[Xmca-l] Re: Andy Blunden on unit of analysis and Huw on cognition
Andy Blunden
andyb@marxists.org
Mon Sep 7 19:53:40 PDT 2020
I don't know Husserl very well, Henry, but from what I have
read he is a Phenomenologist, that, is he aims to make a
science of the study of pure, subjective thought forms. As
such he is completely at odds with Dewey who explained the
“double-barrelled” nature of the concept of ‘an experience’
in that “it includes/what/ men do and suffer, /what/ they
strive for, love, believe and endure, and /how/ men act and
are acted upon, the ways in which they do and suffer, desire
and enjoy, see, believe, imagine.” That is, in the
well-known and invariably misunderstood maxim of CHAT, an
experience is a unity of the person and the environment.
Andy
------------------------------------------------------------
*Andy Blunden*
Hegel for Social Movements <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://brill.com/view/title/54574__;!!Mih3wA!T2IDTz6It4OIif-spsQdY7_CzubvEkE88dGcEmSRsPhg_U3cUrRLFakl8SrSgM_CnDYs0g$ >
Home Page <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.ethicalpolitics.org/ablunden/index.htm__;!!Mih3wA!T2IDTz6It4OIif-spsQdY7_CzubvEkE88dGcEmSRsPhg_U3cUrRLFakl8SrSgM9_bvDb0w$ >
On 8/09/2020 12:21 pm, HENRY SHONERD wrote:
> Andy,
> I don’t know if you recall, but I introduced myself to you
> off list in April of 2013, at the encouragement of Natalia
> Gajdamaschko. I pestered you with questions until you told
> me to join the chat. I owe you some kindness for putting
> up with me. Here’s another question: Do Husserl and Dewey
> resonate at all with one another regarding “an experience”?
> Henry
>
>
>> On Sep 7, 2020, at 6:20 PM, Andy Blunden
>> <andyb@marxists.org <mailto:andyb@marxists.org>> wrote:
>>
>> Goodness! Thank you for your kind words, Henry. I feel
>> the weight of responsibility on my shoulders.
>>
>> The thing about an interview is that it is not a lecture.
>> The Q&A format means that it is the unity of two minds.
>> Evidently, "project" maybe important to me because of my
>> interest in social theory but that is not where Anthony's
>> and my mind meet, I guess.
>>
>> The thing about "project" is that it avoids the ambiguity
>> of "activity" - do you mean it like "there's a lot of
>> activity on this list" or "this activity is aimed at
>> making CHAT accessible." Mass noun or countable noun?
>> Plus I avoid all the baggage carried by the word
>> "activity" which leads to people telling me that I don't
>> understand what "activity" means. Plus "project" really
>> emphasises what is implicit in "an activity" - that it is
>> driven by an unfolding aim and has the kind of
>> subjectivity not normally imputed to an activity, or a
>> group. I don't believe that projects are guided by
>> "cognition," or at least that this is a useful lens to
>> understand activity. "Cognition" is something we analysts
>> abstract from activity. In John Dewey's words: ‘an
>> experience’ is an ‘original unity’, not a combination:
>> “The existence of this unity is constituted by a
>> single/quality/ that pervades the entire experience in
>> spite of the variation of its constituent parts. This
>> unity is neither emotional, practical, nor intellectual,
>> for these terms name distinctions that reflection can
>> make within it,”
>>
>> Andy
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>> *Andy Blunden*
>> Hegel for Social Movements
>> <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://brill.com/view/title/54574__;!!Mih3wA!Vy_0-fM1JnXDSWVjL-73cISms5hBR8csLKVmw2-QzFNJ3NCM5QBlQOrW0WMFrJ0oJ6r4tQ$>
>> Home Page
>> <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.ethicalpolitics.org/ablunden/index.htm__;!!Mih3wA!Vy_0-fM1JnXDSWVjL-73cISms5hBR8csLKVmw2-QzFNJ3NCM5QBlQOrW0WMFrJ3iK4VYyA$>
>>
>> On 8/09/2020 5:03 am, HENRY SHONERD wrote:
>>> Gente,
>>> It’s been more than a week since Anthony linked us to
>>> his interview of Andy Blunden. I’ve been doing some slow
>>> listening and thinking about it.
>>>
>>> Hands down the best. through best in Andy’s talk is
>>> perizhvanie, both individual and collective. His story
>>> about his own moment of empowerment as an engineer was
>>> inspiring. But in looking back on his work as a union
>>> rep, Andy recalled those who were broken in the work
>>> place, sought therapy and finally went on the dole. I
>>> assume it is very much the later kind of story that put
>>> the fire in the his belly as a lifelong Marxist.
>>>
>>> A quibble and a modest proposal. I have read more of
>>> Andy’s work than that of any other Vygotsky-inspired
>>> author, including Vygotsky. Based on my reading of Andy,
>>> I think that he has overlooked something in responding
>>> to Anthony’s questions: /Project as the unit of analysis
>>> for the social sciences./
>>>
>>> Another quibble and modest proposal. Huw, in the second
>>> interview with Anthony (the one liked below), asserts
>>> that “cognition is the conscious guiding aspect of
>>> activity”. If we can we substitute “project” for
>>> “activity” and recognize that affect is as much of a
>>> guide as intellect for any project, then we bring
>>> project and perizhivanie together in making sense of the
>>> human project.
>>>
>>> In communty
>>> Henry
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>> On Aug 29, 2020, at 9:53 AM, Anthony Barra
>>>> <anthonymbarra@gmail.com
>>>> <mailto:anthonymbarra@gmail.com>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> "Straddling the Abstract and the Concrete -- with Andy
>>>> Blunden":
>>>> https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://youtu.be/ec94eQSSX8E__;!!Mih3wA!T2IDTz6It4OIif-spsQdY7_CzubvEkE88dGcEmSRsPhg_U3cUrRLFakl8SrSgM_3jMiXAQ$
>>>> <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://youtu.be/ec94eQSSX8E__;!!Mih3wA!S33cTVIkU7U9v9FUG591iGWUqwJtBKNyXVcYA2nA_QKFGGvaUmFJKVsQ-Ah85IMcOT5oGA$>
>>>>
>>>> "Researcher and chronicler Andy Blunden reflects on his
>>>> own relationship with Vygotsky, his role and
>>>> contributions to the Vygotsky-sphere, and some
>>>> developmental landmarks of his own. (Originally
>>>> published August 28, 2020)
>>>> Thanks again to Andy.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Wednesday, August 26, 2020, Anthony Barra
>>>> <anthonymbarra@gmail.com
>>>> <mailto:anthonymbarra@gmail.com>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Huw Lloyd is an interesting guy and a gracious
>>>> conversation partner.
>>>>
>>>> He recently helped me close some (of the many) gaps
>>>> in my knowledge and understanding here:
>>>> https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://tiny.cc/4kspsz__;!!Mih3wA!T2IDTz6It4OIif-spsQdY7_CzubvEkE88dGcEmSRsPhg_U3cUrRLFakl8SrSgM-lXlhidA$
>>>> <https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://tiny.cc/4kspsz__;!!Mih3wA!S33cTVIkU7U9v9FUG591iGWUqwJtBKNyXVcYA2nA_QKFGGvaUmFJKVsQ-Ah85IOQe1eSLA$>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Huw's commentary will likely be enjoyable even for
>>>> fellow experts, who could compare his answers to
>>>> what their own might be, as well as my questions to
>>>> what they might've asked.
>>>>
>>>> I do feel a bit weird pushing my stuff here, but at
>>>> the same time, enough people have told me in public
>>>> and private that they enjoy the videos, so I do
>>>> like sharing them.
>>>>
>>>> Thanks,
>>>>
>>>> Anthony
>>>>
>>>> (audio-only here: https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://tiny.cc/hlspsz__;!!Mih3wA!T2IDTz6It4OIif-spsQdY7_CzubvEkE88dGcEmSRsPhg_U3cUrRLFakl8SrSgM-r2n7wNw$
>>>> <https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://tiny.cc/hlspsz__;!!Mih3wA!S33cTVIkU7U9v9FUG591iGWUqwJtBKNyXVcYA2nA_QKFGGvaUmFJKVsQ-Ah85INDZx1Ftw$>)
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --------------------------------------------
>>>> Video description and Timestamps:
>>>>
>>>> Researcher Huw Lloyd, fluent in numerous mental
>>>> models, is a good explainer of concepts --
>>>> including many I was completely unversed in. A few
>>>> threads run through the entirety of this chat:
>>>> development, self-awareness, and construing an
>>>> active orientation to any given situation.
>>>>
>>>> SECTION 1: Our pathways to Vygotsky
>>>>
>>>> 0:36 - Reflections on Huw's recent "Vygotsky and
>>>> Parenting" (https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://tiny.cc/ymqpsz__;!!Mih3wA!T2IDTz6It4OIif-spsQdY7_CzubvEkE88dGcEmSRsPhg_U3cUrRLFakl8SrSgM_8RmpxnA$
>>>> <https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://tiny.cc/ymqpsz__;!!Mih3wA!S33cTVIkU7U9v9FUG591iGWUqwJtBKNyXVcYA2nA_QKFGGvaUmFJKVsQ-Ah85IMmjZIOjA$>)
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> 1:45 - Pros and cons of taking scholarly shortcuts
>>>>
>>>> 6:07 - Huw's arrival to Vygotsky, in part through
>>>> dissatisfaction elsewhere
>>>>
>>>> SECTION 2: Huw's ideas about Active Orientation
>>>>
>>>> 16:38 - What is Active Orientation?
>>>>
>>>> 23:30 - Is Active Orientation a practice? (An
>>>> exercise in self awareness)
>>>>
>>>> 31:58 - Active Orientation can be documented
>>>> (microgenesis research of Huw's)
>>>>
>>>> SECTION 3: What is Developmental Education?
>>>>
>>>> 40:37 - A primer on Davydov and Developmental
>>>> Education
>>>>
>>>> 46:07 - Empirical thinking vs. Theoretical thinking
>>>>
>>>> 50:23 - Grokking the material and the History of ideas
>>>>
>>>> 52:59 - Problems are Good
>>>>
>>>> 55:40 - An illustrative lesson of Davydov's
>>>>
>>>> 1:03:43 - Some key characteristics of developmental
>>>> education
>>>>
>>>> 1:07:41 - Crises, construals, and neoformations
>>>>
>>>> 1:10:20 - The Desert Oak: a developmental TRIZ problem
>>>>
>>>> SECTION 4: Imagination and Confidence-building
>>>>
>>>> 1:16:07 - Imagination, flow, and problem-solving
>>>>
>>>> 1:24:10 - Systems and Design Ideas (TRIZ approach)
>>>>
>>>> 1:30:22 - Earned, authoritative confidence: Your
>>>> tempered ideas are become Real
>>>>
>>>> 1:35:20 - The importance of problem-construal or
>>>> framing
>>>>
>>>> 1:48:04 - Problem-creating, -solving, and -construing
>>>>
>>>> 1:53:51 - This is rich, highly concentrated
>>>> material (Foundational, generative, "unfoldable"
>>>> concepts)
>>>>
>>>> 1:55:27 - Notational vs. developmental education
>>>> (and epistemology)
>>>>
>>>> 1:57:10 - Final two questions (adult-development &
>>>> advice for problem-designers)
>>>>
>>>> 2:06:20 - Complex vs. complicated (and
>>>> self-regulation and distance learning)
>>>>
>>>> 2:09:46 - An idea for lunch (as promised:
>>>> https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://tiny.cc/bvqpsz__;!!Mih3wA!T2IDTz6It4OIif-spsQdY7_CzubvEkE88dGcEmSRsPhg_U3cUrRLFakl8SrSgM-X5fzDjQ$
>>>> <https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://tiny.cc/bvqpsz__;!!Mih3wA!S33cTVIkU7U9v9FUG591iGWUqwJtBKNyXVcYA2nA_QKFGGvaUmFJKVsQ-Ah85IMu2Pv5mA$>)
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> References:
>>>>
>>>> https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://tiny.cc/5vqpsz__;!!Mih3wA!T2IDTz6It4OIif-spsQdY7_CzubvEkE88dGcEmSRsPhg_U3cUrRLFakl8SrSgM-I1b9lfg$
>>>> <https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://tiny.cc/5vqpsz__;!!Mih3wA!S33cTVIkU7U9v9FUG591iGWUqwJtBKNyXVcYA2nA_QKFGGvaUmFJKVsQ-Ah85INPU-JiCw$>
>>>> - "A Study of Active Orientation" (brief
>>>> introduction)
>>>>
>>>> https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://tiny.cc/2xqpsz__;!!Mih3wA!T2IDTz6It4OIif-spsQdY7_CzubvEkE88dGcEmSRsPhg_U3cUrRLFakl8SrSgM-jLRhqFQ$
>>>> <https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://tiny.cc/2xqpsz__;!!Mih3wA!S33cTVIkU7U9v9FUG591iGWUqwJtBKNyXVcYA2nA_QKFGGvaUmFJKVsQ-Ah85IPBkikkbw$>
>>>> - "TRIZ: a Powerful Methodology for Creative
>>>> Problem Solving"
>>>>
>>>> https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://tiny.cc/dxqpsz__;!!Mih3wA!T2IDTz6It4OIif-spsQdY7_CzubvEkE88dGcEmSRsPhg_U3cUrRLFakl8SrSgM9Zj8mN6w$
>>>> <https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://tiny.cc/dxqpsz__;!!Mih3wA!S33cTVIkU7U9v9FUG591iGWUqwJtBKNyXVcYA2nA_QKFGGvaUmFJKVsQ-Ah85IOUymWXPg$>
>>>> - "Going with the Flow: How to Engage Boys (and
>>>> Girls) in Their Literacy Learning"
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>
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