[Xmca-l] Re: Imagination

[mike cole]

Just to go back to the text a little. It is true that she opens with
feelings of love for the human voice in the middle of horrible
circumstances.  "I love the lone human voice. It is my greatest love and
passion."

But she ends a creature of Belorussia, Ukraine, and Russian culture....

"But in this day and age it is difficult to talk of about love."

mike

On Tue, Dec 15, 2015 at 11:02 AM, Lplarry <lpscholar2@gmail.com> wrote:

> Peg,
> If imagination is understood as what happens as  we compose and stabilize
> our connections then I want to follow your lead and lean into (listen to)
> your connections.
> You liked first:
> Svetlana having an image of polyphonic voices. She stabilizes this image
> and enters its (space) in order to write.
> She finds/composes/conducts/performs this imaginal polyphony.
> We can impose a category such as literature or the ordinary/mundane but
> whatever category we imagine there is a quality and a character that moves
> her listeners/readers.
> This points to the imaginal manifesting within the ordinary/mundane which
> is how I understand Dewey's article (understanding experience).
> I believe your connections exploring the imaginal do move towards
> stabilizing our understanding the imaginal.
> This brings us to your second understanding. While we are composing
> connections AND moving towards stabilizing our images (through acts such as
> writing), work such as Svetlana'sindicates the reality of an "endless"
> ground.
> Can we label this endless ground a type of playground? Yes, a very
> complicated (place) and sometimes we struggle to notice the play quality
> within this imaginal endless ground.
> However, I believe it is valid to name this place of endless ground a
> complex playground.
> An endless cultural historical playground that brings into view "event"
> figures within the endless ground.
>
> The notion of semiology is that signs designate objects in the world
> existing outside the sign systems. (my understanding).
> The notion of hermeneutics is that signs (indicating objects) and
> interpretations as endless ground all the way down are different approaches.
> Some say semiology and hermeneutics as approaches image each other and one
> cannot exist without the other.
> I am listening to the sound of "endless" ground manifesting imaginally as
> supporting this connection of semiological and hermeneutical approaches
> meeting in this imaginal endless ground?
>
> I also understand my reply as an "event" of transitory stabilization
> within this complex playground.
> This is taking place within the ordinary/mundane as an extraordinary place.
> My listening may be a misunderstanding but this implies in the future we
> may possibly arrive at shared understanding.
> Larry
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: "Peg Griffin" <Peg.Griffin@att.net>
> Sent: ‎2015-‎12-‎15 9:57 AM
> To: "'eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity'" <xmca-l@mailman.ucsd.edu>
> Subject: [Xmca-l] Re: Imagination
>
> I like two things most  about the lecture:
> 1. Svetlana Alexievich imagines the polyphony of voices as she writes/in
> order to write.  Some folks claim her work is not literature (creative) and
> is merely journalism.  Indeed she does cherish her tape-recorders!  But she
> finds/composes/conducts/performs the polyphony and I imagine that is all in
> some leaky category near the "mundane" arena (journalistic writing).
> 2. Her collection of work suggests "endless" ground if sometimes a bit
> complicated to be called a playground.  The lecture illustrates close to an
> endless cultural-historical ground punctuated in socio-historical event
> figures.  To me it seems to be a sort of phenomenologal account of her
> imagining process.
>
> I'd love to get a hint of the two forms of imagination in Paley's
> practices you are thinking of, Mike. Is it, for example, in her paired
> practices for story-telling and story-acting focused on in the Ball State
> video?
>
> Back to reading and grading (some happy and some not)...
> Peg
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: xmca-l-bounces+peg.griffin=att.net@mailman.ucsd.edu [mailto:
> xmca-l-bounces+peg.griffin=att.net@mailman.ucsd.edu] On Behalf Of mike
> cole
> Sent: Sunday, December 13, 2015 7:59 PM
> To: eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity
> Subject: [Xmca-l] Re: Imagination
>
> Thank you for this, Peg. The little I have read of her work, including the
> excerpt in the NY Review of Books of her new book, makes her sound amazing.
>
> I am fascinated by the processes through which imagination builds into
> fantasy which seems an endless playground. At the same time, I am more and
> more impressed with the centrality of imagination in the most mundane of
> our interactions in the world. It seems to sit at the heart of the process
> of various psycho-cultural-social contructivisms.
>
> Vivian Paley comes to mind very often as I read the interesting places
> that participants are carrying the discussion. She writes about practices
> where the two forms of imagination, intersect. Always interesting.
>
> mike
>
> I know that somewhere in the thread there
>
> On Sun, Dec 13, 2015 at 4:03 PM, Peg Griffin <Peg.Griffin@att.net> wrote:
>
> > This 2015 Nobel Laureate for Literature lecture strikes me as
> > pertinent to this imagination discussion.  She is an amazing woman and
> > here addresses issues familiar maybe tanatalizing for this list, I think.
> >
> > http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/2015/alexi
> > evich-lecture_en.html It begins this way: " I do not stand alone at
> > this podium ... There are voices around me, hundreds of voices. They
> > have always been with me, since childhood. I grew up in the
> > countryside...} Peg
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: xmca-l-bounces+peg.griffin=att.net@mailman.ucsd.edu [mailto:
> > xmca-l-bounces+peg.griffin=att.net@mailman.ucsd.edu] On Behalf Of Huw
> > Lloyd
> > Sent: Wednesday, December 09, 2015 12:12 AM
> > To: eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity
> > Subject: [Xmca-l] Re: Imagination
> >
> > Perhaps the challenge will get easier if you keep piling up the
> > references, Mike.  :)
> >
> > So, I have persevered with reading, skipping and scanning Lovejoy's
> > "The Great Chain of Being" and have come away with a few pages of
> > notes, and some edification (22nd printing, 2001, Harvard University
> Press).
> >
> > With respect to the valorisation of imagination, Lovejoy identifies
> > Schleirmacher as an early proponent of the merits of the development
> > of imagination (although one could say that this is implicit in the
> > platonic ideas which concern the book as a whole).  (p. 309)
> >
> > With respect to the origins of the idea of a cell (urbild), he
> > identifies Robinet as a rather eclectic proponent of the idea (p.
> > 279), which again is derived from the history of the ideas of absolute
> > perfection (of god), the principle of plentitude and the principle of
> > continuity.  He also attributes to Robinet that "fundamental reality
> > in nature for him is not matter but l'avtivite". (p. 281)
> >
> > On a more down to regular strain on the imagination, regarding my
> > assertion early of cognate terms (imagination, orientation etc), my
> > reckoning is that orientation determines the scope and nature of
> > interpretation.
> >
> > Not so long ago, I noticed some apparently new developments in our
> > eldest child's formulations (4y6).  We were talking about how to make
> > papier mache objects, which took me back to making a papier mache
> > 'pig' with the help of a balloon.  In response to this he volunteered
> > that the balloon would have to be burst with a pencil once it had been
> > covered.  I think it was the day before this that he pronounced that
> > the ugly duckling's egg must have been laid by a swan.  It seemed to
> > me that that these articulations indicated that he was using a
> > relatively new idea which was helping him to imaginatively understand
> > these situations (an idea of process).  I am fairly sure that these
> solutions were not supplied beforehand.
> >
> > Best,
> > Huw
> >
> >
> > On 9 December 2015 at 03:59, mike cole <mcole@ucsd.edu> wrote:
> >
> > > The Casey site looks amazing and of course very relevant, Ed. Thanks.
> > >
> > > When I first read Sartre many years ago, I was totally unprepared to
> > > take in what he was saying. I had not way to "digest it."
> > >
> > > Reading into the electronic copy I sent around yesterday, I could
> > > see that it is inappropriate for me to refer to what I do as
> > > phenomenology. It is just a kind of intuitive reflection on my
> > > experiences and thoughts. No Husserl, no Sartre. Just unschooled
> > > introspection that I seek to verify through acquiring evidence that
> > > there is more than total idiosyncrasy to what my musings.
> > >
> > > I feel as if I need to download all the sources of inquiry we have
> > > unearthed in the last few days and retreat to a place with no
> > > communication with the world for a few weeks just to take them, in. !!
> > > mike
> > >
> > > On Tue, Dec 8, 2015 at 9:39 AM, Ed Wall <ewall@umich.edu> wrote:
> > >
> > > > Mike
> > > >
> > > >        There are, perhaps, some shortcomings in portions of Sartre
> > > > work
> > > on
> > > > imagination to which Casey supplies some useful modifications.
> > > > Also it
> > > is a
> > > > bit long. Take a look at Edward Casey’s web site: <
> > > > http://edwardscasey.com/?page_id=13>. Many of those articles on
> > > > imagination seem downloadable and besides possibly whetting one’s
> > > appetite
> > > > for Sartre might be interesting in themselves. Perhaps you could
> > > > pick one that most interests you and provides, from your vantage,
> > > > a useful common, and modestly short reading source. I would, of
> > > > course, recommend Casey’s book, but isn’t freely available.
> > > >
> > > > Ed
> > > >
> > > > > On Dec 7, 2015, at  9:44 PM, mike cole <mcole@ucsd.edu> wrote:
> > > > >
> > > > > So maybe Sartre would be a useful common reading source, Ed.
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > >
> > > http://blog.exre.org/wp-content/uploads/Sartre_The_Imaginary__A_Phen
> > > om enological_Psychology_of_the_Imagination.pdf
> > > > >
> > > > > On Mon, Dec 7, 2015 at 7:42 PM, mike cole <mcole@ucsd.edu> wrote:
> > > > >
> > > > >> It make sense for the questions to differ, Ed, or at least the
> > > > >> way
> > > they
> > > > >> are posed. Finding a common foundation will take a lot of
> > > communication
> > > > >> (which will require a lot of imagination!).
> > > > >> mike
> > > > >>
> > > > >> On Mon, Dec 7, 2015 at 6:04 PM, Ed Wall <ewall@umich.edu> wrote:
> > > > >>
> > > > >>> Mike
> > > > >>>
> > > > >>>     I assume you have read Sartre on imagination; i.e. The
> > > Imagination.
> > > > >>> This gives what he considers a phenomenological take on
> > imagination.
> > > > >>> However, I would consider a much more revealing take to be
> > > > >>> that of
> > > > Edward
> > > > >>> Casey in Imaging (I am hoping that book you referenced will
> > > supplement
> > > > that
> > > > >>> of Casey). The connection to Kant, by the way, critically
> > > > >>> preceded
> > > > that of
> > > > >>> Mzerleau-Ponty and Sartre and that is why I was surprised to
> > > > >>> not see
> > > > him
> > > > >>> mentioned.
> > > > >>>
> > > > >>>      I agree that we all seem to be coming out in, more or
> > > > >>> less, the same place. Only the questions seem to differ.
> > > > >>>
> > > > >>> Ed
> > > > >>>
> > > > >>>> On Dec 7, 2015, at  7:42 PM, mike cole <mcole@ucsd.edu> wrote:
> > > > >>>>
> > > > >>>> Seems to me that we have achieved pretty close proximity
> > > > >>>> given that
> > > we
> > > > >>>> started from such different places. Part of the problem, as I
> > > > indicated
> > > > >>> in
> > > > >>>> my prior note, is that I came to this problem late in life
> > > > >>>> through
> > > my
> > > > >>>> teaching. It took a long time for my research/theory ideas
> > > > >>>> drawn
> > > from
> > > > >>>> psychology and apprenticeships in anthropology and
> > > activity-centered
> > > > >>>> research practices. But here I am.
> > > > >>>>
> > > > >>>> So, happy to be wrong so long as I can see how it broadens my
> > > > >>> understanding.
> > > > >>>>
> > > > >>>> I am not sure how to be more phenomenological than the
> > > > >>>> description
> > > of
> > > > >>> the
> > > > >>>> flow from imagination to representation, but glad to
> > > > >>>> encounter a
> > > > dozen!
> > > > >>>> Affect and cognition are so entangled that sites where the
> > > > abstractions
> > > > >>> can
> > > > >>>> be seen, seem hard to come by.
> > > > >>>>
> > > > >>>> My proposal to take advantage of the structure offered by
> > > > >>>> identifying different threads of the topic they constitute
> > > > >>>> was
> > > offered
> > > > >>> with
> > > > >>>> that goal in mind.
> > > > >>>>
> > > > >>>> The connection to Kant I know about, and Ribot, but that is
> > > > >>>> about
> > > it.
> > > > I
> > > > >>>> learned that from the Russians who write about imagination.
> > > > >>>>
> > > > >>>> Seems like there is an Indian tradition, or 6?
> > > > >>>>
> > > > >>>> etc?
> > > > >>>>
> > > > >>>> To the extent that these different traditions lead people to
> > > > >>>> the
> > > same
> > > > >>> kinds
> > > > >>>> of conclusions seems interesting. Especially when the
> > > > >>>> conclusions
> > > are
> > > > >>>> tightly bound to daily practice, as they are, for example,
> > > sometimes,
> > > > in
> > > > >>>> good teaching.
> > > > >>>>
> > > > >>>> mike
> > > > >>>>
> > > > >>>> mike
> > > > >>>>
> > > > >>>> On Mon, Dec 7, 2015 at 4:57 PM, Ed Wall <ewall@umich.edu>
> wrote:
> > > > >>>>
> > > > >>>>> Larry and Mike
> > > > >>>>>
> > > > >>>>>     Since you seem to agree with one another I will reply to
> > > > >>>>> both
> > > of
> > > > >>> you
> > > > >>>>> in this email. First I note that I seeme to be involved in a
> > > > >>> conversation
> > > > >>>>> that diverges a bit from where I started. This is probably
> > > > >>>>> good,
> > > but
> > > > >>> it is
> > > > >>>>> a conversation that seems at a grain size that is a little
> > > > >>>>> larger
> > > > than
> > > > >>> what
> > > > >>>>> I can find immediately useful. That said, I often find that
> > > > >>>>> I need
> > > > to,
> > > > >>> one
> > > > >>>>> might say, assimilate a bit so as to find resonances that
> > > > >>>>> bear on
> > > > the,
> > > > >>>>> perhaps, pragmatic problem I tend to take up.
> > > > >>>>>
> > > > >>>>>    Mike, I have read your article (and I am sure I will
> > > > >>>>> reread
> > > it). I
> > > > >>>>> found it interesting although again it seems to occur at a
> > > > >>>>> large
> > > > grain
> > > > >>> size
> > > > >>>>> (I tend to be a bit more phenomenological in the way I look
> > > > >>>>> at
> > > > >>> things). A
> > > > >>>>> few comments from my perspective; these are not! criticisms
> > > > >>>>> and are
> > > > >>> offered
> > > > >>>>> in the hope that they might be useful.
> > > > >>>>>
> > > > >>>>>     1. Dictionary definitions are a good place to start;
> > > > >>>>> however, looking at how words are used (a philosophy of
> > > > >>>>> language, so to
> > > speak)
> > > > >>> often
> > > > >>>>> does a better job of opening things up.
> > > > >>>>>
> > > > >>>>>      2. I was surprised to find that Kant or Schelling did
> > > > >>>>> not make
> > > > >>> your
> > > > >>>>> list of those influential in thinking about imaging; not to
> > > > >>>>> mention Avicenna.
> > > > >>>>>
> > > > >>>>>      3. I have the impression you are using the term ‘stable’
> > > > >>>>> as a somewhat replacement of Vygotsky’s concrete; I like
> > > > >>>>> that as
> > > > ‘concrete'
> > > > >>>>> seems to have very different meanings for different people.
> > > > >>>>> I will
> > > > try
> > > > >>> to
> > > > >>>>> use it (and I may misuse it out of yet misunderstanding) in
> > > > >>>>> my
> > > > replies
> > > > >>>>> tooters.
> > > > >>>>>
> > > > >>>>>      4. When I read the blind/deaf section I thought of
> > > > >>>>> Hellen
> > > > >>> Keller. I
> > > > >>>>> wonder if the only reason Suvorov considered such having a
> > > > >>>>> thin gap
> > > > is
> > > > >>>>> because he was too focused on seeing and hearing. I have a
> > > suspicion
> > > > >>> that
> > > > >>>>> he was quite imaginative in the way I think about it and I
> > > > >>>>> am
> > > fairly
> > > > >>> sure
> > > > >>>>> Keller was.
> > > > >>>>>
> > > > >>>>>      5. I tend to think of the gap as too wide rather than
> > > > >>>>> too thin although the metaphor of filling still seems
> > > > >>>>> reasonable
> > > > >>>>>
> > > > >>>>>      6. In a way you don’t seem to quite come out and say it
> > > > >>>>> (or I missed you doing so), but I agree that imagination is
> > > > >>>>> not
> > > necessarily
> > > > >>>>> creative and I would add that it is quite everyday.
> > > > >>>>>
> > > > >>>>>
> > > > >>>>> Larry, I will try to answer your comments or questions as
> > > > >>>>> they
> > > occur.
> > > > >>>>>
> > > > >>>>> Ed
> > > > >>>>>
> > > > >>>>>> On Dec 6, 2015, at  4:41 PM, Lplarry <lpscholar2@gmail.com>
> > > wrote:
> > > > >>>>>>
> > > > >>>>>> Mike, I would be willing to re(turn) to re(read) and
> > > > >>>>>> re(present)
> > > > our
> > > > >>>>> notions as we sail under Dewey's arches to the (open see) a
> > > metaphor
> > > > >>> not
> > > > >>>>> error.
> > > > >>>>>> Ed,
> > > > >>>>>> To continue with your reflection if image has some relation
> > > > >>>>>> to how
> > > > >>>>> others use text.
> > > > >>>>>
> > > > >>>>> Actually I don’t think image has some relation to how others
> > > > >>>>> use
> > > > text.
> > > > >>> I
> > > > >>>>> twas speculating as whether there is some commonality
> > > > >>>>> between how
> > > > Mike
> > > > >>> is
> > > > >>>>> using using image and how others are using text. I said this
> > > because
> > > > I
> > > > >>>>> struggle against the tendency to make being vision primary
> > > > >>>>> in
> > > > >>> mathematics
> > > > >>>>> and otherwise what Mike has written has little relevance to
> > > problems
> > > > >>> that
> > > > >>>>> presently catch my attention.
> > > > >>>>>
> > > > >>>>>> Can we imagine human shared movement (itself) as text? In
> > > > >>>>>> other
> > > > words
> > > > >>>>> can we (read) mutual   shared movements as choreography. The
> > > physical
> > > > >>>>> gestures as the material having a quality like the shape of
> > > > >>>>> letters
> > > > on
> > > > >>> the
> > > > >>>>> page, or the acoustic resonance of the voice on the ear, or
> > > > >>>>> the
> > > > visual
> > > > >>>>> marks making a circle-like shape.
> > > > >>>>>
> > > > >>>>> I have no great problem with any of this, but the grain size
> > > > >>>>> is too
> > > > >>> large.
> > > > >>>>> That is why I tried to give you a particular example which I
> > > > >>>>> now
> > > > >>> realize
> > > > >>>>> was not necessarily a good one because of how you appear to
> > > > >>>>> view imagination. I don’t mean your perspective is lacking;
> > > > >>>>> it just
> > > seems
> > > > to
> > > > >>>>> result in  different questions than I would/do ask.
> > > > >>>>>
> > > > >>>>>> These different physical forms are not the foundational
> > > > >>>>>> bedrock,
> > > > they
> > > > >>>>> are the material.
> > > > >>>>>> If we can imagine (texts) as not just scratches on
> > > > >>>>>> parchment but
> > > as
> > > > >>>>> having a deeper process,
> > > > >>>>>> Is it also possible to imagine (images) as not just visual
> > > > perceptions
> > > > >>>>> but rather having a deeper process.
> > > > >>>>>
> > > > >>>>> My initial reaction is “Why are you saying this?" If I ever
> > > > >>>>> thought
> > > > the
> > > > >>>>> contrary, I can’t remember. This is just common sense. The
> > > > interesting
> > > > >>>>> thing about what you say is that you seem to  using ‘imagine’
> > > > >>>>> in a
> > > > non
> > > > >>>>> visual fashion which was largely my initial point.
> > > > >>>>>
> > > > >>>>>> All the senses share in this process and engage with
> > > > >>>>>> physically
> > > > >>>>> experienced phenomena but what is being gestured toward is
> > > > >>>>> that
> > > > >>> unifying
> > > > >>>>> process that includes all the senses but is not itself the
> > senses.
> > > > >>>>>
> > > > >>>>> I would say that all senses can participate in this process.
> > > > >>>>> Also physically experienced phenomena sounds a little too
> > > > >>>>> strong
> > > although
> > > > >>>>> physically experienced phenomena seem to place constraints
> > > > >>>>> of a
> > > sort
> > > > on
> > > > >>>>> imaging. There is also, re Mike, the idea of stability as I
> > > > >>>>> don’t physically experience a platonic circle.
> > > > >>>>>
> > > > >>>>>> To imagine the marks on paper as a (circle) to imagine the
> > > collated
> > > > >>>>> pages of a  book as a (text) to imagine vocal acoustics as a
> > > > dialogue,
> > > > >>> to
> > > > >>>>> imagine mutual shared actions as an (activity)  may possibly
> > > > >>>>> have a unifying basis in the image which is (created) as the
> > > > >>>>> vital
> > > animating
> > > > >>>>> process lived (into).
> > > > >>>>>
> > > > >>>>> Here is where my example wasn’t helpful. I did not mean one
> > ‘sees'
> > > > the
> > > > >>>>> marks on the paper as a circle. One imagines the oval (marks
> > > > >>>>> is too
> > > > >>> large a
> > > > >>>>> grain size) on the board as having certain properties
> > > > >>>>> consistent
> > > with
> > > > >>> those
> > > > >>>>> of a platonic circle. This is why marking the center makes a
> > > > >>>>> sort
> > > of
> > > > >>> sense.
> > > > >>>>> The teacher’s language seems to prove the imaging and the
> > > > >>>>> moving to
> > > > new
> > > > >>>>> stabilities. My experience is that a large number of people
> > > > >>>>> don’t
> > > > make
> > > > >>> the
> > > > >>>>> leaps.
> > > > >>>>>
> > > > >>>>>> This imaging is multimodal and not reduced to the primacy
> > > > >>>>>> of the
> > > > >>> visual
> > > > >>>>> sense.
> > > > >>>>>
> > > > >>>>> Imagine may or may not be multimodal. It may reference none
> > > > >>>>> of the
> > > > >>> sensory
> > > > >>>>> modes
> > > > >>>>>
> > > > >>>>>> The relation of this image process to the language process
> > > > >>>>>> is also
> > > > >>>>> multimodal and I suspect reciprocal.
> > > > >>>>>
> > > > >>>>> This doesn’t seem to follow or, given my earlier comments,
> > > > >>>>> doesn’t
> > > > >>> follow
> > > > >>>>> for me.
> > > > >>>>>
> > > > >>>>> Larry, all of you said here is not an unreasonable
> > > > >>>>> perspective. It
> > > is
> > > > >>> just
> > > > >>>>> one that, to a degree, I either don’t share or seems to be
> > > > >>>>> the
> > > wrong
> > > > >>> grain
> > > > >>>>> size.
> > > > >>>>>
> > > > >>>>>>
> > > > >>>>>>
> > > > >>>>>>
> > > > >>>>>> -----Original Message-----
> > > > >>>>>> From: "Ed Wall" <ewall@umich.edu>
> > > > >>>>>> Sent: ‎2015-‎12-‎06 1:14 PM
> > > > >>>>>> To: "eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity"
> > > > >>>>>> <xmca-l@mailman.ucsd.edu>
> > > > >>>>>> Subject: [Xmca-l] Re: Imagination
> > > > >>>>>>
> > > > >>>>>> Mike
> > > > >>>>>>
> > > > >>>>>>      My  wondering has more to do with your focus on the
> > > > >>>>>> visual
> > > and
> > > > >>> my
> > > > >>>>> examples may not of helped since it seemed. perhaps to be
> > > > >>>>> about the
> > > > >>> visual.
> > > > >>>>> However, imaging that some poorly drawn thingy (or even well
> > > > >>>>> drawn)
> > > > is
> > > > >>> a
> > > > >>>>> ‘concrete’ platonic circle doesn’t seem to be visual or, at
> > > > >>>>> least,
> > > it
> > > > >>> never
> > > > >>>>> was for me. I have no problems with an image being a process.
> > > > >>>>> In
> > > > fact,
> > > > >>>>> assuming that it is static seems strange although I gues
>
>
> [The entire original message is not included.]
>



-- 

It is the dilemma of psychology to deal as a natural science with an
object that creates history. Ernst Boesch