Phenomena - what is this phenomenon? Phenomenon types

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:44

The philosophical term “phenomenon” comes from the Greek “φαινόΜενον”, which means “appearing”, “rare fact”, “unusual phenomenon”. If you look around, you can see many objects, feel smells, warmth or cold, see beauty and admire it, hear music and be delighted with its melodic sounds. All these objects and phenomena in philosophy are called this term. In a word, they are all phenomena. These are philosophical concepts that denote those phenomena that can be comprehended in sensory experience. All of them can become an object of contemplation and scientific observation.

Types of phenomena

Based on the foregoing, these objects and phenomena can be divided into physical and mental. According to the theory of the Austrian philosopher Franz Brentano, the former include sounds, smells, the natural landscape, precipitation, fields, forests, mountains and valleys, trees and shrubs, and other objects.the world around us. All of them are given to us in experience, that is, we have the opportunity to see, hear, touch and feel them. But mental phenomena are all our mental activity, that is, all those ideas that arise in our minds through sensations or imagination. These include acts of hearing, representations, visions, sensations, fantasizing, as well as such mental processes as recollection, doubt, judgment; emotional experiences: joy, sadness, fear, hope, despair, courage, cowardice, love, anger, hatred, surprise, desire, excitement, admiration, etc.

Cultural Phenomenon

The word "culture" has a great variety of meanings. It is an object of knowledge of various sciences: philosophy, sociology, aesthetics, culturology, ethnography, political science, psychology, pedagogy, history, art history, etc. In a broad sense, culture is all human activity that can have a variety of manifestations. It includes all the ways and forms of self-knowledge and self-expression that have been accumulated by society, and even by an individual. In a narrow sense, culture is a set of codes (norms of behavior, rules, stereotypes, customs and rituals, etc.) adopted in a given society and which govern human behavior. In a word, culture is material and spiritual values. On our planet, the first of them have a special meaning only for man, since they are sanctified by customs, art, religion, in a word - culture. As for the spiritualvalues, not everything is so clear-cut. We have already witnessed more than once that our smaller brothers are also able to show such feelings as devotion, love, affection, joy, sadness, resentment, gratitude, etc., etc.

Culture and society

In the socio-cultural context, the concept of “phenomenon” receives the status of a category. This is a phenomenon that is being explored in culture. Today, it is increasingly becoming the object of various scientific works: dissertations, reports, theses and term papers. However, it is extremely difficult for their authors to give a precise definition of this phenomenon. Everyone interprets it in their own way. The combination of such two concepts as “society” and “culture” is ubiquitous. Culture is involved or present in almost all spheres of human life without exception. Our vocabulary constantly includes such expressions as “socio-cultural space”, “cultural policy”, “personal culture”, etc. Many of these concepts have become so familiar to us that we do not even notice how often we use them. So how to understand the phenomenon of culture? This is, first of all, a special way of human life, where the objective and subjective act as a whole. Through culture, the organization and regulation of human life occurs, which leads to an increase in the level of his activity as a member of society.

Sociocultural in the works of Petirim Sorokin and F. Tenbruk

Russian sociologist P. A. Sorokin also studied this phenomenon. According to him, a sociocultural phenomenon is everything thatpeople receive from their environment due to their connection with culture, which, in turn, is the bearer of “supra-organic” values. Under the latter, he understood everything that produces the human mind, for example, it can be languages, religion, philosophy, art, ethics, law, manners, habits, etc., etc. In a word, according to Sorokin, “sociocultural "is the basic category of the social world, which implies the inseparability of personality, culture and society. And the German philosopher F. Tenbruck called this connection a "seamless connection" of three components: an individual, society and a system of moral and material values, that is, culture.

What can be considered a socio-cultural phenomenon?

Let's first list those phenomena that fall under the definition of a social phenomenon. This is a whole set of concepts that affect a person living in a society of his own kind. Of course, this is not a complete list, but here are some of them:

money;
fashion;
poverty;
religion (including sectarianism);
social networks;
news;
rumors and gossip, etc.

And this is a list of socio-cultural phenomena. It is more extensive. These phenomena are cultural and social phenomena combined into one whole. Here they are:

education;
science;
politics;
tourism;
spirituality;
corporeality;
education;
family;
fashion;
brand;
religion;
myth, legend;
trust;
happiness;
woe;
legal reality;
maternity;
tolerance;
kitch etc.

The list is endless.

Sociocultural phenomenon of development

In our world, nothing is permanent and does not stand still. All phenomena are either improved or destroyed, moving towards their final death. Perfection is a socio-cultural phenomenon of development. It is a process aimed at positively changing both material and spiritual objects with the sole purpose of becoming better. From the course of philosophy it is known that the ability to change is a universal property of both matter and consciousness. This is the principle of existence common to all (nature, knowledge and society).

Personality as a psychological phenomenon

A being with consciousness and self-consciousness, that is, a living person, is a person. It has a very complex structure, which is a holistic systemic formation, a set of actions, relationships, significant, from the point of view of society, the mental properties of the individual, which were formed as a result of ontogenesis. They define his actions and deeds as the behavior of the subject of communication and activity, possessing consciousness. A person is capable of self-regulation, as well as dynamic functioning in society. At the same time, its properties, relations and actions harmoniously interact with each other. Surely everyone is familiar with such an assessment of a person as a “core”. This property is endowed with those individuals who have a strong character. However, in psychology, the "core" education of the individual is explained differently - this is his self-esteem. It is built on the basis of the relationship of the individual to himself. It is also influenced by how a person evaluates other people. In the traditional sense, a person is an individual who acts as a subject of public (social) relations and spiritual activity. This structure also includes the physical and physiological characteristics of the human body, as well as its psychological characteristics. Thus, in addition to social and socio-cultural phenomena, there is a psychological phenomenon. These are the phenomena that relate to an individual and his inner world: these are feelings, emotions, experiences, etc. Thus, a psychological phenomenon can be love, hatred, aggression, sympathy, manipulation, etc.