Social consciousness is a very important characteristic of society, which expresses primarily its spiritual life. Such consciousness reflects the mood, ideas, theories and views of social existence and is considered as an independent system.

Social consciousness and its importance in the development of a nation

No matter how strong or integrated a nation (or part of the population) may be, it is characterized by social consciousness to one degree or another. The subject here is not the individual, but society. Public consciousness is formed over the course of centuries and to some extent depends on the historical development of events. The mentality of the people can be called a demonstration of such

Of course, this form of consciousness has a huge impact on the structure of social consciousness as follows:

• Social psychology expresses the motives, moods and feelings of society and largely depends on some characteristic customs and traditions. This part of consciousness is the sensory and emotional way of experiencing and responding to life.
• Ideology is a theoretical reflection of the world that demonstrates the degree of knowledge and understanding of the world by society or any part of it.

Of course, social consciousness is possible only through the interaction of ideology and social psychology.

Social consciousness and its forms

As humanity grew and developed, people increasingly improved their understanding and perception of the world. This is how the following arose:

• Morality is one of the most important characteristics of collective consciousness. After all, it is she who demonstrates the views and ideas of society, their system of norms and evaluation of the actions of both an individual and a group of people or society.
• Political consciousness - demonstrates the totality of sentiments, ideas, traditions and views of different groups of the population. At the same time, political consciousness fully reflects the demands and interests of different social strata, as well as their relationships with each other.
• Law is another form of consciousness, which is characterized by the presence of a system of social norms. This is how society evaluates rights and creates a legal ideology, which is then protected by the state. It is worth understanding that one person can create an idea, but it becomes part of the public consciousness only after society has become imbued with it.
• Religion is one of the oldest forms of social consciousness, which arose many centuries before our era. It includes faith, ideas about the divine and supernatural, as well as religious feelings and actions of society.
• Aesthetic consciousness characterizes society’s perception of sensual, artistic images.
• Scientific consciousness is another part of life and perception of society, which seeks to systematize the world into categories. Here, only those facts that have found factual, material confirmation are taken into account. This part of consciousness reflects only rational facts.
• Philosophical consciousness is a theoretical perception of the world that studies some general laws and characteristics of both an individual society and the whole. This part allows you to create new methods of understanding the world. By the way, each historical era is characterized by its own, unique system of philosophical consciousness.

Social consciousness is of great importance for the development of a nation and its culture. After all, it is culture that is considered the most striking reflector of collective consciousness, which demonstrates certain traditions, ideals, moral values, way of life and thinking not only of society as a whole, but also of each individual member of it.

As a total spiritual product, it is important to understand how the relative independence of social consciousness in relation to social existence is manifested.

Social consciousness acts as a necessary side of the socio-historical process, as a function of society as a whole. Its independence is manifested in development according to its own internal laws. Social consciousness may lag behind social existence, but it may also be ahead of it. It is important to see continuity in the development of social consciousness, as well as in the manifestation of the interaction of various forms of social consciousness. Of particular importance is the active reverse influence of social consciousness on social existence.

There are two levels of social consciousness: social psychology and ideology. Social psychology is a set of feelings, moods, customs, traditions, motivations characteristic of a given society as a whole and for each of the large social groups. Ideology is a system of theoretical views that reflects the degree of society’s knowledge of the world as a whole and its individual aspects. This is the level of theoretical reflection of the world; if the first is emotional, sensual, then the second is the rational level of social consciousness. The interaction of social psychology and ideology, as well as the relationship with them of ordinary consciousness and mass consciousness, is considered complex.

Forms of social consciousness

As social life develops, human cognitive abilities arise and are enriched, which exist in the following basic forms of social consciousness: moral, aesthetic, religious, political, legal, scientific, philosophical.

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

Political consciousness is a set of feelings, stable moods, traditions, ideas and holistic 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 knowledge and assessment of law. At the theoretical level, legal consciousness appears in the form of legal ideology, which is an expression of the legal views and interests of large social groups.

Aesthetic consciousness there is an awareness of social existence 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 universal method of knowing them, 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 we cannot do without knowledge, ideology and politics. In the social sciences, there have been different 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, in terms of the time of its appearance, philosophy precedes all other sciences, but by the fact - and this is decisive - that philosophy acts as the foundation, the basis on which all other social sciences rest, i.e. engaged in the study of society and science. Specifically, this is manifested in the fact that since philosophy studies the most general laws of social development and the most general principles of the study of social phenomena, their knowledge, and most importantly - application, will be the methodological basis that other social sciences use, 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 it is ideology when and why it arose and what function it performs in the life of society. The term “ideology” was first 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 unique philosophical movement, marking 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 “doctrinaires” persons whose views were divorced from the practical problems of public life and real life. politicians. It was 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 19th century. a new approach to clarifying the content and public 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 relative independence in relation to the processes occurring in society, in general its essence and social orientation are determined by social existence.

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 equilibrium due to the fact that the antagonistic interests of social strata and classes neutralize each other. Despite the constant antagonism caused by inequality between people, human society nevertheless exists and this happens because it is controlled through ideology, a belief system, by selected people, the human elite. It turns out that the functioning of society depends to a large extent on the ability of the elite to convey their beliefs, or ideology, to the consciousness of people. Ideology can be brought to the consciousness of people through explanation, persuasion, and also through violent actions. At the beginning of the 20th 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 existence, ideology on economic relations, he develops the concept of individual and universal ideology. By individual or private ideology is meant “a set of ideas that more or less comprehend real reality, the true knowledge of which conflicts with the interests of the one who proposes the ideology itself.” More generally, ideology is the universal “view of the world” of a social group or class. In the first, i.e. on an individual level, the analysis of ideology should be carried out from a psychological perspective, and on the second – from a sociological perspective. In both the first and second cases, ideology, according to the German thinker, is an idea that can grow into a situation, subjugate and adapt it to itself.

“Ideology,” Manheim asserts, “are 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 try to realize them in practical life, their content is deformed. Denying class consciousness and, accordingly, class ideology, Mannheim recognizes, in essence, 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 of classes and capable of impartial knowledge of society, although only level of possibility. What Pareto and Mannheim have in common 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. Taking into account how Pareto and Mannheim characterize ideology, its essence can be characterized as follows: any faith is considered an ideology , with the help of which 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 thorough and reasoned interpretation of ideology and its essence was given by the founders of Marxism and their followers. They define ideology as a system of views and ideas with the help of which the relationships and connections of people with reality and with each other, social problems and conflicts are comprehended and assessed, and the goals and objectives of social activity are determined, which consist in consolidating or changing existing social relations.

In a class society, ideology is of a class nature and reflects the interests of social groups and classes. First of all, ideology is part of social consciousness and belongs to its highest level, since in a systematized form, embodied in concepts and theories, it expresses the basic interests of classes and social groups. Structurally, it includes both theoretical principles and practical actions. Speaking about the formation of ideology, it should be borne in mind that it does not arise on its own from the everyday life of people, but is created by social scientists, politicians and government officials. 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 necessity of political and socio-economic transformations, to which empirically, i.e. in the process of its practical activities, one or another class or group of people comes. The nature of ideology, its focus and qualitative assessment depend on whose social interests it corresponds to. Ideology, although it is a product of social existence, but, having relative independence, has a huge reverse impact on public life and social transformations. During critical historical periods in the life of society, this influence in historically short periods of time can be decisive.

Policy- a historically transitory phenomenon. It begins to form only at a certain stage in the development of society. Thus, 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 division of social labor and private ownership of tools of labor emerge, because Tribal relations were unable to regulate new relations between people using old folk methods. Actually, starting from this stage of human development, i.e. Since the emergence of slave 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 state, politics as a science and the art of management. The first famous thinker who touched upon the issues of development and organization of society and expressed ideas about the state was Aristotle, who did this in his 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 city-states. The basis of the Greek thinker’s teaching about 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 structure. 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 completely justified. The main tasks of the state, i.e. , there must be prevention of excessive accumulation of wealth among citizens, since this is fraught with social instability; the immense growth of political power in the hands of one individual and the keeping of slaves in obedience. A significant contribution to the doctrine of state and politics was made by N. Machiavelli (1469 - 1527), an Italian political thinker and public figure. 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 practical human activity, the natural laws of life and human psychology. The main motives that determine political activity, according to Machiavelli, are real interests, self-interest, and the desire for enrichment. The sovereign, the ruler must be an absolute ruler and even a despot. He should not be limited by either moral or religious precepts in achieving his 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 is an area of ​​human activity determined by relations between classes, social strata, and 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 base. Through it the economically dominant class ensures its political dominance. Essentially, the main function of the state in a class society becomes the protection of the fundamental interests of the ruling class. Three factors ensure the power and strength of the state. Firstly, this is public power, which includes a permanent administrative and bureaucratic apparatus, the army, the police, the court, and houses of detention. These are the most powerful and effective government bodies. 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 relations 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 through a system of legal norms, the entire range of economic, socio-political, national and family relations, thereby helping to strengthen the existing socio-economic order. One of the most important levers with 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. As Marx and Engels put it, law is the will of the ruling class, elevated to law. With the help of law, economic and social or socio-political relations are consolidated, 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, previously non-existent political and legal relations are formed. The representatives of political relations are political parties that express the interests of various classes and social groups.

Political relations, the struggle between parties for power is nothing more than 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 provide them with at least food, owners of banks, factories and other property are interested in preserving private property. We can say that at a certain stage the economy gives rise to politics and political parties because they are needed for normal existence and development. Although politics is a product of the economy, it nevertheless not only has relative independence, but also has a certain influence on the economy, and in periods of transition and crisis 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 economic policies pursued by government bodies (financing of various projects, investments, prices of 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 policies directly depends on the extent to which the political forces in power are guided by the laws of social development and take into account the interests of classes and social groups in their activities. So, we can say that in order to understand the socio-political processes occurring in society, it is important to know not only the role of social philosophy, ideology, and politics separately, but also their interaction and mutual influence.

Consciousness person is a subjective experience of external reality, which is expressed in self-report of these events. A broader definition of the concept of consciousness is a property of the psyche through which external events are reflected, regardless of the level of implementation (biological, social, sensory or rational). In a narrower sense, this is a function of the brain, characteristic only of people, which, associated with speech, is expressed in the purposeful and generalized reflection of the phenomena of reality, the preliminary construction of actions in the mind and the prediction of results, manifested in rational management and actions through.

The concept of human consciousness is the subject of research in many sciences (psychology, philosophy, sociology); scientists are trying to uncover the meaning of the existence and occurrence of such a phenomenon.

Consciousness is a synonym: reason, comprehension, understanding, comprehension, thought, reason, they will be used later in the text.

Forms of consciousness

There is individual and social consciousness. The first, individual, is the consciousness of each individual about his individuality of being, through his social being. It is an element of social consciousness. Consequently, secondly, the concept of social consciousness is the generalized individual consciousness of various individuals. This generalization occurs historically, over a long period of time. Therefore, it is also considered group.

In group consciousness, it is necessary to consider two features - this is the social contact of people as an important factor and the common strength of these people when combining their individual forces.

Each collective constitutes a group of different individuals, however, not every group of individuals will be a collective. Based on this, the manifestation of collective consciousness will always be group, and group consciousness will not always be collective. Collective intelligence is, firstly, a manifestation of social consciousness as a social idea, and secondly, this idea determines the activities of individuals in this collective.

Individual awareness of typical individuals always determines group awareness. But only what is typical for a certain group, which is suitable in terms of frequency of manifestation, strength of expression at any time, that is, what is ahead, directs the development of this group.

Collective and group forms of consciousness are dependent on social consciousness and are determined by the relationships between group members. Thus, those mental phenomena that are characteristic of the communication process represent different phenomena in group consciousness.

The latter, in turn, is divided into several forms of consciousness. The most specific are mass phenomena; they constitute public moods and create a group psychological climate. These moods are mostly caused by interpersonal relationships. If the group has good, warm and trusting relationships, then the psychological climate will be favorable and it will be easier for such a group to solve problems. But if a person is introduced into such a team, dissipating hostility between group members, naturally, the psychological climate will deteriorate, and labor efficiency will begin to decline. Also, the mass mood in the group can be affected by didactogenies - these are changes in mood that reach a painful state and are caused by rude behavior and the influence of the leader.

Another form of group consciousness is panic. Panic is a manifestation, a state that captures an entire group and, under the influence of mutual imitation, intensifies even more.

Fashion is a form of group consciousness when people begin to imitate each other, follow public opinion and rely on information from the media regarding what they should wear, dress, put on shoes, and what music to listen to.

Collective thinking is also a form of group consciousness; it reinforces the focus of each member in solving the team’s task, makes it possible to think through it and illuminate it from different angles, and also promotes initiative. Collective thinking adds criticality to decisions, and this contributes to the development of self-criticism in each group member, enriches the knowledge and experience of some by acquiring knowledge from others, creates a positive emotional tone, creates situations of competition, increasing efficiency, and reduces the time to solve the task. Solving one task contributes to the emergence of new ones and thus stimulates the development and progression of the group; collective thinking moves the team forward.

The form of social consciousness is divided into several types: religion, science, law, morality, ideology and art. Forms such as religion, law, morality and art, as social phenomena, are relatively independent and are studied by different sciences. Moral and aesthetic consciousness have a connection that can be observed every day, for example, moral actions are often characterized as beautiful, and vice versa, immoral actions are called disgusting or ugly.

Religious art through church painting and music is used to deepen religious feelings and, in general, the religious consciousness of each individual and entire groups. In small groups, religious awareness is a phenomenon from religious psychology, which includes the religious worldview of the individual and groups.

The philosophical type of consciousness is a theoretical worldview, knowledge about the laws of nature, man and society; it highlights methods of their knowledge. Displays existence in a conceptual form, performs epistemological and ideological functions.

The scientific nature of consciousness is a rational, systematized reflection of the world around us through the application of scientific theories, arguments and facts, and is reflected in the minds of people in the categories of laws and theories. It allows a person to think in categories, to apply various principles of cognition in order to make new discoveries. The application of scientific consciousness can be seen in all possible spheres of human existence.

Morality, as a form of awareness, has emerged and changed, as well as the moral psychology of a group, which generalizes the socially beneficial experience of communication in groups and in appropriate conditions.

Morality of consciousness is based on the category of morality, it is the most ancient form of social consciousness, and it also passes through all areas of human activity (profession, everyday life, family). It is reflected in the categories by which a person thinks and is guided: good, evil, conscience, dignity and others. Morality is determined by the outlook of specific societies and classes. Moral norms reflect universal, that is, independent of social class, moral values: humanism, honor, responsibility, compassion, collectivism, gratitude, generosity.

The political nature of consciousness began to emerge with the formation of the state, classes and the sphere of politics. It reflects the interactions of classes and social groups, the place and their role in state power, the relations between nations and states, oriented by economic motives. It integrates all forms of social consciousness. It is influenced by various spheres: religion, science, law, but the political remains the leading one. It is also an element of the functioning of the country's political system. It has two levels: the everyday practical level and the ideological-theoretical level. At the everyday theoretical level, experience and tradition, the emotional and the rational, experience and traditions are interconnected; it appears spontaneously, from the activities and life experiences of people. It is also unstable because it exists under the influence and dependence of living conditions, people's emotions and constantly changing experiences.

The use of everyday consciousness is important because it is characterized by the integrity of life understanding, and with creative processing it is the basis of theoretical consciousness. Theoretical political consciousness is characterized by a completeness and depth of reflection of political reality, characterized by the ability to predict and systematize views. It can develop a political program based on the economic and social spheres. Such a political ideology is capable of actively influencing the level of public consciousness. Only specially trained people who work on understanding the laws of social life and engage in “political creativity” work on the creation of ideology. A well-formed ideology can influence the consciousness of society as a whole, since it is not just a system of beliefs, but a well-structured propaganda that permeates all layers and spheres of society, which uses state power and uses the media, science, culture, and religion.

Legal consciousness has a very strong connection with the political, since it contains political as well as economic interests of various social groups. It affects various spheres of social life, in which it performs the following functions: regulatory, cognitive and evaluative.

Also legal, it is historical in nature, and its development occurs depending on economic and political circumstances and living conditions, it arises along with the first manifestations of the political organization of society, law and class division and reflects the relationships of people, organizations, government bodies that are bound by rights and obligations, their guarantor is the law.

Economic awareness reflects knowledge and theories of economic activities and social needs. It is formed under the influence of historical conditions and is determined by the need to understand economic and social changes. It also aims to improve economic reality.

Ecological aspects of human consciousness perform social functions. First of all, cognitive and educational functions. It is interconnected with other forms of consciousness: moral, aesthetic and legal. The state of ecology requires a person to have an aesthetic and moral attitude towards the surrounding nature; otherwise, a person succumbs to the influence of legal consciousness in order to pay for the damage caused to nature.

Environmental awareness consists of a humane attitude towards nature, a person’s awareness of himself as a part of this nature. The criterion for this is the spiritual need for careful attitude and desire to preserve the beauty of nature.

Consciousness and unconsciousness

A state of awareness is a state of a person in which he is able to clearly see and comprehend everything that is happening around him and what is happening directly to him, is able to control his actions and monitor the development of events around him.

The unconscious is uncontrolled, unconscious actions and special mental manifestations. These are two different poles of the psyche, but they are in connection and interaction.

He was the first in psychology to begin to study individual consciousness and the unconscious, their relationship and how they manifest themselves in behavior. According to this school of thought, a person’s awareness is just no more than one tenth of the psyche. The majority is made up of the unconscious, in which instincts, desires, emotions, fears are stored; they are always with a person, but only sometimes they appear and at that moment control the person.

Consciousness is synonymous with awareness and this term will also be used. So, the conscious is that which is controlled by a person, the unconscious is that which cannot be controlled, only it itself is capable of influencing a person. Insights, dreams, associations, reflexes - appear without our will, also intuition, inspiration, creativity, impressions, memories, obsessive thoughts, slips of the tongue, clerical errors, illnesses, pains, impulses - manifestations of the unconscious, sometimes some of them can appear in completely inappropriate moment or if a person does not expect it at all.

Thus, there is a connection between the unconscious and the conscious, and today no one dares to refute it. Both the conscious and the unconscious are intertwined in a person and influence both him and each other. The unconscious sphere can open up to a person, which establishes what internal motivations and forces drive a person, his thoughts and actions, outside of consciousness.

Guided by this knowledge, you can greatly improve your life, learn to trust your intuition, become open to creativity, work on your fears, open up, listen to your inner voice, and work through repressed desires. All this requires a reserve of strength and desire, but then in order to fully understand yourself, develop, achieve goals, get rid of complexes, you need to engage in introspection and deep self-knowledge.

The unconscious relieves the mind of unnecessary stress and protects against information overload. It contains negative experiences, fears, information traumatic to the psyche and, thanks to this, protects a person from psychological stress and breakdowns. Without such a mechanism, people would not be able to withstand all the pressures from the outside world. Thanks to liberation from negative experiences or outdated unnecessary information, a person is able to fully realize himself.

Protection of a person’s consciousness is manifested in freeing him from constant control over the actions that he carries out every day. Actions such as brushing teeth, using appliances, riding a bicycle, and many others become automatic and do not require thinking about the actions. Also, an adult does not notice how he makes words from letters when he reads, and does not think about what actions he needs to perform in order to walk. In the same way, actions become automatic in professions.

Because some information passes into the unconscious area, much more space is freed up for assimilation of new information, and the mind more easily concentrates on new important tasks. But we must not forget that even what has gone into the unconscious does not disappear without a trace, it is stored, and under the influence of some stimulus it is able to break out, because, in any case, it is part of a person.

The conscious and unconscious psyches are of equal importance to people, and the functionality of either of them cannot be underestimated.

Consciousness and self-awareness

The concept of human consciousness is also used in the context of self-awareness. The properties of consciousness are that it, as the personal core of a person, contains feelings, sensations, thoughts and emotions. The meaning of self-awareness is that it is a person’s attitude towards himself. It turns out that both concepts are parts of a single whole.

If we look back at the history of mankind, primitive people had only underdeveloped awareness, which developed in stages. It began with the fact that a person felt his body on a physical level and understood the limitations of his abilities. After exploring his body, he began to explore the outside world, from which his mind gained new information, which stimulated his development. The more a person gets acquainted with different objects, the more he can find their differences and learn new properties.

The formation of self-awareness happened a little later. At first, man was guided only by innate instincts (reproduction, self-preservation). Thanks to self-awareness, man managed to rise above such primitivism, and the emergence of hierarchy in communities contributed to this. Each group had a leader whom everyone listened to, followed his instructions, and accepted criticism and praise. Thus, people became above their instincts, because they began to do something not specifically for themselves alone, but for the whole group and the leader. This is a manifestation of self-awareness in the external world, and not inside the human consciousness. Even later, the individual began to listen to his own voice and act in relation to what he “heard,” this allowed him to rise above instincts, fleeting desires and other factors that interfered with personal development.

In the development of modern man, the formation of consciousness and self-awareness also appears in stages. At first, the child gradually becomes aware of himself, then finds himself under the guidance of adults. Later, external managers are replaced by internal ones. But this development has not reached everyone. In undeveloped countries, there are people who still live according to their old instinct.

Without self-awareness, a person cannot go further in his personal development, achieve goals, get along with people around him, or become successful. With the help of self-awareness, a person sees and makes his life the way he wants. All successful people have this property. Otherwise, they would not be able to become intelligent and develop intelligence.

By the way, categories such as consciousness and are often compared. Many people believe that if there is consciousness, then this also indicates intelligence, but these categories have different meanings. An intelligent person is not always conscious. The level of consciousness among less educated people may be higher. Therefore, consciousness and intelligence are not identical concepts. But with the help of self-awareness, intellectual capabilities develop. The properties of self-awareness and consciousness constitute the life of a modern person, help him in gaining freedom, otherwise it would remain only within the framework of desires.

Consciousness in philosophy

The concept of consciousness in philosophy is a difficult topic to study, and great people have pondered on it. The relationship between the concepts of consciousness and brain in philosophy is an even more difficult topic, since the two concepts are presented as completely different. The definition of consciousness is an idea, and the brain is a material substrate. But still there is definitely a connection between them.

Modern philosophers are confident in the existence of consciousness and regarding its sources, they identify several of its factors. First, the external and spiritual world, the natural and the spiritual, are reflected in consciousness under the guise of certain sensory-conceptual ideas. Such information is the result of interactions between a person and a situation that provides contact with it.

Secondly, the sociocultural environment, aesthetic and ethical attitudes, legal acts, knowledge, methods and means of cognitive activity - this allows a person to be a social being.

Third, this is the spiritual inner world of the individual, her life experiences and experiences, rethinking which a person makes plans.

Fourth, the brain is such a factor because at the cellular level it ensures the functioning of consciousness.

Fifth, the cosmic information field, a link of which is the functioning of human consciousness, is also a factor.

It turns out that the source of consciousness is not only the ideas themselves (according to the theory of idealists), and not the brain itself (according to materialists), but objective and subjective reality, which is reflected by a person with the help of the brain in transpersonal forms of consciousness.

Consciousness and the brain in philosophy are studied from several approaches. One of these is physicalism - a materialist direction that denies the existence of consciousness as an independent substance, since, first of all, it is generated by matter.

Solipsism is also an approach that studies the concept of consciousness and presents extreme views. It says that the awareness of each person exists as a single reliable reality. The material world is a product of consciousness.

The described approaches present moderate materialism and objective idealism. Regarding the first, the category of consciousness in it is defined as a unique manifestation of matter, which allows one to reflect oneself. The second one insists that consciousness has a certain connection with matter, the existence of consciousness is defined as original.

Indeed, a person's awareness of the brain, or how, in itself is not explained by the approaches described above. Other areas need to be explored. For example, there is a cosmic view, according to it - the meaning of consciousness is independent of the material carrier - it is a gift of the cosmos, and is indivisible.

According to biological theory, the ability to be aware is a product of living nature and is inherent in absolutely everyone, even the simplest organisms. Because life is not spontaneous, and patterns flow from consciousness. All living creatures have instincts that are innate and acquired in the process of their life, accumulated along with experience; they are also capable of performing actions that are complex in structure, and some animals even have a peculiar morality.

But there is also a view in relation to which the property of consciousness is considered to be inherent exclusively to man. But even coming from such different versions and definitions, philosophy does not give a single answer to the question about the source of the origin of consciousness. The human mind is in continuous movement and development, since different events happen to it every day, which a person tries to comprehend and realize.

Consciousness and language in philosophy can be briefly described as another issue of concern to philosophers. Mind and language directly have mutual influences that can be controlled. When a person works to improve speech data, he also changes his own properties of consciousness, thereby developing the ability to objectively perceive information and make decisions. Ancient philosophical thinkers such as Heraclitus, Plato, Aristotle studied the relationship between consciousness, thinking and language. This can even be seen in the Greek word “logos,” which literally means that thought is inseparable from the word.

Consciousness and language in philosophy can be briefly explained through such a philosophical movement as “philosophy of language”; it asserts that the ability of consciousness directly affects a person’s worldview, in particular his speech, and from this it follows that it also influences communication with others.

In modern times, many scientists are trying to find new relationships in consciousness and language. For example, recent studies have confirmed that every person’s thinking uses visual pictures that were formed under the influence of consciousness. Thus, awareness guides the thought process. Close to this definition was the thinker Rene Descartes, who gave such an explanation that was forever entrenched in philosophy and other sciences that it can be found dominant.

Descartes believed that there are two substances - thinking and bodily, fundamentally different from each other. Things and events of a bodily substance are considered spatial and accessible to external contemplation, then consciousness and events in it are not spatial, that is, they are impossible to observe, but they can be realized by the internal experience of the bearer of this consciousness.

Idealists did not support such an idea, but argued that personality is a state of consciousness, like a spirit, in which the bodily and biological do not have much meaning. Contemporaries are not satisfied with such a view, therefore philosophers discussing the psychophysical problem of consciousness adhere to a greater extent to variants of materialism.

The most consistent version of the materialist direction is the theory of identity, which believes that thought processes, perceptions and sensations are identical with the state of the brain.

Functionalism, as another view on the definition of consciousness, considers phenomena and processes as functional states of the brain, and not physical ones. The brain is defined as a complex multi-level system with physical, functional and systemic properties. This approach has several disadvantages, the main one being that such a definition is very much in the spirit of Cartesian dualism.

Some supporters of modern philosophy believe that it is necessary to turn away from Descartes' ideas about personality as a "spirit in a machine", based on the fact that initially a person is a rational animal, capable of conscious behavior, personality cannot be divided into two worlds, so there is a need for a new interpretation of concepts associated with the ability of consciousness - from simple sensations to intellectual processes and self-awareness.

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Consciousness

Chapter 18. Consciousness.

18.1 Basic characteristics of consciousness

18.1.1 Structure of human consciousness

Consciousness human is the highest form of mental reflection of reality formed in the process of social life in the form of a generalized and subjective model of the surrounding world in the form of verbal concepts and sensory images.

The essential features of consciousness include: speech, thinking and the ability to create a generalized model of the surrounding world in the form of a set of images and concepts.

IN structure consciousness includes a number of elements, each of which is responsible for a specific function of consciousness:

1. Cognitive processes(sensation, perception, thinking, memory). On their basis, a body of knowledge about the world around us is formed.

2. Distinguishing subject and object(contrasting oneself with the surrounding world, distinguishing between “I” and “not I”). This includes self-awareness, self-knowledge and self-esteem.

3. A person’s relationship to himself and the world around him(his feelings, emotions, experiences).

4. Creative (creative) component(consciousness forms new images and concepts that were not previously there with the help of imagination, thinking and intuition).

5. Formation of a temporary picture of the world(memory stores images of the past, imagination forms models of the future).

6. Formation of activity goals(based on human needs, consciousness forms the goals of activity and directs a person to achieve them).

These functions of consciousness can be schematically shown on the diagram in the form of relatively independent, but interconnected functional blocks (Fig. 18.1):

In addition to the above, we can consider other options for the structure of human consciousness. For example, the structuring of consciousness can be based on scale of consciousness(individual and social consciousness); components of consciousness(cognition, experience, attitude); types of mental phenomena(conscious processes, states and properties); his properties(constancy, integrity, activity), etc. However, from our point of view, the model of the structure of consciousness discussed above is the most convenient in both theoretical and practical aspects.

Social consciousness, consisting of the consciousnesses of the people who make up society, is not its simple sum, but has some systemic properties that are not reducible to the properties of individual consciousness (Fig. 18.2)

Various forms of social consciousness can be distinguished, the main of which are shown in Fig. 18.3.

From the point of view of materialistic science, there are four types of interactions between human consciousness and the surrounding material world (Fig. 18.4). The first and second types of interaction are dialectically related: consciousness is initially born from the material world and is determined by it, but then, as it matures, it begins to actively influence this world, transforming it according to its own plan. The third and fourth types of interaction are not material in themselves, but belong to the information type. At the same time, the third type of interaction only seems to be passive. In fact, it is an active reflection that includes elements of reflection, evaluation and transformation. The most complex and the latest to develop is the fourth type of interaction, which marks the highest stage of the development of consciousness - self-awareness.

In the state educational standard, along with the functions of consciousness, such a concept as “ empirical characteristics of consciousness(spatial, temporal, informational, energy).” From the point of view of the author of this textbook, these concepts seem to be very debatable and relate more to the competence of philosophy than psychology - a science that gravitates towards experimental knowledge.

These characteristics are based on the highly theoretical work of V.A. Hansen, which for some reason he called “empirical characteristics”. V.A. Hansen uses the concept of “general scientific pentobasis” and from it derives the characteristics of consciousness. Pentobasis is a structure of 5 elements: energy, information, time and space, above which a certain “substrate” rises.

Energy Information

Substrate

Time Space

In accordance with these cells, Hansen describes the psyche, creating his construction.

Consciousness is a function of the brain. It represents the highest level of mental reflection and self-regulation inherent only to humans. Consciousness acts as a continuously changing set of mental and sensory images appearing before the subject (actual and potential), representing and anticipating his activity. Consciousness and the human psyche are inseparable.

Consciousness - This is the highest function of the brain, characteristic only of humans and associated with speech, which consists in the reasonable regulation and self-control of human behavior, in the purposeful and generalized reflection of reality, in the preliminary mental construction of actions and the anticipation of their results. Consciousness instantly connects with each other what a person heard, saw, and what he felt, thought, experienced.

Core of consciousness:

- Feel;

– perception;

- representation;

– concepts;

– thinking.

The components of the structure of consciousness are feelings and emotions.

Consciousness appears as a result of cognition, and the way of its existence is knowledge. Knowledge– this is a practice-tested result of knowledge of reality, its correct reflection in human thinking.

Consciousness– a moral and psychological characteristic of an individual’s actions, which is based on assessment and awareness of oneself, one’s capabilities, intentions and goals.

Self-awareness – This is a person’s awareness of his actions, thoughts, feelings, interests, motives of behavior, and his position in society.

According to Kant, self-consciousness is consistent with awareness of the external world: “the consciousness of my own existence is at the same time a direct awareness of the existence of other things located outside of me.”

A person becomes aware of himself:

– through the material and spiritual culture he created;

– sensations of your own body, movements, actions;

– communication and interaction with other people. The formation of self-awareness consists of:

– in direct communication between people;

– in their evaluative relationships;

– in formulating the requirements of society for an individual;

– in understanding the very rules of relationships. A person realizes himself not only through other people, but also through the spiritual and material culture created by him.

Knowing oneself, a person never remains the same as he was before. Self-awareness appeared in response to the call of social conditions of life, which from the very beginning required from each person the ability to evaluate his words, actions and thoughts from the position of certain social norms. Life, with its strict lessons, has taught a person to exercise self-regulation and self-control. By regulating his actions and providing for their results, a self-aware person takes full responsibility for them.

Self-awareness is closely connected with the phenomenon of reflection, as if expanding its semantic field.

Reflection- a person’s reflection on himself when he peers into the hidden depths of his inner spiritual life.

During reflection, a person realizes:

- what is happening in his soul;

- what is happening in his inner spiritual world. Reflection belongs to the nature of man, his social fullness through the mechanisms of communication: reflection cannot arise in the depths of an isolated personality, outside of communication, outside of familiarization with the treasures of civilization and culture of mankind.

Levels of reflection can be very diverse - from ordinary self-awareness to deep reflection on the meaning of one’s life, its moral content. When comprehending one’s own spiritual processes, a person often critically evaluates the negative aspects of his spiritual world.

Consciousness and its genesis.

Consciousness is not a special entity represented separately from matter, but ideally connected with it. Consciousness is a property of the human brain - that is, a material substance that has specific properties.

Consciousness is an essential characteristic of a person (that which makes him a person) = the ability to comprehend (comprehend, experience, design) external reality and one’s internal experience.

Consciousness is elusive to external observation. When objectified in language, behavior-activity, and the brain, the uniquely personal is leveled out. The authors believe that the philosophical reconstruction of consciousness should reflect all its philosophical aspects.

- substantial concept (Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Spinoza, Hegel): reason is the substance (base and essence) of the world, human reason is a manifestation of the World Mind;

- functional model (Hobbes, Locke, Buchner, Lenin, Rorty): consciousness is a function of the nervous system and brain, feelings are the source of consciousness;

- existential-phenomenological concept (Husserl, Heidegger, Sartre): consciousness is freely constructed by the individual Self from external and internal flows of thoughts, feelings, associations;

- sociocultural paradigm (Marxism, symbolic interactionism, structuralism): consciousness is a product of social relations, social interactions, language.

Consciousness is a function of the human brain only. Animals, even the most developed of them - elephant, dolphin, monkey, dog, etc., act instinctively, although it may seem conscious. However, no, their actions are determined by the centuries-old nature of behavior, unconditioned (natural) reflexes (lat.). A person reflexively (lat. reflexio), reflecting the surrounding reality in his consciousness, simultaneously gives it an actual and potential assessment and carries out activities on the basis of this.

Consciousness is a multi-level system of natural, personal and sociocultural, therefore its genesis= natural evolution + formation of culture and society + individual development.

The natural basis of consciousness is reflection property, in living nature, developing as follows: irritability (undifferentiated reaction) – sensitivity (differentiated reaction) – psyche (complex reaction and flexible adaptation).

The difference between human consciousness from the animal psyche: abstract logical thinking, goal setting, self-awareness, language. These differences are a product of socio- and cultural genesis.

The primary act of consciousness as human thinking is the operation of ideal projections of objects. Stages of development of thinking: visual-effective – figurative-symbolic – logical-conceptual.

Ontogenesis (personal development) of consciousness is a repetition of phylogeny (the history of the development of the genus). Its stages: sensorimotor (immediate reaction) – pre-operational (preliminary thinking of words-symbols) – operational (practical implementation - real combination of elements of consciousness and language

Labor plays a significant role in the origin of human consciousness. About 7 million years ago, humanoid creatures descended from the trees where they mainly lived to the ground and tried to stand on their hind limbs. The attempt was a success, and it was a great event in the evolution of mankind, since the future homo sapiens freed the forelimbs of the animal to carry out a variety of targeted actions, and not just moving in space, searching for food or defensive reactions. He gradually began to work. The objective use of the forelimbs - the hands, which in the primate represented a single whole with the developing consciousness - expanded.

The brain, as an organ of consciousness, developed simultaneously with the development of the hands, as an organ performing various functions. It was the primate’s hands, in direct contact with various objects, that gave impulses to other senses: the eye developed, and sensations were enriched.

Active hands, as it were, “taught” the head to think before they themselves became instruments for carrying out the will of the head, that is, consciousness. The logic of practical actions was fixed in the head and turned into the logic of thinking: a person learned to think. Before starting the task, he could mentally imagine the result. Marx noted this well in “Capital”: “The spider performs operations reminiscent of the operations of a weaver, and the bee, with the construction of its wax cells, puts some human architects to shame. But even the worst architect differs from the best bee from the very beginning in that, before building the cell, "from wax, he has already built it in his head. At the end of the labor process, a result is obtained that was already in the mind of a person at the beginning of this process."

The formation of man and his consciousness were facilitated by everyday and economic needs, in particular, hunting as a developmental activity, and the performance of various operations, from the simplest to the craft.

Consciousness is a product of the Homo sapiens brain. It is not closed in itself; it develops and changes in the process of social development. The reasons for what sensations, thoughts and feelings arise in a person are not contained in the brain as the material substrate of the intellect. The human brain becomes an organ of consciousness only when its subject acts in certain conditions that fill the brain with knowledge and experience of socio-historical practice and force it to function in a certain, socially significant direction.