From the point of view of idealists, the soul is the primary phenomenon in the universe. Just as the content of a person’s dream is only a figment of his imagination, so all the physics of the real world is only someone’s will, someone’s fantasy (individual or collective). From the point of view of materialists, the psyche is a secondary phenomenon, derived from matter. The real physical world can exist in the absence of someone’s soul, psyche.

Idealistic ideas about the psyche

Man emerged from the animal world. The underdevelopment of the scientific picture of the world did not allow a person to solve a psychophysical problem (for a long time such a question was not even raised): how can it be that from the physical, material, the mental appears, which - it turns out - is also material. Life experience ancient man told him that someone else's will and someone else's mind are the source of the greatest troubles. If the stone lies on the ground, then it does not pose any danger. But if it falls into someone's hands, then it is already a deadly weapon. No matter what kind of protected dwelling the ancient man invented for himself, someone else’s cunning, coming from other people or animals, could overcome any walls. This led, on the one hand, to the fact that behind complex and dangerous physical phenomena (thunderstorm, flood, etc.) a person began to see someone’s will; and on the other hand, people began to consider other people, their psyche as the result of the manifestation of another will. In the ancient Egyptian treatise “Monument of Memphis Theology” (late 4th millennium BC) an attempt is made to describe the mechanisms of the psyche: the organizer of everything that exists, the universal architect is the god Ptah; no matter what people think or say, he knows their hearts and tongues. The same ancient Egyptian work gives the following interpretation of the meaning of the senses for humans: the gods “created the sight of the eyes, the hearing of the ears, the breathing of the nose, so that they would give a message to the heart.” Thus, the heart was given a role that is given to the brain today. In any idealistic teaching one can find elements of materialism, but for an idealist these elements are also the fruit of the work of someone’s higher will. Idealistic ideas are not necessarily religious. Many idealistic philosophers, outside of religious concepts, consider the psyche as something primary, existing independently, independently of matter; they see in mental activity a manifestation of an immaterial, incorporeal and immortal soul, and interpret all material things and processes either as our sensations and ideas, or as some mysterious manifestation of the “absolute spirit”, “world will”, “idea”. And in our time (20th and 21st centuries), more and more idealistic theories are appearing, because idealism is an endless field for fantasy.

Materialistic ideas about the psyche

The first materialistic ideas about the soul and psyche were very far from modern ones. The ancient Greek philosophers Heraclitus, Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes and their followers spoke about the material nature of mental phenomena, about the unity of soul and body. It was believed that all things are modifications of fire, that everything that exists, material and mental, is constantly changing. In the microcosm of the body, the general rhythm of the transformations of fire on the scale of the entire cosmos is repeated, and the fiery principle in the body is the soul - the psyche. Heraclitus believed that the soul is born by evaporation from moisture, then, returning to a wet state, dies. Moreover, between the state of “humidity” and “fiery” there are many intermediate states. About a drunken man, Heraclitus, for example, says that “... he does not notice where he is going, for his psyche is wet.” On the contrary, the drier the soul, the wiser it is.

6) The structure of the human psyche. Main types of mental phenomena, their characteristics.

The psyche is complex and diverse in its manifestations. Usually there are three large groups of mental phenomena, namely: 1) mental processes, 2) mental states, 3) mental properties.

Mental processes are a dynamic reflection of reality in various forms of mental phenomena.

A mental process is the course of a mental phenomenon that has a beginning, development and end, manifesting itself in the form of a reaction. It must be borne in mind that the end of a mental process is closely related to the beginning of a new process. Hence the continuity of mental activity in a person’s waking state.

Mental processes are caused by both external influences and irritations nervous system, coming from the internal environment of the body.

All mental processes are divided into educational– these include sensations and perceptions, ideas and memory, thinking and imagination; emotional– active and passive experiences; strong-willed– decision, execution, volitional effort; etc.

Mental processes ensure the formation of knowledge and the primary regulation of human behavior and activity.

In complex mental activity various processes are connected and constitute a single stream of consciousness, providing an adequate reflection of reality and the implementation of various types of activities. Mental processes occur with varying speed and intensity depending on the characteristics of external influences and personality states.

A mental state should be understood as one determined in given time a relatively stable level of mental activity, which manifests itself in increased or decreased activity of the individual.

Every person experiences different mental states every day. In one mental state, mental or physical work is easy and productive, in another it is difficult and ineffective.

Mental states are of a reflex nature: they arise under the influence of the situation, physiological factors, progress of work, time and verbal influences (praise, blame, etc.).

The most studied are: 1) general mental state, for example attention, manifested at the level of active concentration or absent-mindedness, 2) emotional states or moods (cheerful, enthusiastic, sad, sad, angry, irritable, etc.). There are interesting studies about a special, creative state of personality, which is called inspiration.

The highest and most stable regulators of mental activity are personality traits.

Mental properties of a person should be understood as stable formations that provide a certain qualitative and quantitative level of activity and behavior typical for a given person.

Each mental property is formed gradually in the process of reflection and is consolidated in practice. It is therefore the result of reflective and practical activity.

Personality properties are diverse, and they need to be classified in accordance with the grouping of mental processes on the basis of which they are formed. This means that we can distinguish the properties of intellectual, or cognitive, volitional and emotional activity of a person. As an example, let us give some intellectual properties - observation, flexibility of mind; strong-willed – determination, perseverance; emotional – sensitivity, tenderness, passion, affectivity, etc.

Mental properties do not exist together, they are synthesized and form complex structural formations of the personality, which must include: 1) the life position of the individual (a system of needs, interests, beliefs, ideals that determines the selectivity and level of activity of a person); 2) temperament (a system of natural personality traits - mobility, balance of behavior and activity tone - characterizing the dynamic side of behavior); 3) abilities (a system of intellectual-volitional and emotional properties that determine the creative capabilities of an individual) and, finally, 4) character as a system of relationships and modes of behavior.

7) Mental criteria according to Leontiev

Throughout the historical path of psychology as a science, possible answers to questions about the criteria of the psyche and when it appears in the history of the development of the world were periodically given. A. N. Leontiev devoted several works to the consideration of these issues, among them the book “Problems of Psychic Development” stands out, the first edition of which was published in 1959 and which was awarded the Lenin Prize in 1963.

In it, he first of all criticizes existing points of view on the decision mental problems. A.N. Leontiev identifies the following four positions.

1. Anthropopsychism(the criterion of the psyche is its awareness; therefore, animals do not have a psyche, since there is no consciousness; R. Descartes adhered to this point of view).

2. Panpsychism(the doctrine of universal animation - the psyche is recognized as existing as an integral property of any material formation, and therefore the problem of its occurrence is removed; this point of view was shared, for example, by B. Spinoza).

3. Biopsychism(according to this position, any living creature, including plants, has a psyche - a soul; Aristotle adhered to this position).

4. Neuropsychism(according to this point of view, there is a strictly objective criterion of the psyche: the presence of a nervous system; this position was adhered to by C. Darwin and G. Spencer).

A.N. Leontiev criticized the first position as very narrow, the second as too broad. The third position does not allow us to establish a qualitative difference between a living organism that does not have a psyche and a subject that does. Neuropsychism is insufficient because it postulates a rigid connection between the appearance of the psyche and the appearance of the nervous system, but the connection between an organ and a function is mobile, since different organs can perform the same function.

Rejecting the above points of view and the corresponding criteria of the psyche, A.N. Leontiev proposed his own criterion, which was completely objective, but not morphological, but functional. In his opinion, an objective sign of the psyche is the ability of an organism (in this case we can already talk about the subject) to respond to the so-called abiotic properties external environment(peace). Under abiotic a stimulus is understood as a property of objects that does not directly and directly determine the life processes of a particular organism, however, with an objective connection with a biotic factor, it can act as a signal for the subject of the presence of the latter in the world.

Biotic A stimulus is an external environmental factor that is directly and directly involved in metabolism in the organism reacting to it.

An example of a biotic stimulus is light for a chlorophyll plant. Without light energy in the corresponding organs, plants are not produced from inorganic substances into organic ones. For other living beings, this same light can be an abiotic stimulus, because the metabolism in their organisms does not directly depend on this factor. Nevertheless, they react to this stimulus from the external environment, neutral for the life of the organism, since in the individual activities of these subjects this stimulus acquired a “signal value” or “biological meaning” for them. Let's take the example of a dog that is used in conditioning research. After turning on the light (bulb), after a short time the dog receives food. After a certain number of combinations of abiotic and biotic stimuli, she begins to rejoice at just turning on the light bulb, tries to lick this light bulb, etc. Light acquired a signal meaning for her, or, in other words, a biological meaning (the meaning of food).

According to A. N. Leontiev, the appearance of a reaction to a biologically neutral stimulus, which appears for the subject in its signal meaning, means the emergence sensitivity - the actual mental reflection of reality. The ability of organisms to respond to biotic stimuli is called irritability (it is a pre-psychic or non-psychic form of reflection of the world by the body).

Psyche arises when pre-psychic forms of reflection become insufficient to ensure the vital activity of the organism in a changing world. The emergence of the psyche in the course of evolution is associated with the transition of the life of primary organisms from life in a homogeneous environment to life in a heterogeneous (subject-wisely dissected) environment. An object is distinguished from an environmental factor by the multiplicity of its properties, interconnected into an inseparable unity (some philosophers define an object as a “node of properties”).

To live in an objectively designed environment, a living organism needs to learn to recognize those objects that have biotic properties (suitable as food). But this can be done only by focusing on the abiotic properties of the same object, signaling the presence of its biotic qualities. Some primary organisms followed the path of evolution of the original forms of activity, during which only biotic stimuli are reflected (this is how the plant kingdom arose).

Thus, the emergence of the psyche in evolution was closely related to the emergence of an objective connection in the subject of biotic and abiotic properties. However, this is a necessary but not sufficient condition for the appearance of a mental reflection of the world by the subject. The latter appears only when this connection is highlighted by the subject himself, when the subject, in his individual activity, discovers the meaning of an abiotic stimulus as a signal of the presence of a biotic factor." Thus, the psyche is connected with the activity of the subject initially.

8) Methodology of psychological research. The role of methodology in psychological research and defining the subject of psychology.

The role of methodology in science is not only to indicate what a given science should investigate, but also to develop methods that lead knowledge to the shortest path to identifying the essence of a phenomenon. It is necessary to emphasize that the clarity of methodological positions is a determining condition for the development of good constructive theories, their evidence and predictive value.

A significant contribution to the methodology of scientific knowledge was made by German classical (Hegel) and materialist (K. Marx) philosophy, which quite deeply developed the dialectical method on an idealistic and materialistic basis, respectively.

It is obvious that the specific nature of a psychologist’s activity, due to the individuality and hiddenness of a number of parameters, requires a greater degree of efficiency and quality of research and development than in a number of other branches of science. The latter largely depends on the level of methodological understanding of problems, scientific, methodological and methodological training of performers and especially managers who make responsible decisions.

a significant increase in the volume of methodological research, its completeness and subject matter in recent decades has not directly led to a direct positive accelerating impact on the development of modern psychological science. Scientists working in psychological science today are constantly faced with the unresolved nature of a number of scientific and methodological issues.

The continuing quantitative growth of scientific and methodological works creates certain difficulties in their comprehension and systematization even for professional methodologists. Many of these works are difficult for incompletely trained specialists to understand.

When considering questions about the methodology and methods of psychological research, it is necessary to pay attention to the fact that its main principles are:

1) humanistic orientation due to the fact that the problem of man is central in the system of modern scientific knowledge;

2) the complexity of the study, since a person, being involved in various connections and relationships with the surrounding reality, reveals various facets, each of which can become the subject of a special study;

3) systematicity, which is based on the principles of the systems approach and is a group of methods by which a real object is described as a set of interconnected components.

Subject to these principles, an object will be a system if it can be divided into interconnected and interacting parts or elements that have their own structure and therefore can be represented as a subsystem of this object. At the same time, the structure reflects the orderliness of the internal and external connections of the object, ensuring its stability, stability, and internal certainty. System objects have a holistic, stable structure. In this case, such concepts as connection, integrity, sustainability, environment, etc. play an important role.

The activities of scientists, like the entire process of development of knowledge, cannot be considered outside the problems of methodological determination, which play an extremely important role in this process. Science has always been a form of collective activity. In modern conditions, it is virtually impossible to make any significant contribution to its development, being outside the framework of the scientific community, school, or team of scientists.

Real methodologicalization of science is a complex, dialectically contradictory process that requires special training and the necessary level of reflection from researchers, especially in psychological science.

Due to the fact that in any psychological research priority belongs to the use of general scientific logical methods of cognition, regardless of whether it is carried out at a theoretical or empirical level, it is necessary to reveal their essence in more detail. These include methods of analysis, synthesis, abstraction, idealization, generalization , induction, deduction and analogy.

Analysis– dividing an object into its component parts for the purpose of their independent study.

Synthesis- real or mental unification of various aspects, parts of an object into a single whole.

Analysis and synthesis are widely used in studying the experience of psychological, pedagogical and social activities. In these cases, activity is divided into stages, a relationship is established between them, and then human activity is reproduced as a whole. Through this method, the positive aspects of the activity are clarified, its strengths and weaknesses are clarified.

Analysis and synthesis are general scientific methods, without which not a single act can do. scientific research. Analysis is the process of mentally dividing the event under study into its component parts, elements, features, opposites and studying them in order to reveal the essence. Synthesis is the process of establishing connections between selected elements, features, opposites, connecting them and reproducing the event under study in its essential features and relationships.

Analysis and synthesis are oppositely directed (analysis - from the whole to the part, and synthesis - from the parts to the whole) and at the same time inextricably linked ways of cognition.

Comparison- the process of identifying signs of similarity and difference in the subject under study by comparing it with other subjects. This method is widely used in psychological and pedagogical scientific knowledge.

Exclusively important The comparison method is used to clarify the processes of change, development, dynamics of the phenomenon under study, and to reveal trends and patterns of its development. Each individual fact expresses some aspect of the development of the event. Comparison of facts relating to different states of an event in time allows the researcher to establish changes, the development of the event, and comparison of the previous and subsequent stages of the development of the event will allow revealing and tracing trends, main directions, patterns of its formation.

Abstraction fully relates to the methods of scientific knowledge. V.P. Kokhanovsky defines abstraction as: a) a side, a moment, a part of the whole, a fragment of reality, something undeveloped, one-sided, fragmentary (abstract); b) the process of mental abstraction from a number of properties and relationships of the object or phenomenon being studied with the simultaneous selection of properties that are of interest to the cognizing subject at the moment (abstraction); c) the result of abstracting activity of thinking (abstraction in the narrow sense)

Determining which of the properties under consideration are essential and which are secondary is the main issue of abstraction. If we answer the question, what in objective reality is distinguished by the abstracting work of thinking, from which thinking is distracted, in each specific case is solved primarily depending on the nature of the object or phenomenon being studied, as well as on the tasks facing cognition.

Abstraction is not an end in itself, it is a means to obtain specific processes in all the richness of their connections and relationships. In the process of abstraction, the cognizing subject moves away from the process under study as a whole and goes deeper into the knowledge of its individual properties, sides, features, as a result of which the cognized object turns out to be divided in our consciousness into individual elements. The task of developing specific, comprehensive knowledge about the process is solved by ascending from the abstract to the concrete.

The method of abstraction and ascent from the abstract to the concrete is universal in nature and is mandatory for any process of scientific research. It is also used in cases where the researcher does not think about its content and uses it intuitively. Of course, the conscious use of the named logical method, taking into account its advantages and the difficulties it contains, gives a greater effect in psychological and scientific research than its unconscious use.

Abstraction, distraction from the concrete is a necessary condition and prerequisite for the formation of inferential, generalized psychological and pedagogical knowledge about the ongoing phenomenon.

Generalization is closely related to abstraction. It is customary to distinguish between two types of scientific generalizations: highlighting essential or any features. On another basis, generalizations can be distinguished: a) from individual facts and events to their expression in thoughts (inductive generalization); b) from one thought to another, more general thought (logical generalization). The mental transition from the more general to the less general is a process of limitation. Generalization cannot be unlimited. It is limited to philosophical categories that do not have a generic concept. At the same time, a more complex form of generalization, which allows one to distinguish important, characteristic facts from secondary ones, is typification, which consists in the selection of characteristic (typical) facts that express the most important aspect of the phenomenon or group of phenomena being studied.

The selection of typical, characteristic facts is an important feature of psychological generalization. This form of generalization brings us closer to understanding the latent connections of a phenomenon. However, it is not enough to reveal the essence of the event under study. This requires generalizations of a higher order, and above all those that reveal the repeatability, necessity, significance and causality of the signs of an event.

The most important form of generalization at the theoretical stage of psychological research is the formulation of conclusions that generalize the historical experience of human development, the socio-economic construction of the state, the experience of educational and scientific activities, the conclusions that form the development strategy of the state on any problem. This inferential knowledge reveals the characteristic features, features and essence of the phenomena being studied, the patterns of their occurrence and development.

Idealization- mental construction of concepts about objects that do not exist and cannot be realized in reality, but those for which there are prototypes in the real world. Most often it is considered as a specific type of abstraction.

In the process of idealization, there is an extreme abstraction from all the real properties of an object with the simultaneous introduction into the content of the concepts being formed of features that are not realized in reality. As a result of this, a so-called “idealized object” is formed, with which theoretical thinking can operate when reflecting real objects.

Induction- a logical method (technique) of research associated with generalizing the results of observations, experiments and the movement of thoughts from the individual to the general. The data of experience “suggest” the general, induce it. Since experience is always infinite and incomplete, inductive conclusions are problematic (probable) in nature. Inductive generalizations are usually regarded as empirical truths or empirical laws.

Deduction means, firstly, the transition in the process of cognition from the general to the individual (particular), the derivation of the individual from the general; secondly, the process of logical inference, i.e., the transition, according to certain rules of logic, from certain given premise sentences to consequences (conclusions).

Deduction, being one of the methods (techniques) of scientific knowledge, is closely related to induction. These are dialectically interconnected ways of moving thought. In this regard, V.P. Kokhanovsky believes that the basis of great discoveries and progressive leaps of scientific thought lies in induction - an uninhibited, but truly creative method.

The rigor of deductive reasoning does not allow the imagination to fall into error; it allows, after establishing new starting points through induction, to derive consequences and compare conclusions with facts. Only deduction can ensure the testing of hypotheses and stop an over-running fantasy.

Analogy– a method of scientific cognition in which similarities in certain aspects, qualities and relationships between non-identical objects are established. Inference by analogy - conclusions that are drawn based on such similarities. Thus, when drawing a conclusion by analogy, the knowledge obtained from the consideration of an object is transferred to another, less studied and less accessible object for research. Conclusions, by analogy, are plausible when, based on the similarity of two objects in some certain parameters, a conclusion is made about their similarity in other parameters.

Analogy does not provide reliable knowledge: if the premise of reasoning by analogy is true, this does not mean that the conclusion will be true.

Modeling as a method of scientific knowledge, it is the reproduction of the characteristics of some object on another object, specially created for their study. The latter is called a model. Thus, under model should be understood as an object that resembles in some respects the prototype and serves as a means of describing or explaining or predicting the behavior of the prototype.

The need for modeling arises when researching the object itself is impossible, difficult, expensive, takes too long, etc.

There must be a certain similarity (relationship of similarity) between the model and the original: physical characteristics, behavioral functions of the object being studied and its mathematical description, structure, etc. It is this similarity that allows the information obtained as a result of studying the model to be transferred to the original.

Historical method of research in psychological science consists in studying, tracing the process of human development, events related to his activity in their specific historical form, if possible in all their versatility, the conditionality of the main stages and forms. Consistent consideration of the stages of development of the phenomenon under study in the direction from simple to complex, from previous to subsequent allows us to reveal not only the form of the actual development process, but also makes it possible to understand the patterns of development of a given event and discover its essence.

Boolean method there is a way to use accumulated knowledge about reality as a whole (philosophical knowledge) and about its individual areas (historical, socio-economic, special knowledge, etc.) to study new phenomena. In this sense, the logical acts as a generalized reflection of the historical, cleared of the accidental, secondary, incidental and expressing the essential, important, fixed in laws, categories (concepts), principles, concepts, theoretical positions. The logical method is a form of thought movement in accordance with the objective logic of the development of objects, phenomena, events, and processes of the real world.

The historical method protects the logical method from excessive theorizing and gives inferential knowledge and generalizations a specific historical character. In turn, the logical method saves the historical method from flat empiricism, from sliding onto the path of simple factualism, and gives historicism an essential character.

Historical and logical methods of research and presentation serve as a unique form of interrelation between other general scientific methods of cognition.

The methods of cognition outlined above provide the disclosure not only of the essence of the studied real-life phenomena, but also of certain basic cause-and-effect relationships and dependencies in them. However, when studying complex multifaceted and multidimensional phenomena, they act as methods that can reveal only certain aspects of a complex process. In this regard, the need to solve complex problems has given rise to more and more general research methods.

Everyday experience convinces us that the more a person knows about the phenomenon under study (object or process), the faster he finds the most significant aspects in it, their cause-and-effect relationship and general patterns of development. Therefore, it is quite natural to consider the established practice of studying complex phenomena with the help of groups of specialists who must answer the problematic question.

This research technique is called expert assessment method. Currently, expert methods based on the work of special commissions that discuss a particular problem until all experts come to a common opinion have become widespread. The latter are recorded as the collective opinion of the group. Despite its simplicity and widespread use, the commission method has a fundamental drawback, which is the following: the group in its judgments is guided mainly by the logic of compromise, and not by the internal logic of the problem being analyzed.

Systems approach by its nature determines the implementation in concrete form of the basic ideas of materialist dialectics. The system survey method requires presenting the object of study in the form of an integral system with a large number of connections between its parts (elements).

The increasing importance of systems research is currently determined by the increasing intensity and breadth of society’s impact on nature, the rapid development of industry, the need to create and operate large systems, and the need to further improve the organization of production and economic management.

The systems approach as a method of scientific knowledge is now gaining everything higher value and due to the increasing complexity of various areas of human activity. Currently, in systems theory, basic concepts are formulated in the broadest generality, such as “system”, “state of the system”, “ environment", "element", "structure and organization", which act as methodological tools regularly used in the interests of the practice of psychological research. In other words, the prerequisites are created for the development of a unique system of scientific thinking among researchers. They are a kind of “steps” along which the researcher learns about a complex object and the problem associated with it.

Computer modelling is a further generalization (from the point of view of spiral development) of all previous (discussed above) modeling methods. It allows you to study complex dynamic systems for managing social processes using a large number of characteristics.

The main features of computer modeling are the functional approach associated with the study of the behavior of the system and its individual elements under environmental conditions, and the mandatory presence of criteria for the efficiency of the system and the possibility of widespread use for the practical implementation of computer network models, which allow for fast and accurate modeling of complex control systems and establish optimal ways to improve their effectiveness.

Just listing the indicators indicates their diverse nature. Most of them can be expressed quantitatively, the rest - only qualitatively. Some indicators have a purely technical meaning, others have an operational meaning. Such an obvious diversity of indicators makes the process of assessing the system as a whole very difficult, since some of them can reveal the advantages of the system, while others, under the same conditions, indicate its shortcomings. Therefore, the final conclusion has to be made on the basis of a logical analysis of knowledge acquisition across the entire set of indicators. In this case, one has to resort to finding a compromise.

from the position of the activity approach, methodology can be defined as the doctrine of methods of human activity aimed at achieving goals in psychological science. The acquisition of knowledge of a new, theoretical quality creates conditions for a more complete and universal implementation, compared to empirical knowledge.

22. Materialism and idealism

The herald of empiricism was Francis Bacon (XVI century), who placed the main emphasis on creating effective method Sciences. In his work “New Organon”, Bacon gave the palm to induction, that is, to such an interpretation of a set of empirical data that allows them to be generalized in order to predict future events and thereby master their course.

When developing problems related to methodology and methods of cognition, scientists divided into two movements - empirical and rationalistic. Disagreements between them arose on three cardinal issues: about the sources and origin of knowledge, about the nature of universal concepts, about the relationship and limits of human cognitive capabilities. The founders of the empirical school, Bacon, Hobbes, Locke and their followers, believed that the source of all knowledge is sensory experience.

Representatives of the rationalist movement, pioneered by Descartes and Leibniz, believed that the source of knowledge lies in the mind itself, and universal concepts come from the mind itself and innate intellectual abilities. In accordance with these differences, representatives of empiricism considered induction as the leading scientific method, which involves ascent from particular and individual facts established in sensory experience to general principles and laws, while representatives of rationalism saw the basis for acquiring reliable knowledge in deduction as a way of deriving the desired truths from principles either previously established or innate.

The question of the nature of human cognitive abilities themselves, their relationship to the external physical world, on the one hand, and to the bodily organism, on the other, was also quite acute.

These disputes gave rise to a psychophysical problem, various ways the decisions of which divided thinkers into two other irreconcilable camps - materialism And idealism.

This line of struggle became the leading one in strengthening and differentiating ideological positions not only between the mentioned rationalistic and empirical movements, but also within them. Thus, Descartes, Leibniz and Spinoza, being the founders of rationalism, were opponents in solving the psychophysical problem and spoke from different positions: Descartes - from the position of dualism; Leibniz - idealism; Spinoza - materialism. In a similar way, empiricism was developed both by representatives of the materialist movement (Bacon, Hobbes, French and Russian materialists of the 18th century), and by supporters of idealist movements (Berkeley, Hume, etc.).