[Xmca-l] Re: New Year's Perezhivanie

[R.J.S.Parsons]

In thinking about "experience as struggle", I found myself considering 
Nozick's thought experiment of the experience machine, which he uses to 
explore the issue of ethical hedonism.* Consider a machine which could 
stimulate a person's brain to induce pleasurable experiences that the 
subject could not distinguish from those he would have apart from the 
machine. Nozick then asks, if given the choice, would we prefer the 
machine to real life? (this description from Wikipedia). It strikes me 
that the experience delivered by the machine is experience without 
struggle. There is no activity from the subject, meaning making is not 
necessary, and therefore there is no development.

Clara quotes Vygotsky "A perezhivanie is a unit where, on the one hand, 
in an indivisible state, the environment is represented, i.e. that which 
is being experienced—a perezhivanie is always related to something which 
is found outside the person—and on the other hand, what is represented 
is how I, myself, am experiencing this," - the thought experiment breaks 
the unit, and in doing so, I think, demonstrates how important its 
existence as a unit is.

*Also brilliantly explored in the "Total Immersion Video game" in Red 
Dwarf Season 5 episode 6 Back To Reality. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IzX6b1YJHI

Rob

On 03/01/2017 17:37, Christopher Schuck wrote:
> It's an interesting question (about the brick and perezhivanie), partly
> because that extended, "living-through", repeated doubling-back process
> evoked by the Vygotskian sense of the concept would seem to be at odds with
> a single, discrete act of "smashing" that is immediate, forceful and even
> violent. It would suggest that part of what perezhivanie means is wrapped
> up in the symbolic marking of its end - and that this end, when it comes,
> can be forceful. Certainly, the image could not be more unified and
> embodying of a particular set of meaningful experiences. But is that how
> perezhivanie works? This leads me to ask:
>
> 1) what are the problems and contradictions encountered in using particular
> metaphors to depict perezhivanie, where perezhivanie is itself so defined
> by imagination and narrativity? Part of this might also be a question of
> what it means to describe and represent one's own perezhivanie
> figuratively/narratively (whether to others, or to oneself), as opposed to
> living that perezhivanie. Especially if the attempt to capture/represent
> one's own perezhivanie is, perhaps, also central to the living of it?
>
>   2) What is the nature of the relationship between perezhivanie and force,
> either in terms of the internal process or in terms of how it finally
> "ends"?  (Not to mention, how it begins). It would seem that in both
> conceptions discussed in the article there is a certain intensity required.
> But does this in some cases require something more explosive - and does
> Vasilyuk's conception of perezhivanie as activity speak more to this
> possibility? And how do we reconcile this with the less "forceful" notion
> of enduring, revisiting, and working through?
>
> On Monday, January 2, 2017, mike cole <mcole@ucsd.edu> wrote:
>
>> The pieces of brick thrown up by this political hammering have not yet
>> fallen and made the devastation personally experienced by the nation/world.
>>
>> Still, genuinely, we can wish all of us 7.3 billion well in the new year.
>>
>> So what do you think chuck, is this a good representation of perezhivanie?
>> :-)
>> Mike
>>
>> On Mon, Jan 2, 2017 at 11:24 AM Charles Bazerman <
>> bazerman@education.ucsb.edu> wrote:
>>
>>> So you think 2017 has any hope of being any better?
>>>
>>> Chuck
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>
>>> From: mike cole <mcole@ucsd.edu>
>>>
>>> Date: Monday, January 2, 2017 11:01 am
>>>
>>> Subject: [Xmca-l]  New Year's Perezhivanie
>>>
>>> To: "eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity" <xmca-l@mailman.ucsd.edu>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>> With the New Year, as our Russian colleagues put it!
>>>> This image forwarded from a friend more or less sums up my experience
>>>> of
>>>> the past year. Thought you might find it interesting too.
>>>> Vis a vis the discussion of perezhivanie: Does this image provide us
>> with
>>>> used (re-presented) behavioral evidence of a person undergoing
>>> perezhivanie?
>>>
>>>> Looking forward to the discussion.
>>>> Feliz año nuevo!
>>>> Mike
>>>
>>>
>>>