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In Chapter IV it was shown that, for Rubinštejn, the psychic is essentially constituted by its twofold relationship to the material world. In virtue of its relationship to the inner matter of the brain it is a function of that organ and assumes the quality of higher nervous activity; in its relationship to the outer material world it appears as an ideal reflection. Consequently, it is the task of psychology to study the psychic under each of these aspects. The greater portion of the two major works written by Rubinštejn after 1950 — Being and Consciousness and Principles and Paths of Development of Psychology — is given over to an analysis of the psychic under each of these aspects. Of the two last-mentioned works Being and Consciousness gives the clearest and most detailed presentation of Rubinštejn's thought on the aspects of the psychic. In Being and Consciousness Rubinštejn is primarily concerned with strictly philosophical questions while Principles and the short monograph On Thinking and the Paths of its Investigation contain more experimental material. As the present work is directly concerned with the philosophical questions of psychology, Being and Consciousness will be the primary source for the extended discussion of Rubinštejn's thought on the "aspects' of the psychic, which will be the subject of this and the following chapter.

DOI: 10.1007/978-94-010-3456-2_6

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