23
См.: Власова Т. А., Певзнер М. С. О детях с отклонениями в
развитии. М., 1973.
24
См.: Рубинштейн С. Я. Психология умственно отсталого школьника.
М., 1976.
25
См.: Асмолов А. Г. Личность как предмет психологического
исследования. М., 1984.
26
Выготский Л. С. Собр. соч. Т. 5. С. 203.
27
См., напр.: Лишин О. В. и др. Психологические принципы
предупреждения и преодоления пьянства и асоциального поведения
подростков: Методические разработки. М., 1986.
28
Макаренко А. С. Соч. Т. 4. М.. 1951. С. 341—349.
29
См.: Проблемы повышения эффективности педагогического
процесса.на основе идей оптимизации. М., 1985. С. 115—123.
SUMMARY
The book -opens with a critical re-examination of the concept of mental
health. The author challenges the majority of the prevalent criteria defining
mental health in terms of pathology (mental health as the absence of mental
disease), statistics (mental health as minimal deviation from the average),
adaptation (mental health as adjustment to environment), etc. On the
threshold of the XXI century mankind enters not only the era of super-
advanced technology but also the epoch of ultimate actualization of man's
humanity, human rationality and spirituality, individual uniqueness and
multitude of individual manifestations. Hence some other principles
underlying the difference between mental health and pathology should be
sought. The author contends that it is individual's ability to reveal his
humaneness, to actualize his human essence in his existence that constitutes
normalrty rather than his ability to adjust to environment, to be typical or
atypical, similar or dissimilar to others. This evokes another question: what
are the specific characteristics of being human or what are the essential
attributes of human existence?
The answer to this question, in the author's opinion, should be a starting
point for a comprehensive study of abnormal personality development.
Having considered philosophic foundations of the concept of mental health
and its meaning, the author comes to the examination of general
psychological premises and tentative assumptions of personality study. A
tentative multilevel model of mental health is put forward. Special emphasis
is laid upon the structure and functioning of meaning-motivational domain
of personality and some patterns of their distortions in cases of deviant
behaviour are outlined. Exposing the limitations of prevalent methods of
personality study the author proves the necessity to elaborate new