Re: SIGN VS TOOL
Charles Bazerman (bazerman who-is-at humanitas.ucsb.edu)
Fri, 6 Feb 1998 11:52:09 -0800 (PST)
Nate, your professor's definitions may come directly from Chapter 4 of
LSV's MIND IN SOCIETY, "Internalization of Higher Psychological
functions." In a recent class discussion, a number of us came to the
conclusion that because of his interest in internalization and language as
a medium of self-regulation, Vygotsky at least here seems to have
forgotten about the communicative, cooperative, persuasive, rhetorical
work of language and other sign systems--which thus do external work.
Further we also concluded that physical, externallly oriented
tools can also serve internal, self-regulative cognitive functions, as the
physical feel of a motor and a car on the road (Bateson's blind man with a
stick again) can be integrated into our internal processing, and even
mental recreation of sensory experience can act as thought, such as the
diver's mental rehearsal before stepping off the board. People who shovel
coal see a mound of coal as a number of shovels full. and thus can
estimate the amount of time to clear the pile.
By extension, when we see our mental activity as accomplishing a
kind of work (coming up with a plan to move our goods from one place to
another, coming up with an estimate of rain flow dow our hill--a timely
Southern California activity today--to decide whether we need
to make that move, etc.) those signs and symbols by which we accomplish
these plans and estimations plausibly seem tools.
Chuck
On Fri, 6 Feb 1998, nate wrote:
> Recently I was sitting in a class and the professor gave this definition for
> a sign and tool from Vygotsky's perspective.
>
> tool: externally oriented (physical envirement)
> sign: regulate conduct and master ourselves (letters, numbers)
>
> The professor appeared to define the two as a tool is external and a sign is
> internal. The professor mentioned a tool as being something in your
> physical envirement, but we often talk about psychological tools as with
> "tools of the mind". Any comments or examples on the difference between a
> sign and a tool?
>
>
>