When talking about the concept of consciousness from the point of view of psychology, as a rule, they mean the ability of an individual to control his own behavior. That is, an action that goes beyond the mechanism of instincts and reflexes can be considered conscious. For example, a person, before committing an act, analyzes this act, passing it through the filter of his own beliefs, rationality, plausibility.

The essence of consciousness is the ability to perceive information from the surrounding world, comprehend it and reflect it in the form of images within oneself. The structure of consciousness is multidimensional and therefore, the images formed in it are also multidimensional. That is, observing an object of the external world, consciousness perceives not only the shape of the object, but also experiences emotions regarding the contemplated, pleasant or unpleasant, comes to conclusions, realizes general principles phenomena.

With the help of consciousness, we also form a worldview that determines our attitude to the world and the nature of interaction with it.

An important feature of consciousness is memory - the ability to store and reproduce previously received information. Without memory, consciousness could not create ideas and images and somehow reflect objective reality.

Structure of consciousness

The work of consciousness is aimed at understanding the surrounding world and processing the information received. These two processes allow consciousness to form its own picture of the world and its attitude to one or another aspect of the universe. In order to be able to form a holistic concept about something, consciousness must have a multidimensional structure, including the tools of perception and analysis, memory, levers of influence and self-expression.

In the structure of consciousness, conditionally, five areas are distinguished:

• Intelligence, the core of which is knowledge;
• Motivation, the basis of which is the desire for an internal ideal - goals;
• Will - the ability to create mental effort to achieve the goal;
• Emotions or experiences are subjective attitudes towards the objective world;
• Self-consciousness or self-identification.

The work of consciousness. Process and principle

The structure of human consciousness is manifested in the process of cognition of the surrounding world - the environment. Entering consciousness from the environment, information causes emotions and experiences in us, and we form our personal, emotionally filled attitude to the aspect of reality. Emotions become the ground for the emergence of desires to repeat pleasant experiences or never repeat what was unpleasant to us.

The nature of emotions and most desires are instincts that lie in the subconscious, allowing the entire natural world to survive in the conditions of the environment.

For example, almost everyone tastes chocolate for the first time. The taste of chocolate, as a rule, is pleasant to a person, and he has a desire to repeat this pleasant sensation again. If we taste something bitter, we may be tempted to never taste it again.

At the same time, a desire can remain only a desire if it does not have the proper motivation for implementation. Such motivation can be an urgent need.

For example, a native living in a tropical climate who is accustomed to wearing a loincloth may have a desire to have clothes if they show him them and explain the practical benefits. However, his motivation to get these clothes in soft climatic conditions will be much less than that of an inhabitant of a continental climate with winter cold.

If a person's motivation is sufficient, his desire can turn into a goal. And with the help of willpower, this goal can be achieved.

An integral element in the structure of consciousness, which allows analyzing incoming information and trying it on with one's already existing picture of the world, is the intellect. With the help of intellect, we acquire knowledge and skills that can later be used to achieve our goals.

Self-consciousness is the element in the structure of consciousness that primarily distinguishes man from animal. Self-consciousness turns the vector of cognition into itself. Receiving information from the outside, a person draws conclusions about his own place in the world around him, about his qualities and abilities. Self-identification of consciousness with some element of its "I" appears. Any characterization you can give yourself is an identification. For example: a parent, an economist or a happy person.

Awareness

An exceptional feature of human consciousness, compared to other known biological species, is its ability to be aware of its ability to be aware. But not all people and not always realize. The moment of awareness is the moment when the "I" remembers who it is.
Esotericists call this state "I Am." In this state, the human consciousness does not identify itself with any of its parts, but only observes its own presence.

This theory was created in Soviet psychology. It is indebted to the work of psychologists: L.S. Vygotsky, S.L. Rubinstein, A.N. Leontiev, A.R. Luria, A.V. Zaporozhets, P.Ya. Galperin and many others.

The psychological theory of Activity began to be developed in the 1920s and early 1930s.

The authors of the theory of Activity adopted the philosophy of dialectical materialism - the theory of K. Marx, and above all, its main thesis for psychology that it is not consciousness that determines being, Activity, but, on the contrary, being, Human activity determines his consciousness.

Activity human has a complex hierarchical structure. It consists of several levels. Let's call these levels, moving from top to bottom:

1. The level of specific activities (or specific activities).
2. Action level.
3. Operations level.
4. The level of psychophysiological functions.

Action. It is the basic unit of analysis for an Activity. Action is a process aimed at achieving a goal. The goal is an image of the desired result, i.e. the result to be achieved in the course of the action.

Describing the concept of "action", we can distinguish 4 points:

1. The action includes as a necessary component an act of consciousness in the form of setting and maintaining a goal. But this act of consciousness is not closed in itself, but is "revealed" in action.
2. Action is at the same time an act of behavior. These two points consist in recognizing the inseparable unity of consciousness and behavior. This unity is already contained in the main unit of analysis - action.
3. Through the concept of action, which presupposes an active principle in the subject (in the form of a goal), the psychological theory of Activity affirms the principle of activity.
4. The concept of “action” “brings” human activity into the objective and social world.

Principles of the Psychological Theory of Activity

1. Consciousness cannot be considered as closed in itself: it must be derived in the activity of the subject.
2. Behavior cannot be considered in isolation from human consciousness. The principle of unity of behavior and consciousness.
3. Activity is an active, purposeful process (the principle of activity).
4. Human actions are objective, they realize social production and cultural goals (the principle of objectivity of human activity and the principle of its social conditionality).

Goal - Action

The goal sets the action, the action ensures the realization of the goal. Through the characteristics of the goal, you can also characterize the action.

An operation is a way to perform an action. Operations characterize the technical side of performing actions. The nature of the operations used depends on the conditions in which the action is performed.

A goal given under certain conditions in the theory of Activity is called a task.

The main property of operations is that they are little or not realized at all.

Any complex action consists of a layer of actions and a layer of operations “underlying” them. The non-fixed boundary between the conscious and the unconscious means the mobility of the boundary that separates the layer of actions from operations.

Psychophysiological functions

Psychophysiological functions in the theory of Activity are understood as the physiological provision of mental processes (sensory, mnestic, motor functions), as well as innate mechanisms fixed in morphology. nervous system.

Psychophysiological functions are both necessary preconditions and means of Activity.

Psychophysiological functions constitute the organic foundation of the processes of Activity. Without relying on them, it would be impossible not only to carry out actions and operations, but also to set the goals themselves.

Activity- a specifically human activity realized by consciousness, generated by needs and aimed at the knowledge and transformation of the world and the person himself. It is a necessary condition for the formation of the Personality and at the same time depends on the level of development of the Personality.

In the process of Activity, a close interaction with the environment is established.

The end result of the Activity is the goal; the stimulus of activity is the motive.

The motive gives the Activity specificity in relation to the choice of means and methods of achievement.

Activity is conscious and socially conditioned. It is formed through the assimilation of social experience and is always indirect.

Activity Structure:

• - actions;
• - operation;
• - psychophysiological functions.

Actions: objective, mental.

Mental Activity - perceptual, mnemonic, mental, imaginative (imagination).

An activity has internal and external components:

Internal - mental, psychic; external - subject.

Structural elements Activities:

• Skills- these are methods of implementation (successful implementation of actions that contribute to the goals and conditions of the Activity).
• Skills– action components formed in the process of exercises.
• habits is a component of an action, which is based on the need of the Activity.

Three types of activities:

1. work;
2. teaching;
3. a game.

Activity means:

1. material items;
2. signs;
3. symbols;
4. communication;
5. tools.

The activity is productive.

Structure of consciousness

Consciousness – highest form psyche, the result of socio-historical conditions. The formation of a person in labor activity with constant social and social interaction with people.

Mental characteristics of consciousness:

1. Hidden in the very name is co-knowledge, i.e. body of knowledge about the world around us. That. the structure of consciousness includes the most important cognitive processes, with the help of which a person constantly enriches his knowledge.
2. The difference between the subject (“I” and “NOT-I”) is the only one of all animals, a person can explore himself, to realize self-knowledge.
3. Ensuring goal-setting Human Activity (sets goals, chooses motives, makes volitional decisions, etc.).
4. The presence of emotional assessments in interpersonal relationships (mother's love for loved ones, hatred of enemies, etc.).

1. The concept of consciousness and its functions

2. Consciousness according to I. Kant

3. Structure of consciousness

4. The concept of consciousness and the unconscious

1. The concept of consciousness and its functions

Consciousness - consciousness is the highest function of the brain, peculiar only to man and associated with speech, which consists in a purposeful, meaningful and generalized reflection of reality in the form of ideal images, in its creative transformation, in the reasonable regulation of human behavior and its relationship with nature and social environment. Consciousness allows a person to exercise the highest control over his mental processes and behavior, to direct the course of his mental and objective activity in right direction, as well as analyze their own consciousness.

Consciousness performs the most important functions that are implemented by specific structural components of consciousness:

"Being consciousness" ("consciousness for being");

"Reflexive Consciousness" (consciousness for consciousness);

Self-awareness (awareness of one's own inner peace, himself).

These functions are as follows:

The function of cognition, a generalized reflection of the external world (implemented by thinking: reason and reason, based on image and thought);

The function of experiencing and building an attitude towards the world, people (images and thoughts, colored with emotions, feelings become experiences. Awareness of experiences is the formation of a certain attitude towards environment, to other people. “My attitude to the environment is my consciousness”);

The function of regulating behavior (formation of goals, mental construction of actions, foresight of results, achievement of goals - the will of a person acts as a component of consciousness);

Creative - creative, generative function;

The function of reflection (the reflection of the world, and thinking about it, and the ways a person regulates his behavior, and the methods of reflection themselves, and their personal consciousness can act as an object of reflection).

2. Consciousness according to I. Kant

Knowledge of the world by a person is achieved thanks to his consciousness, but has different levels. “All our knowledge,” I. Kant believed, “begins with feelings, then goes to the mind and ends in the mind, above which there is nothing in us to process the material of contemplation and to bring it under the highest unity of thinking». Only thinking is capable of ensuring this unity in the sphere of our experience. I. Kant distinguishes two levels of thinking: reason and reason.

Reason, in principle, is not capable of dealing with a “thing in itself”. The only reality that the mind deals with is the reality of sensory perception, acting as an object, material, processing which the mind produces a “phenomenon”, i.e. the very image in which it appears as given in sensation. I. Kant makes a generalization that any rational knowledge is always conditioned sensually - by concrete material, reason is the ability of our thinking to give rules for bringing the diversity of sensibility under the unity of the concept. Concepts are based not on images, but on a scheme. The image is always visual, and the scheme is a time series of space. Reason is constructive, it creates concepts. A concept is a thought that fixes the signs of objects and phenomena displayed in it, which makes it possible to distinguish these objects and phenomena from others. But in any concept there is always hidden not only a distinguishing feature, but also a sign of a certain identity. Identity (identity) and difference are always and inseparably together.

Kant considers the ability of judgment to be an intermediate link between reason and reason. “The ability to judge is the hallmark of so-called ingenuity, and its absence cannot be made up for by any school, since a school can give even a limited mind, as if hammering into it, as many rules borrowed from others as it likes, but the ability to use them correctly must be inherent even in the student, and if this single gift does not exist, then no rules that would be prescribed to him with this purpose, do not guarantee erroneous application ... Lack of judgment is stupidity.

The limitations of reason are overcome, according to Kant, thanks to the highest ability of thinking, which he defines as reason. The intellect, immersed in the world of sensory experience, sorts through the objects of this world one after another and, naturally, finds nothing unconditional in any of them.

By means of reason it is impossible to know the object as a whole. That's what intelligence is for.

Intelligence - it is the ability to deduce the particular from the general. When the particular is deduced from the general, this particular is thereby determined. The essence of a thing, an object cannot be given directly in its pure form.

Essence - it is a condition of all conditions, i.e. what we would call unconditional. Therefore, the mind continuously ascends from one condition to another. Every time he sets boundaries for himself, and these boundaries are reasonable. Going beyond a certain limit, destroying the framework of the familiar is always not only destruction, but also creation, generation, discovery. It is known that the discovery of something new is always a violation of the old boundaries, customary norms and rules. What is ordinary is unshakable is usually called the canon, while the destruction of the canon is, according to Aristotle, the organon (i.e. creativity). Therefore, the task of the mind is to break out of the usual channel, open its borders, look at itself, around itself and into its past, notice on itself the impact of diverse repetitive transformations, transitions.

The development of the mind occurs both in depth and in breadth, i.e. by removing boundaries, opening deeper essences, and by expanding its properties, sides and relationships. Reason and reason not only do not contradict each other, but also mutually determine each other. In an effort to penetrate into the essence of things, to embrace the world as a whole, the mind inevitably and constantly comes to contradictions.

Inference - it is a thought process in which one or more judgments are brought into line with the rules of reason, and a new judgment is derived. The condition for the correctness of such judgments is not only the truth or falsity of the grounds, but also “the ability to act in accordance with the idea of ​​laws, i.e. according to the principles.

Just as the mind generates concepts, judgments, the mind also generates its concepts - ideas. Ideas exist in the mind as principles, and they serve the mind as the law of its application. If the mind works in the analysis mode, then the mind assumes a whole range of conditions, general principles, and thereby sets the goal, the direction of the mind. Through ideas, the diverse content of concepts is united. Therefore, an idea can be defined as a form of comprehension in thought (i.e., in the mind) of the phenomena of reality, which includes the consciousness of the goal and principles of further cognition. The idea is included in the subject as an assumption of its fundamental knowability. This is precisely the way in which the "I" creates the world.

It follows from the above definitions that consciousness as the highest form of mental development is inherent only in man and arises at a certain stage of evolutionary development only in human society.

The activity of consciousness is manifested in the fact that the consciousness of the subject not only “doubles” the world, creating a picture of this world inalienable from it, but also distinguishes the subject from this world.

« Consciousness" and " psyche are not identical, the first is narrower than the second: consciousness is not only subjective, but also an ideal component of the human psyche. The ideal image of the surrounding world in the human mind is inextricably linked with the concept (word). Thus, the ideal image as a systemic quality of consciousness arises when a subjective image is associated with a word. This position can be expressed and represented by the following formula:

Ideal image = Subjective image + Concept (word).

Outside of concepts (words), a person does not realize the surroundings, that is, he does not feel, does not perceive, does not remember and does not imagine. Therefore, consciousness is inextricably linked with the language and speech of a person. Therefore, it cannot appear outside the social life of a person, various types of his activities and communication.

Consciousness provides the possibility of knowing the surrounding reality and self-knowledge (reflection) of one's own Self. Thanks to this ability, consciousness behind the phenomena in the perception of the world reveals the essence, regular, causal relationships and relationships of both the surrounding world and its own inner world. It becomes possible to predict, to foresee the emergence of new events, relationships, connections.

So, for example, the representative of German classical philosophy J. G. Fichte associated the emergence of consciousness with “ assuming"non-I by the activity of the I, the distinction by a person of himself as a thinker from himself as a thinkable, as an object of thinking. Man, unlike any animal, is able to realize himself, the acts of his own consciousness, his own constructive activity. This we see and know directly from self-observation. After all, consciousness in general is realized only insofar as the idea arises in it of something else, of a non-I, of a thing, of an object. There is no empty consciousness that is not filled with anything.

On the basis of the foregoing, a conscious, purposeful regulation by a person of his behavior, activities and adaptation in the surrounding world and society is carried out.

This active, active side of consciousness was most fruitfully and diversified developed precisely in domestic psychology. Fundamentals of the activity approach as a social psychological essence man and the content of his life was laid by M. Ya. Basov. His ideas were developed by S. L. Rubinshtein, who wrote:

“The consciousness of a person is determined by his being, and the being of a person is not only the brain, the organism and its natural features, but also the activity due to which a person in the course of historical development modifies the natural foundations of its existence.

The problem of the formation of consciousness, higher mental functions, inherent only to man, mediated by tools, labor activity and the “psychological tools” (signs) created in its process were developed by L. S. Vygotsky.

The ideas and consideration of the problem of consciousness as an activity and consciousness as an image, their correlation, interconnection and interdependence belong to A. N. Leontiev and are developed by his school. Within the framework of the personal-activity approach, consciousness is a form of activity, and therefore its structure can be viewed through the prism of the structure of activity in general.

For example, behind the process of memorization there are certain motives that induce a given person to remember something (and then a hierarchy of motives mediating and directing his activity unfolds); when memorizing, a person sets himself a specific goal, the nature of which determines to a large extent the strength and duration of memorization; when memorizing, a person also uses certain means of memorization and uses a variety of memorization operations; in the physiological sense of the word, memorization is impossible without the normal functioning of the brain, etc.

Thus, considering consciousness as a special form of mental (intellectual) activity, the same optional-technical components are distinguished in it, as in any type of activity in general: mental actions, motives and goals mediating them, mental operations and single neuropsychophysiological acts.

There is another side of consciousness, in which it simultaneously acts as an image of the world. According to A.N. Leontiev, an image is a “folded” activity, according to V.P. Zinchenko, an image is an “accumulated movement”, i.e. an image is a moment in the movement of activity, its “instant cast”, reflecting what has been achieved to this moment, the level of its development, established methods of activity, etc. The formed image mediates the newly unfolding activity of the subject and therefore precedes it, as they usually say, "in a functional way."

But the image is not only a mirror, passive reflection, a "cast" of the subject's activity, it lives its own life and develops due to change and under the influence of new experience of activity, which, in turn, leads to a change in the previous image - and this continues throughout the entire life process of an individual.

Highlighting these two inextricably linked aspects of consciousness, in the school of A. N. Leontiev they talk about the units of analysis of “consciousness-activity” and “consciousness-image” and develop them. In the latter case, one speaks of such units of "consciousness-image" as sensory fabric, meaning, and personal meaning.

The sensual tissue is understood as the "matter" of the image, i.e., a felt, perceived, imagined, remembered, imaginary, etc. fragment of objective reality.

Meaning- this is a generalized reflection of reality, behind which are the operations of generalization, with the help of which it is obtained, the identification and understanding of significant relationships, aspects, characteristics and relationships inherent in this image of reflected reality. There are three forms of meanings: verbal (linguistic), subject and instrumental. All these three forms of meanings have different stages of their development. Even L. S. Vygotsky showed that verbal meanings (generalizations) in a child develop from so-called syncretic generalizations to complexes, and subsequently to concepts. The development of generalizations is connected with the change of generalization operations.

Personal meaning is briefly defined by A. N. Leontiev as the ratio of motive to goal, and in general means the subjective partiality of human consciousness, the indifference for the individual of some events.

Highlighting various units of analysis of “consciousness-activity”, on the one hand, and “consciousness-image”, on the other hand, A. N. Leontiev in the monograph “Activity. Consciousness. Personality” shows their unity and interconnection and the fact that awareness (as an image, reflection) of one’s own activity in ontogenesis really arises later than the image of the surrounding world:

“Initially, consciousness exists only in the form of a mental image that reveals to the subject the world around him, while activity still remains practical, external. At a later stage, activity also becomes the subject of consciousness: the actions of other people are realized, and through them, the subject's own actions ... Consciousness-image also becomes consciousness-activity.

Along with these aspects of consciousness identified by A. N. Leontiev, in Russian psychology there is a widespread approach coming from S. L. Rubinshtein, L. S. Vygotsky, modern authors (Platonov K. K., Stolyarenko L. D.), which in the structure of consciousness distinguish the following main attributes or properties of consciousness: cognition, experience, attitude, reflection.

K. K. Platonov reveals the essence of these categories in the following definitions:
Experience- an act of consciousness of an individual that does not contain an image of the reflected and manifests itself in the form of pleasure (suffering), tension or resolution, excitement or calm. “Experience” is a broader concept than “emotion”, since it manifests itself in the form of both feelings and needs, volitional effort, voluntary attention and memory.

Cognition- this is a component of consciousness in the form of ... images of the reflected and thoughts about their connections. In humans, cognition manifests itself in four forms of reflection: sensations, perception, memory and thinking.

Attitude- as a subjective phenomenon, it is the active side of consciousness and its feedback from the reflected world. Attitude manifests itself as experience, attitude - as knowledge.

The classics of Marxism noted: “Where there is any relation, it exists for me; the animal does not "relate" to anything and does not "relate" at all; for an animal, his relation to others does not exist as a relation.

Reflection- a thinking (rational) process aimed at analyzing, understanding, self-awareness: one's own actions, behavior, speech, experience, feelings, states, character traits, relationships with others, etc. In scholastic philosophy, reflection was understood as the conversion of the mind (soul ) on their own states and thoughts.

Conceptually, procedurally and functionally, reflection is associated with self-observation, introspection, self-consciousness.

These attributes, properties of consciousness are closely interconnected. Only the generalization in one mental act of experiencing, the relationship and knowledge of the objects that cause them, makes this mental act an act of consciousness.

Thus, the structure of consciousness includes:

• self-consciousness, the core of which is the self-concept. Taken as a whole, it includes: self-experience (well-being); self-attitude (level of claims, self-esteem, value orientations); self-knowledge (the level of development of reflection and self-criticism);
• attributes of consciousness: attitude, experience, knowledge;
• levels of clarity of consciousness: insight, inspiration, clear consciousness, confused consciousness, pathology of consciousness, loss of consciousness, unconscious phenomena;
• forms of mental reflection: sensations, perception, ideas, memory, thinking, imagination, attention, emotions, will;
• properties of dynamics and constancy of acts of consciousness: mental processes, states and personality traits.

Along with this, closely related to the category (concept) of consciousness is the concept of worldview. What are their connections and relationships?

outlook is defined as a system of views on the objective world and a person’s place in it, on a person’s attitude to the reality surrounding him and to himself, as well as the basic life positions of people, their beliefs, ideals, principles of knowledge and activity, value orientations, etc. A worldview is not all views and ideas, but only their ultimate generalization.

Worldview is inextricably linked with all substructures of the personality, and, as studies show, not only socially, but also genetically and morphologically determined. Since the nature of consciousness, like worldview, is social, it is subject to or develops in accordance with social laws that are in the nature of statistical, i.e., the most probable laws of development, the manifestations of which are such that what is true with a certain degree of probability for the majority , then may have diametrically opposed conclusions, consequences and conclusions for the minority. In ontogenesis, the worldview is formed under the influence of the social environment on the basis of consciousness, but much later. The ratio of consciousness, worldview and I-concept, as well as the main elements of consciousness can be represented as follows (Fig. 8.1).

Since individual consciousness always arises as consciousness in society, it is undoubtedly preceded by public consciousness from which it draws and under the influence of which it forms its consciousness.

public consciousness appears in the forms of everyday, religious, moral, aesthetic, legal, political, national, scientific consciousness.

Psychology studies the influence of all these forms of social consciousness on individual and group consciousness (considered by social psychology).

Those are in general view the main methodological approaches to the consideration of the essence and main characteristics of the category of "consciousness" in Russian psychology.

The interested reader will find original approaches to the consideration of these problems in the relevant literature, which we do not even cite here, let alone analyze, adhering to the task and principle of generalizing to some extent the positive that characterizes the general trend and does honor to Russian psychological thought.

Consciousness is the highest function of the psyche which is unique to humans.

With its help, the individual plans his life, evaluates the surrounding reality, and receives knowledge. Consciousness has a certain structure and.

On the types and signs of a violation of human consciousness in ours.

Concept definition

Psychologists and philosophers identify two aspects of the psyche that make a person a person.

This is consciousness and self-awareness. Consciousness is understood as the highest degree of reflection of reality and management of life.

With the help of consciousness, a person controls his mental functions, forms a model of the external world, cognizes and evaluates everything that happens to him and around him.

The most important element of consciousness is self-consciousness.. It means the individual's understanding of himself as an object of the world, the formation of the image of his "I", ideas about himself.

The fastest and most rapid development of consciousness and self-awareness goes through adolescence when a person is actively looking for himself, his style, determines his place in life. In the same period, moral principles are formed.

So in the mind distinguish the following forms:

• self-awareness;
• rationality - the relationship of oneself and one's concepts with the world;
• reason - thinking consciousness;
• spirituality - highest degree consciousness.

Exist many theories about consciousness. For example, Freud believed that every event and human experience is determined by the conscious and unconscious.

In the area of ​​the unconscious there is the sexual and aggressive side of the personality, as well as those events that the individual has deliberately ousted from his memory and mind. When the unconscious tries to "break through" into consciousness, a person has.

From the point of view of idealism, consciousness is always primary. The world cannot exist outside of its perception by man.

Materialism considers consciousness to be a property of highly organized matter. It not only reflects the existing reality, but also controls it.

Functionalism defines consciousness as a function, that is, a person, being in a conscious state, performs certain functions. Built on this artificial intelligence.

Structure

What is included in the structure of consciousness? In psychology, there are important structural components consciousness:

• being;
• reflection;
• self-awareness.

It performs the following functions:

1. Reflection. This includes the ability of an individual to learn, perceive, remember and store information.
2. Reflection. This is an opportunity to realize oneself as an object of the world, to understand one's "I".
3. transformation. A person is able to set goals and achieve them.
4. Creative. With the help of the mind, a person shows imagination and creativity.
5. Grade. This includes .
6. Communication. A person transmits his knowledge with the help of certain signs. That is, consciousness cannot exist without communication.
7. Time formation. This is a holistic picture of the world, containing memories of the past, understanding of the present and future.

   This property is the main one.

According to modern psychology, The structure of consciousness contains the following components:

In terms of scale, consciousness is personal and public. The personal includes all the structural components described above.

Based on this, the following can be forms of public:

• religious;
• moral and ethical;
• legal;
• political;
• economic.

Thus, public consciousness is influenced by religion, laws, economics, political system and moral standards adopted by a particular society.

Stages and functions of self-consciousness

self-awareness- this is a person's perception of himself, an understanding of his difference from others, an awareness of his needs, emotions, feelings, experiences.

Self-consciousness performs the following functions:

In its development, self-consciousness goes through the following steps:

1. Natural. The child learns to distinguish and perceive sensations and the impact of external factors on him with the help of sensorimotor intelligence.
2. Social. A person perceives himself, evaluates and compares with others.

   At this stage, self-respect and will appear.

3. Personal. The individual understands the reasons for his actions, evaluates the possibilities for further development.

Thus, the psychological structure of self-consciousness consists of the following components:

• self-knowledge;
• self-control and self-regulation;
• self-esteem;
• self-acceptance;
• self-respect.

Stages of development:

Freud's theory briefly

Sigmund Freud became the founder of the theory about. According to him, only a very small part of the human psyche is conscious, the rest remains out of consciousness.

The unconscious includes the sexual sphere, the aggressive side of the personality, the feeling of hunger. A person cannot influence them in any way.

Although the line between the conscious and the unconscious very conditional. Some moments can go into the unconscious and return under certain circumstances.

The unconscious is formed in the subcortical layer, and the conscious is the result of the activity of the cerebral cortex. The unconscious also able to receive and process information, but the person is not aware of these processes.

Thus, the load is removed from the intellect, the individual has the opportunity to engage in creative and mental activity.

Into the realm of the unconscious experiences, traumatic events, forbidden desires, shameful deeds, that is, everything that a person is trying to get rid of.

But the "hidden" moments still affect the actions, emotions, experiences of the individual.

They can be influenced by external factors break back into consciousness creating a feeling of anxiety.

According to Freud, man is driven by his sexual instinct. social norms and public morality form the "super-I" of a person.

With their help, forbidden desires are transformed into those actions that are permissible in a given society. However, in man there will always be a struggle between the conscious and the unconscious.

In neo-Freudianism, the concept of the unconscious deepens, the term "collective unconscious" appears.

Unlike the personal, the collective is inherent in all people belonging to a particular society. It is formed by the experience accumulated by generations.

The personal comes out of the collective, providing full existence of the psyche person.

Leontief's concept

The theory of the structure of human consciousness was presented by the Soviet psychologist A.N. Leontiev.

He created activity theory, worked on the evolutionary development of memory, attention, thinking.

According to Leontiev, at first consciousness is a mental image that opens the world around him to a person. Then the activity of the individual is included in the subject of consciousness.

He is aware of the actions of others, and through them his own. People interact with words and gestures. After that the person able to form images in the mind.

Thus, consciousness begins to exist separately from the senses and control them.

According to Leontief's theory, consciousness consists of:

1. Sensual fabric. A person creates a concrete image of reality. It can be imaginary or reminiscent. These images become meaningful, which is peculiar only to man.
2. Values. These are the ways in which a person cognizes the world. Meaning can be objective and subjective, that is, it can take on a personal meaning.
3. personal meaning. This is what a particular object or phenomena mean to the individual himself. Thus meaning makes consciousness biased.

Consciousness- this form reflects reality at the highest level, and not at the level of instincts. It is peculiar only to a person and helps him evaluate the surrounding reality, form behavior, moral norms and principles.

About the structure of consciousness in this video: