The subject and object of activity are important categories in cognition. An incorrect reflection of the specifics of subject-object relations in a particular practical field of application can lead to serious consequences for its participants. The article distinguishes these concepts with specific examples.
From the history of the formation of the term
In the history of knowledge, the distinction between active and passive roles for participants has been laid down in tradition since antiquity. The subject of activity is the foundation, the active principle of any process. If we consider the term as a derivative of the Latin "subjectus" - the underlying, a certain principle, we can interpret this concept as a constant active principle of any form of being: consciousness, nature, society. At Aristotle, the concept of the subject is used in the sense of the primary substance, the absolute beginning of any movement and development.
Only from the seventeenth century did the philosopher Rene Descartes introduce the opposition of the two principles in knowledge. The subject is the one who knows, the object is what activity is directed at. In this epistemological field, the meaning of the term is used at the present time. These are, first of all, categories of logic.
Logic is the science of the consistency of thinking. And it is worth noting that innocuous, at first glance, mistakes in thinking sometimes lead to tragic consequences. Misunderstanding of the role and importance of the subject in world evolution, in the forms of life of society is a great mistake of people.
What is a subject of activity
Let us try to consider the modern meaning of the term in different fields of its application.
- In a philosophical sense, the subject of activity is an individual who actively cognizes the surrounding reality (object) and transforms it in the process of cognition.
- In the sociological field, the subject can be a person, group, society, or humanity as a whole, that is, any participant in social interaction.
- In legal meaning, the subject is a carrier of legal relations endowed with rights and obligations to other members of society. This can be a specific individual or legal entity.
- In psychology, the subject is a person, a carrier of psychological characteristics and properties.
The essence, with such a diversity of the subject environment, remains unified: the subject is the active principle of activity aimed at the object of cognition and practical development of the surrounding reality.
Object of activity: what are its characteristics?
If the subject carries an active principle, then the object is the subject of his activity. In the history of knowledge, the active role was recognized by the person, the passive - by the outside world. By virtue of its ability to think and create, it was man who was originally attributed the transformative principle in nature. With the development of natural science and understanding of the laws of physics, the role of the object in the process of cognition changes. The strength of the reaction from the side of the object is also endowed with activity and affects, in turn, the subject of knowledge. Moreover, the subject and the object of activity in the process of interaction can change places. Therefore, cognition should proceed from the principle of interaction not in understanding the linear orientation of an object on the part of a person, but in the dialectical unity of participants in the process of cognition.
Man as a subject of activity
Greatly transformative influence in the process of cognition of nature by man. And in it he acts as a subject of activity. An example of this is the whole history of science. The result of human activity is civilization.
On the other hand, a person as a subject of knowledge is the central topic of research of the entire cycle of humanitarian knowledge. And in this case, it simultaneously serves as an object of knowledge. Metamorphoses of the transformation of man from subject to object are ubiquitous. And this is easily explained by the nature of man himself.
He is a part of nature, a way of existence of highly organized matter. And in this sense, acting on nature, man himself is an object of study and active transformation. The dialectical unity of two principles - active, transformative and passive, unknown, serves as a great engine of progress.
Personality in a subject-object relationship
A person is an individual who has realized itself through the prism of society. A person, being born an individual with a unique combination of metric and socio-psychological characteristics, goes through several stages in the process of development before becoming a person. First of all, it is the family and the immediate environment, which gives the first idea of ​​the principles and norms of society. Then a kindergarten, school, study at a university, work ...
These stages of formation in society at each stage allow a person to increasingly recognize his personality and become an active creator of reality. A person as a subject of activity has an official birth ─ the stage of adulthood. At this moment, a person can fully realize his rights, but he is obliged to bear full responsibility to society.
Fine line and big danger
Is it really so important to understand what a subject of activity is, why such terminology is needed in reality, and is this topic worthy of attention?
Let's turn to reality. A little time has passed since then, when there was a great confusion in concepts, an illustration of which was the history of our society “in pictures”. Recall the time when, according to the Constitution, a person was assigned the role of an object.
The Communist Party was dominant, and the slogan “The mind, honor and conscience of our era” clearly defined the subject of activity. Priorities were arranged in the following order: state, society, people. That is, a person as a subject of activity was in last place on the list of state scale. And great moral concepts were alienated in favor of the faceless party. The problems of this period persist at the present time, when a person is considered as a means to achieve any goals.
Subjects are not born, they become
As mentioned above, only with adulthood does a person begin to manifest himself as a subject of activity. An example is a high school graduate. Eighteen years is the milestone from which the countdown of adult and independent life begins. This is the line that opens up freedom of choice for a person, one of the most important social characteristics of a person. During this period, a person independently decides on professional self-determination.
The age threshold into adulthood is only a socially accepted convention. As in any rule, there are exceptions, and even a child can influence the world around him by the power of his talent or genius, just personal charm. It happens that it is the personality of the child that determines the choice of priorities in the family and affects the formation of family values. In this case, the child becomes an active subject, determining the foundations, and sometimes the family budget, and the family in this case becomes for him not only an educational environment, but also an object of influence.
Educational environment
The pedagogical system of Soviet society is a striking example of the attitude towards the student as an object of education.
Training in accordance with the standard, according to a single requirement ─ comply with the norms of the educational system. As a result, society became impersonal. The problem of leveling the subject of knowledge - the individual - has become a common problem in society. To educate a worthy member of society, it is important that the system itself provides freedom of thought, a person’s choice of behavior, the style of manifestation of his personality, personal foundations. The subject of this activity is the student himself. With the possibility of active participation in determining programs and forms of training, managing a children's team. Only in such an environment can the future subject of both the economic and social communities be brought up.
Asocial behavior and subject
The concept of "subject" is sometimes used with a negative meaning. And this is natural. Activity can be either with a plus sign or a minus sign. In the asocial sphere, the subject of activity is a criminal.
Or a member of a society that takes an active position in
antisocial behavior. And in this case, a person can actively display energy aimed at the destruction of society. By virtue of beliefs (terrorist activity), status
(criminal authority), psychological dependence (alcoholism, drug addiction and other addictions) and in other forms of unlawful behavior. In this case, the boundaries between the subject and the object of activity are also easily erased. Since the individual himself is an organic part and represents an inextricable unity with the world around him, the consequence of active destruction is the self-destruction of the subject.
Subject Responsibility
Since the principle of the manifestation of a person as a subject is his impact on the environment and its transformation, he is responsible for the results of these actions.
The subject of activity is the person who is responsible for its consequences. According to the principle of the physical law "The force of action is equal to the strength of reaction", the subject receives what he gives to society and nature. Therefore, the choice of a behavior option is also an awareness of one’s success in society or a refusal of such an attempt.
Human and nature
A special form of responsibility is borne by man before nature when he manifests himself as a subject of activity. This is his attitude to the state of the environment, an assessment of the consequences of the active transformation of nature in the public interest.
Often the risk of environmental hazard and the consequences of the merciless exploitation of raw materials gives way to pragmatic calculation and personal gain. It is in such cases that we can talk about the irrational behavior of the subject and the mismatch of the interests of the subject and the object in the process of interaction.
In this case, nature itself turns in the form of a cataclysm into a subject of activity. Determining the degree of freedom and responsibility ─ two main criteria for evaluating the results of human activity in nature. So we examined the concepts of "subject" and "object".