Considering the impact of diet on physical, mental, and aesthetic well-being, the author sought to create a comprehensive picture of Dietetics - the art of living - through four books. However, as he wrote, it became clear that something important w...
What are we researching: What are the differences between capacities and abilities, and what is their connection?
What's new: What do human capacities mean, and how can this understanding help us treat ourselves with love?
What will we learn: Why can't intelligence reflect all human capacities?
1. We cannot understand capacities... as innate capabilities of an individual, because we have defined capabilities as "individual psychological characteristics of a person", and the latter, by the very nature of the matter, cannot be innate. Only anatomical and physiological characteristics can be inherent, i.e., inclinations [capacities, author's ed.], which underlie the development of abilities. In contrast, the abilities themselves are always the result of development (Teplov B.M. 1985) [1].
2. Differences in concepts: capacities and abilities. Although the concepts of "capacities" and "abilities" are usually not distinguished in everyday life, it is nevertheless important to separate them for further understanding of our research. The definition given by Professor Teplov * in the epigraph of this chapter clearly shows these differences. So, what is the essence of the concepts of "capacities" and "abilities"?
* Teplov B.M. (1896-1965) - a full member of the Academy of Pedagogical Sciences of the USSR, Honored Scientist of the RSFSR, professor, doctor of psychological sciences, scientific director of the laboratory "Psychophysiology of Individual Differences", created in 1952 at the Research Institute of General and Educational Psychology of Moscow State University (now the Psychological Institute of the Russian Academy of Education). Teplov is the founder of domestic differential psychophysiology: he formulated the problems of this branch of psychological science and substantiated its theoretical premises and methodological approaches [1].
3. The essence of the concepts of "capacities" and "abilities". To avoid confusion in world science, Professor Teplov cites another difference related to the peculiarities of the Russian and English languages. He cites two English words "ability" and "capacity", which are usually translated into Russian by one word "abilities". However, these two words have different meanings in American and English literature on psychology. Based on the definitions given in the APA (American Psychological Association) dictionary of psychology, the term "capacity" carries the meaning of inherited power or potential, and the term "ability" carries the meaning of developing physical and psichical skills within this potential. Now let's pay attention to the epigraph. The essence of the concept of "capacities " according to Teplov consists of inherited "anatomical and physiological features", which are the basis for the development of abilities [1]. What are these "anatomical and physiological features"? This relates to the human body's external and internal structure, including the brain, which is its "feature". Modern scientific research confirms the uniqueness of each human's capacities (V fr. 11. 3, 4).
• "In all these cases [internal individual characteristics, author's ed.] there are innate differences that often go far beyond what we see externally" (author's italics) (Williams R. 1960) [2].
• "Each human's brain is slightly different from the brains of others, has a unique "configuration", and we all solve problems differently" (author's italics) (Gazzaniga M. 2017) [3].
However, the question arises: are there capacities that do not relate to "anatomical and physiological characteristics", but which can be attributed to the psichical capacities of a human?
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