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Re: [xmca] Vygotsky's Plural Discourse!!



Dear all,

I'd like to start the discussion on Jussi's paper by a couple of words on the heuristic Jussi uses, namely Althusser's idea of 'epistemological breaks' in making a new science. Jussi is using the idea as Foucault used it in Arhaeology of Knowledge - by tracing the epistemic contradictions and transformations in the development of science.

'New scinece starts with concepts borrowed from the old theories, and because of this the demarcation line between the old and the new science is within the new theory'.

Jussi asks firstly: how does the transition to a non-classical or 'organic psychology' really occur in Vygostky's thinking. As far as I understand, this type of developmental analysis has only been possible for a relatively short time for the non-russian speakers after the collected works appeared in English.

Jussi identifies three phases: A socio behaviourist phase of young Vygotsky, the founding phase of cultural historical psychology and the late Vygotsky's work. I think one of the key contributions of the paper is how Jussi relates these phases to the 'current disputes about the continuity or discontinuity between key figures in the Vygotsky school.'

In this note I will not go further into Jussi's actual argument on how the contradictions and transformations occurred in Vygotsky's thinking - I hope others will soon pick up the thread regarding those - but rather I'd like to connect to a personal experience from last week: I went to listed to Uffe Juul Jensen speak at the Unversity of Helsinki on 'Do we need a new philosophy of medicine?'. Uffe started out with a self reflective account on how where he grew up and studied, and the shifting intellectual currents around him formed who he was and is as a person, and how this is connected with how his thinking has evolved. This account reminded me very much of Jean Lave's wonderful autobiographical/intellectual history speech at ISCAR (in Seth's session where Jean, Uffe and Ray McDermott all gave a talk).

As I read Jussi's paper I realized that the heuristic discontinuous change he is using is somehow related to this particular type of scholarly (self) reflexivity that is very powerful and liberating. I don't really know yet what to make of it, but I recognize it as something of vital importance.

best, Jonna



Quoting "Mike Cole" <lchcmike@gmail.com>:

Go to http://www.lchc.ucsd.edu/MCA/Paper/index.html
and read all about it! Jussi's new paper proposed for
discussion is now posted.
mike
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