Phenomenology of Sensory Representations

In the first volume of the third revised and significantly expanded edition of the fundamental monograph on the phenomenology of mental phenomena, prominent Russian psychologist and psychiatrist, candidate of medical sciences S. E. Polyakov develops his theory of the dynamics and transformation of mental phenomena. According to this theory, all mental representations — sensations, mental images, emotions, desires, concepts, and mental constructions, including verbal ones, constitute a single continuum. During ontogeny, they become progressively more complex, from sensations to intricate mental constructions, many of which become concepts representing the entities of the world.

An important role in the perception of the world and thinking is played by the instantaneous images of perception and representation models of physical objects and phenomena highlighted by the author. It is shown that the image of the perception of a physical essence is simultaneously a mental representation and the physical original of this essence, which refutes the doctrine of psychophysical dualism. The theory of the unity of mental representations presented in the book claims to be one of the central and fundamental theories in psychology.

The book is addressed to psychologists, philosophers, students of specialized faculties at higher educational institutions. Furthermore, the publication will be useful for sociologists, linguists, medical professionals, as well as readers interested in the issues of general psychology.