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Psychology occupies such a place in our lives today that it is time to talk about the emergence of a new person – the Psychological Man.
A sea of definitions describing, on the one hand, man, unlike other animals, and, on the other hand, the diversity of his facets. Homo Erectus – Homo Erectus. Homo Sapiens – Homo sapiens. Homo Ludens – Playing Man. Homo Politicus – Political Man. Etc. and so on… So is it necessary to add one more to them? They managed somehow for thousands of years without it … However, they managed without the Internet, gadgets, and once without glasses. And Homo Psychologicus is today a reality that deserves to be talked about.
Man began as a creature whose whole life, like life in a flock, swarm, anthill, was determined by the rules, customs, traditions of the tribe, of which he was a unit, fulfilling the role assigned to him by the tribe. Then castes, estates, social groups took the place of tribes, but the essence remained the same – a person was primarily an object, a functional unit of the community into which he was born and to which he belonged. It sounds today: “I’m getting married. – For whom? “For an engineer” – however, 60-70 years ago she would have been envied or rejoiced for her, but today they would rather sympathize – they say, there would be no businessman. But today people see themselves differently.
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- Different but equal or why do we need tolerance
Today he is, first of all, a person, the concept of which appeared in Europe only in the XNUMXth century and rapidly developed towards individualization, more and more filled with subjective, psychological meanings. He, of course, continues to be a member of communities – religious, professional, social, etc., but experiences and behaves as a subject who perceives himself, his attitude to life and death, his way of life and his life relationships primarily through the prism of psychology .
This happens to the individual, to groups and communities, to society as a whole, which is also becoming more psychological. It has a moral, it lives according to accepted laws, but more and more it has to reckon with the psychology of its members. Once upon a time, a group and society demanded that a person comply with the rules and laws according to the principle: if you don’t know how, we will teach, if you don’t want, we will force. Today they are also addressing how to psychologically ensure learning and performance, how to realize the potential of a person and human relationships.
It is difficult to find an area of life in which these changes do not manifest themselves. Maintaining a positive outlook on life and improving its quality does not mean getting drunk on antidepressants and following five written or unwritten rules, but sorting out your experiences that turn out to be barriers to happiness. Keeping a family means not only following the rules of morality, but also practically examining your family relationships so that they do not crumble or bind the couple hand and foot. Becoming a parent means not only mastering the care of a child, but also learning to understand him and build a relationship with him. Being a member of a working group means not only obeying the authorities and showing up for work on time, but also being able to be psychologically compatible with other team members.
Psychology is becoming a mass specialty. In 1989, there were 5000 psychologists in the USSR, the vast majority of whom worked in institutes and laboratories. This is much less than today employed by the practical help of psychologists in any regional city. We lived without them… So, maybe all of the above is another step in the brainwashing of people by malicious psychologists who seek to mow down rubles in psychological clearings? Some people think so, but this is more a reaction to the novelty and unfamiliarity of psychological practices than the truth.
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- How to become freer? Exercises
Such a reaction is similar to walking for water with buckets, when it is enough to get a well in your yard. The famous psychologist Fritz Perls wrote that a person uses from 5 to a maximum of 15% of his potential, and 85% are dead weight, although using 25% would make him a genius. This is a serious, but also promising challenge to the Psychological Man – why not accept it, so as not to wait for miracles, and not to do them yourself? To the extent of desire and strength, of course.