I do not believe that you lose the fruitful layers of analysis
that you talk about when you maintain activity within the individual.
I think you do have to reconceptualize them a bit. I'm sorry,
I either wasn't on the network, or was doing something else and my
mind wasn't on it when the goal discussion occurred. Right now
I can't see the necessity is separating activity from action
in the way that is proposed...maybe somebody can summarize that
issue.
I do think you lose some important things when you separate activity
and action. First, how would you account for self-determination,
especially concerning issues involving morality and political
ideologies. Are we willing to say that this is completely
socially determined, and that in order to change we must wait
for natural evolutionary progression. It is possible to make this
argument, but then what does it say about revolution, and the
ability of the individual to control his or her own activity
through education, which I believe was an important issue
for both Vygotsky and Leontiev. If we give that up, we are straying
rather far from the social historical paradigm(s), and realtively
close to social dterminism.
Michael Glassman
University of Houston