Dot, some questions.
Do you think that the CHAT tradition has tended towards a
too-narrow focus on the rational as opposed to the
irrational? If so, how can we explain this?
What do you mean by "other lines of development" in
contrast to "subjectivity"?
In Ch 13 of "Historical Crisis etc", Vygotsky says that
the unconscious should not be treated as a
"thing-in-itself" [I paraphrase awfully] but as part of a
process of movement into/out of consciousness, partial
consciousness, etc. Do you agree with this?
Andy
At 07:45 PM 28/11/2005 -0800, you wrote:
Dear Friends,
When viewing subjectivity, or also conscious processes, we tend to
intellectualize these concepts as being totally rational, and they
are not. When viewing subjectivity, I believe that we simply must
return to an understanding of “sense,” another term deeply
rooted in the individual, personal, which appears to be
autonomous…in other words, “sense” must be connected to the
social. However, “sense” contains emotions, which can bring us
back to the irrational, the unconscious. Surely, there is not one
level of subjectivity, and discussions of subjectivity cannot be
linear and symmetrical. Lacan is most instructive at this point in
many ways, by claiming that the subject (which is represented for
him by the je/moi) is not unified in consciousness (it must include
the unconscious). My understanding of subjectivity cannot be
divided from the inclusion of Vygotskian “concept” building,
along with thoughts on sense and inner speech. My perception of
subjectivity is that it is understood as a modus operandi used for
personal/social/societal transformation (for good or bad)…..it is
a vehicle that drives us to continue developing, to make choices,
and it is not a single entity that can be understood without
context. I truly believe that subjectivity is a living and delicate
function that can never be understood through the intellect alone,
and cannot be divided from other lines of development. And, I
firmly believe that we need to return to areas such as “will”
“freedom”…..which of course are relative terms, never
absolute. We can= not divide discussions of subjectivity from
thoughts on consciousness/the unconscious, and I believe that
Vygotsky’s language theories are most relevant to such
discussions. My thinking has entered the discipline of Holography,
which speaks of a new reality that is truly very different from
three-dimensional thinking, but something that is being proven.
Subjectivity, for me, is not something I can describe in words (and
when I try I am drawn back to sense, inner speech, consciousness,
etc.). I can feel an intuitive truth in Holography as a model, but
I cannot prove it in three-dimensional thinking. It is the same
with subjectivity….. for me, it is a living phenomena that
connects me to the world, to others, to myself, and it is dynamic,
fluid, a trajectory where growth and transformation can occur…it
is more like art and poetry and a larger faith in bigger
things….it is potential, and it is not analytic per se. However,
it can be better understood through “concept formation” and
“word meaning,” etc. Vygotsky stated “Psychologically, the
development= of concepts and the development of word meaning are
one and the same process.” My understanding of subjectivity
returns to areas such as “image” “prolepsis,”
“transformation.” Peter M. stated part of t= his belief in a
beautiful way: “So, it is an individual’s ‘subjective imag e’ of ‘how to act in the new situation’ that drives forward
the socially-shared body of knowledge. If we think of the
‘concept' not as the existing body of knowledge but as a kind of
vector along which that knowledge increases then the concept is
intimately tied to individuals’ subjective ways of acting. But
it’s a subjective suggestion for action that is socially
(intersubjectively?) evaluated.”
Subjectivity for me is a type of magical zone of the
transformation of the ideal. All in all, I believe that we need to
go back and read Vygotsky (maybe include Lacan) for some clues on
subjectivity.
Dot
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