Consciousness and its forms. Consciousness: structure and forms

Introduction……………………………………………………………………………3

I. The concept of consciousness……………………………………………………………..4

II. Forms of consciousness………………………………………………………..…….6

2.1. Forms of public consciousness………………………………………….7

2.2 Political consciousness….…………………………………………………..8

2.3 Legal consciousness…………………………………………………………….10

2.4 Moral consciousness……………………………………………………….12

2.5 Aesthetic consciousness………………….………………………………….15

2.6 Religious and atheistic consciousness…………………………………...17

2.7 Natural science consciousness…….……………………………………….…19

2.8 Economic consciousness…………………………………………………..19

2.9 Environmental consciousness……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Conclusion……………………………………………………………….……..24

List of used literature……………………….………………….25

INTRODUCTION

The activity of the subject - external and internal - is mediated and regulated by the mental reflection of reality. What in the objective world acts for the subject as motives, goals and conditions of his activity, must be somehow perceived, represented, understood, retained and reproduced in memory. The same applies to the processes of his activity and to himself - to his states, properties, features. Thus, the analysis of activity brings us to the traditional topics of psychology. However, now the logic of the research turns around: the problem of the manifestation of mental processes turns into the problem of their origin, their generation by those social connections that a person enters into in the objective world.

Mental reality, which is not available for direct measurement or study, is revealed to us in the form of sensations, memories and motives - this is the subjective world of consciousness. It took centuries to free ourselves from the identification of the psychic and the conscious. The variety of paths that led to their distinction in psychology, philosophy, physiology is surprising: it is enough to name the names of Leibniz, Fechner, Freud, Sechenov, Uznadze and Pavlov.

The decisive step was to establish the idea of different levels of mental reflection. From a historical, genetic point of view, this meant the recognition of the existence of the preconscious psyche of animals and humans, as well as the emergence in humans of a qualitatively new form - consciousness. Thus, new questions arose: about the objective necessity to which the emerging consciousness responds, about what generates it, about its internal structure, the diversity of forms of consciousness. About the forms of consciousness and will be discussed in this work.

I. The concept of consciousness

Consciousness is the highest form of reflection of the real world, characteristic only of people and a function formed by the social environment, which consists in a generalized and purposeful reflection of reality in the memory of the subject, in the preliminary mental construction of actions and anticipation of their results, in reasonable regulation and self-control of human behavior.

The core of consciousness, the way of its existence is the subjective content of memory - knowledge. Consciousness belongs to the subject, the person, as well as his memory, and not to the surrounding world. But the content of consciousness, the content of human thoughts is the whole world displayed by memory, all its aspects, connections, laws. Therefore, consciousness can be characterized as a subjective image of the objective world.

Consciousness is not an addition to the human psyche, but the very subjective side of the psyche, awareness of the nearest sensually perceived environment and awareness of a limited connection with other persons and things that are outside the person who is beginning to become aware of himself, and at the same time awareness of nature.

Criteria for Conscious Behavior

Man, unlike animals, knows and realizes himself, he is able to improve. His consciousness is inherent in such aspects as self-consciousness, introspection, self-control. Their formation occurs when a person separates himself from the environment. Self-consciousness is the most important difference between the human psyche and the psyche of the most developed animals.

Consciousness is not just a mental state, but the highest human form of reflection of reality. Human consciousness is structurally organized and is an integral system consisting of various elements that are in regular relations with each other. In the structure of consciousness, it is important to single out the awareness of objects and experience, i.e. relation to the content of what is reflected.

The development of consciousness is possible only when it is replenished with new knowledge about the surrounding world and about the person himself. Cognition, awareness of things has different levels, the depth of penetration into the object and the degree of clarity of understanding.

The brain of a modern person was formed as a result of a long evolution and is a complex organ. The level of consciousness depends on the degree of organization of the brain and this is confirmed by the fact that the consciousness of a child is formed with the development of his brain, and when the brain of a very old man becomes decrepit, the functions of consciousness also fade.

The connection of consciousness with the processes occurring in the brain

Consciousness is always associated with these processes occurring in the brain and does not exist apart from them.

Consciousness is the highest form of reflection of the world in the subject and is associated with articulate speech, logical generalizations, abstract concepts and social environment, which is inherent only to man.

The core of consciousness, the way of its existence is the memory of the subject.

Work develops consciousness.

Speech (language) forms consciousness.

Consciousness is a function of memory.

Consciousness is multicomponent, but constitutes a single whole.

Consciousness is active and has the ability to influence the surrounding reality.

Consequently, for the features of the highest form of life, consciousness, we must thank the socio-historical experience of generations, work, language and knowledge.

II. Forms of consciousness.

Two forms of consciousness are described: personal and public. Personal consciousness is defined as Up-perception - awareness of the surrounding world and the subjective Self. Perception is realized with the help of objective biological and physical laws. The transformation of perception into Up-perception, that is, the transformation of objective processes into subjective sensations, cannot be described and is a black box. One of the results of the activity of consciousness is the emergence of ideas and views. Awareness of these ideas and views by a population of people forms the public consciousness. The development of social consciousness develops ideas and attitudes, which in turn influence personal consciousness.

It is well known that before any problem can be analyzed, it must first be defined. But the problem of consciousness has no definition, or, conversely, there are too many of them. Therefore, I will try to describe the forms and characteristics of consciousness in order to discuss them further.

Consciousness can be divided into two forms: The first form is the so-called personal, individual or personal consciousness of a person, his subjective sensations and intellect. The second form, this is what philosophy is concerned with, is the so-called public or social consciousness.

Social consciousness can be divided into: scientific consciousness, poetic consciousness, religious consciousness, etc. etc. Culture also belongs to this form of consciousness.

Public consciousness and any of its forms is a set of certain ideas and views that unite a certain population of people. But ideas and views are refracted in the consciousness (intellect) of each individual in a subjective way.

Social consciousness, refracted in individual consciousness, is the form of consciousness that is peculiar only to people. Only people are looking for God and the meaning of life. Only people have culture and creativity: they paint pictures, poems, seek the truth, doing science.

2.1. Forms of public consciousness

Forms of public consciousness are various forms of reflection in the minds of people of the objective world and social being, on the basis of which they arise in the process of practical activity, public consciousness exists and manifests itself in the forms of political ideology, legal consciousness, morality, religion, science, artistic views, art, philosophy . Unlike. direct reflection of reality in everyday consciousness, the forms of consciousness act as a more or less systematized consciousness, mediated by a theoretical or visual-figurative reflection of reality. The forms of social consciousness differ among themselves in terms of the object and the form of reflection, in terms of social functions and the originality of the laws of development. The variety of F. o. With. is determined by the richness and diversity of the most objective world of nature and society. Various forms of social consciousness reflected various areas and aspects of reality (for example, political ideas, reflect the relationship between classes, nations, states and serve as the basis for political programs implemented in the actions of classes and social groups; in science, specific laws, natures and societies are known ; religion fantastically reflects the dependence of people on the dominant, over them, natural, and then social forces.Having a peculiar object of reflection, each form of consciousness is characterized by a special form of reflection (for example, a scientific concept, a moral norm, an artistic image, a religious dogma "). The richness and complexity of the objective world create only the possibility of the emergence of various forms of social consciousness. This possibility is realized on the basis of a specific social need. Thus, science arises only when the simple accumulation of experience and empirical knowledge becomes insufficient for a developed social production; political, etc. Avovye views and ideas arise together with the advent of classes and the state gave justification and consolidation of relations of domination and subordination, etc. In each socio-economic formation, all forms of consciousness are interconnected and, on the whole, constitute the spiritual life of a particular society. The peculiarity of the social need that generates certain F. o. s., determines the specific historical role they play in the life and development of society. With the victory of communism, the need for political and legal ideology will disappear, and they will die out. On the other hand, such forms of social consciousness as morality, science, philosophy will flourish, which will not only serve the diverse social needs, but, forming the spiritual image of the individual, will be a condition for its comprehensive development, active creative activity.

Public consciousness exists and manifests itself in the forms of political consciousness, legal consciousness, moral consciousness, religious and atheistic consciousness, aesthetic consciousness, natural science consciousness. The existence of various forms of social consciousness is determined by the richness and diversity of the very objective world of nature and society. Having a peculiar object of reflection, each form of consciousness has its own special form of reflection: a scientific concept, a moral norm, a religious dogma, an artistic image. But the richness and complexity of the objective world only create the possibility of the emergence of various forms of social consciousness. This possibility is realized on the basis of a specific social need. Consciousness. concept consciousness He plays a dual role, speaking ...

Consciousness as a philosophical problem (1)

Abstract >> Philosophy

... Consciousness as a philosophical problem 2. Consciousness – the form reflections, the spiritual side of being 3. Basic properties and structure consciousness 4. Consciousness... - interpretation interpretation - deals with " concepts about concepts", is leading for philosophers based on ...

Abstract plan. I. Introduction. II. Main part. 3. Reflection as a universal property of matter. 4. Reflection and information. 5. Forms of reflection. Definition of consciousness. 3. Origin of consciousness. 1. The role of labor in the formation of consciousness. 2. The role of language and communication in the formation and development of consciousness. 3. The structure of consciousness. 4. Consciousness is a property of highly organized matter. 5. Consciousness and the brain. 6. Material and ideal. image and object. 7. Activity of consciousness. 8. Public consciousness and its transformative power. III. Conclusion. 1. Introduction. A person has a wonderful gift - the mind with its inquisitive flight both into the distant past and the future, the world of dreams and fantasies, creative solutions to practical and theoretical problems, and finally, the embodiment of the most daring ideas. Since ancient times, thinkers have been intensely searching for the solution to the mystery of the phenomenon of consciousness. Science, philosophy, literature, art, technology - in a word, all the achievements of mankind have combined their efforts to reveal the innermost secrets of our spiritual life. For many centuries, heated debates around the essence of consciousness and the possibilities of its cognition have not ceased. Theologians see consciousness as a tiny spark of the majestic flame of the divine mind. Idealists defend the idea of the primacy of consciousness in relation to matter. Tearing consciousness out of the objective connections of the real world and considering it as an independent and creative essence of being, objective idealists interpret consciousness as something primordial: not only is it inexplicable by anything that exists outside of it, but it is called upon to explain everything that happens in nature, history and behavior of each individual. The supporters of objective idealism recognize consciousness as the only reliable reality. If idealism digs out the abyss between the mind and the world, then materialism seeks commonality, unity between the phenomena of consciousness and the objective world, deriving the spiritual from the material. Materialistic philosophy and psychology proceed in solving this problem from two cardinal principles: from the recognition of consciousness as a function of the brain and a reflection of the external world. 2. Reflection as a general property of matter. 2.1. Reflection and information. The consciousness of modern man is a product of the entire world history, the result of centuries of development of the practical and cognitive activity of countless generations of people. And in order to understand its essence, it is necessary to clarify the question of how it originated. Consciousness has its own not only social history, but also a natural prehistory - the development of biological prerequisites in the form of the evolution of the psyche of animals. Twenty million years created the conditions for the emergence of a reasonable person. Without this evolution, the emergence of human consciousness would be a miracle. But no less a miracle would be the appearance of the psyche in living organisms without the property of reflection in all matter. Reflection is a universal property of matter, which consists in the reproduction of features, properties and relations of the reflected object. The ability to reflect, as well as the nature of its manifestation, depend on the level of organization of matter. Reflection in inorganic nature, in the world of plants, animals and, finally, man appears in qualitatively different forms. A special and inalienable property of reflection in a living organism is irritability and sensitivity as a specific property of reflection, interactions of the external and internal environment in the form of excitation and selective response. Reflection in all its variety of forms, starting from the simplest mechanical traces and ending with the human mind, occurs in the process of interaction between various systems of the material world. This interaction results in mutual reflection, which in the simplest cases acts as a mechanical deformation, but in the general case - in the form of a mutual restructuring of the internal state of the interacting systems: in changing their connections or directions of movement, as an external reaction or as a mutual transfer of energy and information. Reflection in the general case is a process, the result of which is the information reproduction of the properties of the reflected object. Any reflection includes an information process: it is an information interaction, one leaves a memory of itself in the other. Information is the objective side of the processes of nature and as such is universal, which implies its specificity in various areas of the real world - in inorganic nature, living systems and social processes. Everything in the world is in a direct or infinitely mediated interaction of everything with everything - everything carries information about everything. This implies a universal information field of the universe, which is a universal form of communication, a form of universal interaction and thus the unity of the world: after all, everything in the world “remembers” everything! This follows from the principle of reflection as a universal property of matter. 2.2. Reflection forms. Definition of consciousness. It was said above that reflection is a property of material systems in the process of interaction to reproduce the features of other systems. We can say that reflection is the result of the interaction of objects. We encounter the simplest form of reflection in the inorganic world. For example, a conductor heats up and lengthens if it is connected to an electrical circuit, metals in the air are oxidized, a trace remains in the snow if a person has passed, etc. This is passive reflection. It is carried out in the form of mechanical and physico-chemical changes. As the organization of matter became more complex and life appeared on Earth, the simplest organisms, as well as plants, developed the ability to “respond” to the influence of the external environment and even assimilate (process) the products of this environment (for example, insectivorous plants). This form of reflection is called irritability. Irritability is characterized by a certain selectivity - the simplest organism, plant, animal adapts to the environment. Many millions of years passed before the ability of sensation appeared, with the help of which a more highly organized living being, on the basis of the formed sense organs (hearing, sight, touch, etc.), acquired the ability to reflect individual properties of objects - color, shape, temperature, softness, humidity, etc. This became possible because animals have a special apparatus (nervous system) that allows them to activate their relationship with the environment. The highest form of reflection at the level of the animal kingdom is perception, which allows you to embrace the object in its integrity and completeness. The psyche (as a result of the interaction of the brain with the external world) and mental activity allowed animals not only to adapt to the environment, but also, to a certain extent, to show internal activity in relation to it and even change the environment. The emergence of the psyche in animals means the emergence of non-material processes. Studies have shown that mental activity is based on unconditioned and conditioned reflexes of the brain. The chain of unconditioned reflexes is a biological prerequisite for the formation of instincts. The presence of animal sensations, perceptions, “impressions”, “experiences”, the presence of elementary (concrete, “objective”) thinking is the basis for the emergence of human consciousness. Consciousness is the highest form of reflection of the real world; a function of the brain peculiar only to people and associated with speech, which consists in a generalized and purposeful reflection of reality, in a preliminary mental construction of actions and anticipation of their results, in reasonable regulation and self-control of human behavior. The “core” of consciousness, the way of its existence is knowledge. Consciousness belongs to the subject, to the person, and not to the surrounding world. But the content of consciousness, the content of a person's thoughts is this world, one or another of its aspects, connections, laws. Therefore, consciousness can be characterized as a subjective image of the objective world. Consciousness is, first of all, the awareness of the nearest sensuously perceived environment and the awareness of a limited connection with other persons and things that are outside the individual who is beginning to become conscious of himself; at the same time it is an awareness of nature. Human consciousness is inherent in such aspects as self-awareness, self-analysis, self-control. And they are formed only when a person distinguishes himself from the environment. Self-consciousness is the most important difference between the human psyche and the psyche of the most developed representatives of the animal world. It should be noted that reflection in inanimate nature corresponds to the first three forms of matter movement (mechanical, physical, chemical), reflection in living nature corresponds to a biological form, and consciousness corresponds to a social form of matter movement. 3. Origin of consciousness. 3.1. The role of labor in the formation of consciousness. The process of becoming a man was a process of decomposition of the instinctive basis of the psyche of animals and the formation of mechanisms of conscious activity. Consciousness could arise only as a function of a highly organized brain, which was formed under the influence of labor and speech. The beginnings of labor are characteristic of Australopithecus, while labor has become a hallmark of their successors - Pithecanthropus and Sinanthropus - the first people on earth who laid the foundation for the manufacture of tools and the conquest of fire. Neanderthal man made significant progress in the manufacture and use of tools, increased their assortment and involved new applied material in production (learned how to make stone knives, bone needles, built dwellings, etc.). Finally, a man of the modern type - a reasonable man, raised the level of technology to an even greater height. The decisive role of labor operations in the formation of a person and his consciousness received its material fixed expression in the fact that the brain as an organ of consciousness developed simultaneously with the development of the hand as an organ of labor. It was the hand as a “perceiving” (directly contacting with objects) organ that gave instructive lessons to other sense organs, such as the eye. An active hand taught the head to think before it itself became an instrument for fulfilling the will of the head, which deliberately plans practical actions. In the process of development of labor activity, tactile sensations were refined and enriched. The logic of practical actions was fixed in the head and turned into the logic of thinking: a person learned to think. And before embarking on the case, he could already mentally imagine both its result, and the method of implementation, and the means to achieve this result. The key to resolving the issue, which is the origin of man and his consciousness, lies in one word - labor. As they say, while pounding the blade of his stone ax, a person at the same time honed the blade of his mental abilities. Together with the emergence of labor, man and human society were formed. Collective labor presupposes the cooperation of people and thus at least an elementary division of labor actions between its participants. The division of labor efforts is possible only if the participants somehow comprehend the connection of their actions with the actions of other members of the team and thus with the achievement of the ultimate goal. The formation of human consciousness is associated with the emergence of social relations that required the subordination of the individual's life to a socially fixed system of needs, duties, historically established customs and mores. 3.2. The role of language and communication in the formation and development of consciousness. Language is as ancient as consciousness. Animals have no consciousness in the human sense of the word. They do not have a language equal to human. The little that animals have to communicate to each other can be communicated without speech. Many animals have vocal organs, mimic-gestural signaling methods, however, all these means have a fundamental difference from human speech: they serve as an expression of a subjective state caused by hunger, thirst, fear, etc., either as a simple indication or a call for joint action. or a danger warning, etc. Animal language never achieves in its function the act of positing some abstract meaning as an object of communication. The content of animal communication is always the present situation at the moment. Human speech, on the other hand, broke away from its situationality, and this was a “revolution” that gave birth to human consciousness and made the content of speech ideal, indirectly reproducing objective reality. Mimics are gestural and sound means of mutual communication, primarily of higher animals, and served as a biological prerequisite for the formation of human speech. The development of labor contributed to the close rallying of the members of society. People have a need to say something to each other. The need created an organ - the corresponding structure of the brain and peripheral speech apparatus. The physiological mechanism of speech formation is conditioned reflex: the sounds uttered in a given situation, accompanied by gestures, were combined in the brain with the corresponding objects and actions, and then with the ideal phenomena of consciousness. The sound from the expression of emotions has turned into a means of designating the images of objects, their properties and relationships. The essence of language is revealed in its dual function: to serve as a means of communication and an instrument of thought. Language is a system of meaningful meaningful forms. Consciousness and language form a unity: in their existence they presuppose each other as an internal, logically formed ideal content presupposes its external material form. Language is the immediate reality of thought, consciousness. He participates in the process of mental activity as its sensual basis or tool. Consciousness is not only revealed, but also formed with the help of language. The connection between consciousness and language is not mechanical, but organic. They cannot be separated from each other without destroying both. Through the language there is a transition from perceptions and ideas to concepts, the process of operating with concepts takes place. In speech, a person fixes his thoughts, feelings and, thanks to this, has the opportunity to subject them to analysis as an ideal object lying outside him. By expressing his thoughts and feelings, a person more clearly understands them himself. He understands himself only by testing the intelligibility of his words on others. Language and consciousness are one. In this unity, the determining side is consciousness, thinking: being a reflection of reality, it “sculpts” forms and dictates the laws of its linguistic existence. Through consciousness and practice, the structure of language ultimately expresses, albeit in a modified form, the structure of being. But unity is not identity. Both sides of this unity differ from each other: consciousness reflects reality, and language designates it and expresses it in thought. Speech is not thinking, otherwise the greatest talkers would have to be the greatest thinkers. Language and consciousness form a contradictory unity. Language affects consciousness: its historically established norms, specific to each nation, shade different features in the same object. However, the dependence of thinking on language is not absolute. Thinking is determined mainly by its connections with reality, while language can only partially modify the form and style of thinking. The state of the problem of the relationship between thinking and language is still far from being completed; it contains many more interesting aspects for research. 4. Structure of consciousness. The concept of "consciousness" is not unambiguous. In the broad sense of the word, it means the mental reflection of reality, regardless of the level at which it is carried out - biological or social, sensual or rational. When they mean consciousness in this broad sense, they thereby emphasize its relation to matter without revealing the specifics of its structural organization. In a narrower and more specialized sense, consciousness means not just a mental state, but a higher, actually human form of reflection of reality. Consciousness here is structurally organized, it is an integral system consisting of various elements that are in regular relations with each other. In the structure of consciousness, first of all, such moments as the awareness of things, as well as experience, that is, a certain attitude to the content of what is reflected, stand out most clearly. The way consciousness exists, and the way something exists for it, is knowledge. The development of consciousness presupposes, first of all, its enrichment with new knowledge about the surrounding world and about the person himself. Cognition, awareness of things has different levels, the depth of penetration into the object and the degree of clarity of understanding. Hence the ordinary, scientific, philosophical, aesthetic and religious awareness of the world, as well as the sensual and rational levels of consciousness. Sensations, perceptions, ideas, concepts, thinking form the core of consciousness. However, they do not exhaust all of its structural completeness: it also includes the act of attention as its necessary component. It is thanks to the concentration of attention that a certain circle of objects is in the focus of consciousness. Objects and events that affect us evoke in us not only cognitive images, thoughts, ideas, but also emotional “storms” that make us tremble, worry, fear, cry, admire, love and hate. Cognition and creativity is not a coldly rational, but a passionate search for truth. Without human emotions, there has never been, is not and cannot be a human search for truth. The richest sphere of the emotional life of a human person includes feelings proper, which are attitudes to external influences (pleasure, joy, grief, etc.), mood or emotional well-being (cheerful, depressed, etc.) and affects (rage, horror, despair, etc.). Due to a certain attitude to the object of cognition, knowledge acquires a different significance for the individual, which finds its most striking expression in beliefs: they are imbued with deep and enduring feelings. And this is an indicator of the special value for a person of knowledge, which has become his life guide. Feelings and emotions are components of human consciousness. The process of cognition affects all aspects of the inner world of a person - needs, interests, feelings, will. True human knowledge of the world contains both figurative expression and feelings. Cognition is not limited to cognitive processes aimed at the object (attention), the emotional sphere. Our intentions are translated into deeds through the efforts of the will. However, consciousness is not the sum of many of its constituent elements, but their harmonious unification, their integral, complexly structured whole. 5. Consciousness is a property of highly organized matter. 6. Consciousness and the brain. The human brain is an amazingly complex formation, the finest nervous apparatus. It is an independent system and, at the same time, a subsystem included in the whole organism and functioning in unity with it, regulating its internal processes and relationships with the outside world. What facts irrefutably prove that it is the brain that is the organ of consciousness, and that consciousness is a function of the human brain? First of all, the fact that the level of reflective-constructive ability of consciousness also depends on the level of complexity of the organization of the brain. The brain of a primitive herd man was poorly developed and could only serve as an organ of primitive consciousness. The brain of a modern person, formed as a result of a long biosocial evolution, is a complex organ. The dependence of the level of consciousness on the degree of organization of the brain is also confirmed by the fact that the consciousness of a child is formed, as is known, in connection with the development of his brain, and when the brain of an old man becomes decrepit, the functions of consciousness fade away. A normal psyche is impossible outside of a normally functioning brain. As soon as the refined structure of the organization of the matter of the brain is violated and even more so destroyed, the structures of consciousness are also destroyed. When the frontal lobes are damaged, patients cannot produce and carry out complex behavioral programs; they do not have stable intentions and are easily excited by side stimuli. When the occipital-parietal sections of the cortex of the left hemisphere are affected, orientation in space, operation with geometric relationships, etc. are disturbed. It is known how the spiritual world of a person is deformed, and quite often its complete degradation occurs if a person systematically poisons his brain with alcohol and drugs. Experimental data of various sciences, such as psychophysiology, physiology of higher nervous activity, etc. , irrefutably testify that consciousness is inseparable from the brain: it is impossible to separate the thought from the matter that thinks. The brain with its complex biochemical, physiological, nervous processes is the material substratum of consciousness. Consciousness is always associated with these processes occurring in the brain and does not exist apart from them. But they are not the essence of consciousness. 5.2. material and ideal. image and object. The physiological mechanisms of mental phenomena are not identical to the content of the psyche itself, which is a reflection of reality in the form of subjective images. The dialectical-materialist conception of consciousness is incompatible neither with idealistic views, which separate mental phenomena from the brain, nor with the views of the so-called vulgar materialists, who deny the specificity of the mental. The reflection of things, their properties and relations in the brain, of course, does not mean their transfer to the brain or the formation of their physical imprints in it, like imprints on wax. The brain does not deform, does not turn blue, does not get cold when it is affected by hard, blue and cold objects. The experienced image of an external thing is something subjective, ideal. It is not reducible either to the material object itself, which is outside the brain, or to those physiological processes that occur in the brain and give rise to this image. The ideal is nothing but the material, "transplanted" into the human head and transformed in it. The spiritual world of a person can neither be touched, nor seen, nor heard, nor detected by any instruments or chemical reagents. No one has yet found a single thought directly in the human brain: an ideal thought has no existence in the physical and physiological sense of the word. At the same time, thoughts and ideas are real. They exist. Therefore, the idea cannot be considered something “invalid”. However, its reality, reality is not material, but ideal. This is our inner world, our personal, individual consciousness, as well as the whole world of the “transpersonal” spiritual culture of mankind, that is, outwardly objectified ideal phenomena. Therefore, it is impossible to say what is more real - matter or consciousness. Matter is objective, and consciousness is subjective reality. Consciousness belongs to man as a subject, not to the objective world. There are no "no one's" sensations, thoughts, feelings. Every feeling, thought, idea is a feeling, thought, idea of a particular person. The subjectivity of the image is by no means an arbitrary introduction of something from the subject: objective truth is also a subjective phenomenon. At the same time, the subjective also appears in the sense of incomplete adequacy of the image to the original. The content of the mental image of an object is determined not by the anatomical and physiological organization of a person and not by what the cognizing subject finds directly in nature on the basis of his individual experience. Its content is a synthetic characteristic of the object obtained in the course of object-transforming activity. This opens up the fundamental possibility of an objective study of consciousness: it can be known through the forms of its manifestation in sensory-practical activity. The subjective image as knowledge, as a spiritual reality, and physiological processes as its material substratum are qualitatively different phenomena. Failure to understand this qualitative specificity gave rise to a mechanical tendency to identify them. The absolutization of the specificity of consciousness as a subjective image gives rise to a tendency to oppose the ideal and the material and bring the opposition to the point of complete disintegration of the world into two substances - spiritual and material. Consciousness and the objective world are opposites that form a unity. Its basis is practice, the sensory-objective activity of people. It is she who gives rise to the need for a mental conscious reflection of reality. The need for consciousness, and at the same time consciousness that gives a true reflection of the world, lies in the conditions and requirements of life itself. 5.3. The activity of consciousness. A person reflects the outside world not in passive contemplation, but in the process of practical, transformative activity. Consciousness is characterized not only as a reflection of the world, but also as such a spiritual activity, which is aimed at an active, creative transformation of reality. The content of consciousness is necessarily realized in practice in one way or another. But for this it acquires the character of an idea, or an idea. An idea is not only knowing what is, but also planning what should be. An idea is a concept focused on practical implementation. The creative activity of consciousness is closely connected with the practical activity of man and with the needs that arise under the influence of the external world. Needs, reflected in the head of a person, acquire the character of a goal. A goal is an idealized human need that has found its object, such a subjective image of the subject of activity, in the ideal form of which the result of this activity is anticipated. Goals are formed on the basis of the total experience of mankind and rise to the highest forms of their manifestation in the form of social, ethical and aesthetic ideals. The ability to set goals is a specifically human ability that constitutes a cardinal characteristic of consciousness. Consciousness would become an unnecessary luxury if it were deprived of goal-setting, that is, the ability to mentally transform things in accordance with social needs. Thus, the relationship between the purposeful activity of man and nature cannot be reduced to a mere coincidence. The goal-setting activity of a person is based on dissatisfaction with the world and the desire to change it, to give it the forms necessary for a person and society. Consequently, the goals of a person are generated by social practice, the objective world and presuppose it. But human thought is capable of not only reflecting the immediately existing, but also breaking away from it. The infinitely diverse objective world, with all its colors and forms, seems to glow, being reflected in the mirror of our “I” and forming a no less complex, diverse and surprisingly changeable world. In this bizarre realm of the spirit, its own spiritual space, human thought moves and creates. Both true and illusory representations arise in the minds of people. Thought moves along ready-made patterns and paves new paths, breaking outdated norms. She has a wonderful ability to innovate and create. Recognition of the active, creative nature of consciousness is a necessary requirement for understanding the human personality: people are the products and creators of history. Communication with reality is carried out not by consciousness itself, but by real people who practically transform the world. The objective world, influencing a person and being reflected in his consciousness, turns into an ideal one. Being a consequence of the influence of the external world as a cause, consciousness, the ideal, in turn, acts as a derivative cause: consciousness through practice has a reverse effect on the reality that gave rise to it. Activity is characteristic not only of individual, personal, but also social consciousness, primarily progressive ideas, which, mastering the masses, become a “material force”. 6. Public consciousness and its transformative power. Consciousness cannot be derived from the process of reflection of the objects of the natural world alone: the “subject-object” relation cannot give rise to consciousness. To do this, the subject must be included in a more complex system of social practice, in the context of social life. Each of us, coming into this world, inherits a spiritual culture, which we must master in order to acquire a proper human essence and be able to think like a human being. We enter into a dialogue with the public consciousness, and this consciousness opposing us is a reality, the same as, for example, the state or the law. We can rebel against this spiritual force, but just as in the case of the state, our rebellion can turn out to be not only senseless, but also tragic if we do not take into account those forms and methods of spiritual life that objectively oppose us. In order to transform the historically established system of spiritual life, one must first master it. Social consciousness arose simultaneously and in unity with the emergence of social being. Nature as a whole is indifferent to the existence of the human mind, and society could not only arise and develop without it, but even exist for a single day and hour. Due to the fact that society is an objective-subjective reality, social being and social consciousness are, as it were, “loaded” with each other: without the energy of consciousness, social being is static and even dead. Consciousness is realized in two hypostases: reflective and active-creative abilities. The essence of consciousness lies in the fact that it can reflect social being only under the condition of its simultaneous active and creative transformation. The function of anticipatory reflection of consciousness is most clearly realized in relation to social being, which is essentially connected with aspiration to the future. This has been repeatedly confirmed in history by the circumstance that ideas, in particular socio-political ones, can outpace the current state of society and even transform it. Society is a material-ideal reality. The totality of generalized ideas, ideas, theories, feelings, mores, traditions, etc., that is, what constitutes the content of social consciousness and forms spiritual reality, is an integral part of social being, since it is given to the consciousness of an individual. But while emphasizing the unity of social being and social consciousness, one must not forget their difference, their specific disunity. The historical relationship of social being and social consciousness in their relative independence is realized in such a way that if in the early stages of the development of society, social consciousness was formed under the direct influence of being, then in the future this influence acquired an increasingly indirect character - through the state, political, legal relations, etc. ., and the reverse effect of social consciousness on being, on the contrary, acquires an increasingly direct character. The very possibility of such a direct impact of social consciousness on social being lies in the ability of consciousness to correctly reflect being. So, consciousness as a reflection and as an active creative activity is the unity of two inseparable sides of the same process: in its influence on being, it can both evaluate it, revealing its hidden meaning, predict, and transform it through the practical activity of people. And so the public consciousness of the era can not only reflect being, but actively contribute to its restructuring. This is the historically established function of social consciousness, which makes it an objectively necessary and really existing element of any social structure. The fact that social consciousness includes different levels (everyday, theoretical, social psychology, ideology, etc.), and the fact that each level of consciousness reflects social being in different ways, is precisely the real difficulty in understanding the phenomenon of social consciousness. And therefore it is impossible to consider it as a simple sum of the concepts of "consciousness" and "social". Possessing an objective nature and immanent laws of development, social consciousness can both lag behind and ahead of being within the framework of the evolutionary process that is natural for a given society. In this regard, public consciousness can play the role of an active stimulator of the social process, or a mechanism for its inhibition. The powerful transformative power of social consciousness is capable of influencing all being as a whole, revealing the meaning of its evolution and predicting prospects. In this regard, it differs from the subjective (in the sense of subjective reality) finite and limited by an individual individual consciousness. The power of the social whole over the individual is expressed here in the obligatory acceptance by the individual of the historically established forms of spiritual assimilation of reality, those methods and means by which the production of spiritual values is carried out, that semantic content that has been accumulated by mankind for centuries and without which the formation of personality is impossible. 7. Conclusion. In conclusion, consideration of the topic of this essay, it is necessary to summarize all of the above and draw some conclusions. So: 1) Consciousness is the highest form of reflection of the real world, peculiar only to man. It is associated with articulate speech, logical generalizations, abstract concepts. 2) The “core” of consciousness, the way of its existence is knowledge. 3) The formation of consciousness is associated with the emergence of labor. 4) The need for labor in the process of communication caused the appearance of language. Labor and language had a decisive influence on the formation of human consciousness. 5) Consciousness is a function of the most complex material, physiological system - the human brain. 6) Consciousness has a multicomponent structure, nevertheless it is a single whole. 7) Consciousness has the ability to influence the reality surrounding it. It is active. Bibliography. Seminars in Philosophy: Textbook. Ed. K.M. Nikonov. - M.: Higher school, 1991. - 287p. 2) A.G. Spirkin. Fundamentals of Philosophy: Textbook for universities. - M.: Politizdat, 1988. - 592s. 3) Introduction to philosophy: A textbook for universities. At 2 pm Part 2 Under the general. ed. I.T. Frolova. - M.: Politizdat, 1989. - 458 p.

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Consciousness: concept and forms

1. The concept of consciousness

The history of the formation of the concept of consciousness allows us to judge the most essential qualities:

1) instrumental equipment of consciousness (cognitive, communicative) - these are language (speech), conceptual (logical), figurative-sensory means of consciousness that provide the direct life of people, their cognitive and communicative activity. The tools of consciousness allow a person not only to acquire knowledge and communicate, but also to store, reproduce and evaluate them, as well as to make choices and make decisions.

2) systemic qualities - a holistic connection and consistency of the interaction of individual structures of consciousness. Due to the qualities of connectedness and coherence, consciousness works as a complex system of very diverse processes: mental, sensual, emotional, volitional, mnemic (memory processes), as well as imagination and intuition.

3) intentional quality (ability) - expresses the focus of consciousness on someone or something or about someone or something. According to the specific properties of orientation, one can judge who or what is the subject of conscious activity of people. Orientation can be outward and inward. Inside - is fixed in acts of self-consciousness and self-observation, introspection and self-assessment, etc.

4) epistemic quality - expresses the state of the inner world of a person (doubt, conviction, faith, confidence).

2. Origin and essence of consciousness. Reflection and consciousness

In the history of the development of philosophical knowledge, there are 3 points of view regarding the origin of consciousness:

1) religion proceeds from the fact that consciousness is a manifestation of some non-material substance, the soul does not depend on the brain and is able to lead an independent existence, it is immortal and eternal;

2) idealists believe that consciousness is primary in relation to matter, it is an independent entity, which is characterized by initial activity;

3) materialists rely on the concept of consciousness as a subjective image of the objective world.

Dialectical materialism approaches the solution of questions about the origin of consciousness historically and puts forward the assumption that all matter has the property of reflection.

Reflection is the ability of material systems to reproduce in themselves the properties of other material objects interacting with them. This property of both animate and inanimate nature.

Elementary forms of reflection (do not have activity):

mechanical

physical

chemical

A special type of reflection is biological, which includes several stages: 1) irritability; 2) sensitivity; 3) mental reflection (its most complex form is consciousness).

Irritability is a prepsychic form of reflection, it is the reaction of living organisms to favorable and unfavorable environmental conditions. A higher type of irritation is sensitivity, i.e. the ability to reflect the individual properties of things in the form of sensations, there is a need for self-preservation (an expedient reaction begins - for example, in plants). Animals have abilities that they actively use already when they are getting food. On this basis, the further development of the biological form of reflection takes place, i.e. the beginnings of a psychic form of reflection appear.

Perceptions, representations are due to the complication of the forms of behavior themselves, as well as the development of the nervous system and brain structures.

The mental reflection that has arisen in vertebrates is a property of living organisms to respond appropriately to an objectively designed environment for the purpose of adaptive behavior.

Mental reflection is the systematization of sensations, the ability of living organisms to model behavior in order to adapt to the environment. It is also the ability to respond in many ways to emerging standard and non-standard situations and find the right way out.

The highest form of mental reflection (and reflection in general) is consciousness and, according to the materialistic conception, consciousness is the ability of highly organized matter (brain) to reflect matter.

3. Consciousness as a function of the human brain

Modern science proceeds from the concept of the biological unity of the animal and man. And because of this, sometimes conclusions are drawn about the complete analogy of mental processes in humans and animals. But human consciousness arose and developed in close dependence, with the emergence and development of the human brain, this is indicated by the fact that the level of reflectivity of consciousness also depends on the level of complexity of the organization of the brain.

The main function of the human brain is the storage and processing of information received by a person in the process of cognitive activity. The human brain is symmetrical (hemispheres), but functionally there is a big difference between the hemispheres.

The left hemisphere is responsible for all types of speech activity (understanding, speaking), provides the processes of speech and writing, reading, performs counting operations, assigns an object to certain classes.

The right hemisphere controls orientation in one's own body (perception of spatial relationships, proper coordination).

Consciousness not only reflects reality, but also allows you to express certain attitudes towards it. Therefore, the structure of consciousness includes: memory, emotions, feeling, will, motivation.

Spirkin's concept

By consciousness is meant the ability of an ideal reflection of reality, the transformation of the objective content of an object into the subjective content of a person's mental life.

Consciousness is not just an image, but a psychic (ideal) form of activity that is focused on reflecting and transforming reality.

Consciousness is the highest function of the brain, peculiar only to man and associated with speech, which consists in a generalized, evaluative and purposeful reflection and transformation of reality, as well as in a preliminary mental construction of actions and anticipation of their results.

Ivanov's concept (consciousness according to Ivanov)

Ivanov represents the field of consciousness in the form of a circle. Each sector is responsible for a specific function.

The first sector: the sphere of bodily - perceptual abilities and the knowledge obtained on their basis. These abilities include: sensations, perception, specific ideas, with the help of which a person receives primary information about the outside world, about his own body and about its relationship with other bodies. The main goal of this sphere of knowledge is the usefulness and expediency of the behavior of the human body in the world of natural, social, human bodies surrounding it.

Second sector: logical-conceptual components of consciousness. With the help of thinking, a person goes beyond the immediate sensory data into the essential levels of cognizable objects. This area includes: general concepts, analytic-synthetic mental operations, rigid logical proofs. Truth is the main goal.

Sectors 1 and 2 form the external-cognitive component of consciousness.

The third sector: it is associated with the emotional component of consciousness. She has no direct contact with the outside world. This is the sphere of personal, subjective-psychological experiences, memories, premonitions. This area includes:

Instinctive-affective states (foreboding, indistinct experiences, stress, hallucinations)

Emotions (anger, fear, delight)

Feelings that are more distinct (pleasure, love, likes, dislikes)

The main goal of the sphere is the principle of pleasure.

Fourth sector: value-motivational component. It contains the highest motives of activity and spiritual ideals of the individual, as well as the ability to form them and creatively understand them in the form of fantasies and imagination. The main goal of the sector is beauty, truth and justice.

The 3rd and 4th sectors form the value-emotional component of consciousness.

The problem of consciousness is connected with the question of self-consciousness. It is believed that objective consciousness is focused on understanding the world around a person, with self-consciousness the subject makes himself an object. The object of analysis is one's own ideas, thoughts, feelings, experiences, goals, actions, position in the family and the team.

Sources of Consciousness

1. External objective and spiritual world, natural social and spiritual phenomena, which are reflected in consciousness in the form of conceptual images

2. Socio-cultural environment, general concepts, ethical and aesthetic attitudes, social ideals, legal norms, knowledge accumulated by society

3. The spiritual appearance of the individual, his own unique experience of life, experiences, i.e. in the absence of direct external influences, a person is able to rethink his past, control his future

4. Brain. The chemical and biological state of the brain is one of the factors affecting the nature of perception of the world.

5. Cosmic information-semantic field (the brain takes information from space)

4. Unconscious

consciousness mental human brain

Along with consciousness, in the human psyche there is a sphere of the unconscious.

The unconscious is a set of mental phenomena and actions that lie outside the sphere of the human mind, unaccountable and not amenable (at the moment) to control by knowledge. The unconscious includes:

hypnotic state

State of insanity

Reservations, omissions

Everything that is not currently in the focus of consciousness of the individual, but can be included in consciousness through memory, should not be attributed to the unconscious.

Instincts can give rise and give rise to subconscious desires, emotions, volitional impulses in a person, but later they can fall into the sphere of consciousness, and the opposite can happen. The so-called "Automatisms" and intuition can be born with the help of consciousness, but then go into the unconscious.

Freud's unconscious.

Z. Freud came to the conclusion about the essential, and sometimes even decisive role of the unconscious. According to Freud, the human psyche has three spheres: "It", "I", "super-th".

“It” is the sphere of the unconscious, in which various biological influences are concentrated: sexual desires, and ideas repressed from consciousness. Here the principles of pleasure and enjoyment predominate.

“I” is the sphere of the conscious, a kind of mediator between the unconscious influences of a person and external reality, a cat. includes the natural and social environment. The level of "I" seeks to replace the principle of enjoyment with the principle of reality, although it does not always succeed.

"Super-th" - intrapersonal conscience, society's attitudes, ideals, norms, values, i.e. a kind of moral censorship.

"I" tends to be an intermediary between the world and "It" and for the world "It".

Freud exaggerated the importance of the unconscious. Freud exaggerated the meaning of the "Id" in relation to the "I" and said that a person is forced to constantly torment himself and be torn between biological influences and perceived social norms. According to Freud, the biological unconscious is decisive.

G. Jung singled out the so-called "archetypes" in the sphere of the unconscious. If the complexes of experiences that are forced out of consciousness into the unconscious by Freud are the result of individual life, then Jung's archetypes are associated with the collective life of people and are fixed in a person's life, being passed down from generation to generation.

Archetype "Shadow" - is an image of the base and anti-social in man.

The archetype "Person" is a mask, under it the archetype "shadow" is hidden, it is very often used by a person to hide an antisocial essence.

The archetype of "Anime" is the feminine principle of a man.

Archetype "Animus" - the masculine principle of a woman

They lead both to mutual understanding between men and women, but can lead to mental crises if idealized ideas do not coincide with a real person.

The archetype "Self" predetermines all human activity aimed at achieving values and the unity of its constituent parts.

Unconscious and conscious are two relatively independent sides of a single psychological reality of a person. Contradictions and conflicts often arise between them, but they are nevertheless interconnected, interact with each other and are able to achieve harmonious unity.

5. Language and thinking

Language is a specific way of a person - a way of being consciousness. It serves to fix, reproduce, transmit and receive thoughts. Although thoughts usually occur before their linguistic expression, it is through language that they gain their clarity. There are 2 functions of the language:

thinking

Thinking is a complex multifaceted mental process that has its own structure. From the point of view of the way of its external expression, 2 forms are distinguished in it:

mute inner speech, wordless reflection, outwardly expressed by silence.

Physically expressed form of reflection, which has a verbal or non-verbal form, forms of words, gestures and facial expressions (verbal and non-verbal)

Thinking can also be classified depending on the nature of the objects it reflects:

concrete thinking, which is expressed in terms, words, signs, denoting separate specific things. This type of thinking is connected with material reality.

Abstract thinking, expressed in generalizing, abstract concepts, denoting invisible connections between species, genera, classes of objects and phenomena. He is separated from material reality.

Both abstract and concrete thinking is expressed in signs, symbols, words, in oral and written speech, in language.

Language is a material medium for expressing the ideal spirit, consciousness, and thinking.

Types of languages:

speech form - oral and written speech

non-verbal - facial expressions, gestures, body movements.

Special languages - the language of sciences (math., chem.)

Various signaling systems - road signs, marine signals, schemes.

Language could only arise in society, i.e. it is socially conditioned. Language, as a means of communication, plays an important role in the social labor activity of people.

Common between consciousness and language is that they 1) historically arose simultaneously, i.e. ideas cannot exist apart from language. 2) both thinking and language are the product of a long socio-historical process. Language and thought are not identical.

the word reflects only the essence of the object, not the whole object, with all its diverse properties. Thought covers a greater number of properties of the subject.

In the trinity, consciousness, word, reality, the word occupies a middle position, linking consciousness with reality. Thus, the word affects both thinking (explaining it) and reality (transformation).

Thought is fleeting, unstable, mortal. The word is more stable, stable and immortal. The word - sparrow - will fly out - you won't catch it.

6. Levels and forms of social consciousness

Social consciousness is a complex system of feelings, views, ideas that reflect social life.

The elements of public consciousness are:

1. ordinary and theoretical consciousness

Ordinary - direct perception by society and its members of the surrounding reality

Theoretical - the highest, generalized perception of being.

2. common Psychology, ideology

Social psychology - a set of feelings, moods, customs, traditions, characteristic of a given society and for each of the large social groups. Society develops spontaneously, for a long time, is transmitted to each new person. It is dominated by ignorance of social. Fact, but his emotion associated with the attitude towards him.

Public ideology - a system of views, attitudes adopted in society, reflecting the interests of social strata and the socio-historical system. Ideology does not deal with emotions, but with rational components of consciousness, and acts as concepts, theories, a set of ideas, as a level of theoretical knowledge of the surrounding world. Ideology is formed artificially.

Ideology and social psychology are interconnected; when ideologists create their theory, they need to take into account the views, customs. The ideology must be recognized by the broad masses of people.

3. forms of general. Consciousness

1) Moral social consciousness. Morality - a form of common. Consciousness, a type of social relations aimed at asserting the self-worth of the individual, the equality of all people in their pursuit of a happy and dignified life, expressing the ideal of humanity and humanism.

Basic concepts of morality: good, evil, justice, honor, duty, conscience.

People develop rules or commandments, principles of behavior, the principle of attitude towards their own kind and towards society as a whole.

The golden rule of morality: What you don’t love in another, don’t do it yourself. Treat others the way you want to be treated.

V. Soveliev said that moral principles must certainly be embodied in social activities. Thus, morality regulates human behavior in all spheres of public life, supports and authorizes certain social foundations, the way of life. Morality belongs to the main types of normative regulation of human actions, such as law, customs, traditions, pestilence. norms.

2) Aesthetic social consciousness. In his life, a person constantly encounters the phenomena around him, with other people, and always, in one way or another, consciously or unconsciously, evaluates them under the prism of his ideas about the beautiful, the ugly, the comic, the tragic. Aesthetic consciousness is divided into objective-aesthetic and subjective-aesthetic.

Objective aesthetic consciousness is associated with the harmony of properties, symmetry, rhythm, orderliness

Subjective-est. appears in the form of aesthetic tastes, feelings, judgments, views, theories.

The spiritual world of a person is not indifferent to everything that he encounters in practical activities, when faced with the beautiful, a person experiences it, it causes him a feeling of pleasure, joy, delight. Even in antiquity, they saw the cleansing effect that art has on a person (Katharsis is the process of cleansing a person when he looks at art, etc.).

The beautiful is the leading aspect of things, phenomena, and this aspect is included in the aesthetic consciousness of society. Along with the category of beauty in aesthetics, other main categories of aesthetics are also considered:

ugly

sublime

comic

tragic

3) Religious form of consciousness. Religion is a form of worldview based on the belief in the presence of supernatural forces that affect human life and the world around us. The main elements of religion are the cult system - a system of ritual actions aimed at establishing relations with the supernatural. The religious worldview is characterized by a sensual, figurative-emotional form of perception of the surrounding reality.

The social roots of religion are originally an extremely low level of productive forces and the primitive level of human consciousness due to them.

In a class society, powerlessness in the face of the social forces that exploit the people is added to the social roots. That is why, with the transition to a class society, pagan religions are replaced by the religion of monotheism.

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Forms of public consciousness

With the development of social life, the cognitive abilities of a person arise and are enriched, which exist in the following main forms of social consciousness: moral, aesthetic, religious, political, legal, scientific, philosophical.

Morality- a form of social consciousness, which reflects the views and ideas, norms and assessments of the behavior of individuals, social groups and society as a whole.

Political consciousness there is a set of feelings, stable moods, traditions, ideas and integral theoretical systems that reflect the fundamental interests of large social groups, their relationship to each other and to the political institutions of society.

Right is a system of social norms and relations protected by the power of the state. Legal awareness is the knowledge and evaluation of law. At the theoretical level, legal consciousness appears as a legal ideology, which is an expression of the legal views and interests of large social groups.

Aesthetic consciousness there is an awareness of social being in the form of concrete-sensual, artistic images.

Religion is a form of social consciousness, the basis of which is belief in the supernatural. It includes religious ideas, religious feelings, religious actions.

Philosophical consciousness- this is the theoretical level of worldview, the science of the most general laws of nature, society and thinking and the general method of their knowledge, the spiritual quintessence of its era.

scientific consciousness is a systematized and rational reflection of the world in a special scientific language, based and confirmed in the practical and factual verification of its provisions. It reflects the world in categories, laws and theories.

And here one cannot do without knowledge, ideology and politics. In the social sciences, there have been various interpretations and opinions about the essence and meaning of these concepts since their inception. But it is more expedient for us to begin the analysis of the problem posed with philosophy. This is justified not so much by the fact that philosophy precedes all other sciences in time of appearance, but by the fact - and this is decisive - that philosophy acts as the foundation, the basis on which all other social, i.e. engaged in the study of society, science. Specifically, this is manifested in the fact that since philosophy studies the most general laws of social development and the most general principles for the study of social phenomena, their knowledge, and most importantly, their application, will be the methodological basis used by other social sciences, including ideology and politics. . So, the defining and guiding role of philosophy in relation to ideology and politics is manifested in the fact that it acts as a methodological basis, the foundation of ideological and political doctrines.

Ideology

Now let's see what is ideology when and why it arose and what function it performs in the life of society. For the first time the term "ideology" was introduced into use by the French philosopher and economist A. de Tracy in 1801 in his work "Elements of Ideology" for the "analysis of sensations and ideas." During this period, ideology acts as a kind of philosophical trend, which meant the transition from enlightenment empiricism to traditional spiritualism, which became widespread in European philosophy in the first half of the 19th century. During the reign of Napoleon, due to the fact that some philosophers took a hostile position towards him and his reforms, the French emperor and his entourage began to call "ideologists" or "doctriners" persons whose views were divorced from the practical problems of social life and real life. politicians. It is during this period that ideology begins to move from a philosophical discipline to its current state, i.e. into a doctrine more or less devoid of objective content and expressing and defending the interests of various social forces. In the middle of the XIX century. a new approach to clarifying the content and social knowledge of ideology was made by K. Marx and F. Engels. Fundamental in understanding the essence of ideology is its understanding as a certain form of social consciousness. Although ideology has a relative independence in relation to the processes taking place in society, but in general its essence and social orientation are determined by social life.

Another point of view on ideology was expressed by V. Pareto (1848-1923), an Italian sociologist and political economist. In his interpretation, ideology differs significantly from science, and they have nothing in common. If the latter is based on observations and logical comprehension, then the former is based on feelings and faith. According to Pareto, it is a socio-economic system that has an equilibrium due to the fact that the antagonistic interests of social strata and classes neutralize each other. Despite the constant antagonism caused by the inequality between people, human society nevertheless exists, and this is because it is controlled by ideology, belief systems by the chosen people, the human elite. It turns out that the functioning of society to a large extent depends on the ability of the elite to bring their beliefs, or ideology, to the consciousness of people. Ideology can be brought to the consciousness of people through clarification, persuasion, and also through violent actions. At the beginning of the XX century. the German sociologist K. Mannheim (1893-1947) expressed his understanding of ideology. Based on the position borrowed from Marxism about the dependence of social consciousness on social being, ideology on economic relations, he develops the concept of individual and universal ideology. Under the individual or private ideology is meant "a set of ideas that more or less comprehend the reality, the true knowledge of which conflicts with the interests of the one who offers the ideology itself." More generally, ideology is the universal "vision of the world" by a social group or class. In the first, i.e. on an individual plane, the analysis of ideology should be carried out from a psychological perspective, and in the second, from a sociological perspective. In both the first and second cases, the ideology, according to the German thinker, is an idea that is able to grow into the situation, subjugate and adapt it to itself.

“Ideology,” says Mannheim, “is ideas that have an impact on the situation and which in reality could not realize their potential content. Often ideas act as well-intentioned goals of individual behavior. When they are tried to be implemented in practical life, there is a deformation of their content. Denying class consciousness and, accordingly, class ideology, Mannheim essentially recognizes only the social, particular interests of professional groups and individuals of different generations.Among them, a special role is assigned to the creative intelligentsia, supposedly standing outside classes and capable of an impartial knowledge of society, although only on level of possibility. Common for Pareto and Mannheim will be the opposition of ideology to the positive sciences. For Pareto, this is the opposition of ideology to science, and for Mannheim, ideology to utopias. Given the way Pareto and Mannheim characterize ideology, its essence can be characterized as follows: any belief is considered an ideology , with which to collective actions are controlled. The term faith should be understood in its broadest sense and, in particular, as a concept that regulates behavior and which may or may not have an objective meaning. The most detailed and reasoned interpretation of ideology, its essence was given by the founders of Marxism and their followers. They define ideology as a system of views and ideas through which people's relationships and connections with reality and with each other, social problems and conflicts are comprehended and evaluated, and the goals and objectives of social activity are determined, which consist in consolidating or changing existing social relations.

In a class society, ideology has a class character and reflects the interests of social groups and classes. First of all, ideology is a part of social consciousness and belongs to its highest level, since it expresses the main interests of classes and social groups in a systematized form, clothed in concepts and theories. Structurally, it includes both theoretical attitudes and practical actions. Speaking about the formation of ideology, it should be borne in mind that it does not arise by itself from the daily life of people, but is created by social scientists, political and statesmen. At the same time, it is very important to know that ideological concepts are not necessarily created by representatives of the class or social group whose interests they express. World history shows that among the representatives of the ruling classes there were many ideologists who, sometimes unconsciously, expressed the interests of other social strata. Theoretically, ideologists become such due to the fact that they express in a systematic or fairly explicit form the goals and the need for political and socio-economic transformations, to which empirically, i.e. in the process of their practical activity, one or another class or group of people comes. The nature of ideology, its orientation and qualitative assessment depend on whose social interests it corresponds to. Ideology, although it is a product of social life, but, having a relative independence, has a huge feedback impact on social life and social transformations. In critical historical periods in the life of society, this influence in historically short periods of time can be decisive.

Politics is a historically transient phenomenon. It begins to form only at a certain stage in the development of society. So, in primitive tribal society there were no political relations. The life of society was regulated by centuries-old habits and traditions. Politics as a theory and management of social relations begins to take shape as more developed forms of the division of social labor and private ownership of tools of labor appear. tribal relations were not able to regulate new relations between people by the old folk methods. Actually, starting from this stage of human development, i.e. from the emergence of a slave-owning society, the first secular ideas and ideas about the origin and essence of power, state and politics appear. Naturally, the idea of the subject and essence of politics has changed, and we will focus on the interpretation of politics that is currently more or less generally accepted, i.e. about politics as a theory of the state, politics as a science and the art of government. The first of the well-known thinkers who raised the issues of development and organization of society, expressed ideas about the state, was Aristotle, who did this in the treatise "Politics". Aristotle forms his ideas about the state based on an analysis of the social history and political structure of a number of Greek states-polises. At the heart of the Greek thinker's doctrine of the state is his conviction that man is a "political animal", and his life in the state is the natural essence of man. The state is presented as a developed community of communities, and the community as a developed family. His family is the prototype of the state, and he transfers its structure to the state system. Aristotle's doctrine of the state has a clearly defined class character.

slave state- this is the natural state of the organization of society, and therefore the existence of slave owners and slaves, masters and subordinates is fully justified. The main tasks of the state, i.e. , should be the prevention of excessive accumulation of wealth among citizens, as this is fraught with social instability; the immeasurable growth of political power in the hands of one person and the keeping of slaves in obedience. N. Machiavelli (1469-1527), an Italian political thinker and public figure, made a significant contribution to the doctrine of the state and politics. The state and politics, according to Machiavelli, are not of religious origin, but represent an independent side of human activity, the embodiment of free human will within the framework of necessity, or fortune (fate, happiness). Politics is not determined by God or morality, but is the result of the practical activity of man, the natural laws of life and human psychology. The main motives that determine political activity, according to Machiavelli, are real interests, self-interest, the desire for enrichment. The sovereign, the ruler must be an absolute ruler and even a despot. It should not be limited by either moral or religious precepts in achieving its goals. Such rigidity is not a whim, it is dictated by the circumstances themselves. Only a strong and tough sovereign can ensure the normal existence and functioning of the state and keep in his sphere of influence the cruel world of people striving for wealth, prosperity and guided only by selfish principles.

According to Marxism, politics- this is the area of human activity, determined by the relations between classes, social strata, ethnic groups. Its main goal is the problem of conquest, retention and use of state power. The most important thing in politics is the structure of state power. The state acts as a political superstructure over the economic basis. Through it, the economically dominant class secures its political dominance. In essence, the main function of the state in a class society is to protect the fundamental interests of the ruling class. Three factors ensure the power and strength of the state. Firstly, it is a public authority, which includes a permanent administrative and bureaucratic apparatus, the army, the police, the court, houses of detention. These are the most powerful and effective bodies of state power. Secondly, the right to collect taxes from the population and institutions, which are necessary mainly for the maintenance of the state apparatus, power and numerous governing bodies. Thirdly, this is an administrative-territorial division, which contributes to the development of economic ties and the creation of administrative and political conditions for their regulation. Along with class interests, the state to a certain extent expresses and protects national interests, regulates mainly with the help of a system of legal norms the entire set of economic, socio-political, national and family relations, thereby contributing to the strengthening of the existing socio-economic order. One of the most important levers by which the state carries out its activities is law. Law is a set of norms of behavior enshrined in laws and approved by the state. According to Marx and Engels, law is the will of the ruling class elevated to law. With the help of law, economic and social or socio-political relations are fixed, i.e. relationships between classes and social groups, family status and the position of national minorities. After the formation of the state and the establishment of law in society, political and legal relations that did not exist before are formed. The political parties expressing the interests of various classes and social groups act as spokesmen for political relations.

Political relations, the struggle between parties for power is nothing but a struggle of economic interests. Each class and social group is interested in establishing the priority of its interests in society with the help of constitutional laws. For example, workers are interested in objective remuneration for their work, students are interested in a scholarship that would at least provide them with food, owners of banks, factories and other property are interested in maintaining private property. We can say that the economy at a certain stage gives rise to politics and political parties because they are needed for a normal existence and development. Although politics is a product of the economy, nevertheless it has not only relative independence, but also has a certain influence on the economy, and in transitional and crisis periods this influence can even determine the path of economic development. The influence of politics on the economy is carried out in various ways: directly, through the economic policy pursued by state bodies (financing of various projects, investments, prices for goods); establishment of customs duties on industrial products in order to protect domestic producers; pursuing a foreign policy that would favor the activities of domestic producers in other countries. The active role of politics in stimulating economic development can be carried out in three directions: 1) when political factors act in the same direction as the objective course of economic development, they accelerate it; 2) when they act contrary to economic development, then they hold it back; 3) they can slow down development in some directions and accelerate it in others.

Carrying out the right policy directly depends on the extent to which the political forces in power are guided by the laws of social development and take into account in their activities the interests of classes and social groups. So, we can say that in order to understand the socio-political processes taking place in society, it is important to know not only the role of social philosophy, ideology, politics separately, but also their interaction and mutual influence.

Consciousness is the highest integrated form of the psyche, which is formed under the influence of socio-historical conditions in the labor activity of a person and his communication through language with other people.

The main characteristics of consciousness are:

reflection of the surrounding world with the help of cognitive processes (sensation, perception, memory, thinking, imagination). Violation of any of the cognitive processes leads to a disorder of consciousness;

the distinction between subject and object (that is, what belongs to "I" and "not I"), which occurs in the process of forming a person's self-consciousness. Man is the only living being capable of self-knowledge;

self-assessment of their actions and themselves in general. According to Hegel, "man is an animal, but he is no longer an animal, because he knows that he is an animal. Self-consciousness manifests itself in: cognitive (well-being, self-observation, introspection, self-criticism), dignity) and volitional (restraint, self-control, self-control, discipline) forms;

ensuring purposeful human activity. Thanks to advanced display, a person reveals cause-and-effect relationships, foresees the future, sets a goal, takes into account motives and makes volitional decisions, makes the necessary adjustments, and overcomes difficulties. Through his activities, he actively influences the world around him;

the presence of emotional and evaluative relationships to everything that happens around, to other people and to oneself. This characteristic of consciousness is manifested most clearly in such moral feelings as a sense of duty, patriotism, internationalism, etc. Experiences enhance the clarity of awareness of oneself and the world around, and therefore is an important incentive for the activation of consciousness.

A person has long thought about how his consciousness works, how he differs from other people who live nearby, how he perceives the environment and at the same time realizes that much of what his eyes see and ears hear passes him by, etc.

Consciousness is an integral moment of mental processes. In mental activity, there are no separate mental acts, they are all interconnected, but at the same time, each retains its own specificity.

For example, consciousness retains what is the object of attention (which may be spontaneous or arbitrary); straining memory, we perform the action of recall and become aware of it; when looking for a pencil, we become aware of the action of perception, and so on.

Thanks to consciousness, a person adapts to the world around him. The object of awareness is that which requires a certain regulation of our behavior, our actions, taking into account reality.

The consciousness of man is in his activity. The deed and word of a person is a manifestation of his consciousness. Consciousness at different moments of an individual's life and under different circumstances is not the same. We talk about this when characterizing the actions and states of people.

Individual actions are assessed as highly conscious, while others do not see such a quality. Therefore, we can talk about a different level of self-consciousness not only in different people, but also in one person, which depends on the depth and expressiveness of that reflection of objective reality, which is guided by activity.

A low level of consciousness is spoken of when a person is not sufficiently aware of the circumstances under which he acts and his attitude towards them. It is known that, according to the rules of good breeding, it is necessary to give way to elderly women and children in transport. But not everyone does it.

A high level of consciousness is characterized by the fact that a person reveals essential connections, guided by a distant and socially significant goal and certain motives, and accordingly plans, organizes and regulates his actions. A conscious person acts in a certain way because he cannot do otherwise. The more complex and responsible the task, the higher the level of consciousness should be.

Conscious human activity does not exclude the presence of the unconscious in it. The purpose of the activity, the ways to achieve the goal, partially the motives are realized, but the methods of execution are often automated.

Walking, speaking, writing, reading, counting - this is the most organized automatic mental activity. First, these acts are carried out as a result of the activity of consciousness, and later on, automation, freeing the consciousness for further, more perfect adaptation to the surrounding world.

However, this automation is relative. Consciousness at any time can take control of any automated action. In such cases, the unconscious becomes an important mechanism for adapting to the environment.

The so-called subjective reactions, which are predetermined by subthreshold stimuli, some motives of activity and behavior, pathological phenomena such as hallucinations, dreams are also not recognized.

Unconscious manifestations in the human psyche are incomparable with the animal psyche, since they, like consciousness, determined by the social conditions of human existence, act as a partial or insufficiently adequate reflection of the world in the human brain.

There are various explanations for the manifestations of the unconscious. So, 3. Freud believed that the sphere of the unconscious is the repressed, unrealized aspirations of a person. He introduced the concept of "I" and "It", for the resolution of which he proposed to take into account the laws of their functioning.

The basis of the system that corresponds to the consciousness of "I" is the principle of reality, the manifestation of "It" due to the principle of pleasure. The actions of the "I" correspond to reality and are subject to physical laws, social attitudes and logic; "It" is guided by subjective needs of a biological and affective nature.

There is no sharp boundary between "I" and "It". "I" seeks to promote the influence of the external world on the "It", to change the principle of pleasure, which guides the "It", the principle of reality. Mental activity is characterized by constant transitions from the conscious to the unconscious and vice versa.

An example of the transition of the conscious into the unconscious is sleep. There are three types of sleep: daily sleep, the deprivation of which leads to the destruction of nerve cells, sleep that occurs under the influence of a homogeneous stimulus (for example, during a monotonous lecture), and sleep habit.

Sleep is a special state of the cerebral cortex, which is accompanied by complex biochemical transformations.

The biocurrents of the brain do not disappear during sleep, but their amplitude increases and the frequency decreases. Sleep occurs when the higher parts of the central nervous system (cortex) and even the midbrain are inhibited. Sleep performs an extremely important protective function - preventing exhaustion. In a dream, people see dreams.

A dream is a peculiar state of consciousness of the one who sleeps, which is characterized by the appearance of more or less vivid ideas.

They arise as a result of the work of individual uninhibited centers of the cerebral cortex. Therefore, what we see in a dream is based on previously experienced impressions, which are interconnected in various, even fantastic or absurd connections. M. I. Sechenov figuratively defined dreams as unprecedented combinations of experienced impressions.

External stimuli are included in the dream without disturbing sleep. For example, if the house is hot, you may dream of summer.

The brain also works in sleep, and cases of discoveries in this state are known (D.I. Mendeleev discovered the periodic system, Kepule - the formula of benzene, Voltaire wrote a version of "Henriade"). But, of course, these discoveries are not accidental, but the result of a long, hard previous work of the brain.

During sleep, the so-called "sentinel points" operate - uninhibited or slightly inhibited sections of the cerebral cortex, which are in a state of activity. They communicate with the outside world through them.

The nerve cells of sentinel points are not completely inhibited, but are in the so-called paradoxical phase, in which they are more sensitive to weak stimuli than to strong ones. Animals also have "watch points". Thanks to them, for example, bats sleep upside down and do not fall.

Interestingly, there is no correspondence between the duration of the events that unfold in a dream and the duration of the dream itself. In a few seconds, you can see a long dream and vice versa.

Man has long sought to find out the meaning of dreams. Evidence of this is a variety of dream books (one of its variants - "Interpretation of the Dreams of the Famous Elder Martyn Zadeki" is mentioned by A. Pushkin in "Eugene Onegin").

Of course, the interpretations that are given in dream books are primitive, but at the same time, the content of dreams often gives psychologists, psychotherapists, neuropsychiatrists valuable material about a person, his condition, needs, problems. Analysis of the nature of dreams helps the doctor to understand the cause of a nervous disease, to identify mental trauma.

There is a connection between the level of intelligence, culture, erudition, creative talent of a person and the ability of his brain to project onto the screen of sleep not only what is known, but also fragments of the future.

Dreams in which people experience in detail part of their future are called pre-cognitive.

A person can also fall asleep through suggestion or self-suggestion (hypnotic sleep). The state of deep hypnotic sleep, during which a person performs various unconscious movements, is called somnambulism.

Due to certain deviations in the functioning of the brain, a person can sleep for a very long time (even decades). Such a dream is called lethargic.

The transition from sleep to active wakefulness is the transition from unconscious mental activity to conscious.

Thus, human mental activity is a unity of the conscious and subconscious.

Portal for the student. Self-training

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Consciousness as a philosophical problem (1)

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