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Re: [xmca] Polls are closed: Manfred Holodynsk's article is choice



As I hoped and believed, you and I are in agreement on this point, Helena. But "societal meaning" is a key concept in Manfred's version of Activity Theory. How do you understand "an activity" and its motive then?

Andy

Helena Worthen wrote:
Andy --

Actually, I'm not sure what "societal meaning" is, or even if it's not a
misuse of the post-fix (like prefix?) "-al" to make up a new word. But I
took it from the quote from Manfred.

"Meaning" -- sure, I can agree that meaning implies interpretation. Then
does "societal" mean "the meaning to a society" -- in the sense of what
role a bank plays in a society?  And I guess that in one sense that role
is established by regulations and laws.

Which are pretty contested right now in the US, right? I see they're
putting the heat on some top players in the financial industry these days.

Helena
On 3/30/13 4:30 PM, "Raquel Guzzo" <rguzzo@mpc.com.br> wrote:

Raquel S. L. Guzzo
Pos-Graduação em Psicologia
Centro de Ciências da Vida
Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Campinas

rguzzo@puc-campinas.edu.br
rguzzo@pq.cnpq.br
rguzzo@mpc.com.br

On 30 Mar 2013, at 20:21, Andy Blunden wrote:

So what can be meant by "societal meaning" then, Helena? Material
objects (such as the bank building, and the various human bodies
involved, and books and ledgers, coins, etc.) are "societal" in the
sense of being universal. But "meaning" implies to me an act of
"interpretation" of material objects, something particular. And if the
Politburo is not there to ascribe the one societal meaning to material
things/processes/events, what on Earth can "societal meaning" be?

Andy

Helena Worthen wrote:
...

Before this gets too long, I'll just say that I agree, there is no
omniscient observer to tell us what the "societal meaning" of something
is. In fact, if Manfred and I were standing in line at that bank where
this happened, it might be fun for us to compare our "personal sense"
of
what we saw.

Helena
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--
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Andy Blunden*
Home Page: http://home.mira.net/~andy/
Book: http://www.brill.nl/concepts
http://marxists.academia.edu/AndyBlunden

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