Psychic (from the ancient Greek. Душχικός "spiritual, vital") is a complex concept in philosophy, psychology and medicine, which, depending on the areas of knowledge and areas of science, is defined as follows.

In the history of science, different points of view were expressed about the place of the psyche in nature. So, according to panpsychism, all nature is animate. Biopsychism attributed the psyche to all living organisms, including plants. The theory of neuropsychism recognized the existence of the psyche only in creatures with a nervous system. From the point of view of anthropopsychism, only the person has a psyche, and animals are a kind of automata .

In more modern hypotheses, one or another ability of a living organism (for example, the ability to search behavior) is taken as a criterion for the presence of the psyche. Among the many such hypotheses, a special recognition was received by the hypothesis of A. N. Leontiev, who suggested that the ability of the organism to react to biologically neutral influences [clarify] as an objective criterion for the presence of the psyche. This ability is called sensitivity; according to Leontyev, it has an objective and subjective aspects. Objectively, it manifests itself in the response, primarily motor, to a given agent. Subjectively - in the inner experience, the feeling of this agent. The response to biologically neutral effects is found in almost all animals, so there is reason to believe that animals have a psyche. This ability to respond is already in the simplest unicellular organisms, for example, in the ciliates .

In plants, science knows reactions only to biologically significant effects. For example, the roots of plants in contact with a solution of nutrients in the soil begin to absorb them. The ability to respond to biologically significant effects is called irritability. Unlike sensitivity, irritability has no subjective aspect.

In the evolution of the forms of the psyche A. N. Leont'ev identified three stages:

· stage of elementary sensory psyche;

· stage of perceptual psyche;

· stage of intelligence.

K.E. Fabry left only the first two stages, “dissolving” the stage of intelligence in the perceptual psyche stage

29. Define various approaches to the question "what is psyches" (pan-psychism, bio-psychism, anthropo-psychism, neuro-psychism).

The psyche is a multifaceted structure that determines the personality of a person. There are several links in it: Mental processes. These are dynamic indicators that are criteria for understanding the world, help to take and analyze information from everything that surrounds a person, shape his emotions in a particular episode of life, his behavior, goals and motives, as well as regulate communication, depending on the situation, changing gestures and posture, volume and tone of voice, facial expressions. In the process of personal development, they constantly vary.

 Mental properties. The properties include: temperament, which is laid at birth; a character that, when studying a personality, turned out to be also largely dependent on the hereditary factor and only 10% of the external; abilities that are both inherent in nature, and are formed during the development of personality. Properties are static, however, they are subject to relative variation when exposed to a prolonged irritant. Mental states. It determines which processes and properties of a person will manifest in this situation and which of them will prevail over others.

In the history of the development of the psyche there were several theories explaining this concept. Panpsychism argued that the psyche is a phenomenon inherent in all natural, that is, the soul has everything. Biopsychism attributed this concept to all organisms: animals, plants, people. Neuropsychism presupposed the presence of the psyche only among those who had a nervous system. Finally, anthropopsychism attributed this concept to the human species only.