Cognition and Activity
Core concepts
Activity is the human way of relating to the world: it has a subject, an object, a goal, motives, means, and a result. Know the main types - play, learning, labour, communication - and the leading activity of each age (play in preschool, learning in school age).
For cognition, master the two levels: sensory (sensation, perception, representation) and rational (concept, judgement, inference). Know the forms of non-empirical cognition: myth, religion, art, philosophy, and the special status of scientific cognition (systematic, verifiable, aiming at objective truth). Truth is distinguished as objective, absolute and relative; practice is the criterion of truth.
Traps
A frequent trap is confusing sensation (a single property) with perception (an integral image of the object). Another is treating representation as rational - it is the bridge: a sensory image retained and generalised, but still sensory. Questions often test the difference between empirical (everyday, experience-based) and theoretical (concept-based) cognition. Also watch for the claim that absolute truth is fully attainable - it is approached through relative truths, never fully possessed at once.
Worked example
A student says: 'I know the law of supply and demand, and I use it to explain why prices rose.' Which level of cognition is this? Rule of thumb: a single perceived property is sensation, an integral image is perception, a retained image is representation; a general, abstract statement is a concept, and its application to a case is judgement and inference. The law is a concept; the explanation is a judgement.
Rule of thumb
Ask 'is it a picture or a proposition?' Pictures are sensory; propositions are rational.