Human consciousness is the highest integrated form of the psyche. It develops under the influence of socio-historical conditions in the labor activity of a person, as well as in his communication with other people with the help of language.
Human consciousness has the following characteristics:
- Self-esteem (both oneself as a whole, and individual actions). This is expressed in cognitive, emotional and volitional forms.
- The mapping of the world through cognitive processes: imagination, thinking, memory, sensation, perception. Violation of one or more cognitive processes, as a rule, leads to a disturbance of consciousness.
- The presence of a specific goal that any human activity has. Thanks to this, he is able to foresee the future, make decisions, strive forward, overcome difficulties.
- The difference between the object and the subject.
- Emotionally evaluative attitude to the world, events and oneself. This is manifested in such feelings as patriotism, duty, internationalism.
Some human actions can be assessed as highly conscious, while others can not be applied. In this regard, it is possible to divide a person’s consciousness into certain levels, which can manifest themselves in different people as well as in one.
1. Low level. A person is poorly aware of the circumstances, his actions and attitude towards them.
2. High level. A person understands well and accepts everything that happens around. Guided by certain motives and goals, he plans, organizes and directs his actions.
Millions of years ago, in those days when only the simplest organisms inhabited the planet , there could not be such a thing as consciousness (a person did not exist at all). Living organisms could only respond to environmental influences. This form can be called irritability. Thanks to her, some adaptation of the simplest organisms took place. This stage of development of the psyche is called sensory.
Evolution gave living organisms the ability to feel the world through the organs of hearing, vision and touch. With the advent of the nervous system, they learned to distinguish colors, shape, temperature, and so on. This stage of development is called perceptual.
One of the most important elements of the psyche is perception. Thanks to him, animals got the opportunity not only to adapt, but also to show internal activity. Higher mammals have elementary thinking. For example, monkeys are characterized by mental activity that is more complex than other animals. This stage of the psyche is called the stage of intelligence.
The development of the human psyche has gone much further. Different feelings, semantic and logical memory are inherent in people. It can be said that all forms of mental reflection united in them into a single whole. This form of reflection in evolution is consciousness.
The development of human consciousness from birth goes through all these stages in an accelerated mode. A one-year-old child is already able to consciously interact with the environment and to distinguish himself from it.
For many centuries, people have been interested in psychology. Thanks to the knowledge gained, people have learned to manage and manipulate others. Today, the control of human consciousness occurs at all levels. Constant advertising on television, in newspapers and magazines makes people do things that they themselves would never do.
Consciousness management methods are strategies used by people to achieve any goals. They are designed to replace the perception of certain things, to make a person act as another wishes.
The most popular and effective tactics of modern politicians, trading companies and advertising agencies are brainwashing. Regular repetition of the same information makes people perceive it as their own thoughts and ideas. This leads at best to waste of money, buying unnecessary things, and so on.