There are not so many options for understanding the essence of a person. All concepts of the essence of man can be divided into 4: man is an animal, man is a part of nature, man is a product / part of society, and man is something more, irreducible to everything else, a unique being. The development of a person is determined, accordingly, based on an understanding of his essence.
The materialistic concept of the essence of man defines man as "a representative of the species people from the family of hominids of the order of primates", that is, as one of the animals. There is practically no speech about the specific essence of a person and some special potential - a person belongs to his own species by the fact of birth. As an animal, its possibilities are not great, even taking into account intelligence. As a child, he masters the skills of speech, walking upright, using his hands and mind to perform simple survival operations. Well, that's all :) After all, here a man is, first of all, a body, a biological organism. It is determined by the needs of the body.
If a person is only a biological being, an animal with purely technical intelligence, then his development is interpreted as physical development plus the development of a certain minimum amount of knowledge and skills achieved by humanity. There is no question of individuality here. The task of the development of such a person is adaptation to environmental conditions and the preservation of the species. The main activity of a person as an animal is the production of offspring and teaching them the skills necessary for survival. As an animal, he is controlled by instincts, practically having no freedom. With all the ensuing consequences ...
