The problem of the method of cultural-historical psychology

1330

Abstract

The author analyzes the multifaceted, contradictory and often tragic fate of cultural-historical psychology, the theory of V.V. Davydov, the history of the Psychological Institute of the RAE; the origial theories of the followers of L.S. Vygotsky are outlined. Considering the foundations of the works by Vygotsky, his disciples and followers, the author formulated the core question: how the exclusively subjective motivation of all the voluntary and goal-oriented activity of human beings becomes possible? The postulate of psychological theory, according to Mikhaylov, is as follows: all the bodily procedures ensuring the continuation of human life are motivated by voluntary goal-setting; but anyway they continue being bodily procedures per se, included into the circulation of substances, dependant upon common colds and bad habits. The subjective motivation of life activity of all species and sub-species of animals upon this Earth is nothing but objective self-determination of life as natural phenomenon. In science the common measures of meaning, of being able to think Being for theoretical awareness of subjective motivation of living being define the logic of development of psychological theory. This source must preserve itself in definitions of each step of theoretical meaning-making of intersubjective speech field, within which human being masters and appropriates the aptitude to motivate all his life actions subjectively. The unit of such aptitude is not a particular abstraction, such as inter-transitions of real forms into ideal forms and back again, but the tidings – the act of addressing others and oneself as other-in-oneself. The speech tools of addressing are reconsidered each time they are creatively transformed according to the goal, that’s why human being becomes the creator of linguistic forms, even the simplest ones, which may seem cliche. And this is not philosophy, deceiving, trying to insert itself instead of psychological investigation of the beginnings of the soul, this is the most profound psychology in its fundamental theoretical explanation.

General Information

Keywords: cultural-historical theory, learning activity, subject matter of psychology, subjectivity, embodiment

Journal rubric: Theory and Methodology

Article type: scientific article

For citation: Mikhailov F.T. The problem of the method of cultural-historical psychology. Kul'turno-istoricheskaya psikhologiya = Cultural-Historical Psychology, 2005. Vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 30–46. (In Russ., аbstr. in Engl.)

References

  1. Bibihin V.V. Yazyk filosofii. M., 1993.
  2. Kant I. Soch:V 6 t. T. 3. M., 1964.
  3. Mikhailov F.T. Samoopredelenie kul’tury. M., 2003.
  4. Mikhailov F.T. Nemota mysli // Voprosy filosofii. 2005. № 2.
  5. Mikhailov F.T. Proshai, filosofiya! // Epistemologiya i filosofiya nauki. 2005. № 2.
  6. El’konin D.B. Vvedenie v psihologiyu razvitiya. (V tradicii kul’turno-istoricheskoi teorii L.S. Vygotskogo). M., 1994.

Information About the Authors

Felix T. Mikhailov, Doctor of Philosophy, full member (academician) of RAE, professor of the psychology department, Lomonosov Moscow State University, The head of the philosophy and culturology department of the Moscow State Medical University, professor, full member of the Russian Academy of Education, chief researcher at the Institute of Philosophy of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia

Metrics

Views

Total: 5386
Previous month: 27
Current month: 3

Downloads

Total: 1330
Previous month: 0
Current month: 0