With respect to the concept of mediation, Martin Packer was kind enough to send along the attached article by Bruno Latour on Moralilty and Technology. A key idea is that mediation cannot be reduced to instrumentalism. I think it could interestingly be put in dialogue with Miller. mike On Mon, Mar 5, 2012 at 7:18 PM, Larry Purss <lpscholar2@gmail.com> wrote: > Martin reminded me of the discussion on xmca [July 13 2011] when the book > "Vygotsky in Perspective" was discussed. > The aggressive tone and stance Ronald takes towards CHAT positions is > extremely rude and provocative. > > He attacks Mike, Wertsch, Anna Stetsenko, and others who explore Leontiev > and Luria as complementary to Vygotsky. Ronald labels these authors as > creating an "alternative" theory so removed from Vygotsky that they are no > longer true believers. > For this reason alone I was tempted to not read further. > > But I was curious from reflecting on "book collections" as material "media > objects" how the interplay of Ronald's perspective would engage Activity > theory. > > I was reading through the introduction on Google books and on page 17 > of Ronald's introduction I became intrigued by Roland's understanding of > mediation. He is offering a bipolar or "duplex" conception of subjectivity > in which of-ness [awareness] ANCHORS the present and consciousness MEDIATES > history and destiny. He argues that mediation is often associated with > DIRECT overt forms of instruction. Roland suggests a 2nd order of mediation > in which tools [as the products of human action] REFLECT [in their design > and structure] the conscious awareness of their makers. A 3rd level of > mediation is elaborated in the social structures CONSTITUTED by the > relations between people and the relations between people and their > products. > > So far so good. This is all straight forward but it was the the next > section of his argument I found interesting. > > Roland suggests mediation is the antithesis of "agency" MIS-understanding > is a KIND of understanding but the persons are UNAWARE that their > understandings are mis-perceived [and therefore cannot make the necessary > changes for understanding] Roland then states, > > "In order for mediation efforts to produce new understanding - it is > necessary to alter the way a person EXPERIENCES a situation by facilitating > new actions - including mental actions or ways of thinking that provide a > NEW FOCUS of conscious awareness. > > All forms of mediation operate according to the same fundamental > psychological principles that entail, > > MOMENTS OF SURRENDER and MOMENTS OF RECOVERY OF AGENCY > > as the PROCESS OF UNDERSTANDING UNFOLDS. > > It is this "dual" process of BOTH "leading" and "being lead" that I found > interesting as a reciprocal movement of both breathing in and breathing out > in mediational processes. Both agency and loosing agency. [Both "passive" > and "active"??] > What Ronald is exploring may be "common sense" to many others on this list > serve but I read this as a possible link to Gadamer's notion of all true > understanding as beginning with a willingness to be unsettled in the > dialogical process of not understanding [letting go of pre-judices] and > being open to the perspective of the other which opens a space for "fused > horizons" of understanding. Ronald, interpreting Vygotsky from his > perspective seems to be circling around similar themes of leading and being > lead. > > Ronald, though writing ABOUT this reciprocal process, obviously does not in > practice actualize this openness. How he dismisses others [especially > CHAT] in this book is proof of his prejudices but he may still have some > valid points to contribute from his close eading of Vygotsky. > > I hope its ok to return and pick up a previous thread from last July even > from an author without good manners:-)) > > Larry > __________________________________________ > _____ > xmca mailing list > xmca@weber.ucsd.edu > http://dss.ucsd.edu/mailman/listinfo/xmca >
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Latour 2002 Morality and Technology The End of th.pdf
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