Re: [xmca] Concerning the origins of Pointing

[Andy Blunden <ablunden@mira.net>]

Thanks for that Mike. Ask a question on this list and the 
answer is not long in coming. A case of joint attention I guess.

As I understand this excerpt, the idea of pointing growing 
out of attempted grasping in ontogenetic development is 
ruled out, but the "precision grasping" movement with thumb 
and forefinger and the pointing gesture with thumb *not* 
opposing the forefinger are co-evolved reflexes (?) and the 
discovery is pushed back from Vygotsky and Dewey to Darwin 
(sort of). And co-attention (gaze-following) precedes 
pointing at distant objects.

All of which points to the communicative functions 
developing ontogenetically in advance of I->object 
functions. Is that right? And we should take the 
grasping-then-pointing idea really just as part of our history.

thanks Mike.
you work too hard!

Andy

Mike Cole wrote:
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> _______________________________________________
> xmca mailing list
> xmca@weber.ucsd.edu
> http://dss.ucsd.edu/mailman/listinfo/xmca

--
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Andy Blunden (Erythrós Press and Media) 
http://www.erythrospress.com/
Orders: http://www.erythrospress.com/store/main.html#books

_______________________________________________
xmca mailing list
xmca@weber.ucsd.edu
http://dss.ucsd.edu/mailman/listinfo/xmca