The Theory of L.I. Bozhovich: Personality, Mind, Individuality

The paper focuses on some aspects of L.I. Bozhovich’s theory with respect to the modern context and the context of 1970s, for instance, on her thoughts regarding the correlation between mental and personality development, between an individual and personality. The issue of the relation between natural and higher mental functions and personality is also important, especially due to a growing interest in neuroscience. The paper discusses Bozhovich’s views on the theory of activity and her disagreement with several key postulates of A.N. Leontiev, as well as with certain theses of the theory and practice of developmental learning (at least in the form it was back then, in her time). Also, the paper addresses the problem of will, a book on which L.I. Bozhovich left unfinished. I present my own views on the relationship between will and self-regulation in the context of Bozhovich’s theory and set forth a hypothesis on the different sources and developmental patterns of will and self-regulation.

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