To the Problem of the Evolution of the Conceptual Apparatus of Psychology: from the Past to the Future

Abstract

In the context of changes in modern reality, leading to the emergence of a new phenomenology and new concepts included in the scientific discourse of psychology, there is a need for methodological reflection, clarification of the subject field, conceptual and categorical apparatus of psychological science. The subject of the article is a discussion of the works of A.L. Zhuravleva and E.A. Sergienko devoted to the analysis of the conceptual apparatus of psychological science. Based on the fact that at the present stage of development of psychological knowledge, the previous coordinates of considering psychological concepts are not enough, and referring to the principles of constructing a system of psychological concepts, formulated by the classics of Russian psychology, the authors propose a system-network principle for describing the conceptual apparatus. The scale of the tasks set by the authors does not imply simple and unambiguous solutions. The logic of the modern methodological analysis of psychological concepts should be associated with the understanding of the modern world as indefinite, changeable, incomplete, redundant and diverse. Based on the discussion of the methodological proposals of A.L. Zhuravleva and E.A. Sergienko, the article formulates the actual tasks of their development — the creation of universal criteria for the systematization of psychological concepts and a universal algorithm for their description, which will make it possible to introduce rigor into the formation of the conceptual apparatus due to a more correct determination of the status of new concepts introduced into scientific discourse, as well as the use of related concepts sciences, etc. The solution of these and other tasks to clarify the conceptual apparatus and categorical structure of modern psychology can become a significant contribution to domestic psychological science.