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

Thanks for the clarification, Michael. Always interesting metaphors
used by the folks here. I do empathise with you and the finalisation
of your thesis, as that's where I'm at this year: I feel that some
concepts and personalised metaphors become very precious to me! I have
found Baldwin's differentiation between simple and persistent
imitation to be helpful in thinking about internalisation vis-a-vis
language learning. I fear I'm straying from Mike's original intent
here but will end with another quote from Baldwin that gives more food
for thought:

Imitation to the intelligent and earnest imitator is never slavish,
never mere repetition; it is, on the contrary, a means for further
ends, a method of absorbing what is present in others and of making it
over in forms peculiar to one’s own temper and valuable to one’s own
genius. {Baldwin 1906} p. 22

Cheers,

Phil

On 30/03/2008, at 12:58 PM, Michael G. Levykh wrote:
> Phil,
>
> Just a quick clarification: after re-reading my posted email, I
> realized
> that the word "dissonant" could be interpreted as negative. In music,
> dissonance reflects tension and culmination which needs to be
> resolved.
> Hence, "dissonant chord" should be read as motivational chord.
>
> Cheers,
> Michael.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu [mailto:xmca-
> bounces@weber.ucsd.edu] On
> Behalf Of Michael G. Levykh
> Sent: Saturday, March 29, 2008 5:53 PM
> To: 'eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity'
> Subject: 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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Received on Sat Mar 29 23:41 PDT 2008