In the lead article of this issue, Vera John-Steiner writes about cognitive pluralism. She illustrates just a few of the many ways in which to mind and activity are constituted through mediating objects, considered as residues of prior mediated action. John-Steiner is concerned with a theory that subsumes macro and micro levels of analysis in a processual theory of how macro and micro are created in the course of human activity. We particularly want to point out the many sources of data that John-Steiner and her colleagues have drawn upon in developing the idea of cognitive pluralism; experimentation, diary studies, and not least a study of the history of words and activities are a part of John-Steiner's methodological tool kit.
In the first issue of Mind, Culture, and Activity (Vol. 1, Nos. 1-2, 1994), we published a symposium centered around an article by Arne Raiethel. In this issue, we continue the genre with a symposium on the work of Anselm Strauss, specially edited by Susan Leigh Star, herself a student of Anselm's.
Anselm Strauss's work is important for the readers of MCA for several reasons. Strauss is a follower of the pragmatist tradition of Dewey and Mead. His version of symbolic interactionism is above all an interactionist theory of action, systematically presented in the recent book Continual Permutations of Action (Strauss, 1993). This theory has striking similarities with Vygotsky's and Leont'ev's cultural-historical theory of activity. As Strauss's article points out: Because of the phenomenon of multiple actors, significant interaction is also developmentalÑit evolves over time, the consequences of previous phases often folding back into the next interaction as relevant conditions for it. ( . . . ) This is homologous with the sense in which previous actions become materially mediating objects in activity theory.
Strauss is a sociologist. His theory of action and his grounded theory methodology build conceptual bridges between the micro events of everyday life and the macro-sociological order. This endeavor is shared by the cultural-historical approach. Activity theory and other mediational theories of mind need to be more than psychological theories in the narrow sense of the word. In this regard, much can be learned from Anselm Strauss and the commentators of his work who write in the symposium.
References
Strauss, A. (1993). Continual permutations of action. Hawthorne: Aldine de
Gruyter.
In this paper, I refer to two notions which are basic to the theory of Cognitive Pluralism. First, there are multiple semiotic means. Language is a primary one, but it is not the only one. Second, semiotic means are based on cultural practices. In the theory of Cognitive Pluralism, as in other pluralistic theories, musical and mathematical notation systems, diagrams, maps, and other semiotic means are examined. The use of diverse cognitive approaches is illustrated by the accounts of experienced thinkers. I discuss analytical and analogue cognitive styles in mathematics in relation to historically shifting emphases in the discipline. The developmental and cultural implications of this theory are illustrated with analyses of narratives as they are retold by children. In closing, a contrast between Howard GardnerÕs theory of Multiple Intelligences and the theory of Cognitive Pluralism is presented. Correspondence regarding this article should be sent to
vygotsky@triton.unm.edu
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BOOK REVIEWS
Patricia M. Greenfield:
The Significance of Schooling: Life-Journeys in an African Society
by Robert Serpell
Robert Serpell:
Response to Patricia M. Greefield's Book Review
The Sociocultural Research Group, Michigan State University:
Artificial Experts: Social Knowledge and Intelligence Machines
by H. M. Collins