Consciousness is the highest level of reflection by the person of reality as a result of what knowledge and transformation of world around is reached if mentality is considered from materialistic positions, and actually human form of mental beginning of being if mentality is treated from idealistic position.
In history of psychology the problem of consciousness is the most difficult and least developed.
Regardless of what worldview positions the researchers of consciousness adhered to, the so-called reflexive ability, i.e. the readiness of consciousness to cognize other mental phenomena and itself, was inevitably associated with it. The presence of such ability in a person is the basis for the existence and development of psychology, because without it, mental phenomena would be closed to cognition. Without reflexion, a person could not have an idea that he or she has a psyche.
The psychological characteristic of consciousness includes:
- the feeling of being a cognizing subject;
- the ability to mentally represent existing and imaginary reality;
- the ability to control and manage one's own mental and behavioral states;
- the ability to perceive the surrounding reality in the form of images.
Consciousness is closely connected with the volitional control of a person's own states of mind and behavior. Consciousness differs from the unconscious by the fact that a person arbitrarily, i.e. with the help of a willful effort, consciously concentrates his attention on the mental representation, any idea, memory, certain flow of thoughts, is distracted from the insignificant at the moment.
Consciousness is connected with speech and without it in its higher forms does not exist. Awareness of something is possible only with its verbal and conceptual meaning, endowed with a certain sense associated with human culture. Word-notions contain references to the general and distinctive features of the class of subjects reflected in the consciousness. The consciousness reflects not everything and not random, but only the main, main, essential characteristics of objects and phenomena, i.e. what is inherent in them and distinguishes them from other, externally similar to them objects and phenomena.
The most important characteristic of consciousness is its ability to communicate, i.e. to pass on to other people what a given person realizes with the help of language and other sign systems.
Consciousness is structured and includes several layers. In the works of the leading Russian psychologist V.P. Zinchenko, two levels of consciousness were singled out: the existence level and the reflexive level.
The first initial level - being consciousness (consciousness for being), or existential - includes:
- biodynamic properties of movements, experience of actions;
- sensual images.
Very complex tasks are solved at the level of consciousness, because for effective behavior it is necessary to actualize the image and the program of movements necessary at the moment. The way of action should fit into the image of the world, which ensures the existence of a layer of consciousness.
The second level of consciousness - reflexive (consciousness for consciousness) - includes:
- Significance;
-Meaning.
Significance - the content of public consciousness, assimilated by a person.
Meaning - a person's subjective understanding of the situation, information and attitude to them.
Meaning and significance are interconnected: meaning indicates the significance of this or that object, phenomenon for a person. There are processes of mutual transformation of meanings and significance.
The world of subject-practical activity corresponds to the biodynamic tissue of movement and action of the beingness level of consciousness.
The world of representations, imaginations, cultural symbols and signs corresponds with a sensual fabric of an existential layer of consciousness.
The world of ideas, concepts, everyday and scientific knowledge corresponds with values of reflexive level of consciousness.
The world of human values, experiences, emotions corresponds with senses of reflexive level of consciousness.
Consciousness is shown and present in all these worlds. It controls the most complex forms of behavior that require constant attention and conscious control of a person, and is included in the action in cases when:
-unexpected, intellectually complex problems arise that do not have an obvious solution;
-It is necessary to overcome physical or psychological resistance to the movement of thought or body organ;
-It is necessary to understand the conflict situation and find a way out of it;
-A person finds himself in a situation containing a potential threat to him in case of failure to take immediate action.
Such situations arise before people almost continuously, so consciousness as the highest level of mental regulation of behavior is constantly functioning.
The spiritual layer of consciousness in human life plays no less role than the existential and reflexive layers. The presence of a spiritual layer for psychologists is now becoming obvious. Moreover, the spiritual layer in the structure of the whole consciousness should play a leading role, inspire and inspire the existential and reflexive layers. However, within the framework of materialistically oriented psychology, there are no concepts for expressing the spiritual components of consciousness. In modern scientific psychology, unlike in Christian psychology, there is still too little experience of discussing the problems of consciousness on the basis of a three-layer model, and a lot of conceptual work is required in order to "fit" the spiritual layer into the structure of consciousness without contradictions.
