eva.ekeblad who-is-at ped.gu.se on 09/25/98 05:26:42 AM
To: xmca who-is-at weber.ucsd.edu@internet
cc: (bcc: David H Kirshner/dkirsh/LSU)
Subject: Re: Mind As Action, Chapt 2
>PS. David, why don't you re-post just the questions part of your long
>message on Ch2, since we were to occupied with units of analysis to
respond
>last week.
Thanks for you response, Eva.
Here's the "questions part" of the review of Chapter 2.
David Kirshner
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
In the section on internalization, Wertsch points out that the
exemplars used often are more significant in determining the
scope of a theory than the abstract formulations of the theory
itself. Taking this as method, we wonder if the scope of
Wertsch
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?s notion of mediated action extends to the full range of
phenomena indicated in his goal of accounting for how "mental
functioning is related to cultural, institutional, and historical
contexts" (p. 3). Mental functioning includes a broad range of
intrapsychic processes including musing, planning, emoting, etc.
But, consistent with his assumption of the _materiality_ of
mediational means, all of Wertsch?s examples concern actions
that are physically manifest: pole vaulting, solving multiplication
problems with paper and pencil algorithms, etc. It is not clear how
these analyses might extend to more private actions.
This problem is reflected in others of his assumptions.
Developmental paths are defined as historical: "The fourth claim
... is an elaboration of the general assertion that mediated action is
historically situated" (p. 34), and many of his examples concern
broad historical changes encompassing many individual agents.
But citing Vygotsky, he incorporates ontogenetic interpretations:
"Vygotsky?s genetic method was motivated by the assumption
that we can understand many aspects of mental functioning only
if we understand their origin and the transformations they have
undergone" (p. 34). Indeed, as he reports, Vygotsky himself
stumbled over defining the telos (end point) of development: "At
certain points in his writing, he was quite clear in positing a kind
of Enlightenment rationality as the ideal outcome of human
mental development, but at other points he seems to have
envisioned the ?harmony of imagination? as the ideal end point"
(p. 37). While Enlightenment rationality might be ambiguously
historical or individual, "harmony of imagination" seems
unambiguously intrapsychic. Thus we are left with an impression
of slippage, as intrapsychic processes are tacked on to a
framework mainly designed for analyses of public actions.
As discussed in the section on Transformations of Mediated
Action, the critical link between historical and psychological
processes is the "psychological tool" or sign, which "?alters the
entire flow and structure of mental functions ... just as a technical
tool alters the process of a natural adaptation by determining the
flow of labor operations?" (p. 43). As Wertsch frames it, one can
choose any one of a number of "?genetic domains? ...
phylogenesis, sociocultural history, ontogenesis, and
microgenesis" (p. 43) for one?s analysis: "One could have in mind
the transformations that occur in ontogenesis as children
encounter new cultural tools such as written texts and numeral systems.=
Alternatively, one could focus on the emergence and
influence of a new mediational means in sociocultural history
where forces of industrialization and technological development
come into play" (p. 43). With these concerns in mind, we look
forward to the subsequent chapters of the book to see if the
analogy of internal mental processes to external effects of
mediational means can be carried through in particular analyses.
David Kirshner with Bill Blanton
Louisiana State University Appalachian State Universit=
y
(504) 388-2332
dkirsh who-is-at lsu.edu
=
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