The term "culture" is used almost every day. And this term has many definitions. In the very general sense it is a set of objects of material and spiritual activity of a person. The concept of "culture" can be attributed to various areas of human activity, for example, the culture of politics, the culture of work, the culture of communication, etc.
IN Ancient Greece close in meaning to the word culture was the term "paideia", which denoted internal organization man, in other words, "the culture of the soul."
IN historical documents on Latin the word "culture" first appears in Marcus Porcius Cato the Elder (234-148 BC) De Agri Cultura (circa 160 BC). This work deals with issues of agriculture, and this work is also taken to be considered early monument prose written in Latin.
The work of "De Agri Cultura" deals not only with the cultivation of the land, but also with the care of agricultural land, fields, which implies not just cultivation of the land, but also a special, spiritual attitude towards it. In particular, Cato gives such advice on buying land: “you need not be lazy and go around the acquired land several times; the more often you inspect the land, the more you will “like” it. This is the most "to your liking" should certainly be. If it does not exist, then there will be no good care, in other words, there will be no culture.” In Latin, the word "culture" has several meanings:
- education, upbringing, development;
- agriculture, farming;
- processing, care cultivation, breeding;
- reverence, worship.
The adaptive function of culture
Culture is a complex, multi-level system, so it has many functions in human life and society.
Remark 1
It should be noted right away that exact number functions of culture among researchers there is disagreement. But meanwhile, most culturologists and other researchers of culture agree that culture is polyfunctional, that each of its elements is capable of performing various functions.
This article will focus on the adaptive function of culture, one of its key functions that helps a person to adapt to the environment.
From school course biology, we all know that the adaptation of living beings to the external environment is the main condition for their survival in the process of evolution. Their adaptation is carried out by means of a mechanism natural selection, as well as variability and heredity, which ensure the survival of living beings that are most adapted to their environment, as well as the preservation and transmission to their offspring of the signs necessary for survival. But in the human world, things are completely different. Unlike animals, a person does not adapt, does not find a balance with his environment, he adjusts the external environment for himself, changing it to his needs, needs.
By changing the environment of his habitat, a person creates a "second", artificial nature, which is called culture. In other words, if a human being cannot, like an animal, lead a natural way of life, in order to survive, he builds an artificial habitat around himself, protecting himself from dangers. external environment, from the natural elements, from animals, and so on.
Remark 2
Over time, a person gains independence from natural conditions: if other natural organisms can only survive in a specific ecological niche, then a person can master, one might even say, subjugate almost any natural conditions by creating an artificial world of culture around him.
Of course, a person cannot achieve absolute independence from the natural world, simply because culture largely depends on natural conditions. The type of economy, beliefs, rituals and traditions, even the dwellings and food of people depend on natural and climatic conditions. Thus, the culture of peoples living in the mountains differs from the culture of peoples leading a nomadic lifestyle. For example, the inhabitants of the south add a lot of spices and spices to their food in order to prevent its rapid spoilage in a hot climate.
Exploring the history of development human society tells us that over time a person made his built environment living environment more comfortable and safer. The quality of human life, at least in the civilized part of our planet, is constantly improving. However, having eliminated the problems that the natural world carries in itself, a person is forced to solve new problems that he creates for himself.
Having learned to treat diseases of the past, and generally forgetting about them, for example, plague and smallpox, new diseases have appeared, such as swine flu, ebola, AIDS, for which no cure has yet been created. Another a prime example, these are deadly viruses that can destroy a good half of humanity, created by man himself for military aggression towards neighboring countries. All this suggests that a person must protect himself not only from the natural world, but also from his own, artificially created world of culture.
adaptive function culture is ambivalent. On the one side, given function It is aimed at creating specific means of protecting a person from the environment. Such means include all cultural products that provide a person with survival and a comfortable existence in the world:
- use of fire.
- storage of food, necessary things.
- creation of a developed Agriculture, medicine, etc.
This list includes not only products material culture, but also those specific means that people develop for peaceful coexistence in society, keeping it from mutual destruction and death - the legislative system, state security agencies, moral standards and attitudes, customs, traditions, etc.
On the other hand, in the arsenal of a person there are specific means of his protection - this is culture as a whole, existing as a picture of the world. Understanding culture as an artificially created, in other words, "second" nature, we emphasize the key property of culture and human activity - the ability to "doubling the world", in other words, to single out the everyday and spiritual ecumene in it.
Linking culture with the spiritual ecumene, with the world of ideal images, we get the main property of culture - to be a system of views on the world, a certain perception of the world. Culture as a system of views gives a human being the opportunity to see external reality not as a simple flow of information, but as information ordered in a certain way. Each phenomenon or object of external reality is perceived by a person through his picture of the world. A person finds his place in the world, also guided by his system of views and values.
Adaptive function of consciousness
"There are many meanings of the concept of "adaptation", it is most widely used in the sense of the adaptive consequences of evolutionary processes. But the consequences of evolutionary processes are not necessarily adaptive, just as the adaptive functions of an organism are not necessarily the consequences of selective evolutionary processes. Usefulness and universality, taken separately , do not prove evolutionary selection. Moreover, the evolution of complex functions is typically the result of the evolution of a large set of functions and structures. Consciousness is probably one of such complex functions. Our further discussion does not touch on the evolution of behavior, it concerns only those aspects of consciousness that are probably adapt us better to the world in which we live,” psychologists J. Mandler and W. Kessen write.
Most common function consciousness, its role in the selection and selection of a system of actions. This function allows the body to adequately respond to actions, results that change the likelihood of a particular series of actions. This function also allows one to comprehend possible actions that the body has never performed before, preventing the actual performance of actions that are possibly harmful to the body. Consciousness provides the possibility of changing long-term plans and momentary alternative actions. In the hierarchy of plans and actions, this makes it possible to organize systems of actions oriented towards a higher plan.
Consciousness communicates with long-term memory, although the mechanisms of communication remain unconscious. The impetus for retrieving information from long-term memory is often quite simple commands: ""What's his name? ", "Where did I read about it? ". Commands can be more complex: "What is the relationship between this situation and the previous one that I encountered? ". Quick access to stored information is an example of the adaptive use of consciousness.
The current state of the world is represented in consciousness, as well as thoughts and actions, and all this is recorded in memory for later use. Many researchers assumed that such encoding of current experience always takes place in the mind. Remembering experience for its future actualizations obviously requires the work of the structures of consciousness. IN social processes problem-solving practices stored in memory, together with an adequate group. All this requires the selection and comparison of alternatives stored in long-term memory. cultural system communications, such as natural language, benefit cooperative social efforts. Members of society learn about problem-solving practices, avoid unsuccessful actions, and, in the most general sense, enjoy cultural heritage the transmission from the structures of consciousness to verbal communication is in fact extremely productive. Cultural knowledge is communicated by general instructions and conclusions, making it socially accessible. The interactions described here demonstrate complicated relationship language and consciousness.
Only products of cognitive and mental activity are available to consciousness. But many systems generated by conscious processes cease to be conscious over time and become automatic. Such systems, obviously, can again be comprehended by consciousness, especially when defects are found in them. Each of us has happened to automatically drive a car or carry on a conversation at a party and suddenly consciously plunge into a situation, faced with a brake malfunction or heard someone say to us: "You are not listening to me." The adaptive advantage of acting automatically when things are going as usual, and the ability to act deliberately otherwise, are also conditioned by consciousness.
These are the adaptive functions of consciousness. The ethnopsychologist must take them into account, but his main task is to investigate the adaptive functions of the unconscious as they operate in a collective, while excluding the idea of a collective unconscious, and seeking to find unconscious patterns of interaction.
Problems of psychological adaptation -
Mandler, G., Kessen, W. The Appearance of Free Will. In S. C. Brown (Ed.). Philosophy of Psychology. London: Macmillan, 1974, p. 35.
D.V. Olshansky. Adaptive sociology. In: Modern Western Sociology. Compiled by Davydov Yu.A., Kovalev M.S., Filipov A.F. M .: Izschvo pour liters, 1990, ss. 70 73.
source unknown
The information and communication capabilities of culture allow it to ensure the adaptation of a person to the environment. But unlike animals, man simultaneously adapts the environment to himself, changes it in accordance with his needs. The biological unsuitability of a person turned into the ability to master any natural conditions, to create a variety of "protective" cultural layers (clothing, housing, weapons, etc.). At different peoples living in various conditions, in their culture, ways of adapting to the natural environment are historically fixed. They constitute a rational justification for many national traditions (for example, in methods of treatment, housing construction, etc.), a lot of things, means and ways are invented to ensure safety and comfort, to fill life with pleasure and entertainment. Life expectancy and population growth are increasing.
To survive, humanity must improve its own nature, their spiritual essence, reducing their dependence on the forces of nature.
function of socialization.
Socialization refers to the inclusion of individuals in public life, their assimilation of social experience, knowledge, values, norms of behavior corresponding to a given society, social group, social role.
The process of socialization allows the individual to become a full member of society. This process is also useful for society, for the preservation of the forms of life that have developed in it. Culture determines the content, means and methods of socialization. Socialization begins in childhood. The family also plays a huge role here, the example of parents, peers, teachers, etc. later life important role play: school, others educational establishments, facilities mass media, labor collectives, informal groups. Self-education is also important. .
Socialization has an originality in various historical and national cultural contexts(Russian, American, Indian, etc.). Not only forms of activity depend on this context, but also forms of recreation, entertainment, mental relaxation (recreative and compensatory functions of culture): holidays, games, sports, mass art, various "hobbies". All of these forms are regulated cultural norms and have a ritual character.
In addition to those mentioned, other functions of culture of a more particular nature are noted in the literature: ensuring the integrity public system, ensuring the transition from one social system to another, resolving contradictions between society and nature, harmonizing relations between them, the continuity of generations, the function of self-expression, self-affirmation and self-development of the individual, etc.
cultural dysfunctions.
Dysfunctions of culture are its negative impacts on nature, society and man. The actual functioning of culture provides not only a solution to a particular problem, but also generates a set of side effects which were not foreseen, and quite often could not be foreseen, by the creators of culture. These effects can be detrimental.
The growth and dissemination of objective knowledge often results in the spread of delusions and the displacement of non-scientific layers of social consciousness. In every culture there are not only values and ideals, but also anti-values and anti-ideals. "Normative insufficiency" can lead to an increase in crime, a decline in morality. However, “normative redundancy” in turn limits freedom, initiative and creative activity. As a result, the rate of development of society slows down and stagnation sets in. Communication in the media is one-sided, contributing to feelings of loneliness. One of the paradoxes modern culture is that the mass of contacts at the same time implies a lack of communication. The integrative function of culture also has a contradictory character: cultural differences sometimes make it difficult for people to communicate, interfere with their mutual understanding. “We” and “they”, “us” and “them” are the realities of life, they give rise to enmity and often military clashes. modern civilization makes great efforts to socialize the young, but often does this at the expense of older people, whose socialization is not given due attention. Failures of socialization, deviation from socially approved forms of life (deviant behavior), the existence of negative cultural patterns also have their roots in culture.
Quite often, what is functional in relation to the needs and goals of some social groups people, will be dysfunctional for others. For example, rock music is functional in relation to the needs of today's youth and dysfunctional in relation to the older generation brought up on other models. musical culture. Television advertising is functional in relation to the interests of commercial circles and dysfunctional in relation to the majority of viewers, whose consciousness it manipulates, etc.
Dysfunctions of culture cannot be avoided; J. J. Rousseau was wrong in his belief that the process of culture should be suspended. Cultural development is irresistible and it is as impossible to avoid it as it is to avoid the dysfunctions of culture.
Adaptive function of consciousness»
Performed:
3rd year student of group IN-31
Faculty of Philology
Minnullina L.F.
Checked:
k.sociol. n., Assoc. Antonova O.V.
Sterlitamak 2012
Plan
1. General information about psychological adaptation
2. Consciousness as a system
3. Adaptive function of consciousness
Literature
General information about psychological adaptation
“Culture, including language, is a primary human adaptation. Culture consists of derivative experiences, more or less organized, learned and newly created by the individuals who make up the population, and interpretations of meanings, transmitted from the past generation, from contemporaries or shaped by the individual himself. This primarily concerns the nature of culture. The study of culture or cultures, and their reflection in individuals and populations, is the main task of anthropology,” wrote contemporary psychological anthropologist Theodor Schwartz. In this section, we will consider a number of concepts of adaptation and culture as an adaptation mechanism.
In cultural ecology (some of which we will touch on in this section) “the process of adaptation is considered at two levels: first, the way in which a cultural system adapts to its integral external environment is studied; secondly, it examines the way in which the institutions of a given culture adapt to each other. "In contrast to cultural ecologists, we will be interested in psychological aspect adaptation at both levels outlined here. The first of them makes it possible to understand the temporal (vertical) dynamics cultural tradition, and the second is its horizontal cut, that is, the distribution of culture at the social level.
As for the school of psychological anthropology, it considered the problem of adaptation primarily from the point of view of the adaptation of the individual to society, to his social environment.
The process of psychological adaptation of society to the environment is still poorly understood, and therefore ethnopsychology has independently developed an appropriate theoretical base.
With all the transformations of the life of an ethnos, with any change in the invariants of the cultural tradition inherent in this or that ethnos, the "central zone" of its culture remains unchanged. As long as this "central zone" is not destroyed, the ethnos retains its identity, whatever the external forms of expression of this identity. Therefore, regarding the vertical (temporal) cut of the adaptation process, we can say that the elements of culture crystallize around it " central zone"according to the conditions set by the cultural and political environment. We can observe this process, for example, when changing ideologies adopted in a particular society. Moreover, the change of ideology has its own laws and is caused by the need to express cultural tradition in a new language - a language that corresponds to the present social -political state of the ethnos.
It is more difficult to explain the process of adaptation in a horizontal slice. Here we must answer two questions: what is the content of the "central zone" and how does it in each this moment provides the distribution of culture, which enables the ethnos to live. Thus, we, in essence, face the problem of the relationship between culture and nature (in the broadest sense of the word).
Let's start with the relationship of nature to culture. How can one imagine the function of culture as a psychological adaptive mechanism? Culture should give a person the opportunity to define himself in the world and give him such an image of the world in which he could act - a kind of unconscious set of ideas - an ordered and balanced scheme of the cosmos, providing the possibility of human activity in the world, individual for each ethnic group. In our view, the primary elements in this scheme are those related to the method and conditions of human action in the world. To define such a scheme is one of the objectives of our study.
Now about the relation of culture to nature. The picture of the world formed on the basis of this scheme, inherent in one or another ethnic group, must be stable, that is, not crumble when it comes into contact with reality, and, therefore, certain protective mechanisms must be laid in the ethnic unconscious that support internal integrity ethnic picture of the world, just as individual defense mechanisms preserve the integrity of the psyche of an individual.
The conceptual substantiation of the nature of the relationship between culture and nature is not an easy task, since, considering the relationship of nature to culture, we must describe a new approach to the problem of the ethnic unconscious, and considering the relationship of culture to nature, we must correctly transfer the theory of functioning already well developed in psychoanalysis defense mechanisms the psyche of the individual in the field of collective psychology.
Consciousness as a system
The very first ideas about consciousness arose in antiquity. Self-observation led people to the conclusion that processes are taking place in their heads that are different from the processes in the surrounding nature (fantasies may arise, ideas about objects that we are not currently observing, in a dream a person can see something that he has never seen at all, etc.). d.). At the same time, the concept of the “soul” appeared and questions were posed: what is the “soul”? how does it compare with the objective world? Since then, controversy has been going on around consciousness about its essence, possibilities and ways of cognition. Some proceeded from the knowability of consciousness, others argued that understanding consciousness is just as futile attempt, as well as the desire of a drowning man to pull himself out of the swamp by the hair or the desire of a person to see himself walking down the street from the window.
The opinions of philosophers were also divided. Idealists and theologians defended the idea of the primacy of consciousness in relation to matter. Idealism rips consciousness out of material world and considers it to be the independent and creative essence of all things.
Dualism in the interpretation of consciousness also stands on false positions. Considering the soul, consciousness and body as principles independent of each other, dualism cannot explain the relationship between mental and physiological processes in the body.
Yes, a dualist French philosopher R. Descartes recognized the existence of nature independent of consciousness and had no doubt that knowledge about it could be true. But in his dualistic concept, nature and spirit appear as two purely different principles. Descartes considered extension to be the main property of matter, and the ability to think as the main property of the spirit. From this he concluded that just as the idea has no extension, so the body cannot think.
Unlike idealism and dualism, materialism proceeds from the fact that matter is the opposite of consciousness: it exists outside of consciousness and independently of it, while consciousness cannot exist outside of matter. Matter is primary both historically and epistemologically in relation to consciousness: it is both the carrier and the cause of its emergence. Consciousness is something derived from matter: as a property of the brain and as a reflection of the world.
Matter has properties that consciousness does not and cannot have. Consciousness is connected not with all matter, but only with human brain, and not with the whole brain, but only with its part - the cortex hemispheres- and not constantly, but in certain periods time - during wakefulness, while it is not the brain that thinks, but the person with the help of the brain.
Consciousness is the highest function of the brain, peculiar only to man and associated with speech, which consists in a generalized and purposeful reflection of reality.
Considering consciousness secondary to matter, dialectical-materialist philosophy resolutely opposes the distortion of the nature of consciousness by the so-called vulgar materialists of the 19th century. (K. Vocht, L. Buchner, J. Moleschott), who assumed that thought is secreted by the brain in the same way as bile is secreted by the liver, and that thinking in this sense is material. Their mistake lies in the identification of thinking, consciousness, psyche with matter, while thought is not a form of matter.
Is it possible to absolutely oppose consciousness to matter? Within the framework of the main question of philosophy - yes, behind them - no. In fact, thought, consciousness exist as real phenomena of nature, but they are not a body or substance, like the aforementioned bile or brain.
The recognition of the materiality of thought leads to the fact that the epistemological opposition of matter to consciousness, materialism to idealism loses all meaning. To call thought material, some kind of matter, means to reject the distinction between primary and secondary, reflected and reflected, substance and property, and, consequently, to deny the opposition of materialism and idealism. It is also easy to see that vulgar materialism admits the existence of thought without a brain after it has been “singled out” by it. And this is fundamentally at odds with the data of science.
Criticizing vulgar materialism, even Lenin showed extremely clearly that within the framework of the main epistemological question (i.e., the question of what is primary - matter or consciousness), the opposition between matter and consciousness, and, consequently, between materialism and idealism, is absolute. But the opposition of matter and consciousness, beyond the solution of the fundamental question of philosophy, loses its absolute character. Beyond these limits, the relativity of this opposition becomes undeniable, because consciousness is not an independent substance, but one of the properties of matter and, therefore, is inextricably linked with matter.
The absolute opposition of matter and consciousness leads to dualism and idealism, since then consciousness acts as some independent substance that exists along with matter, with nerve matter, with the brain. Therefore, the unconditional statement that thought is non-material is also erroneous, because such a statement ignores the dependence of consciousness on matter, the connection of mental phenomena with material processes. Excessive insistence on the immateriality of thought, consciousness, psyche leads to an idealistic separation of consciousness from matter, its material carrier - the human brain.
The psyche, consciousness cannot exist either in the form of "pure" ideas, thoughts, remote from the brain, or in the form of any kind of material "isolation" of the brain. Consciousness is one of the properties of moving matter, it is a special property of highly organized matter. This position means that between consciousness and matter there is a difference, and a connection, and unity.
The difference consists, firstly, in the fact that consciousness is not matter itself, but one of its properties that arises at a certain stage of its development, and secondly, that the images of external objects that make up the content of consciousness are different in form from these objects. as perfect copies of the latter.
The unity and connection between consciousness and matter is also revealed in two aspects. On the one hand, mental phenomena and the brain are closely related as a property and a material substance to which this property belongs and without which it does not exist; on the other hand, the mental images that arise in consciousness are similar, identical in content with the material objects that cause them.
The deepest essence of consciousness in epistemological terms is its ideality, which is expressed in the fact that the images that make up consciousness do not have the properties of the objects of reality reflected in it, nor the properties of the nervous processes on the basis of which they arose.
The ideality of consciousness is nothing but a reflection of reality in the form of knowledge, emotions, will, types and methods (logic) of human practical activity.
The ideal acts as a moment of a person's practical relationship to the world, a relationship mediated by the forms created by previous generations - the ability, first of all, to reflect in material forms language, signs and turn them into real objects through activity. So, if a book about the design of cars somehow got to the people of the Stone Age, they would not be able to “idealize” it, i.e. to transform it into an ideal, into a concept, a meaningful idea of it, because in their lives those forms of activity have not yet developed that would determine the level of knowledge and activity summarized in this book.
The ideal is not something independent in relation to consciousness as a whole: it characterizes the essence of consciousness in relation to matter. In this regard, the concept of "ideal" allows you to more deeply comprehend the secondary nature of the highest form of reflection and thereby concretize the materialistic understanding of the essence of consciousness, its opposite to matter. Such an understanding makes sense only when studying the relationship between matter and consciousness, the relationship of consciousness to the material world.
The ideal is an object "alienated" from itself, existing not in its own concrete-sensory form, but on the basis of the substance and processes of the brain (hardness, color, etc.).
At the same time, the ideal and the material are not separated by an impenetrable line. The ideal is nothing but the material, “transplanted” into human head and transformed in it. Such a transformation of the material into the ideal, as is known, is produced by the brain, or rather, a person with the help of the brain.
As we can see, not only matter (objective reality), but also consciousness (ideal reality) is an extremely complex object of philosophy. And in order to more fully and concretely present the essence of consciousness, its reverse effect on matter, it is necessary to find out its background and history, the role of social factors in its formation and development.
The key to unraveling the mystery of consciousness lies primarily in clarifying the conditions and forms of its origin. Refusal to raise the question of the origin of consciousness, of course, does not contribute to the clarification of its content and essence. And if it is illogical to declare all matter conscious and even more so to consider matter and consciousness as substances independent of each other, then it remains to try a new, “middle” way, assuming, for example, that all matter has a certain property as a prerequisite for consciousness, which, under appropriate conditions, able to develop into consciousness. In that main point Lenin's reflection hypothesis.
The universality of the property of reflection, which lies in the "foundation" of the very building of matter, is due to the universality of material interaction. All objects of the objective world constantly influence each other and undergo certain changes, preserving the "trace" of external influence (as, for example, the imprint of a prehistoric plant on a coal bed).
In the process of developing the concept of reflection, it became necessary to correlate it with the concept of information. The latter, which was originally used only to designate information used in communication between people, gradually began to acquire a general scientific status. Information in this regard began to be understood as a property of phenomena to be a stimulus known actions, promote active orientation in the outside world. There are two main concepts of information: 1) as a form of reflection associated with self-managing systems, i.e. alive, technical, social; 2) as an aspect, a side of reflection, which can be objectified, transmitted, stored.
On various levels organization of matter reflection has its own qualitative features. The forms of reflection are improved as the phenomena themselves become more complex, and their role in the existence of the corresponding levels of the organization of matter is continuously increasing.
In inanimate nature, reflection is the property of things to reproduce, under the influence of other things, such traces, imprints or reactions, the structure of which corresponds to some aspects of the things acting on them (footprint in the sand, mirror reflection etc.). These reflections are distinguished by their relative simplicity and passive character.
A qualitative leap in the evolution of the Universe is the emergence of organic life on our planet. A living being has purposeful activity, it retains its qualitative certainty thanks to the receipt of energy from the external environment in the only way possible in nature - together with matter. Hence the need for metabolism. At the same time, the organism survives by using information from the external environment: it reacts to certain influences as signals about the regular occurrence of subsequent events. This allows him to avoid harmful effects, approach food, in a word, adequately and timely respond to vital stimuli by intracellular processes. Biological regulation is the basis and condition of organic life, the most essential aspect of metabolism, since the cell contains no chemical elements, which would not be found in inanimate nature. It's all about bioregulation and the expedient organization of the cell.
With the advent of life, such a form of reflection arises as irritability, which is especially characteristic of flora ( flora). Irritability is understood as the ability of the body to the simplest specific reactions in response to the action of certain external factors. So, for example, the seed basket of a sunflower is directed towards the greatest solar illumination.
The emergence of fauna (the animal world) is accompanied by the appearance of more high form reflections - sensitivity (ability to feel). It is already inherent in lower animals and implies the ability to respond not only directly to environmental factors that have biological significance for the body (electric shocks or an acidic environment for an amoeba), but also on factors that are biologically neutral for the body, which, however, carry information about other factors that are vital for the body (for example, the relationship between illumination and the presence of nutrients in the pool). True, there is still no physiological analysis and synthesis; sensations appear as something undifferentiated.
In this regard, a more perfect form of biological reflection is the psyche, which is the ability to create sensory images of external reality, and not only in the form of sensations, but also perceptions, thanks to which vertebrates develop a holistic image of the situation, and "smart" animals (monkeys, cats , dogs, etc.) - also in the form of representations - sensually visual, generalized images of phenomena that are stored and reproduced in perfect shape and without the direct impact of the phenomena themselves on the senses.
As a result, the possibilities of adaptive activity of animals increase immeasurably, mainly due to the activity of the brain. Unlike other organs, the brain performs in line with mental reflection not some particular task, but controls the activity of internal and external organs in accordance with the situation in the environment. This is the function of the brain as a special reflection organ and the central regulator of the body's activity.
The activity of the higher animal is not limited to the system of conditional and unconditioned reflexes. Complex psycho-nervous processes are carried out in the brain, the beginning of which is the emerging in specific situation biological goal as an ideal anticipation of the result of the organism's activity. The biological goal, "the model of the required future", is formed on the basis of the image. Hence the "subjectivity" of the mental image in terms of content and source, the absence in it of any material or energy components of the brain and the displayed object. In the psychic, the physiological is "removed", eliminated. That is why psycho-nervous activity is considered not only as a physiological, material, but also as a mental, ideal, as a unity of internal and external activity, and the mental reflects the physiological and, as it were, is taken out of it: it is more complicated than the physiological.
Adaptive function of consciousness
“There are many meanings of the term “adaptation”, it is most widely used in the sense of the adaptive consequences of evolutionary processes. But the consequences of evolutionary processes are not necessarily adaptive, just as the adaptive functions of an organism are not necessarily the consequences of selective evolutionary processes. Utility and versatility taken in isolation do not prove evolutionary selection. Moreover, the evolution of complex functions is typically the result of the evolution of a large set of functions and structures. Consciousness is probably one of those complex functions. What follows does not touch on the evolution of behavior, it only touches on those aspects of consciousness that are probably better adapted to the world in which we live.” - write psychologists J. Mandler and W. Kessen.
The most general function of consciousness is its role in the selection and selection of a system of actions. This function allows the body to adequately respond to actions-results that change the probability of the occurrence of a particular series of actions. This function also allows one to comprehend possible actions that the body has never performed before, preventing the actual performance of actions that are possibly harmful to the body. Consciousness provides the possibility of changing long-term plans and momentary alternative actions. In the hierarchy of plans and actions, this makes it possible to organize systems of actions oriented towards a higher plan.
Consciousness communicates with long-term memory, although the mechanisms of communication remain unconscious. The impetus for retrieving information from long-term memory is often quite simple commands: ““What is his name?”, “Where did I read about this?” Commands can be more complex: “What is the connection between this situation and the previous one I encountered ?” Quick access to stored information is an example of the adaptive use of consciousness.
The current state of the world is represented in consciousness, as well as thoughts and actions, and all this is recorded in memory for later use. Many researchers assumed that such encoding of current experience always takes place in the mind. Remembering experience for its future actualizations obviously requires the work of the structures of consciousness. In the social processes of the practice of solving problems, stored memory, together with an adequate group. All this requires the selection and comparison of alternatives stored in long-term memory. Cultural communication systems, such as natural language, benefit cooperative social efforts. Members of society learn about problem-solving practices, avoid unsuccessful actions, and, in the most general sense, enjoy cultural heritage. Transmission from structures of consciousness to verbal communication is in fact extremely productive. Cultural knowledge is communicated by general instructions and conclusions, making it socially accessible. The interactions described here demonstrate the complex relationship between language and consciousness.
Only products of cognitive and mental activity are available to consciousness. But many systems generated by conscious processes cease to be conscious over time and become automatic. Such systems, obviously, can again be comprehended by consciousness, especially when defects are found in them. Each of us has happened to automatically drive a car or carry on a conversation at a party and suddenly consciously plunge into a situation, faced with a brake malfunction or heard someone say to us: “You are not listening to me.” The adaptive advantage of acting automatically when things are going as usual, and the ability to act deliberately otherwise, are also conditioned by consciousness.
These are the adaptive functions of consciousness. The ethnopsychologist must take note of them, but his main task is to explore the adaptive functions of the unconscious as they operate in a collective, while excluding the idea of a collective unconscious, and seeking to find unconscious patterns of interaction.
Literature
1. Aceves J. B. and Hing H. G. Cultural Anthropology. New York: General Learning Press, 1978.
2. Mandler, G., Kessen, W. The Appearance of Free Will. In S. C. Brown (Ed.). Philosophy of Psychology. London: Macmillan, 1974, p. 35.
3. Danilyan O.G., Taranenko V.M. Philosophy: Textbook - M. Eksmo, 2005.
4. D.V. Olshansky. Adaptive sociology. In: Modern Western Sociology. Composers - Davydov Yu.A., Kovalev M.S., Filipov A.F. M .: Izsch-vo pouring literature, 1990, ss. 70 - 73.
Complex and layered structure culture determines the diversity of its functions in the life of society and man. But there is no complete unanimity among culturologists on the question of the number of functions of culture. Nevertheless, they all agree with the idea of multifunctionality of culture, with the fact that each of its components can perform different functions. Comparison of different points of view on this issue allows us to conclude that among the main functions of culture are adaptive, sign (significative), cognitive, informational, communicative, integrative, regulatory, axiological and etc.
The adaptive function of culture
The most important function of culture is adaptive, allowing a person to adapt to the environment, which acts necessary condition survival of all living organisms in the process of evolution. But a person does not adapt to changes in the environment, as other living organisms do, but changes the environment in accordance with his needs, adapting it to himself. This creates a new, artificial world - culture. In other words, a person cannot lead a natural way of life, like animals, and in order to survive, he creates an artificial habitat around himself.
Of course, a person cannot achieve complete independence from the environment, since each specific form of culture is largely due to natural conditions. The type of economy, dwellings, traditions and customs, beliefs, rites and rituals of peoples will depend on natural and climatic conditions.
As culture develops, humanity provides itself with ever greater security and comfort. But, having got rid of the old fears and dangers, a person stands face to face with new threats that he creates for himself. So, today you can not be afraid of such formidable diseases of the past as plague or smallpox, but new diseases have appeared, such as AIDS, for which no cure has yet been found, and other deadly diseases created by man themselves are waiting in the military laboratories. Thus, a person needs to protect himself not only from the natural environment, but also from the world of culture.
The adaptive function has a dual nature. On the one hand, it manifests itself in the creation of the means of protection necessary for a person from the outside world. Such are all the products of culture that help the primitive, and later civilized man survive and feel confident in the world: the use of fire, the creation of productive agriculture, medicine, etc. This is the so-called specific means of protection person. These include not only objects of material culture, but also those specific means that a person develops to adapt to life in society, keeping him from mutual extermination and death. These are state structures, laws, customs, traditions, moral standards, etc.
There are also non-specific means of protection of a person is a culture as a whole, existing as a picture of the world. Understanding culture as a "second nature", the world created by man, we emphasize the most important property human activity and culture - the ability to "doubling" the world, highlighting in it the sensory-objective and ideal-figurative layers. Culture as a picture of the world makes it possible to see the world not as a continuous flow of information, but to receive this information in an orderly and structured form.
