Abstract thinking. What is abstraction, abstract thinking

The abstract thinking of a person may seem to someone not such an important mental process. For example, why would anyone need to think about what the Universe is, try to solve in advance unsolvable problems of being, or look for the meaning of life?

However, experts will not agree with this, because abstract thinking makes it possible to abstract from trifles and try to look at the situation as a whole. For example, we can consider abstract and concrete thinking: looking out the window you can see Lada Kalina, Toyota Karina, etc. at the entrance, but if you evaluate it concretely, and if abstractly, then there are cars near the house ... And this is the ability of a person to look at the world from different angles.

Abstractness in thinking does not allow a person to stagnate, obsessing over trifles, it allows you to go only forward, crossing the existing limits and norms. This is how innovative discoveries appear in the world and the most difficult vital tasks are solved.

Even as a child, a person must acquire the ability to think abstractly and intensively develop this ability. In the future, this will help to assess the overall picture of ongoing events, draw your own conclusions, and not only look for a rational solution, but also find a way out of any, even deadlock situations.

What are the abstract types of thinking

There are three forms abstract thinking, without acquaintance with which there will be no realization of what it means to think abstractly:

Intermediate judgments leading to a single conclusion are called "premises", and the final conclusion is a "conclusion".

Abstract - this means unencumbered, free thinking, the ability to operate with judgments, independently draw conclusions. Without these mental processes, everyday life would be meaningless.

Characteristic signs of abstract thinking

This type of thinking is necessary for the full life of people and there are features of abstract thinking that you should be aware of:

There is a conditional division of the thinking process into 2 stages:

thinking that does not use language;
self-communication, which is called "internal dialogue".

There is no point in questioning the fact that people most information is obtained from print media, television programs, and the Internet. And everything happens with the use of spoken language.

That is, when receiving information from a source, a person processes it, creates a new one, which is fixed in memory. This confirms that language is, in addition to a means of expression, also a method of fixing information.

To summarize, abstract mental processes give a person the opportunity to:

the ability to use concepts, groups and criteria that are not in real world;
summarize and analyze the information received;
systematize knowledge;
identify patterns without the need to interact with objects and phenomena of the surrounding world;
build cause-and-effect relationships, create new models of any ongoing processes.

Logic is the basis of abstract thinking

The root of an abstract phenomenon is considered to be logic, which comes from ancient countries – Ancient Greece, India and the Chinese state. That is, this concept arose long before the creation modern world, and historical facts confirm that it existed as early as the 4th century BC.

The experts were able to find out that practical use logic occurred simultaneously in different parts of the world. This only confirms that world development impossible without mental abstractions or logical judgments. They are necessary for the study of individual objects, phenomena or the overall world picture.

Today, logic is a whole scientific field that has a clear definition as a philosophical branch, a science that studies reasoning, laws and rules used to obtain correct conclusions about the objects under study.

Thus, we can say that logic uses abstract thinking as the main tool, which makes it possible to abstract from the material and build consistent conclusions.

abstract logical thinking has deep roots, because logic arose during the appearance of man, and accompanies him in the process of all stages of development.

Diagnosis of mental abstraction abilities

In modern psychology, the ability for abstract thinking is revealed in childhood.

Various tests have been developed to find out how this type of thinking is developed in a person:

Testing that determines the types of thinking. Naturally, in this case, a positive result is the predominance of the identified type of thinking. Such tests often take the form of questionnaires based on working with images or choosing expressions that suit you. The main purpose of testing is to identify relationships between phenomena and their results (causal relationships). In this case, a person receives the initial data, and on their basis, it is necessary, by applying logic, to come to the correct conclusion. Often, specialists use non-existent terms, this makes it possible to assess how detached a person is and whether he has a stable ability to move away from distracting small details.
Tests, during which a person receives some verbal combinations and must try to discover the patterns by which they are combined. Then they spread to other groups of words.

Opportunities for Process Improvement

Having a general definition, abstract thinking is individual for each person. Examples of this can always be taken from life - the mother draws beautifully, the daughter has literary abilities, and the son can think abstractly.

However, the formation of abstract thinking in everyone takes place in childhood, and then one should be engaged in the development of this aspect - the child must learn to think independently, one should push him to think and encourage all kinds of fantasies.

Today you can buy various educational material - collections of logical problems, riddles, rebuses and other puzzles that make the brain work. If the development of abstract thinking in an adult individual is required, then this is quite possible. It is enough to spend 30 minutes-1 hour a day to solve logic tasks in order to get the desired result.

Of course, the children's brain is much more flexible and is able to solve even complex tasks (an example of this is the numerous children's riddles, which often lead adults to a dead end, but do not cause any difficulties for a child), but training the brain activity of an adult will allow you to think abstractly. It is important to choose those types of tasks that are especially difficult.

The child, on the other hand, needs to be constantly provided with the necessary “food for the mind”, since the ability to think abstractly does not hurt creative activity, but will help in the future to master numerous scientific disciplines based on similar skills.

Of course, a person must develop comprehensively, taking into account all mental aspects and his own abilities. People with developed abstract thinking are distinguished by high efficiency, devotion to their favorite work and the ability to independently find a way out of any situation. And these qualities are also necessary for a harmoniously developed personality.

Each person roughly understands what abstract thinking is, but often only intuitively gets confused in the connections between abstraction, abstraction, reflection.

What is meant by abstract thinking? Why is it needed and why can't we get by with a specific one? What forms of abstract thinking are usually distinguished? What can be done to develop the ability to think? What things do not apply to this species thinking? To all this, I will try to answer you today.

For an easier understanding of today's topic, I recommend starting by watching a short video.

The first thing that comes to mind when I am asked about this mindset ( psychologists also call it theoretical, conceptual): is thinking using abstract concepts. But, having answered in this way, we will understand absolutely nothing either about thinking, or about what concepts can be called abstract.

So, abstract thinking is a psychological process in which a person searches for a solution to a problem by applying concepts and performing actions in the mind, but without referring to experience or to the senses.

Why can't we solve problems based on the surrounding reality? It must be remembered that the knowledge that we possess is too insufficient. We are constantly faced with the incompleteness of our ideas about the world. If we relied only on them, it would not end well. Abstraction helps us at least roughly orient ourselves in the situation, start acting. Thus, at first the purely theoretical passes into the practical. The following forms of abstract thinking help us in this.

Concept, judgment, conclusion

Via concepts we name an object or several objects through its characteristic features. For example, a chair as furniture with a back, designed for one person - this is already a concept. But love, meaning, pain, sadness are no longer just concepts. They are abstract: we cannot touch them, feel them.

Judgment contains a statement about the laws of the world and its relationships. Good weather today is a simple judgment. But the difficult one: “Today there is no rain, which means the weather is good.”

inference takes several related judgments, combines them, creates a new one as a result. Recall from Rene Descartes: “I think; therefore, I exist."

The Gift of Abstract Thinking

The theoretical ability to think helps us to understand each other, not to get lost in the diversity of experience: before you take a step, think! It also brings us a couple of steps closer to knowing the truth. All people have been rewarded with the gift of thinking conceptually, but not all do it equally skillfully.

The development of abstract thinking occurs in childhood, when the child begins to explore the world, gets acquainted with the basic concepts. Already in preschool age it is necessary to help the baby: offer to solve puzzles, answer his tricky questions about the structure of the world, give him the opportunity to fantasize.

An adult who seeks to think better can begin to solve logical problems. They will give a very quick effect, and they are also able to really captivate. In the network, for example, every day a large number of data appears, solving which will be a useful joint pastime.

Oddly enough, logic is associated with creativity, the development of the imagination. Take a look at the clouds. Do they remind you of anyone? Look for those that look like animal or human figures. Share your discovery with loved ones. It not only develops thinking, but also brings together.

How long have you been playing with shadows in a dimly lit room? But this comic lesson also seriously develops the head.

Signs characteristic of abstract thinking

The ability to think allows you to abandon unnecessary details, to see difficult situation from the new side. And this means that the opportunity to make a discovery increases. Or find an original solution to a problem when the situation seems hopeless. It is necessary to remember what features abstract thinking has.

Not tied to the senses (which is how it differs from the specific). It is not necessary to be near the object of our thoughts to get fresh information. It is enough to rely on your experience. For example, having received a deuce, the student already knows what awaits him at home.
Generalizes various items and reveals the patterns of the surrounding world. Generalization simplifies information, speeds up access to it (due to memorization characteristic features). For example, if several people are asked to imagine a dog at the same time, they will imagine dogs of different breeds, but all will imagine these animals with their inherent features.
It is closely related to speech - the verbal expression of thoughts. Thoughts tend to "sound" in our head. It is language that is a means of expressing and fixing information.

If you keep these three characteristics in mind, you can easily distinguish those things that are not a form of abstract thinking. For example, presentation. After all, it is inextricably linked with the perception of our senses. Even if in this moment you are not near the object, once you were and could study it, and then just remember. Ideas about the taste of food, the image of a person, about cold or heat do not belong to thinking, they are much closer to perception.

How does a person think so?

You can be as surprised as you like with the ability of a person to build complex logical chains, to reflect on the fate of the universe, but the fact remains: we all really have theoretical thinking. This, by the way, is one of our differences from animals.

Human curiosity, the desire to comprehend the truth, to build a complete picture of reality - all this motivates us to think. And the thoughts themselves cause in us the impulse to move on to practice in order to confirm or verify them. Examples of abstract thinking are always connected with real life. This is what we are used to doing:

think about the existence of God
argue about true love
study and apply the goddess of theory and logic - mathematics (this science is completely based on abstract concepts),
dream about the future
come up with jokes using a sense of humor,
create something new.

And so on ... It is impossible to list everything, and is it necessary?

Abstract thinking makes us intelligent. It makes us see without the aid of the eyes. It is through this process that we have the opportunity to cognize and create meanings. How else would we live?

I will be glad if the article started the process of your thinking and you learned something new. If you like it, share it with your friends in social networks. Let the flame of thought not go out.

All the best, with respect, Alexander Fadeev.

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Hello. My name is Alexander. I am a blogger. I have been developing websites for more than 7 years: blogs, landing pages, online stores. Always glad to meet new people and your questions, comments. Add in social networks. I hope the blog is helpful to you.

Definition 1

Thinking is cognitive action that occurs due to the rational and mediated study of the surrounding world.

The concept of abstract-logical thinking

All the laws of the functioning of society and natural environment are known through human perception, sensations, its sensual side and memory. In addition, this is possible due to thought processes.

Thinking has several varieties. Its most common type, which is activated at the last stage of personality development, is abstract logical thinking.

Definition 2

Abstract logical thinking is a kind of mental action implemented through logical operations with theoretical concepts.

Such thinking characterizes the general connections and interactions that develop between objects, processes and phenomena occurring in the surrounding space.

Forms of abstract logical thinking

There are three main forms of abstract-logical thinking:

A concept is a form that characterizes an object as the owner of a single attribute or a group of them, which are the most priority and reflect its essence. For example, words and phrases can be distinguished as abstract concepts: a fish, a green-eyed girl, a store clerk, a teacher.
A judgment is a form that characterizes an object by negating it and confirming its existence, using a specific phrase for this. An example would be such judgments: a girl eats soup - a simple judgment, the child left, the house was empty - a declarative sentence.
Inference is a form that deals with the construction of a new judgment, concretization, conclusions based on one judgment or their complex. Abstract-logical thinking is based on it.

Specific characteristics of abstract logical thinking

The essence of this thought process is reflected due to the specific features of its manifestation. These include:

Skills of possession and practical use of parameters and values that do not exist in reality;
Analytic skills. The presence of abstract-logical thinking implies the ability to analyze information, generalize and systematize data;
Lack of direct communication and cooperation with environment to build a certain system of conclusions, the principles of its organization and patterns of development;
Ability to identify and draw cause-and-effect relationships between various phenomena, objects and processes.

To answer the question of whether you have developed abstract thinking, pay attention to the presence of criteria for its development:

spending huge time resources on thinking about the meaning of life, the nature of consciousness;
frequent surprise and asking the question “why?”. It can also be noted that in childhood there was an enormous curiosity and need for knowledge;
performance of any activity not just like that, but for a serious reason. Doing things “just like that” is completely irrelevant;
there is no reliance on instructions, the desire to figure everything out on their own without help and support;
the need to engage in new areas of activity, avoidance of routine, the constant need for new activities, a change of activity;
comparing new ideas with previously acquired knowledge, even if they are not related;
characteristic is the successful inventing of metaphors and analogies, the construction of an ideological relationship with new options and techniques.

Applying Abstract Thinking

Abstract thinking begins to develop only at the age of five or seven. Initially, children are guided by the visual perception of the environment, using visual-effective thinking. Somewhere from a year and a half, the use of a concrete-subject type of thinking begins.

Each type of thinking is present in human life during its entire implementation. These types are necessary for building simple and complex spatial relationships.

The learning process is an activity during which the activation of thinking takes place, and therefore it is of a conscious nature. In this regard, learning is based on abstract-logical thinking. It applies not only to learning process, but also to other areas of activity, including domestic. Its advantage lies in the ability to determine the causes of various events and to determine the relationships and interdependencies between them.

Recognition of the degree of development of abstract thinking

To determine how developed a person's abstract thinking is, various diagnostic systems are used. Common are test tasks. All tests are divided into three main groups:

Tests that reveal the type of thinking of a person. Their essence consists in choosing from several proposed options a suitable statement or a picture that reflects the essence of a process.
Tests aimed at determining cause-and-effect relationships. These techniques are based on the formulation of the correct conclusion under the specific conditions of the functioning of the process or object.
Tests based on the analysis of words and phrases. It is necessary to determine the cause-and-effect relationships of constructing this combination, the principles of such a grouping of words.

Abstract thinking is inherent in every person. However, it needs development. Without proper training, it will not function properly. It is necessary to train abstract thinking from a very early age, when the child is best able to absorb information. In this period, his thinking is more sensual and receptive, not influenced by social stereotypes.

The development of thinking takes place in two main stages:

Determination of the level of development of thinking at a given time moment and the choice of appropriate tasks for ingenuity.
Conducting various tests, performing individual tasks from them.

Exercises for the development of abstract thinking

Abstract thinking is best developed in childhood. This increases its effectiveness, since all mental and thought processes are under development.

In childhood, the development of abstract thinking can be realized in the form of a game, building various structures from available materials. Also, associative selections to various words and processes will help the development of abstraction.

Remark 1

Chess games, puzzles, rebuses, puzzles will help the development of abstract thinking in a child.

Despite the fact that in adulthood thinking has already been formed, it is quite possible to develop and improve it.

By doing the following exercises, you can significantly increase the ability to think abstractly:

Representation of various emotions in the mind and their binding to specific objects and processes.
Representation of a model of some philosophical concept. An example is: harmony, energy, infinity.
Reading in reverse order or upside down. So you can build logical connections between objects and processes.
A mental representation of people or events of the current day, building their detailed image and evaluating their feelings.
Drawing anything activates the abstractness of thinking.

Abstract thinking is one that allows you to abstract from small details and look at the situation as a whole. This type of thinking allows you to step beyond the boundaries of norms and rules and make new discoveries. The development of abstract thinking in a person from childhood should occupy an important place, because this approach makes it easier to find unexpected solutions and new ways out of the situation.

Basic forms of abstract thinking

The peculiarity of abstract thinking is that it has three different forms- concepts, judgments and conclusions. Without understanding their specifics, it is difficult to sink into the concept of "abstract thinking".

1. Concept

The concept is a form of thinking in which an object or group of objects is reflected as one or more features. Each of these signs must be significant! The concept can be expressed both in one word and in a phrase - for example, the concepts of "cat", "leaves", "student of a humanitarian university", "green-eyed girl".

2. Judgment

Judgment is a form of thinking that denies or affirms any phrase that describes the world, objects, relationships and patterns. In turn, judgments are divided into two types - complex and simple. A simple proposition may sound like, for example, "the cat eats sour cream." A complex proposition expresses the meaning in a slightly different form: "The bus started moving, the stop was empty." A complex proposition usually takes the form of a declarative sentence.

3. Inference

Inference is a form of thinking in which, from one or a group of related propositions, a conclusion is drawn, which is a new proposition. This is the basis of abstract-logical thinking. Judgments that precede the formation of the final version are called prerequisites, and the final judgment is called the "conclusion". For example: “All birds fly. Sparrow flies. Sparrow is a bird.

The abstract type of thinking involves the free operation of concepts, judgments and conclusions - such categories that do not make sense without being correlated with our everyday life.

How to develop abstract thinking?

Needless to say, the ability for abstract thinking is different for everyone? Some people are given to draw beautifully, others to write poetry, and others to think abstractly. However, the formation of abstract thinking is possible, and for this it is necessary to give the brain a reason for reflection from early childhood.

Currently, there are a lot of printed publications that provide food for thought - all kinds of collections, puzzles and the like. If you want to engage in the development of abstract thinking in yourself or your child, it is enough to find only 30-60 minutes twice a week to immerse yourself in solving such tasks. The effect will not keep you waiting. It is noticed that in early age the brain decides this kind of problem, but the more training he gets, the better the results.

The complete absence of abstract thinking can give rise not only to many problems with creative activities, but also with the study of those disciplines in which most of the key concepts are abstract. That is why it is important to pay much attention to this topic.

Properly developed abstract thinking allows you to know what has not yet been known by anyone before, to discover various secrets of nature, to distinguish truth from lies. In addition, this method of cognition differs from others in that it does not require direct contact with the object being studied and allows you to remotely draw important conclusions and conclusions.

How the dispute about different abilities began, for mathematics, logic, analysis and others difficult things, met one of the most difficult terms in our conversation - abstract thinking. They don’t compare it with anything, they don’t explain it with anything, they don’t apply it to anything. And with what just do not confuse.

Do you know and understand what abstract thinking is? Why is it so many confused with logic, memory and other interesting things? I somehow understand intellectually what it is, but I also have difficulties with wording. Wiki tells us: "Abstract thinking is one of the types of human thinking, which consists in the formation of abstract concepts and operating with them." So how is it? Did this wording make it easier? :-)

And further: "Abstract concepts ("number", "matter", "value", etc.) arise in the process of thinking as a generalization of the data of sensory cognition of specific objects and phenomena of objective reality."
Well, yes, it's better.

A friend of mine once answered this question with a simple example: "A child who does not have abstract thinking understands ten apples, but does not understand ten apples."
This in itself is understandable, but I don’t really fit in with what is written above (copied from Wiktionary).

Just on the way to the school of vision, I was reading a discussion on LiveJournal about who thinks well about what. So I decided to ask a neurologist. He sits there, in this school, and likes to answer tricky questions. I thought he was a great candidate for this question because he uses the term himself a lot. The neurologist said that we need abstract thinking in order to deal with phenomena about which we do not receive enough information to "disassemble" them with the mind. Everything that is unsteady, vague and incomprehensible for us is packed into some acceptable images by abstract thinking. And it also comes into force when we try to express our feelings and emotions. This is also a very flimsy and vague part of reality, which is difficult to understand, systematize, describe, discuss. And want. This is where our ability to think abstractly selects images and descriptions of what cannot be expressed and said in words.

This is perhaps the description I liked the most that I have heard and read so far. But the question remained with mathematics, logic and analysis. Is it true that abstract thinking helps to understand mathematics? And if so, why?

My neurologist said that - no, understanding - does not help. It helps to understand the presentation of information (clear, simple, straightforward), and the right amount of information. If a person does not understand something in an example, then he does not have enough information, knowledge to help solve this example. If he knows everything necessary to solve the problem, he comes with his knowledge and solves it.

But where abstract thinking helps is to deal with emotional dead ends. Because each person has such a phase when he already has knowledge, but he has not yet figured out how to apply it. It is a lack of experience, a lack of determination, a lack of skill in combining and applying everything to everything. And in order not to fall into a stupor at the first failure, to relax, take a breath, and think about what is wrong here, what can be done about it - the ability to sort out one's feelings helps. Understand and realize your emotional state, influence it, relax, accept the situation. Start thinking about it - partly breaking away from the exact example and the desire to immediately get the correct figure.

By the way, the habit of drawing in the mind what you don’t actually see or hear is also considered the fruit of abstract thinking. And this is very useful.
Now doctors attach great importance to this ability. I have already written about how I have been passing vision tests lately. First, vision is measured by objective methods. Diopters and so on can be measured with a machine, and everything that I see is crooked, oblique and uneven is the result of physical distortions and changes. By making a retinal scan, you can project through it everything that is refracted in the eye, and the doctor will see the world through my eyes, in all its curvature. At the same time, when I have to read the letters, sitting in the required number of meters from the table, I guess much more than I should. And something in my head made me see the curved lines become straighter over time. And - most importantly - it counts! Everything twisted by any god knows what methods, including what you see with your ears, nose, intuition and some kind of sixth sense - is considered! I recognized what I saw - it means I recognized it!
They even have a favorite phrase there, which they repeat all the time: "Bestanden ist bestanden" - ("Who passed the exam, he passed"). Type - "no matter how."
:-)

Or maybe in the sciences somehow it is possible? Something not to understand with the mind, but to feel some other place? :-)