Merje, Harry, Dale--
Thanks to you all for your comments today (at least, today my time zone!).
Merje reinforced my discomfort with talking about an individual's activity
(which I think Leontiev does) because it seems to belie the historical,
already-thereness of activities that Yrjo emphasizes. But Harry's take
on the individual/collective dynamic mediated by different perspectives/
postions in discourse seems to provide a toehold on the topic that might
help to stabilize it for me, just a little. As Dale summarized the point,
Attention to the discursive "phase
shift" between individual conceptualizations and the "social
consensus" that guides the activity is a very useful way to understand
the shifting, multifaceted nature of the object.
The idea of a "potential object" seems odd, Merje. In so far as objects
are "just beyond the horizon" aren't they always, necessarily, potential?
Anyway, that set of notes was sure worth the price of admissions!
mike
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