[xmca] Intravolutions and Representations

[Larry Purss <lpscholar2@gmail.com>]

Sandra J's book "Knowledge in Context: Representations, Community, and
Culture" is a well crafted analysis of the notion of representation as a
concept.

She takes an historical and developmental perspective towards representation
rather than  turn away from this concept. Her book is an attempt to analyize
the intravolution or turn inward in our notions of representations and her
attempt is to reclaim representation as a central notion to reflect on.

Sandra locates the intravolutionary movement of interiorizing
representation as an historical phenomenom that happened historically at the
time of Descartes. His philosophy is representative of this historical move
to interiorize thinking.  Charles Taylor, in "sources of the self"  is a
resource Sandra uses to explore this historical time periord when the
representational world [and worldview] was forming and being constructed.
[produced?]

In the 19th and 20th century this intravolution was consolidated and became
crystallized in the cognitive intravolution when the concept of
representation was BIASED towards the interiorization of the "epistemic
function" of knowlege construction.  In this intravolutionary move two other
central functions of reresentations were moved into the shadows as the
epistemic function was privileged. The two other functions of representation
[as an historical phenomenon]  are the "dialogical function" and the
"expressive function"  which Sandra's book is trying to illuminate by
returning to the social dimension of representations and reflecting
on why Eurocentric notions of representation positioned representation
as an intravolutionary movement.  Taylor points out that it was this move
inward that produced a new kind of person the "expressive" self.

She questions the "postmodern" attempt to deny the "reality" of
representations by such authors as Rorty.  Instead, she looks to authors
such as Vygotsky, Mead, Moscovici, and Winnicott as authors who have engaged
with Descartes intravolutionary move of interiorizing representation as they
reTURNED to the social dimension of representation as a microgenetic,
ontogenetic, and sociogenetic phenomenon.

Sandra makes clear that the notion of representations is a HISTORICAL
phenomenon and does not exist outside of history.  BUT because of European
history and the development of the concept of representations, the
intravolution of representations became the "ideal model" with which we
MEDIATED our constuctions of "self"  subjectively, intersubjectively, and
objectively.

Sandra's position on representation is that it is a mistake to do away with
the concept because of its historical intravolution. I will end with a
direct quote from Sandra.

"Representations are constructive ACTS OF ENGAGEMENT. A mode of relating to
the world outside. It is in the social and developmental psychology of self
and other RELATIONS that puts back [returns?] into representational
processes the DIALOGICAL and EXPRESSIVE functions that are, as much as the
epistemic function intrinsic to SYMBOLIC FORMS."  I am reading this book on
a kindle ebook so cannot give the page reference.]

I know there has been a move to represent "representations" as "affordances"
in order to escape the intravolutionary historical move.  From Sandra's
perspective we should continue to engage with the concept of representation
because she suggests it is a central concept in our historical time.  We
moderns are immersed within representational space and to understand the
complexity of that historically constructed space we should continue to
ENGAGE the concept of representation as epistemic, dialogical and
expressive. The move to interiorize the epistemic function and move the
dialogical and expressive functions into the shadows is an insight that
should continue to be engaged.  From Sandra's perspective, we moderns cannot
escape representational concepts  as a model of the world. Howevr we can
question the model as "ideal".
 Vygotsky, Mead, Moscovici, and others,from Sandra's perspective,  are
"talking back" to Descartes intravolutionary move and in that spirit Sandra
is engaging the concept of representations.

Larry
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