The Problem of Development in CulturalHistorical Psychology: From Activity to Consciousness

The paper compares two views on the development of higher mental functions that coexist in Russian psychology. One of them places activity at the core of the whole theoretical construction, the other places consciousness. Although both views can be found in the works of Lev Vygotsky, it was the activity approach that turned out to be the most elaborated, leaving consciousness somewhere out in the shadows and stripping it of its own ontological status. In this paper we make an attempt to restore this status and bring the experience of consciousness to the front while making activity serve as its background. This creates the opportunity not only to explore the mechanisms of child development in the process of the acquisition of culture, but also to understand the mechanisms of self-development in adults. This context enables us to find much in common between such different (as they might initially appear) concepts like those of Vygotsky and Jung. In our opinion, contemporary psychology of personality is currently evolving in this direction as well. Finally, we conclude that the academic potential of Vygotsky's concept remains very high indeed, as it creates the zone of proximal development for the whole modern psychology.

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