One can easily define many existing concepts in the world. But it is not so simple to explain what a thought is, although without it, as it would be logical to assume, the concepts themselves would not exist. In fact, all judgments, conclusions, ideas and fantasies that arise in the head should be called this word. Thoughts give self-awareness, become the cause of emotions. They generate a will that changes the world. Moreover, idealists seriously believe that he himself appeared precisely thanks to thought - became an act of her creation or a product of the spiritual root cause. But this is only part of the philosophy of consciousness, there are other opinions. And then we will talk about thinking, its functions and characteristics in the aspect of modern psychology, natural sciences and other scientific disciplines.
Thought and knowledge of the world
From the point of view of materialism, thought arose in an attempt to cognize the world, objects and phenomena existing in it. And according to psychologists, as a result, it is a reflection of reality perceived through the senses. Thus, the human brain turns out to be a system developed in the process of evolution to solve many problems that life and reality pose before organic beings. This is the definition of thinking. His functions, accordingly, come directly from his tasks, being directly related to the knowledge of the reality around us. It turns out that man began to think in order to survive in the complex, full of problems surrounding him.
Reason and Empirical Space
The experience gained in the course of observations and experiments forms the so-called empirical space, which is a kind of reflection of facts obtained through sensory contemplation. All five known human senses are involved in this process, including vision, hearing, smell, touch and taste. The organs involved in this system send the necessary information to the brain, thereby helping to perceive the surrounding space.
How does thinking function? There are different theories.
Even Aristotle and Plato expressed the opinion that this happens through the formation of associations, that is, the emergence of subconscious connections between objects, phenomena and facts that our memory fixes, creating something like an archive. But later, many philosophical schools considered these considerations more than limited. Indeed, because in order to have even a small idea of the world, it is not enough to accumulate in the head a set of connections formed by experience. They need to be systematized, developed, built in the right sequence, simulating a variety of life situations. This is the main function of thinking.
Reflection of reality
A variety of sciences are studying this process: psychology, logic, cybernetics, neurophysiology and other disciplines. Modern ideas agree that the cognition and accumulation of facts begins with the perception of sensations, but this is not thinking. Its functions are finally carried out with the construction of logical systems and finding relationships. Products of this evolution often exceed the senses themselves. For example, people cannot see atoms, but the ancient Greek philosopher Democritus guessed their existence. But his assumptions and speculative theories began to be confirmed only by physicists more than a hundred years ago. Moreover, the data obtained during the experiments were supplemented by logical conclusions. All this happened before the idea itself found its final confirmation.
Similar facts clarify the above, revealing the concept of thinking. The functions of thinking are to reflect reality through the prism of human perception, arising from the evolution of the perception of images that are transformed into awareness of the essence of things.
Phases of thought formation
Thus, the implementation of the functions of the thinking process can be divided into certain phases, presented in the following sequence: perception of information, awareness of the problem situation, the creation of various hypotheses, testing them in practice and, finally, obtaining the final answer to the question posed. It is in this way that a relationship arises in consciousness between phenomena, images of objects, and events. Moreover, this is characteristic not only for the formation of scientific theories and progressive ideas in a universal social sense. These phases are inherent in the functions of thinking and consciousness of any particular subject, starting with a child and ending with a fully adult personality.
Of course, the tasks during the life of an individual individual and over time in society change, differ in complexity and depth of problems. But the logical sequence of phases always remains approximately the same.
Manifestation forms
The functions of thinking are carried out in a variety of ways. Their forms include analysis, which requires the ability to decompose something into smaller components. An example of this may be the study of a visual image, in the process of which there is a study of the characteristics of the shape of the object, its color characteristics, component structure and other important properties.
Synthesis, on the contrary, requires thinking to be able to combine some parts of similar objects into a single whole. Sometimes it becomes necessary, in addition, to compare objects and phenomena, revealing in them common and distinctive features from a number of others. Or, in contrast, pay attention to something specific, studying thoroughly all its properties.
Purposeful thinking
The process of forming thoughts is built independently of human desire. But he, having an effective character, is capable of being guided by the subject and depends on his individual inclinations and the abilities developed by him. Functions and types of thinking are deeply interconnected. Appearing with the direct participation of the senses, the images that arise in the head can be formed into abstract symbols lining up in non-standard logical constructions. Moreover, a person operates not with real, but with generalized concepts. This type of thinking often refers to abstract logical. It is inherent in creative people who do not think in a standard way, but try to derive their laws, complementing existing skills and knowledge gained from the experience of others.
Practical action and perception of reality
Visual-effective and practical types of thinking are closer to reality existing outside the human consciousness and are aimed at its transformation. People who are characterized by such a perception of the world constantly solve problems directly related to the development of plans. They are dictated by the desire to transform life by manipulating real objects. Such people strive to simulate practical life situations, taking tangible benefits from these actions.
Any of the types of thinking indicated above, in turn, is subdivided into subspecies, distinguished by the method of perception and systematization of information, the nature of decisions issued. The subject can think in visual images, achieve results through intuitive flashes. Often the process of thinking is accompanied by a complete departure from reality and internal mental experiences.
Ways to convey thoughts
Even the most valuable accumulated experience would be imperfect, not being supplemented by the ability to transfer the information received to other entities. Therefore, the functions of thinking and speech are closely related. Moreover, there is a category of people who cannot fully form their own thoughts even if they are not clothed in verbal form. Thus, a person finally forms an individual opinion on certain issues, making appropriate decisions. And the verbal formulation of logical constructions helps not only to structure thoughts, but also to build the necessary associations and connections. Not for nothing that school teachers, offering to rethink complex concepts or clarify the course of solving a problem, often make their wards utter their own opinions out loud. This very contributes to the assimilation of the material, develops the logic of perception, becomes the impetus for the formation of the necessary connections in the memory.
Inner and outer speech
It should be clarified that there is internal and external speech. And both of them are important and indispensable in the process of the course of human thought. The first of them not only confirms the close connection of thinking with the functions of the language, but is a preparatory stage in the formation of external speech. I. Ditzgen - a representative of the German philosophical school - compared the language with the artist’s brush, indicating that both of these concepts serve as a tool for a person, help to reflect their own thoughts, feelings, vision of the world in all its colors and colors.
Awareness of the close connection between language and thinking smoothly leads to conclusions about the nature of thought itself. Being born in the head of a specific person, it is as if barren in itself and has value only as a common link in the endlessly changing and improving chain of universal human consciousness.
Thinking is a social phenomenon
The needs arising in human civilization throughout its history gave impetus to the development of thought. Consequently, thinking itself was of a social nature, the tasks being solved were dictated by the peculiar conditions of the eras, reflecting their unique features and flowing out of real necessity. Over the course of centuries, accumulated experience in oral and manuscript form gradually accumulated and formed a treasury of knowledge. Similar information was passed on to new generations. And assimilation of it by the descendants provided food for the next round of evolution.
Thoughts of individuals, like brooks, flocked and stored in the pantry of the whole civilization. The newly accumulated experience was likewise carefully collected and passed on through generations. He, in turn, also became a product of historical and social development, enabling society, which replaced the social structures of the past, to base their worldview and lifestyle on the knowledge of their ancestors. They enjoyed the successes of their predecessors and tried not to repeat their mistakes.
conclusions
From the point of view of physiology, thinking is a complex process that occurs in the cerebral cortex, performing an analytical and synthetic function. The nerve connections that arise in the brain have their prototypes in the connections of the real and appear on the basis of a sensory analysis of objects and phenomena of the objective world. At the initial stage of the formation of thought, they can be clothed in a generalized form, sometimes even having a random character, therefore, over time, they are partially and selectively rejected by practical experience. More stable bonds are formed only in the process of differentiation and re-confirmation.
The mental function of thinking is to reflect reality. In this process, a new one is born on the basis of a rethinking of historical and social experience, its synthesis and analysis. And the direction of thought and the setting of tasks are dictated by practical necessity.