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Re: [xmca] concepts
Mike asks the following question:
"LSV and Luria insisted that words were generalizations. How is that
idea of generalization related to the idea of a concept?"
Here are some selections from T&S that provide some starting places
toward grappling with how Vygotsky approached this question.
***************
Vol 1 p 47-49 (in Ch 1) Vygotsky describes what he means by
"generalization". Some selections:
"The word does not relate to a single object, but to an **entire group
or class of objects.** Therefore, every word is a concealed
**generalization**."
" ... just as social interaction is impossible without signs, it is
also impossible without meaning. To communicate an experience or some
other content of consciousness to another person, it must be related
to a class or group of phenomena. As we have pointed out, this
requires **generalization**. "
" ... true understanding and communication occur only when I am able
to generalize and name what I am experiencing, only when I am able to
relate my experience to a specific class of experiences that are known
to my partner."
Vol 1 p 224-229 (in Ch 6.6) Vygotsky analyzes the relationships
between concepts and how different kinds of concepts employ different
kinds of generalization. Some selections:
"There is no question that any concept is a generalization."
"With subsequent stages of concept development, relationships of
generality begin to be formed. With each level of development, we
find a unique system of relationships."
"We have long searched for a reliable way to identify the structures
of generalization that characterize the meanings of the child's actual
words, for a bridge that would allow us to move from the study of
experimental concepts to the analysis of actual concepts. By
establishing this connection **between the structure of generalization
and relationships of generality** we have found the key to this
critical problem. By studying a concept's relationships of
generality, by studying its measure of generality, we obtain the most
reliable index of the structure of generalization of actual concepts."
Vygotsky classified structures of generalization into four types:
syncretic concepts, complexes, preconcepts, and true concepts. He
examines essential ways that they differ. In each kind of structure
there are different:
" ... characteristics that are a function of the nature of the
concept: (1) there is a different relationship to the object and to
the meaning of the word; (2) there are different relationships of
generality; and (3) there is a different set of possible operations."
Vol 1 p 244-245 (in Ch 7.1) Vygotsky is analyzing thinking and offers
one of the main conclusions of the book, which applies to both the
idea of generalization and the idea of the concept. Two selections:
"In psychological terms ... word meaning is nothing other than a
generalization, that is, a concept. In essence, generalization and
word meaning are synonyms. Any generalization -- any formation of a
concept -- is unquestionably a specific and true act of thought."
"The discovery that word meaning changes and develops is our new and
fundamental contribution to the theory of thinking and speech. It is
our major discovery, a discovery that has allowed us to overcome the
postulate of constancy and unchangeableness of word meaning which has
provided the foundation for previous theories of thinking and speech."
**************
Some places to start.
- Steve
On Apr 11, 2011, at 3:07 PM, mike cole wrote:
Martin and other conceptual knowers. LSV and Luria insisted that
words were
generalizations. How is that idea of generalization related to the
idea of a
concept?
A con-cept. With-cept? I have no conception!
mike
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