RE: [xmca] Vygotsky on Imagination and Creativity [and imitation]

Yes, Phil. Thank you for the quotation and the webpage.

It does strike a few dissonant chords; particularly, in suggesting that
emotions cannot be "approached" directly. In this case, imitation becomes an
appropriate mediator. But there is more than imitation. Here, there is an
interaction with others who also carry their own emotional experiences. So
it is, as I speculate, not only through understanding others that we
understand ourselves, but also through the emotional experiences
(perezhivaniye) of others do we also understand (and appreciate) our own
perezhivaniye. I can also imagine that we would not normally engage into
imitation of other people unless we feel somehow "connected directly with/to
them and/or with a common activity/goal. Hence, emotional connection is "the
beginning and the end, the alpha and omega, etc."

Forgive me for my own spin of inferences, but as I am finalizing my thesis,
there are so many different aspects of learning, teaching, developing, and
living that come together (in my understanding) through emotional mediation.

Thank you, Phil.
Cheers,
Michael.

-----Original Message-----
From: xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu [mailto:xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu] On
Behalf Of Phil Chappell
Sent: Saturday, March 29, 2008 5:31 PM
To: eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity
Subject: Re: [xmca] Vygotsky on Imagination and Creativity [and imitation]

I can't help but chime in on your comments and questions, Michael, as
I am at the moment re-reading Baldwin on conscious imitation, where he
proposes, as LSV hints at in the early part of the paper being
discussed here, imitation being the genesis of "consciousness of
emotion". I have been working on how Baldwin's writings on imitation
can help explain internalisation in a more elaborate way, and your
question "How exactly can emotional integration also be generalized
into adult education and (hopefully) development? I need to read more
to attempt answering this question." struck a chord - (excuse the
excessive quoting here) Baldwin writes:

(324)
Further, this process of taking in elements from the social world by
imitation and giving them out again by a reverse process of invention
(for such the sequel proves invention to be: the modified way in which
I put things together in reading the elements which I get from nature
and other men, back into nature and other men again) -- this process
never stops. We never outgrow imitation, nor our social obligation to
it. Our sense of self is constantly growing richer and fuller as we
understand others better, -- as we get into social co-operation with
them, -- and our understanding of them is in turn enriched by the
additions which our own private experience makes to the lessons which
we learn from them. These and other aspects of social emotion, which
come to mind in connection with this suggestive topic, are reserved.
[10]

If this strikes a chord back at you, you can read more at the
following link.

http://www.brocku.ca/MeadProject/Baldwin/Baldwin_1906/Baldwin_1906_11.html

Cheers,

Phil

On 30/03/2008, at 10:34 AM, Michael G. Levykh wrote:
> Thank you, Mike, for asking this question. It has been a while
> since I read
> this work, but because of your question, as I now skim through the
> text,
> Vygotsky's quoting Pistrak, come to mind as being an extremely
> relevant to
> my interests:
>
>
>
> "It is not so much that artistic education provides knowledge or
> skills, but
> rather it gives a tone to life or, perhaps, it would be more
> accurate to
> say-a background for living. The convictions that we may inculcate
> in school
> through knowledge, only grow roots in the child's psyche when these
> convictions are reinforced emotionally" (p. 55).
>
>
>
> For me, the emotional reinforcement is an equivalent to (a)
> internalization
> (ingrowing, vraschivaniye) and (b) integration of emotions into the
> entire
> psychological structure (fusing with every higher mental function and
> system). Although in this particular quotation Pistrak talks about
> artistic
> education, there is a sense that his thought is generalized across
> curriculum so as to make every subject (even every lesson in every
> subject)
> artistic, imaginative; that is, to reinforce with (in my
> understanding)
> positive emotional experience. The result is the child's feeling the
> "ownership" of possessing and acting upon such knowledge.
>
>
>
> How exactly can emotional integration also be generalized into adult
> education and (hopefully) development? I need to read more to attempt
> answering this question.
>
>
>
> Cheers,
>
> Michael.
>
>
>
> _____
>
> From: Mike Cole [mailto:lchcmike@gmail.com]
> Sent: Saturday, March 29, 2008 3:17 PM
> To: Michael G. Levykh
> Cc: eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity
> Subject: Re: [xmca] Vygotsky on Imagination and Creativity
>
>
>
> Thanks Michael.
> What are your thoughts about this essay/monograph?
> mike
>
> On Sat, Mar 29, 2008 at 11:55 AM, Michael G. Levykh <mglevykh@telus.net
> >
> wrote:
>
> Please, find attached a PDF file you requested.
> Cheers,
> Michael.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu [mailto:xmca-
> bounces@weber.ucsd.edu] On
> Behalf Of Mike Cole
> Sent: Saturday, March 29, 2008 6:40 AM
> To: eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity
> Subject: [xmca] Vygotsky on Imagination and Creativity
>
> One of the interesting sessions I attended was the workshop hosted
> by Lois
> on Sunday. I used as my text the special issue of JREEP (J. Russian
> and
> East European Psych) devoted to
> his monograph "Imagination and creativity in childhood." I thought
> that
> this material was on xmca somewhere, but apparently it is not. If
> anyone has
> a pdf and would send it to me, I would
> post it for all. I found it simply packed with provocative and
> important
> ideas. Meantime, here is the ref.
>
> JREEP, January-Feb. 2004. Vol 42, no 1.(whole issue).
>
> mike
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>
>
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Received on Sat Mar 29 17:53 PDT 2008