Abstract
Background. L.S. Vygotsky’s cultural-historical approach toward children’s psychological development was first developed around one hundred years ago. It now requires re-evaluation in light of new experimental studies that have shown complexity and diversity of the innate psychological abilities of new-borns and infants, as well as other theoretical approaches towards understanding the role of culture and learning in cognitive development. Such a re-evaluation aims to draw our attention to those aspects of human psychology that L.S. Vygotsky, due to the limited empirical knowledge available to him and his early death, was unable or did not have time to illuminate. Objectives. The aim is to consider L.S. Vygotsky’s concept of natural psychological functions in a new perspective, as a forerunner of the ‘heart’ of human psychology — the living consciousness. Methods. The research method is a comparative and logical analysis of concepts, illustrated by the results of the author’s and his colleagues’ long-term experimental research. Results. A distinction between living consciousness, which includes subjective experiences (for example, perceptions, emotions, and creative thinking) and functions according to the laws of magic, and objectified consciousness, into which living consciousness is transformed for consumption by society and culture (for example, scientific concepts, logical thinking, and human artifacts) and which conforms to the laws of nature and formal logic, is proposed. It has been hypothesized that both living consciousness and higher mental functions are genetically related to natural mental functions. Differences between the structure, functions and methods of studying living and objectified consciousness are considered. Conclusions. Natural mental functions are the psychological basis for two relatively independent but interconnected branches of mental development: living consciousness and higher mental functions. Living consciousness does not obey the laws of formal logic and is the primary source of creative ideas and truly selfless morality.
Published Version
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