Thinking is a hard-to-define concept. If we say that thinking is a generalized reflection of reality by the human brain, this definition will emphasize the epistemological, i.e., epistemological, aspect of thinking. A physiologist would prefer a different formulation: thinking is an ideal manifestation of the higher nervous activity of the brain. Psychologists say that thinking is intelligence in action. But then you need to find out what intelligence is. Here we run the risk of falling into the circle of mutually conjugated definitions: thinking is a product of the brain, and the brain is the material carrier of thinking. At the present level of knowledge about the thought process, informational definitions of thinking have appeared. So, an English cybernetician

W. Ross Ashby considers thinking as a process of processing information according to some program, which involves selection at least an order of magnitude higher than random.

Of course, it is impossible to identify human thinking only with the process of information processing: after all, it has both biological and social aspects. But the cognitive side of thinking lies in the active extraction of information from the outside world and its processing. When they say that thinking is the processing of information, they do not so much define the concept of "thinking" as point to one of its properties.

Thinking, or the logical stage of cognition, having arisen on the basis of sensations, perceptions and ideas, is not reduced to a simple set of sensory images. Thinking is a qualitatively new, more complex form of cognition than the sensory stage of cognition. Thinking is a social product. It arises and develops along with the emergence and development of labor and language, which fixes the results of thinking. Thinking as a process of reflection of objective reality is the highest stage of human knowledge. Born by labor and together with it, it seemed to split the knowable nature into two opposite "parts" - the subject and the object, the dialectical relationship of which still constitutes the inner content of all human activity: both theoretical and practical. Thanks to labor and thinking, the processes of objectification and deobjectification of knowledge that never stop in society were consolidated, opening the way to its intensive acquisition and dissemination. The originality and uniqueness of thinking are associated with his ability to know himself, which to a large extent determined all his other abilities.

Thinking is a process during which a person compares thoughts, that is, he argues, concludes, and from some thoughts he deduces others containing new knowledge.

The thought process has an internal structure and is realized in such naturally formed forms as a concept, judgment, and conclusion. Operating with concepts, judgments and obtaining new knowledge in inferences constitute the formal-logical apparatus of thinking. The logical form represents the historically established ways of connecting the constituent elements of thought.

Every simple thought usually consists of two main elements:

Display of an object, which is called the subject (denoted by the Latin letter S);

The display of one or another property of an object, which is called a predicate (denoted by the Latin letter P).

For example, in the thought "The lecture was very interesting" there are such elements:

Subject - knowledge about the listened lecture;

The predicate is knowledge about the quality of this lecture: it was very interesting.

The content of thoughts may be different, but their logical form, nevertheless, is the same. Thus, the thought “Incorrect qualification of a crime is not only a judicial, but also a logical error” differs in content from the thought of an interesting lecture, but they are similar in structure: the last thought also contains a subject (knowledge about the qualification of a crime) and a predicate (knowledge about an error not only judicial, but also logical).

These elements of thought - the subject and the predicate - express the relationship between the object and its property. This relationship is fixed in thought by the words "is", "essence", "are" (often these linking words are only implied).

Depending on the nature of the combination of elements of thought, there are several main stable forms of thought:

concept, judgment, conclusion.

The logical form of thinking is used in all areas of knowledge, covers a wide variety of subject content. The property of the universality of the logical form does not at all indicate its empty content and a priori, but only indicates that this form reflects the simplest, most frequently occurring properties and relations of the real world, common to all objects and phenomena of objective reality. Therefore, the logical form of thinking that reflects them finds universal application in all areas of science. The universality of the logical form does not deny, but to an even greater extent confirms its objective content.

Forms of thinking. In psychological science, there are such logical forms of thinking as:

judgments;

inferences.

A concept is a reflection in the human mind of the general and essential properties of an object or phenomenon. The concept is a form of thinking that reflects the singular and special, which is at the same time universal. The concept acts both as a form of thinking and as a special mental action. Behind each concept is hidden a special objective action. Concepts can be:

common and singular;

concrete and abstract;

empirical and theoretical. (See additional illustrative material.)

The general concept is a thought that reflects the general, essential and distinctive (specific) features of objects and phenomena of reality. A single concept is a thought that reflects the attributes inherent only in a separate object and phenomenon.

Depending on the type of abstraction and underlying generalizations, concepts are either empirical or theoretical. The empirical concept fixes the same items in each separate class of items on the basis of comparison. The specific content of the theoretical concept is the objective connection between the universal and the individual (integral and different). Concepts are formed in socio-historical experience. A person assimilates a system of concepts in the process of life and activity.

The content of concepts is revealed in judgments, which are always expressed in verbal form - orally or in writing, aloud or to oneself. Judgment is the main form of thinking, in the process of which connections between objects and phenomena of reality are affirmed or denied. A judgment is a reflection of the connections between objects and phenomena of reality or between their properties and features. For example, the proposition: "Metals expand when heated" - expresses the relationship between changes in temperature and the volume of metals.

Judgments are formed in two main ways:

directly, when they express what is perceived;

indirectly - by inference or reasoning. (See additional illustrative material.)

In the first case, we see, for example, a brown table and make the simplest judgment: "This table is brown." In the second case, with the help of reasoning, other (or other) judgments are deduced from some judgments. For example, Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleev, on the basis of the periodic law discovered by him, purely theoretically, only with the help of inferences, deduced and predicted some properties of chemical elements that were still unknown in his time.

Judgments can be:

true;

private;

single.

True judgments are objectively correct judgments. False judgments are judgments that do not correspond to objective reality. Judgments are general, particular and singular. In general judgments, something is affirmed (or denied) with respect to all objects of a given group, a given class, for example: "All fish breathe with gills." In private judgments, affirmation or negation no longer applies to all, but only to some subjects, for example: "Some students are excellent students." In single judgments - only to one, for example: "This student did not learn the lesson well." (See additional illustrative material.)

Inference is the derivation of a new judgment from one or more propositions. The initial judgments from which another judgment is deduced or extracted are called premises of the inference. The simplest and most typical form of inference based on private and general premises is the syllogism. An example of a syllogism is the following reasoning: "All metals are electrically conductive. Tin is a metal. Therefore, tin is electrically conductive." There is an inference:

inductive;

deductive;

Similarly.

Such a conclusion is called inductive, in which reasoning goes from single facts to a general conclusion. A deductive conclusion is such a conclusion in which reasoning is carried out in the reverse order of induction, i.e. from general facts to a single conclusion. An analogy is such a conclusion in which a conclusion is made on the basis of a partial similarity between phenomena, without a sufficient examination of all conditions. (See additional illustrative material.)

Operations of thinking. Penetration into the depths of a particular problem facing a person, consideration of the properties of the elements that make up this problem, finding a solution to a problem is carried out by a person with the help of mental operations. In psychology, there are such operations of thinking as:

comparison;

abstraction;

generalization;

classification;

Analysis is a mental operation of dividing a complex object into its constituent parts. Analysis is the selection in an object of one or another of its aspects, elements, properties, connections, relationships, etc.; it is the dismemberment of a cognizable object into various components. For example, a schoolboy in the classroom of a circle of young technicians, trying to understand the mode of operation of a mechanism or machine, first of all, highlights the various elements, details of this mechanism and disassembles it into separate parts. So, in the simplest case, he analyzes, dismembers the cognizable object.

Synthesis is a mental operation that allows one to move from parts to the whole in a single analytical-synthetic process of thinking. Unlike analysis, synthesis involves combining elements into a single whole. Analysis and synthesis usually act in unity. They are inseparable, they cannot exist without each other: analysis, as a rule, is carried out simultaneously with synthesis, and vice versa. Analysis and synthesis are always interconnected.

The inseparable unity between analysis and synthesis clearly appears in such a cognitive process as comparison. Comparison is an operation that consists in comparing objects and phenomena, their properties and relationships with each other and thus identifying the commonality or difference between them. Comparison is characterized as a more elementary process, from which, as a rule, cognition begins. Ultimately, the comparison leads to a generalization.

Generalization is the union of many objects or phenomena according to some common feature. In the course of generalization in the compared objects - as a result of their analysis - something in common is singled out. These common properties for various objects are of two types:

common as similar features;

common as essential features.

By finding similar, identical or common properties and features of things, the subject discovers the identity and difference between things. These similar, similar signs are then abstracted (distinguished, separated) from the totality of other properties and denoted by a word, then they become the content of the corresponding ideas of a person about a certain set of objects or phenomena.

Abstraction is a mental operation based on abstracting from the insignificant features of objects, phenomena and highlighting the main, main thing in them.

Abstraction is an abstract concept formed as a result of mental abstraction from non-essential aspects, properties of objects and relations between them in order to identify essential features.

Isolation (abstraction) of common properties of different levels allows a person to establish generic relationships in a certain variety of objects and phenomena, systematize them and thereby build a certain classification.

Classification - the systematization of subordinate concepts of any field of knowledge or human activity, used to establish links between these concepts or classes of objects.

Classification should be distinguished from categorization. Categorization is the operation of assigning a single object, event, experience to a certain class, which can be verbal and non-verbal meanings, symbols, etc. (See additional illustrative material.)

The regularities of the considered operations of thinking are the essence of the main internal, specific regularities of thinking. On their basis, only all external manifestations of mental activity can be explained.

Logical forms of thinking

Both psychology and logic study thinking, but they study different aspects of thinking. Psychology studies thinking as a process: reveals the motivation of thinking, that is, the psychological causes that give rise to the process of thinking, studies the relationship of thinking with the abilities of a person as a subject of thinking. Logic studies the result of thinking, thoughts, the relationship between individual thoughts.

In logic, there are three logical forms of thinking:

1. concept- a thought expressed in words, which reflects the general essential and distinctive features of objects and phenomena of the surrounding reality. The concept is characterized by volume and content. Volume is determined by the number of objects covered by this concept (a person is all people, and a student is a part of people). Content concept is determined by those features that are included in this concept. There is an inverse relationship between the scope and content of a concept. The narrower the volume, the wider the content and vice versa. There are concepts that have content, but do not have volume - artificial or fabulous concepts (Serpent Gorynych).

There are many ways to introduce concepts:

- indication(this is a birch, this is Masha Ivanova, and so on).

An indication that what does the object do what are its functions.

- enumeration of external signs that this object has.

An indication that what is not this object.

- indication of the nearest generic character and species distinguishing features(this is how scientific concepts are introduced). The goal of any learning is the goal of scientific concepts (definitions of sensations).

Along with scientific distinguish everyday concepts that are used in everyday life. Scientific concepts are easy to define, and everyday ones are difficult, but everyday ones are easier to assimilate than scientific ones.

Worldly concepts reflect those spheres of life and activity of people that have not yet become objects of scientific research, but reflect phenomena important for the life of people.

Each concept is assimilated by a person and the result of this assimilation does not coincide with the definition given in the dictionary. As a result, there are two aspects in the study of the conceptual sphere of man:

1) concept formation

2) the structure of the conceptual sphere of man.

2. Judgment is a thought expressed in words, which reflects the relationship between two concepts. Each judgment consists of two concepts and is connected between them (Katya Ivanova is a student. Katya Ivanova is the first concept, the student is the second concept, the missing years is the third concept).

They are: - true- correspond to reality,

- false- do not correspond to reality.

Judgments can refer to a certain amount of objects of a given class. On this basis distinguish:

1. Single judgments. They belong to a separate object of this class (student Ivanova is an excellent student).

2. Private judgments. They belong to a certain part of the object of this class (some students of our group are excellent students).

3. General judgments. Refers to all objects of this class (all students in our group had the flu).

3. Inference is the derivation of a new proposition from two or more existing propositions. Exist three types of reasoning:

1 . Inductive reasoning represent a transition from singular judgments to general judgments (Aluminum, iron and copper conduct electricity. They are metals. Therefore, metals are electrically conductive). Inductive reasoning has a prognostic character, since the generalization extends to those objects that have not been studied, that is, a prediction of their properties is made. Therefore, there is always room for doubt that such an object may later be found that will not correspond to the received conclusion.

2 . deductive reasoning represent a transition from a general judgment to a particular or singular judgment (Socrates is a man. All people are mortal. Therefore, Socrates is mortal).

3 . Inference by analogy represent a transition from particular to particular, rely on the assumption that if two objects are similar in one respect, then they are similar in another respect (Copper conducts electricity. Copper is a metal. Aluminum is also a metal. Therefore, aluminum conducts electricity.

concept- this is a form of thinking, with the help of which the essence of objects and phenomena of reality is known in their important connections in relations, their important features are generalized.

Important Features- these are signs that belong to objects under any conditions, express their nature, essence, distinguish these objects from other objects, that is, these are their most important properties, without which they cannot exist.

The concept always exists and is found in the word, through the word it is communicated to other people. With the help of language, systems of concepts are obtained that make up different areas of science.

Concepts are divided into general and singular. Those concepts that display important features of single objects are called single ones (“country,” “city,” “writer,” “scientist”). Concepts that display the features of entire classes of objects are common (“element”, “weapon”, etc.).

Concepts are divided into concrete and abstract. Certain objects and phenomena are displayed in specific concepts. Abstract concepts display important features and properties separated from the objects themselves.

Judgment - a form of mental reflection of objective reality, which consists in the fact that we affirm the presence or absence of features, properties or relationships in certain objects.

A judgment is an act of thinking that displays the connections, the relation of things, and a sentence is a grammatical combination of words that manifests and fixes this mapping.

Every proposition is expressed in a sentence, but not every proposition is a proposition. The subject is the object of judgment, about which we are talking and what is displayed in our minds. A predicate is a reflection of those relations, signs, properties that we assert. For example: “All metals expand when heated”, where “all metals” is the subject, and “expand when heated” is the predicate..

A judgment is true if it correctly reflects the relationships that exist in objective reality. The truth of judgment is tested by practice.

Inference This form of thinking is called in which we deduce something new from one or more judgments.

In conclusion, through the knowledge we already have, we acquire new ones. Reasoning can be inductive, deductive, or by analogy.

Inductive reasoning is a judgment in which a generalization is made on the basis of a specific, partial one (for example: “Silver, iron, copper are metals; silver, iron, copper expand when heated: so, metals expand when heated”).

Deductive reasoning is a judgment in which, on the basis of the general, knowledge about the partial, specific is acquired (for example: “All metals expand when heated; silver is a metal: so, silver expands when heated”).

Inference by analogy is derived from the similarity of certain important features of objects, and on this basis, a conclusion is made about the possible similarity of these objects for other features.

The study of thinking

Important in the study of thinking are the characteristics of the pace (speed) of the flow of mental processes. Distinguish accelerated, slowed down and average pace of thought. To study the processes of abstraction, the subject is asked to explain the content of sayings, proverbs, metaphors, to convey the content of the previously read text.

Conceptual thinking is explored with the help of sets of objects or images proposed for their classification, explanation of purpose (for example, transport, furniture, etc.). An analysis of the relationship between concepts is carried out (appendix 4.6), in which the ability to establish and generalize the relationship between concepts is assessed. At the same time, the ability to make judgments and inferences is revealed.

In the study of intelligence, the subject is asked questions aimed at clarifying his knowledge in the field of history, geography, literature, political life, etc. To study thinking, the methods of Binet-Simon, Wexler, etc. are used, the results of which determine the so-called intellectual coefficient. This coefficient indicates in numbers the level of intellectual development.

Human thinking, qualitatively different from the rudiments of animal thinking, appeared together with speech. The word made it possible to separate a sign from a cognizable object and to operate with an abstract concept. Although there are mental acts outside of speech (for example, intuitive links of thinking) and speech fragments that are not accompanied by thinking (for example, speech clichés or delirium of a sick person), the thesis about the unity of thinking and speech is fundamental. It is no coincidence that JI. S. Vygotsky spoke about "the unity of communication and generalization."

We recognize and formulate the problems that arise in life, that is, we express them in oral or written speech. In reasoning, we test our hypotheses. Finally, in oral or written speech, the results of testing the assumptions are interpreted and conclusions are formulated. Where precise wording is needed, written language is especially important.

Intelligence is, first of all, the basis of goal setting, resource planning and building a strategy to achieve the goal. There is reason to believe that animals possess the rudiments of intelligence, and already at this level, their intelligence, through the mechanisms of goal-setting and achieving goals, has influenced and still influences the evolution of animals.

The influence of the intellect goes beyond the life of one person. The development of intellect in man singled him out from animals and became the beginning of the development of society, and then of human civilization.

Intelligence as an ability is usually realized with the help of other abilities. Such as: the ability to cognize, learn, think logically, systematize information by analyzing it, determine its applicability (classify), find connections, patterns and differences in it, associate it with similar ones, etc.

The parameters that form the distinctive features of the human intellectual system include:

the amount of working memory, the ability to predict, disinterested help, instrumental activity, logic,

multilevel (6 layers of neurons) hierarchy of system selection of valuable information,

consciousness,

Imagination- this is the process of creation by a person from the material of previous experience of images of objects that he has never perceived.

To create new images of a person is forced by a variety of needs that constantly generate activity, the development of knowledge, the complication of living conditions, the need to predict the future.

The creation of images of the imagination is always associated with a certain separation from reality, going beyond its limits. This significantly expands the cognitive capabilities of a person, providing the ability to foresee and create a new world as the environment of one's being. Imagination is closely related to thinking.

The process of creating images of the imagination

The most elementary form of synthesis of new images is agglutination(from the Latin aglutinare - "gluing"). This is the creation of an image by combining qualities, properties or parts taken from different objects. Agglutinations are, for example, fabulous images of a mermaid - half a woman, half a fish, a centaur - half a man, and half a horse, in technical creativity - a trolley bus - a combination of the features of a tram and a car, an amphibious tank that combines the qualities of a tank and a boat, etc. .

The way to create new images is analogy. The essence of this technique is that a new image is similar to a real-life object, but a fundamentally new model of a phenomenon or fact is projected in it.

New images can be created using emphasis. This technique consists in the deliberate strengthening of certain features in the subject, which become dominant against the background of others. Drawing a friendly caricature or caricature, the artist finds in the character or appearance of a person something unique, peculiar only to him, and emphasizes this, using the means of artistic expression.

Creating new images can be achieved by exaggeration (or reduction) characteristics of the subject. This technique is widely used in fairy tales, folk art, when heroes are endowed with supernatural power (Superman) and perform feats.

Types of imagination

Depending on the participation of the will in activity, the imagination is divided into involuntary and arbitrary. involuntary- this is an imagination when the creation of new images is not based on a special goal. The need for involuntary creation of images is constantly updated by various types of activities in which a person is involved.

Dreams are an example of the involuntary emergence of images of the imagination. In the state of sleep, when there is no conscious control of mental activity, the traces of impressions that remain are easily disinhibited and can create unnatural and indefinite combinations.

The imagination process can be arbitrary when it is directed with a special purpose to create an image of a certain object, a possible situation, to imagine or foresee a scenario for the development of events. The inclusion of arbitrary imagination in the process of cognition is due to the need for conscious regulation of the construction of the image in accordance with the task and nature of the activity performed. Arbitrary creation of images takes place mainly in the creative activity of man.

Depending on the nature of human activity, his imagination is divided into creative and reproductive.

Imagination, which is included in creative activity and helps a person to create new original images, is called creative.

The imagination, which is included in the process of mastering what other people have already created and described, is called reproducing or reproductive.

Depending on the content of the activity, the imagination is divided into technical, scientific, artistic and its other types related to the nature of human work.

Information sources.

Mainliterature:

Gamezo M.V., Domashenko I.A. Atlas of psychology. - M., 2001.

Introduction to psychology / Ed. ed. prof. Petrovsky A.V. - M., Ed. Center "Academy", 1996.

Krutetsky A.V. Psychology. - M., Education, 1986.

Maksimenko S.D. General psychology. - M.-K., 2004.

Practical psychodiagnostics. Methods and tests / Comp. D.Ya. Raygorodsky. – Samara, 2002.

Mental states / Comp. and ed. L.V. Kulikov. - SPb., 2001.

Psychology of attention / Ed. Yu.B. Gippenreiter. - M., 2001.

Psychology of sensations and perception / Ed. Yu.B. Gippenreiter. - M., 2002.

Psychology of memory / Ed. Yu.B. Gippenreiter. - M., 2002.

Psychology of motivation and emotions / Ed. Yu.B. Gippenreiter. - M., 2002.

Psychology of individual differences / Ed. Yu.B. Gippenreiter. - M., 2002.

Rubinshtein S.L. Fundamentals of General Psychology. - M., Pedagogy, 1989.

Additional literature:

Bondarchuk E.I., Bondarchuk L.I. Fundamentals of psychology and pedagogy: a course of lectures. - K., MAUP, 1999.

Golovakha E.I., Panina N.V. Psychology of human mutual understanding. - K., 1989.

Jeanie G. Scott. Conflicts. Ways to solve them. - K., 1991.

Klimov E. General psychology. General education course. - M., 1999.

Klimov E. Fundamentals of psychology. Workshop. Uch. allowance. - M., 1999.

Clinical psychology / Comp. and ed. N.V. Tarabrina. - St. Petersburg, 2002.

Interpersonal communication / Comp. and general ed. N.V.Kazarinova. - SPb., 2001.

Fundamentals of psychology: to help foreign students: in 2 hours, Part 2. Workshop. / comp. Lazurenko E.A. - K., 2005.

Workshop on General Psychology / Ed. Shcherbakova A.I. - M., Education, 1990.

Workshop on General and Medical Psychology / Ed. ed. prof. V.P. Blokhin. - Kyiv, 1990

Workshop on General, Experimental and Applied Psychology / Ed. A.A. Krylov. - St. Petersburg, 2003.

Psychology (dictionary) / Ed. Petrovsky, Yaroshevsky. - M., 1990.

Psychology and psychoanalysis of character. Reader on the psychology and typology of characters. / Comp. D.Ya. Raygorodsky. - Samara, 1997.

Human psychology from birth to death. / Ed. A.A. Rean. - St. Petersburg, 2002.

Khjell L., Ziegler D. Personality Theories. - St. Petersburg: Peter, 1997.

Yaroshevsky M.G. History of psychology. - M., 1985.

Approved at the meeting of the department

"____" _____________ 201__ Protocol No. _______

Thinking- this is the process of indirect and generalized reflection, the establishment of existing connections and relationships between objects and phenomena of reality.

Thinking- a cognitive process of a higher level compared to the direct sensory reflection of reality in sensations, perceptions, ideas. Sensory knowledge gives only an external picture of the world, while thinking leads to knowledge of the laws of nature and social life.

Thinking performs a regulatory, cognitive and communicative function, i.e., the function of communication. And here the expression of it in speech acquires special significance. Whether thoughts are transmitted orally or in writing in the process of communication between people, whether a scientific book or a work of fiction is written - everywhere a thought must be framed in words so that other people understand it.

Sensory reflection and thinking- a single process of human cognition of the surrounding reality. Practice is the source of knowledge. Everything begins with sensations and perceptions, that is, with living contemplation. In no other way is it possible to obtain knowledge about various objects and phenomena, about the properties of things, about various forms of the movement of matter. Only then does sensory cognition ascend to the mental - abstract, logical. But even at the level of abstract thinking, its connection with sensory images of sensations, perceptions and ideas is preserved.

Such abstract and generalized knowledge allows us to understand the world more fully and deeply. The truth of such knowledge is verified by practice. Here it already acts as a criterion for the correctness of human knowledge, human thinking. The unity of sensory reflection and thinking makes it possible to compare the past and the present, to foresee and project the future. This applies not only to the surrounding world of things, phenomena, other people, but also to the person himself, allows him to "learn to rule himself."

Like all mental phenomena, thinking is a product of the reflex activity of the brain. The unity of the sensory and the logical in thinking is based on the complex interaction of the cortex and subcortical formations of the brain.

Thinking - always a solution to some problem, the search for an answer to a question that has arisen, the search for a way out of the current situation. At the same time, neither a solution, nor an answer, nor a way out can be seen only by perceiving reality.

Thinking - it is not only an indirect, but also a generalized reflection of reality. Its generalization lies in the fact that for each group of homogeneous objects and phenomena, common and essential features are singled out that characterize them. As a result, knowledge about this subject in general is formed: a table in general, a chair in general, a tree in general, etc. The essential features of a “man in general”, for example, are such general features: a person is a social being, a working person, who has speech. In order to single out these general and essential features, one must digress, abstract from private, non-essential features, such as gender, age, race, etc.

Distinguish visual-effective, visual-figurative and verbal-logical thinking.

Visual Action Thinking. It is also called practically effective or simply practical thinking. It proceeds directly in the process of people's practical activities and is associated with the solution of practical problems: production, organization of the educational process. This type of thinking is, one might say, the main one throughout a person’s life.

Visual-figurative thinking. This type of thinking is associated with the solution of mental problems based on figurative material. Here, the operation of the most diverse, but most of all visual and auditory images takes place. Visual-figurative thinking is closely connected with practical thinking.

Verbal-logical thinking. It is also called abstract or theoretical. It has the form of abstract concepts and judgments and is associated with the operation of philosophical, mathematical, physical and other concepts and judgments. This is the highest level of thinking, which allows one to penetrate into the essence of phenomena, to establish the laws of the development of nature and social life.

All types of thinking are closely interconnected. However, in different people one or another species occupies a leading position. Which one is determined by the conditions and requirements of the activity. For example, a theoretical physicist or a philosopher has verbal-logical thinking, while an artist has visual-figurative thinking.

The interconnection of types of thinking is also characterized by their mutual transitions. They depend on the tasks of activity, which require either one or the other, or even the joint manifestation of types of thinking.

Basic logical forms of thinking- concept, judgment, conclusion.

concept- this is the thought expressed in the word about the general and essential features of objects and phenomena of reality. In this it differs from representations, which only show their images. Concepts are formed in the process of the historical development of mankind. Therefore, their content acquires the character of universality. This means that with different designations of the same concept by words in different languages, the essence remains the same.

Concepts are assimilated in the process of a person's individual life as his knowledge is enriched. The ability to think is always associated with the ability to operate with concepts, to operate with knowledge.

Judgment- a form of thinking in which the assertion or denial of certain connections and relations between objects, phenomena and events is expressed. Judgments can be general (for example, "all plants have roots"), private, single.

inference- a form of thinking in which a new judgment is derived from one or more judgments, one way or another completing the thought process. There are two main types of reasoning: inductive (induction) and deductive (deduction).

Inductive inference is called from particular cases, from particular judgments to the general. For example: “when Ivanova turned 14, she received a passport of a Russian citizen”, “when Rybnikov turned 14, he received a passport of a citizen of Russia”, etc. Therefore, “all Russians who have reached the age of 14 receive a passport of a citizen of Russia ".

There is another reasoning by analogy. It is usually used to build hypotheses, i.e., assumptions about the possibility of certain events or phenomena.

inference process, thus, it represents the operation of concepts and judgments, leading to one or another conclusion.

mental operations mental actions used in the process of thinking are called. These are analysis and synthesis, comparison, generalization, abstraction, concretization and classification.

Analysis- mental division of the whole into parts, the allocation of individual features, properties.

Synthesis- mental connection of parts, features, properties into a single whole, mental connection of objects, phenomena, events into systems, complexes, etc.

Analysis and synthesis are interconnected m. The leading role of one or the other is determined by the tasks of activity.

Comparison- mental establishment of similarities and differences between objects and phenomena or their features.

Generalization- mental association of objects or phenomena on the basis of selection when comparing common and essential properties and features for them.

Abstraction- mental distraction from any properties or signs of objects, phenomena.

Specification- mental selection from the general one or another particular particular property and attribute.

Classification- mental separation and subsequent unification of objects, phenomena, events into groups and subgroups according to certain characteristics.

Mental operations, as a rule, do not proceed in isolation, but in various combinations.

Analysis and synthesis form a unity. In the process of analysis, a comparison is made in order to highlight common and different features of a particular group of phenomena, objects.

Thinking, as is known, - generalized reflection of reality. The process of highlighting common essential features requires abstraction, therefore, abstraction is also included in the process of analysis and synthesis.

Thinking can be figurative- at the level of images, perceptions and ideas. It also exists to some extent in higher animals. Human higher thinking is verbal thinking. Language, speech - the material shell of thought. Only in speech - oral or written form, a person's thought becomes available to others.

Individual features of thinking manifest themselves in various properties of mental activity. They develop in the process of life and activity and are largely determined by the conditions of training and education. The typological features of higher nervous activity are also important.

Among the features of thinking include the breadth and depth of the mind, consistency, flexibility, independence and critical thinking.

breadth of mind It is characterized by the versatility of knowledge, the ability to think creatively, the ability to make broad generalizations, and the ability to connect theory with practice.

depth of mind- this is the ability to single out a complex issue, to delve into its essence, to separate the main from the secondary, to foresee the ways and consequences of its solution, to consider the phenomenon comprehensively, to understand it in all its connections and relationships.

Sequence of thinking expressed in the ability to establish a logical order in solving various issues.

Flexibility of thinking- this is the ability to quickly assess the situation, quickly think and make the necessary decisions, easily switch from one mode of action to another.

Independence of thinking It is expressed in the ability to raise a new question, find an answer to it, make decisions and act not in a stereotyped way, without succumbing to inspiring outside influences.

Critical thinking characterized by the ability not to consider the first thought that came to mind to be true, to subject the proposals and judgments of others to critical consideration, to make the necessary decisions, only after weighing all the pros and cons.

These features of thinking in different people are combined in different ways and are expressed to varying degrees. This characterizes the individual characteristics of their thinking.

Conditions for the development of thinking in the educational process.

When studying the development of a child's thinking, it is always necessary to take into account the basic difference between the conditions of phylogenetic and ontogenetic development. In the line of phylogenetic development, the stimulus for thinking, basically, has always been needs, the satisfaction of which had a more or less pronounced vital significance; here thinking arose and developed on the basis of serious activity - service and, especially, labor. As far as ontogeny is concerned, especially within the limits of childhood, the situation here is different. Childhood is that period of a person's life when he himself does not have to take care of satisfying his basic needs - this is done by others, his educators, adults. A person ceases to be considered a child only after he becomes forced to take care of the satisfaction of his vital needs, that is, to solve the tasks that confront him on his own.

Therefore, during childhood, the impulse for the development of thinking is the need to satisfy not vital needs, as is the case in phylogeny, but the needs of another category, in particular, needs development. The development of children's thinking occurs mainly on the basis of games and study. Accounting for this circumstance is not only of great theoretical, but perhaps even greater practical significance, since in the education of thinking, the knowledge of where the impulses of a child’s thinking come from is certainly of fundamental importance.

The development of thinking as an activity takes place in communication, in actions with objects, in a game, in didactic classes. The accumulation of activity experience and its generalization in the form of a variety of targeted ways of acting with objects, ways of communicating with people ensures the correct development of the child’s thinking and its transformation from visual-active at an early age into visual-figurative and conceptual at preschool and school age.