Individual and social consciousness. Their relationship

Origin and essence of consciousness. Reflection and Consciousness

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

Religion assumes that consciousness is a manifestation of an immaterial substance, the soul does not depend on the brain and is capable of independent existence, it is immortal and eternal;
Idealists believe that consciousness is primary in comparison with matter, it is the independent essence of the original activity;
Materialists rely on the idea that consciousness is a subjective image of the objective world.

Dialectical materialism approaches the question of the origin of consciousness historically and asserts that all matter has the property of reflection.

Reflection is the ability of material systems to reproduce in themselves the properties of other material objects that interact with them. This is a property of both living and inanimate nature.

Elementary forms of reflection (do not have activity):

mechanical
physical
Chemical substance

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

Irritability is a pre-psychic form of reflection; it is the reaction of living beings to favorable and unfavorable environmental conditions. A higher form of irritability is sensitivity, i.e. the ability to reflect certain properties of things in the form of feelings, and the need for self-preservation arises (a purposeful reaction begins - for example, in plants). Animals develop their abilities, which they already actively use in search of food. This is the basis for the further development of the biological form of reflection, i.e. the origin of the mental form of reflection.

Perceptions and ideas arise as a result of the complication of real forms of behavior, as well as the development of the nervous system and brain structures.

Mental reflection, which originated in vertebrates, is the property of living beings to adequately respond to the materialized environment in order to adapt behavior.

Mental reflection is the systematization of sensations, the ability of living beings to model behavior in order to adapt to the environment. It is also the ability to repeatedly respond to standard and non-standard situations that arise and find the right way out of them.

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

Introduction

Cognition is one of the most important types of human activity. At all times, people have tried to understand the world around them, society and themselves. Initially, human knowledge was very imperfect, it was embodied in various practical skills and mythological ideas. However, with the advent of philosophy, and then mathematics, physics, psychology, sociology, and philosophical anthropology, the progress of human knowledge began, the fruits of which increasingly influenced the development of human civilization.

Issues of knowledge are considered by one of the branches of philosophy - epistemology (Greek gnosis - knowledge, logos - word, teaching). And although the term “epistemology” is a relatively recent achievement of philosophy (it was introduced by the Scottish philosopher J. Ferrer in 1854), the problem of knowledge itself arose in antiquity. Over the centuries, different schools and directions of philosophical thought have often expressed opposing views on the nature, content and structure of the cognitive process.

For example, adherents of empirical epistemology (Bacon, Locke, Hobbes) consider sensory experience to be the only source of knowledge. A person's cognitive abilities depend on his cognitive abilities. That is, experience for them is: the result of the activity of the senses or the result of the activity of the mind (which combines the material provided by the senses).

"F. Bacon distinguished three main types of knowledge:

“The path of science” - obtaining truths from pure consciousness;
“The Way of the Ant” is narrow empiricism, a collection of disparate facts without their conceptual generalization;
“The Way of the Bee is a combination of the first two paths, a combination of sensory and rational abilities.”

The second source of experience relates to the stages of rational knowledge. The rationalist concept of cognition states that “data from the senses can be considered reliable only as facts of consciousness, but relying on them to construct true knowledge of the external world is dangerous.”

Its supporters are Descartes, Leibniz, Spinoza. Rationalism is divided into ontological (the rationality of being, the presence of a given principle in it) and epistemological (reason is the main form of knowledge).

“Descartes contrasted his rationalistic method with Bacon’s inductive methodology. The productive method of Descartes’ philosophy and epistemology is as follows: Formation of the idea of development and an attempt to apply this idea as a principle of knowledge of nature, introduction of dialectics into mathematics, pointing out the flexibility of the rules of his method of knowledge and their connection with moral norms, and a number of others.”

It is known that I. Kant, being a famous agnostic (from the Greek agnostos - unknowable), also stated his position on epistemology. He argued that “all knowledge begins with experience.” External objects act only on our senses and bring to life the cognitive abilities of a person. The intellect combines, compares, synthesizes or analyzes received perceptions, processes sensory impressions into knowledge.”

Cognition inevitably faces the question: is the world knowable?

The positions of thinkers in this case are as follows: cognitive optimism (G. Hegel, V. Lenin) - expresses absolute confidence in knowledge about the world; skepticism (Pyrrho, Sextus Empiricus, D. Hume) expresses doubt about the possibility of complete knowledge about the world. This is agnosticism - denial of the possibility of knowing the world. According to I. Kant, the “thing in itself” (essence) is unknowable. This is relativism - the absolutization of the relativity of scientific knowledge.

Each theory carries a certain meaning, which is what made the concept of cognition so widespread and studied to this day. All people by nature strive for knowledge. “Everything that spreads before us and happens within us, we know through our sense impressions and reflections, experience and theory.”

Consciousness as a function of the human brain

Modern science proceeds from the ideas of the biological unity of animals and humans. From this, conclusions are sometimes drawn about the complete analogy of mental processes in humans and animals. But human consciousness arose and developed in close dependence on the formation and development of the human brain, as indicated by the fact that the level of complexity of the organization of the brain depends on the level of the reflexive ability of consciousness.

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

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

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

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

Methods of rational knowledge

Rational cognition is characterized by special methods for studying objects or phenomena that are characteristic only of this method of cognition.

Idealization. Giving a specific object ideal characteristics for its more detailed study.
Formalization. The use of concrete language or abstract images of logical thinking to create some description of objects and phenomena.
Axiomatic approach. Using axioms (that is, statements that do not require proof) to create new propositions;
Hypothetico-deductive method. Using untested judgments to create new ones.
Experiment. Testing the hypotheses and conclusions made in practice. It is also possible to conduct an experiment on a certain ideal object.
Historical. Using knowledge about the history of the formation and development of an object to form some logical chains of its further development.

General concept of consciousness

Consciousness is a multi-level system of human perception and reflection of reality. It is consciousness that helps a person carry out his life activities in accordance with accepted norms in society and see the things around him as they are:

A person with a healthy mind understands that he is alone in the room; If a person suffers from a mental disorder with distortion of consciousness, it seems to him that there is someone else in the room.
A healthy person looks at a wall and realizes that it is not moving, but a restless person sees stationary objects in motion.
A person with healthy self-awareness is aware that the world around him may hide danger, but at the same time he is sure that the whole world is trying to harm him.

Human consciousness is a reflection of the reality around him. Consciousness is those motives, thoughts and actions that a person understands and controls. Unconscious motives of behavior are also reflected in a person’s behavior, but it is much more difficult for a person to control and understand them.

Forms of human consciousness

Human consciousness has several stages of development and forms of manifestation. Let's take a closer look at the available forms of consciousness. Classical psychology distinguishes two main forms of consciousness - social consciousness and individual human consciousness.

Social consciousness is the totality of all ideas, views and assessments inherent in a particular society at a certain stage of its development.

Individual consciousness is the totality of all ideas, views and feelings inherent in a particular person.

Features of social and individual consciousness

The essence of social consciousness is formed on the basis of the consciousness of individual people, and at the same time is not simply the result of their summation. This is due to the fact that each individual consciousness is unique and inimitable, and can be fundamentally different from the creation of another person.

The essence of a person’s individual consciousness lies in its diversity and individuality. Individual consciousness is always brighter than public consciousness, but at the same time it is narrower in its worldview and covers a smaller scale of issues and problems under consideration.

Individual human consciousness is not capable of achieving the depth and content inherent in social consciousness. This is due to the fact that public consciousness covers all aspects of the spiritual life of society. It should be noted, however, that there is a mutual connection between social and individual consciousness, for social consciousness draws its depth and breadth of contemplation precisely from the experience of each person in his individual consciousness.

Social consciousness is always a product of individual consciousness. But, on the other hand, individual consciousness is always largely a product of social consciousness.

Bibliography

Philosophy, textbook // Ed. Lavrinenko V.V. - M.: 2004;
Philosophy, textbook for university students // ed. V.P. Kokhanovsky - Rostov n/a: 1998;
Alekseev P.V., Panin A.V. Philosophy, textbook. M. - 2003;
Kuznetsov V.G., Kuznetsova I.D., Mironov V.V., Momdzhyan K.Kh. Philosophy, textbook. M.: 2004;
modern philosophy: dictionary and reading notes;
Smirnov I., Titov V. Philosophy, textbook.-Moscow: 2004;
Spirkin A.G. Philosophy, textbook, M.: 2006;
Balashov L.E. Philosophy, textbook-M.: 2005;
Alekseev P.V., Panin A.V. Epistemology and dialectics. M.: 1991.
Barulin V.S. Fundamentals of socio-philosophical anthropology. - M.: 2002.

Forms of social consciousness

Various types of intellectual and spiritual acquisition of knowledge about the surrounding reality are forms of social consciousness. Let's look at these forms in more detail.

Political consciousness includes a system of knowledge and assessments through which society forms the political sphere. It is the basis of all other forms of social consciousness, as it reflects the political and economic interests of various classes and social groups.
Legal consciousness is a system of knowledge and assessments with the help of which society understands itself in the field of law. This type of social consciousness is closely related to political consciousness, due to the fact that the political and economic interests of various classes and social groups are expressed in this form of consciousness.
Moral consciousness is expressed in historically established principles of morality in relationships between people, between people and society, between people and the law.
Aesthetic consciousness is a person’s conscious reflection on the world around him, which occurs in the form of complex experiences. These experiences are associated with a person’s feelings for the beautiful, tragic, sublime and comic.
Religious consciousness is expressed in the internal experience of a person, which is associated with the feeling of an existing connection between him and something higher. Religious consciousness interacts with other forms of social consciousness, especially moral consciousness.
Economic consciousness is a form of social consciousness that reflects the economic knowledge of society and its socio-economic needs.
Moral consciousness, a philosophical concept that represents the core of the human personality, its spirituality and everything that constitutes the essence of man and distinguishes him from animals. A distinctive feature of moral consciousness is that through it the reflection and regulation of interpersonal relationships occurs, in which each person is a mirror of the other.

Types of rational knowledge

Rational knowledge can be divided into two fundamental types: value-humanitarian and logical-conceptual. Each of these parts corresponds to different areas of activity of our consciousness, as well as the subtleties of its functioning. Let's consider each of the approaches in more detail.

Value-based and humanitarian. Despite the fact that the general approach is rational, there is a place in it for seemingly non-rational objects, such as culture. However, this is an erroneous judgment. To talk about categories such as “culture” requires a conceptual framework and meaning embedded in this term, which is impossible without a rational approach. That is, the rational approach is used here to evaluate non-rational categories.
Logical-conceptual. This category includes abstract, ideal objects or models, the use of which makes it possible to determine the existing relationships between objects or phenomena and their general characteristics. This approach is most effective in the exact sciences.