--- Bruce Robinson <bruce.rob@btinternet.com> wrote:
> but I would still like to come back to the discussion of eclecticism.
>
Me too. Here is what Kaptelinin writes, in contrast to Vygotsky it seems. But
then Kaptelinin can stand on the shoulders of Vygotsky and not the other way
around.
"One of the most important claims of activity theory is that the nature of any
artifact can be understood only within the context of human activity -- by
identifying the ways people use this artifact, the needs it serves, and the
history of its development. Activity theory itself is a special kind of
artifact...
Considering activity theory as a special kind of tool implies that accepting
this perspective does not exclude other approaches and does not reject the
usefulness of other conceptual schemes (because no tool, no matter how powerful
it is, can serve all needs and help to solve all problems). In particular,
activity theory does not reject the value of cognitive studies"
p 45 in Nardie's "context and consciousness"
To add my own half-baked thoughts to this, consider automotive tools. Does one
need to buy a complete set exclusively from sears or exclusively from snap-on.
No, that's not a good analogy, because they are both automotive tools, and
what we might be talking about might be the differences between plumbing tools
and, let's say, carpentry tools. These are tools to support substantially
different kinds of activity. Can one borrow from one for another? Well,
things like saws work in either situation, as do glues (different types, of
course, plastic and wood). Now its great that carpenters can frame walls, and
plumbers can put in pipes, and also electricians can connect wires, and they
can all do their separate things, with mostly specialized tools, but when it
comes to putting a house together, we need all three. And then the general
contractor has to speak the speak of all, to coordinate their work.
Granted, electricians use concepts of volts, current, and resistance that are
not very useful in carpentry and plumbing. The plumber uses concepts of
pressure, flow, and control valves. And the carpenter thinks in terms of
level, building loads, and geometry.
Where is this going? I don't know -- maybe leaving out the drywall gets one
plastered. Perhaps the core idea is the complexity of building a house, which
i think is in relation to the complexity of building a theory of human
conciousness and action.
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