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As one of the basic concepts of philosophy, sociology and psychology, consciousness is the capacity for the ideal reproduction of reality and the specific mechanism and forms of such a reproduction in its earlier stages. Consciousness appears in two forms, individual (personal) and social. Because of the complexity of the phenomenon, consciousness appears in different guises in each of the sciences studying it. The materialist solution to the basic question of philosophy sees consciousness as the awareness of being; as the relationship of "I" to "non-I"; as a property of highly organized matter, consisting in a reflection of reality; as the subjective image of the objective world; and as the ideal in contraposition to the material in unity with it. In a narrower sense, consciousness indicates the highest form of the psychic reflection which is proper to socially developed man and constitutes the ideal aspect of the intentional labor activity of man. The sociological approach to consciousness centers on the spiritual life of society in all its forms (science, philosophy, art, morality, religion, jurisprudence, social psychology). In psychology, consciousness is treated as the psychic activity that guarantees the generalized and intentional reflection of the external world, accomplished in linguistic form; in connection of new information obtained by the individual, with his previous experience (learning, understanding); in the isolation of man from his environment and his opposition as subject to it as object; in intentional activity, i.e., the prior cognitive construction of an activity with consideration of its consequences; in the control over and the direction of the conduct of the person with his responsibility for what happens around him as well as within him.

DOI: 10.1007/978-94-010-1873-9_4

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