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The words “mind”, “reason” and “reason” are very often used as synonyms, and in many life situations such use of words turns out to be quite acceptable, but with a deeper look at a person, their distinction turns out to be important, and in the Orthodox spiritual tradition it is necessary. Our goal is general review the content of this terminological series in the Orthodox ascetic tradition and its provision to respected readers for comparison and reflection in the context of the life and professional experience of each person.
Background to the issue
We note right away that the distinction, at least between reason and reason, took place even in the pre-Christian era as in ancient greek philosophy and in the spiritual literature of the East.
In antiquity, the first thinker who grasped the diversity of the nature of thinking was Heraclitus, who showed that one way of thinking allows one to see the particular, while the other raises it to the holistic. The first is reasoning, it is less perfect, limited, in this case a person does not rise to the universal. Reason consists in the ability to perceive nature as a whole, in its movement and interconnection. Socrates and Plato believed that reason is the ability to contemplate things in concepts, and reason is sufficient for everyday use in practical activity. According to Aristotle, the wiser is not the one who acts directly, but the one who possesses knowledge in general form... Reason manifests itself in private sciences, in some special area. Its function is to make judgments, to formally treat things. The mind is oriented towards existence.
Holy Fathers of the Church, many of whom were excellent experts ancient heritage, partly took this teaching from the ancient Greek authors, seeing that it really corresponds to the ontology of man. However, as in many other topics, the perceived knowledge was interpreted by them in the context of the experience of life in Christ and was filled with a deeper anthropological content, which is, in my opinion, of considerable value. For patristic teaching is based not on abstract theorizing, but on the real experience of spiritual life, and every concept, every semantic distinction has been achieved through suffering own life Orthodox ascetics.
General view. In the Holy Fathers, we can everywhere find a distinction between these two types. higher activity soul - smart and rational. But since anthropological terminology in the patristic tradition has never been strictly regulated, insofar as their names are very diverse, for example, they can be designated as "mind and mind", "mind and reason", "spirit and soulfulness", "wisdom and knowledge" and etc.
This variety of terminological pairs may somewhat disorient an unprepared reader, but those wishing to familiarize themselves with Christian anthropology should remember that terminology in this area is not formalized, therefore, the understanding of patristic texts should not be literal, formal. Reading and understanding the creations of the holy fathers is special kind spiritual activity, which is possible only if the reader himself is rooted in Holy Tradition Orthodox Church and has a personal experience of living in Christ. As far as this experience of the Christian life is profound, the texts of the holy fathers become accessible to a person. The apostle Paul spoke about this: “ Which of the people knows what is in a person, besides the human spirit that lives in him? ... Sincere man does not accept what is of the Spirit of God, because he considers it to be folly; and he cannot understand, because this [must] be judged spiritually. But the spiritual one judges everything, and no one can judge him. "(). By the way, in these words of the supreme apostle we see a distinction between two types of knowledge - spiritual and mental, which not only differ, but can also lead to opposite conclusions. This distinction is again based on the concepts we have indicated earlier. Let's move on to their more detailed consideration.
Reason
The words "reason", "reasoning" (διάνοια, λογική) are often found in the books of the Old and New Testaments and denote the mental activity of a person, during which events are analyzed, personal experience and other facts to draw conclusions, make a decision. In this activity, a person relies on his natural forces. To be more precise and remember the patristic doctrine of the three powers of the soul, then reason and reasoning is a manifestation higher power soul - reasonable.
This power in patristic creations has several synonymous names: judicious, mental, verbal, cognitive. Intelligent power is not the mind, although they are closely related. Of modern terms, the closest to the patristic understanding of reason is the term "intellect" or "intellectual ability" as the ability to analyze, make judgments and conclusions.
Reasonable power of the soul serves the purpose of adapting to the surrounding world. It is also called by the holy fathers "natural" mind, and after the Fall - "carnal" mind. He analyzes, discusses, thinks, enters into a dialogue, creates concepts and ideas, but his judgments are mainly limited to the sensory world. The mind guesses about the supersensible world or receives guidance from the mind: “ The mind makes conclusions about the things contemplated, but not by itself, but by connecting with the mind ( νοῦς )» ... According to the saint, the mind is not capable of a single, simple, integral knowledge.
Since after the Fall, the natural forces of man were damaged, the reason was also damaged, therefore, in all its independent constructions, it contains errors. V Holy Scripture it says that common sense can be lost: "For they are a people who have lost their minds, and there is no point in them"(). A person can pervert his reason so much that he can be called reckless (;;; etc.) or make his reason crafty: “The winegrowers, seeing him, reasoned among themselves, saying: this is the heir; let's go and kill him, and his inheritance will be ours. "(;;). Sanity is a treasure to be obtained, kept healthy and multiplied: "My son! Keep your sanity and prudence"(; Compare:;). Correct reasoning can bring a person closer to the knowledge of God: “Do not be foolish, but learn what the will of God is” (;). The gift of godly reasoning is one of the highest gifts for an Orthodox ascetic. A person can get rid of erroneous reasoning only when he has an inner union with the undamaged source of Truth - Christ.
The rational power of the soul manifests itself through thinking (διάνοια) and acts through thought or, as the holy fathers said, the inner word. The reverend characterizes the inner word as follows: "The inner logos of the heart is what we think, judge, compose works, secretly read whole books, without our lips uttering words."
The concept of thought is clearly distinguished by the holy fathers from the concept "Thought" or "Thinking"(λογισμός). Thought is an involuntary thought that prompts a person to action. Unlike thought, which is the result of conscious intellectual work, thought has various reasons for its appearance, which are not recognized by a person. After the fall, the minds of people are filled with many thoughts. People try to figure them out or implement them. This inner work requires considerable mental strength, but it is not a direct manifestation of reason or thinking in essence, because the original mental object is not generated by the conscious activity of its own mind. A person spends energy to deal with what has "taken over" into his head and, not understanding the essence, but having found some kind of justification and opportunity, begins to realize the thought. Very often a person's head can be overwhelmed with thoughts when complete absence thoughts that found expression in folk wisdom: "To be rich in thoughts does not mean to become rich in mind." Pure rational thinking is a very rare phenomenon.
The patristic teaching about the rational power of the soul includes not only rationality, but also imagination and memory. V positive this power manifests itself in the form of knowledge, well-founded opinions, assumptions, scientific theories. V negative form- this is idolatry, absent-mindedness of thoughts, daydreaming, fantasies, idle talk, and also “ disbelief, heresy, unreasonableness, blasphemy, illegibility, ingratitude and permission to sins, stemming from passionate strength in the soul "... NS. this is how he describes the path of healing the mind: “For healing and healing are undoubted faith in God, true, infallible and Orthodox dogmas, constant study of the words of the Spirit, pure prayer, continuous thanksgiving to God "[ibid.].
According to the thought of the holy fathers, the rational power of the soul has a special connection with the head of a person, but the head or brain is not a source, but an instrument of this power.
Mind and mind
In patristic creations, the word "mind" ( νοῦς ) are often used synonymously with the word "spirit" (πνεῦμα). Many such identifications are found in the works of the holy fathers who denounced the heresy of Apollinarius (4th century). Why is this possible? The mind, as the Holy Scriptures says, is eye of the soul(). The monk also speaks of this: “The mind (νοῦς) belongs to the soul, not as something other than itself, but as the purest part of it. As the eye is in the body, so is the mind in the soul " .
The mind is a contemplative organ. It is intended for contemplation and cognition of God and the supersensible world, for communication with God, i.e. for the highest spiritual activity of a person: "It is natural for the mind to abide in God, and to think about Him, as well as about His providence and about His terrible judgments."... In other words, he fulfills everything that relates to the human spirit, first of all, connects a person with God, therefore, it is possible to interchange these words. However, it should be noted that in the patristic tradition the word “spirit” is more capacious and includes not only contemplation, but also the concept of spiritual strength and a single spiritual feeling.
In the instructions of the monk, the divine contemplative purpose of the mind is described in detail: “ The organ of vision of the body is the eyes, the organ of vision of the soul is the mind ... A soul that does not have a good mind and good life, is blind ... The eye sees the visible, and the mind comprehends the invisible. The God-loving mind is the light of the soul. Whoever has a God-loving mind is enlightened with his heart and sees God with his mind. "
For such contemplation, silence (suc ... a) is necessary in all human nature, so that sensuality, dreaminess, thinking (!) Would be silent in a person. In this state, the mind does not reason, but contemplates. Contemplation is the main activity of the mind, thanks to which it cognizes God, the spiritual world, and created being. Contemplation is not thinking, it is the perception of things and phenomena in their immediate being, in their inner essence, and not in their physical qualities. The mind sees-contemplates the hidden spiritual meaning, traces of the presence of God, seeks to see Divine designs and ideas. The relationship between mind and contemplation is expressed in Greek and etymologically, for the mind is νοῦς and contemplation is nOhsij. In the Greek language there is another, more expressive, word for contemplation - qewr ... a.
The mind seeks to manifest itself through the rational power of the soul, clothe its experience of contemplation in thoughts and words - this is a natural striving, but far from always feasible, especially when it comes to the experience of contemplating the spiritual world, therefore the Apostle Paul said : “I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. And I know about such a person that he was caught up in paradise and heard inexpressible words that a person cannot retell ”().
If the mind is darkened by sin (and this is characteristic of all people after the Fall), then it does not have a clear experience of contemplation. The darkened mind rests not on contemplation, but on sensory experience and the prudence of the rational power of the soul, i.e. reason. The mind that makes essential statements, not on the basis of contemplation, but through reasoning, becomes the mind (lOgoj). After the Fall, thinking became the main form of the human mind's activity, i.e. the mind manifests itself as intelligence.
If the saint speaks of the mind, then its localization in any part of the body is denied: "The mind is not attached to any part of the body, but equally touches the entire body, in accordance with nature, making a movement in the member subject to its action" [ 3, p. 35]. This idea was actively supported by the saint.
Distinguishing between Mind, Reason and Reason
Here are some examples of how the holy fathers distinguish these concepts.
Reverend: "Mind ( νοῦς ) is the organ of wisdom, and the mind (lOgoj) is the organ of knowledge. The mind, moving, seeks the cause of beings, and the logos, multi-equipped, investigates only qualities. Seeking is the first movement of the mind towards the cause, and investigation is the distinction by the Logos of the same cause through the concept. The mind is characterized by movement, and the logos is characterized by discrimination through the concept " .
St.: “It is one thing to contemplate, and another to reflect. The mind first contemplates, and then thinks in various ways ... The mind must learn to be silent, must become naked. Then he acquires a sense of the secret, superintelligent and divine " .
Reverend: “A rational being possesses two abilities - contemplative (qewrhtikOn) and active (praktikOn). The contemplative ability comprehends the nature of existence, while the active one thinks over the actions and determines the correct measure for them. The contemplative faculty is called the mind (noan), the active one is called the mind (lOgon); the contemplative ability is also called wisdom (sof ... an), while the active one is called prudence (frOnhsin). "
So, summarizing what has been said, we can conclude that in the patristic tradition, a clear distinction between the spiritual-contemplative and intellectual-rational abilities of a person is widespread, which was expressed in the use of the words "mind" ( νοῦς ), "Reason" (lOgoj) and "reason" (diOnoia). This is a very important anthropological distinction, but in this issue there is terminological vagueness that must be taken into account. In most cases, among the holy fathers, the word "reason" (diOnoia) denotes the ability to reason, thinking, indicates the rational strength of the soul. The word "mind" ( νοῦς ) most often indicates the spirit or contemplative ability of a person. And the word "mind" (lOgoj) can be associated with one or another word. What is its true meaning? From the above testimonies it is clear that the rapprochement, and sometimes the identification of the words "mind" and "mind" in the Holy Fathers, is due to the fact that they refer to the same part of human nature - spirit, and their difference is associated with the way of realizing the mind. If the mind is turned to the contemplation of the spiritual world and God, then it is always called the word "mind" ( νοῦς ), because in this case his activity directly corresponds to the divine plan for him, through this activity a person gains divine revelations and a certain knowledge of the essence of the created world, which is true wisdom. If the mind turns to reasoning, the construction of concepts, dialogizes, then it is called mind and its fruit is knowledge about the visible world. The mind is the reasoning mind.
The word "reason" (diOnoia) indicates the mental apparatus of thinking, the ability to create judgments, intellect, the mental power of the soul. If we use the trichotomous scheme of describing human nature, then the mind is a mental category, while the mind belongs to the highest spiritual part of a person, the mind is a mind that has turned away from contemplation, interacting with the mind, relying on its mental strength and experience. Therefore, in a certain context, it is possible to identify the words "reason" and "reason".
Since after the Fall, the human mind is covered with a veil of sin and is unable to contemplate the supersensible world, it is used by man only partly in its lowest function - as reason, i.e. as a tool for analyzing and comprehending sensory experience, as well as for putting this experience into words.
Although the mind is based on reason, it is not limited by it and has in its arsenal other means and methods of cognition: reflection, intuition, imagery, symbols, imagination, etc. All of the above are reduced properties of the true mind ( νοῦς ). In particular, intuition - This is a spontaneously manifested contemplative ability of the mind, which allows you to understand the essence of an object or phenomenon without analytical reasoning. However, in a mind darkened by sin, this ability is usually not found or manifests itself extremely unexpectedly, most often in extreme situations. Modern man cannot possess this ability all the time. Attempts to activate this sphere of a person with the help of certain occult techniques lead to damage to consciousness and the most difficult forms of delusion, which the holy fathers talk about a lot, therefore, attempts to artificially develop intuition in oneself is an extremely dangerous spiritual experiment on oneself. The contemplative ability of the mind, manifested in the life of saintly people, is a certain fruit of their spiritual life, but not a goal. This ability receives its correct disclosure only on the path of a godly life, according to the word of the Lord: “ Seek first the Kingdom and His righteousness, and all this will be added to you ”(, St. About the preservation of feelings. M., 2000
Tuesday, 21 Oct 2014Mind and mind are not the same thing. The mind always interferes with the mind to engage in self-control, because the senses and the mind always take this ability and opportunity from the mind to control the situation. Feelings are robbers. They rob a person of his happiness, his destiny. Feelings always bind us to some negative emotions, some problems. And they, like robbers, rob the mind's ability to control the situation. And the mind is a slave to the senses. He goes on about the feelings. The mind is the only one who must cope with the situation. And knowledge is the main attribute of the mind, for the sake of which the mind exists and lives. That is, the acquisition of knowledge means the filling of the mind. If a person fills the mind with knowledge, then he becomes reasonable. But knowledge is different ...
“The mind is the ability to understand and understand life, worldly conditions, while reason is the divine power of the soul, revealing to her its relation to the world and to God.
Reason is not only not the same thing as the mind, but is opposite to it: reason frees a person from those temptations (deceptions) that the mind imposes on a person.
This is the main activity of the mind: - destroying temptations, the mind liberates the essence of the human soul "(1-68, p. 161)
Leo Tolstoy.
"Reason is given to man to show him what is false and what is true.
As soon as a person throws away a lie, he will learn everything that he needs. "
What is the difference between mind and mind, what are their functions and how to control feelings? Having dealt with these phenomena, their functions and characteristics, we can learn to manage them in order to bring more harmony and happiness into our lives.
Hierarchy of Mind, Mind and Feelings
The function of the senses
In this case, feelings and emotions are not the same, since here in question about five sensory perceptions - hearing, sight, smell, touch and taste. Through the five senses, we receive information about the outside world.- this is the function of the senses.
The senses are controlled by the mind, which directs them to a particular object, and transmit the information they receive to the mind.
The function of the mind
As for the mind, in addition to analyzing and controlling the body and feelings, its main function is acceptance and rejection.
The function of the mind is to find objects of sense gratification, accept what is pleasant and reject what is unpleasant.
The mind is drawn to the pleasant and rejects the unpleasant. We want comfort, various pleasant sensations, pleasures, and we do everything to get what we want - this happens thanks to the work of the mind. The mind tries to get as much pleasure as possible through the senses.
In the Caitanya-caritamrta it is also said that the function of the mind is to reflect, feel and desire.
Mind function
What is the difference between mind and mind and what is mind in general? The mind, according to the Vedas, is higher than the mind, it is a more subtle substance than the mind and feelings. The main function of the mind is acceptance of the beneficial (favorable) and rejection of the harmful (dangerous, unfavorable). He discerns what is good and what is bad and is able to take into account the consequences of actions.
We can see that the functions of mind and mind are very similar - acceptance and rejection, but the difference is that the mind is guided by the idea of "receiving pleasant and rejecting unpleasant", while the mind is more far-sighted, determining what is useful and what is harmful.
The mind says either "want" or "I do not want" , and the mind evaluates as follows: "It will be beneficial" or "It will bring problems and troubles".
If a person is reasonable, that is, he has a strong developed mind, he does not go on about the mind and feelings, but considers his desires from the position "Will it do me good or harm?"
Here is a young man walking down the street hot, summer, heat, scorching heat, and he wants to cool down and drink. Vision wanders down the street and finds ice cream - cold, tasty. The mind says "do you remember the taste?" - yes, I remember the taste, we take it, command from the mind - legs to go forward, hands - get the money, count it, buy 10 servings. Very hot, really want to, take 10 servings! Since the mind is influenced by the senses, it is so indefatigable, immoderate. But there is also the mind, which just has a screen like this, it is above the mind and feelings and says "Stop!" The mind says “if you eat 10 servings of ice cream, your throat will get cold. You can get cracked teeth from abuse, you ruin your stomach if you eat like that all the time, no, two servings is enough. Enough!"
If the mind is strong, the mind will say - “Understood, that's it. Two portions". But if the mind is weak, the mind will say - "Get out, I know what to do without you, what are you teaching me, in general?"
Parents remember how children begin to behave when they grow up. Exactly, the senses are strong, the mind is strong, the mind is not yet. You tell them - "I know without you, don't bother me, I want to enjoy." But the power of desire is very powerful.
An unreasonable person is guided only by the desires of the mind, which seeks to get the maximum of pleasant sensations, and does not really think about what such pleasures will lead to.
The mind can enjoy the feeling of being drunk, driving fast, or any other pleasure (this is individual), while the mind looks at possible consequences such actions and pleasures, and makes adjustments, forcing a person to think better and stop in time.
Homo sapiens that's why it is called reasonable, because it is given mind is distinctive property human, but the mind is not always stronger than mind, especially nowadays: we can see many unreasonable human actions and deeds that lead to undesirable and negative consequences.
Mind alone is not enough for a normal life; a person can be smart, educated, quick-witted, a recognized specialist in a certain field of activity and even a genius, but this does not guarantee its reasonableness.
By evaluating situations from the standpoint of reason, we can avoid many mistakes and unpleasant consequences their actions. A person with a highly developed mind can general outline predict your future based on your current behavior. This is one of the reasons why you need to listen to life-wise old people - they know what actions lead to what consequences.
Sense control
Do you need to control your feelings, and if so, how to do it?
Yes, feelings need to be controlled, because they are insatiable, and if you give them free rein, it will not lead to anything good.
For example, getting pleasant sensations from alcohol or drugs, a person can gradually get drunk or become a drug addict; indulging your sexual desires and walking "left and right", you can pick up a venereal disease; in pursuit of big money, you can lose your mind and end up behind bars. Etc.
Our feelings are insatiable by nature: the more you give them, the more you want, therefore, definitely, feelings need to be controlled. When feelings are "cleared", it is much more difficult to control them, so it is important not to start the situation.
But how do you control your feelings?
Here you need to understand that the mind cannot properly control its feelings, since, in fact, it directs them to receive pleasure (receiving pleasure) without caring about the consequences. The mind itself needs control and the right leadership"above".
Therefore, correct control of the senses is possible only with the help of a strong mind, which foresees the consequences, and therefore can give a correct assessment of our desires and actions.
Have a truly intelligent person mind is stronger than mind so its the mind and senses are under the control of the mind, which eliminates a lot of troubles from his life.
Now you understand from here what the disadvantage is modern world? Not because there are problems such as alcoholism, drug addiction, prostitution and many others, but because at modern people undeveloped mind sufficiently.
What is the difference between mind and mind, what are their functions and how to control feelings. Having dealt with these phenomena, their functions and characteristics, we can learn to manage them in order to bring more harmony and happiness into our lives.
Hierarchy of Mind, Mind and Feelings
In the Vedas, in particular in the Bhagavad Gita, it is said that the senses are higher than dead matter, the mind (governing them) stands above the senses, the mind is above the mind, but above all of them is the soul, our consciousness in its purest form.
The function of the senses
In this case, feelings and emotions are not the same thing, since here we are talking about five sensory perceptions - hearing, sight, smell, touch and taste. Through the five senses, we receive information about the external world - this is the function of the senses. The senses are controlled by the mind, which directs them to a particular object, and transmit the information received to the mind.
The function of the mind
As for the mind, in addition to analyzing and controlling the body and feelings, its main function is acceptance and rejection. The mind is drawn to the pleasant and rejects the unpleasant. We want comfort, various pleasant sensations, pleasures, and we do everything to get what we want - this happens thanks to the work of the mind. The mind tries to get as much pleasure as possible through the senses. In the Caitanya-caritamrta it is also said that the function of the mind is to reflect, feel and desire.
Mind function
What is the difference between mind and mind and what is mind in general? The mind, according to the Vedas, is higher than the mind, it is a more subtle substance than the mind and feelings. The main function of the mind is to accept the useful (favorable) and reject the harmful (dangerous, unfavorable).
We can see that the functions of mind and mind are very similar - acceptance and rejection, but the difference is that the mind is guided by the idea of "receiving pleasant and rejecting unpleasant", while the mind is more far-sighted, determining what is useful and what is harmful. The mind says either “I want” or “I don’t want”, and the mind evaluates as follows: “it will bring good” or “it will bring problems and troubles”.
If a person is reasonable, that is, he has a strong developed mind, he does not go about the mind and feelings, but considers his desires from the position of "will it benefit or harm me?" An unreasonable person is guided only by the desires of the mind, which seeks to get the maximum of pleasant sensations, and does not really think about what such pleasures will lead to. The mind can enjoy the feeling of drunkenness, driving fast, or any other pleasure (this is individual), while the mind looks at the possible consequences of such actions and pleasures, and makes adjustments, forcing a person to change his mind and stop in time.
Homo sapiens is called reasonable because he was given reason, this is a distinctive feature of man, but reason is not always stronger than mind, especially in our time: we can see many unreasonable human actions and actions that lead to undesirable and negative consequences. Mind alone is not enough for a normal life; a person can be smart, educated, quick-witted, a recognized specialist in a certain field of activity and even a genius, but this does not guarantee his rationality.
By evaluating situations from the standpoint of reason, we can avoid many mistakes and unpleasant consequences of our actions. A person with a highly developed mind can predict your future in general terms from your current behavior. This is one of the reasons why you need to listen to life-wise old people - they know what actions lead to what consequences.
Sense control
Do you need to control your feelings, and if so, how to do it? Yes, feelings need to be controlled, because they are insatiable, and if you give them free rein, it will not lead to anything good. For example, getting pleasant sensations from alcohol or drugs, a person can gradually get drunk or become a drug addict; indulging your sexual desires and walking "left and right", you can pick up a venereal disease; in pursuit of big money, you can lose your mind and end up behind bars. Etc.
Our feelings are insatiable by nature: the more you give them, the more you want, therefore, definitely, feelings need to be controlled. When feelings are "cleared", it is much more difficult to control them, so it is important not to start the situation. But how do you control your feelings?
Here you need to understand that the mind cannot properly control its feelings, since it, in fact, directs them to receive pleasure (to receive pleasure) without caring about the consequences. The mind itself needs control and proper guidance from above.
Therefore, correct control of feelings is possible only with the help of a strong mind, which foresees the consequences, and therefore can give a correct assessment of our desires and actions.
In a truly intelligent person, the mind is stronger than the mind, so his mind and feelings are under the control of the mind, which eliminates a lot of troubles from his life.
In addition to the topic and to understand more about this important issue, read the article “
the ability to understand, the ability to grasp relationships. Understanding can be more or less quick and more or less deep: as a rule, a quick understanding will be superficial, and a slow one - deep. In short, there is not a single mind, but various forms mind. The task of "vocational guidance" is to reveal the mental abilities of everyone, to give them the opportunity to succeed in their chosen specialty. Success is usually proof of intelligence (Spearmann). From a practical point of view, the mind can be defined as the ability to adapt (Claparede); the ability to quickly adapt to new situations or problems. Mental abilities are determined using tests (aimed, for example, on mechanical combinations, elementary counting, solving puzzles over a certain period of time). The mind of an animal is limited by its ability to evade ("evasive behavior") in order to achieve a certain result(for example, a monkey is sometimes able to reach fruit with a stick). In a child, the development of mental abilities is associated with the development of language: at 10 months, his mind corresponds to the mental development of a macaque, but then he quickly exceeds this stage of development. One should not confuse the human mind with memory or judge it in connection with the development or power of the individual's passions, or with the strength of his will. Everyone can develop their mind through self-education, as well as learning to reason and judge.
Not everyone, even an educated person, can give a detailed answer to the question of what the mind is. In addition, there are so many definitions of the mind, and they are so different from each other that one cannot do without a special article. That is why we decided to collect in this article all the basic definitions of the concept of "mind".
Linguistic definitions of the mind
In this chapter, we will give the dictionary definitions of this phenomenon. The explanatory dictionary of Ozhegov-Shvedova defines the mind as "a person's ability to think, the basis of a conscious, intelligent life."
There is a similar description in Dahl's dictionary: mind is "the general name for the cognitive and final ability of a person, the ability to think."
Finally, in explanatory dictionary Ushakov's definition of the mind almost word for word coincides with the above: "the thinking ability underlying conscious, intelligent activity."
What is the mind from the point of view of science
Now let's turn to other sciences; in particular, we will propose definitions of the mind from the point of view of psychology, neurophysiology and philosophy.
Definition of the mind in psychology
Mind or intellect, from the point of view of modern psychology, is a certain stable structure of a person's thinking abilities and his level of ability to cognize the world around him. In addition, the mind also refers to the mechanism of mental adaptation of a person to various life situations, that is, an adequate assessment of the relationships and laws of reality, as well as the involvement of a person in the cultural experience of society.
Simply put, our intelligence is a mechanism that allows us to operate in conditions the environment and interact with others in a certain way. Modern psychology moved away from understanding the intellect as a set of exclusively cognitive processes. Thus, from the point of view of psychology, the mind is not only mental abilities, but also the ability to adapt to emerging situations.
The mind from the point of view of neurophysiology
As a matter of fact, in neurophysiology there is no such thing as mind, but there is the concept of thinking. Thinking is the main function of the brain, the ability to perceive and analyze information entering the brain through the five senses: eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin.
According to physiological theory, thinking (mind) is a reflex activity, that is, in fact, the brain's reaction to external stimuli. However, despite the fact that physiologists agree on the reflex activity of thinking, they admit that physiological foundations(that is, the reasons for the emergence of thinking) are very poorly studied. Without going into details, we note that it has not yet been proven that a certain thought process (for example, making a decision) occurs due to the action of a group of neurons (nerve cells) in the brain.
The concept of mind in philosophy
Philosophical definitions of the mind are even more blurred than in psychology and neurophysiology. Ancient philosophers were still thinking about the nature of the mind, but the ancient "nous" (this is how the word "mind" was pronounced in ancient Greek) is not so much intelligence a specific person how much the universal essence, the intelligent part of the immortal soul. Early Christian thinkers considered the mind a means of knowing God, understanding by God the absolute mind, and by the intellect - the limited mind, which is aimed at comprehending the divine.
Further, already in the epoch of modern times and the Renaissance there was a separation of mind (reason, intellect) and reason. It must be said that modern scientific interpretations of the mind relate more precisely to reason, as it was understood at that time (medieval reason is the ability of a person to reason and investigate), and not to the mind (medieval mind is the ability to penetrate into the true essence of things).
Rationalists defined the intellect (mind) as an instrument of cognition and the formation of inferences, and the great philosopher and thinker Immanuel Kant defined the mind as the highest cognitive ability and the basis of rational activity.
In the twentieth century, when the passion for measuring everything and everyone manifested itself to the highest degree, the concept of the mind also did not stand aside. Today, few people do not know what IQ is - a quantitative measurement of an individual's intellectual activity, which, perhaps, already goes beyond the scope of philosophical science and relates more to the field of experimental psychology.
Mind from the point of view of Buddhism and Indian philosophy
The last definition of mind that we will consider here is related to some of the Eastern religious movements, namely Buddhism and Hinduism. According to the interpretation of Buddhists and followers of the doctrine of nonduality, advaita (one of the offshoots of Hinduism), our mind is our memory. And indeed: try to deprive a person of his memory, and he will not be able not only to say, but even to perform many actions (for example, use a fork and spoon to eat and even just choose the right food for himself). Thus, without memory, that is, without mind, a person will have to learn everything anew.
What is memory? Memory is, in fact, our past experience... It is the presence of long-term memory that distinguishes a person from other living beings. Although I must say that in many animals, memory is also very well developed. However, they cannot think at the same level as a person, that is, analyze what is happening in accordance with the existing experience. It turns out that it is analytical abilities, together with memory, in fact, that make up what we call the mind.