action/activity

Mike Cole (mcole who-is-at weber.ucsd.edu)
Wed, 3 Apr 1996 17:46:20 -0800 (PST)

Hi Keith-- I believe I understand the question you are asking when you
write:
Just to clarify/follow up on my original confusion: It's not simply
definitional, but my own observation that Soviet activity theory, based
as it is in a Marxist theoretical tradition, is in social theoretic circles
significantly opposed to "action theory" as personified by Weber. Mike,
could you clarify if the word "action" in Russian also has these
connotations, or is the debate you refer to a different debate?

Keith-- I hate to jump into such deep waters and I ask to be allowed
to defer to some of our xmca colleagues who have written and discussed
this problem in the Marx-Weber terms extensively. Don't let the issue
to away.

Some versions of these issues were discussed in the parallel seminar
that we ran here at LCHC with Yrjo's group in Helsinki on activity
and mediational theories of mind. I am looking into getting some of
the key messages and student paper writing on the LCHC web page, but
we are very short of help at a time when work is exploding around us
so it may be a while in coming.

You have picked up an informative symptom of a broad formation, but
getting it explained back to you in simple terms may not come easily!
mike
Thanks for replying!

Keith Sawyer
Department of Psychology
University of California, Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz, CA 95064