Properties of mental reflection briefly. Decoding the concept of mental reflection

According to the positions of Soviet psychology, already at the level of animals, what is mentally reflected is not so much the stimulation itself, initiating acts of reflection and causing subjective impressions of various modalities, but rather the individual’s experience in relation to the perceived situation, which reveals how this stimulation is capable of changing and by what actions it can be changed . It is this experience, existing in the form of skills, abilities, expectations, cognitive schemes, etc., and not the external and internal influences that actualize it, that is the main determinant that determines the content of mentally regulated activity. No matter how rich the individual, as well as species, genetically transmitted experience of a biological individual may be, it in no way can be compared with the continuously accumulating experience of all humanity, which is the source and basis for the development of processes mental reflection in the conditions of society. The appropriation of this experience by an individual, which continues throughout his life, equips him not only with a complex of sensory ideas about the immediate environment and the possibilities of its direct transformation, but with an interconnected and generalized system of knowledge about the whole world, its hidden properties, interactions occurring in it, etc. n. In Soviet psychological literature This system of assigned ideas, in which everything reflected is inevitably localized and enriched in content, has in recent years become collectively called the “image of the world.” The general thesis developed in these works states that

“the main contribution to the process of constructing the image of an object or situation is made not by individual sensory impressions, but by the image of the world as a whole” (Smirnov, 1981, p. 24).

The most important role in the process of a person’s appropriation of experience of social origin, which gradually develops into an increasingly complex “image of the world,” is played by language. The language itself is its morphology, reflecting the fundamental structure and general forms of objective relationships, a system of interrelated concepts that actually denote the hierarchy of phenomena and relationships between them varying degrees generality, etc. is a concentrated product of socio-historical experience, accumulating its most essential elements that have been established in wide practical application (see Vygotsky, 1982; Leontiev, 1963; Luria, 1979). The acquired language is an already expanded, holistic and ordered “image of the world”, in which, with the help of conceptual identification, directly sensory reflected phenomena and situations are recognized. Of course, language is not the only source of the formation of the human “image of the world”, setting only a kind of frame, the skeleton of such an image, which is gradually filled with more differentiated and refined content based on the appropriation of special knowledge (using the same language and other sign systems) , experience embodied in man-made objects and forms of action with them, transmitted through the means of art, etc.

Mental reflection, as a result of mediation by appropriated social experience, acquires a number of new qualities. A. N. Leontyev wrote about this: “Animals and humans live in an objective world, which from the very beginning appears as four-dimensional: it exists in three-dimensional space and in time (motion). ...Returning to man, to man’s consciousness, I must introduce “another concept - the concept of the fifth quasi-dimension, in which the objective world is revealed to man. This is a “semantic field”, a system of meanings.” It's about that phenomena reflected by a person, as a rule, are categorized, named, that is, identified not only by sensory parameters, but also in a system of meanings. This automatically localizes them in the “image of the world”, revealing all the many features inherent to them: origin, functional qualities, hidden connections, future fate, etc. Answering the child’s questions “Why is a seed put in every cherry?”, “Why is there snow?” on the roof? After all, people don’t ski or sled on the roof?” (Chukovsky, 1966, p. 124), an adult explains in a detailed form what, when perceiving these phenomena, is immediately revealed to him as a matter of course: where the snow comes from, how it gets on the roofs, etc. The child’s “image of the world” does not yet have such information contains, nevertheless, it already exists, actively manifests itself and endows perceived phenomena with entertaining qualities for an adult: snow specifically for rolling, cherries for eating, etc. Thus, the mediation of the system’s reflection of appropriated knowledge extremely expands the boundaries of the reflected content, making them independent of the parameters of the actually perceived situation and pushing them to the boundaries of universal human knowledge, or rather, to the limits of what is known from this knowledge to a specific person. One of the consequences of having " quasi-measurements» meanings is that it practically removes restrictions on the reflection of the spatio-temporal dimensions of reality. Getting acquainted with history, a person is easily transported in his thoughts through centuries and to any depicted place, with astronomy through sensory unimaginable periods of time and space.

He is just as freely able to imagine events possible in the most distant future. Similar distractions from the current situation, although not so impressive, are also required by everyday activities, by carrying out which a person usually, without noticeable effort, controls both previous preparations for them and future more or less distant consequences.

And in this case, the spatiotemporal parameters of the reflected content are determined not by external stimulation, but by “ way of the world“, or rather, that part of it that can be called “the way of one’s life.” Along with changing physical dimensions, the content human psyche It also expands significantly along the line of reflection of the most diverse internal relationships and interactions found throughout the entire range of spatio-temporal extension. " Quasi dimension» meanings should undoubtedly be represented as multidimensional, conveying fundamentally various characteristics. objective reality: classification, attribution, probabilistic, functional, etc. To understand changes in the motivational sphere of a person, the qualitative leap that occurred in the reflection of cause-and-effect relationships is especially important. The main phenomenon here is that any phenomenon reflected by a person, in addition to other more or less general characteristics, usually also receives an interpretation from the point of view of the relations of determinism: everything that exists is reflected as a consequence of certain causes, usually a whole branched complex of them, and in turn as causes of expected changes.

The desire to clarify the causality of phenomena is so characteristic of man that we can talk about his inherent tendency to see everything in the world as necessarily determined. As A.I. Herzen wrote,

This is manifested both in the child’s statements that clouds are made by locomotives, the wind by trees, and in adults’ filling in the blank spots in the knowledge of causal relationships with such explanatory constructs as fate, witchcraft, cosmic influences, etc. Reflection processes in the presence of ordered ideas about the surrounding reality and one’s place in it acquire the characteristics of human consciousness, which is higher form reflections. One might think that it is the global localization of reflected phenomena in the “image of the world” that provides a person’s automated reflection of where, when, what and why he can speak of his inherent tendency to see everything in the world as necessarily determined. As A.I. Herzen wrote,

“It is so common for people to get to the root of everything that happens around them that they would rather invent a nonsense reason when they don’t know the real one, than to leave it alone and not deal with it.”

This is manifested both in the child’s statements that clouds are made by locomotives and wind-trees, and in adults’ filling in the blank spots in the knowledge of causal relationships with such explanatory constructs as fate, witchcraft, cosmic influences, etc. Reflection processes in the presence of ordered ideas about the surrounding reality and one’s place in it acquire the characteristics of human consciousness, which represents the highest form of reflection.

One might think that it is the global localization of reflected phenomena in the “image of the world”, which provides a person’s automated reflection of where, when, what and why he reflects and does, that constitutes the specific psychological basis for the conscious nature of mental reflection in a person. To be aware means to reflect the phenomenon as “prescribed” in the main system-forming parameters of the “image of the world” and to be able, if necessary, to clarify its more detailed properties and connections. Description and clarification of the mentioned and a number of other features of reflection in the human psyche require designation of the processes of their formation. Let us note the most important provisions in this regard. Knowledge and skills deposited in language and other forms of socio-historical experience cannot be directly transferred to a person; to assign them, he must be involved in specially directed activities, determined by other people or the materialized products of this experience and reproducing such methods of transforming the objective world (or its sign equivalents), as a result of which new and increasingly complex properties are revealed. It is the activity that comes into practical contact with external reality, the activities of other people and its products that makes the first copy in its form and composition from the various constituents of the objective world, which subsequently, as a result of repeated playback, folding and transition to the internal plane, becomes the basis for the mental reflection of these forming.

Without going into a detailed discussion here of the idea of ​​the activity origin of the human psyche, we emphasize that it follows from the reflexive concept of the psyche laid down by I.M. Sechenov (1953), which explains subjective reflection by the internal performance of those actions that have developed in practical activity with reflected objects. The qualitative differences between the subhuman and human levels of mental reflection are explained not by differences in the fundamental way of forming these levels (since in both cases reflection is a collapsed product of forms of activity that have developed in practice), but by differences between the processes that form these levels - the behavior of animals experiencing the external world with the possibilities of individual organism, and the activities of a person experiencing this world on the basis of experience and means accumulated by many generations of people. A number of features of the human psyche are associated with the fact that when they acquire new experience, there is a constant reduction of the initially developed processes of activity into more and more compressed and automated forms.

It is especially important that, along with the disappearance of numerous repetitions, search, trial or clarifying actions from the activity, there is a gradual reduction in its external executive elements, and as a result, the subject receives the opportunity to perform it exclusively on the internal plane, mentally. This most intimate phenomenon in the formation of the psyche and, in many aspects, a mysterious phenomenon “ ingrowth“The content of activity into the internal plane is called interiorization: “Interiorization is, as is known, a transition, as a result of which processes that are external in form with external, material objects are transformed into processes occurring on the mental plane, on the plane of consciousness; at the same time, they undergo a specific transformation - they are generalized, verbalized, reduced and, most importantly, become capable of further development which exceeds the boundaries of the possibilities of external activity.”

It is the reduction and internalization of the initially developed activity that creates the possibility of a person appropriating an almost unlimited amount of knowledge. In a more specific description, this is ensured by the fact that something that required full dedication and prolonged efforts of the subject in the first stages of mastery is subsequently reflected easily and fluently in the form of concepts, ideas, skills, understanding and other forms of human reflection, which are characterized by minimal expression of the original procedural and maximum-effective-meaningful moments. In such a final expression, the newly formed elements of experience can be compared, generalized, and in every possible way “tested” by each other, i.e., used in the further activity of appropriation as its object or means. This creates the possibility of forming more complex, generalized and mediated “units” of experience, which also pass (after appropriate development and internalization) into the effective form of spontaneously understood meanings, principles, ideas, which in turn are used to form even more generalizations. high level, and so on.

A kind of accumulator for such multi-stage transitions from expanded to collapsed, from external to internal forms of activity is the individual “image of the world,” which is the final ordered product of a person’s appropriation of knowledge about objective reality and himself. As noted above, the localization of reflected phenomena in “ image of the world“is one of the main signs of a conscious reflection of reality. Data on the development of the ability of awareness in ontogenesis indicate that initially it also goes through the stage of an expanded process, directed by an adult (or then by the person himself) with the help of questions like: “What does this mean?”, “Why are you saying this?”, “Why?” what could this lead to? The solution to such questions, which contributes to the reflection of phenomena in the increasingly broader context of a report on what is happening, like any other actions when repeated under similar conditions, is reduced and automated, and, becoming a kind of operation of recognizing phenomena in the “image of the world” system, ensures the emergence of conscious phenomena reflections. Thus, the activity interpretation allows us to characterize consciousness from the concrete psychological side as a compressed form of once mastered actions to localize reflected phenomena in the “image of the world”, as a skill for identifying these phenomena in an ordered system of knowledge. The spontaneity and instantaneous awareness of well-known phenomena create the impression of complete automation of this process, its independence from the activity of the subject.

However, this is not entirely true. As is known, not everything is reflected by a person with an equally complete development of the content that characterizes the perceived phenomenon. The most detailed and clear reflection is what appears at the “fixation point”, the “focus” of the mental image, what is perceived as a “figure” on the “background” that constitutes the “periphery” of consciousness, in other words, what the subject’s attention is directed to. The ability of attention to improve the quality of the reflected content was often considered its most significant feature and included in definitions characterizing it as “a state that accompanies a clearer perception of some mental content,” “provides better results for our mental work.” S. L. Rubinstein wrote about this:

“Attention is usually phenomenologically characterized by the selective focus of consciousness on a specific object, which is recognized with particular clarity and distinctness” (1946, p. 442).

Thus, although the reflection of material that has been repeatedly and diversified and, as a result, firmly mastered, is largely automated and does not require the expressed efforts of the subject, some minimal activity(in the form of direction of attention) he must discover. Naturally, in cases where the degree of mastery of knowledge is not high enough, the subject must make special efforts to update it: finding out what is immediately reflected by a professional (for example, the ability to troubleshoot problems in a technical system), from a beginner may require many hours of intense mental work .

Due to different degrees of mastery, the experience of social origin in the individual psyche is presented heterogeneously and, along with knowledge that is updated automatically when attention is directed to some content, there is less mastered knowledge, extracted as a result of the subject’s voluntary attempts to “remember” something, to check whether the case before him is the same. etc. This means that the content actually reflected at some moment by a person depends not only on the experience he has mastered regarding this content, but also on the specifics of the task facing him, which determines which aspect of this experience will be active for him extracted and reflected.

A person’s ability to voluntarily control reflection processes, update and view those aspects of “ image of the world", which are necessary from the point of view of the tasks facing him, represents the most important feature of the socially developed psyche, thanks to which he gets the opportunity to completely abstract from the actually perceived situation and reflect any necessary elements and components of the assigned experience. Manifesting itself in internal activity, the ability of voluntary regulation significantly changes the course of “natural” mental processes, constituting one of the most characteristic features so-called higher mental functions. Thinking as a kind of summary product of the development of these functions, as an “integrator of intelligence”, is carried out with the help of, in particular, higher (voluntary) forms of attention, memory, imagination and consists in the process of voluntary search, actualization and playback in the internal plane of the experience necessary for solving tasks facing a person.

The emergence of the ability for voluntary regulation is associated with the fact that not only the content, but also the form of human activity is determined by its social origin - the fact that it is carried out either under the direct or indirect (for example, written text) guidance of other people, or in collaboration with them with inevitable consideration of their interests and capabilities, the results of their work, etc. Communication, as one of the most characteristic forms of human activity, permeates almost every type of human activity, serving not only to satisfy the corresponding need, but also as a universal means-catalyst for the formation of mental new formations. Therefore, an adult transfers his experience to a child not as a one-sided pumping through activity into his “image of the world”; new information, but rather in a mode of dialogue with this image with the constant exteriorization from it into activity of already acquired knowledge and their use for the formation of more complex new formations. It is clear that the consistency and continuity necessary for this between individual acts of formative activity, its entire organization can only be determined in communication with other people who offer the child, in a language accessible to him and in a certain order, to do something, compare, repeat, “think,” etc. d. As a result, the “image of the world” that is formed in activity becomes interconnected and systematic.

External methods of organizing activities, laid down by other people, are gradually mastered by the person himself and, as a result of internalization, become internal means its regulation, endow the mental reflection formed in it with new qualities. Particularly important in this regard are the consequences of the gap between motivation and action, which is formed when performing activities under the guidance of an adult due to the fact that actions are directed not by impulses arising in the situation, but by an adult, to whom motivation (of cooperation with him, play, cognitive) is, as it were, transferred this function. Mastering skills that allow one to act independently of immediate impulses becomes the basis for a person’s ability to voluntarily regulate internal and external activities. This is evidenced by special studies that have shown that the ability to voluntarily regulate activity in ontogenesis is formed gradually: first, as the child’s ability to act, obeying the speech commands of an adult, then, executing his own expanded commands, and, finally, in accordance with the collapsed orders to himself at the level of internal speech. . Let us note that the formation of this feature of the human psyche is also mediated by language - it is speech that serves as a universal means by which a person masters his own mental processes and behavior.

Arming the human psyche with an “image of the world” and especially the ability to arbitrarily actualize the content reflected in it contributed to the modification and development of a special internal structural entity-subject. This formation is an ontologically elusive, but functionally clearly manifested regulatory authority, which in the image reveals, on the one hand, motivation in the form of incentives for goals, on the other, the conditions for achieving these goals, including one’s own possibilities for action, and is most generally assigned to which consists of organizing their achievement. We are talking about the authority that W. James called “I” as a “cognitive element in the personality” (1911 P. 164), 3. Freud - “I”, or “this”.

The emergence of a living being's own activity (including response, i.e. reactive) opens up new opportunities for interaction with surrounding objects, presented to the subject of activity as objects in the field of his action (useful or harmful). Now a living being may seek to provide intentional physical contact with certain objects (for example, food) or avoid physical contact with objects that are dangerous to the living being. The possibility arises of moving from a chance encounter with an object to a deliberate search for an object or avoiding physical contact with it. This search activity is not caused by external factors, but internal reasons a living being, its life tasks (needs).

In other words, the task arises of determining the presence and location in space of the desired object and distinguishing it as different from other objects.

Help in solving this problem can be the ability of objects to directly come into physical contact with living objects, independently emit some energy or reflect external radiation, i.e. the energy of any intermediary (for example, radiation from the Sun and other luminous objects, sound and ultrasonic radiation, etc.). In this case, a living creature often generates energy flows itself (ultrasound, electromagnetic field, etc.). These radiations, reflected from objects, begin to bear the signs of these objects and can come into contact with the sensory organs of living beings before there is actual physical contact between the objects and the living being, i.e. remotely. But biological reflection, which can only create a signal of impact on a living being, provides information only about the presence of a source of physical (chemical) impact in the environment. It often cannot indicate either the direction or location of the influencing object in the field of action of a living being, or the shape and size of the object. We need a new form of reflection. The possibility of its appearance is determined by the ability of nervous tissue to transform biological signals (biocurrents) into subjective feelings (experiences or states). It must be assumed that nerve impulses, thanks to the characteristics of nerve cells, can be transformed into the subjective states of the living being itself, i.e. into light, sound, heat and other sensations (experiences).

Now we have to understand the following.

• 1. How does this transformation of nerve impulses into subjective experiences occur and what features do they differ from? nerve cells to give subjective states (experiences)?
• 2. Does subjective experience remain only the state of a living being or is it capable of separating the bearer of the experience and the external world? If subjective experience (state) is initially unable to separate the subject and the external world, then what is the mechanism of such separation and how is it formed?
• 3. What is the participation of subjective feelings (the result of the transformation of nerve impulses) in ensuring the localization of the desired object constructed by the subject in space? How is this subjective space created? How are the direction and location of an object determined? How is the image of an object generally constructed, i.e. an object as a representative of an object, based on subjective feeling?

Not all the answers are visible to us today, but without them the value of ideas about the transformation of biological signals into subjective states (feelings) turns out to be small. We know that the ability for subjective experiences (states) as feelings, which emerged in evolution, is somehow involved in providing a living being with information about the shape, size and location of the desired object in space, its movements and other properties. To explain these processes, we are forced to enter the realm of assumptions that have only partial grounds for their confirmation or do not have them at all.

Today we know quite definitely how the primary traces of interaction in the senses are formed. It is known in more or less detail how the secondary transformation of primary traces into biological impulses occurs (for example, into nerve impulses from the organs of hearing, vision, temperature and tactile receptors, etc.). But we do not know the mechanism for transferring (transforming) nerve impulses into a subjective state. We do not know what is the mechanism of separation in the generated images of the state of a living being and information about the external world.

On the other hand, we understand that subjective feeling (sound, for example) and air vibrations are not the same thing. The first remains a signal of an external event, although isomorphic to it. But we also understand that behind the ability of an object to consistently reflect light in the green spectrum (or red, yellow, etc.) lies the constant objective quality of the object itself. Therefore, although the subjective experience of the color of a wave of electromagnetic radiation affecting the body is only a signal, a symbol of external influence, the sensation of the color of an object is a reflection of the objective property of the object. And when we receive three different subjective experiences from the same object—brilliance in the light, slipperiness in the tactile sensation, and cold in the temperature sensation—we understand that these are three different descriptions of the same quality of the object—its smoothness. Here feelings begin to perform the functions of a language for describing reality that exists outside of us, becoming a sensory language in which we (living beings) try to describe the external world for ourselves. This means that subjective experiences and sensations are the result of two different processes: the first arise as a transformation of bioimpulses, and the second are constructed by the subject of perception as the simplest images of objects.

At the same time, we must remember one more function of subjective experiences - on their basis and with their help, a living being discovers objects located in space, i.e. the subject field in which it operates. Today we can only describe how this process is built in the most general view or, conversely, in individual small details that do not give an overall picture of the formation of what is called the image of an object, the image of a situation and the image of the world, i.e. what is called a mental image.

Let's take a general look at how the visual image of objects is formed in order to see those unresolved problems that still exist in the analysis of mental reflection. Let us recall our reflection scheme (Fig. 2.4).

Rice. 2.4.

The first stage is physical reflection. But now object A and object B interact not directly, directly, but through an intermediary. An intermediary C appears - a light source. Light interacts with object A (table) and, reflecting from it already changed (C + a), falls on the human eye. The structures of the eye interact with light, and we get the primary traces of light (C + a) on the retina (1). Further, these primary traces are transformed into spikes of nerve impulses (2) traveling along optic nerve through the subcortical nuclei to the occipital parts of the cerebral cortex. Reaching the primary visual fields of the brain, nerve impulses are transformed into light sensation (3). But normally, as we know, in this situation we see not light, but table A (4), occupying a certain place in space. A natural question arises: “Where did the table come from, if the eye interacted only with light and traces of light, and not the table, were transformed in the brain? Where to look for the solution to this riddle - the eye deals with light, and we see the table?!”

The first thing inquisitive readers noticed: the eye deals not just with light, but with traces of the interaction of light with the table. After such an interaction, the light reflected from the table changes: in its spectrum, in the direction and location of the rays in space and other indicators. So, objectively, in the traces of interaction between light and the table there is information about the table. But according to the laws of transformation of traces, the image of a table as a three-dimensional object located in space cannot arise. A picture may form color spots with a certain contour, but not the image of the table, i.e. vision of an object taking its place in space. What makes a transformed subjectively experienced picture a visible space with three-dimensional objects? In other words, we must ask ourselves the question: “How, through what mechanisms and methods does visual subjective feeling (as a subjective state, as visual picture) is once again transformed into a visible object space, where desirable and undesirable objects are located?" There can be only one answer - in no way and in no way can this subjective picture turn into an image of an object. Today, the only truth-like answer is the recognition of such a mechanism the own directed activity of a living being, constructing images of the objective conditions of its behavioral space, i.e. presenting the visible external world to the subject, “stretching” the visual sensory picture into the visible spatial field of adaptive activity and creating in it images of physical objects as objects of needs or landmarks; The task of generating images of objects arises for the subject of activity only when adaptive behavior creates the need for the subject of activity to discover the objective conditions of his behavioral space. In other words, the psyche as the discovery for the subject of his zero actions is initially included in the activity of a living being as a necessary link, as a component. part of adaptive behavior, which was paid attention to by I.M. Sechenov, S.L. Rubinstein and A.N. Leontyev.

Since, along with response activity to interaction with objects of the world, a living being has the ability to search initiative, i.e. activity coming from himself, we can assume that this search activity and special additional activity ensure the creation of images of objects in the spatial field of action of a living being. Somehow, the response activity of a living creature is also involved in constructing the image of the situation - its behavior, which takes into account the presence of a real object and its properties. In other words, to form a sample of an objective spatial field of action, a special activity of a living creature is required, i.e. special interaction with environment. We still know little about how this process of mental reflection occurs, but we have a lot of evidence that without the own activity of a living being, aimed at building an image of the situation (i.e., the objective field of the subject’s action), the opening of a behavioral space with objects is not formed. Mental reflection, as we see, corresponds to its own type of interaction with the world.

This position remains true not only for the simple situation of constructing a spatial image of an object, but also for more complex cases of acquiring ready-made knowledge (learning) and constructing a picture of the world (science). Without one's own active work, a student or scientist will not be successful. A natural question arises about the nature of this special activity. For now, the answer to this question is only speculative.

A living being is an active being. It maintains its existence without any external reasons, having a program for renewing itself (i.e., a program of self-construction), the implementation of which requires appropriate external and internal conditions. This initially existing activity of a living being in evolution is transformed into external motor activity and into activity in the internal plane, generated on the basis of subjective states as feelings and images of the objective conditions of the behavioral space. Activity is manifested, first of all, in adaptive responses, in exploratory initiative behavior and in adaptive behavior to satisfy various needs (life tasks) of a living being.

Since, as we see, the image of objects and the situation as a whole is impossible without the independent activity of a living being, we must assume that primary activity penetrates into the sphere of subjective experiences. It manifests itself not only in the movements of the whole body, limbs and sensory organs, “feeling” the object, but also in special activity in terms of subjective phenomena. It is precisely this kind of activity that the great G. Helmholtz could designate when analyzing perceptions as “unconscious inference.” Evaluating the results of its directed interaction with an object, a living being builds an image of the object of its field of action on the basis of subjective states (feelings) of certain modalities.

With this understanding of mental reflection, there arises serious question about the content of the concept “psyche”. What is considered psyche? A subjective state (experience as a feeling), an image of an object, or all together?

The answer is not easy to give, and it cannot be unambiguous.

We have established that on the basis of mental reflection, it is no longer a response, but behavior - a complexly structured, time-delayed activity of a living being, solving its life problems, often initiated by the living being itself.

Biological reflection serves the reactions of a living being, and complex behavior that lasts over time, with the achievement of intermediate results, can only be based on mental reflection, which provides knowledge about the conditions of behavior and regulates behavior.

Understanding the psyche as one of the forms of reflection allows us to say that the psyche does not appear in the world unexpectedly, as something unclear in nature and origin, but is one of the forms of reflection and has its analogues in the living and inanimate world (physical and biological reflection). Mental reflection can be considered as the transformation of secondary traces into a subjective state (experience), and on its basis the construction by the subject of activity of an objective spatial image of the action field. We see that the basis of mental reflection is the primary interaction with the outside world, but for mental reflection a special additional activity of a living being is needed to construct images of objects in the field of the subject’s behavior.

We have already talked about how, above the primary traces of the interaction of objects (energy flows and objects), which we can consider as a physical reflection, a biological reflection is built on in the form of primary traces of interaction with the outside world transformed into the living being’s own processes and in the form of adequate responses body.

Traces of primary interaction transformed into nerve impulses are further transformed into subjective states (sensory experiences) of external influences. This subjective form of reflection becomes the basis for the discovery of the objective field of action of a living being, acting adequately in this objective space taking into account the properties of objects, or, in other words, on the basis of subjective images of objects and the situation as a whole.

It is clear that images of objects and situations can be attributed to mental reflection. But the question arises about the subjective experience itself as feeling. Can it be attributed to a psychic reflection or should it be isolated? special form– subjective reflection (experience), which is not the psyche? To answer this question, we need to consider the concept of the psyche in more detail.

• Spinoza B. (1632–1677) – Dutch materialist philosopher.
• Spinoza B. Ethics // Selected works. T. 1. M., 1957. P. 429.
• Right there.
• Spinoza B. Ethics // Selected works. T. 1. M., 1957. P. 423.

2. Reflection characteristics

3. Levels of psychic reflection

1. The concept of mental reflection . Categoryreflections is a fundamental philosophical concept, it is understood as a universal property of matter, which consists in reproducing the signs, properties and relationships of the reflected object. This is a form of interaction between phenomena in which one of them isreflected , - while maintaining its qualitative certainty, creates in the second -reflective specific product:reflected
The ability to reflect, as well as the nature of its manifestation, depend on the level of organization of matter. In high quality various forms reflection appears in inanimate nature, in the world of plants, animals and, finally, in humans.(According to the book by LEONTIEV “ Activity. Consciousness. Personality" )

In inanimate nature, the interaction of various material systems results inmutual reflection , which appears in the form of simple mechanical deformation.

An essential property of a living organismis irritability - reflection of the influences of the external and internal environment in the form of excitation and selective response. Being a prepsychic form of reflection, it acts as a regulator of adaptive behavior.

The further stage in the development of reflection is associated with the emergence of a new property in higher species of living organisms -sensitivity, that is, the ability to have sensations, which are the initial form of the psyche.

The formation of sense organs and the mutual coordination of their actions led to the formation of the ability to reflect things in a certain set of their properties - the ability to perceive the surrounding reality in a certain integrity, in the formsubjective image this reality.

The formation of man and human society in the process of work and communication through speech led to the emergence of a specifically human, social in its essence form of reflection in the formconsciousness Andself-awareness. What is characteristic of reflection, which is characteristic of man, is that it is a creative process that is social in nature. It involves not only influence on the subject from the outside, but also active action the subject himself, his creative activity, which manifests itself in selectivity and purposefulness of perception.

2. Reflection characteristics . Features of the process Mental reflection is accompanied by a number of characteristic conditions, which are its specific manifestations:– Activity. Mental reflection is not mirror-like, not passive, it is associated with the search and choice of methods of action adequate to the conditions, it isactive process.

- Subjectivity. Another feature of mental reflection is itssubjectivity: it is mediated by a person's past experiences and personality. This is expressed primarily in the fact that we see one world, but it appears differently for each of us.

- Objectivity . At the same time, psychic reflection makes it possible to build " internal picture world", adequate to objective reality, and here it is necessary to note one more property of the psyche - itsobjectivity. Only through correct reflection is it possible for a person to understand the world around him. The criterion of correctness is practical activity in which mental reflection is constantly deepened, improved and developed.

- Dynamism. The process called mental reflection tends to undergo significant changes over time. The conditions in which an individual operates change, and the approaches to transformation themselves change. Uniqueness We should not forget that each person has distinct individual characteristics, his own desires, needs and desire for development.

- Anticipatory character . Another important feature of mental reflection is itsanticipatory character it makes possible anticipation in human activity and behavior, which allows decisions to be made with a certain time-spatial advance regarding the future.

The most important function of the psyche isregulation of behavior and activity, thanks to which a person not only adequately reflects the surrounding objective world, but has the ability to transform it in the process of purposeful activity. The adequacy of human movements and actions to the conditions, tools and subject of activity is possible only if they are correctly reflected by the subject.

3. Levels of mental reflection. Mental reflection serves to create a structured and integral image from dismembered objects of reality. B.F. Lomov identified the levels of mental reflection:

1. Sensory-perceptual is basic level construction of mental images, which arises first in the process of development, but does not lose relevance in subsequent activities. The subject, based on the information received through stimulation of the senses by real objects, builds his own behavioral tactics. Simply put, a stimulus causes a reaction: an event occurring in real time influences the subsequent action of the subject and determines it.

2. Level of representations. An image can arise without the direct influence of the object on the subject’s senses, that is, it is imagination, memory, imaginative thinking. Due to the repeated appearance of an object in the subject’s zone of perception, some of the most important features of the first are remembered and eliminated from the secondary ones, which is why an image appears that is independent of the direct presence of the stimulus. The main function of this level of mental reflection: planning, control and correction of actions in the internal plan, drawing up standards.

3. Verbal logical thinking or speech-thinking level. Operations at this level are even less related to the event series of current time. The individual operates with logical concepts and techniques that have developed in the course of the cultural and historical development of mankind. Abstracting from his own direct experience, from the imagination and memory of the events that took place in his life, he orients himself and builds his activities based on the experience of humanity as a whole. Those concepts, definitions and conclusions that were not produced by him. This provides the opportunity to plan and regulate events of various directions and temporary distances, up to scheduling life path personality. Despite the significant difference between the third and the first, initial level: the processes of sensory and rational regulation of activity constantly flow from one to another, forming a mental reflection in the diversity of its levels and images.

Subject and tasks of psychology.

Psychology is the science of the laws of development and functioning of the psyche. The object of psychology is the psyche. The subject of the study of psychology is, first of all, the psyche of humans and animals, which includes many phenomena. With the help of such phenomena as sensations and perception, attention and memory, imagination, thinking and speech, a person understands the world. Therefore, they are often called cognitive processes.

Other phenomena regulate his communication with people and directly control his actions and actions. They are called mental properties and states of the individual (these include needs, motives, goals, interests, will, feelings and emotions, inclinations and abilities, knowledge and consciousness).

Psychology also studies human communication and behavior

Tasks of psychology:

1. Qualitative study of all psychic phenomena.

2. Analysis of all mental phenomena.

3. Study psychological mechanisms mental phenomena.

4. Introduction of psychological knowledge into people’s lives and activities.

The connection between psychology and other sciences. Branches of psychology.

It is impossible to understand the psyche and behavior of a person without knowing his natural and social essence. Therefore, the study of psychology is related to human biology, the structure and functioning of the central nervous system.

Psychology is also closely related to the history of society and its culture, since in the formation of human mental functions vital role played by the main historical achievements - tools and sign systems.

Man is a biosocial being; his psyche is formed only within the framework of society. Accordingly, the specifics of the society in which a person lives determines the characteristics of his psyche, behavior, worldview, social interactions with other people. In this regard, psychology is also connected with sociology.

Consciousness, thinking and many other mental phenomena are not given to a person from birth, but are formed in the process of individual development, in the process of upbringing and education. Therefore, psychology is also related to pedagogy.

The following branches of psychology are distinguished:

1) General psychology - studies cognitive and practical activities.

2) Social psychology - studies the interactions between the individual and society

3) Developmental psychology - studies the development of the psyche from the conception of a person to his death. It has a number of branches: child psychology, psychology of adolescents, youth, adults and gerontology. Educational psychology has as its subject the psyche (student and teacher) in conditions educational process(training and education).

4) Labor psychology - examines the psyche in the conditions of work.

5) Psycholinguistics - deals with the study of speech as a type of psyche.

6) Special psychology: oligophrenopsychology, deaf psychology, typhlopsychology.

7) Differential psychology - studies all kinds of differences in the psyche of people: individual, typological, ethnic, etc. 8) Psychometry - comprehends the issues of mathematical modeling of the psyche, problems of measurement in psychology, methods of quantitative analysis of the results of psychological research.

9) Psychophysiology - studies the relationship between the interaction of biological and mental, higher physiology nervous activity and psychology.

Methods of psychology.

The main methods of psychology, like most other sciences, are observation and experiment. Additional ones are introspection, conversation, survey and biographical method. Recently, psychological testing has become increasingly popular.

Self-observation is one of the first psychological methods. This is the choice of a method for studying mental phenomena, the advantage of which is the ability to directly, directly observe a person’s thoughts, experiences, and aspirations. The disadvantage of the method is its subjectivity. It is difficult to verify the data obtained and repeat the result.

The most objective method is experiment. There are laboratory and natural types of experiment. The advantage of the method: high accuracy, the ability to study facts that are not accessible to the eye of the observer using special instruments.

Questionnaires are used in psychology to obtain data from a large group of subjects. There are open and closed types of questionnaires. In open-type questionnaires, the answer to the question is formed by the subject himself; in closed-ended questionnaires, subjects must choose one of the options for the proposed answers.

The interview (or conversation) is conducted with each subject separately, and therefore does not provide an opportunity to obtain detailed information as quickly as using questionnaires. But these conversations make it possible to record emotional state a person, his attitude, opinion on certain issues.

There are also various tests. In addition to tests intellectual development and creativity, there are tests aimed at studying individual characteristics person, the structure of his personality.

4. The concept of the psyche and its functions.

Psyche is general concept, denoting the totality of all mental phenomena studied by psychology.

There are 3 main functions of the psyche:

Reflection of the influences of the surrounding world

A person’s awareness of his place in the world around him

This function of the psyche, on the one hand, ensures the correct adaptation of a person in the world. On the other hand, with the help of the psyche, a person recognizes himself as a person endowed with certain characteristics, as a representative of a particular society, social group, different from other people and in relationships with them , Correct awareness by a person of his personal characteristics helps to adapt to other people, correctly build communication and interaction with them, achieve common goals in joint activities, and maintain harmony in society as a whole.

Regulation of behavior and activity

Thanks to this function, a person not only adequately reflects the surrounding objective world, but has the ability to transform it.

5. Structure of the psyche (mental processes, conditions, properties and neoplasms).

Psyche is a general concept denoting the totality of all mental phenomena studied by psychology

Typically, the following main components are distinguished in the psyche: mental processes; mental neoplasms; mental states; mental properties.

Mental processes are a component of the human psyche that arises and develops in the interaction of living beings with the outside world. Mental processes are caused by external influences natural and social environment, as well as various desires and diverse needs.

All mental processes are divided into cognitive ones. which include sensations, ideas, attention, memory; emotional, which can be associated with positive or negative experiences, volitional, which ensures decision-making and execution.

The result of mental processes is the formation of mental formations in the personality structure.

Mental new formations are certain knowledge, skills and abilities acquired by a person throughout life, including during training.

Mental states are phenomena of vigor or depression, efficiency or fatigue. calmness or irritability, etc. Mental conditions arise due to various factors, such as health status, working conditions, relationships with other people.

Based on mental processes and mental states the properties (qualities) of the personality are gradually formed.

Characteristics of mental reflection.

Mental reflection is a correct, true reflection.

Features of mental reflection:

It makes it possible to correctly reflect the surrounding reality;

Mental reflection deepens and improves;

Ensures the appropriateness of behavior and activities;

Has a proactive character

Different for each person

Mental reflection has a number of properties:

– Activity. Mental reflection is an active process.

Subjectivity. This is expressed in the fact that we see one world, but it appears differently for each of us.

Objectivity. Only through correct reflection is it possible for a person to understand the world around him.

Dynamism. That is, the mental reflection has the property of changing.

Anticipatory character. This allows you to make decisions ahead of the future

Psychology should have a special place in the system of sciences. Firstly, this is the science of the most complex things known to man. After all, the psyche is what, as they said before, was “a moment before the experience.” Psyche is a property of highly organized matter (brain). Thus, the great philosopher of Ancient Greece Aristotle points out that, among other knowledge, research about the soul should be given one of the first places, since “it is knowledge about the most sublime and amazing.”

Psychic reflection appears at a certain stage in the evolution of living matter. A.N. Leontyev pointed out that for this level of reflection to arise, a number of objective conditions are necessary.

First of all, living things must exist in an unstable environment. In this regard, land appears to be a more dangerous environment and requires a quick response. Changes in weather conditions on land can be catastrophic for living organisms if they cannot navigate them and respond appropriately.

The psyche ensures the reflection and preservation of life experience, as well as its reproduction and transmission to other generations. The psyche is an image of the past with a sign indicating the possibility of its use in the future. Thus, one of the main functions of the psyche is orientation in the present and future.

If we talk about the human psyche, it ensures the unity and integrity of the individual. Consequently, the psyche is heterogeneous and has qualitative differences in people and animals, since personality is a very complex phenomenon that does not appear in a child right away. Moreover, the human psyche differs from the psyche of other living beings inhabiting the Earth. What does the concept of psyche include?

There is the simplest definition of the psyche: “The psyche is a property of highly organized matter - the brain, which consists in reflecting the world. The psyche is a subjective image of the objective world.” Thus, the psyche is not something material. It is a property of the material object of the brain, it is the ability to reflect the material world in an ideal way in terms of image and thereby act with those objects or explore those phenomena that are currently absent. Mental reflection allows one to comprehend the essence of processes and phenomena, abstracting from their external form, from non-main, but bright, “strong” signs, to accumulate and preserve this knowledge and ways of understanding the world and pass it on to next generations. In this case, we are talking, first of all, about the human psyche, about that part of it that is called consciousness.

How did humanity manage to make its mental life subject of special study? When did psychology, as the science of mental reflection, become a science?

Just two centuries ago, psychology was denied the right to be called an independent science, citing the fact that mathematics was supposedly not applicable to it. The psyche is what it was a moment before the experience.

In the second half of the 19th century. Professor-physicist G. Fechner managed to apply mathematical methods to psychology. But even now, no, no, yes, you will come across similar statements.

Science must be able to define its subject, the area of ​​reality with which it is concerned and whose laws it claims to elucidate. specific methods, techniques and means.