Categorical apparatus is something that we use constantly, but do not always think about it. To begin with, we will determine the concepts that we will use here. Let's start with the “thesis” and “concepts” in a scientific context. In everyday life, the same meaning is put into these words. They are synonyms in conversation, but are used separately in science.
Thesis
A thesis is a kind of “label” that hangs on an idea or object. Just words that have a meaning. For example, the thesis "bad man." Everyone understands this as something different, but in general it is a description of a person who does not fit into our concepts of good and evil. We hang this “sticker” on certain people in order to fit them into our system of relationships. Directly proportional situation with the thesis "a good man."
The concept
A concept is just the meaning that we put into the thesis. It is a concept, meaning, which is enclosed in a thesis and gives us the opportunity to attribute certain qualities to an idea or object. Take the previous “bad man” example. One friend says that your friend is a bad person, because he gets drunk every night. He hung a “label” on him, attributed a thesis to him. But your and his concept of “bad man” do not coincide, you do not think that getting drunk in the evenings is bad. This is an application of the same thesis, but a conflict of concepts.
What is a categorical apparatus?
The categorical apparatus is, do not be surprised, a set of categories. And what are categories? It is simply a combination of thesis and concept. The word and its meaning in symbiosis give rise to a concept that is attributed to a certain category. For example, we know the thesis “bird” and we know what is meant by it. And even Plato, trying to attach this thesis to man, used the same concept. Separately, they do not exist, but together form a category. Is flying? Flies. Do you have feathers and claws? There is. Is there a beak? There is. So, we attribute the creature to the category of “birds”.
Why do you need a categorical apparatus?
On the concept of categorical apparatus is built any system of information supply. Even the entire text before this explained the categories of the entire subsequent text. They need to be defined, because if the text said “satellite” in terms of the celestial body, and readers understood “satellite” as “comrade”, confusion would arise. So, categorical apparatus is a tool for understanding each other correctly in a conversation, without it, communication would be very difficult.
The conflict of the thesis and the concept of "man" on the example of blacks
If we take the times of slavery in the United States of America, we get a vivid example of a conflict of thesis and concept. At that time, society did not consider blacks as people. Science, of course, said: blacks are the same homo sapiens as whites. But scientists put their meaning into the thesis "man", for them a human being is a matter of physiology. Most ordinary people put various moral and ethical qualities into this thesis. Negroes, according to the society of that time, did not fit into this framework and it was normal to say: "A Negro is not a man." And so there was a conflict of thesis and concepts between different areas.
Conflict of concepts in pedagogy
Is the teacher responsible for the ethical education of students? This question is not new, because of it they have been arguing for many years. From the point of view of theory, the answer is very simple: yes, it answers.
The thesis “teacher” is attached to all those who are in one way or another connected with pedagogy. If you take the concept, it involves learning not only disciplines, but also the education of the individual. For evidence, we will conduct a small study of the categorical apparatus of pedagogy.
Categories in Education
UNESCO speaks about education:
Education is the process and result of improving the personality’s abilities and behavior, in which it reaches maturity and individual growth.
The law of the Russian Federation “On Education” also responds in a similar way:
The purposeful process of training and education in the interests of the individual, society, and the state, accompanied by a statement of achievement by the student of a level determined by the state (educational qualification).
So, in all these definitions, we see that education is not just teaching science, but mainly improving the personality. Common to concepts is the formation of personality - education. At this stage, the evidence that any teacher is responsible for the ethical education of students is undeniable. This is clearly shown to us by the categorical apparatus of science and pedagogy, in particular.
But they are undeniable only in theory. In practice, we rarely get a teacher who, in addition to his own subject, knows how to properly cultivate ethical qualities and develop a student as a person. Many teachers simply ignore the factor of upbringing, while others do things that they would not do better. There are exceptions, but these are teachers by vocation, to say the least - geniuses in their work. There are very few of them, especially considering the working conditions of teachers in schools, universities and so on.
Categories in Psychology
The categorical apparatus of psychology is as important as in any other discipline. A clear understanding of it is necessary, because often in everyday life we replace concepts by talking about “popular” psychology. Of course, there is nothing criminal in this, but such confusion gives rise to a great deal of misunderstanding. People speak the same terms, but the concepts are implied completely different. Exactly, as in the example with the "satellite".
For clarity, we take five categories. Of course, there are many more, but it is impossible to cover them all within the format of the article. So, five basic categories according to the version of M. G. Yaroshevsky: image, action, motivation, communication and personality.
Form
An image is a subjective perception of the world. A person accepts external information and forms his own picture of the world. All actions, thoughts and emotions pass through this “inner world”. For example, when a person evaluates the morality or immorality of a certain act, the first thing he passes through his way of thinking is how this act is quoted in his mind. Figurative thinking itself is formed throughout life, changing under the influence of external incidents. In fact, the image is how we see the world around us and our place in it.
Act
Action is a process of interacting with the world in order to achieve certain goals. The impact on an object or the ultimate goal of an action may not be realized by a person. For example, when we decide to get a job, we take an action. We are aware of the process of finding vacancies, we understand the desired end goal, we are aware of the action itself.
Motivation
Motivation is an impulse to action. The main concept in the category of “motivation” is motive. That motive is the initial stage of action. Before doing anything, a person must have an incentive to activity. It is this motivation that will be called motivation. In the job search example, the human motive is material well-being. That is, a person realizes that he needs more material wealth, and motivation appears - to achieve the goal.
Communication
Communication is the process of interacting with other people. All communication takes place in the format of imaginative thinking. Other people, or rather, our idea of them, is a direct part of the image in our thinking. Based on this image, a motivation for communication is built. For example, if we are interested in a person as a person, then we have a motive for communication. The very process of conversation and interaction is an action. Together, all of these stages are called communication.
Personality
Person is the inner world of man, the inner "I". In fact, these are all the factors described above that apply to one single and unique individual - the individual. Physiologically, we are all the same: blood runs through the veins of everyone, the heart performs the same function in all people. In terms of personality, we are all different, we always differ in details, and it is impossible to find two identical people all over the world.