The principle of subjectivity was formulated for the first time in ancient Eastern philosophy. Almost all thinkers considered the individual as a unique being, the highest value.
Naturalistic approach
The concept of "subjectivity" was considered by the ancients through simple and complex aspects. The first corresponded to the structure of the "blank slate", the latter - innate behavior. The naturalistic approach does not deny the development of subjectivity. With a simple model, its formation occurs in the form of records, with a complex one, through a conditioned reflex idea.
Middle Ages
In this era, the category in question received an extended interpretation. Medieval thinkers pointed out that subjectivity is such a foundation of an individual, which, on the one hand, is conditioned by the Creator, who transfers knowledge and initiates the mind, and on the other hand, directly by his thinking. The meaning of life was represented in the comprehension of the divine. Medieval philosophers paid more attention to the inner world of the individual. As a result, the prerequisites were formulated for the separation of man from the natural world and gradual opposition to it.
Philosophy of Modern Times
With the emergence of civilization to a new level, the subjectivity of the individual began to be considered in a qualitatively new aspect. God has ceased to be considered a direct participant in the formation of the world and the individual. Man, as well as the space surrounding him, was considered as the result of a long evolution. At the same time, his rationality was recognized as the key quality of the individual. Kant in his works significantly expanded the range of issues related to subjectivity. He acknowledged, in particular, the existence of an opposition category. It is an object. According to Kant, the subject is the source of a priori ideas, categories and the ability of reason. He called an object what all these forms can refer to.
Features
Subjectivity as a personal quality was first considered by Hegel. He interpreted it as a certainty, identical with being. At the same time, in the existing definitions, the characteristics of subjectivity are given from different aspects. First of all, in terms of constancy of quality, this category is unchanged over time. Secondly, human subjectivity was considered in relation to the property. According to Hegel, the loss of an attribute does not change things, but when the quality changes, the object itself changes. The third aspect of understanding is the consideration of subjectivity as a system of properties. The fourth is through correlations with the qualities of other objects.
Existentialism
This is a direction of philosophy, the key idea of which was the appeal of the individual to his own Self. Within the framework of existentialism, the humansubjectivity was associated with the awareness of one's consciousness. As Kierkegaard (one of the adherents of the theory) pointed out, in order to realize true nature, the individual must leave society and stand before God. At the same time, he must go through 3 stages of existence:
- Aesthetic.
- Ethical.
- Religious.
It will depend on the individual whether he will be able to realize his attitude towards subjectivity.
Proceedings of J.-P. Sartre
The author reveals subjectivity in two aspects. On the one hand, the individual chooses himself. Within the framework of the second aspect, a person is not able to go beyond the limits of subjectivity. Sartre insists on the latter position. A person always invents, invents both himself and his values. There will be no meaning in life until the individual lives it and realizes it. It follows from this that man is the center of the world. But at the same time, he is not inside, but outside himself. He is in constant motion into the future, striving into the unknown. For everything he does, he is responsible. In striving for his freedom, a person reveals dependence on someone else, limiting him. Choosing himself, the individual formulates the image as a whole. The emerging limitation is fixed in specific actions, their totality and in life as a whole. It can be said that the existence of a person in an alienated complex of social relations acted as a key theme in existentialism. The followers of the theory pointed out that the individual is doomed to freedom if he does not want to perish spiritually. Man and the world have a future only ifwhen the subject finds the strength to live and create.
Personalism
The ideas of this philosophical direction were developed by Shestov, Lossky, Berdyaev. Within the framework of personalism, the idea was put forward of the divinity of the personality, its irreducibility to natural and social characteristics. Society was presented as a collection of individuals. According to Berdyaev, a person regards himself primarily as a subject. The secret of the individual is revealed in his inner existence. In the objectification of man, it closes. The individual learns about himself only that which is alienated from his inner existence. It does not belong entirely to the objective world, but has its own space, a fate incommensurable with nature. In the works of Lossky, central importance is attached to the fact that the manifestations of the student's subjectivity are purely individual. The bearer of organic unity is a "substantial agent". At the same time, according to Lossky, he acts not as a personality, but as some of its potentiality. It expresses the creative, active principle of the world, which is embedded directly in its substance. Personalism considers the individual and the individual. The latter exists within a complex web of social interactions. He is subject to the changes that are taking place in the world. This is what prevents the expression of the individual's own I. Personality, in turn, realizing the will, asserts itself. She overcomes social barriers and the finiteness of life.
Conclusions
Analyzing different philosophical currents, it can be noted that subjectivity iscategory relating to different aspects of life. When considering it, the questions of the freedom of the individual, his will, consciousness are investigated. In this case, a person is given the choice of "himself" or the one who formulates the world for him. From this it follows that the formation of subjectivity occurs through the creation of one's consciousness.
Postmodern theories
They blur the boundaries between classes, nationalities, social institutions. Within the framework of theories, the world is presented as an abstract society. The basis is individuality. Since there is no solid set of values, there is no attitude towards them. In such conditions, meaning and individuality are lost. Many researchers believe that the subject is destroyed under such circumstances. To survive, he needs to either become an opportunist and accept the world as it is, or remain a person at least on an emotional level. When studying the category under consideration, American philosophers pay special attention to the issues of freedom. They support the opinion that subjectivity is an element of the conflict between the authorities and the people. The individual fights for freedom, tries to change or destroy the foundations and create a new set of values. The personality exists in constant confrontation with the continuously changing world. Accordingly, subjectness is a constantly transforming category.
Common signs
The subject in philosophy is a source of knowledge and change of reality. It is the carrier of activity, carrying out the transformationin yourself and other people. The subject is a holistic, goal-setting, free and developing being, perceiving, among other things, the surrounding world. It is considered in philosophy from two sides. First of all, evaluation is carried out within the framework of opposition to its object. On the other hand, the subjectivity of activity is analyzed to describe the general level of organization of society. In the philosophical definition, it is considered as a reflexive awareness of oneself as a physiological individual who has a commonality with other representatives of civilization, as a member of society. Subjectivity is the basis for characterizing an individual. When he is born, he does not have any qualities. In the course of his development, a person becomes a subject when he enters the system of social interactions.
Psychological Science
Analysis of subjectivity can be performed based on the historically established logic of studying the category "subject". An individual or a group acts as a source of research and transformation of reality. Rubinstein singled out the concept of the subject as a philosophical category denoting the immanent source of human activity (according to Hegel). In his works, an appropriate approach to the construction of methodological directions has been developed. In particular, it begins with an analysis of "activity" and ends with the formulation of the problem of its subject. At the same time, Rubinstein opposed considering the relationship of these categories as a purely external phenomenon. In activity, he saw the conditions for the formation and subsequent development of the subject. The individual is not onlytransforms the object according to its goal, but also acts in a different capacity to achieve it. At the same time, both he and the object change.
Other approaches
According to Leontiev, it is necessary to talk about a subject that implements its own relations in the totality of activities. He noted that the key task of psychological research is the analysis of the process of unification, linking the activity of the individual. As a result of various activities, a personality is created. In turn, its analysis requires a special approach. In particular, it is necessary to investigate the objective activity of the subject, mediated by the processes of consciousness that connect individual activities with each other. Brushlinsky pointed out that in the course of growing up in the life of an individual, an increasing place is given to self-knowledge, self-education. Accordingly, internal conditions become priority, through which external factors of influence are expressed.
Concepts
The idea of Rubinstein formulated the methodological basis for the study of subjectivity. It was concretized in his scientific school. In the concept, a person is considered primarily as an author, director, actor in his life. Each individual has their own story. He creates it independently by changing himself. At the same time, attention is focused on actively transforming activity, its subjective properties. A similar position is taken by Yakimanskaya. It indicates that subjectivity is an acquired, created property. However, itexists due to the existing activity of the individual. At the same time, it crystallizes in the student's potencies.
Petrovsky's research
A new human image is formulated in his writings. The individual overcomes the barriers of his own natural and social limitations. The author refuses the established and dominant view of man as an adaptive being, endowed with a specific goal and striving for it. The idea proposed by Petrovsky made it possible to significantly rethink the process of the formation of individual properties and express it in terms of self-activity. Personality was presented as an independently developing system. In the orbit of her activity, she included other people as owners of their ideal continuity and representation. In the conceptual model of the formation of subjectivity, the scientist combined the moments of active non-adaptation and its reflection in people. Petrovsky was able to show that the reproduction and generation of oneself forms a single complex of intrinsically valuable activity. In the transitions of virtual, returned, reflected subjectivity, a person is free, integral. Petrovsky sees the essence of the generation of oneself in the existence in this capacity and henceforth, the return to oneself with going beyond one's own limits.
What is the difference between human subjectivity and subjectivity?
The devaluation of the ideas of the formation of individual qualities over the last decades of the 20th century was stopped by a new interpretation. The "phenomenon of subjectness" has become firmly established in science. She was presentedas a special form of integrity. It included manifestations of the properties of an individual as a subject of attitude to the world, objective perception, communication and self-consciousness. In all cases when the authors use the category under consideration, they have in mind a certain quality, a certain potential of the individual to implement certain behavioral acts. Subjectivity, in turn, is considered as a mechanism for its practical implementation. It cannot be realized in the absence of potential. Subjectivity can exist without subjectivity. For example, this is the case when a voter puts a tick in front of someone's last name at random, or a counterparty signs an agreement without reading its terms.
