Human activity has been an object of scientific research since ancient times and has its own types, forms, signs. It is inherent in a person who does not expect fate and surrounding ready-made solutions to his own problems. He is always in search of the most favorable options for his life.
What did the ancient philosophers say about her
Scientists of the ancient East and West to the study of what human activity, came from a materialistic and idealistic point of view.
Socrates (470-399 B.C.E., Ancient Greece) explained it with a state of mind, which he considered to be his mental property, the center of moral ideas. These ideas are formed as a result of teaching a person what is good and evil, and the types of activity and the nature of his actions depend on this knowledge. Socrates' slogan “know yourself” should be understood as a call to analyze behavior and attitudes towards it, and not to analyze your own emotions and feelings.
Aristotle (384-322 BC), studying what is the activity of the psyche, called exercises in moral actions as a condition for its increase. Simple knowledge of good and evil does not make a person the owner of such qualities as, for example, virtue and prudence - constant training, exercises in them make him so.
The teachings of the Stoics arose in Athens in the 4th century BC. e. His followers believed that increasing the activity of the psyche is beyond the reach of ordinary people, its leadership is the destiny of only true sages, whose mind is passionless and does not allow emotional experiences. Any emotional upheaval deprives a person of internal freedom, interferes with the performance of duty.
Epicurus (341-270 BC, Ancient Greece), on the contrary, considered renunciation of social activity as true happiness. He saw him in satisfying simple needs. The will, mind, mental activity of a person should be directed to training in self-restriction from inaccessible pleasures, otherwise suffering from their unattainability is inevitable.
Does society need active people?
Stimulating the business enterprise of an employee is one of the goals of modern management. Its development leads to a significant increase in labor productivity, the development of a culture of industrial and non-industrial relations.
In psychology, activity is defined as the activity of an individual aimed at the environment in order to satisfy their own needs. Its owner is a person with such personal qualities as:
- focus
- awareness of the choice of methods and means of achieving goals,
- the ability to analyze the results of their actions and, taking into account the current situation, correct them.
Such an individual, satisfying his own material, social, ethical, artistic needs, seeks to transform the environment, intelligently improves tools, participates in solving creative labor and social problems. His personality is improving, because he wants to learn more, learn a lot. That is, it can be argued with good reason that the initiative of members of society contributes to its comprehensive progress.
Activity levels
The more attractive a goal is for a person, the more energy he spends to achieve it. The highest level of activity is observed in people with a harmonious personality type: they have highly developed both responsibility for the cause and the desire to receive the greatest internal satisfaction from its results.
For productive type personalities, the results of actions are also high, however, they achieve them because of their enthusiasm for their ideas, and not because of a high level of responsibility.
The reflexive type is distinguished by increased consciousness, hypercontrol, but these qualities, combined with self-criticism, make him unsure of himself and in his initiatives. Therefore, he is ready for their active implementation only with extraneous moral support.
Non-independence in the achievement of the goals set before them is shown by people of a performing and functional type. Taking responsibility, they strictly follow third-party instructions and instructions, use ready-made solutions without connecting their own initiative.
Contemplatives can put forward complex business and creative proposals, but in the foreground they have the promotion of their own “I”, and not the activities to realize their ideas. Lack of responsibility and independence, offensiveness are characteristic features of people of this type.
Thus, what level of activity he has (high, medium or low) depends both on the personal natural qualities of a person (temperament, ability), and on those who are brought up in him by parents and the social environment.
Forms and factors of human activity
At birth, a person is completely dependent on the people around him. But as he grows up and develops new opportunities appear that support his independent existence as an individual, encourage certain types of activities.
The Soviet psychologist B. G. Ananiev in his studies identified such forms of human activity as communication, labor and cognition.
In the works of other scientists, these include contemplation, reflection and behavior, management of other people, initiative, as well as creative, artistic, cognitive, incentive, practical, combat, sports, information and communication forms.
The causes or factors of human activity are explained by the need to meet a number of needs that guarantee him, firstly, physical survival (food, clothing, housing, protection, reproduction). Secondly, he needs communication and recognition by other members of society, which is a source of activation of his labor, communication activities. Thirdly, the satisfaction of spiritual requests requires the individual to pursue his energetic quest for inner freedom, self-promotion in his work, and actions to change the environment in accordance with his views and requests.
Activity as a result of education
In order to act purposefully, a person must show creativity, strong-willed efforts, communicate with other people - to consult, to study someone else's experience. But these qualities - a strong will, a non-standard approach to the problem, the ability to communicate, analyze, draw conclusions are not born with the baby. What is activity? This is the result of proper education.
Its formation in a child is one of the many parental tasks, which is not as simple as it seems at first glance. First of all, adults need a conscious approach to achieving this goal and patience: the development of activity is one of those pedagogical problems that cannot be solved quickly.
Note to parents: how to do it
An active person means active, energetic. Such children become in families in which a democratic style of relations between them and adults is maintained. It implies flexibility in relations: showing sufficient exactingness and control, parents respect the opinion and position of the child, develop their independence, initiative, self-criticism. Responsible assignments and significant encouragement for him stimulate increased activity in achieving the goal. Adequate help, a calm, business analysis of the results of the children's initiative, as well as the mistakes made and successful actions are important.
The authoritarian style of upbringing suppresses the child’s activity, as threats of punishment and coercion cause fear to violate the instructions of an adult, to make mistakes in their actions.
The liberal style, on the contrary, is characterized by low demands on children. A maximum of freedom with a minimum of restrictions on behavior is formed by aggressiveness and permissiveness. Such children believe that achieving the goal is to force adults to bring them what they want on a silver platter, and not to be quick-witted and enterprising.
Socium as a subject of education activity
The state is extremely interested in educating active and proactive citizens. That is why any educational institution, the media, among other tasks, set themselves the difficult task of generating activity among the population.
Teachers, psychologists, social workers, cultural workers, public associations, leaders of all ranks act as subjects of the process, the purpose of which is to educate a socially responsible citizen. He must possess:
- interest in community service,
- organizational qualities
- diligence and initiative,
- self-criticism and exactingness towards oneself and others,
- willingness to help people.
These qualities guarantee the maintenance of public order and control over the implementation of laws on the ground, direct interaction of the population with the authorities.
Activity with a minus sign
Criminal, immoral activity of citizens is not approved by society and even punishable. What kind of activity a person has, what types, levels and forms he chooses, depends on the internal position of the person. By what actions and how it manifests itself, one can judge many human qualities. The higher moral attitudes, the more ways of satisfying needs (“I want” and “I need”) are more consistent with the rules and norms of human life (“possible” or “impossible”). Hence the numerous examples of selfless courage and unparalleled meanness, hard work and shameless theft of someone else’s goods for the sake of their own unhindered existence, uncompromising honesty and large-scale lies in order to become famous.
Antisocial “activity” in selfish satisfaction of one’s needs is the result of a combination of many circumstances of a person’s personal and social life with his negative inner qualities - greed, revenge, laziness, inability to control his actions and emotions.
Conclusion
Currently, there are many approaches to determining its types, forms, types, but experts agree on what activity is: it is a manifestation of initiative in activities that are significant for the individual and for society as a whole. Priorities in the upbringing of children and youth today have shifted towards the formation of a socially oriented, active, healthy mentally and physically personality. Its social orientation does not exclude the freedom of individual needs and requests, but suggests their delicate satisfaction, without prejudice to public ones.