always conscious desire to get rid of external control, increased emotionality, excitability, idealization of certain life ideas, maximalism, as well as instability of moral positions, which is often formed on the perception of negative phenomena of society. Socialization occurs under the influence of various conditions and circumstances, which are formed not only from the activities of public institutions and the targeted educational process, but also under the influence of such, as a rule, uncontrollable factors, such as the informal environment of communication with peers, views and moods existing in society.

It cannot be said that the younger generation abandons the experience of the previous one; rather, on the contrary, it depends on the influence of family traditions, continuity, and family values. There is also a dependence on parents in the process of building a career, starting a family, etc. The life goals of young people and the planned means of their implementation, as well as the social activity exhibited at the same time, have become important factors in their socialization.

For example, the problem of intergenerational conflicts is shown in the film “Family Values” directed by Fred Schepisi. This is a family melodrama at the center of which is the continuity of generations. The film tells the story of the Gromberg family, whose members are very different people (from a successful lawyer to a young rebel), who have different concepts of life and different attitudes towards it, different values, which is why conflicts between generations and misunderstandings actually occur. It is sometimes very difficult for the Grombergs to find a common language. However, they are trying to do it. The essence of the film is well shown in the phrase of one of the characters, which later became the slogan of the film: “Some families can survive anything. Even with each other."

As a second example of a conflict between generations, director Carl Franklin’s film “True Values” can serve as a deep and touching drama that balances between life and death, responsibilities and duty, love and ambition, grievances and forgiveness, misunderstanding and acceptance. There are a lot of problems raised in the film. Briefly it can be described as follows: the relationships of people with their closest and dearest. When trouble strikes the Galden family, Catherine and George ask their daughter Ellen, an ambitious journalist for a prestigious New York magazine, for help. We see an ordinary family, but each family has its own little secrets and relationships between parents and children. We see that the daughter and her mother have nothing in common, and since childhood the daughter wanted to be like her father and not like her mother. A girl has to move from the big city back home, because her mother was diagnosed with cancer and now she needs care, and the father of the family is a man who does not want to come to terms with his wife’s illness, does not want to change anything in his life and is trying to live as before, “ blaming all the problems on her daughter, and she has to endure all these difficulties alone and forget about her career.

Initially, having her own principles and ideals, the heroine could not understand her mother, why she, despite everything, continued to do everything for her family, for her husband. Throughout the entire picture we see the spiritual transformation of the heroine. She becomes kinder, more sincere, more decent. True values are revealed to her. What is a brilliant career for if there is no one to be proud of you? Why do you need a lot of money if there is no one to spend it with? Ellen transforms from an ambitious journalist into an understanding daughter. After the death of the mother, the whole family realizes how to set priorities correctly, what is really important in life and what is not, what can give real happiness, and what is just a promise of it. He thinks about what true values are and how to protect them, how to preserve warmth and love in his soul and have time to give them to loved ones before it is too late. The father realized how wrong he was in relation to his wife, who devoted her life to him and the family: “She was my only true value...”. Ellen regrets that she did not have time to live in that real family, with the caring mother that she always had, but she did not accept this, and when she understood, it was too late. She finally understands and accepts her mother’s words: “It’s important to love what you have, and you have so much...” This film is about life, about how short and priceless it is. This film is about complex human relationships that are so difficult to understand.

Thus, we can conclude that generational conflict is a very complex and ambiguous social phenomenon, which is based on a huge number of reasons.