What is ontogeny and what are its features for human society?

Everyone who has a little interest in science knows perfectly well that all nature is based on development and progress. In particular, each of us goes in its development path from the simplest cell to the most complex organism. Knowing this, you can adequately answer the question of what is ontogeny. This concept is often found in the circumpolar literature, but far from everyone knows the definition of this term.

We will try to clarify this issue by describing this most important concept in more simple terms. So, speaking of scientific interpretation, ontogeny is the sequence of all qualitative changes in the body from its birth to death.

But what is ontogeny in a simpler presentation? Simply put, it is the totality of all the changes: biochemical, morphological, physiological, and even mental, that a person or other species undergoes during his lifetime. Thus, ontogeny fundamentally differs from simple development, since it is a more complex and far from always predictable phenomenon.

In addition, this concept is closely related to the society: if an individual lives in a prosperous society, then his ontogeny will go in a key radically different from that for a person who was born and lives in an unsuccessful environment. The main difference between the two individuals in this case is not even external signs and well-being, but an opportunity to fully realize the potential inherent in nature. For example, with equal opportunities, the first can become a scientist, while the second can not succeed because of the poor quality of the social environment. So what are the stages of the ontogenesis of a person that precede the emergence of a formal personality?

Enumerate all of them long enough, but because we say that any period of a person's life (infancy, mature age) is simultaneously a stage of ontogeny. However, much more often the researchers operate on the stages that divide human life into generalized periods. Let us consider the stages of human ontogeny in more detail. Isolate the embryonic, juvenile period, the stages of maturity, reproduction, as well as old age. The most important sociological aspect is the juvenile period. If you ever heard about the fact that the character is laid down in childhood, then to understand the reason for this is not difficult.

It is in the juvenile period that the individual's ability to communicate with the socium is laid. In the future, you can make changes, but it will require a lot of effort. The first and subsequent stages no longer play such a prominent role in the psychological moment of ontogenesis, since their importance is more important for the physiological, biochemical, biological aspects of the development of the human being.

So, we can sum up some results: what is ontogeny? Biologically, this is the process of all the qualitative and functional changes that the organism undergoes during its entire existence. In the psychological and sociological terms, this process can be roughly defined as the psychophysiological formation of the personality. We hope that we have clarified a little what is ontogeny, and you learned about its importance with regard to human development.