This type of activity can transform various objects: nature, society, man. The transformation of nature can be not only destructive, as some philosophers focus their attention, not only the "remaking" of nature for themselves, but also "The life flow of nature is the movement for a person of the harmonics of everything that exists, which he can break, and can optimize." During the transformation of society, which can act both in revolutionary-destructive forms and in creative ones, social objects change: relations, institutions, institutions, and the person himself changes. Transformative activity provides the conditions for the common life of people, the infrastructure corresponding to the quality of their life. In terms of the transformational activity of a person, I would like to dwell on the case when the transformational activity is directed by an individual on himself, on his "I", with the aim of physical or spiritual improvement. "Human self-development is associated with the disclosure of ever deeper possibilities for understanding oneself and influencing (interaction) with ever greater volumes of reality." One and the same person appears here both as an object and as a subject.

The main types of transformative activity, due to the difference in its subjects, are, firstly, activities that have an individual character (the work of an individual, playing sports, etc.), and secondly, activities directly carried out by a particular group (military, collective activity) , thirdly, the activities of society taken as a whole.

Transformative activity can be carried out at two levels, depending on the real or ideal change of the subject. In the first case, there is a real change in the material existence (practice), in the second case there is a change in the object only in the imagination (in the words of K. Marx, "practically-spiritual").

Transformative activity can act both in the form of production and in the form of consumption. In both cases, the subject takes possession of the object, only the ratio of the destructive and creative sides of human activity turns out to be different.

Another plane of differentiation reveals the difference between creative and mechanical activity (productive and reproductive). Creative activity can exist both in the realm of things and in the mind of a person, when he activates the physical capabilities of his body, develops spiritual forces, his capabilities. Consumption can also be creative, original, discovering new ways of using products of production, and mechanical, passively reproducing established forms of consumption.

Improving, transforming the surrounding world, people are building a new reality, breaking through the horizons of the existing existence. However, emphasizing the actively transforming principle of human practical activity, it must be remembered that it in a certain way inscribes a person in the material reality that embraces him and always goes beyond the actual possibilities of its practical development. A person, with all the prospects and possibilities of his active transformational activity, remains within the limits of being and cannot but conform his activity with its objective laws. Creative constructive possibilities of transformative activity in the real world are always based on the use of objective laws. In other words, the true effectiveness of human activity is not only related to the satisfaction of subjective interests or needs, but also involves the solution of problems due to the internal laws of the reality to which this activity is directed. Understanding the dialectics of human activity in relation to the surrounding world and the dependence of a person on this world, his inclusion in this world, his conditionality by the world is a necessary condition for realizing the responsibility of a person arising from this dialectics in his practical activities to the surrounding world and to himself.

Activity- a form of activity aimed not only at adapting to the surrounding world, but also at changing, transforming the external environment; to get a new product or result.

Target- a conscious image of the anticipated result, to achieve which the activity is aimed.

Motives of activity- incentives associated with the satisfaction of needs.

Needs- a person's perceived need for what is necessary for life.

Classification of needs :

1. Natural;

2. Social;

3. Spiritual.

According to Maslow:

Beliefs- stable views on the world, ideals and principles, as well as the desire to bring them to life through their actions and deeds.

Interests- values ​​characteristic of a certain group of people.

Creation- an activity that generates something qualitatively new, which has never existed before.

1. What definition is missing in the following phrase: “Only human activity has ... character”?

a) instinctive; c) joint;

b) gun; d) transformative.

2. Are the following statements about human activity correct?

A. Changing and transforming the world in the interests of people is a characteristic of human activity.

B. Human activity is characterized by a focus on creating something that does not exist in nature.

a) only A is true; c) both A and B are true;

b) only B is true; d) both statements are wrong.

3. What term can define the common feature of the activity of an artist, writer, inventor, teacher?

a) knowledge; c) teaching;

b) creativity; d) image.

4. A student for a teacher is:

a) the subject of activity; c) a competitor;

b) the object of activity; d) colleague.

5. Existential needs include:

a) in comfort in communication;

b) food; d) self-respect.

6. Write down the corresponding letters in ascending order. The biological needs of a person can be attributed to the following needs:

c) creation;

d) air;

e) communication;

e) creativity.

1. Are the judgments correct?

A. Tool activity is unique to man.

B. Animals use natural objects as tools and even make them.

a) only A is true; c) only B is true;

b) A and B are correct; d) both are wrong.

2. A person transforms the world around him with the help of:

a) activities; c) religious rites;

b) communication; d) fantasies.

3. Are the judgments correct?

A. Activities promote adaptation to the environment.

B. Activity transforms nature.

B. The activity does not affect the environment.

D. Activity is goal-setting.

a) AB; c) BG;

b) ABCD; d) ABG.

4. Spiritual activity includes:

a) the construction of a cinema; c) making a film

b) the manufacture of tools; d) the work of the printing house.

5. Affective action is due to:

a) a well thought out purpose; c) habit;

b) concepts of debt; d) emotional state.

6. Labor as an expedient human activity began:

a) hunting; c) agriculture;

b) the manufacture of tools; d) mastery of fire.

M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin in his famous fairy tale “The Tale of How One Man Feeded Two Generals” tells about two honored officials who ended up on a desert island

Starved to the point of insanity, they looked at each other: an ominous fire shone in their eyes, their teeth chattered, a muffled growl flew out of their chests. They began to slowly crawl towards each other and in the blink of an eye went berserk. Shreds flew, there was a screech and a gasp; the general... bit off an order from his comrade and immediately swallowed it. But the sight of flowing blood seemed to bring them to their senses.

The power of the cross is with us! - they both said at once, - because that way we will eat each other!

What was the basis of the described actions?

a) conscious motive;

b) the goal set;

c) instinctive impulse;

d) the need for communication.

In another famous fairy tale by M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin portrays a stupid landowner, through whose prayer God cleared all his possessions of peasants. This landowner enjoyed the air, freed from the smell of chaff and sheepskin, and dreamed of what kind of orchard he would plant: “Here there will be pears, plums: here are peaches, here is a walnut!” He thought about what kind of cows he would breed, that no skin, no meat, but all one milk, all milk, what kind of strawberries he would plant, all double and triple, five berries per pound, and how many of these strawberries he would sell in Moscow. How much, how little time has passed, only the landowner sees that in his garden the paths are overgrown with burdock, snakes and all sorts of reptiles are swarming in the bushes, and wild animals howl in the park, “they stopped and put and regalia, and it was not possible to get on not a pound of flour, not a piece of meat in the market.”

What were the landlord's goals? What means did he choose to achieve them? Did the means match the ends? Did the actions of the landowner lead to the results he aspired to?

Homework: write an essay.

V.G. Belinsky: “Without a goal there is no activity, without interests there is no goal, and without activity there is no life.”

The definition of the environment should proceed from the goals pursued by human society and enshrined in its worldview. Socialist society aims at satisfying the material and cultural needs of its members, and not just of certain strata. The way to achieve this goal is to increase productivity, the social efficiency of human labor. This is directly related to the more rational use of natural, material resources, i.e., again, directly the environment as part of the material world. The change and transformation of the environment in a socialist society must be balanced, providing for both the satisfaction of the needs of society and the rational use of natural resources, and consequently the protection of the environment from “squandering”, wastefulness. In a capitalist society, there is a clear predominance of forms of appropriation and consumption of the environment by the ruling class and close to it sections of the population.[ ...]

In the modern world, environmental problems have come to one of the first places in terms of their social significance, pushing even the danger of nuclear war. The rapid development of human economic activity has led to an intense, often destructive, impact on the environment. Human influence on nature occurs both through the transformation of natural systems that have developed over millennia, and as a result of pollution of soils, waters, and air. This led to a sharp deterioration in the state of nature, often with irreversible consequences. The ecological crisis is a real danger; in almost every region we are witnessing the rapid development of crisis situations.[ ...]

Finally, consider the world around us with hidden surfaces. An open environment is projected into the eye of a moving observer in a continuous fluid pattern, which is not the case with an environment that is filled with objects. The presence of overlapping edges leads to the fact that the surfaces either close or open, and the corresponding optical textures either decrease or increase. This kind of change is neither a flow nor a transformation, because some elements of the previous order do not map into elements of the subsequent order. Therefore, the invariants that define the layout of the real environment are not just invariants of projective transformations. We will talk about this in more detail in the third part of the book.[ ...]

The growth of the world population, outpacing the growth of its needs, the steady expansion of the use of the Earth's resources, the introduction of new technologies and the expansion of production in energy, industry, agriculture, transport, the anthropogenic transformation of the landscapes of the world, the complication and expansion of interethnic economic ties - these and many other factors led to an increasing anthropogenic pressure on the human environment, with increased interaction between the environment and society. In the 20th century, and especially in the second half of it, the anthropogenic load increased exponentially, becoming one of the most important factors in the existence of society.[ ...]

Significant changes taking place in the natural environment cause serious concern to the general public of the world. In recent years, the human environment has become the subject of study, discussion, and numerous publications. Every resident of a city or village in one way or another feels the urgency of this problem, since the natural or human-transformed environment surrounds us at home, at work and leisure.[ ...]

Fundamental organizational and economic transformations are aimed at the protection and scientifically based and rational use of the land, its subsoil, water and forest resources, flora and fauna, and the improvement of natural resources and the environment. Among natural resources, land is of particular importance as a universal means of production and a spatial basis for all spheres of human activity and the main means of production in agriculture. The Russian Federation has vast land resources, the area of ​​which, according to the State Land Cadastre, is 1,709.8 million hectares. Agricultural land occupies 221.2 million hectares, or 13% of the total area, and arable land - 126.5 million hectares, which is 8% of the total territory and 57% of the agricultural land area.[ ...]

ACTIVITY is a specifically human form of relation to the surrounding world, the content of which is its expedient change and transformation. D. human operator - the process of achieving the goals set for the "man - machine" system, consisting of an ordered set of actions of a human operator.[ ...]

The concept of "nature protection" includes not only the natural environment, but also the environment transformed by man (cities, parks, gardens, recreational complexes, industrial zones, etc.), i.e. the entire environment as a combination of biotic, abiotic and social environments, natural and man-made material world (Tetior A.N., 1992), the latter is sometimes understood as “second nature”.[ ...]

In the future, this should lead to the fact that the attitude of man to the environment and to nature in general will be conscious, purposeful, active. Scientific knowledge of the objective reality of the material world is carried out primarily in order to change it for the benefit of man, for the sake of ensuring life on Earth. Subjectivist theories, based in the study of the material world, and especially the environment, on the sensations of individual individuals and on the attitude of a single person to the environment, lead to the conclusion that a person cannot change the material objectivity around him. Guided by these theories, people come to pessimistic conclusions, disarm and demobilize themselves in the struggle for the transformation and improvement of the environment. At best, their reasoning ends with general calls for the protection of the environment and nature from the negative impacts and interference of human society. In contrast, the materialistic worldview emphasizes the role of human society in the formation of an environment worthy of a developed socialist society.[ ...]

According to ancient Greek thinkers, one of the four "elements" that make up the world was fire. They were the first to analyze the world around them, although their analysis depended too much on direct observation. They isolated earth, air, water and fire. Today, looking from the heights of modern chemical science, we understand that fire is just a rapidly occurring chemical oxidation reaction, but nevertheless we continue to perceive fire as such. It can hardly be classified as an object, it is also not a substance, and it has a very unusual surface. Fire is an event occurring on land, which has a beginning and an end, and in the course of which fuel is consumed and heat is released. Natural fire in a forest or on a plain inspired and still terrifies animals, but our ancestors learned to control fire very early - to make it (for example, by friction), maintain it (throwing up fuel), store it (in a separate slowly smoldering hearth) and extinguish . Fire control is a wonderful human skill. Our primitive hunter ancestors were masters of it. And when they looked at the fire, they got acquainted with the simplest example of constancy under change, invariance under transformation.[ ...]

Activity is a universal characteristic of living beings, their own dynamics as a source of transformation or maintenance by them of vitally significant connections with the outside world.[ ...]

Behavior is the broadest concept that characterizes the interaction of living beings with the environment, mediated by their external (motor) and internal (mental) activity. The fundamental components of behavior are reactivity and activity. If reactivity makes it possible mainly to adapt to the environment, then activity - to adapt the environment to itself. The higher the level of organization of a living organism, the more important is activity in comparison with reactivity. For a person, the highest level of activity is the activity of the personality, which allows him to solve complex problems related to the transformation of not only the objective material world, but also the ideal, spiritual, inner world.[ ...]

Obviously, in the last definition, the defining part is wider than the defined part: the words "environment" appear in it. The word "nature" refers more to the natural world, while "environment" means not only the natural, but also the world created or transformed by man: it includes man-made landscapes, residential areas, industrial complexes. Therefore, along with the concept of "nature protection", another concept is now more often used - "environmental protection".[ ...]

The hypothesis that information for the perception of a rigid, unchanging object forms invariance under optical transformations originates in experiments with moving shadows (Gibson, Gibson, 1957). This experiment gave results that were paradoxical for those times - the changing form was perceived as constant, and its slope was perceived as changing. Trying to comprehend the results obtained, we assumed that certain invariants of the optical structure correspond to unchanged objects, which in themselves are devoid of any form, and any movement of an object corresponds to its own special perturbation of the optical structure - a perspective transformation. The difference between physical and optical motion (that is, between events in the external world and in the optical system) had to be fixed terminologically, but since none of the concepts known to us was suitable for these purposes, we had to introduce our own terminology. For the same reason, it was necessary to introduce some special terms to designate invariants both in a changing world and in a changing optical system - the geometric concept of form was not suitable for this. Apparently, the best solution to these terminological problems could be to use the terms constancy and change in relation to the surrounding world, and conservation and perturbation - in relation to the optical order.[ ...]

As a result of human impact on nature, water resources are redistributed on Earth, the local climate is changing, and certain features of the relief are being transformed. The scale of pressure on the environment is also growing. The growth in the scale of anthropogenic impact on the natural environment does not pass without a trace. A serious economic and social problem in the world is, for example, the influx of carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides and sulfur into the atmosphere, as well as excesses of their compounds in environmental components.[ ...]

Scientific and technological progress and the grandiose scale of human production activities associated with it have led to great positive transformations in the world - the creation of a powerful industrial and agricultural potential, the widespread development of all types of transport, irrigation and melioration of large land areas, and the creation of artificial climate systems. At the same time, the state of the environment has deteriorated sharply. Pollution of the atmosphere, water bodies and soil with solid, liquid and gaseous wastes reaches alarming proportions, and non-renewable natural resources are being depleted - primarily minerals and fresh water. Further deterioration of the state of the ecosphere can lead to far-reaching negative consequences for humanity. Therefore, the protection of nature, its protection from pollution has become one of the most important global problems.[ ...]

For our research, the fact that a rigid and generally immobile environment can turn out to be partially flexible and mobile, that the world in some of its aspects is unchanged, and in some others is changeable, but never completely freezes in one of the extremes and does not turns into chaos into another. This fact will become apparent later when we discuss the geometry of the surrounding world and its transformations.[ ...]

Human ecology (anthropoecology) is a complex science (part of social ecology) that studies the interaction of a person as a biosocial being with a complex multicomponent environment, with an ever more complex dynamic environment. Its most important task is to reveal the patterns of industrial and economic, targeted development and transformation of natural landscapes under the influence of human activity. The term was introduced by American scientists R. Park and E. Burgess (1921). In our country, systematic research in the field of human ecology began in the 1970s. present century. According to WHO estimates, three quarters of human diseases are caused by the ecologically unfavorable state of the environment, violations of natural relationships in nature due to its pollution with civilization products. Various diseases are associated with elevated concentrations in the environment of various anthropogenic toxicants, in particular in Japan, diseases such as Minamata (excess mercury compounds), Itai-Itai (excess cadmium), Yusho (poisoning of PCBs), Chernobyl disease (radioisotope iodine-131), etc. Residents of large cities and industrial centers in many regions of the globe suffer especially from environmental pollution.[ ...]

Installation of larger and more complex equipment is often carried out by the manufacturer. Depending on the product, the installation phase may carry with it the possibility of environmental degradation. Examples include underground storage tanks for liquids, pipelines for liquids and gases, and the laying of intercontinental communications cables. The simplest recommendation in these situations is to minimize environmental destruction and not consider sensitive areas as sites for large projects, especially those that will result in significant emissions. The ideal solution to industrial ecology, however, remains the development of products or the construction of social networks that avoid such transformations altogether. Cellular telephone communication, which is rapidly developing now, can serve as an example. Using radio signals, designers are moving towards a world in which communication does not require wires and cables buried in the ground or raised above it.

§ 1 Features of practical and spiritual activity

From birth, a person actively transforms the world around him, that is, he is engaged in activities. Activity is a process of conscious and purposeful change by a person of the world and himself. It is in it that a person can show his abilities, develop as a person.

The activities of people beyond recognition have changed the world around us, society and improved humanity itself. It affects different spheres of society and is very diverse. Scientists distinguish several classifications of activities. According to the method of implementation, activities are divided into practical and spiritual.

In practical activity, the object of transformation is nature and society, it is divided into material production and social transformation. The activity, the object of which is nature, and the result is material wealth, is called material production. And the activity, the object of which is society, and the result is a change in social relations, is called socially transformative. Spiritual activity forms human consciousness. Its subspecies include: cognitive (the result of which is knowledge), value-oriented (as a result of which a person’s worldview is formed) and prognostic (planning or foreseeing possible changes in reality).

These activities are interconnected. For example, the results of spiritual activity (music, scientific achievements, etc.) are imprinted with the help of practical activities (printing music, publishing books). In turn, practical activity is impossible without the initial spiritual activity - a certain idea.

§ 2 Work, play, teaching as the main activities

Another classification of activities is based on the way a person is formed as a person. Scientists who adhere to this typology include the following types of activities: work, play, teaching, creativity, communication.

Labor is the interaction of a person with the outside world, aimed at the production of a socially useful product. The components of labor are the knowledge and skills of a person, as well as his skill. Labor is carried out out of necessity, but at the same time it transforms the surrounding world. It is aimed at obtaining a practically useful result, in contrast to the game, in which the main thing is the process.

A game is an activity in the course of which, through the imitation of reality, knowledge of the surrounding world is carried out. The game is conditional, that is, it offers a solution in an imaginary situation; it is based on the implementation of certain rules and regulations. In it, a person plays a predetermined role. This is the only kind of activity that is peculiar not only to people, but also to animals.

The process of cognition is carried out not only in the process of the game. To a greater extent, a person learns new things through training.

Teaching is an activity aimed at acquiring various knowledge, skills and abilities. It uses specific means (textbooks, books, computer, etc.), it may not necessarily be purposeful, a person sometimes acquires them spontaneously. For example, new knowledge is acquired from read books, films, TV shows, the Internet. Education involves the interaction of two parties - a teacher and a student, is of a reproductive nature, since the student does not create knowledge, but masters what is already available. The latter does not exclude elements of creativity in learning.

§ 3 Features of creativity and communication as activities

Creativity is an activity aimed at creating a qualitatively new result. It is distinguished by originality, uniqueness and originality of ideas. For creativity, important components are intuition (anticipation of the result), imagination and fantasy.

Creativity is included in almost all types of human activity, as well as communication - an activity aimed at the exchange of information, emotions, feelings, assessments and specific actions. The features of this type of activity include the mandatory presence of a partner - an equal subject of communication, the use of speech (language) in the process of this activity.

Communication forms an emotional community, mutual understanding of subjects that complement each other's positions. Communication performs important social functions: communicative (information exchange), regulatory (management of joint activities), compensatory (comforting) and educational (personal socialization).

Different types of activity cover the entire social reality. A person changes the world around him, his needs increase, and after this, his transformative activity increases.

§ 4 Brief summary of the topic of the lesson

Human activity transforms the world around us. According to the method of implementation, activities are divided into practical and spiritual. In practical activity, the object of transformation is nature and society. Spiritual activity forms human consciousness. The types of activities according to the method of forming a person include work, play, teaching, creativity, communication. Labor is aimed at obtaining a practically useful result, in contrast to the game, in which the main thing is the process. The game is conditional, it is based on the implementation of the rules, it is characteristic not only of people, but also of animals. Teaching involves the interaction of a teacher and a student, is reproductive in nature, and can be carried out spontaneously. Almost all human activities include creativity and communication. The features of the latter include the mandatory presence of a partner - an equal subject of communication, the use of speech (language) in the process of activity.

List of used literature:

1. Social science. Grade 10: textbook. for general education institutions: profile level / [L.N. Bogolyubov, A.Yu. Lazebnikova, N.M. Smirnova and others]; Russian Academy of Sciences, Russian Academy of Sciences education, publishing house "Enlightenment". - 4th ed. – M.: Enlightenment, 2010. – 416 p.
2. Grechko P.K. Introduction to social science. - M.: Unicum-Center, 1999.
3. Didactic materials for the course "Man and Society": Grades 10-11: Teacher's Manual / L.N. Bogolyubov, Yu.A. Averyanov and others; Ed. L.N. Bogolyubov, A.T. Kinkulkin. – M.: Enlightenment, 2014.
4. Guidelines for the course "Man and Society": At 2 hours / Ed. L.N. Bogolyubov. – M.: Enlightenment, 2011.
5. Nikitin A.F. Big school dictionary: social science, economics, law. - M.: AST-PRESS SCHOOL, 2006. - 400 p.
6. School Dictionary of Social Studies / Ed. L.N. Bogolyubova, Yu.I. Averyanov. - M., 2006.
7. Dedova I.A. Social science. Preparation for the Unified State Examination: a guide for applicants / I.A. Dedova, I.I. Tokareva. - Yoshkar-Ola, 2008. - 388 p.
8. Klimenko A.V. Social science. For high school students and university students / A.V. Klimenko, V.V. Romanian. – M.: Bustard, 2003. – 442 p.
9. Kravchenko A.I. Sociology in questions and answers: Textbook. - M .: TK Vebli, Publishing House Prospekt, 2004.
10. Kravchenko A.I., Pevtsova E.A. Social science: Textbook for grade 10. - M .: LLC "TID "Russian Word - RS", 2011.
11. Social science: 10 - 11 class: Proc. for general education institutions / A.Yu. Lazebnikova, O.O. Savelyeva and others; Ed. A.Yu. Lazebnikova. - M .: AST Publishing House LLC: Astrel Publishing House LLC, 2012.
12. Social science: textbook / V.V. Baranov, A.A. Dorskaya, V. G. Zarubin and others - M .: AST "Astrel", 2005. - 334 p.
13. Social science: a textbook for schoolchildren and university entrants / V.I. Anishina, S.A. Zasorin, O.I. Kryazhkova, A.F. Shcheglov. – M.: Materik-Alfa, 2006. – 220 p.
14. Social science. 100 examination answers: a textbook for applicants entering economic and legal specialties / ed. B.Yu. Serbinovsky. - Rostov n / a: March, 2001. - 320 p.

Activity- this is a specifically human activity, regulated by consciousness, generated by needs and aimed at the knowledge and transformation of the external world and the person himself.

The main feature of activity is that its content is not entirely determined by the need that gave rise to it. The need as a motive (motivation) gives impetus to activity, but the very forms and content of activity determined by public goals, requirements and experience.

Distinguish three main activities: play, teaching and work. aim games is the "activity" itself, not its results. Human activity aimed at acquiring knowledge, skills and abilities is called teaching. is an activity whose purpose is the production of socially necessary products.

Activity characteristics

Activity is understood as a specifically human way of an active relationship to the world - a process during which a person creatively transforms the world around him, turning himself into an active subject, and the phenomena being mastered into an object of his activity.

Under subject here we mean the source of activity, the actor. Since, as a rule, a person shows activity, then most often it is he who is called the subject.

object call the passive, passive, inert side of the relationship, on which the activity is carried out. The object of activity can be a natural material or object (land in agricultural activities), another person (a student as an object of study) or the subject himself (in the case of self-education, sports training).

To understand the activity, several important characteristics of it should be taken into account.

Man and activity are inextricably linked. Activity is an indispensable condition for human life: it created man himself, preserved him in history and predetermined the progressive development of culture. Therefore, a person does not exist outside of activity. The reverse is also true: there is no activity without a person. Only man is capable of labor, spiritual and other transformative activity.

Activity is the transformation of the environment. Animals adapt to natural conditions. Man is able to actively change these conditions. For example, he is not limited to collecting plants for food, but grows them in the course of agricultural activities.

Activity acts as a creative, constructive activity: a person in the process of his activity goes beyond the boundaries of natural possibilities, creating something new that did not previously exist in nature.

Thus, in the process of activity, a person creatively transforms reality, himself and his social ties.

The essence of activity is revealed in more detail in the course of its structural analysis.

The main forms of human activity

Human activity is carried out in (industrial, household, natural environment).

Activity- active interaction of a person with the environment, the result of which should be its usefulness, requiring from a person high mobility of nervous processes, fast and accurate movements, increased activity of perception, emotional stability.

The study of a person in the process is carried out by ergonomics, the purpose of which is the optimization of labor activity on the basis of rational consideration of human capabilities.

The whole variety of forms of human activity can be divided into two main groups according to the nature of the functions performed by a person - physical and mental labor.

Physical work

Physical work requires significant muscle activity, is characterized by a load on the musculoskeletal system and functional systems of the body (cardiovascular, respiratory, neuromuscular, etc.), and also requires increased energy costs from 17 to 25 mJ (4,000-6,000 kcal) and more per day.

Brainwork

Brainwork(intellectual activity) is a work that combines work related to the reception and processing of information, requiring tension of attention, memory, activation of thinking processes. Daily energy consumption during mental work is 10-11.7 mJ (2000-2400 kcal).

The structure of human activity

The structure of activity is usually represented in a linear way, where each component follows the other in time.

Need → Motive → Purpose → Means → Action → Result

Let's consider each component of the activity one by one.

Need for action

Need- this is a need, dissatisfaction, a feeling of lack of something necessary for a normal existence. In order for a person to begin to act, an awareness of this need and its nature is necessary.

The most developed classification belongs to the American psychologist Abraham Maslow (1908-1970) and is known as the pyramid of needs (Fig. 2.2).

Maslow divided needs into primary, or innate, and secondary, or acquired. These, in turn, include:

• physiological - in food, water, air, clothing, warmth, sleep, cleanliness, shelter, physical recreation, etc.;
• existential- safety and security, inviolability of personal property, guaranteed employment, confidence in the future, etc.;
• social - desire for belonging and belonging to any social group, team, etc. The values ​​of affection, friendship, love are based on these needs;
• prestigious - based on the desire for respect, recognition by others of personal achievements, on the values ​​of self-affirmation, leadership;
• spiritual - focused on self-expression, self-actualization, creative development and the use of their skills, abilities and knowledge.
• The hierarchy of needs has been changed many times and supplemented by various psychologists. Maslow himself, in the later stages of his research, added three additional groups of needs to it:
• cognitive- in knowledge, skill, understanding, research. These include the desire to discover new things, curiosity, the desire for self-knowledge;
• aesthetic- the desire for harmony, order, beauty;
• transcending— a selfless desire to help others in spiritual self-improvement, in their desire for self-expression.

According to Maslow, in order to satisfy higher, spiritual needs, it is necessary to first satisfy those needs that occupy a place in the pyramid below them. If the needs of any level are fully satisfied, a person has a natural need to satisfy the needs of a higher level.

Motives of activity

Motive - a need-based, conscious drive that justifies and justifies activity. The need will become a motive if it is realized not just as, but as a guide to action.

In the process of forming a motive, not only needs, but also other motives are involved. As a rule, needs are mediated by interests, traditions, beliefs, social attitudes, etc.

Interest is a specific reason for action that determines. Although the needs of all people are the same, different social groups have their own interests. For example, the interests of workers and factory owners, men and women, youth and pensioners are different. So, innovations are more important for pensioners, traditions are more important for pensioners; Entrepreneurs have rather material interests, while people of art have spiritual ones. Each person also has his own personal interests based on individual inclinations, sympathies (people listen to different music, go in for different sports, etc.).

Traditions represent a social and cultural heritage passed down from generation to generation. We can talk about religious, professional, corporate, national (for example, French or Russian) traditions, etc. For the sake of some traditions (for example, military ones), a person may limit his primary needs (changing safety and security for high-risk activities).

Beliefs- firm, principled views of the world, based on the worldview ideals of a person and implying a person’s willingness to give up a number of needs (for example, comfort and money) for the sake of what he considers right (for the sake of honor and dignity).

Settings- the predominant orientation of a person to certain institutions of society, which are superimposed on needs. For example, a person may be oriented towards religious values, or towards material enrichment, or towards public opinion. Accordingly, he will act differently in each case.

In complex activities, it is usually possible to identify not one motive, but several. In this case, the main motive is singled out, which is considered to be driving.

Activity goals

Target - it is a conscious idea of ​​the result of activity, anticipation of the future. Any activity involves goal setting, i.e. the ability to set goals independently. Animals, unlike humans, cannot set goals themselves: their program of activity is predetermined and expressed in instincts. Man is able to form his own programs, creating something that has never been in nature. Since there is no goal-setting in animal activity, it is not an activity. Moreover, if the animal never presents the results of its activity in advance, then the person, starting the activity, keeps in mind the image of the expected object: before creating something in reality, he creates it in his mind.

However, the goal can be complex and sometimes requires a series of intermediate steps to achieve it. For example, to plant a tree, you need to purchase a seedling, find a suitable place, take a shovel, dig a hole, place the seedling in it, water it, etc. Ideas about intermediate results are called tasks. Thus, the goal is broken down into specific tasks: if all these tasks are solved, then the overall goal will be achieved.

Funds used in activities

Facilities - these are techniques used in the course of activity, methods of action, objects, etc. For example, to learn social science, you need lectures, textbooks, assignments. To be a good specialist, you need to get a professional education, have work experience, constantly practice in your work, etc.

The means must match the ends in two senses. First, the means must be proportionate to the end. In other words, they cannot be insufficient (otherwise the activity will be fruitless) or excessive (otherwise energy and resources will be wasted). For example, one cannot build a house if there are not enough materials for it; it is also pointless to buy materials several times more than you need to build it.

Secondly, the means must be moral: immoral means cannot be justified by the nobility of the end. If the goals are immoral, then all activity is immoral (on this occasion, the hero of F.M. Dostoevsky's novel "The Brothers Karamazov" Ivan asked if the kingdom of world harmony is worth one tear of a tortured child).

Action

Action - an element of activity that has a relatively independent and conscious task. An activity is made up of individual actions. For example, teaching activity consists of preparing and giving lectures, conducting seminars, preparing assignments, etc.

The German sociologist Max Weber (1865-1920) singled out the following types of social actions:

• purposeful - actions aimed at achieving a reasonable song. At the same time, a person clearly calculates all means and possible obstacles (a general planning a battle; a businessman organizing an enterprise; a teacher preparing a lecture);
• value-rational- actions based on beliefs, principles, moral and aesthetic values ​​(for example, the refusal of a prisoner to transfer valuable information to the enemy, saving a drowning person at the risk of his own life);
• affective - actions committed under the influence of strong feelings - hatred, fear (for example, flight from the enemy or spontaneous aggression);
• traditional- actions based on habit, often an automatic reaction developed on the basis of customs, beliefs, patterns, etc. (for example, following certain rituals in a wedding ceremony).

The basis of activity is the actions of the first two types, since only they have a conscious goal and are creative in nature. Affects and traditional actions can only exert some influence on the course of activity as auxiliary elements.

Special forms of action are: deeds - actions that have a value-rational, moral value, and deeds - actions that have a high positive social value. For example, helping a person is an act, winning an important battle is an act. Drinking a glass of water is a common action that is neither an act nor an act. The word "act" is often used in jurisprudence to refer to an action or omission that violates legal norms. For example, in the legislation "a crime is an illegal, socially dangerous, guilty act."

Result of activity

Result- this is the final result, the state in which the need is satisfied (in whole or in part). For example, the result of study can be knowledge, skills, the result -, the result of scientific activity - ideas and inventions. The result of the activity can be itself, because in the course of activity it develops and changes.