A New Approach Of Interpreting Consciousness

Terminating consciousness issue has always been the pursuit of scientific psychology for more than 100 years. Currently the researches of scientific psychology mainly focus on the issue of primary sensorial and perceptual consciousness. Although through the operational definitions in the experimental psychology and the terms in neuropsychology can better explain the general characteristics of primary sensorial and perceptual consciousness, it is hard to interpret the higher issues of consciousness in which langue, meaning, knowledge and value play an important role in humans' conscious psychological world. The social constructionism, a new trend in current psychological researches has made active attempt in the consciousness study. In the view of social constructionism, higher lever consciousness is a topic which is inevitably involved in the construction of consciousness experience, which can be interpreted in the dimension of constructionism. That is to say, consciousness experience is not only a phenomenon of neurophysiology and neuropsychology, but also a kind of psychological phenomena that is constructed by subject via society. Hence it is of necessity to understand the research achievement in scientific psychology and at the same time, to systematically card the research achievement of the abroad constructionism psychology. By doing so we can deepen our understanding the consciousness view of social constructionism, enrich the researches of consciousness psychology, enrich the autonomy of consciousness psychology and upgrade the status of psychology in cross-disciplines researches.The thesis firstly systematically interprets the frustrating course of the researches in scientific psychology. From the preliminary experimental explaining by scientific introspection and element analysis advocated by German psychologist Wundt, to the theory of consciousness stream put forward by the functionalism psychologist James, consciousness has been the focus of psychological researches. However, Behaviorists which stick to the rigid positivism stand expelled consciousness from psychology research. Not until the 50s in 20 century are the consciousness paid more attention to by cognitive psychology. Currently the consciousness studies from scientific psychology and cognitive neuroscience have been flourishing. In this context, the theoretical psychological paradigm represented by social constructionism is becoming up and doing.Postmodern psychology and social constructionism psychology oppose the standpoint of scientific psychology, and their views of psychology also contain another interpretation of consciousness. Firstly, social constructionism adheres to the "ontology" of construction and disagrees with the notion that consciousness can be studies as a kind of "existence". They consider consciousness were as the product via the social interaction and construction. In the view of social constructiOnism, the hard problem of consciousness is the product of scientific paradigm and it doesn't exist at all. Secondly, in the views of social constructionism, the understanding of consciousness study can backdate to Piaget's view of consciousness that is developed and construction by individuals however Vygotsky's theory of consciousness has indirect implication on the comprehension of consciousness. Thirdly, the view of consciousness from social constructionism relates with langue, meaning, value, knowledge, culture and social construction and makes new interpretation. Their understandings on consciousness pose new effect on the psychotherapy practice. Fourthly, the mutualism consciousness model of social constructionism critically questions the model of neural Darwinism which exerts, great influence on current consciousness research. From their oppugning, if may be discovered that mutualism may be the future developing trends of the two theories of consciousness. At the same time we argues that in the course of combating and reflecting scientific psychology, the view of consciousness from social constructionism manifested it's new scientific notion of consciousness, it's new methodology for consciousness study and it's new understanding on psychotherapy. However, the views also reveals characteristics of subjective constructionism, relativism, social reductionism which may lead to result in a "new splitting" of consciousness psychology.