[Xmca-l] Re: mediate perception and direct perception

[mike cole]

My apologies for attaching more than the two pages on "mediation" by
Williams last night. Trying to learn to get control of acrobat.The attached
etymological discussion is less than two pages long.

As a supplement to the Williams, two uses of the term in the OED might also
be constructive.

All of this supports Andy's suggestions for great specification of what
sort of mediation one is referring to.
-----------
OED
*2.*
Thesaurus »

 *a.* Agency or action as an intermediary; the state or fact of serving as
an intermediate agent, a means of action, or a medium of transmission;
instrumentality.
*c*1425   Lydgate *Troyyes Bk.* (Augustus A.iv) iv. 162   How I
be-stat..Wolde in no maner never occupie By oþer title þan fre elleccioun,
Nat interrupt by mediacioun of procage [*read* brocage] roted vp-on mede.
*a*1450  (▸1391)    Chaucer *Treat. Astrolabe* Introd. 12   By mediacioun
of this litel tretys, I purpose to teche the a certein nombre of
conclusions.
*a*1513   J. Irland *Meroure of Wyssdome* (1965) II. 70   The sone wyrkis
nocht his operacioun bot be the mediacioun of the causis particular and
inferior.
1560   J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane *Commentaries* f. xxj,   His fellowes at
home..wrot to Lewis the Frenche kinge, by the mediation of Erarde Marchiaue
Byshoppe of Liege.
1615   G. Sandys *Relation of Journey* 168   Not to be touched but by the
mediation of a sticke prepared for the purpose.
1646   H. Lawrence *Of Communion & Warre with Angels* 38   The
understanding receives things by the mediation, first of the externall
sences, then of the fancy.
1648   in S. R. Gardiner *Hamilton Papers* (1880) 205,   I intend to
corresponde with you by her mediation.
1682   N. Grew *Of Mixture* i. v. §5 in *Anat. Plants* 232   To mix them by
mediation of some third..Body, which may be congruous in part to them both.
1710   J. Norris *Treat. Christian Prudence* iii. 135   By the Will those
Motions or Operations (Imperate Acts as they are call'd) which are
performed by the mediation of the Body.
1796   E. Burke *Lett. Peace Regic. France* i, in *Wks.* (1808) VIII. 156
To seek for peace..through the mediation of a vigorous war.
1796   R. Kirwan *Elements Mineral.* (ed. 2) II. 269   By the mediation of
nickel it will unite to Bismuth.
1860   J. Tyndall *Glaciers of Alps* i. iii. 23   Through his mediation I
secured a chamois-hunter.
1902   E. Carpenter *Civilisation* (ed. 7) ii. 70   An immaterial
mediation..would simply remove the problem out of the regions of scientific
analysis.
1988   A. Brookner *Latecomers* viii. 117   There was also in Yvette a will
to overcome that was translated, without the mediation of her mind, into
excellent bodily health.

(Hide quotations)
<http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/115665?redirectedFrom=Mediation#>

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 *b.* *Psychol.* The interposition of stages or processes between stimulus
and result, or intention and realization. Freq. *attrib.*
1912   *Amer. Jrnl. Psychol.* Jan. 102   The occurrence of associations
whose mediation does not come into consciousness in any recognizable manner
is certainly an interesting and well-attested phenomenon.
1934   H. C. Warren *Dict. Psychol.* 162/1   *Mediation*, the interposition
of one or more ideas or acts between an initial stimulus or idea and a
given end result whose genesis is under investigation.
1953   C. E. Osgood *Method & Theory Exper. Psychol.* iii. ix. 395   Short
circuiting enters into all behavior, and its most important role lies in
formation of those representational mediation processes.
1971   A. Paivio *Imagery & Verbal Processes* ix. 320   The experimental
and language-habit approach to the investigation of mediation paradigms.
1996   *Appl. Linguistics* *17* 89   One frequently finds oneself repeating
the number in one's head or aloud: this verbal mediation is necessary to
keep the declarative information alive in working memory.


On Sat, Sep 13, 2014 at 11:02 PM, Andy Blunden <ablunden@mira.net> wrote:

> My impression, Greg and David Ki, is that in the CHAT tradition
> specifically, as opposed to the English language in general, mediation
> refers to *artefact-mediation*. Of course, every action is both mediated
> and immediate, and in many discursive contexts, "mediation" is a concept
> which may be evoked quite legitimately, but with no special significant for
> the use of CHAT. In social theory, for example, mediation of activities by
> other activities or institutions is as ubiquitous as mediation of actions
> by artefacts is in the domain of psychology. But if the topic is
> psychology, I think artefact-mediation is so central, that I prefer to
> spell it out and use the term "artefact-mediated" rather than the vague
> term "mediated".
>
> I have come across usages like "mediated by such-and-such a concept." Like
> Alice in Wonderland one can use words to mean what you like, but I find a
> formulation like this in the context of CHAT problematic, because it is
> using the idea of "mediation" in the most general sense in a way which
> obscures the fact that a concept is not immediately present in any act of
> communication or any other act, and therefore *cannot mediate actions*.
> Artefacts, such as spoken words, which may be signs for a concept, can of
> course mediate an act of communication. But the point is that a word is not
> universally and unproblematically a sign for any one concept. It means
> different things to different people. Concepts are not artefacts. Artefacts
> are universal in their materiality, but particular in their meaning. So
> when we have a concept in mind when we use a word in communication, the
> communication is mediated by the word not the concept, and it is a mistake
> not to be aware of that.
>
> So I would prefer it if "mediation" were always used in qualified way so
> that its specific meaning is made clear.
>
> Andy
> PS. And David Ki is completely right in his comment, too.
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> *Andy Blunden*
> http://home.pacific.net.au/~andy/
>
>
> Greg Thompson wrote:
>
>> Does "mediation" only apply to language and culture?
>>
>> Or does it include nerve fibers? (in which case we would need to include
>> reflexes)
>>
>> And does it include our socio-contextual surround as in Bateson's man with
>> the stick? (in which case, we would need to include newborns).
>>
>> Just wonderin'.
>>
>> -greg
>>
>>
>> On Sat, Sep 13, 2014 at 2:48 PM, David H Kirshner <dkirsh@lsu.edu> wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>> Thanks for replies.
>>> I'm recalling several years ago Jim Greeno decided to stop talking about
>>> situated cognition because the pragmatics of adjectival use implies there
>>> has to be a contrasting non-situated cognition. He now speaks of
>>> situativity theory. It seems, with the exception of physical reflexes
>>> (and
>>> perhaps pre-conscious infant activity), all human action is mediated (and
>>> perhaps a lot of non-human action, as well). So, it's worth noting that
>>> "mediated action" doesn't specify a kind of action, but rather a
>>> theoretical assumption about all human action; though there seems to be
>>> some variation in interpretation of what that assumption entails.
>>> David
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>


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