It should be noted that not all information received about the surrounding reality and one’s own state is realized by a person. A significant part of the information is outside our consciousness. This occurs due to its low significance for a person or the “automatic” reaction of the body in response to a habitual stimulus. Now we must answer the question of what determines the emergence and development of consciousness in humans. IN domestic psychology this question, as a rule, is considered based on the hypothesis formulated by A. N. Leontyev about the origin of human consciousness. In order to answer the question about the origin of consciousness, it is necessary to dwell on fundamental differences humans from other representatives of the animal world. One of the main differences between humans and animals lies in his relationship with nature. If animal is an element of living nature and builds its relationship with it from the position of adaptation to the conditions of the surrounding world, then Human does not simply adapt to the natural environment, but strives to subjugate it to a certain extent, creating tools for this. Consciousness- the highest level of mental development inherent exclusively to humans. Its development is due social conditions. Human consciousness is always purposeful and active. The main prerequisite and condition for the emergence of human consciousness was the development of the human brain. The formation of human consciousness was a long process, organically connected with social and labor activity. Emergence labor activity radically changed man's attitude towards environment. The above allows us to say that the leading factor influencing the development of consciousness was labor activity based on the joint use of tools. Labor is a process that connects man with nature, the process of man’s influence on nature. Labor is characterized by: the use and manufacture of tools; implementation in conditions of joint collective activity. The basis for the transition to human consciousness was the work of people, which represents their joint activity aimed at a common goal and significantly different from any actions of animals. In the process of work, the functions of the hand developed and consolidated, which acquired greater mobility, and its anatomical structure improved. However, the hand developed not only as a grasping tool, but also as an organ of cognition. Labor activity led to the fact that the active hand gradually turned into a specialized organ of active touch. Consciousness is highest level mental reflection. However, the realm of the psyche is wider than the realm of the conscious. These are those phenomena, techniques, properties and states that arise, but are not realized by a person.

Consciousness develops in humans only through social contacts. In phylogenesis, human consciousness developed, and it becomes possible only under conditions of active influence on nature, in conditions of labor activity. Consciousness is possible only in the conditions of the existence of language, speech, which arises simultaneously with consciousness in the process of labor. In ontogenesis, the child’s consciousness develops in a complex, indirect way. The psyche of a child, an infant, generally speaking, cannot be considered as an isolated, independent psyche. From the very beginning, there is a stable connection between the child’s psyche and the mother’s psyche. In the prenatal period and in the postnatal period this connection can be called mental (sensual) connection . But the child is at first only a passive element of this connection, a perceiving substance, and the mother, being the bearer of the psyche, shaped by consciousness, already in a state of such a connection, apparently transmits to the child’s psyche not just psychophysical, but human information shaped by consciousness. The second point is the mother’s actual activity. The child’s primary organic needs for warmth, psychological comfort, etc. are organized and satisfied externally loving relationship mother to her child. The mother, with a loving gaze, “catches” and evaluates everything valuable, from her point of view, in the initially disordered reactivity of the child’s body and smoothly, gradually, with a loving action, cuts off everything that deviates from social norm. It is also important here that development norms always exist in some specific form in human society, including the norms of motherhood. Thus, with love for the child, the mother, as it were, pulls the child out of organic reactivity, unconsciousness and brings it out, draws it into human culture, into human consciousness. Freud noted that “a mother teaches to love a child,” she really puts her love (attitude) into the child’s psyche, since the mother (her image) is for the child’s feelings and perceptions the real center of all acts, all benefits and troubles. Then comes the next act of development, which can be called primary act of consciousness- this is the identification of the child with the mother , that is, the child tries to put himself in the mother’s place, imitate her, liken himself to her. This identification of the child with the mother seems to be the primary human relationship. In this sense, the primary is not an objective relation, but a relation of consciousness, primary identification with a cultural symbol. The mother here provides primarily a cultural example social behavior, and we, concrete people, only follow these patterns. What is important is the child’s implementation and active activity in reproducing patterns of human behavior, speech, thinking, consciousness, and the child’s active activity in reflecting the world around him and regulating his behavior. But fulfilling the meaning of a cultural symbol or model entails a layer of consciousness rationalized by it, which can develop relatively independently through the mechanism of reflection and analysis (mental activity). In a sense, awareness is the opposite of reflection. If awareness is the comprehension of the integrity of the situation and gives a picture of the whole, then reflection, on the contrary, divides this whole, for example, looks for the cause of difficulties, analyzes the situation in the light of the purpose of the activity. Thus, awareness is a condition for reflection, but in turn reflection is a condition for a higher, deeper and more accurate awareness and understanding of the situation as a whole. Our consciousness experiences many identifications in its development, but not all are fulfilled or realized. These unrealized potentialities of our consciousness constitute what we usually denote by the term “soul,” which is the mostly unconscious part of our consciousness. Although, to be precise, it must be said that the symbol as the infinite content of consciousness is, in principle, unrealizable to the end, and this is a condition for the periodic return of consciousness to itself. From here follows the third fundamental act of consciousness (“development of consciousness”) - awareness of your unfulfilled desire. This is how the circle of development closes and everything returns to its beginning.

4.2 The concept of consciousness. Characteristics of consciousness.

We have already used such a concept as “consciousness” more than once, and you know consciousness - this is the highest level of mental reflection of objective reality, as well as the highest level of self-regulation inherent only to man as a social being. Let's take a closer look this definition. WITH practical point vision consciousness appears as a continuously changing set of sensory and mental images that directly appear before the subject in his inner world. However, as we noted earlier, it can be assumed that similar or close to it mental activity in the formation of mental images also occurs in more developed animals, such as dogs, horses, dolphins, monkeys, etc. How does the mental reflection of the objective world differ in humans? from similar processes in animals? What distinguishes humans from animals is, first of all, not the presence of the process of formation of mental images based on the objective perception of objects in the surrounding reality, but the specific mechanisms of its occurrence. It is the mechanisms of formation of mental images and the peculiarities of operating with them that determine the presence in a person of such a phenomenon as consciousness. How characterized consciousness?

Firstly, consciousness is always actively. Activity itself is a property of all living beings. The activity of consciousness is manifested in the fact that the mental reflection of the objective world by a person is not of a passive nature, as a result of which all objects reflected by the psyche have the same significance, but, on the contrary, differentiation occurs according to the degree of significance for the subject of mental images.

Secondly, intentionally. As a result, human consciousness is always directed towards some object, object or image, that is, it has the property of intention (direction).

The presence of these properties determines the presence of a number of other characteristics of consciousness, allowing us to consider it as a higher level self-regulation. The group of these properties of consciousness includes the ability to self-observation (reflection), The ability to reflect determines a person’s ability to observe himself, his sensations, his condition. Moreover, observe critically, i.e. a person is able to assess himself and his condition by placing the information received in a certain system coordinates, as well as motivational-value character of consciousness. Such a coordinate system for a person is his values ​​and ideals.

The significant difference between man as a species and animals is his ability to reason and think abstractly, reflect on his past, critically assessing it, and think about the future, developing and implementing plans and programs designed for it. All this taken together is connected with the sphere of human consciousness.
The emergence of human consciousness was a qualitatively new stage in the development of the psyche and represents the highest level of development of the psyche. Consciousness is the highest, uniquely human, form of mental reflection of objective reality, mediated by the socio-historical activities of people. Its development is determined by social conditions. Human consciousness is always purposeful and active.
The main prerequisite and condition for the emergence of human consciousness was the development of the human brain. The formation of human consciousness was a long process, organically connected with social and labor activity. The emergence of work has radically changed man's relationship to the environment.
The above allows us to say that the leading factor influencing the development of consciousness was labor activity based on the joint use of tools. Labor is a process that connects man with nature, the process of man’s influence on nature. Labor is characterized by the use and manufacture of tools and the implementation of actions in conditions of joint collective activity. The basis for the transition to human consciousness was the work of people, which represents their joint activity aimed at a common goal and significantly different from any actions of animals.
In the process of work, the functions of the hand developed and consolidated, which acquired greater mobility, and its anatomical structure improved. However, the hand developed not only as a grasping tool, but also as an organ of cognition. Labor activity led to the fact that the active hand gradually turned into a specialized organ of active touch.
Further development of the psyche at the human level, according to the materialistic point of view, occurs mainly due to memory, speech, thinking and consciousness due to the complication of activity and the improvement of tools, which act as a means of exploring the surrounding world, invention and widespread use sign systems. In humans, along with lower levels organizations of mental processes that are given to him by nature also arise.
Expedited mental development people were contributed by three main achievements of mankind: the invention of tools, the production of objects of material and spiritual culture, and the emergence of language and speech. With the help of tools, man gained the opportunity to influence nature and understand it more deeply. The first tools were an axe, a knife, and a hammer, which simultaneously served both purposes. Man made household items and studied the properties of the world that were not given directly to the senses.
The improvement of tools and labor operations performed with their help led, in turn, to the transformation and improvement of the functions of the hand, thanks to which it turned over time into the most subtle and precise of all tools of labor activity. Using the example of the hand, I learned to understand the reality of the human eye; it also contributed to the development of thinking and created the main creations of the human spirit. With the expansion of knowledge about the world, man’s capabilities increased; he acquired the ability to be independent of nature and, according to his understanding, to change his own nature (meaning human behavior and psyche).
Created by people For many generations, objects of material and spiritual culture did not disappear without a trace, but were passed on and reproduced from generation to generation, improving. The new generation of people did not need to reinvent them; it was enough to learn to use them with the help of other people who already knew how to do it.
The following generations assimilated the knowledge, skills and abilities developed by the previous ones, and thereby also became civilized people. Moreover, since this process of humanization begins from the first days of life and gives its visible results quite early, the individual retained the opportunity to make his own personal contribution to the treasury of civilization and thereby increase the achievements of mankind. So, gradually, accelerating, from century to century they improved creativity people, their knowledge about the world expanded and deepened, raising man higher and higher above the rest of the animal world.
If we imagine for a moment that a worldwide catastrophe occurred, as a result of which people with the appropriate abilities died, the world of material and spiritual culture was destroyed and only small children survived, then in its development humanity would be thrown back tens of thousands of years, since there is no one and nothing to teach children to become people.
The most significant invention of mankind, which had an incomparable impact on the development of people, was sign systems. They gave impetus to the development of mathematics, engineering, science, art, and other areas human activity. The emergence of alphabetic symbols led to the possibility of recording, storing and reproducing information. There is no longer a need to keep it in the head of an individual; the danger of irretrievable loss due to memory loss or the death of the information keeper has disappeared.
It should be noted that consciousness is the highest level of mental reflection. However, the realm of the psyche is wider than the realm of the conscious. These are those phenomena, techniques, properties and states that arise, but are not realized by a person. The motivation for actions and actions performed by a person may be unconscious. The unconscious principle is represented in almost all mental processes, properties and conditions of a person. There are unconscious visual and auditory sensations, unconscious images of perception can manifest themselves in phenomena associated with recognizable previously seen things, in a feeling of familiarity. What is unconsciously remembered often determines the content of a person’s thoughts. At present, the question of the relationship between the unconscious and the conscious remains complex and is not resolved unambiguously.

Human consciousness arose and developed during the social period of its existence, and the history of the formation of consciousness probably does not go beyond the framework of those several tens of thousands of years that we attribute to the history of human society. The main condition for the emergence and development of human consciousness is joint productive instrumental activity of people mediated by speech. This is an activity that requires cooperation, communication and interaction between people. It involves the creation of a product that is recognized by all participants in joint activities as the goal of their cooperation. Individual consciousness at the dawn of human history, it probably arose (it is difficult to judge this now, after tens of thousands of years), in the process of collective activity as necessary condition its organization: after all, in order for people to do any business together, each of them must clearly understand the purpose of their joint work. This goal must be stated, i.e. defined and expressed in words.

In the same way, apparently, in ontogenesis the individual consciousness of the child arises and begins to develop. For its formation, joint activity and active communication between an adult and a child, identification, awareness and verbal designation of the purpose of interaction are also necessary. From the very beginning of the phylo- and ontogenetic emergence and development of human consciousness, speech becomes its subjective carrier, which first acts as a means of communication (message), and then becomes a means of thinking (generalization).

Before becoming the property of individual consciousness, the word and the content associated with it must receive general meaning for the people who use them. This is the first time this has happened in a joint activity. Having received its universal meaning, the word then penetrates the individual consciousness and becomes its property in the form of meanings and meanings. Consequently, collective consciousness appears first, and then individual consciousness, and this sequence of development is characteristic not only of phylogenesis, but also of the ontogenesis of consciousness. The individual consciousness of the child is formed on the basis and subject to the existence of collective consciousness through its appropriation (interiorization, socialization).

The productive, creative nature of human activity is of particular importance for the development of human consciousness. Consciousness presupposes a person’s awareness not only of the external world, but also of himself, his sensations, images, ideas and feelings. There is no other way for a person to realize this, except for gaining the opportunity to “see” his own psychology, objectified in creations. The images, thoughts, ideas and feelings of people are materially embodied in the objects of their creative work and with the subsequent perception of these objects precisely as embodying the psychology of their creators they become conscious. Therefore, creativity is the path and means of self-knowledge and development of a person’s consciousness through his perception of his own creations.

At the beginning of its development, human consciousness is directed towards the external world. A person realizes that he is outside of him, thanks to the fact that, with the help of the senses given to him by nature, he sees and perceives this world as separate from him and existing independently of him. Later, reflexive ability appears, i.e. awareness that a person himself can and should become an object of knowledge. This is the sequence of stages in the development of consciousness in phylo- and ontogenesis. This first direction in the development of consciousness can be designated as reflective.

The second direction is associated with the development of thinking and the gradual connection of thought with in a word. Human thinking, as it develops, penetrates more and more into the essence of things. In parallel with this, the language used to denote the knowledge being acquired is developing. The words of the tongue are filled with more and more deep meaning and, finally, when sciences develop, they turn into concepts. The word-concept is the unit of consciousness, and the direction in which it arises can be designated as conceptual.

Each new historical era is uniquely reflected in the consciousness of its contemporaries, and with changes in the historical conditions of people’s existence, their consciousness changes. The phylogeny of its development can thus be presented from a historical perspective. But the same is true for human consciousness in the course of its ontogenetic development, if, thanks to cultural works created by people, the individual penetrates ever deeper into the psychology of the peoples who lived before him. It makes sense to designate this direction in the development of consciousness as historical.

At this moment in history, the consciousness of people continues to develop, and this development, apparently, is proceeding with a certain acceleration caused by the accelerated pace of scientific, cultural and technological progress. This conclusion can be made based on the fact that all the processes described above in the main directions of transformation of consciousness exist and are intensifying.

The main direction for the further development of human consciousness is the expansion of the sphere of what a person is aware of in himself and the world around him. This, in turn, is connected with the improvement of the means of material and spiritual production, with the socio-economic revolution that has begun in the world, which over time should develop into a cultural and moral revolution.

We are already beginning to notice the first signs of such a transition. This – growth of economic well-being different nations and countries, changing their ideology and policies both in the international and domestic arena, reducing interstate military confrontation, increasing the importance of religious, cultural and moral values ​​in the communication of people with each other. A parallel course is the penetration of man into the secrets of life, the macro- and microworld. Thanks to the successes of science, the sphere of human knowledge and control, power over oneself and the world is expanding, human creative capabilities and, accordingly, people’s consciousness are significantly increasing.

Where and how man came from, why his consciousness began to function as the highest form of the psyche, how human behavior differs from the behavior of animals, different theories give the answer to all these questions in different ways. Some believe that man is of earthly origin, others that he came from outer space, and others that he is of divine origin.

Modern science mainly adheres to the first point of view, according to which, man, how complex structure of the organism, appeared on earth as a result of the long development of the animal world. But along with the body, a person also has a soul, the main property of which is consciousness. How did a person acquire this property? Some believe that consciousness arose under the influence of biological laws of development, others - that the emergence of consciousness is associated with the socio-historical laws of development of man and society.

If we take the first point of view, we must admit that consciousness is inherent not only in humans, but also in higher animals. If this is so, then man is no different from them. This is exactly the conclusion that behaviorists and Freudians, as well as their followers, came to. Thus, D. Maurice, in his book “The Naked Ape,” published in America in the late 60s, writes that modern man is the same old naked monkey. The only difference is that he came up with new names. Instead of “hunting” he says “work”, instead of “nest” - “house”, instead of “female” - “wife”, instead of “mating” - “marriage”, etc.

It is clear that such an approach cannot explain the fundamental changes that occurred in the process of human development in his bodily organization and psyche. At the same time, there is no doubt that man descended from the ape, since there are many similar anatomical and physiological characteristics between him and her.

The ancestor of man is believed to be a fossil creature - Pithecanthropus (ape-man), combining the characteristics of an ape and a man. This creature had a vertical body position, well-developed upper limbs, shaped like hands, adapted to perform grasping functions.

Pithecanthropus led a terrestrial gregarious lifestyle. Once on earth, the ape-man lost the ability to easily obtain food, and the cooling of the climate required protection from the weather. To survive, ancient man had to learn how to make tools and use them to obtain food, make clothes and build a home. All this led to the fact that instinctive reactions began to be gradually replaced by purposeful objective actions, which began to be realized by a person. Thus, in the process of purposeful labor activity, a person begins to form an elementary objective consciousness aimed at transforming natural objects into objects necessary to satisfy human needs.

Considering the essence of the differences between conscious action and reaction, S.L. Rubinshten wrote: “Conscious action differs from reaction in having a different attitude towards the object. For a reaction, an object is only an irritant, that is, an external cause or impulse that causes it. Action is a conscious act of activity that is directed towards an object. The reaction is transformed into conscious action as objective consciousness is formed.” 1

The main content of objective consciousness becomes a mental image, separated from instinctive reactions, and, because of this, enabling a person to cognize the world around him and consciously regulate his behavior. Emphasizing the role of the mental image in the formation of human consciousness, A. N. Leontyev noted: “Initially, consciousness exists only in the form of a mental image, which opened the world around him to the subject; activity still remains practical, external.” 2

Under the influence of instrumental actions aimed at transforming an object, the perceptual image turns into a subjective image (an image conscious of the subject), on the basis of which objective consciousness begins to function. In the structure of objective consciousness, practical, visually effective thinking and imagination begin to play the most important role. Visual-effective thinking allows primitive man to figuratively reflect the connections and relationships between objects and phenomena involved in practical activities, and imagination - to create new images of objects that will be manufactured in the process of labor.

The further development of human consciousness occurred under the influence of another powerful factor - language and speech. The emergence of language and speech among primitive man is a natural process, since labor activity from the very beginning had a social character. The production of tools and their use required joint action from people, and the exchange of tools and products of labor contributed to intensive communication between people. The need for communication has led to the emergence of language and speech, through which people not only communicate with each other, but also transfer their knowledge and experience to each other. Thanks to social work and verbal communication, instinctive relationships in the herd began to be replaced by conscious relationships, and the herd began to turn into a society.

At the early stage of the formation of language and speech, the word and the image of the thing it meant were inseparable from each other. By denoting an object with a word, a person began to recognize the sound image of the word and the image of the object as one and the same. Such an undifferentiated awareness of the semantic meaning of a word and the image of the thing it denotes, observed at the early stage of the formation of language and speech, is called primitive linguistic consciousness.

“The word and its sound structure,” wrote L. S. Vygotsky, “is perceived by the child as part of a thing or as its property, inseparable from other properties. This phenomenon is apparently inherent in any primitive linguistic consciousness.” Rubinshtein S.L. Basics general psychology. M., 1946, pp. 15-16.

Even among adults, noted L. S. Vygotsky, who do not have theoretical knowledge, word and image are inseparable from each other. The famous linguist A. Potebnya also pointed out this. He wrote that a German is amazed that a Frenchman can call bread something other than “brot,” since for him bread is “brot.”

At the stage of primitive linguistic consciousness, the image determines the semantic meaning of the word, and the use of the word makes it possible to operate with images without performing practical actions with objects. Thus, with the advent of primitive linguistic consciousness, visual-figurative thinking begins to function in a person, which gives him the opportunity to perform mental actions aimed at understanding and transforming the external world, creating works of art and culture.

The further development of consciousness was associated with the fact that, due to the complication of work activity, a person began to use, along with words, various signs that had a certain semantic meaning. Using signs as a tool of mental activity, a person was able to reflect in a generalized and abstract way objects and phenomena of external and inner world and thanks to this, voluntarily control your behavior and your mental activity. Thus, gradually, self-awareness began to form in a person as the ability to be aware of oneself and voluntarily regulate external practical and internal theoretical activity. At first, people used notches in trees, knots on a rope, sounds of a horn, etc. as signs. Then they began to use more complex signs that had an abstract symbolic meaning, such as writing signs, mathematical symbols, diagrams, models, etc. Thanks By using these signs, a person was able to consolidate for a long time the results of practical and theoretical activities and transmit them via writing to all subsequent generations. All this had a huge impact on the development of production, science, technology, art and culture, under the influence of which higher forms are formed mental activity, characteristic of abstract-symbolic consciousness, the leading structure of which is theoretical thinking.

Thus, the emergence of consciousness in humans was prepared by the phylogenetic development of the animal world, and its development was determined by the socio-historical conditions of existence, which determined the nature of activity and the psychological characteristics of consciousness. Under the influence of objective-practical activity, elementary objective consciousness was formed; speech activity and the use of signs led first to the emergence of primitive linguistic consciousness, and then contributed to the emergence of the highest form of consciousness characteristic of man, abstract-symbolic consciousness. Leontyev A.N. Activity. Consciousness. Personality. M., 1975, p. 132.

The origin of man and his psyche from the animal world has led some scientists to argue that there are no significant differences between the psyche of man and animals. Some of them relegated humans to the level of animals, while others, on the contrary, endowed animals with qualities inherent in humans. Anthropologization of the animal psyche has been widely used both in psychology and in fiction. Thus, the American psychologist Titchener wrote that the psychologist “tries, as far as possible, to put himself in the place of the animal, to find conditions under which his own expressive movements would be generally of the same kind; and then he tries to recreate the consciousness of the animal according to the properties of his human consciousness.”

Naturally, the question arises to what extent there are similarities between the psyche of humans and animals, and what their differences are.

• 1. First of all, the similarity between the human psyche and animals lies in the fact that they are characterized by lower forms of the psyche: sensory and perceptual. Both sense the properties and qualities of stimuli acting on the sense organs and perceive them. Animals, like humans, have visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory and skin sensations. Both those and others have images of perceived objects. But perceptual images of humans are qualitatively different from images of animals, since they have not only an external, but also an internal, subjective orientation. On the basis of subjective images, a person’s objective consciousness begins to function, the content of which is determined by the images that make up the inner spiritual world of a person, connected both with external reality and with the physical existence of a person.
• 2. Elements of similarity in the psyche of humans and animals also occur intellectually. Higher animals begin to display visual-effective thinking, which allows them to grasp connections and relationships between perceived objects and find a way out of the existing problem situation. However, the ability to intellectually Vygotsky S.L. Problems of general psychology. Thought and word. Collection cit., T.2. M., 1982, p. 311. action in higher animals is only a potential possibility and is rarely realized under natural conditions, since problematic situations arise only in exceptional cases.
• 3. Some methods of communication are similar for humans and animals. Both humans and animals communicate through movements, postures, facial expressions, touches, etc. They are also characterized by sound communication. But in animals, sounds are only signals for the implementation of biological functions, while in humans they acquire semantic meaning and become a tool of intellectual activity. Thanks to this, a person acquires the highest form of intelligence - abstract theoretical thinking, which gives him the opportunity to free himself from the influences of the directly perceived environment and arbitrarily regulate his behavior. On the basis of abstract thinking, a person develops a higher ideal spiritual world, the content of which is views, beliefs, ideals and worldviews.
• 4. Both animals and humans are capable of passing on their experience to subsequent generations. But in animals it is transmitted biologically through inherited innate forms of behavior, while in people it is transmitted through special social learning carried out through language and speech, which are a means of consolidating, existing and transmitting socio-historical and individual experience.
• 5. Animals, like humans, are capable of experiencing emotions of pleasure and suffering, affection and gratitude, but only humans have socially determined moral feelings. Thanks to these feelings, a person develops a moral character associated with the experience of a sense of duty and conscience to people and to himself.
• 6. Humans and animals have similar natural needs, without the satisfaction of which they cannot live and develop as living beings. But a person, along with natural needs, has spiritual needs, thanks to which a person gains freedom and independence in his actions, both in relation to physical and mental states. The freedom of the spirit of a person is the main difference between a highly moral person not only from animals, but also from his relatives, who care only about their bodily well-being.
• 7. Animals and humans are capable of self-regulation. But in animals, self-regulation is unconscious, while in humans it is carried out consciously and has strong-willed character. Will is inherent only to man. It gives him the opportunity to purposefully carry out behavior, mobilizing physical and mental resources to overcome obstacles that arise on the way to achieving a consciously set goal.

Thus, in the psyche of humans and animals there are many similarities based on the common origins of the emergence of the elementary psyche in the animal world. But if the psyche of animals is determined exclusively natural conditions existence, then in humans it has not only natural, but also social character. The psyche ensures not only the physical existence of a person, but also the spiritual, moral existence, which is the property of only man. But spiritual development human development does not occur spontaneously, but is carried out under the influence of purposeful education, which occurs in the family, school and in society.

The transition to consciousness represents the beginning of a new, higher stage in the development of the psyche. Conscious reflection, in contrast to the mental reflection characteristic of animals, is a reflection of objective reality in its separation from the subject’s existing relations to it, i.e., a reflection that highlights its objective stable properties.

In consciousness, the image of reality does not merge with the subject’s experience; in consciousness, what is reflected appears as “what is coming” to the subject. This means that when I am conscious, for example, of this book or even just my thought about the book, then the book itself does not merge in my consciousness with my experience relating to this book, and the very thought of the book does not merge with my experience of this thought.

The identification of reflected reality in a person’s consciousness as objective has as its other side the identification of the world of internal experiences and the possibility of developing self-observation on this basis.

The task that faces us is to trace the conditions that give rise to this highest form of psyche - human consciousness.

As is known, the reason that underlies the humanization of human animal-like ancestors is the emergence of labor and the formation of human society on its basis. “...Labor,” says Engels, “created man himself” 98 . Labor also created human consciousness.

The emergence and development of labor, this first and fundamental condition of human existence, led to a change and humanization of his brain, the organs of his external activity and sense organs. “First, labor,” Engels says about it, “and then, next to it, articulate speech were the most important stimuli, under the influence of which the brain of monkeys could gradually turn into the human brain, which, despite all the similarities in the basic structure, surpasses the first in size and perfection" 99.

The main organ of human labor activity - his hand - could achieve its perfection only through the development of labor itself. “Only thanks to labor, thanks to adaptation to ever new operations... the human hand reached that high level of perfection at which it was able, as if by the power of magic, to bring to life the paintings of Raphael, the statues of Thorvaldsen, the music of Paganini” 100.

If we compare the maximum volumes of the skull of apes and the skull of primitive man, it turns out that the brain of the latter is more than twice as large as the brain of the most highly developed modern species of monkeys (600 cm 3 and 1400 cm 3 ).

The difference in the size of the monkey and human brain appears even more sharply if we compare its weight; the difference here is almost 3 1 / 2 times: orangutan brain weight - 350 G, the human brain weighs 1400 G.

The human brain, compared to the brain of higher apes, has a much more complex, much more developed structure.

Already in Neanderthal man, as shown by casts made from the inner surface of the skull, new fields, not fully differentiated in apes, are clearly visible in the cortex, which then, in modern man, reach their full development. These are, for example, the fields designated (according to Brodmann) by the numbers 44, 45, 46 in the frontal lobe of the cortex, fields 39 and 40 in the parietal lobe, 41 and 42 in the temporal lobe (Fig. 35).

It is very clearly visible how new, specifically human features are reflected in the structure of the cerebral cortex when studying the so-called projection motor field (in Fig. 35 it is indicated by the number 4). If you irritate carefully electric shock different points of this field, then by the contraction of various muscle groups caused by irritation one can accurately imagine what place the projection of a particular organ occupies in it. Penfield expressed the result of these experiments in the form of a schematic and, of course, conventional drawing, which we present here (Fig. 36). From this drawing, made on a certain scale, it is clear what a relatively large surface is occupied in the human brain by the projection of such organs of movement as the arms (hands), and especially the organs of sound speech (muscles of the mouth, tongue, organs of the larynx), the functions of which have developed especially intensively in the conditions of human society (work, verbal communication).

The human sense organs also improved under the influence of labor and in connection with the development of the brain. Like the organs of external activity, they acquired qualitatively new features. The sense of touch became more precise, the humanized eye began to notice more in things than the eyes of the most far-sighted bird, and hearing developed, capable of perceiving the subtlest differences and similarities in the sounds of human articulate speech.

In turn, the development of the brain and sense organs had the opposite effect on work and language, “giving both a new impetus to further development” 101.

Created by labor, individual anatomical and physiological changes necessarily entailed, due to the natural interdependence of the development of organs, a change in the organism as a whole. Thus, the emergence and development of labor led to a change in the entire physical appearance of a person, to a change in his entire anatomical and physiological organization.

Of course, the emergence of labor was prepared by the entire previous course of development. A gradual transition to a vertical gait, the rudiments of which are clearly observed even in existing apes, and the formation in connection with this of especially mobile forelimbs adapted for grasping objects, increasingly freed from the function of walking, which is explained by the way of life that the animals led human ancestors - all this created the physical prerequisites for the ability to perform complex labor operations.

The labor process was also prepared from the other side. The appearance of labor was possible only in animals that lived in entire groups and in which sufficiently developed forms of joint life existed, although these forms were, of course, still very far from even the most primitive forms of human, social life. The most interesting studies by N. Yu. Voitonis and N. A. Tikh, conducted at the Sukhumi nursery, demonstrate how high levels of development the forms of living together in animals can reach. As these studies show, in a herd of monkeys there is an already established system of relationships and a kind of hierarchy, with a correspondingly very complex system of communication. At the same time, these studies make it possible once again to be convinced that, despite all the complexity of internal relationships in a herd of monkeys, they are still limited to directly biological relationships and are never determined by the objective content of the animals’ activities.

Finally, an essential prerequisite for work was also the presence among the highest representatives of the animal world, as we have seen, of highly developed forms of mental reflection of reality.

All these moments together constituted the main conditions thanks to which, in the course of further evolution, labor and a human society based on labor could arise.

What is that specifically human activity called labor?

Labor is a process that connects man with nature, the process of man’s influence on nature. “Labor,” says Marx, “is first of all a process taking place between man and nature, a process in which man, by his own activity, mediates, regulates and controls the exchange of substances between himself and nature. He himself opposes the substance of nature as a force of nature. In order to appropriate the substance of nature in a certain form suitable for his own life, he sets in motion the natural forces belonging to his body: arms and legs, head and fingers. By influencing and changing external nature through this movement, he at the same time changes his own nature. He develops the abilities that are dormant in the latter and subordinates the play of these forces to his own power” 102.

Labor is characterized primarily by the following two interrelated features. One of them is the use and manufacture of tools. “The labor process,” says Engels, “begins only with the manufacture of tools” 103.

Other characteristic feature The labor process lies in the fact that it is carried out in conditions of joint, collective activity, so that in this process a person enters not only into certain relationships with nature, but also with other people who are members of a given society. Only through relationships with other people does a person relate to nature itself. This means that labor appears from the very beginning as a process mediated by a tool (in the broad sense) and at the same time mediated socially.

The use of tools by humans also has a natural history of its preparation. Already in some animals there exist, as we know, the rudiments of tool activity in the form of using external funds, with the help of which they carry out individual operations (for example, using a stick in apes). These external means - the “tools” of animals, however, are qualitatively different from the true tools of man - the tools of labor.

The difference between them is not only that animals use their “tools” in rarer cases than primitive people. Their difference, however, can be reduced to differences only in their external form. We can reveal the real difference between human tools and the “tools” of animals only by turning to an objective examination of the very activity in which they are involved.

No matter how complex the “tool” activity of animals is, it never has the character of a social process, it is not performed collectively and does not determine the relations of communication that carry out it among the individuals. No matter how complex, on the other hand, the instinctive communication between the individuals who make up the animal community may be, it is never built on the basis of their “productive” activity, does not depend on it, and is not mediated by it.

In contrast, human labor is an inherently social activity, based on the cooperation of individuals, presupposing at least a rudimentary technical division of labor functions; labor, therefore, is a process of influencing nature, connecting its participants with each other, mediating their communication. “In production,” says Marx, “people influence not only nature, but also each other. They cannot produce without connecting in a certain way for joint activity and for the mutual exchange of their activities. In order to produce, people enter into certain connections and relationships, and only through these social connections and relationships does their relationship to nature exist and production takes place” 104 .

To understand the specific significance of this fact for the development of the human psyche, it is enough to analyze how the structure of activity changes when it is carried out in conditions of collective work.

Already at the earliest stage of the development of human society, a division of a previously unified process of activity inevitably arises between separate sections of production. Initially, this division appears to be random and unstable. In the course of further development, it takes shape in the form of a primitive technical division of labor.

It now falls to the share of some individuals, for example, to maintain the fire and process food on it, while to others it falls to the share of obtaining the food itself. Some, participants in a collective hunt, perform the function of chasing game, others - the function of waiting for it in ambush and attacking.

This leads to a decisive, radical change in the very structure of the activities of individuals - participants in the labor process.

We saw above that any activity that directly carries out the biological, instinctive relationship of animals to the nature around them is characterized by the fact that it is always aimed at objects of biological need and is stimulated by these objects. In animals there is no activity that would not meet one or another direct biological need, which would not be caused by an influence that has a biological meaning for the animal - the meaning of an object that satisfies its given need, and which would not be directed by its last link directly to this object . In animals, as we have already said, the subject of their activity and its biological motive (Always merged, always coincide with each other.

Let us now consider from this point of view the fundamental structure of an individual’s activity in the conditions of a collective labor process. When a given team member carries out his work activity, he also does this to satisfy one of his needs. So, for example, the activity of a beater, a participant in a primitive collective hunt, is motivated by the need for food or, perhaps, the need for clothing, which the skin of a killed animal serves for him. What, however, is his activity directly aimed at? It can be aimed, for example, at scaring away a herd of animals and directing it towards other hunters hiding in ambush. This, in fact, is what should be the result of the activity of a given person. At this point, the activities of this individual participant in the hunt cease. The rest is completed by other participants in the hunt. It is clear that this result - scaring away game, etc. - in itself does not and cannot lead to satisfying the beater’s need for food, animal skin, etc. What these processes of his activity are aimed at, therefore, does not coincide with by what motivates them, that is, does not coincide with the motive of his activity: both are separated here. We will call such processes, the subject and motive of which do not coincide with each other, actions. We can say, for example, that the beater's activity is hunting, while frightening off the game is his action.

How is it possible for the birth of an action, that is, the separation of the subject of activity and its motive? Obviously, it becomes possible only in the conditions of a “joint, collective process of influence on nature. The product of this process as a whole, meeting the needs of the collective, also leads to the satisfaction of the needs of the individual, although he himself may not carry out those final operations (for example, direct attacking prey and killing it), which already directly lead to mastery of the object of a given need. Genetically (i.e., by its origin), the separation of the object and motive of individual activity is the result of the ongoing separation of individual operations from the previously complex and multiphase, but unified activity. These individual operations, now exhausting the content of the individual’s given activity, turn into an independent action for him, although in relation to the collective labor process as a whole they continue, of course, to remain only one of its private links.

The natural prerequisites for this separation of individual operations and their acquisition of a certain independence in individual activity are, apparently, the following two main (although not the only) points. One of them is the often joint nature of instinctive activity and the presence of a primitive “hierarchy” of relationships between individuals, observed in communities of higher animals, for example, among monkeys. Another the most important moment- this is the identification in the activity of animals, which still continues to retain all its integrity, of two different phases - the preparation phase and the implementation phase, which can significantly move away from each other in time. For example, experiments show that a forced break in activity at one of its phases makes it possible to delay the further reaction of animals only very slightly, while a break between phases gives the same animal a delay that is tens and even hundreds of times greater (Zaporozhets’ experiments ).

However, despite the presence of an undoubted genetic connection between the two-phase intellectual activity of higher animals and the activity of an individual person, which is part of the collective labor process as one of its links, there is also a huge difference between them. It is rooted in the difference in those objective connections and relationships that underlie them, to which they respond and which are reflected in the psyche of acting individuals.

The peculiarity of the two-phase intellectual activity of animals is, as we have seen, that the connection between both (or even several) phases is determined by physical, material connections and relationships - spatial, temporal, mechanical. In natural conditions, the existence of animals is, moreover, always natural, natural connections and relationships. The psyche of higher animals is accordingly characterized by the ability to reflect these material, natural connections and relationships.

When an animal, making a detour, first moves away from the prey and only then grabs it, then this complex activity is subordinated to the spatial relationship of the given situation perceived by the animal; the first part of the path - the first phase of activity naturally leads the animal to the opportunity to carry out its second phase.

The form of human activity we are considering has a decidedly different objective basis.

The frightening of the game by the beater leads to the satisfaction of his need for it not at all due to the fact that these are the natural relationships of a given material situation; rather, on the contrary, in normal cases these natural relationships are such that frightening the game destroys the opportunity to take possession of it. What, then, connects the immediate result of this activity with its final result? Obviously, it is nothing more than the relationship of a given individual to other members of the collective, by virtue of which he receives from their hands his share of the spoils - part of the product of joint labor activity. This relationship, this connection is realized through the activities of other people. This means that it is the activity of other people that forms the objective basis of the specific structure of the activity of the human individual; This means that historically, that is, by the way it arises, the connection between the motive and the subject of the action reflects not natural, but objective social connections and relationships.

So, the complex activity of higher animals, subject to natural material connections and relationships, turns into activity in humans, subject to connections and relationships that were originally social. This constitutes the immediate cause due to which a specifically human form of reflection of reality arises - human consciousness.

Isolating an action necessarily presupposes the possibility of a mental reflection by the acting subject of the relationship between the objective motive of the action and its subject. Otherwise, the action is impossible; it is deprived of its meaning for the subject. So, if we turn to our previous example, it is obvious that the action of the beater is possible only if he reflects the connection between the expected result of the action he personally performs and the final result of the entire hunting process as a whole - an attack from an ambush on a fleeing animal, killing it and finally, its consumption. Initially, this connection appears to a person in its still sensory-perceptible form - in the form of real actions of other participants in labor. Their actions convey meaning to the subject of the beater’s action. Likewise, and vice versa, only the actions of the beater justify, give meaning to the actions of people waiting for game in ambush; if not for the actions of the beaters, then the ambush would have been pointless and unjustified.

Thus, here again we encounter such an attitude, such a connection, which determines the direction of activity. This relation, however, is fundamentally different from those relations to which animal activity is subject. It is created in the joint activity of people and is impossible outside of it. What the action that is subject to this new relationship is aimed at may in itself not have any direct biological meaning for a person, and sometimes even contradict it. For example, flushing away game in itself is biologically meaningless. It acquires meaning only in conditions of collective labor activity. These conditions give action human rational meaning.

Thus, along with the birth of action, this main “unit” of human activity, the main, social in nature “unit” of the human psyche arises - the rational meaning for a person of what his activity is directed towards.

It is necessary to dwell on this specifically, because this is a very important point for a concrete psychological understanding of the genesis of consciousness. Let us explain our idea once again.

When a spider rushes in the direction of a vibrating object, its activity is subject to a natural relationship that connects the vibration with the nutritional quality of the insect caught in the web. Due to this relationship, vibration acquires the biological meaning of food for the spider. Although the connection between the insect’s property of causing the web to vibrate and the property of serving as food actually determines the spider’s activity, as a connection, as a relationship it is hidden from him, it “does not exist for him.” That is why, if you bring any vibrating object, for example a sounding tuning fork, to the web, the spider still rushes towards it.

The beater, scaring away the game, also subordinates his action to a certain connection, a certain relationship, namely, the relationship connecting the escape of the prey and its subsequent capture, but the basis of this connection is no longer a natural, but a social relationship - the labor connection of the beater with other participants collective hunting.

As we have already said, the sight of game itself, of course, cannot induce it to be flushed away. In order for a person to take on the function of a beater, it is necessary that his actions be in a relationship that connects their result with the final result of collective activity; it is necessary for this relationship to be subjectively reflected by him, for it to become “existent for him”; it is necessary, in other words, for the meaning of his actions to be revealed to him - to be realized by him. Consciousness of the meaning of an action occurs in the form of reflection of its object, as a conscious goal.

Now the connection between the subject of the action (its goal) and what motivates the activity (its motive) is revealed to the subject for the first time. It reveals itself to him in its directly sensual form - in the form of the activity of the human labor collective. This activity is now reflected in a person’s head no longer in its subjective unity with the object, but as an objective-practical attitude of the subject towards it. Of course, under the conditions under consideration, this is always a collective subject and, therefore, the relations of individual labor participants are initially reflected by them only to the extent that their relations coincide with the relations of the labor collective as a whole.

However, the most important, decisive step turns out to be already taken. The activities of people are now separated for their consciousness from objects. It begins to be recognized by them precisely as their relationship. But this means that nature itself - the objects of the world around them - now also stands out for them and appears in its stable relation to the needs of the collective, to its activities. Thus, food, for example, is perceived by a person as an object of a certain activity - searching, hunting, cooking, and at the same time as an object that satisfies certain needs of people, regardless of whether this person immediate need for it and whether it is now the subject of his own activity. Consequently, it can be distinguished by him from other objects of reality not only practically, in the activity itself and depending on the existing need, but also “theoretically,” that is, it can be retained in consciousness, it can become an “idea.”