The Modernity of L. I. Antsyferova's Ideas (To the 100th Anniversary of Her Birth)

The anniversary article reveals several topics that were developed by L.I. Antsyferova. It is shown that the questions posed by her and the solutions proposed are still relevant and up-to-date today. Her analysis of the limitations of the subject-activity approach pointed out its problem areas. This approach does not fully capture the fullness of personal existence, concentrating on the activity aspect in personality development. Analyzing the ideas of S.L. Rubinstein, she notes the ambiguity in the differentiation of concepts of subject and personality. Antsyferova offers her own understanding of the relationship between these concepts. The subject sets goals and outlines life plans, chooses life strategies, while the individual implements them in activities. A different solution to this relationship is proposed from the standpoint of the system-subject approach. It is the personality, as a meaningful component of a person, that directs interactions with the environment, and the subject, as an integrative component, implements them in accordance with his individual resources and tasks. In this case, there is no contradiction, because the subject directs the activity of the personality, making it more and more subjective. L.I. Antsyferova, discussing the relationship between the subject and personality, points out that raising questions about group personality is illegal. A hypothesis about the functions of group personality is outlined by analogy with individual personality: cognitive — collective orientation, values, meaning formation, reflection; regulatory — collective experiences; communicative — identifying objects and subjects of communicative interactions. The concept SELF–WE–THEY is proposed as a structure of collective personality, which unites the community and limits it. L.I. Antsyferova defended the need to change in attitudes towards the senile period as decay, intellectual decline, and creative impotence. In this regard, the modern studies about ageism and the significance of ideas about aging for the state of cognitive functions, health, and longevity are considered. The dynamics of the phenomenon of self-perception of age in short periods of time are shown, which correlate with L.I. Antsyferova’s concepts of personal transitions across the lifespan.