Subject of psychology. The evolution of the concept

At any time the inner world of man was interested in researchers. Therefore, the emergence of psychological science has become a natural phenomenon. What is the subject of psychology? What does the discipline study , the title of which translates as "knowledge of the soul"?

Many hundreds of years ago, people came to the conclusion that a person has something special, intangible and elusive that either makes existence exalted and joyful, or overthrows and leads to death. They called it something soul, but they did not find a single definition for it, however, it hardly exists.

Without answers, there remain other questions, no less important and exciting. For example, where did man come from, where does his roots originate? What happens to the person after death? Where does the development of humanity go, what will it lead to? In addition to such general issues, people are worried about others, related to each, its capabilities, abilities, purpose. In society there are answers. It preserves the accumulated knowledge and transforms it, transforming it into a general and integral picture of the world. This picture is called a worldview, it contains information about the structure of the world, the place in it of man and the principles of interaction of these two quantities.

Humanity exists for a very long time. During this time, worldviews succeeded each other, but in each of them there was a place for "soul", although in different cultures the subject of psychology was perceived in different ways.

Mythology

This is the first representation of people in which they themselves and the world around them were something whole. Man did not separate himself from nature, and certainly did not enter into confrontation with her. Every thing had its own anime - spirit. He was understood as an entity independent of the body, but governing it. There was no boundary between the living and the non-living.

Religion

The subject of psychology in religious pictures of the world is the soul as the breath of God, its particle, which animates the body. Not every person has a soul, but only a select one, and it is opposed to the body, which brings discord into the self-awareness of people.

The natural-philosophical picture

It was built on the ideals of contemplation and rest. Within the framework of natural philosophy begin to form the rudiments of synthesis and analysis. This approach includes contemplation and subsequent reflection on the topic seen. This world view takes from mythology the possibility of a harmonious life in unity with nature. Ideals of natural philosophy for many thousands of years are confessed by the civilizations of the East. In India, Persia, China, the subject of psychology is the individual Self, control over intellectual, sensory and volitional processes.

A natural scientific view

This picture of the world was born in Europe in the 16th century and was permeated with the desire to subordinate nature to man. In the 18th century, the concept of "psychology" is introduced, and the soul, although present in this worldview, ceases to be called a soul. Now it is called mentality.

There are several ways to answer the question about what an object and subject of psychology is.

One way is to "see and see." Usually in everyday life people use display and everyday reason. In everyday meaning, the word "soul" is synonymous with the concepts of "experience", "inner world", "consciousness." However, for a scientific society such a definition is primitive.

The second way is to "list what studies where it is applied". Giving an idea of any science, resort to information about what scientists are doing and indicate areas in which the results of their work are used. This amount of knowledge is enough to ensure that a person has an idea of a particular scientific field. But not everything is so simple, when the object and object of psychology is meant. This is due to the fact that from such an object as the soul is too difficult to isolate an object.

The third way is to "determine by the rules." In science, the psyche is characterized through some activity - process, activity, property, function. Understanding it as a thing is not considered. This is a fundamental detail, since the very word "soul", like "will," "thinking," etc., refers to nouns, which makes a person unconsciously imagine an object. P. Ya. Galperin proposed to interpret the subject of psychology - the psyche - as a special property of highly organized matter. This definition is most often used by modern psychologists.