Prerequisites of Sociality: Historical and Evolutionary Analysis
Background. Discussion of the social origins of personality formation, based on the biological individual, is a characteristic feature of modern interdisciplinary researches at the junction of natural science and the humanities. At the same time, evolutionary aspects of the relationship between the...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University
2018-09-01
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| Series: | Psychology in Russia: State of Art |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://psychologyinrussia.com/volumes/pdf/2018_3/psych_3_2018_1_Asmolov.pdf |
| _version_ | 1818409197044236288 |
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| author | Aleksandr G. Asmolov Eugeniya D. Schekhter Aleksandr M. Chernorizov Elena N. Lvova |
| author_facet | Aleksandr G. Asmolov Eugeniya D. Schekhter Aleksandr M. Chernorizov Elena N. Lvova |
| author_sort | Aleksandr G. Asmolov |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background. Discussion of the social origins of personality formation, based on the biological individual, is a characteristic feature of modern interdisciplinary researches at the junction of natural science and the humanities. At the same time, evolutionary aspects of the relationship between the biological (innate) and the social (acquired) — i.e., the problem of the origin of sociality — come to the forefront.
Objective. This article presents and discusses the hypothesis that the evolutionary origins of sociality are processes of evolutionary divergence (increasing individual diversity) and convergence (symbiosis) that define two oppositely directed vectors of the
development of life from its simplest forms.
Method and Results. The theoretical and experimental data used to discuss the hypothesis are considered here from the standpoint of the historical evolutionary approach to the processes of formation (evolution) of the uniqueness of the personality and of
social interpersonal relations. The approach is based on an understanding of these processes as a special case of the evolution of interacting systems on the basis of two opposing
trends — towards preserving and towards changing the system. The hypothesis allows us to answer two questions about the ambivalence of human existence in society:
(a) Why do all people, regardless of their social status, find it so difficult to endure loneliness, which is incompatible with both the mental and even physical health of each of us?
(b) Why at the same time do all of us involuntarily protect the “boundaries” of our own physical, mental, and social “Me”, the violation of which is as destructive (unacceptable)
to us as is loneliness?
Conclusion. Systematic historical-evolutionary analysis of the sciences of nature, society, and humankind allows us to isolate general patterns of development of complex systems, leading to a more accurate understanding of the phenomenon of personality.
Such an interdisciplinary approach was used in this work on the biological roots of sociality and the particular features of individual existence in the external and to some extent social environment that generates unique individuals. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T09:55:47Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d60e7312d64b4d959572f598a493366e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2074-6857 2307-2202 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T09:55:47Z |
| publishDate | 2018-09-01 |
| publisher | M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Psychology in Russia: State of Art |
| spelling | doaj.art-d60e7312d64b4d959572f598a493366e2022-12-21T23:07:23ZengM.V. Lomonosov Moscow State UniversityPsychology in Russia: State of Art2074-68572307-22022018-09-0111321710.11621/pir.2018.0301Prerequisites of Sociality: Historical and Evolutionary AnalysisAleksandr G. Asmolov0Eugeniya D. Schekhter1Aleksandr M. Chernorizov2Elena N. Lvova3Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, RussiaLomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, RussiaLomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, RussiaLomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, RussiaBackground. Discussion of the social origins of personality formation, based on the biological individual, is a characteristic feature of modern interdisciplinary researches at the junction of natural science and the humanities. At the same time, evolutionary aspects of the relationship between the biological (innate) and the social (acquired) — i.e., the problem of the origin of sociality — come to the forefront. Objective. This article presents and discusses the hypothesis that the evolutionary origins of sociality are processes of evolutionary divergence (increasing individual diversity) and convergence (symbiosis) that define two oppositely directed vectors of the development of life from its simplest forms. Method and Results. The theoretical and experimental data used to discuss the hypothesis are considered here from the standpoint of the historical evolutionary approach to the processes of formation (evolution) of the uniqueness of the personality and of social interpersonal relations. The approach is based on an understanding of these processes as a special case of the evolution of interacting systems on the basis of two opposing trends — towards preserving and towards changing the system. The hypothesis allows us to answer two questions about the ambivalence of human existence in society: (a) Why do all people, regardless of their social status, find it so difficult to endure loneliness, which is incompatible with both the mental and even physical health of each of us? (b) Why at the same time do all of us involuntarily protect the “boundaries” of our own physical, mental, and social “Me”, the violation of which is as destructive (unacceptable) to us as is loneliness? Conclusion. Systematic historical-evolutionary analysis of the sciences of nature, society, and humankind allows us to isolate general patterns of development of complex systems, leading to a more accurate understanding of the phenomenon of personality. Such an interdisciplinary approach was used in this work on the biological roots of sociality and the particular features of individual existence in the external and to some extent social environment that generates unique individuals.http://psychologyinrussia.com/volumes/pdf/2018_3/psych_3_2018_1_Asmolov.pdfsystemssocial communitiesevolution of societiessocialitysymbiosisindividual diversitypersonhistorical and evolutionary approach |
| spellingShingle | Aleksandr G. Asmolov Eugeniya D. Schekhter Aleksandr M. Chernorizov Elena N. Lvova Prerequisites of Sociality: Historical and Evolutionary Analysis Psychology in Russia: State of Art systems social communities evolution of societies sociality symbiosis individual diversity person historical and evolutionary approach |
| title | Prerequisites of Sociality: Historical and Evolutionary Analysis |
| title_full | Prerequisites of Sociality: Historical and Evolutionary Analysis |
| title_fullStr | Prerequisites of Sociality: Historical and Evolutionary Analysis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Prerequisites of Sociality: Historical and Evolutionary Analysis |
| title_short | Prerequisites of Sociality: Historical and Evolutionary Analysis |
| title_sort | prerequisites of sociality historical and evolutionary analysis |
| topic | systems social communities evolution of societies sociality symbiosis individual diversity person historical and evolutionary approach |
| url | http://psychologyinrussia.com/volumes/pdf/2018_3/psych_3_2018_1_Asmolov.pdf |
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