Vygotsky's scientific psychology: Terra incognita

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Abstract

This article presents a brief overview of the developments in Marxist psychology and its achievement over the past first Marx's century (1883—1983) and then preview how Marxist psychology looks like in the second Marx's century (1983—2083). Marxist psychology of the second Marx's century will shape the ontological, epistemological, theoretical, and methodological outlook of psychological studies. Marx research investigations guide the scope of our theoretical and empirical scientific activities and lead to the conclusion that human higher mental functions are rooted in Marx's four levels of the organization of production that regulate and organize all forms of human life including human higher mental functions. Marx's archives possessed a wealth of fragmented psychological ideas and concepts. This article concludes with the idea that, the second century Marx will be more productive and for the first time we are perhaps nearer to a Marxist psychology than ever. This view is essentially possible if it has an important market and an influence in the United States. Here I join Marx's conclusion that the real change for a better world will begin in the United States, this change will shape the world. In the last three decades, Vygotsky was re-discovered and promoted by North American psychologists, and his ideas spread around the world including Russia.

General Information

Keywords: Vygotsky, Scientific psychology, Dialectics, Concrete reality, Social relations, Praxis, Consciousness, Totality, Crisis of psychology

Journal rubric: Vygotskology

Article type: scientific article

For citation: Elhammoumi M. Vygotsky's scientific psychology: Terra incognita. Kul'turno-istoricheskaya psikhologiya = Cultural-Historical Psychology, 2009. Vol. 5, no. 3, pp. 49–54. (In Russ., аbstr. in Engl.)

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Information About the Authors

Mohamed Elhammoumi, Associate professor department of Psychology, College of Social Sciences, University Of Imam Muhammad Bin Saud Riyadh, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

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