structural consciousness. Consciousness: concept, components, spheres and functions

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

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

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

1. cognitive processes(sensation, perception, thinking, memory). Based on them, a body of knowledge about the world around is formed.

2. Distinguishing subject and object(opposing oneself to the surrounding world, distinguishing between "I" and "not I"). This includes self-awareness, self-knowledge and self-esteem.

3. Man's relationship to himself and the world around him(his feelings, emotions, experiences).

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

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

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

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

Rice. 18.1. Structure of consciousness: 7 - block of cognitive processes; 2 — block distinguishing between subject and object; 3 - block of emotions and feelings; 4 - creative block; 5 - block for the formation of a temporary picture of the world; 6 — goal-setting block

In addition to the above, we can consider other options for the structure of human consciousness.

For example, the basis for the structuring of consciousness can be put:

Scale of consciousness (individual and social consciousness);

Components of consciousness (cognition, experience, attitude);

Types of mental phenomena (conscious processes, states and properties);

Its properties (constancy, integrity, activity), etc.

However, from our point of view, the above model of the structure of consciousness is the most convenient both in theoretical and practical aspects.

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

It is possible to single out various forms of social consciousness, the main of which are shown in Fig. 18.3.

From the point of view of materialistic science, there are four types of interactions between human consciousness and the surrounding material world (Fig. 18.4).

The first and second types of interaction are dialectically connected: consciousness is primarily born from the material world and is determined by it,

Rice. 18.2. Levels of public consciousness

Rice. 18.3. The main forms of social consciousness then, as it matures, it begins to actively influence this world, transforming it according to its own plan.

The third and fourth types of interaction are not material in themselves, but belong to the informational type. At the same time, the third type of interaction only seems to be passive. In fact, this is an active reflection, which includes elements of reflection, evaluation and transformation. The most complex and the latest to develop is the fourth type of interaction, which marks the highest stage in the development of consciousness - self-consciousness,

Rice. 18.4. Scheme of interaction of consciousness with the material world

Functions of human consciousness

Based on the structure of consciousness depicted in Fig. 18.1, we can derive its main functions (Fig. 18.5).

Rice. 18.5. The main functions of human consciousness

Let's briefly describe each of them:

- Reflective. Consciousness organizes cognitive processes (perception, representation, thinking), and also organizes memory.

- Appraisal. Consciousness takes part in the formation of some of the emotions and most of the feelings. A person at the level of consciousness evaluates most events and himself.

- Creative. Creativity is impossible without consciousness. Many arbitrary types of imagination are organized on a conscious level: invention, artistic creativity.

- Reflective. The type of consciousness is self-awareness - the process by which a person analyzes his thoughts and actions, observes himself, evaluates himself, etc. One of the meanings of the word “reflection” is the ability of a person’s consciousness to focus on himself. In addition, this term also refers to the mechanism of mutual understanding, that is, a person’s understanding of how other people with whom he interacts think and feel.

- Transformative. A person consciously determines most of his goals and outlines the path to achieve them. At the same time, he is often not limited to performing mental operations with objects and phenomena, but also performs real actions with them, transforming the world around him in accordance with his needs.

- Time-forming. Consciousness is responsible for the formation of a holistic temporal picture of the world, in which there is a memory of the past, awareness of the present and an idea of ​​the future. This human consciousness differs from the psyche of animals.

Properties of human consciousness

Human consciousness has a number of properties due to which a person's reflection of the surrounding world is subjective. These properties are reflected in table. 18.1.

Table 18.1. Properties of human consciousness

In the state educational standard, along with the functions of consciousness, such a concept as “empirical characteristics of consciousness (spatial, temporal, informational, energy)” is given as a didactic unit. From our point of view, these concepts seem to be very debatable and related more to the competence of philosophy than psychology - a science that gravitates toward experimental knowledge. However, let's try to define these "empirical" characteristics (Fig. 18.6).

• introductory lesson is free;
• A large number of experienced teachers (native and Russian-speaking);
• Courses NOT for a specific period (month, six months, year), but for a specific number of lessons (5, 10, 20, 50);
• Over 10,000 satisfied customers.
• The cost of one lesson with a Russian-speaking teacher - from 600 rubles, with a native speaker - from 1500 rubles

The structure of consciousness is well represented by A. V. Ivanov in the form of a circle consisting of four parts - each of which is a separate sphere of consciousness.

- sphere of bodily-perceptual abilities - these abilities include sensations, perceptions and specific ideas, with the help of which a person receives primary information about the outside world, about his own body and about its relationship with other bodies. The main goal and regulator of the existence of this sphere of consciousness is the usefulness and expediency of the behavior of the human body in the world of natural, social and human bodies surrounding it.

- logical-conceptual components of consciousness - with the help of thinking, a person goes beyond the limits of the directly sensually given into the essential levels of objects; it is the sphere of general concepts, analytical-synthetic mental operations and rigid logical proofs. Truth is the main goal and regulator of the logical-conceptual sphere of consciousness.

- emotional component of consciousness - it is rather a sphere of personal, subjective-psychological experiences, memories, premonitions about situations and events that a person has encountered, is facing or may face. it is deprived of direct connection with the external objective world. These include: 1) instinctive-spectacular states (indistinct experiences, forebodings, vague visions, hallucinations, stresses); 2) emotions (anger, fear, delight, etc.); 3) feelings that are more distinct, conscious and have a figurative-visual component (pleasure, disgust, love, hate, sympathy, antipathy, etc.). The main regulator and goal of the "life activity" of this sphere of consciousness will be what 3. Freud once called the "pleasure principle".

- value-motivational (or value-semantic) component of consciousness . Here are rooted the highest motives of activity and spiritual ideals of the individual, as well as the ability to form them and creatively understand them in the form of fantasy, productive imagination, intuition of various kinds. Beauty, truth and justice are the goal and regulator of the existence of this sphere of consciousness, i. not truth as a form of coordinating thought with objective reality, but values ​​as a form of coordinating objective reality with our spiritual goals and meanings.

These components of consciousness are supplemented levels of consciousness, which in modern philosophy and psychology it is customary to distinguish three - the unconscious, the conscious and the superconscious.

IN unconscious traditionally include a set of bodily sensations and drives, as well as instinctive-affective experiences, memories and complexes that are outside the field of awareness and control by our "I". At the same time, the unconscious can be both individual and collective. An important contribution to the development of the latter was made by the Swiss psychologist K.G. Jung in his concept of the archetypes of the collective unconscious, i.e. relatively stable figurative-symbolic structures that determine and canalize the course of our unconscious processes.

Realm of the conscious represents a dynamic unity of some bodily-perceptual abilities, as well as logical-conceptual means of understanding reality. This is a certain set of knowledge and assessments implemented in actions controlled by our "I".

To the phenomenon superconscious it is customary to attribute objective and extra-temporal processes and acts of consciousness, such as categories that provide the possibility of generating and understanding any meanings (space, time, movement, quality, quantity), a stable framework of knowledge as such (for example, mathematical truths, logical rules, laws of nature, universal moral, aesthetic and social values), creative insights. In the sphere of the superconscious, the property of consciousness is manifested to ascend from individual forms to collective forms, i.e. not depend on the preferences and predilections of individuals.

Consciousness as the inner world of a person has its own structure. To consider it, we should first of all pay attention to the following circumstance. Often the concept of "consciousness" is identified with the concept of "human psyche". This is mistake. The psyche is a more complex formation (diagram 6.6), which includes two spheres of reflection - consciousness and the unconscious.

Scheme 6.6. The structure of the human psyche

The concept of the unconscious was first formed by the German philosopher of the 17th-18th centuries. G. Leibniz. In Monadology, he characterized the unconscious as the lowest form of spiritual activity. Later, the English thinker of the XVIII century. D. Hartley connected the unconscious with the activity of the human nervous system. A. Schopenhauer tried to explain the unconscious from the position of irrationalism. But 3. Freud paid special attention to this problem. He believed that unconscious - a set of mental phenomena, states and actions that are outside the sphere of the mind. The unconscious is primarily instincts- a set of innate acts of human behavior, which are created as a result of prolonged evolution and are aimed at ensuring vital functions, the very existence of each being.

Also included in the structure of the unconscious intuition And automatisms, which can originate in the realm of consciousness and eventually penetrate into the realm of the unconscious. Intuition is knowledge that arises without awareness of the ways and conditions for obtaining it through direct sensory contemplation or speculation. Automatisms are complex actions of a person, which, initially appearing under the control of consciousness, as a result of prolonged training and repeated repetition, acquire the character of the unconscious. Dreams, hypnotic states, somnambulistic phenomena, states of insanity, etc. are also unconscious. Due to the connection of the unconscious to mental activity, the load on consciousness is reduced, and this, in turn, expands the field of human creative possibilities. Modern science also operates with the concept of the subconscious. The subconscious is a special layer, or level, of the unconscious. It includes mental phenomena associated with the transition of operations of activity from the level of consciousness to the level of automatism.

The unconscious and the conscious are two relatively independent sides of the single psychic reality of man; contradictions often arise between them, sometimes conflicts, but they are interconnected, interact with each other and are able to achieve harmonious unity. The unconscious contains ample opportunities for the rationalization of human life, especially the creative activity of the subject. This circumstance serves as the basis for the formation of irrationalist philosophical doctrines. In them, various forms of the unconscious are considered significant or even the determining force of human behavior: instincts, intuition, etc. Well-known representatives of irrationalism are Arthur Schopenhauer(Germany), Soren Kierkegaard(Denmark), Friedrich Nietzsche(Germany), Eduard Hartman(Germany), Henri Bergson(France), Sigmund Freud(Austria), Martin Heidegger(Germany). 3. Freud, in particular, built his model of human behavior on the idea of ​​the dominance in the human psyche of sexual desires, which come into conflict with consciousness and, as a result, subordinate it to themselves. However, most philosophical schools take a different position. They believe that consciousness is the leading principle in the human psyche, which “nourishes” and largely forms the unconscious, is generally able to control it, as well as determine the general strategy of human behavior.

The structure of consciousness. What is the structure of consciousness itself? The structure of consciousness is largely conditional. The fact is that the elements of consciousness are closely interconnected. However, with all the conventions in the mind, the following elements can be distinguished.

The first element is knowledge. This is the main component, the core of consciousness, the means of its existence. Knowledge is a person's understanding of reality, its reflection in the form of conscious sensual and abstract logical images. Thanks to knowledge, a person can “cover”, comprehend everything that surrounds him and constitutes the subject of knowledge. Knowledge predetermines such properties of consciousness as the ability to purposefully "create the world" through objective activity, to foresee the course of events, and to show creative activity. In other words, consciousness is an attitude to reality in the form of knowledge, taking into account human needs.

The second important element of the structure of consciousness are emotions. A person cognizes the world around him not with the cold indifference of an automaton, but with a feeling of satisfaction, hatred or sympathy, enthusiasm or indignation. He experiences what he reflects. Emotions either stimulate or inhibit an individual's awareness of the real phenomena of reality. What pleases the eye is more easily remembered. But sometimes the "rainbow" perception of the world can blind, give rise to illusions, wishful thinking. Some particularly negative emotions have a negative effect on mental clarity. The feeling of fear, for example, becomes an obstacle to a person's awareness of what is happening. The highest level of emotions are spiritual feelings (for example, the feeling of love), which are formed as a result of awareness of the relationship of the individual with the most significant social and existential values. Feelings are characterized by subject content, constancy, independence from the real situation. The emotional sphere significantly affects all manifestations of human consciousness, performs the function of the basis of its activity.

The third structural element of consciousness is will - a conscious, purposeful regulation by a person of his activity. This is the ability of a person to mobilize and direct his mental and physical forces to solve problems that arise in his activity and require conscious overcoming of subjective and objective difficulties and obstacles. Tool making by man is the first and most important school of will formation.

Will and purpose complement each other. Without will it is impossible to reach the goal; without expedient activity there is no will. Will is a conscious desire and motivation for action. However, unconscious impulses are also characteristic of a person. Sometimes it happens that a person is striving for something, but he does not know where and why. Such subconscious regulation has remained in humans from animals.

In the structure of consciousness, one should also mention such an element as thinking. Thinking is a process of cognitive activity of an individual, which is characterized by a generalized and indirect reflection of reality. This process ends with the creation of abstract concepts, judgments, which are a reflection of the essential, regular relations of things on the basis of the known, tangible, heard, etc. Thanks to mental activity, we penetrate into the invisible, into that which is not perceived by touch and which cannot be felt. Thinking gives us knowledge about essential properties, connections and relationships. With the help of thinking, we make the transition from the external to the internal, from the phenomenon to the essence of things, processes.

The structure of consciousness also includes attention and memory. Attention is a form of human mental activity, which manifests itself in the direction and focus on certain objects. Memory is a mental process, which consists in fixing, preserving and reproducing in the brain of an individual his past experience. The main elements of memory are memorization, preservation, reproduction and forgetting. The physiological basis of memorization is the formation and consolidation of temporary nerve connections in the cerebral cortex. The subsequent revival of the neural connections gives the reproduction of the memorized material, and the inhibition of these connections leads to forgetting.

In the subjective reality of a person, there is such an important substructure as self-consciousness. Self-awareness - a person's awareness of himself as a person, awareness of his ability to make independent decisions and, on this basis, enter into conscious relationships with people and nature, be responsible for the decisions and actions taken. In other words, this is a holistic assessment of oneself, one's moral character, one's own knowledge, thoughts, interests, ideals, motives for behavior, actions, etc.; with the help of self-consciousness, a person realizes the attitude towards himself, carries out his self-esteem as a thinking being capable of feeling. In this case, the subject makes himself and his consciousness the object of knowledge. So, a person is a self-evaluating being, who without this characteristic action could not decide and find his place in life.

The appeal of philosophers to self-consciousness as a special sphere of the subjective world began from Socrates, from his maxim "Know thyself". In the process of the formation of philosophy as a specific knowledge about the world and man, a view was formed on the active, restless nature of the soul, the dialogue and criticality of the mind with respect to itself. By Plato the activity of the soul is an inner work that has the character of a conversation with oneself. When thinking, the soul constantly talks to itself, asks, answers, affirms and objects.

Thus, self-consciousness is an important condition for the constant self-improvement of a person. The following elements can be distinguished in the structure of self-consciousness: well-being, self-knowledge, self-esteem, self-control. Self-awareness in general is closely related to reflection. In philosophical literature, reflection is understood as the turning of the consciousness (thinking) of a person towards himself, his reflection on his mental state, full of doubts and contradictions. That is why, in our opinion, reflection can be regarded as an activity of self-consciousness, revealing the internal structure and specifics of the human spiritual world.

A person's understanding of his inner state, the ability to self-control do not come immediately. Self-consciousness, along with such spiritual elements of the personality as worldview, abilities, character, interests, is formed under the influence of the social environment. The environment requires the individual to control his actions and take responsibility for their results. The level of consciousness largely depends on what requirements are put before the individual and what social values ​​are cultivated in the given environment. The main requirement here is that a person himself must control his actions and be responsible for their consequences.

Functions of consciousness. Structural elements of consciousness are in interconnection and interaction and provide consciousness with a number of vital functions for a person (Scheme 6.7).

main function consciousness is cognitive or reflective those. obtaining knowledge about the reality surrounding a person, and about himself. As a cognitive activity, consciousness begins with sensory, figurative cognition and goes back to abstract thinking. At the stage of sensory (empirical) cognition, a variety of factual material is accumulated, which is then generalized with the help of abstract thinking, thus penetrating into the essence of the most complex phenomena and establishing the objective laws to which they are subject. This function is all-encompassing, and all others are derived from it. The cognitive function is not passive, but active, heuristic in nature, i.e. consciousness has the property of anticipatory reflection of reality.

Scheme 6.7. Functions of Consciousness

The cognitive function of consciousness determines accumulative (accumulative) function. Its essence lies in the fact that knowledge is accumulated in the memory of a person, obtained not only from direct, personal experience, but also received by contemporaries or previous generations of people. This knowledge, as necessary, is updated, recreated and serves as a means of implementing other functions of consciousness. The richer a person's memory, the easier it is for him to make the best decision.

Another function is axiological (evaluative). A person not only receives data about the outside world, but also evaluates them from the point of view of his needs and interests. Consciousness, on the one hand, is a form of objective reflection, a form of cognition of reality, independent of human aspirations and interests. The result and purpose of consciousness as a cognitive activity is the acquisition of knowledge, objective truth. On the other hand, consciousness includes the manifestation of a subjective attitude to reality, its assessment, awareness of one's knowledge and oneself. The result and goal of a value-based attitude to the world is the comprehension of what is, the degree of conformity of the world and its manifestations to human interests and needs, the meaning of one's own life. If thinking, cognitive activity basically require only a clear expression of knowledge, adherence to logical schemes for operating with them, then a value attitude to the world and its awareness require personal efforts, one's own reflections and experiencing the truth.

The evaluation function goes directly into the function of purposefulness (goal formation). Purposefulness is a purely human ability, which is a cardinal characteristic of consciousness. The goal is the idealized need of a person who has found his subject; it is such a subjective image of the subject of activity, in the ideal form of which the result of human activity is supposed. Goals are formed on the basis of the total experience of mankind and go back to the highest forms of manifestation in the form of social, ethical, aesthetic and other ideals. Purposeful activity is explained by the dissatisfaction of a person with the world and the need to change it, to give it the form that is necessary for a person, society.

The highest possibilities of consciousness are found in creative (constructive) function. Purposefulness, i.e. awareness of the “for what” and “for the sake of what” a person carries out his actions is a necessary condition for any conscious act. Realization of the goal involves the use of certain means, i.e. that which is created and exists in order to achieve a goal. Man creates something that nature has not generated before him. He creates a fundamentally new, builds a new world. The poet Nikolai Zabolotsky said this about this:

Man has two worlds -

One who created us

The other, which we have been creating from time immemorial to the best of our ability.

The scale, forms and properties of things transformed and created by people are dictated by the needs of people, their goals; they embody human designs, ideas.

A very important function is communicative (communication function). It is due to the fact that people participate in common work and need constant communication. This connection of thoughts is carried out with the help of speech (sound) and technical means (texts, coded information). It should be borne in mind that written texts (books, magazines, newspapers, etc.) do not contain knowledge, but only information. For information to become knowledge, it must be subjective. That is why the dissemination of the printed word is a condition, but not a guarantee, that the stated information will become knowledge. Additional efforts are needed to turn information into knowledge - a subjective asset.

Completes the logical cycle of personality consciousness regulatory (managerial) function. Based on the assessment of factors and in accordance with the goal set, consciousness regulates, puts in order the actions of a person, and then the actions of collectives. The regulatory function of consciousness depends on the interaction of a person with the environment and appears in two forms: incentive and executive regulation. The ideological content of the motives for the behavior and activities of people is important. As ideas become motivating, a person performs actions consciously, purposefully, according to his conviction. Executive regulation brings people's activities in line with their needs, ensures the proportionality of the goal and the real means of its regulation.

These are the main functions of consciousness. Only their harmonious development results in a truly holistic intellectual and spiritual personality.

By the beginning of the XXI century. scientists have done a lot to shift individual functions of intelligence to information machines. Already today, computers perform complex tasks: translate from one language to another, fly planes, drive trains, play chess, even perform some of the logical operations inherent in the human brain. The question arises: is it possible to create a machine that would be able to replace the human mind?

From the point of view of technical capabilities, indeed, one should not set limits on the improvement of information machines. However, the analogy between the operations that machines perform and those that take place in the human brain does not give grounds for considering machines capable of thinking. In essence, the machine recreates only one aspect of our thinking - formal logical, while the real thinking of a person is will, emotions, intuition, dreams, fantasy and other components. The richness of a person's inner world is a consequence of the wealth and versatility of his social ties. Therefore, in order to completely model the human consciousness, its structure and all functions, it is not enough to reproduce only the structure of the brain. To do this, it would be necessary to recreate the entire historical path of human development, to provide him with all the needs, including political, moral, and aesthetic needs. All this testifies to the limited capabilities of modern cybernetic devices in solving complex cognitive problems. They are nothing more than means of mechanization and automation of those aspects of intellectual activity that are associated with clear rules for processing information. But therein lies their great significance.

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 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 implies an 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 is the highest degree of consciousness.

Exists 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 of 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, religion, laws, economics, political system and moral norms adopted by a particular society influence public consciousness.

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.

In this way, 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:

Analysis of consciousness involves the allocation of the main components that are part of its structure. Even Plato, analyzing the soul, revealed its internal structure, isolating tripartite the composition of the soul: the highest part is the rational beginning, the middle part is the volitional beginning, the lower part of the soul is the sensual beginning. Plato's doctrine of the tripartite composition of the soul has firmly entered the European tradition.

In the structure of consciousness, based on psychological research, one can distinguish such main components as rational-mental, emotional-sensual And volitional sphere.

K. Marx called knowledge a way of existence of consciousness. The process of obtaining knowledge, cognition, is provided thinking in all its forms. But consciousness is not only knowledge, but the unity of knowledge and its experience, represented in emotions And feelings. Emotions and feelings as a component of consciousness are characterized by the fact that they express the state of a person and his attitude towards himself, to what happens in his life, what he learns or does, as well as his attitude to the world. The structure of consciousness is will as a universal regulator of human conscious activity, a universal motivating ability and motivation of activity.

Other components can be distinguished in the structure of consciousness, depending on their level of awareness.

The level of the unconscious. The unconscious and subconscious are those phenomena, processes, properties and states that, in their effect on behavior, are similar to conscious mental states, but are not actually realized by a person.

The unconscious principle is somehow represented in all mental processes, properties and states of a person: sensations, perception, memory, motivation, speech, etc. The unconscious is in constant interaction with the conscious.

Level of consciousness represents the totality of mental processes in relation to which subjective control is carried out, everything that becomes an object of awareness for the individual. One can also say this: consciousness is the level of the human psyche, at which he is aware of the processes taking place with him and around him.

Superconscious level. Superconsciousness includes mental formations that a person is able to form in himself as a result of purposeful efforts on the basis of certain psychotechnics. At the level of superconsciousness, a person is able to control the physiological reactions of the body, change the state of consciousness. Sometimes this level is called expanded consciousness.

Note that the selection of various components in the human mind is due to its complexity. In consciousness there are no rigid boundaries between its levels and components. Consciousness functions as a whole.

Consciousness, being a proper human form of the mental principle of being, performs a number of important functions.

The primary function of consciousness is knowledge as a process of obtaining knowledge about the external and internal world, without which human existence is unthinkable. Consciousness is included in all cognitive processes - perception, representation, thinking, memory - and organizes them.

Consciousness performs a function regulation human behavior and activity, which involves the formation of the goals of activity, the preliminary mental construction of actions and the prediction of their results.

Human consciousness also includes a certain attitude towards the environment, towards other people. K. Marx wrote: "My attitude to my environment is my consciousness." The attitude of a person to knowledge about the world and to the world itself is expressed in their evaluation, which is axiological function of consciousness.

Creativity is impossible without consciousness. creative the function of consciousness lies in the mental construction of a fundamentally new one. Creativity is presented in different forms: invention, artistic creativity, scientific creativity, etc. Consciousness can anticipate the future, thus creating something that had no analogue in reality.

These are the most important functions of consciousness. All of them are interconnected and in their totality create the internal prerequisites for the social activity of consciousness and the person himself.