The publication “Osnovy general psychology» S. L. Rubinstein is the fourth in a row. It was prepared by the students of S. L. Rubinshtein based on the publication of this book in 1946 and the works of S. L. Rubinshtein in the 1950s, i.e., the works of the last decade of his life.
The classic work of S.L. Rubinshtein `Fundamentals of General Psychology` is one of the most significant achievements of the national psychological science. Breadth of theoretical generalizations combined with encyclopedic coverage of historical and experimental material, impeccable clarity methodological principles made `Fundamentals...` a reference book for several generations of psychologists, educators, philosophers. Despite the fact that more than half a century has passed since its first publication, it remains one of the best textbooks in general psychology and fully retains its scientific relevance.
FROM THE COMPILERS
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION
PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION
PART ONE
CHAPTER I. SUBJECT OF PSYCHOLOGY
The nature of the mental
Mind and consciousness
Mind and activity
Psychophysical problem
The subject and tasks of psychology as a science
CHAPTER II. METHODS OF PSYCHOLOGY
Methodology and methodology
Methods of psychology
Observation
Introspection
Objective observation
experimental method
CHAPTER III. HISTORY OF PSYCHOLOGY
History of the development of Western psychology
Psychology in the XVII-XVIII centuries. and the first half of the 19th century.
Formation of psychology as an experimental science
A crisis methodological foundations psychology
History of the development of psychology in the USSR
History of Russian scientific psychology
Soviet psychology
PART TWO
CHAPTER IV. THE PROBLEM OF DEVELOPMENT IN PSYCHOLOGY
Development of the psyche and behavior
The main stages in the development of behavior and the psyche the problem of instinct, skill and intelligence
instincts
Individually variable forms of behavior
Intelligence
General conclusions
CHAPTER V. DEVELOPMENT OF ANIMAL BEHAVIOR AND PSYCHE
Behavior of lower organisms
Development nervous system in animals
Lifestyle and psyche
CHAPTER VI. HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS
The historical development of consciousness in man
The problem of anthropogenesis
Consciousness and the brain
Development of consciousness
The development of consciousness in a child
Development and training
The development of the child's consciousness
PART THREE
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER VII. FEELING AND PERCEPTION
Feeling
Receptors
Elements of psychophysics
Classification of sensations
organic sensations
Static sensations
kinesthetic sensations
Skin sensitivity
1. Pain
2 and 3. Temperature sensations
4. Touch, pressure
Touch
Olfactory sensations
Taste sensations
Hearing sensations*
Sound localization
hearing theory
Perception of speech and music
visual sensations
Sensation of color
color mixing
Psychophysiological patterns
Theory of color vision
The psychophysical effect of flowers
Color perception
Perception
The nature of perception
Constancy of perception
Meaningfulness of perception
Historicity of perception
Perception and orientation of personality
Perception of space
Perception of magnitude
Form perception
Movement perception
Perception of time
Chapter VIII. MEMORY
memory and perception
Organic Foundations of Memory
Representation
View associations
memory theory
The role of attitudes in memorization
memorization
Recognition
Playback
Reconstruction in playback
Memory
Saving and forgetting
Reminiscence in conservation
Types of memory
Memory levels
Memory types
CHAPTER IX. IMAGINATION
The Nature of the Imagination
Types of imagination
Imagination and creativity
"Technique" of imagination
Imagination and personality
CHAPTER X. THINKING
The nature of thinking
Psychology and logic
Psychological theories of thinking
The psychological nature of the thought process
The main phases of the thought process
Basic operations as aspects of mental activity
Concept and representation
inference
Basic types of thinking
On the genetically early stages of thinking
Development of the child's thinking
The first manifestations of the intellectual activity of the child
Baby's first generalizations
"Situational" thinking of the child
The beginning of the active mental activity of the child
Generalizations in a preschooler and his understanding of relationships
The child's reasoning and understanding of causality
Distinctive features early forms children's thinking
Development of the child's thinking in the process of systematic learning
Concept Mastery
Judgments and inferences
Development theoretical thinking in the process of mastering the knowledge system
Theory of the development of the child's thinking
CHAPTER XI. SPEECH
Speech and communication. Speech functions
Different types of speech
Speech and thinking
Development of speech in children
The emergence and first stages of the development of a child's speech
Speech structure
Development of coherent speech
The problem of egocentric speech
Development writing The child has
Development of expressive speech
CHAPTER XII. ATTENTION
Attention theory
Physiological basis of attention
Main types of attention
Basic properties of attention
Development of attention
PART FOUR
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER XIII. ACTION
Various kinds of action
Action and movement
Action and skill
CHAPTER XIV. ACTIVITY
Tasks and motives of activity
Work
Psychological characteristics of labor
Inventor's work
The work of a scientist
Artist's work
A game
The nature of the game
game theory
The development of the child's games
Doctrine
The nature of learning and work
Teaching and knowledge
Education and development
Teaching motives
Mastering the knowledge system
PART FIVE
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER XV. PERSONALITY ORIENTATION
Attitudes and trends
Needs
Interests
Ideals
CHAPTER XVI. CAPABILITIES
General giftedness and special abilities
Giftedness and ability level
Theories of giftedness
Development of abilities in children
CHAPTER XVII. EMOTIONS
Emotions and needs
Emotions and lifestyle
Emotions and activities
Expressive movements
Emotions and experiences of the individual
"Associative" experiment
Types of emotional experiences
Emotional personality traits
CHAPTER XVIII. WILL
The nature of will
Volitional process
Pathology and psychology of will
Volitional personality traits
CHAPTER XIX. TEMPERAMENT AND CHARACTER
The doctrine of temperament
Teaching about character
CHAPTER XX. SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS OF A PERSON AND ITS LIFE WAY
Self-awareness of the individual
Personal life path*
AFTERWORD
HISTORICAL CONTEXT AND MODERN SOUND OF S. L. RUBINSTEIN'S FUNDAMENTAL WORK
LIST OF SCIENTIFIC WORKS OF S. L. RUBINSTEIN
LIST OF WORKS ABOUT S. L. RUBINSTEIN
INDEX
annotation
The classic work of Sergei Leonidovich Rubinstein "Fundamentals of General Psychology" is one of the most significant achievements of Russian psychological science. The breadth of theoretical generalizations, combined with the encyclopedic coverage of historical and experimental material, the impeccable clarity of methodological principles, made "Fundamentals ..." a reference book for several generations of psychologists, teachers, and philosophers. Despite the fact that more than half a century has passed since its first publication, it remains one of the the best textbooks in general psychology and fully retains its scientific relevance.
From the compilers
The edition of S. L. Rubinshtein's Fundamentals of General Psychology, which is offered to the reader's attention, is the fourth in a row. It was prepared by the students of S.L. Rubinshtein based on the publication of this book in 1946 and the works of S.L. Rubinshtein in the 1950s, i.e. works of the last decade of his life.
The first edition of Fundamentals of General Psychology (1940) was awarded the State Prize and received high marks in reviews by B. G. Ananiev, B. M. Teplov, L. M. Ukhtomsky, V. I. Vernadsky and others. The second edition (1946) was repeatedly discussed by Soviet psychologists, who gave both positive and critical assessments, but the latter never touched on the principles of S.L. Rubinshtein's concept. The heated nature of the discussions of this book, especially at the end of the 1940s, was a reflection of the general negative situation in science in those years, which is discussed in detail in the "Afterword" to this edition.
The enduring value of S. L. Rubinshtein's book is not so much its encyclopedic nature (after all, the summary of basic psychological knowledge sooner or later becomes outdated and begins to be of purely historical interest), but the system of psychological science proposed in it at a certain stage of its development. This book presents an integral system of the new psychology, including both the basic methodological principles and a special way of building this science. In addition, the book takes into account the achievements of world psychology and reflects a significant period in the development of Soviet science, when the leading psychologists of our country, such as S. L. Rubinstein himself, B. M. Teplov, A. N. Leontiev and others, worked together on key problems of psychological knowledge, for example, on the problems of activity. The book also summarized experimental studies built on the principle of the unity of consciousness and activity.
Thus, the need for a new edition of the book is determined primarily by its scientific relevance, but the fact that it has long become a bibliographic rarity and is invariably in high demand among readers also prompted its reprint.
In preparing this edition, its compilers proceeded from the following principles: 1) to focus the reader's attention on the conceptual constructions of S.L. ontogenetic material sections on the development of certain psychological functions, processes in a child (although in Soviet psychology research in the field of child psychology was significant at that time, in this edition this area of research is presented less fully than the previous one). In addition, sections on the history of the psychology of the ancient world, the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, on the pathology of memory, as well as factual data cited by the author for completeness of the presentation of the topic, were excluded, since previous editions of this book were published as tutorial. The sections on cognitive processes(part three), the chapters on emotions and will have been moved from part three to part five.
At the same time, sections on the subject of psychology, consciousness, thinking, abilities, personality, etc. were supplemented with fragments from the later works of S.L. Rubinstein. Such an addition to the text will allow the reader to see the internal unity and continuity in the development of the basic methodological principles of the concept of S.L. Rubinstein , to restore those relationships that sometimes seemed broken due to the improvement and refinement by S.L. Rubinshtein of the provisions of his concept at the subsequent stages of its development. The compilers also sought to ensure that the editorial revisions made did not affect the authenticity of the author's ideas and style. All cuts made are marked<...>, the introduction of additional materials is specified by the relevant headings.
We hope that the republished monograph by S. L. Rubinshtein will serve the cause of the further development of Russian psychological science, the formation of which was largely determined by the work of this prominent scientist.
K.A. Abulkhanova-Slavskaya,
A.V. Brushlinsky
Preface to the second edition
In the second edition of this book, I have made minor corrections and additions, aimed only at the clearest and most consistent implementation of its original installations.
Preparation for printing of this edition took place during the Great Patriotic War. All forces and thoughts were then concentrated on the war, on the outcome of which the fate of mankind depended. In this war, our Red Army defended the best ideals of all progressive mankind from barbarism, the most disgusting thing the world has ever seen. Majdanek, Buchenwald, Auschwitz and other "death camps" that now appeared before the eyes of mankind will forever remain in memory not only as places of inhuman suffering of people tortured by fascist executioners, but also as monuments of such a fall, such a degradation of man, which could not even be imagined even the most perverted imagination.
This book is published in the unforgettable days of the victorious end of the Great Patriotic War, the war of all freedom-loving peoples against fascism. Our right cause has won. And now, in the light of everything that has happened and experienced, with new significance, as if in a new relief, the big, basic worldview problems of philosophical and psychological thought appear before us. With new acuteness and significance, the question arises about a person, about the motives of his behavior and the tasks of his activity, about his consciousness not only theoretical, but also practical, moral in its unity with activity, in the course of which a person not only cognizes, but also transforms world. With new forces and new perspectives, we must tackle their resolution. From a person now it is more obvious than ever, it is required that he not only be able to find all sorts of, the most inventive means for any tasks and goals, but also be able, first of all, to properly determine the goals and objectives of truly human life and activity .
Institute of Philosophy of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR,
S. Rubinshtein
20/V 1945, Moscow
Preface to the first edition
This book grew out of the work on the proposed second edition of my Fundamentals of Psychology, published in 1935. But in essence, both in subject matter and in a number of its main trends, it is A new book. Between her and her predecessor lies a long distance traveled over the years by Soviet psychology in general and by me in particular.
My "Principles of Psychology" in 1935 was - I am the first to emphasize this - permeated with contemplative intellectualism and was in the thrall of traditional abstract functionalism. In this book, I have begun a decisive break with a number of outdated norms of psychology, and above all those that dominated my own work.
Three problems seem to me particularly relevant to psychology at this stage, and correct setting, if not the solution of them, is especially essential for advanced psychological thought:
- the development of the psyche and, in particular, overcoming the fatalistic view of the development of personality and consciousness, the problem of development and learning;
- effectiveness and consciousness: overcoming the passive contemplation that dominates in traditional psychology of consciousness and, in connection with this,
- overcoming abstract functionalism and the transition to the study of the psyche, consciousness in concrete activity, in which they are not only manifested, but also formed.
This decisive shift from the study of only abstract functions to the study of the psyche and consciousness in concrete activity brings psychology organically closer to questions of practice, in particular the psychology of the child to questions of upbringing and education.
It is precisely along the lines of these problems that the demarcation between everything that is alive and advanced in Soviet psychology and everything that has become obsolete and dying is going on first of all. Ultimately, the question boils down to one thing: to turn psychology into a concrete, real science that studies the consciousness of a person in the conditions of his activity and, thus, in its most initial positions, is connected with the questions that practice poses - such is the task. In this book, this problem is perhaps more posed than resolved. But in order to ever resolve it, it must be put.
This book is essentially (good or bad let others be the judge) research work that poses a number of basic problems in a new way. For example, I will point to a new interpretation of the history of psychology, to the formulation of the problem of development and the psychophysical problem, to the interpretation of consciousness, experience and knowledge, to a new understanding of functions and of more particular problems to the solution of the question of the stages of observation, to the interpretation of the psychology of memory (in the ratio with the problem of reconstruction and reminiscence), on the concept of the development of coherent ("contextual") speech and its place in the general theory of speech, etc. At the forefront of this book are not didactic, but scientific tasks.
At the same time, I especially emphasize one thing: this book bears my name and contains the work of my thought; but at the same time it's still collective labor in the true sense of the word. It was not compiled by a dozen or two dozen authors. Feather held one hand, and it was led unified thought, but still collective work: a number of his main ideas crystallized as the common property of advanced psychological thought, and all the factual material on which this book is based is already a direct product of the collective work work of a narrower team of my closest collaborators and a team of a number of old and young psychologists Soviet Union. In this book, almost every chapter is based on material from Soviet psychological research, including unpublished ones. For the first time, perhaps, the work of Soviet psychologists is widely represented.
Contrary to the tendencies that have been very common in recent times, I have not attempted to circumvent any of the acute problems in this book. Some of them at the present stage of the development of science cannot yet be fully adequately resolved, and in the very setting of them, some errors can easily and even almost inevitably creep in. But setting them up is still necessary. Without solving these problems it is impossible to advance scientific thought. If it turns out that in posing some of the problems I made certain mistakes, criticism will soon open up and correct them. The very staging of them and the discussion that it will provoke will nevertheless benefit science, and this is the main thing for me.
I appreciate the value of businesslike, positive criticism. Therefore, I willingly submit my work to the judgment of criticism, even the sharpest, as long as it is principled, as long as it advances science.
S. Rubinshtein,
2/VII 1940, Moscow
Category: »
(2nd ed., 1946)
A critical generalization of the achievements of Soviet and world psychological science in the middle of the 20th century is presented. This book is one of the main textbooks on general psychology in Russia, and has remained so for more than half a century. This is the last "author's" edition of this textbook; subsequent editions (3rd 1989, 4th 1998), - edited by students of S. L. Rubinshtein - are, although partially supplemented by his later works and comments by the compilers, but significantly abridged (moreover, some changes in the original text are not marked) and are not positioned as full-fledged textbooks on general psychology. The book is intended for teachers and graduate students of psychology and pedagogy, as well as students of higher pedagogical educational institutions and universities.
Preface to the 1st edition.
This book grew out of the work on the supposed 2nd edition of my Fundamentals of Psychology, published in 1935. But in essence - both in subject matter and in a number of its main trends - this is a new book. Between her and her predecessor lies a long distance traveled over the years by Soviet psychology in general and by me in particular.
My "Fundamentals of Psychology" in 1935 were - I I emphasize this first - they were permeated with contemplative intellectualism and were in captivity of traditional abstract functionalism. In this book, I have begun a decisive break with a number of outdated norms of traditional psychology, and above all those that dominated my own work.
Three problems seem to me particularly relevant to psychology at this stage, and their correct formulation, if not solution, is especially essential for advanced psychological thought:
1) the problem of the development of the psyche and, in particular, overcoming the fatalistic view of the development of personality and consciousness, the problem of development and learning;
2) the problem of efficiency and consciousness; overcoming the passive contemplation that dominates in traditional psychology of consciousness and, in connection with this,
3) overcoming abstract functionalism and the transition to the study of the psyche, consciousness in concrete activity, in which they are not only manifested, but also formed.
This decisive shift from the study of only abstract functions to the study of the psyche and consciousness in concrete activity brings psychology organically closer to concrete questions of practice, in particular the psychology of the child, to questions of upbringing and education.
It is precisely along the lines of these problems that the demarcation between everything that is alive and advanced in Soviet psychology and everything that has become obsolete and dying is going on first of all. Ultimately, the question boils down to one thing: to turn psychology into a concrete, “real” science that studies the consciousness of a person in the conditions of his activity and is thus, in its most initial positions, connected with the specific questions that practice poses - such is the task. In this book, this problem is perhaps more posed than resolved. But in order to ever resolve it, it must be installed.
This book is essentially (good or bad - let others judge) research work that poses a number of basic problems in a new way. For example, I will point to a new interpretation of the history of psychology, to the formulation of the problem of development and the psychophysical problem, to the interpretation of consciousness, experience and knowledge, to a new understanding of functions and - from more particular questions - for example, to the solution of the question of the stages of observation, to the interpretation of the psychology of memory (in connection with the problem of reconstruction and reminiscence), on the theory of the development of coherent (“contextual”) speech in connection with general theory speeches, etc. At the forefront of this book are not didactic, but scientific tasks.
At the same time, I especially emphasize one thing: this book bears my name and contains the work of my thought; but at the same time it's still collective labor in the true sense of the word. It was not compiled by a dozen or two dozen authors. Feather held one hand and it led unified thought, but still collective work: a number of his main ideas crystallized as the common property of progressive psychological thought, and all the factual material on which this book is based is already a direct product of collective labor - the labor of a narrower team of my closest collaborators and a team of a number of old and young psychologists of the Soviet Union. In this book, almost every chapter is based on material from Soviet psychological research, including unpublished ones. For the first time, perhaps, the work of Soviet psychologists is widely represented.
Contrary to the tendencies that have been very common in recent times, I have not attempted to circumvent any of the acute problems in this book. Some of them, according to the current state of science at this stage of its development, cannot yet be fully adequately resolved, and when they are formulated, some errors can easily and even almost inevitably creep in. But setting them up is still necessary. Without them, advancement of scientific thought is impossible. If it turns out that in posing some of these problems I made certain mistakes, criticism will soon open and correct them. Their very staging and the discussion that it will cause will nevertheless benefit science, and this is the main thing for me.
I appreciate the value of businesslike, positive criticism. Therefore, I willingly submit my work to the judgment of criticism, even the sharpest, as long as it is principled, as long as it advances science.
WITH.Rubinstein
S.L. Rubinshtein
BASES OF GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY
A.V. Brushlinsky, K.A. Abulkhanova-Slavskaya
St. Petersburg: Publishing house "Piter", 2000
annotation
From the compilers
Preface to the second edition
Preface to the first edition
PART ONE
SUBJECT OF PSYCHOLOGY
The nature of the mental
Mind and consciousness
Mind and activity
Psychophysical problem
The subject and tasks of psychology as a science
METHODS OF PSYCHOLOGY
Methodology and methodology
Methods of psychology
Observation
Introspection
Objective observation
experimental method
HISTORY OF PSYCHOLOGY
History of the development of Western psychology
Psychology in the XVII-XVIII centuries. and the first half of the 19th century.
Formation of psychology as an experimental science
The crisis of the methodological foundations of psychology
History of the development of psychology in the USSR
History of Russian scientific psychology
Soviet psychology
PART TWO
THE PROBLEM OF DEVELOPMENT IN PSYCHOLOGY
Introduction
Development of the psyche and behavior
The main stages in the development of behavior and psyche; the problem of instinct, skill and intellect
instincts
Individually variable forms of behavior
Intelligence
General conclusions
DEVELOPMENT OF ANIMAL BEHAVIOR AND PSYCHE
Behavior of lower organisms
Development of the nervous system in animals
Lifestyle and psyche
HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS
The historical development of consciousness in man
The problem of anthropogenesis
Consciousness and the brain
Development of consciousness
The development of consciousness in a child
Development and training
The development of the child's consciousness
PART THREE
Introduction
FEELING AND PERCEPTION
Feeling
Receptors
Elements of psychophysics
Classification of sensations
organic sensations
Static sensations
kinesthetic sensations
Skin sensitivity
Touch
Olfactory sensations
Taste sensations
Hearing sensations*
Sound localization
hearing theory
Perception of speech and music
visual sensations
Sensation of color
color mixing
Psychophysiological patterns
Theory of color vision
The psychophysical effect of flowers
Color perception
Perception
The nature of perception
Constancy of perception
Meaningfulness of perception
Historicity of perception
Perception and orientation of personality
Perception of space
Perception of magnitude
Form perception
Movement perception
Perception of time
memory and perception
Organic Foundations of Memory
Representation
View associations
memory theory
The role of attitudes in memorization
memorization
Recognition
Playback
Reconstruction in playback
Memory
Saving and forgetting
Reminiscence in conservation
Types of memory
Memory levels
Memory types
IMAGINATION
The Nature of the Imagination
Types of imagination
Imagination and creativity
"Technique" of imagination
Imagination and personality
THINKING
The nature of thinking
Psychology and logic
Psychological theories of thinking
The psychological nature of the thought process
The main phases of the thought process
Basic operations as aspects of mental activity
Concept and representation
inference
Basic types of thinking
On the genetically early stages of thinking
Development of the child's thinking
The first manifestations of the intellectual activity of the child
Baby's first generalizations
"Situational" thinking of the child
The beginning of the active mental activity of the child
Generalizations in a preschooler and his understanding of relationships
The child's reasoning and understanding of causality
Distinctive features of early forms of children's thinking
Development of the child's thinking in the process of systematic learning
Concept Mastery
Judgments and inferences
The development of theoretical thinking in the process of mastering the knowledge system
Theory of the development of the child's thinking
Speech and communication. Speech functions
Different types of speech
Speech and thinking
Development of speech in children
The emergence and first stages of the development of a child's speech
Speech structure
Development of coherent speech
The problem of egocentric speech
The development of written language in a child
Development of expressive speech
ATTENTION
Introduction
Attention theory
Physiological basis of attention
Main types of attention
Basic properties of attention
Development of attention
PART FOUR
Introduction
ACTION
Introduction
Various kinds of action
Action and movement
Action and skill
ACTIVITY
Tasks and motives of activity
Psychological characteristics of labor
Inventor's work
The work of a scientist
Artist's work
The nature of the game
game theory
The development of the child's games
The nature of learning and work
Teaching and knowledge
Education and development
Teaching motives
Mastering the knowledge system
PART FIVE
Introduction
PERSONALITY ORIENTATION
Attitudes and trends
Needs
Interests
CAPABILITIES
Introduction
General giftedness and special abilities
Giftedness and ability level
Theories of giftedness
Development of abilities in children
Emotions and needs
Emotions and lifestyle
Emotions and activities
Expressive movements
Emotions and experiences of the individual
"Associative" experiment
Types of emotional experiences
Emotional personality traits
Chapter XVIII
The nature of will
Volitional process
Pathology and psychology of will
Volitional personality traits
TEMPERAMENT AND CHARACTER
The doctrine of temperament
Teaching about character
SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS OF A PERSON AND ITS LIFE WAY
Self-awareness of the individual
Personal life path
Afterword
Historical context and contemporary sound
fundamental work of S.L. Rubinshtein
annotation
The classic work of Sergei Leonidovich Rubinstein "Fundamentals of General Psychology" is one of the most significant achievements of Russian psychological science. The breadth of theoretical generalizations, combined with the encyclopedic coverage of historical and experimental material, the impeccable clarity of methodological principles, made "Fundamentals ..." a reference book for several generations of psychologists, teachers, and philosophers. Despite the fact that more than half a century has passed since its first publication, it remains one of the best textbooks in general psychology and fully retains its scientific relevance.
From the compilers
The edition of S. L. Rubinshtein's Fundamentals of General Psychology, which is offered to the reader's attention, is the fourth in a row. It was prepared by the students of S.L. Rubinshtein based on the publication of this book in 1946 and the works of S.L. Rubinshtein in the 1950s, i.e. works of the last decade of his life.
The first edition of Fundamentals of General Psychology (1940) was awarded the State Prize and received high marks in reviews by B. G. Ananiev, B. M. Teplov, L. M. Ukhtomsky, V. I. Vernadsky and others. The second edition (1946) was repeatedly discussed by Soviet psychologists, who gave both positive and critical assessments, but the latter never touched on the principles of S.L. Rubinshtein's concept. The heated nature of the discussions of this book, especially at the end of the 1940s, was a reflection of the general negative situation in science in those years, which is discussed in detail in the "Afterword" to this edition.
The enduring value of S. L. Rubinshtein's book is not so much its encyclopedic nature (after all, the summary of basic psychological knowledge sooner or later becomes outdated and begins to be of purely historical interest), but the system of psychological science proposed in it at a certain stage of its development. This book presents an integral system of the new psychology, including both the basic methodological principles and a special way of building this science. In addition, the book takes into account the achievements of world psychology and reflects a significant period in the development of Soviet science, when the leading psychologists of our country, such as S. L. Rubinstein himself, B. M. Teplov, A. N. Leontiev and others, worked together on key problems of psychological knowledge, for example, on the problems of activity. The book also summarized experimental studies built on the principle of the unity of consciousness and activity.
Thus, the need for a new edition of the book is determined primarily by its scientific relevance, but the fact that it has long become a bibliographic rarity and is invariably in high demand among readers also prompted its reprint.
In preparing this edition, its compilers proceeded from the following principles: 1) to focus the reader's attention on the conceptual constructions of S.L. ontogenetic material - sections on the development of certain psychological functions, processes in a child (although in Soviet psychology research in the field of child psychology was significant at that time, in this edition, this area of \u200b\u200bresearch is presented less fully than the previous one). In addition, sections on the history of the psychology of the ancient world, the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, on the pathology of memory, as well as factual data cited by the author for the sake of completeness of the presentation of the topic, were excluded, since previous editions of this book were published as a textbook. The sections on cognitive processes (Part Three) were significantly shortened, and the chapters on emotions and will were moved from Part Three to Part Five.
At the same time, sections on the subject of psychology, consciousness, thinking, abilities, personality, etc. were supplemented with fragments from the later works of S.L. Rubinstein. Such an addition to the text will allow the reader to see the internal unity and continuity in the development of the basic methodological principles of the concept of S.L. Rubinstein , to restore those relationships that sometimes seemed broken due to the improvement and refinement by S.L. Rubinshtein of the provisions of his concept at the subsequent stages of its development. The compilers also sought to ensure that the editorial revisions made did not affect the authenticity of the author's ideas and style. All cuts made are marked<...>, the introduction of additional materials is specified by the relevant headings.
