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Grevtsev A.V.
Interpretation of the Concept of Social Constructivism by L. S. Vygotsky through the Semiotics of Education, the Theory of Transcendence in Education and the Theology of Personality by V. N. Lossky
// Philosophical Thought.
2023. ¹ 4.
P. 87-106.
DOI: 10.25136/2409-8728.2023.4.40103 EDN: TEGSGM URL: https://en.nbpublish.com/library_read_article.php?id=40103
Interpretation of the Concept of Social Constructivism by L. S. Vygotsky through the Semiotics of Education, the Theory of Transcendence in Education and the Theology of Personality by V. N. Lossky
DOI: 10.25136/2409-8728.2023.4.40103EDN: TEGSGMReceived: 02-04-2023Published: 28-04-2023Abstract: The subject of the work is the theses of the concept of developmental learning, semiotics of education, theory of transcendence in education, and theology of personality. The aim of the research is to develop a practical pedagogical method based on the discussed concepts. The author demonstrates the key positions of the concept of developmental learning, such as the zone of proximal development and scaffolding; reveals the understanding of education as a semiotic system and the participation of transcendent reality in it; and outlines the main theses of the theology of personality by V.N. Lossky. Then the author combines the aforementioned theories to create a pedagogical method, which he defines as an integration of the developmental learning approach with the position of the theology of personality. The author's special contribution is the generalization of scattered concepts into unified conclusions and the development of a practical pedagogical method, which includes a number of theses, specific components of a case for conducting a lesson as a template, and instructions for implementing the case in accordance with the generally accepted stages of a lesson also in the form of a template. The author concludes that the developed case is universal and can be applied at different levels of education. The author also notes the value of the material based on which the method was developed for further study of each of the presented areas of science. The author emphasizes that the application of the method is not limited to the religious context, as the method was developed based on non-religious research, and the positions of Orthodox theology of personality correspond to the presented theories of modern philosophy of education. Keywords: philosophy of education, semiotics of education, edusemiotics, concept of developmental education, zone of proximal development, scaffolding, constructivist educational approach, transcendence in education, theology of personality, pedagogical methodsThis article is automatically translated. IntroductionThe article is a continuation of research in the field of philosophy of pedagogy with an emphasis on the study of the works of V. N. Lossky and the integration of his theory of personality in education [1]. The pedagogical concept of student development (L. S. Vygotsky, V. V. Davydov, D. B. Elkonin and others) goes beyond the educational system, perceiving learning processes as part of the overall path of human improvement as a whole. This is undoubtedly an advantage of applying pedagogical methods based on the provisions of this concept in practice, however, the author of the article sees the full disclosure of the concept of developing learning in the context of the application of the doctrine of the deification of the human personality according to the theology of personality, one of the founders of which is V. N. Lossky. Theological thought goes beyond earthly life and beyond the existence of one individual, gives most of the knowledge and allows you to reorient pedagogical techniques to the ultimate goal of human growth: his unity in the Church with other people and God and deification. The concept of developmental learning by L. S. VygotskyThe concept of developmental learning was developed in the works of L. S. Vygotsky, D. B. Elkonin and V. V. Davydov. It deserves many separate full-fledged studies and cannot be fully considered under the sub-item. Only the main theses for practical application within the framework of the topic of the work will be highlighted here. The concept of development: 1. "Child development is a process of continuous change" [2, p. 484]. 2. Human learning and development are different processes [2, p. 487]. 3. Development is also not maturation plus learning. 4. The learning process awakens a number of internal development processes in the child [2, p. 502]. "Learning only becomes genuine learning when it gets ahead of development" [2, p. 505]. Thus, learning creates a zone of the child's immediate development [2, p. 506], which serves as the strongest tool for increasing the effectiveness, usefulness, fruitfulness of solving pedagogical tasks. Pedagogy focused on the future of children's development in the learning process awakens the development processes that lie in the nearest development zone [3, p. 251]. The zone of immediate development is a concept that was introduced by L. S. Vygotsky into pedagogical and psychological science. It indicates the prospects of competencies that will be developed by the student next on the basis of existing experience. Education and upbringing should be aimed at this zone of immediate development, since it is these features that form his path of personal development. Thus, although learning is not directly development, it is a necessary tool and source of development. A number of processes cannot arise without training. At the same time, learning in development remains relevant for adults [4, p. 388]. V. V. Davydov complements the concept of the zone of proximal development in this context, that it is thus not only a part of development, but also an internal link between learning and development [5, p. 82-83]. 5. Taking into account the presence of the zone of proximal development and the described differences between learning and development, it is necessary to give the following thought of L. S. Vygotsky: "The level of development of a child is not a criterion of what a child can and cannot go through now." If a certain function is poorly developed in a child, it cannot be bypassed in the educational process. On the contrary, the school should pay the greatest attention to the development of this function. So, if the child has poorly developed abstract or causal thinking, then you should work on this function. Child development is not determined by the level of maturation to date [2, pp. 483-484]. This thesis acquires an important practical relevance in relation to the traditional technology of highlighting the stage of the lesson of assessing current knowledge. 6. V. V. Davydov says that the development of a person's personality is part of his general mental development [6, p. 150]. 7. New mental abilities, mental powers and real thinking can awaken and develop in a person under the condition of comprehensive development of personality, mind, will, imagination, feelings, endurance, courage [6, p. 141]. The concept of human personality within the framework of the concept of developmental learning: 1. According to the definition of V. V. Davydov, a person is a person with a certain creative potential. 2. V. V. Davydov associates the emergence of personality with the formation of consciousness and the development of imagination as the basis of creativity at about 3 years old [6, p. 151]. He considers the human personality as a part of the individual, formed during life along with socialization, and not inherent in it according to anthropology [6, pp. 143-150]. 3. At the same time, V. V. Davydov in his work "Theory of developmental learning", discussing the concepts of individual, personality, individuality, notes the following important personality traits: — the ability to be creative; — the ability of a person to realize new social needs (a sense of the new); — the ability to influence them with their work and participate independently in the life of society; — independent perception of the moral values and rules accepted in society; — the ability to work in accordance with one's own beliefs in difficult situations; — the ability to resist difficult situations, perform courageous actions, boldly intervening in the course of things, showing willpower and personal character and taking responsibility to society for all the consequences that may occur; — clarity, flexibility and firmness of mind; — and also: courage, determination, initiative and many other qualities [5, pp. 56-57]. Vasily Vasilyevich says that true education tries to educate a person in a person who has all the listed qualities, and pedagogical science, in turn, being the theoretical basis of education, should talk about ways and means of educating such a person and his personality. Therefore, true education and pedagogy have a personal meaning [5, p. 58]. The description of the properties partially corresponds to the teaching of the theology of personality: one's own conviction and individuality — uniqueness and integrity of personality; manifestation of one's own will — freedom; initiative and dedication — kenoticism; creative deeds - creativity. On the means of human development , the authors of works on developmental learning provide the following provisions: 1. In the younger (preschool) age, one of the leading moments in the development of a child is a game. Movement in the semantic field of the game of the game takes place in the same way as in the real one. The game itself is a creative processing of impressions [2, pp. 218-219]. 2. Creativity as the ability to "create a structure from elements to combine the old into a new combination" is very significant for the overall development and maturation of the child [2, pp. 239-240]. Material conditions and the level of development of society are necessary for the realization of creativity [2, pp. 259-260]. 3. V. V. Davydov complements the definition of creativity, delving into the components of this concept: imagination plays an important role in cognition. It allows us to correlate the acquired general concepts with particular facts, "abstractions — with sensory material", capturing the whole image of the concept with imagination and analyzing it by means of abstraction [6, p. 152]. 4. Continuing the analysis of the creative components of human activity, V. V. Davydov notes that fantasy is the key to the production of something new, to creativity, to the development of technology, to the possibility of realizing what does not yet exist. He claims that it was thanks to fantasy that mankind invented, for example, an airplane [6, p. 163]. 5. Considering the subspecies of creativity, L. S. Vygotsky concludes that children's literary creativity gives serious development of creative imagination, fantasy, emotional life and speech [2, p. 299]. 6. Also, as one of the variants of creativity, dramatic creativity is distinguished by the advantage for the development of the child, which corresponds to the motor nature of the child's imagination [2, p. 304]. 7. It is necessary to find the right interest of the student and make sure all the time that the interest does not deviate to the side and is not replaced by other interests. The child's attention is worthless if his incentive is an incorrect interest: fear of punishment, for example, that he will not receive a sweet, or the expectation of a reward (that he will receive a candy). Therefore, reward and punishment are unacceptable means in school [4, p. 119]. 8. The definition of the target setting of the educational pedagogical process is connected with the previous paragraph. Exams are an example of an incorrect target setting. Focusing on them, students study not for the development and acquisition of new competencies, but for passing exams, and they take the exams themselves in order to get a diploma at the university [4, pp. 159-160]. 9. The true interest of the student can be found by analyzing his experience and memory. Thus, the new material can be translated into the language of the student's own experience [4, p. 184]. An example would be measuring the distance from the Earth to the Sun in the usual time parameters for a student: translating it into the duration of an arrow flight from the Sun to the Earth, this time will last for decades, during which the student will graduate from school and university and be professionally implemented [4, p. 185]. 10. V. V. Davydov says regarding the target setting of the educational process that in reality the students themselves should act as genuine subjects of their activities [6, p. 157]. 11. Emotion is an important organizer of behavior. It implements the activity of the organism [4, p. 136]. Emotional teaching, feeling the subject, contributes to the assimilation of knowledge [4, p. 141]. The mentioned interests, according to the development concept, can be divided into the following: 1. "For life." These include: interests in life affairs, in science, in work. Interest in the latter comes from natural inclinations to doing, satisfaction from one's own activity [4, p. 120]. Work is a particularly important incentive for human development also because practice is a reliable means of verifying scientific knowledge [4, p. 233]. 2. Temporary. For example, an interest in the grammar of the language, in washing. Such interests go away when the habit of target action is developed. 3. Indirect. Their essence lies in the use of natural interest to develop another, the main emerging interest, which, after its appearance, suppresses the original interest. For example, the development of interest in chemistry using interest in the kitchen, which, after strengthening interest in chemistry, is suppressed and suppressed [4, p. 120]. Semiotics of educationThe concept of developmental learning considered in this paper, the founder of which is L. S. Vygotsky, is actively used and supplemented in modern philosophical research. In the article "Predicting from an Early Age: Edusemiotics and the Potential of Children's Preconceptions" by Olteanu Alin, Maria Kamburi and Andrew Stables, edusemiotics (semiotics of education) is defined as a new theoretical division of semiotics, which substantiates the philosophy of education in semiotics. Semiotics and education have a long common history, and modern semiotics of education brings ideas that were not possible during the Middle Ages. Currently, edusemiotic research is mostly theoretical, but this study provides a semiotic analysis of empirical data and the results of a study of teachers' attitudes to children's assumptions. Olteanu Alin, Maria Kamburi and Andrew Stables focus on Vygotsky's socio-constructivist pedagogical tradition and focus on changing teachers' attitudes to children's ideas. The results obtained in the study can serve as an argument for the reorientation of school education from a skills training program to a free education program based on semiotic consciousness. The study presents the ways in which teachers communicate with students' perceptions in the context of iconic learning and narrative constructivism. Based on the phenomenological categories of Charles Pierce and his concept of semiosis, the authors explain that the knowledge acquired by the child before the start of education is an integral part of the phenomenon of learning and should not be ignored, but used to develop meaning based on existing knowledge. Education requires mutual learning on the part of the student and the teacher. While the student studies the teacher's knowledge, the teacher learns the student's knowledge: this makes their pedagogical dialogue possible [7, pp. 622-623]. Learning, according to Pearson's concept, is a spiral phenomenon consisting of abduction (hypothesis formulation), deduction and induction. The student continuously changes his knowledge throughout his life, and the change of opinion should occur naturally through a variety of experiences. The teacher should be careful not to impose his views on the student. Children learn by trial and error, and they need time and patience. He should be provided with a variety of activities so that students can use different types of intelligence and learning. The student creates his own concepts, which may differ from the concepts of the teacher. Constructivism is a set of learning theories located between cognitive and humanistic views. It has roots in various fields of humanities. Vygotsky's social constructivist pedagogical approach assumes that knowledge is based on knowledge. Many research traditions support the view that knowledge is not transmitted directly, but is actively created by students. The project to introduce constructivism into the semiotic perspective is to rethink the concept of Bruner's support and Vygotsky's zone of proximal development in order to better understand semiosis. In the semiotics of Charles Sanders Peirce, learning occurs due to the fact that new information correlates with already existing designation relationships. This contradicts the learning paradox presented in Plato's Menon dialogue [8]. Semiotics and constructivism are compatible and complement each other. The concept of "scaffolding" refers to the interaction of teachers and students and means that the learning object is always available to the student as an opportunity for discovery. Learning involves interpretation, new understanding, and the ability to apply it in different contexts. It is a continuous and circular process that changes the phenomenological world of the organism. When learning, a living being also inevitably searches for new hypotheses and reviews old ones. Pierce's semiotics explains that we can learn new things because we can fit it into existing relationships of significance. Learning begins with unknown terms, but it should not be such that all the terms are completely unknown to the student. Thus, semiotics and constructivism are compatible and complement each other. The concept of supporting structures (scaffolding) is similar to the concept of Vygotsky's zone of proximal development. Learning is the interpretation, understanding and application of the new by adding terms of significance relations to the existing ones, changing the structure of the entire semiotic world of a living organism. Learning occurs in a circular or spiral way, constantly expanding the phenomenological world (environment) of the organism and changing assumptions [7, pp. 623-625]. The cognitive semiotics approach considers the relationship between body and mind, which contributes to the development of biosemiotics as a semiotic theory of life that explains life in terms of significance relationships. The body is not a "black box". Experience is understood here in the broadest sense of the word and includes the experience of thinking. Historical consciousness and the consciousness of signs are interrelated, since semiotic consciousness includes historical consciousness. Peirce's theory of evolution is the basis of his teleological semiotics, which can be used in education to create a relationship between a teacher and a student. The main goal of the teacher should be to help the student expand his knowledge and understanding. Pierce believed that subjective experience is the basis of life and knowledge does not arise from nothing, but is always embedded in the environment [7, pp. 625-627]. Combining constructivism and semiotics, at first glance, seems contradictory, but it is possible to cooperate on the basis of their common principles. Constructivism is the idea that knowledge is a tool and that students actively participate in the process of building new knowledge. Semiotics emphasizes that the sign is not an instrument, but an active process of interpretation. The student's interaction with the environment allows him to build concepts and solve problems, which leads to autonomy and independence. Classes, from this point of view, should include practical tasks that cause the reorganization of theories, as well as group tasks that promote learning through the practice of communication. Constructivist teaching methods are used to create an authentic environment for reflection and support of social constructivism. Constructivism here is opposed to objectivism, which considers knowledge as information transmitted from teacher to student [7, pp. 627-628]. Knowledge, as well as children's ideas, change over time. Teachers should take into account that children come to school with preliminary ideas about the world, which may differ from generally accepted explanations and classifications, and organize activities aimed at challenging and questioning current knowledge of science and phenomena. The student's preliminary ideas are logical ideas developed by children on the basis of experience and previous ideas, and not facts discovered by them. Teachers cannot simply replace them with their own ideas, because ideas do not exist as monadic units. Semiotic education challenges modern dualistic formulations: "right — wrong", "true — false", "mental — physical", "visible — imaginary", in the hope that reinterpretation will lead in various ways to the truth [7, pp. 629-632]. Pierce believes that every organism perceives reality in its own way, which makes life experience unique. He criticizes the approach to learning that does not recognize the possibilities of creativity and discovery of the child, based on the assumption that the adult knows better and that all formulations should correspond to those accepted in the scientific community. Pierce notes that similarities can be found between any two things if the corresponding common elements are found. He also says that discovering conformity can be difficult, but when it happens, it leads to creative growth and discoveries. A similar approach can be used in teaching to help students make their own discoveries and develop their abilities. According to Olteanu Alin, Maria Kamburi and Andrew Stables, which they received in the course of research, teachers do not recognize the potential of creativity and discovery in children and do not take into account experiences that differ from their own and from those accepted in the scientific community. They do not take into account that each child's experience is unique, and that their understanding of the world may differ from the perception of adults. Teachers should take into account the individual characteristics of students and help them develop their abilities and creative potential [7, pp. 632-635]. Interaction between the teacher and the student is important for effective learning based on the student's ideas. The authors believe that for younger children, the most appropriate way of learning is an activity that will give children the opportunity to actively participate in the learning process, ask questions and test their ideas and ideas, which helps them develop their knowledge. Social constructivism emphasizes that the most powerful form of learning is learning with each other. Small groups can give children the opportunity to see materials and experiment in their groups, discuss, present their results to the rest of the class, compare their results with others and come to conclusions. Also, the method of "cognitive conflict" means presenting students with something that causes them difficulties or surprises and makes them think, and is considered very useful for eliminating previous misconceptions of students. In order to understand the children's phenomenological field and create a trusting relationship between teacher and student, teachers should plan their education and prepare a learning environment based on the recognition of children's ideas. Teachers should strive to help children use their previous knowledge, as well as encourage them to ask questions and improve their understanding of their world through observations, experiments and hypothesis testing. It is also important to create trusting relationships that will allow teachers to lead and students to follow, using the opportunities that appear during the school day, such as recess or various activities [7, pp. 636-637]. Semiotics and constructivism are mutually beneficial in relation to education, but they are not identical. Vygotsky's constructivism through concepts such as scaffolding ("framework" or "supporting structures") offers a deeper understanding of the phenomenon of semiosis. Pierce's semiotics fertilizes Vygotsky's social constructivism, presenting it in a new light. The development of constructivism, according to the authors of the article "Predicting from an Early Age: Edusemiotics and the Potential of Children's Preconceptions", consists in the aesthetic, ethical and logical evolution of the phenomenal world (environment) [7, p. 628]. The theory of transcendence in educationIt is important to mention one more aspect of the constructivist approach to education, to which it is important to form the right attitude, and using modern pedagogical methods not to detect the learning system in another unpleasant extreme. The theory of constructivism has changed the practice of teaching in many countries of the world over the past decades. The constructivist class draws inspiration from a number of different and, to a certain extent, even contradictory theories and ideas, such as the radical constructivism of Ernst von Glazerfeld, the cognitive constructivism of Jean Piaget, the social constructivism of Lev Vygotsky and the transactional constructivism of John Dewey. What unites these approaches and what characterizes the constructivist class in general is the emphasis on student activity. This is based on the assumption that students should build their own ideas, understandings and knowledge, and that teachers cannot do it for them. Constructivism as a theory of learning emphasizes the active role of students in the process of forming their own knowledge, which leads to a shift in emphasis from teaching to learning. At the same time, constructivism discredited the "knowledge transfer model", and thus lectures and "didactic teaching" received a bad reputation. In the constructivist classroom, the teacher acts not only as a teacher, but also as a facilitator supporting the student learning process. The constructivist approach to learning emphasizes the creation of a learning environment in which the process of individual immersion of the student in the material being studied is supported. However, such an approach to teaching can lead to the rejection of the idea that teachers should teach something, which causes some concern to the author of the article "Receiving the Gift of Teaching: From 'Learning From' to 'Being Taught By". Gert Biesta explores the role of ideas about transcendence in understanding learning and education, and, in particular, in relation to the role of the teacher. The author of the article calls for the need to recognize the role of the teacher and the importance of his presence in the learning process. He also argues that the idea of transcendence can help to return the teacher to his role in the learning process, and that understanding teaching as something that goes "beyond", as something that transcends itself, and understanding learning as a process in which the teacher acts as a transcendent figure, can become a new direction for philosophy and theories of education [9, pp. 450-452]. Constructivism considers the learning process as internal, which may entail the absence of a teacher in the pedagogical process. Gert Biesta examines Plato's dialogue "Menon" [8] and comes to the conclusion that despite the fact that Plato leads Menon in it, at first glance, in a constructivist way, allegedly without teaching, Plato actually teaches his interlocutor a lot in the dialogue. The author comes to the conclusion that understanding teaching as a process of transcendence and the introduction of new knowledge is important, since it distinguishes teaching from simply confirming existing knowledge. Levinas confirms this idea, saying that teaching is not reduced to Maieutics, but comes from outside and brings more than the student contains. The model of Mayeutics ignores the significance of another person and claims that learning takes place by revealing what is already inside a person, while in fact learning is a process when another person forces us to change and gain new knowledge. However, it is important to take into account that education is not always aimed at "becoming" (i.e. achieving something new), as proposed by Sigmund Freud and Cornelius Castoriades - there are other aspects in education. It is also important to define transcendence in this context as not just another person different from the "I", but radically greater [9, pp. 452-454]. Merold Westphal's book "The Dialogue of Levinas and Kierkegaard" [10] explores the ideas of two philosophers about transcendence. Westphal argues that both thinkers view transcendence as something more than just another human being. They agree that transcendence cannot be found in the field of theoretical knowledge, but comes from above. Nevertheless, Levinas and Kierkegaard differ in their views on the relationship between man and God, with Levinas arguing that the neighbor is always the mediator between the individual and God, and Kierkegaard arguing that it is God who is the mediator between the individual and his neighbor. In the first two chapters of his book, Westphal discusses the concept of "revelation", which involves the transmission of truth to students and the conditions for its recognition as such. Kierkegaard explores the idea of revelation through a discussion of "Menon". He comes to the conclusion that the teacher should give the student not only the truth, but also the conditions for its recognition as truth. This is what he presents as a revelation. It means that the teacher presents the student with something that he does not yet possess and that surpasses his already existing knowledge. Revelation is associated with ethical and religious life and determines the authority of the teacher, according to which the student must take on faith knowledge that is not derived or confirmed. In Levinas, revelation is called a "riddle" and is described as something that goes beyond understanding and comprehension, "beyond being" and "beyond reason." This revelation is not a phenomenon and cannot be comprehended by the mind [9, pp. 454-456]. If teaching has a meaning beyond learning and is essential to learning, then it should be accompanied by the concept of "transcendence". This means that teaching must introduce radically new things, and this is what can be found in Kierkegaard's ideas about teaching as a "double gift of truth" and in Levinas' understanding of teaching as a relationship in which I receive from another "beyond my capabilities". Kierkegaard argues that the ability to double the gift of truth exceeds the capabilities of the teacher and can only be fulfilled by God. Levinas approaches the question of teaching from the point of view of a student who receives something beyond the abilities of his "I". He talks about it as an experience of "being taught," which is radically different from the experience of "learning." Students, while studying, use their teachers as a resource, as well as a book or the Internet, while the teaching experience gives the student something new, external, and truly valuable. Unlike Kierkegaard, Levinas does not believe that we cannot be taught by our teachers. However, this does not mean that the teacher produces a learning experience. The gift of learning is the gift of what the teacher does not have. The teacher cannot control whether someone will be taught by what he presents. The identity of the teacher is episodic, arising only at the moment when the gift of learning is obtained. Calling someone a teacher is a compliment that we express when we admit that someone has taught us something and allowed us to understand something new [9, pp. 456-458]. Thus, the philosophy of education cannot deny the need for transcendence, otherwise it risks becoming a philosophy of learning in which there is no place for teaching. The interest of education is to give the world what is unique and radically new, which means that the philosophy of education should always leave room for what exceeds the limits of the possible [9, pp. 454-456]. If teaching is to have a meaning other than facilitating learning, then it must be accompanied by the concept of "transcendence". However, the statement of transcendence can lead to authoritarianism, which can interfere with the educational process, so it should be avoided. Gert Biesta sums up the results, stating that it is important to resist the extremes of constructivism, where the teacher has nothing to give and does not give anything, where he only helps students learn, and does not teach them; smoothes the learning process and does not ask difficult questions so that students leave satisfied. There is an alternative story about learning, where teachers have something to give, do not shy away from difficult questions and unpleasant truths, and work on the difference between what is desirable and what is necessary. They are actively working to connect the learning project to a broader transformation of individual "desires" into collectively agreed "needs". It is necessary to act differently not only in relation to the teacher, but also to the student. The student should not be perceived as a consumer of education, whose needs need to be met. He must be ready for the gift of learning, ready to accept something unexpected. The school should not be considered as a place for learning, but as a place for teaching. It is important to recognize that it is possible not only to learn, but also to be taught. This small but important change is necessary for the return of teaching to education [9, pp. 458-460]. The provisions of the theology of personality according to V. N. LosskyV. N. Lossky in his writings offers a thesis about the inherent nature of the image of God to man, which is based on the words of the Book of Genesis: "And God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them" (Gen. 1:27) [11, p. 38]. Considering elsewhere the statement about the irreducibility of the human personality to nature, he concludes that "conformity to God does not refer to any one element of the human composition, but to the whole of human nature as a whole." Thus, the irreducibility of personality to individuality, to reason and to will is complemented by its irreducibility to the image of God in man, which can be somewhat opposed to the opinion of Sergei Anatolyevich Chursanov "on personality as an extremely deep expression of the image of God in man" [12, pp. 68-69]; "The image of God, understood as personality, inherent in a person" [12, pp. 74-75]. To the question of the degree of reduction of the image of God of man to his personality, they give an answer slightly different from the concept of Vladimir Nikolaevich. Although V. N. Lossky himself can find some contradiction in himself: "What corresponds to the image of God in us is not a part of our nature, but our personality, which encompasses nature" [13, p. 205]. However, this fragment can be understood as follows: the image is peculiar to the whole person, the personality is an expression of a person, and therefore reflects the image of God. Then we can assume that S. A. Chursanov can be understood in the same way, in this case the contradiction will be eliminated. According to V. N. Lossky, the image of God is contained in every person and is characteristic of his personality in full, both in the first man Adam and the last one who will exist on Earth: the image is not wasted by the fact that many people carry it in themselves [13, p. 202]. Each of the human personalities is consistent with God, and this multiplicity of the image of God in a multitude of human hypostases does not contradict the ontological unity of nature common to all people [13, p. 203]. The image of God in another person is known through a common nature, through detachment from individual limitations, although at the same time it will be a knowledge of the personality, since it embodies nature and expresses the image of God [13, p. 205]. The image of God can be obscured by various natural imperfections [13, pp. 206-207], meaning the passions of man, which come from his nature. However, it is indestructible in man, since man remains a person even when he goes far from God. After all, the command to become god is addressed to a person, but it is not a compulsion [13, p. 206]. One of the basic principles of asceticism is used to manifest the image of God, characteristic of every person, to gain it in the sense of fighting passions and sin and acquiring virtues, to free oneself from vice and create good: one renounces one's own will, whereby the appearance of individual freedom is replaced by true freedom, the freedom of the individual [13, p. 192]. S. A. Chursanov deduces a number of consequences from the inherent nature of the image of God of the human personality: 1) Personality, in which the image of God is expressed, is the defining essential feature of a person. 2) "No flaws and peculiarities of human nature, including those affecting consciousness and higher nervous activity, can serve as a basis for not considering him a person and not treating him as a person. For example, a person, which means a person, is a person with mental defects, a person who is unconscious, a child in the womb, and so on." 3) From the inseparability of the image of God from man, from the indestructibility of his sin, it follows that "the sinfulness, criminality of a person cannot serve as a basis for an inhumane attitude towards him" [12, pp. 74-75]. The beginning of the path to the manifestation of the image of God in man, to deification, is the following of the person after Christ, the accomplishment of the feat of the cross, the victory over one's own interests for the benefit of the nature shared with Christ. This process takes place through the unification of the individual in the Church with Christ and other people by nature [11, p. 87]. The union of the divine and the human, which took place in the Person of Christ, must be accomplished in every person through the action of the Holy Spirit and the realization of the choice of the free will of man to self-purification and deification. We are called to develop our personality by the grace of the Holy Spirit. That is why there are two aspects of the Church: the state of formation and at the same time the state of development [13, pp. 255-256]. Ascetics ascend, strengthen their own will in a constant struggle with sin for the sake of combining with the will of God. Through the union of human nature with the grace of the Holy Spirit and the power of the Holy Trinity, a person's personality is realized [11, p. 67]. The meaning of the work of Christ is the liberation of mankind from slavery to sin, the purification of nature so that we can perceive spirituality, that is, so that every person can grow in the new unity of the purest immaculate nature of the Body of Christ until receiving the uncreated grace of the Holy Spirit. Salvation renews nature, through the union of creation with God, personality is accomplished [11, p. 74]. But in order to take advantage of these fruits of Christ's work, it is necessary to be reborn by the Holy Spirit in a new humanity and become one with Christ [11, p. 67]. The doctrine of grace is directly connected with the doctrine of redemption and deification. Grace is a natural Divine principle bestowed by the will of the Holy Trinity and acquired by the will of man in the unity of a person called to combine the created nature with the uncreated Gift of the Holy Spirit in the Church, the Body of Christ [11, p. 73]. The theme of the theology of personality and its perfection permeates the entire religious philosophy of V. N. Lossky. He also approaches ecclesiology from this position. The Church is arranged by God in such a way that the human hypostasis improves and realizes the meaning of its existence in it. Each human personality asserts its integrity and uniqueness by uniting in the Body of Christ — the Church — both with the Lord Himself and with other people, and thereby carrying out its life according to the absolute pattern of being of the Persons of the Most Holy Trinity [12, p. 71]. According to V. N. Lossky, the fragmentation of human nature is being overcome in the Church, the contradiction between the interests of the individual and society disappears, the deification of human nature becomes possible [14, p. 9]. The embodiment of these ideas can be realized through pedagogy, carried out through the prism of Christian personalist theology. In the Church of the new man, reconciled to God through the Cross of Christ, united in the pure nature of the Body of Christ, people are cleansed of guilt by the water of Baptism, separated from the fallen world by the Blood of Christ and reborn by nature, gaining spiritual receptivity. And thanks to the fact that at Pentecost the Church was filled with the grace of the Holy Spirit, the purified nature of humanity is imbued with unattainable joy, grace, and the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. In the Church, human wills are united with the will of God, and each person is called to accept the Gift taught to him by the Holy Spirit and to unite the created nature with the uncreated Divine Gift, energy, Deity. This receiving and assimilation of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit is the very goal of Christian life [11, p. 87]. The members of the Church are one with the Body of Christ and His Hypostasis. The Church is this united body of all people with Christ. Humanity united in Christ, having a nature united with Him, has many faces in individual people. Along with the hypostasis of human nature, individual personalities, human hypostases, are not destroyed by this. Also, there is no mixing and merging of the personalities of people with the Personality of Christ [13, p. 239]. The Church is at the same time both the Body of Christ and the fullness of the Holy Spirit. The unity of humanity and Christ takes place according to a single human nature, and the filling of the Holy Spirit takes place through each of the many full-fledged personalities. Being established in the one Body of Christ, the Church is in a state of completeness, and filling each of its members with the Holy Spirit and encouraging him to grow, It is also in the process of becoming [13, p. 256]. Therefore, man is simultaneously a part of the one nature, a member of the one Body of Christ, but as a person he encloses and preserves integrity in himself [13, p. 246]. The rules governing the life of the Church on earth cannot be separated from Christian teaching. These are not laws in the secular sense, they are the application of the Orthodox teaching and tradition of the Church in all aspects of the life of Christian society. The canons make society a kind of special organization in which an individual has no rights, but at the same time an individual cannot be just a resource of this system, each of the personalities is the goal of this organization. This is a collective in which the harmony of the interests of the individual and the needs of society is preserved due to the fact that they coincide, the aspirations of all people are united by a single goal in such a way that the goal becomes unattainable if someone's interests are harmed [13, p. 247]. The Church in the image of the Trinity is both a natural unity and a personal difference. Therefore, a different icononomy is needed in the Church, different from the icononomy of the Son, the Renewer of natural unity; this is the icononomy that is addressed to each human person individually, sanctifying personal plurality in the one Body of Christ — the icononomy of the Holy Spirit, the "pentecostal" aspect of the Church [15, p. 716]. The concept of developing learning in combination with the provisions of the theology of personalityThe introduction of the components of the Orthodox theology of personality into the concept of developing education entails a significant transformation of this system and produces a new pedagogical method. The main provisions of this method are the following. 1. L. S. Vygotsky set the goal of human development to create a creative personality looking to the future [2, p. 318]. As a very important feature of the target attitude of cognition, developing learning highlights the practical applicability of the acquired competencies, the realization of personality in work. The Orthodox doctrine of salvation sees the complete fulfillment of a person not in a certain activity, but in deification. This goal stands much further than the first one and thus logically completes the construction of the path of human development. 2. The concept of development speaks of the need for continuous comprehensive human development. The doctrine of the deification of the individual also speaks of the need for the constant ascent of the individual to unity with God, about purification from vice and various other means of improving the personality. Through deification, the personality is not only fully revealed, but also the contradictions between the individual and society, between the individual interests of a person and the interests of all mankind disappear. 3. According to the concept of developmental learning, development is not the maturation of a personality or its training, but learning awakens the processes of development in a person. The theology of personality says that the perfection of personality is possible due to the fact that the image of God is embedded in every person, everyone is a person, regardless of his age or health, therefore every person should grow and improve. The concept of developmental learning notes that if there are problems in some areas, they should not be bypassed, on the contrary, you need to concentrate on solving them. 4. In order for personal development to take place, it is necessary to find a person's personal interest in development. The icononomy of a person's life in the Church also involves addressing each individual individually. 5. The ideologists of the concept of human personality development identify an important means for this: creativity, expressed in various forms, involving the imagination of a person. This is a vivid appeal to the creative property of personality, which according to theology is not only a developing tool, but also a manifestation of the very essence of personality [13, p. 150]. Using these conclusions, the concept of developmental learning and the provisions of the theology of personality, it is possible to supplement the template of a standard lesson with built-in diagnostics and show the essence of the method under consideration. The features in the case are highlighted in separate paragraphs with a "+" sign. Case structure: 1. Class, UMK, stage of development of activity. 2. The main mastered skill of the lesson and the main operations included in its composition. + From the zone of the closest development of students: a competence that students do not yet possess.+ At the same time, the target setting of the lesson should be consistent with the path of human development as a whole: it is necessary to use a focus on practical application, on creative development and on continuous personal improvement.
3. A subject task, the purpose of which is to assimilate the taught competencies and basic skills to students. + From the zone of the closest development of students: a task that students cannot yet solve on their own.4. Subtasks that form operational competencies. + Subtasks that awaken the processes of development of competence inherent in a person, lying in the zone of immediate development.+ Subtasks focused on capturing and maintaining the individual interests of students throughout the learning process. At the same time, it is appropriate to use interests both lifelong and temporary, both indirect and transcendent, going beyond the boundaries of habitual perception.+ Creative subtasks. + Subtasks containing a component of the emotional experience of studying. + Subtasks for collective teamwork, for liberation from individual interests and the acquisition of common ones. 5. Subtasks that diagnose the result of mastering the material in steps and in general. + Subtasks from the zone of actual development of students.+ Subtasks that identify problem areas that need to be focused on in the further construction of the lesson. + Subtasks that determine the interests of students. 6. Criteria for evaluating subtasks and subject tasks. In the table, the features of the proposed method are presented separately in the column "Teacher actions". Table 1 — Working with the caseLesson stage
The given pedagogical method embodies the approaches of the concept of developmental learning from the standpoint of the theology of personality and is adapted for use in teaching various disciplines at different levels of education. The material on the basis of which the method is constructed is a synthesis of the provisions of several fields of sciences and can be used for their further study. At the same time, the use of the method is not limited to Orthodox educational institutions, since non-church studies served as the basis for the development of the method, and the provisions of the Orthodox theology of personality are consonant with the above theories of modern philosophy of education. References
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