Summary The concept of the psyche

Chapter 3. The concept of the psyche and its evolution • 73
The development of mental images also occurs in the most developed animals, such as dogs, horses, dolphins. Therefore, man is distinguished from animals not by this activity itself, but by the mechanisms of its occurrence, which originated in the process of human social development. These mechanisms and features of operating with them determine the existence of such a phenomenon as consciousness in a person.
As a result of the action of these mechanisms, a person separates himself from the environment and is aware of his individuality, forms his “I-concept”, which consists in the totality of a person's ideas about himself, about the surrounding reality and his place in society. Thanks to consciousness, a person has the ability to independently, that is, without the influence of environmental stimuli, regulate his behavior. In turn, the “I-concept” is the core of its self-regulation system. A person interprets all perceived information about the world through his system of ideas about himself and forms his behavior on the basis of his values, ideals and motivational attitudes. Of course, human behavior does not always correspond to environmental conditions. The adequacy of human behavior is largely determined by the degree of its criticality.
In a simplified way, criticality is the ability to recognize the difference between “good” and “bad”. Thanks to the criticality of a person, ideals are formed and an idea of ​​moral values ​​is created. It is the ability to critically evaluate what is happening and compare the information received with their attitudes and ideals, and also, based on this comparison, to shape their behavior distinguishes a person from an animal. Thus, criticality acts as a mechanism for controlling one’s behavior. On the other hand, the presence of such a complex mechanism for the formation and operation of mental images determines whether a person has the ability to conscious activity, the manifestation of which is labor.
In order to realize the importance of this inference, let us try to deny it, saying that certain animals also perform useful actions. For example, a dog is guarding, a horse is carrying firewood, and some animals perform in a circus, demonstrating actions that at first glance seem reasonable. However, all this is so only at first glance. In order to perform such complex actions, the animal needs a man. Without the participation of man, without his initiating principle, the animal is unable to perform actions similar to conscious behavior. Consequently, human activity and animal behavior differ in the degree of independence. Thanks to consciousness, a person acts consciously and independently.
Thus, we can distinguish four main levels of development of the psyche of living organisms: irritability, sensitivity (sensations), the behavior of higher animals (externally determined behavior), human consciousness (self-determined behavior). It should be noted that each of these levels has its own stages of development.
Only man possesses the highest level of development of the psyche. But man is not born with a developed consciousness. The formation and evolution of consciousness occur in the process of physiological and social development of a specific individual.