The ethical dimension of lagom in the concept of modern minimalism

Lyubokhonskaya Oksana Valer'evna PhD in Philosophy Lecturer; Department of History and Philosophy; A.F. Mozhaisky Military Space Academy 195273, Russia, Saint Petersburg, Zhdanovskaya str., 11 gl.oksana2018@yandex.ru Other publications by this author

Modern minimalism (from English minimal – "simplification of the essence or form", the term was originally used in art in the second half of the 20th century) is more often explored in a broad socio-cultural or aesthetic aspect, less often in a philosophical (ontological and epistemological) and almost not explored in an ethical aspect, except for the emerging discourse of digital culture.. ^{[7, p.85]}. In the humanitarian field of research, the socio-psychological discourse of minimalism exists and is being developed, while the philosophical and ethical one remains almost unnoticed. The postmodern revolution that took place affected not only the ontological foundations, when "top" and "bottom" change places ^{[16, p.63]}, but at the same time led to the subjectification of the ethical field, the violation of universal moral guidelines, when the forbidden becomes permitted, and everything allowed is forbidden. This contributed to a fundamental change in ethics and to the modern active search for new foundations for it. Modern ethics, like ontology, has lost its absoluteness and totality, which was characteristic of them in the 20th century. At the same time, a very interesting phenomenon is being observed these days, when aesthetics in many ways begins to define a new ethical paradigm of the 21st century. This article attempts to show the trajectory of such a movement or "aesthetic shift" in ethics using the example of one of the popular modern concepts of the philosophy of everyday life – lag, which is a striking phenomenon of modern minimalism that has become popular among people.

The very term "lagom", meaning a special way of life, came from Sweden and comes from the Old Norse laget om, which means a symbolic group action of Vikings who formed a circle and drank a horn with mead, passing it to each other ^{[4, p.6]}. Lagom is now understood as moderation or a measure in everything, literally translated as "not too much, not too little", "just right", "enough" ^{[3, p.8]}. In this article, for the first time, the task is to consider lagom as one of the concepts of modern minimalism through an ethical dimension and show the ethical foundations this socio-cultural phenomenon. To do this, it is necessary to first turn to ancient Greek philosophy in order to find and show the root basis of ethical minimalism.

The Socratic-sophistic paradigm.

The root basis of ethical minimalism in philosophy, first of all, is found in the Socratic-sophistic (ethical-anthropological) paradigm, presented to us through the prism of Plato's dialogues. This paradigm includes well–known opposites: in relation to truth, objective – subjective, in relation to morality, general – individual, in relation to cognition - internal orientation to the absolute and relativity (relativity). Ancient ethical minimalism is based on three basic principles of mindfulness, measure and simplicity and is the starting point for the emergence of the subsequent ascetic tradition, which passed into the Christian one. It should be noted that minimalism in ethics is primarily the practice of the inner (ascending to the Absolute beginning), leading to the practice of the outer in relation to another person, the surrounding world and things.

Awareness is the most important and deep foundation of ethical action. It manifests itself in the epistemological trajectory of self-knowledge, which Socrates calls the divine occupation or practice of oneself, a breakthrough "to one's own" ^{[2, p.6]}. With the help of mindfulness, Socrates' concern is manifested to "distinguish his present, his own, from his belonging" ^{[2, p. 81]}. Hence the famous Socratic formula "Know thyself."

Awareness leads to an understanding of reasonableness or moderation (measure). Fundamentally, the measure (metron) is introduced into ethics from ontology, or rather from ancient Greek ontocosmology ^{[10, p.36]}. Measure belongs to eternity and is the basic eidos of being, or according to Plato, proportionality, revealing itself in beauty and virtue ^{[14, p.92]}. In addition to the ontological dimension, Socrates and the sophists give the measure an anthropological orientation. In the dialogue of Theaetetus, Plato says through the mouth of Socrates: "Whether you want it or not, you will have to admit that you are a measure" ^{[13, p.266]}. If the measure for Socrates is deep and divine, belongs to eternity, therefore a person, measuring with it, must also become eternal, then the famous sophist Protagoras, denies the Socratic search for the "integral self" and postulates the individuality of the measure, which can be used to measure the external, considering man as a continuation in things, objects and deeds ^{[17, p. 116]}.

Simplicity is introduced into ethics from the ontological and aesthetic philosophical dimensions and is present in both Socrates and the sophists, but with the opposite focus of understanding. For Socrates, the Absolute simplicity is objective Truth as a single Good, and for sophists, the subjective truth of the individual. The deep essence of minimalism consists in "keeping oneself from the simple", when what is not necessary is discarded, and everything necessary is reduced to one ^{[11, p.5]}. Simplicity is thus not only an ethical category, but primarily an ontological one. Sophists use it rather as a simplification, which gradually leads to solipsism and relativism, especially in the person of Gorgias, who claims that "existence does not exist" and "non-existence does not exist" ^{[15, p. 73]}.

The relationship between Ancient Greek Eudaimonism and minimalism

Eudaimonism, like minimalism in ethics, proceeds from the proposed Socratic-sophistic paradigm. Ancient eudaimonism is based on the same minimalist categories, awareness and measure, but the categories of virtue, pleasure and happiness are added, which are less pronounced in the ethics of minimalism. As for the category of simplicity, it is obviously present in Eudaemonism as a goal setting for achieving the Good (Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus), leading a person to cherished happiness.

The virtues of the soul occupy a central place in ancient eudaimonism. The doctrine of virtues (positive qualities of the soul) was traditionally developed by Socrates in opposition to the sophists. The dialogue "Euthydemus" is indicative, where Socrates comes to the conclusion that no "available good" (material goods) makes a person happy (280b) ^{[12, p.168]}, but only wisdom that can be learned and virtues (282c) ^{[12, p.171]}. Plato shares the same position. Aristotle defines happiness (eudaimonia) in Nicomachean Ethics as "the activity of the soul according to virtue" (1009b 25) ^{[1, p.69]}. For Aristotle, virtues continue to play a fundamental role, but he does not exclude the existence of a sufficient supply, including external goods, and not just internal virtues.

In the late period of antiquity, the schools of Cynicism and Stoicism were the most minimalistic, while Epicureanism created a full-fledged eudaimonic ethical model. In Epicurus' ethics, virtues continue to retain their central importance, and this brings him closer to Socrates. Moreover, the main virtue, from the philosopher's point of view, is prudence, the possession of which is "more expensive even than philosophy." However, Epicurus begins to talk about the importance of pleasures, defining them as "the beginning and the end of a happy life" or "the first good that is innate to us" that a person can know. It is with him that "we begin every choice and avoidance" ^[19] of displeasure and suffering. For Epicurus, pleasure or non-pleasure becomes the measure of every good, but not every pleasure leads to good, followed by suffering or evil, just as not every displeasure is ultimately suffering, since through suffering one can reach the highest good. Epicurus is the first philosopher who tries to balance between eudaimonism, hedonism and minimalism and sets out further prospects for the development of these areas in ethics. For the first time, he suggests measuring pleasure by the measure of reasonableness (moderation), which should ultimately lead to "freedom from bodily suffering and mental anxiety" ^[19]. Among the followers of Epicurus, the doctrine of virtues later acquires a more prosaic meaning. Virtues are a tool for achieving the goal of bliss ^[20].

Thus, the main categories of ancient Greek ethical minimalism are awareness, measure and simplicity, which in turn are transferred to the field of ancient Greek aesthetics, characterized by the harmonious and proportional nature of consciousness ^{[9, p.411]}. Eudaimonism introduces the categories of virtue, pleasure, and happiness. Which of them are found in the ethical dimension of lag as a sociocultural phenomenon?

Lagom is the philosophy of the new minimalism.

Modern minimalism can be considered as a way of life or daily existence of a person who poses the question: "How to live properly?" ^{[8, p. 106]} At the beginning of the 21st century, lagom as the ideal of a minimalist lifestyle becomes one of the answers to the question posed by man. This lifestyle is characterized by the philosophy of everyday life, which includes "taking care of yourself" and "taking care of the world", being an aesthetic (space and neutral color even in demure, clean girl cosmetology) and an ethical trend at the same time. The popularity of such a socio-cultural concept is associated with the oversaturation of modern society (especially in economically developed countries) with material goods, an increase in stressful psychological and informational factors, and the deteriorating environmental situation as a whole. The ethical dimension of lag is most pronounced by individual, social, and environmental ethics.

Individual ethics. The authors, popularizers of lag as a lifestyle, suggest working on yourself, starting with the emotional sphere. It can be described as caring for a person's psychological space, that is, finding a balance and harmony between emotional activity and passivity (restraint of emotions, moderation and absence of fads) ^{[18, p. 23]}. Lag is about finding that "golden mean", harmony in everything, when you don't have a lot, not a little, but enough. Lagom was strongly influenced by the spread of Protestantism in Sweden, which condemned the thirst for wealth and material goods. ^{[5, p. 185]}. This gives a puritanical connotation to this way of life, which calls for modesty, caring for one's neighbor, and a fair distribution of economic and social benefits ^{[18, p.26]}. It is necessary to change the very attitudes of life, to move from "to have" to "to be" ^{[18, p. 107]}. We can say that the lagom lifestyle (moderation, reasonableness, rejection of excesses, expediency in consumption, not attachment to material goods) is an attempt to leave the consumer society and return to oneself, rethink life, become free from things in order to free up space for love and true attitude to others, for creativity and new creation ^{[18, p.107]}. Lagom aesthetics is beginning to define ethics in many ways. An example is the lagom design, which is created with the visualization of an expanded space and the neutrality of the color scheme in order to balance, calm the human psyche, and give it comfort and coziness.

Building a psychological space of being should be harmoniously combined with building an external space where an ethical attitude to things is consistent with the aesthetic aspect of human existence. At its core, we are dealing with a special kind of existentialism, but only having the opposite direction vector. Its original orientation does not come from an inner existence manifested externally, but from an external existence referring to an attempt to change a person internally. This is seen as the predominance of the sophistic relativistic approach over the Socratic one. There is an increase in external functionality in the relationship: person – thing, person - person, person - society, which is certainly associated with the emergence and development of computer and innovative technologies. External functionality should invariably lead to an increase in the status of the individual's own internal functionality, which presupposes compatibility or harmony with oneself and the world, as well as a holistic understanding of oneself and the world. The category of functionality found in modern ethics and introduced into it from the aesthetic field of avant-garde art of the 20th century needs a separate broad study. It should be noted that this category was only in the aesthetic, and not in the ethical field of ancient Greek philosophy, being one of the determining factors of structure and beauty (integrity, compatibility, harmony).

Social ethics. One of the biggest ethical challenges is finding a balance between individual ethical standards and public ones. The Swedish lagom-style lifestyle is no exception here. If in philosophy the category of measure is a synthesis of the categories of quantity and quality, that is, a transform measure within which quality varies depending on the change in quantity, then the concept of lag does not carry such a load from a philosophical point of view, since this term is the dialectical opposite of Jant's law (from the dates – norv. «janteloven»). The term was coined by the Danish-Norwegian writer Axel Sandemus in the novel "The Fugitive Crosses his Trail." Yante's law says: "You are no better than us" ^{[6, p.94]} or "keep your head down." The ability to balance the social attitude of janta with individual unfolding human capabilities remains one of the main problems of the Scandinavian countries. It can be said that Yante's law is the reverse side of lagom, which implies such moderation in a society where all its members are treated as equals, "everyone should have the same rights and bonuses" ^{[4, p.31]}. To be a full-fledged part of society, you can't take too much or too little. Thus, the principle of "We are all equal" can manifest its opposite side, when general rules suppress a person's individuality and distinctive features. Therefore, it is sometimes quite difficult to find a balance between lag and yante, between social and individual.

Environmental ethics. The building of the external space of human existence is manifested in an ethical attitude towards things. The relationship between man and nature can produce very effective results when we monitor the consumption of water and electricity, abandon plastic in favor of cardboard and paper, develop high technologies in the green sector of the economy, strive to turn waste into energy or send them for recycling to make other products from them for social consumption. This is how creative clothes made from organic fabric made from peeled fruits and vegetables or biofuels for transport appear, an airplane that has flown out becomes a hotel, and a ship that has already stopped sailing becomes a prestigious restaurant. This approach to things is called reuse ("use" or "rebuild") and it is part of a laggy lifestyle. Waste-free and "green" production is based on this principle. At the household level, it manifests itself in the refusal to buy new things until old ones can be used, by re-selling used but high-quality items in thrift stores and second hand. The modern human–nature relationship is becoming part of the philosophy of minimalism and reasonable hedonism. Lag assumes a moderate pace of life and therefore perfectly integrates into the "Slow life" movement, which is characterized by a conscious slowing down of the pace of life and the information consumed. Perhaps this is why the phenomenon of downshifting appears, for example, when a car switches to a lower gear or a life in the style of "simple living" (from English - "simple lifestyle") simplification, when a person consciously begins to "live for himself", switches to himself, begins to take care of himself ^{[8, p.107]}. It should be noted that the spread of minimalist trends in the modern world is characteristic not only of Western European society, but also of the countries of the East. For example, the Japanese path to happiness by nagomi or Zen Buddhism, which has become very popular recently.

The main goal of lagom is to lead a person not only to balance and harmony, but also to happiness, which is thought of as "satisfaction with the present moment" ^{[4, p. 216]} and is devoid of the dominance of material goods. In the modern world, for the first time, we see how minimalism does not go into its radical side of asceticism, but tries to designate eudaimonia as its ultimate goal. The happiness that a person can find in a lifestyle does not negate the feeling of emotional and psychological pleasure, even if it is "obtained" through external rather than internal transformation, which again indicates the predominance of a sophistic rather than a Socratic approach.

Thus, lag becomes one of the phenomena of the modern ethics of minimalism, which includes the categories of awareness, space, simplicity, moderation, balance, functionality, pleasure and happiness. This is an existential model of human behavior or lifestyle, suggesting a simplified approach to being with a characteristic desire to find harmony and balance in the external and internal world, in order to achieve happiness. Lagom is an example of an "aesthetic shift" in modern ethics, where the semantic categorical foundations of ancient Greek minimalism and Eudaimonism are intertwined. From the point of view of the ethical-anthropological paradigm, this socio-cultural phenomenon has an external sophistic orientation towards man, society, nature and things, which should lead to an internal change in consciousness and ethical improvement.