Logical operations of thinking. Operations and forms of thinking

The human brain is a complex construction, which has not been fully studied so far. We use very little of its potential, slowly improving and sometimes not trying to discover new opportunities for ourselves. But even this small part of the work of the central organ of the central nervous system strikes with its intricate mechanism: the operations of thinking, its types and manifestations in all people are so different, while simultaneously obeying the same laws of formation.

Comparison

This simple operation we do every day, without noticing it. After all, in order to have an idea of this or that subject, we mentally isolate its main characteristics, highlighting them and emphasizing them. For example, to understand the reason for the unsuccessful interview, the journalist focuses on what it was, under what conditions it was recorded, its features. Allocation of these moments is always connected with the awareness of the task, by comparing it with other more successful works.

Logic operations of thinking we begin to apply even from the cradle. The same comparison uses a toddler just born. According to certain signs - voice, smell, touch - he distinguishes mother from other people.

Comparing objects and phenomena, we draw conclusions about their differences and similarities, opposites and identities. As a result, we better know the world around us. Operations of thinking teach us, develop. For example, comparing an interview with a reportage, a student journalist determines the essence and form of each of these genres, which allows him to divide, distinguish and reproduce them in the future.

Abstraction

The basic operations of thinking include this function of the brain, thanks to which man is able not only to distinguish individual characteristics, but also properties of phenomena and objects, but also to be able to realize them abstractly. On the basis of abstraction, a concept is formed. For example, we all know that food gives us strength and health. Thanks to the everyday use of meat, milk and cereals, we live, move, work. The main property of food is the saturation and enrichment of the body with the necessary substances. By abstracting from the concept of "food," we, speaking of the need to satisfy hunger, already mean food, without even saying their name.

Abstraction helps a person to establish logical connections between objects. Going deep into this or that phenomenon, we see its essence, purpose, direction and task. Abstraction helps a person to think in a generalized, holistic way, drawing conclusions and conclusions. Operations and forms of thinking, such as comparison and abstraction, contribute to the knowledge of truth.

Generalization

This function of our brain is closely related to the previous one, together they form our thinking. Thinking operations, abstraction and generalization allow a person to recognize and explore the surrounding world on the basis of characteristics. The first kind of brain activity distinguishes one property of an object, characteristic only to it. On its basis, we draw a conclusion about what is at stake. Instead, generalization is also a property, but it is characteristic not only of the given phenomenon, but also of others. For example, the impact of a boxer is sharp. We give a knockout such a definition already on the basis of our knowledge about the harshness that formed during our other life situations: when watching football, transmissions about snakes, feeling the gusts of wind on the street.

That is, we learned what sharpness is, by analyzing all the characteristics of these phenomena. They were able to determine that this is a process that occurs with a rapid and strong impact. Only this one operation reflects in our mind the whole essence of the phenomenon: the defeat of a boxer in knockout is due precisely to the sharpness of his opponent.

Specification

Another property of the brain associated with abstraction. Specification is its direct opposite. If at one end of the stick we have abstraction and generalization, then on the other - a concretization. The first can be individual, the second is common for all. In the learning process, under the specification, a specific example is implied for the established position.

To properly understand reality, you need to be able to master all these processes. After the specification does not allow the mental activity to go far from the object or activity. Contemplating phenomena or events, we clearly understand their essence. Without concretization, all the knowledge gained is naked, abstract, and therefore useless. For example, after studying the theory of the evolution of water from alcohol, we will never fully understand the essence of the process until we see with our own eyes what actually happens during this action. The brain concretizes all the acquired knowledge with the help of sight, touch and smell. The person also often leads the facts to concretize this or that event.

Analysis

It is used by a person every day just like the rest of the thinking operations. This is a separate property of the brain, when it decomposes into a component a phenomenon or object. This is actually a dismemberment, a disassembly on the part. For example, athlete's run. Mentally, we can distinguish such elements as start, run itself and finish. This will be an analysis of this process of activity.

Analyzing more deeply and in detail, we can also highlight the sharpness at the start, the speed of the athlete's movement, the rhythm of breathing. These components are also included in the general picture called "running". Analyzing, we get deeper into the world that surrounds us. After all during this process of thinking, we distinguish not any parts, but only those that are characteristic of a certain phenomenon. During the same run, a person waves his arms in different ways, his face is different. But this will be the specification of the athlete, not the run itself. It is necessary to distinguish only essential elements for each object or phenomenon.

Synthesis

This is mental activity, the exact opposite of analysis. With the help of synthesis, on the contrary, we draw up a general picture of the details from concrete details. It gives us the opportunity to recreate events on the basis of individual facts. A person receives from a variety of details an integral concept of what is happening. This is how to collect puzzles: you substitute this or that part, you throw back the superfluous, you attach the necessary puzzles.

The basic operations of thinking, such as analysis and synthesis, always go hand in hand. Only then do we understand that none of these concepts dominate, because both are important. Any analysis involves synthesis and vice versa. A very vivid example of synthesis is the investigation of a crime. The investigator collects the facts together, studies the evidence, interrogates people, displays a chain of events and actions in his mind to arrive at the correct conclusion: who, when, and why the law was violated. The whole picture of the crime created by him consists of a mass of small, seemingly insignificant elements. They are not of value at a time, but those collected together can change the course of events.

Types of thinking

Mental activity of a man has other manifestations of his own. For example, it is of three kinds, each of which helps to generalize and simultaneously concretize the surrounding world:

1. Effective thinking, based on direct perception of objects. Occurs during practice. This is the basis for all other types of thinking.
2. An imaginative. Man at the same time relies on images, imagination and perception.
3. Abstract-logical. Occurs during the separation of connections and properties of individual objects and takes the form of reasoning and abstract concepts.

All kinds and operations of thinking are closely related, one might say, woven into a single knot. For example, when describing the same historical events, words are based on images, and the re-creation of images in the mind is inherently based on the phrases read or heard. Thinking operations also take part in the process, making it individual for each person. Thanks to different types of mental activity, we open up new horizons of knowledge.

Forms of mental activity

Each our thought has not only filling, but also an external shell. That is, the basic operations of thinking are always expressed in a certain form:

• The concept. Reflects the characteristics, properties of objects and phenomena, their mutual relations. At the same time concepts are concrete and abstract, general and individual.
• Judgment. Expresses the negation or affirmation of something. Reflects the relationship between events and phenomena. Judgments are false or true.
• Inference. This is the same conclusion drawn on a number of judgments. Inferences can be inductive (logical inference from the particular to the general) and deductive (from the general to the particular).

Operations and forms of thinking are the main way of perception and cognition of the world. Without the hard work of the brain, a person would remain a "vegetable", incapable of thinking, imagining, feeling, moving. Of course, this is not the limit of the possibilities of "gray matter". With the development and improvement of it in the future, it is possible to discover new types, forms and operations of thinking.