The subject of activity is what? Subject and object of activity

The subject and object of activity are important categories in cognition. Incorrect reflection of the specificity of subject-object relations in a concrete practical field of application can lead to serious consequences for its participants. In the article these concepts are delineated by concrete examples.

From the history of the term

In the history of cognition, the distinction between active and passive roles for participants is embedded in tradition from antiquity. The subject of activity is the basis, the active principle of any process. If we consider the term as a derivative of the Latin "subjectus" - the underlying principle, a certain principle, we can interpret this concept as a constant active principle of any form of being: consciousness, nature, society. In Aristotle, the concept of the subject is used in the sense of the primary substance, the absolute beginning of any movement and development.

Only from the seventeenth century the philosopher Rene Descartes introduced the opposition of the two principles in cognition. The subject is the one who knows, the object is what the activity is directed at. In this epistemological field, the meaning of the term is also used today. This, above all, the category of logic.

Logic is the science of the consistency of thinking. And it should be noted that innocuous, at first glance, mistakes of thinking sometimes lead to tragic consequences. Misunderstanding of the role and importance of the subject in the world evolution, in the forms of the life activity of society, is a great error of people.

What is the subject of activity

Let's try to consider the modern meaning of the term in different areas of its application.

• In the philosophical sense, the subject of activity is an individual who actively learns the surrounding reality (object) and transforms it in the process of cognition.
• In a sociological field, a subject can be a person, a group, a society, or humanity as a whole, that is, any participant in social interaction.
• In legal terms, the subject is the bearer of legal relations, endowed with rights and duties to other members of society. It can be a specific physical or legal person.
• In psychology, the subject is the person, the bearer of psychological characteristics and properties.

Essence with such a variety of the subject environment remains unified: the subject is the active beginning of activity directed at the object of cognition and practical mastering of the surrounding reality.

Object of activity: what are its characteristics?

If the subject bears an active principle, then the object is the object of his activity. In the history of cognition, an active role was recognized for a person, passive - for the surrounding world. Because of its ability to think and create, it was to man that the transforming principle in nature was originally attributed. With the development of natural science and the understanding of the laws of physics, the role of the object in the process of cognition changes. The strength of the opposition on the part of the object is also endowed with activity and influences, in turn, the subject of cognition. Moreover, the subject and the object of activity in the process of interaction can change places. Therefore, knowledge must proceed from the principle of interaction not in the understanding of a linear orientation toward an object on the part of man, but in the dialectical unity of participants in the process of cognition.

Man as the subject of activity

Greatly transforming influence in the process of cognition of nature by man. And in it he acts as a subject of activity. An example of this is the whole history of science. The result of human activity is civilization.

On the other hand, the person as the subject of cognition is the central theme of the study of the entire cycle of humanitarian knowledge. And in this case it simultaneously serves as an object of knowledge. Metamorphoses of the transformation of a person from a subject into an object are ubiquitous. And this is easily explained by the nature of the person.

It is a part of nature, a way of existence of highly organized matter. And in this sense, influencing nature, man himself for himself serves as an object of research and active transformation. The dialectical unity of the two principles-the active, the transforming and the passive, the unknowable, is the great engine of progress.

Personality in subject-object relations

Personality is an individuality that has realized itself through the prism of society. Man, born an individual with a unique combination of metrical and socio-psychological characteristics, in the process of its development passes several stages before becoming a person. First of all, this is a family and close associates, which gives the first idea of the principles and norms of society. Then a kindergarten, a school, study at a university, work ....

These stages of becoming in society at each stage allow a person to more and more realize his individuality and become an active creator of reality. Personality as a subject of activity has an official birth - the stage of adulthood. At that moment a person can fully realize his rights, but he must also bear full responsibility to the society.

Thin line and great danger

Is it really so important to understand what is the subject of activity, for which such a terminology is needed in reality, and does this topic deserve attention?

Let's turn to reality. A little time has passed since then, the code had a great confusion in terms, which was illustrated by the history of our society "in pictures". Let us recall the time when a person was assigned the role of an object under the Constitution. The Communist Party was in charge, and the slogan "Mind, honor and conscience of our era" clearly defined the subject of activity. Priorities were placed in the following order: the state, society, people. That is, the person as the subject of activity was on the last place on the list of state scale. And great moral concepts were alienated in favor of an impersonal party. The problems of this period persist even now, when a person is seen as a means to achieve any goals.

Subjects are not born, they become

As stated above, only with the age of majority a person begins to manifest himself as a subject of activity. An example is a high school graduate. Eighteen years is the point at which the countdown of adult and independent life begins. This is a milestone that opens the freedom of choice for a person, one of the most important social characteristics of a person. During this period a person independently makes a decision about professional self-determination.

The age threshold in adulthood is only socially accepted convention. As in any rule, there are exceptions, and even a child can influence the world around him with the power of his talent or genius, just personal charm. It happens that it is the child's personality that determines the choice of priorities in the family and influences the formation of family values. In this case, the child becomes an active subject, determining the foundations, and sometimes the family budget, and the family in this case becomes for him not only the environment of education, but also the object of influence.

The educational environment

The pedagogical system of the Soviet society is a vivid example of the attitude toward the student as an object of education. Training in accordance with the standard, at the same time, conform to the norms of the educational system. As a result, the society became impersonal. The problem of leveling the subject of cognition - personality - has become a common problem of society. It is important for the upbringing of a worthy member of society that the system itself provides freedom of thinking, choice of a person's behavior, the style of manifestation of one's personality, personal background. The subject of this activity is the student himself. With the possibility of active participation in the definition of programs and forms of training, the management of children's collective. Only in such an environment can the future subject of both the economic and social community be brought up.

Asocial behavior and subject

The concept of "subject" is sometimes used with negative meanings. And this is natural. Activity can be either with a plus sign or with a minus sign. In the asocial sphere, the criminal is the subject of activity. Or a member of a society that takes an active position of antisocial behavior. And in this case, a person can actively manifest energy, aimed at the destruction of society. Due to beliefs (terrorist activity), status (criminal authority), psychological dependence (alcoholism, drug addiction and other addictions) and other forms of unlawful behavior. In this case, too, the boundaries between the subject and the object of activity are easily erased. Since the individual is an organic part and represents an inseparable unity with the world around him, then the consequence of active destruction is the self-destruction of the subject.

Responsibility of the subject

Since the principle of human manifestation as a subject is its impact on the environment and its transformation, it is responsible for the results of these actions. The subject of activity is a person who is responsible for its consequences. According to the principle of the physical law "The force of action is equal to the power of opposition," the subject receives what he gives to society and nature. Therefore, the choice of a variant of behavior is also an awareness of their success in society or a refusal of such an attempt.

Human and nature

A special form of responsibility is borne by man before nature, when he manifests himself as a subject of activity. This is his attitude to the state of the environment, the evaluation of the consequences from the active transformation of nature in the public interest.

Often the risk of danger to the environment and the consequences from the merciless exploitation of raw materials gives way to pragmatic calculation and personal gain. It is in such cases that one can talk about the irrational behavior of the subject and the non-coincidence of the interests of the subject and the object in the process of interaction.

Nature in this case itself becomes a cataclysm in the subject of activity. Determination of the degree of freedom and responsibility is the two main criteria for assessing the results of human activity in nature. So we examined the concepts of "subject" and "object".