The Concept Of An "Image Of The World" And Some Problems In The Ontogeny Of Consciousness

Abstract

The concept an image of the world as construed by A. N. Leont'ev in his last works (1976, 1979) has begun to acquire the status of one of the key concepts in analyzing cognitive processes within the context of the general psychological theory of activity (Smirnov, 1981, 1985; Velichkovskii, 1983; Lomov, 1983; Petukhov, 1984). For further development of the concept of an image of the world and disclosure of its heuristic potential, more is necessary than merely fleshing out its definition by comparing it with other psychological categories or by seeking some empirical facts that would fit it: explication of the actual investigatory and objective-practical tasks whose resolution made it necessary to introduce this concept is also necessary (see Stetsenko, 1986, for an investigatory task as the basis for construing the object of a psychological study in the strict sense).