PERSONALITY, one of the centers. concepts of philosophy and psychology, a person considered primarily. as an autonomous bearer and subject of culture, historically established forms of world relations, which he implements in his activities. Along with this, in psychology there is also a widespread understanding of personality as an individuality, a stable specific structure that develops during life. psychological characteristics of the individual that underlie his characteristic forms of behavior.
The concept of personality in philosophy
The concept of personality in philosophy has always attracted great attention.
Within the framework of philosophy, there is a distinction between the concepts of individuality and personality. Individuality is a description of the characteristics inherent in the human race as a whole.
Personality, generalizing the philosophical interpretations of different schools and directions, represents, in addition to identifying the general nature of a person, a simultaneous unity of spiritual and physical characteristics, which determines the line of human behavior in life. Personality is the basis for human development throughout his life, because... includes the resolution of ideological (what is the meaning of life), value (what is good and how to behave), aesthetic (what is beauty) and other issues.
Note 1
Personality determines the inner life of a person, determines the concept of the inner “I” and thinking. In addition, personality is the basis for social communication between people.
Are you an expert in this subject area? We invite you to become the author of the Directory Working Conditions
A person’s full entry into society is associated with the final formation of the individual.
In the tradition of European thought there is personalism, which is precisely formed on the concept of personality. Personalistic tendencies are present in the philosophy of Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Leibniz.
At the end of the $19th and $20th centuries, the direction of personalistic philosophy was formed as an independent phenomenon of thought. The following philosophers are considered to be part of this tradition: N.A. Berdyaev, E. Mounier and others.
Leontyev answers this question as follows:
the system of motives underlying personality is organized according to the principle of hierarchy. Hierarchy means subordination.
We find the simplest example of hierarchy in the subordination of military ranks - lieutenant, captain, major, lieutenant colonel, general, and so on. This principle can be called the principle of whatnot, when the overlying motive subordinates the underlying one and so on along the chain. But there is also feedback, the relationship of the subordinate motive to the leading one, which is called personal meaning. So, if the relationship of the overlying motive to the underlying one is subordination , then the opposite type of relationship, the relationship of the subordinate motive to the leading one, is based on a personal meaning. Personal meaning answers the question - for what? Here we can recall the example of the founder of existential psychology Viktor Frankl , who spent three years in fascist camps. A small handful of people managed to survive with him, and then Frankl began to think. What helped these not very physically strong people survive? What united them? These people had only one thing in common - they had something to survive for. The answer for this reason is expressed by the category of personal meaning! What determines meaning?
Let me give you an example. Let's say an applicant who enters the Faculty of Psychology. He is having an interview and I ask him, do you want to come to us? Yes, I want to enter your faculty. So you want to become a psychologist? This question addresses motive. Here we want to understand whether he has a motive to become a psychologist. Of course I want to become a psychologist, the applicant answers. Ok, we are glad that you want to join us, but please tell me, what will this give you? Why would you like to become a psychologist? With this question we will try to identify what motive is behind his desire to become a psychologist. The question is asked, why do you want to become a psychologist? Here it is important to understand what more important motive his motive to become a psychologist is subordinated to. And you hear different answers to this question, and the most common answer, as you can easily guess, is a socially desirable answer. I want to become a psychologist to help other people.
Ok, do you have a great desire to help others? With this question you need to understand whether this is really so! Do you have that desire to help others? Yes, I really want to help others. Here you can check how real this motive is. Here it is enough to ask, if you have such a persistent desire to help others, please tell me, before you become a psychologist, how do you manage to fulfill this desire? In what forms? This question is asked in the hope that if he really wants to help others, he has probably found some non-psychological ways of helping. Help your parents around the house, help bring bags of groceries from the supermarket to your mother, for example, and so on.
Basic principles of personalism
- Personalism in its classical form is a continuation of the anthropological and personalistic ideas of Christian philosophy. Personalism is a theistic system
- Man is an active cognitive being.
- Personality is the highest value and the primary type of reality.
- Personality is an ontological category and is characterized from three sides: on the one hand, it has an exterior orientation outward, towards the surrounding world, on the other hand, it is interior, has a tendency to introspection. The third side of the personality is its striving for the knowledge of transcendental existence. The personality correlates itself with the existence of God and with the system of moral imperatives (good, meaning of life, truth, etc.).
Finished works on a similar topic
Course work Personality in philosophy 430 ₽ Abstract Personality in philosophy 270 ₽ Test paper Personality in philosophy 210 ₽
Receive completed work or specialist advice on your educational project Find out the cost
Different points of view
Based on these definitions, we can say that, in addition to the philosophical, there are two more main approaches to the study of personality:
- psychological;
- sociological.
The psychological approach considers personality as a certain style characteristic of it. This style is determined by the characteristic organization of mental tendencies, complexes, emotions and moods. The psychological approach allows us to understand the phenomena of personality disorganization and the role of desires, mental conflict, repression and sublimation in its growth. The sociological approach considers personality from the point of view of the status of the individual, her understanding of her role in the group of which she is a member. What others think of us plays a big role in shaping our personality.
Russian philosophy of personalism
Russian philosopher N.A. Berdyaev characterizes man from the point of view of eschatology. The thinker compares the concepts of individual and personality. The individual is a citizen of nature with its inherent materiality and gross physicality. Personality is a concept that reflects the Christian idea of man as the likeness of God. Therefore, personality cannot be derived from the natural principle and the path of its existence is colored by tragedy. The chosen individuals retain their existence after the Judgment, the concept of which is defended by Christianity.
Russian existential philosopher L. Shestov, discussing the nature of human personality, characterizes it through the concepts of tragedy and loneliness. The individual finds himself alone within the framework of the surrounding world and society, which oppress him and try to limit him to certain social boundaries. A person can realize himself as an individual only in solitude. Truly creative individuals are doomed to a constant awareness of approaching death.
Biological and social in individual human development.
A person is born with certain hereditary inclinations. Most of them are multi-valued: on their basis, various personality traits can be formed. In this case, the educational process plays a decisive role. However, the possibilities of education are also related to the hereditary characteristics of the individual. The hereditary basis of the human body determines its anatomical and physiological characteristics, the basic qualities of the nervous system, and the dynamics of nervous processes.
The biological organization of man, his nature, contains the possibilities of his future mental development.
The genotype* of an individual determines the pattern of his individual development.
The problem of interaction between the biological and the social has given rise to various theories of mental development in the history of psychology. One of them, the theory of biological maturation, argued that human mental functions are hereditarily determined, that they do not depend on the external environment, and develop as the body matures biologically. Moreover, the development of an individual repeats the development of the entire human race (biogenetic law).
Another theory - the theory of the leading role of the environment - argued that the environment is a decisive factor in the mental development of a person. The followers of this theory did not see qualitative age-related changes in mental development and reduced it to the accumulation of knowledge, skills and abilities.
Modern scientific data indicate that certain biological factors can act as conditions that complicate or facilitate the formation of certain mental qualities of a person. As is known, the nucleus of a human biological cell contains 23 pairs of chromosomes, with the same distribution of both X and Y chromosomes. But there are people with chromosomal abnormalities (with a frequency of 1: 500), who have not 46, but 47 chromosomes in the cell nucleus. Individuals with an extra X chromosome are characterized by emotional instability and increased aggressiveness. An extra Y chromosome causes a decrease in the level of will and intelligence. Of course, a chromosomal abnormality cannot be interpreted as the presence of “crime genes” in certain people. A favorable education system that takes into account the biological characteristics of a given individual neutralizes the negative aspects of a chromosomal abnormality. Each developing individual has its own hereditary and environmental limitations. The environment can stimulate the expression (manifestation) of genetic potential.
based on three different criteria: genetic, neurohumoral and congenital characteristics of the type of higher nervous activity (neurotype).
According to neurohumoral characteristics, according to the characteristics of the response of the sympathetic-adrenal system (SAS) to environmental influences, three behavioral types are distinguished: 1) A-type (adrenal), 2) NA-type (noradrenal), 3) A + NA-type (mixed) .
Representatives of the A-type are characterized by anxiety, increased responsibility, self-criticism, have difficulty with nervous overload, and are susceptible to cardiovascular disease. (Among men, the share of A-type is more than 30%, among women - 30%.) Representatives of the NA-type are characterized by constant increased tension. These are serious, reserved, taciturn, hidden and domineering people. They are purposeful and active, capable of overcoming difficulties, but have a hard time experiencing failures and are prone to nervous breakdowns. (HA type among men is 17%, among women – 26%)
Representatives of the A + HA type (mixed) are distinguished by extreme increased emotionality, sudden changes in mood, and emotional instability. These are people of the hysterical type - they are artistic and love to be the center of attention.
