History of psychology. Material substrate of mental phenomena (most important)

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History of psychology. Material substrate of mental phenomena (most important)

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5. MATERIAL SUBSTRATE OF MENTAL PHENOMENA

Throughout the history of human thought, the idea of the psyche has changed; these changes are closely related to advances in knowledge of the organic substrate of the human psyche.

A very long time ago it was concluded that the existence of a living body depends on the influences of external nature, and the state of the soul, in turn, depends on the life of the body. Blood circulation was recognized as the basis of the mental and physical functioning of the soul and body. Since ancient times, the concept of pneuma arose - a special, subtle substance, similar to heated air. In medical circles, pneuma was treated as a fact, not a theory. In our time, there is a concept of a functional system as a lifetime neurodynamic formation, which represents the material substrate of higher mental activity and human abilities.

The German doctor F. Gall believed that the convolutions of the cerebral hemispheres of the human brain are responsible for his mental properties. F. Gall laid the foundation for theories that stated that the cerebral cortex (and not its ventricles) is the substrate of human mental activity.

The French philosopher and writer D. Diderot believed that the brain is a material substrate in which various mental processes occur. He compared the thinking "I" to a certain spider that nests in the bark

brain and permeates our entire body with the threads of its web (i.e., nerves), on which there is not a single point not affected by these threads. Nerves form a bundle in the brain that serves as the basis for linking human sensations together. D. Diderot believed that the unity of self-consciousness is ensured by memory. Man, according to D. Diderot, is a thinking being, not only a feeling one, but also a thinking being. He recognized a person as both a musician and an instrument.

Soviet psychologists A. N. Leontyev and A. R. Luria believed that it is not individual areas of the cortex or their centers that are the material substrate of higher mental functions, but a functional system consisting of jointly working cortical zones.

These functional systems are formed in the process of human life and gradually acquire the character of strong, complex interfunctional connections.

I.M. Sechenov in his works, starting from 1863, consistently formed the concept of a materialistic understanding of mental activity. He proposed a reflex theory of human mental activity, believing that the material substrate of mental processes is the brain. His work was continued by I.P. Pavlov. He created the theory of conditioned reflexes and gave rise to research into the functional physiology of the central nervous system to study the material basis of mental phenomena.

Author: Anokhina Z.V.

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