Quite often, while thinking about various important issues, people suddenly find some solution that seems to come down on them. It is at such a moment that a person exclaims: "I had an insight, everything became clear!" However, this lexical unit is also found in other contexts that have a completely different content. The article will consider what insight is, what meanings it has.
Direct meaning of the word
Any word in the Russian language has a basic definition that is usually used in speech. This meaning is called direct, it has no figurative, metaphorical or figurative meaning, so it is understandable to most people. The lexeme in question has two main definitions.
In the first sense, the word "illumination" is the same as the verb "illuminate", i.e. brightly illuminate someone / something, according to the explanatory dictionary of S. I. Ozhegov, N. Yu. Shvedova. In the context, this lexical unit can be used as follows: "Illumination of the fields by the morning sun", i.e. lighting, endowing with saturated light.
In the second meaning, this lexeme is used to describe a sudden clarification of consciousness, a clear understanding of something. For example,"I found insight", i.e. the problem was resolved, the necessary idea, thought was found. In this meaning, the lexeme "insight" indicates that the process of understanding something was long enough, as a result, the search for a solution to the issue was rewarded with a sudden, clear understanding of it.
Many great discoveries have been made through insight. The first known case is the famous "Eureka!" Archimedes, when, plunging into the water, he noticed that its level had changed, became higher. It was at this moment that the great scientist realized how to measure the weight of various things, an insight descended on him.
Portable
Not all words in Russian are of secondary importance. It is derived from a direct, basic meaning, usually has a figurative, metaphorical overtones. According to the figurative definition, "enlightenment" is enlightenment, the improvement of something, becoming radiant, animated.
The following examples will help to understand the meaning well: "illumination of the face with a smile", "illumination of the soul with hope".
The figurative meaning is directly related to the main one: as the sun illuminates the fields, so a sincere smile can make a person brighter, kinder and more open.
Phraseology
The lexeme "enlightenment" is not found in phraseological units of the Russian language, however, there are stable combinations that convey the meaning of this word: "clarify the problem", "get to the bottom of the matter".
This isphraseological unit "that's where the dog is buried", the origin of which has several versions. This stable expression is pronounced when a thought, an idea suddenly came up, it turned out to understand the essence of a problem or a difficult task.
Synonyms for "Illumination"
Considering the question of what "enlightenment" is, the definition of which was given above, it is necessary to turn to synonymous words for this lexeme. Synonyms are lexical units that are similar in meaning but different in spelling. For words that have a direct semantic load, you can pick up the following synonyms:
- Lighting - give light, be its source. The fields lit up with the spring sun.
- Clearing - to make clear, understandable. Thought cleared.
- Inspiration - a sudden thought, inspiration. Go on a hunch - subconsciously, on a hunch.
A word with a figurative meaning has the following synonym:
Clear - become cleared, revitalized. Vision brightened
Antonymous lexemes
Illumination is something light, bright, understandable, clear, therefore it is quite easy to find antonyms for this word - lexical units that have the opposite meaning.
The lexeme under consideration has an antonym "blackout", which can be used both in the main and figurative meaning:
- make dark, do not let in light: darken windows - close them from lighting, mask;
- obscure, make incomprehensible: obscure consciousness.
Using a lexeme in scientific terminology
The word "illumination" is quite actively used in psychology, where it is a term describing a certain characteristic of human thinking. From the point of view of this science, "insight" is an instantaneous, sudden, new understanding that is not derived from past experience, it is an understanding of important issues, tasks, relationships, a vision of the essence of the problem as a whole, a way out of an impasse through a conscious solution to a problem situation.
"Illumination" as a term was first used in Gest alt psychology, which studied the intelligence of great apes. In the course of experiments and research, the famous psychologist W. Koehler proved that animals do not learn by trial and error, but investigate a problem that could not be solved immediately, examine objects around, and then quickly find the right answer.
Consequently, "insight" acts as a characteristic of human thinking, is an intellectual act when the solution is in the process of understanding the problem as a whole, and not in its analysis. This category does not so much explain the process of understanding as it describes it.
Insight - insight in action
Considering the lexeme "insight", the meaning of the word, one cannot pass by insight - a term also used in psychology, denoting insight into reality, which comes during the decision of a certaintasks.
Psychologists do not agree on this process. Some argue that insight does not exist, while others, on the contrary, conduct various experiments, experiments that prove that insight exists.
Proponents of Gestald psychology believe that many difficult problems can be solved with the help of insight, which is the third step in the theory of mental problem solving. The first stage introduces a difficult question, the second one is working on finding answers, the third one is actually insight, the solution found, which can be either true, true or negative, the fourth one is checking the received answer.
At the same time, insight is perceived as a bright emotional outburst, which is difficult to confuse with something else. Moreover, emotions will always be positive, beautiful, even with a negative result, since a certain answer has been found, albeit an incorrect one.
Consequently, insight is also an insight, which means a successful search for a solution, on the one hand, and receiving a strong vivid emotion, on the other.
Thus, the considered lexical unit has several meanings, among which there are direct and figurative ones, it is actively used as a term in psychology, and also expresses such a real concept as insight. In general, "'illumination"' is a bright illumination of the world and human consciousness, which occurs due to the sun in the first case and some kind of superconsciousness in the second.
