Regression is a type of development that is characterized by the transition from higher to lower. It is characterized by a process of degradation, a decrease in the organizational level, a loss of the ability to perform the necessary functions. During a period of regression, there is often a return to past forms and structures of the organization.
The concept of "regression"
The explanatory dictionary defines regression as a type of development characterized by a transition from higher to lower, a decrease in the level of organization, the disappearance of the ability to perform certain functions or actions. Regression also implies moments of complete stagnation, changes leading to the return of past forms and structures, which are often obsolete. It is the opposite of progress.
This term is found in completely different spheres of human activity. It is present in sociology, political science, economics, biology, medicine, philosophy, psychology, legal sciences, etc.
Definitions of regression in different sciences
In biology, regression means a simplification of the structure of certain living organisms, implemented in order to adapt to a changing environment and conditions of existence.
In economics, regression is economic decline. In mathematics, this concept means the dependence of the average random value on other (different) quantities. In sociology, regression is a set of changes in the public sphere, leading to a decrease in the general social level of the population.
In psychology, regression means a certain mechanism of psychological self-defense, in which the individual returns to an earlier level of his development, behavior and thinking. This change occurs at a time of stress or an unusually difficult situation. Also, in psychology, regression can mean the refusal of the individual to make any decision, to perform the necessary act. People in such a state are characterized by an increased dependence on the opinions of others, as well as an unwillingness to notice the present state of affairs.
In geology, regression is the slow and gradual retreat of water from the coast, which occurs as a result of land rise or the subsidence of the seabed. Or due to a decrease in the volume of oceanic waters.
In medicine, regression is the disappearance or diminution of the symptoms of a disease. Until the onset of complete recovery of the patient.
Signs of regression
Despite the fact that this concept is found in many sciences, it still has some common characteristic features. In particular, this is an obligatory movement in the opposite direction, from the complex to the simpler, a gradual decrease in the level of the system. A return to earlier forms of organization is possible.
In the process of studying regression, a pattern is revealed that is characteristic of all sciences: everything in the world develops in waves, cyclically, and periods of rise are necessarily replaced by periods of decline. This suggests that the two concepts - regression and progress - are not so much opposite as complement each other. There is no constant progress, nor is there a constant decline in the level of organization.
