Forms of thinking characterize the structural structure of the expressed thoughts. Basic forms of thinking include concepts, judgments, and inferences.

Concept is a form of thinking that reflects a class of homogeneous objects at the highest level of generalization by fixing their common features. Properties and relationships between objects are used as signs. In other words, a concept is a thought about a whole class of objects (objects or phenomena), highlighting their main, interconnected common properties and characteristics. This is an internal, mental psychological representation of general properties objects. Having pronounced the concept of "tree", a person distinguishes from a huge flora a class of plants that have a solid stem and a powerful crown formed by a system of branches.

It is difficult to imagine the life of a person deprived of the ability to operate with concepts. To accurately navigate the world, each object belonging to the same class (for example, each of the pines standing next to each other in the forest) would have to be given its own name (“name”) belonging only to it.

Concepts are general and single, specific and abstract. General concepts refer to a certain group of objects, united, as a rule, by the same name and having the same characteristics. So, the concept of "temperament" refers to all people. Single concepts characterize properties related to one object. Indicating, for example, a sanguine type of temperament this person, we reflect a single property.

Concrete concepts refer to a well-defined, easily visualized object (for example, the concept of "cerebral cortex"). Abstract reflect the properties and phenomena of objects that are difficult to imagine and classify (for example, the concept of "mental development").

Operating with concepts refers to the highest level thinking, characteristic of its verbal and logical form. This type is peculiar to a person starting from a certain age and continues to improve almost all his life. The concept is considered as a form of abstract thinking, the result of generalizing the properties of individual specific subjects, phenomena and allocation in them essential features.

There are two strategies for assimilating concepts - instance and hypothesis testing.

Understanding... Distinguish between direct understanding, when a concept after a few mental operations is formed according to the principle "here and now"; mediated (discursive), formed in the process of many mental operations.

Judgment- the process (or result) of forming an opinion or conclusion based on previously realized information. Judgment manifests itself in a statement, assumption, criticism, statement, insistence, etc. This is the result of the individual's ability to understand and, in this capacity, includes the awareness of all kinds of connections between objects, phenomena and processes. "Talkative person - good person"- not indisputable, but a private possible judgment of an individual, formed by him on the basis of personal experience interactions with other people.

Distinguish types of judgments:

• formal characterizing the very fact of the relationship between objects without an emphasis on their truth or falsity ("blue sky" - the truth of this judgment is determined by previous judgments related to the conversation about the sky);
• empirical, which characterizes the fact of interrelationships between objects as a result of observing them and, therefore, providing an opportunity to check their truth (“look how blue the sky is!”).

Inference- the highest form of thinking, leading to a new judgment as a result of operating with other concepts and judgments. Inferences are often formed on the basis of judgments preceding the conclusion, and serve as evidence obtained by logical means. “A phlegmatic person is a person of calm disposition. Petrov is a calm person, which means he is a phlegmatic. " Here two judgments ("phlegmatic is a calm person" and "Petrov is a calm person") lead to the conclusion that Petrov is a phlegmatic person. Of course, Petrov's calmness can be ensured by his strong will (even if he has a choleric temperament), but such is the thread of the thinking operations of the author of this conclusion.

Most often in practice, such types of inferences:

• induction- when more general ones are formed from private judgments and concepts on the basis of logical operations (example: all dogs have a tail, four legs and bark; this is a hairy creature - on four paws with a tail and barks, therefore, we have a dog in front of us); deduction - when, as a result of logical operations, more specific information, consequences are formed from general knowledge about objects (for example: all pilots are brave people; Ivanov is a pilot, therefore, a brave person);
• analogy- when the inference is based on the similarity of the most significant signs of psychological objects;
• assumption- when an inference is formed on the basis of probabilistic concepts and incomplete information about the object under study (for example, that the planet Earth has the shape of a ball and revolves around the Sun, N. Copernicus suggested in 1543 in his book "On the Rotations of the Celestial Spheres" on the basis of observations of periodically changing phenomena of the day and night of summer and winter).

Forms of thinking

The first teachings about the forms and methods of reasoning arose in the countries of the Ancient East (China, India), but the teachings created by ancient Greek thinkers lie at the heart of modern logic. The basics formal logic laid down by Aristotle, who was the first to separate the logical forms of thinking (speech) from its content.

Logics Is the science of forms and ways of thinking.

The laws of logic reflect in the human mind the properties, connections and relationships of objects in the surrounding world. Logic allows you to build formal models of the surrounding world, distracting from the content side.

Thinking is always carried out in some form. The main forms of thinking are concept, statement and inference.

A concept is a form of thinking that fixes the main, essential features of an object.
The concept has two sides: content and volume.

Content of the concept constitutes a set of essential features of an object. To reveal the content of the concept, one should find the signs that are necessary and sufficient to distinguish a given object from many other objects.
For example, the content of the concept “ Personal Computer"Can be expanded as follows:" A personal computer is a universal electronic device for automatic processing of information, intended for one user ”.

Scope of the concept is determined by the totality of objects to which it applies. The scope of the concept "personal computer" expresses the entire set (hundreds of millions) of personal computers currently existing in the world.

Utterance is a form of thinking in which something is affirmed or denied about the properties of real objects and the relationship between them.
The statement can be either true or false.

In form, the utterance is a declarative sentence. The utterance cannot be imperative or interrogative sentence, since the assessment of their truth or falsity is impossible.
Statements can be expressed using not only natural languages, but also formal ones. For example, a statement in natural language has the form "Two times two equals four", and in a formal, mathematical language it is written in the form: "2. 2 = 4 ".

The truthfulness of statements can depend on the views of people, on specific circumstances, and so on. Today the saying “My computer has the most modern processor Pentium 4 ”is false, but some time ago it was true.

Statements are general, private or singular.
A general statement most often begins with the words: everything, everyone, everyone, not one.
A private statement can be started with words: some, most, etc.
In all other cases, the statement is single.

Based on simple statements, compound statements... For example, the statement "A processor is an information processing device and a printer is a printing device" is a compound statement, consisting of two simple, connected by the union "and".
If the truth or falsity of simple statements is established as a result of an agreement on the basis of common sense, then the truth or falsity of compound statements is calculated using the algebra of statements.

Inference is a form of thinking with the help of which a new judgment (conclusion) can be obtained from one or several judgments (premises).

For example, if we have the judgment “All angles of the triangle are equal”, then we can prove by inference that in this case the judgment “This triangle is equilateral” is true.

Information received by a person from the outside world allows a person to represent not only external, but also inner side subject, to represent objects in the absence of them themselves, to foresee their change in time, to rush with thought into boundless distances and microcosm. All this is possible through the process of thinking. In under thinking understand the process cognitive activities an individual, characterized by a generalized and indirect reflection of reality. Objects and phenomena of reality have such properties and relationships that can be cognized directly, with the help of sensations and perceptions (colors, sounds, shapes, placement and movement of bodies in visible space).

The first feature of thinking- its indirect nature. What a person cannot know directly, directly, he knows indirectly, indirectly: some properties through others, the unknown through the known. Thinking is always based on the data of sensory experience - ideas - and on previously acquired theoretical knowledge. Indirect cognition is mediated cognition.

The second feature of thinking- its generality. Generalization as cognition of the general and essential in objects of reality is possible because all the properties of these objects are related to each other. The general exists and manifests itself only in the particular, in the concrete.

People express generalizations through speech, language. Verbal designation refers not only to a single object, but also to a whole group of similar objects. Generalization is also inherent in images (ideas and even perceptions). But there it is always limited by clarity. The word, however, allows you to generalize infinitely. Philosophical concepts of matter, motion, law, essence, phenomenon, quality, quantity, etc. - the broadest generalizations expressed by the word.

The results of the cognitive activity of people are recorded in the form of concepts. A concept is a reflection of the essential features of an object. The concept of an object arises on the basis of many judgments and inferences about it. The concept as a result of generalization of the experience of people is the highest product of the brain, the highest level of knowledge of the world.

Human thinking proceeds in the form of judgments and inferences... Judgment is a form of thinking that reflects objects of reality in their connections and relationships. Each judgment is a separate thought about something. A consistent logical connection of several judgments, necessary in order to solve any mental problem, to understand something, to find an answer to a question, is called reasoning. Reasoning has practical meaning only when it leads to a certain conclusion, inference. The inference will be the answer to the question, the result of the search for thought.

Inference- this is a conclusion from several judgments that gives us new knowledge about objects and phenomena of the objective world. Inferences are inductive, deductive and analogous.

Thinking is the highest level of human cognition of reality. The sensory basis of thinking is sensation, perception and representation. Through the senses - these are the only communication channels of the body with the outside world - information enters the brain. The content of information is processed by the brain. The most complex (logical) form of information processing is the activity of thinking. Solving the mental tasks that life poses to a person, he reflects, draws conclusions and thereby learns the essence of things and phenomena, discovers the laws of their connection, and then on this basis transforms the world.

Thinking is not only closely related to sensations and perceptions, but it is formed on the basis of them. The transition from sensation to thought - difficult process, which consists, first of all, in the selection and isolation of an object or its attribute, in abstraction from the concrete, individual and the establishment of the essential, common to many objects.

Thinking acts mainly as a solution to tasks, questions, problems that are constantly put forward before people by life. Problem solving should always give a person something new, new knowledge. Finding solutions is sometimes very difficult, so mental activity, as a rule, is an active activity that requires focused attention and patience. The real process of thought is always a process not only cognitive, but also emotionally volitional.

For a person's thinking, the relationship is more important not with sensory cognition, but with speech and language. In a stricter sense speech- the process of communication, mediated by language. If language is an objective, historically developed system of codes and the subject of a special science - linguistics, then speech is a psychological process of formulating and transmitting thought by means of language.

Modern psychology does not believe that inner speech has the same structure and the same functions as expanded outer speech. By internal speech, psychology means a significant transitional stage between the concept and the expanded external speech. Mechanism that allows transcoding general meaning into a speech utterance, i.e. inner speech is, first of all, not a detailed speech utterance, but only preparatory stage.

However, the inseparable connection of thinking with speech does not mean at all that thinking can be reduced to speech. Thinking and speaking are not the same thing. To think is not to say to oneself. This is evidenced by the possibility of expressing the same thought. in different words and also what we do not always find the right words to express your thought.

The objective material form of thinking is language. Thought becomes thought both for oneself and for others only through the word - spoken and written. Thanks to the language, people's thoughts are not lost, but transmitted as a system of knowledge from generation to generation. However, there are additional means of transmitting the results of thinking: light and sound signals, electrical impulses, gestures, etc. Modern science and technique is widely used conventional signs as a universal and economical means of information transfer.

Thinking is also inextricably linked with the practical activities of people. Any kind of activity involves thinking, taking into account the conditions of action, planning, observation. Acting, a person solves any problems. Practical activity is the main condition for the emergence and development of thinking, as well as a criterion for the truth of thinking.

Thought processes

Human mental activity is the solution of various mental tasks aimed at revealing the essence of something. A mental operation is one of the methods of mental activity by means of which a person solves mental problems.

Thought operations are varied. These are analysis and synthesis, comparison, abstraction, concretization, generalization, classification. Which of the logical operations a person will apply, it will depend on the task and on the nature of the information that he is subject to mental processing.

Analysis and synthesis

Analysis- this is a mental decomposition of the whole into parts or mental separation of its sides, actions, relations from the whole.

Synthesis- the process of thought inverse to the analysis, it is the unification of parts, properties, actions, relations into one whole.

Analysis and synthesis are two interrelated logical operations. Synthesis, like analysis, can be both practical and mental.

Analysis and synthesis were formed in the practical activity of man. People constantly interact with objects and phenomena. Their practical mastery led to the formation of the mental operations of analysis and synthesis.

Comparison

Comparison- This is the establishment of the similarities and differences between objects and phenomena.

The comparison is based on analysis. Before comparing objects, it is necessary to select one or more of their characteristics, by which the comparison will be made.

The comparison can be one-sided, or incomplete, and many-sided, or more complete. Comparison, like analysis and synthesis, can be of different levels - superficial and deeper. In this case, a person's thought comes from external signs similarities and differences to the internal, from the visible to the hidden, from the phenomenon to the essence.

Abstraction

Abstraction- this is a process of mental distraction from some signs, specific sides in order to better cognize it.

A person mentally singles out some feature of an object and considers it in isolation from all other features, temporarily distracting from them. An isolated study of individual features of an object while simultaneously distracting from all the others helps a person to better understand the essence of things and phenomena. Thanks to abstraction, a person was able to break away from the individual, concrete and rise to the highest level of cognition - scientific theoretical thinking.

Concretization

Concretization- a process that is the opposite of abstraction and is inextricably linked with it.

Concretization is the return of thought from the general and the abstract to the concrete in order to reveal the content.

Thinking activity is always aimed at obtaining some result. A person analyzes objects, compares them, abstracts individual properties in order to reveal the common in them, in order to reveal the laws governing their development, in order to master them.

Generalization, therefore, is a selection in objects and phenomena of the general, which is expressed in the form of a concept, law, rule, formula, etc.

Types of thinking

Depending on what place a word, image and action occupy in the thought process, how they relate to each other, there are three types of thinking: concrete-effective, or practical, concrete-figurative and abstract. These types of thinking are also distinguished based on the characteristics of the tasks - practical and theoretical.

Concrete-action thinking

Visual-effective- a type of thinking based on the direct perception of objects.

Concretely-effective, or substantively-effective, thinking is aimed at solving specific tasks in the conditions of production, constructive, organizational and other practical activities of people. Practical thinking is primarily technical, constructive thinking... It consists in understanding the technique and in the ability of a person to independently decide technical tasks... The process of technical activity is a process of interactions between mental and practical components of work. Complex operations of abstract thinking are intertwined with the practical actions of a person and are inextricably linked with them. Salient features concrete-active thinking are bright pronounced observation, attention to detail, particulars and the ability to use them in specific situation, operating with spatial images and schemes, the ability to quickly move from thinking to action and back. It is in this type of thinking that the unity of thought and will is manifested to the greatest extent.

Concrete-figurative thinking

Visual-figurative- a type of thinking characterized by reliance on ideas and images.

Concrete-figurative (visual-figurative), or artistic, thinking is characterized by the fact that a person embodies abstract thoughts, generalizations into concrete images.

Abstract thinking

Verbal-logical- a type of thinking carried out using logical operations with concepts.

Abstract, or verbal-logical, thinking is aimed mainly at finding general patterns in nature and human society. Abstract, theoretical thinking reflects general connections and relationships. It operates mainly with concepts, broad categories, and images and representations in it play an auxiliary role.

All three types of thinking are closely related to each other. Many people have equally developed concrete-effective, concrete-figurative and theoretical thinking, but depending on the nature of the tasks that a person solves, first one, then another, then a third type of thinking comes to the fore.

Types and types of thinking

Practical-effective, visual-figurative and theoretical-abstract - these are the interrelated types of thinking. During historical development mankind, the human intellect was originally formed in the course of practical activities. So, people have learned to measure empirically land, and then on this basis a special theoretical science gradually emerged - geometry.

Genetically the most early view thinking - practical thinking; actions with objects are of decisive importance in it (it is also observed in an embryonic form in animals).

On the basis of practical-effective, manipulative thinking arises visual-figurative thinking... It is typical for him to operate with visual images in the mind.

The highest level of thinking is abstract, abstract thinking... However, here too, thinking remains connected with practice. As they say, there is nothing more practical than a correct theory.

The thinking of individuals is also subdivided into practical-effective, figurative and abstract (theoretical).

But in the process of life of the same person, one or another type of thinking comes to the fore. So, everyday affairs require practical-effective thinking, and a report on scientific topic- theoretical thinking, etc.

The structural unit of practical-effective (operational) thinking - action; artistic - image; scientific thinking - concept.

Depending on the depth of generalization, empirical and theoretical thinking are distinguished.

Empirical thinking(from the Greek empeiria - experience) gives primary generalizations based on experience. These generalizations are made at a low level of abstraction. Empirical cognition is the lowest, elementary level of cognition. Empirical thinking should not be confused with practical thinking.

As noted by the well-known psychologist VM Teplov ("The Mind of a Commander"), many psychologists take the work of a scientist and theorist as the only model of mental activity. Meanwhile Practical activities requires no less intellectual effort.

The mental activity of the theoretician is mainly focused on the first part of the path of knowledge - a temporary departure, a retreat from practice. The mental activity of the practice is mainly focused on the second part of it - on the transition from abstract thinking to practice, that is, on that "hit" in practice, for the sake of which the theoretical retreat is made.

A feature of practical thinking is subtle observation, the ability to concentrate attention on individual details of an event, the ability to use to solve a particular problem that particular and individual that was not fully included in theoretical generalization, the ability to quickly move from thinking to action.

In the practical thinking of a person, there is an essentially optimal ratio of his mind and will, cognitive, regulatory and energy capabilities of the individual. Practical thinking is associated with the prompt setting of priority goals, the development of flexible plans, programs, great self-control in tense conditions of activity.

Theoretical thinking reveals universal relations, examines the object of knowledge in the system of its necessary connections. Its result is the construction conceptual models, the creation of theories, the generalization of experience, the disclosure of the patterns of development of various phenomena, the knowledge of which ensures the transformative activity of a person. Theoretical thinking is inextricably linked with practice, but in its final results it has relative independence; it is based on prior knowledge and, in turn, serves as the basis for subsequent knowledge.

Algorithmic, discursive, heuristic and creative thinking are distinguished depending on the standard / non-standard of the tasks being solved and the operational procedures.

Algorithmic thinking advance oriented established rules, the generally accepted sequence of actions required to solve typical tasks.

Discursive(from Latin discursus - reasoning) thinking based on a system of interconnected inferences.

Heuristic thinking(from the Greek heuresko - I find) - this is productive thinking, consisting in solving non-standard tasks.

Creative thinking- thinking leading to new discoveries, fundamentally new results.

There are also reproductive and productive thinking.

Reproductive thinking- reproduction of previously obtained results. In this case, thinking merges with memory.

Productive thinking- thinking leading to new cognitive results.