Re: [xmca] social memory

Ed:

You are a stitch. Write more and be, just be. Unless of course, you are
too busy wasing.

eric

      To: "eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity" <xmca@weber.ucsd.edu>
      cc:
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      Subject: Re: [xmca] social memory
Ed Wall <ewall@umich.edu>
Sent by: xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu
01/01/2008 01:01 AM EST
Please respond to "eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity" <font
size=-1></font>

Michael

Thanks for this. Let me do some tasting. I
hope you don't mind if I use my brand of ketchup
:-) .

Okay all of this seems to be in response to a
question I asked Paul (and, by the way, Paul I am
fine if you remember me as somehow looking over
your shoulder :-) ). So let me try to get a very
simplistic grip on the phenomena. Paul and I were
in conversation. Due to some words he had
written, I had responded in writing. Due to the
words in my response, you had responded to my
writing. And so forth. Given all this Vygotsky is
clearly wrong. Neither the word or the deed is in
the beginning. As James says it is turtles all
the way down.
Hmmm. Let me make a hermeneutic move. Perhaps
I have misinterpreted all this. You quote
Vygotsky as saying "In the beginning was the
deed." This may be a purposeful 'misquote' of
John's

I. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word
was with God, and the Word was God. [2] The same
was in the beginning with God. [3] All thus were
made through him. Without him was not anything
made that has been made.

So perhaps a place to start is a taking seriously
of this 'misquoting' by better understanding the
original. Beginning in the English, Word seems to
designate a 'him' on which, in a sense, the very
existence of the world rests and a 'him' that is
different from God, but so close to be God. In a
sense, thinking about some things David Kellog
has written (thanks David), perhaps the ultimate,
in a sense, interaction. How does this reading
stand up in the Greek (please note, for me, a
reading and a translation are, in a sense,
different). The first sentence is "En archê ên ho
logos, kai ho logos ên pros ton theon, kai theos
ên ho logos" which roughly reads 'From the very
first was the Wisdom-in-action of God?.'
So, perhaps, Vygotsky has nicely made the point
here-contrary to the usual translation-that it is
not that the word-as-rules (I am using David's
wording here) is first. I would like to think
that he might say that it is also not
action-as-rules that is first, but the
word-as-action (David's interaction seems, in a
sense, to work here. Notice I have interchanged
wisdom or word; however, I mean wisdom). This
seems to fit into how I often read Vygotsky (and,
for me, reading and quoting are, in a sense,
different).
This seems to begin to address the phenomena a
bit better. My words to Paul aren't (pause here
and take a breath) without my action with the
send key. Pressing the send key without any words
doesn't solve the problem. Somehow word-as-action
creates the interaction. However, l disagree with
both Vygotsky and myself as I make yet another
hermeneutic move. I'll put it this way, 'In the
beginning was.' Being in the world, existing in
the world - wasing - is the beginning of
development. Action and words seem to be
derivative. Seems trivial doesn't it? Don't
believe it. Of course, I could be wrong (and
that's another hermeneutical move :-) ).
What would Vygotsky say to all this. I like to
think he would say, 'Interesting point. Have you
thought about ..?' However, such speculations
are, of course. not quoting. On the other hand, I
am rather sure he would say, "Writing this stuff
on New Year's Eve? Get a life."

Ed

>Hi Ed,
>here is what Vygotsky (1986, p. 255) says:
>
>"In the beginning was the deed. The words was
>not the beginning-action was there first; it is
>the end of development, crowning the deed."
>
>Just some "food for thought."
>
>Michael
>
>
>On 30-Dec-07, at 12:52 PM, Ed Wall wrote:
>
>Michael
>
> Do you mean the correct order is: "Thank you
>in advance", why do people write? :-)
>
>Ed
>
>>On 30-Dec-07, at 12:21 PM, Ed Wall wrote:
>>
>>A general question for you: Why do people write "Thank you in advance."?
>>
>>
>>Ed,
>>you are reversing the question of praxis and
>>theory, the former generally emerging prior to
>>the latter. We may do things to achieve
>>purposes, and then find reasons for doing them.
>>Or this is how Marx saw it.
>>Cheers,
>>Michael
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Received on Tue Jan 1 07:56 PST 2008