vygotsky reader
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The Vygotsky ReaderTRANSCRIPT
The Vygotsky Reader
Edited by
Rene van der Veerand
Jaan Valsiner
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BLACKWELLOrJ-JUK & c../oriJp USA
Copyright © Basil Blackwell Ltd 1994
First published 1994
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British LibraryCataloguing in Publication Data
A OP catalogue record for thi s book is available from the British Library.
Libraryof Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Vygotskil, L. S. (Lev Semenovich), 1896-1934.
[Essays. Selections . English]
The Vygotsky reader I edited by Rene van der Veer and Jaan Valsiner.p. em .
Translated by Theresa Prout and Rene van der Veer.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-631-18896-7 (a1k. paper). - ISBN 0-631-18897-5 (pbk.: a1k. paper)
I. Veer, Rene van der , 195 2- . II . Valsiner, Jaan . III . Titl e.
BF109.V95A251 3 1994
150 - dc20 93-37353
elP
Typeset in 10 on 12 pt , Garamond 3
by Best-set Typesetter Ltd , Hong Kong
Printed in Great Britain by T.]. Press Ltd, Padstow, Cornwall
This book is printed on acid-free paper
Contents
Preface v
Introduction 1
1 Introduct ion ro the Russian translation of Freud 's Beyondthepleasure principleLev Vygotsky and Alexander Luria 10
2 Principles of social education for deaf and dumb childrenin RussiaLev Vygotsky 19
3 The methods of reflexological and psychological investigationLev Vygotsky 27
4 The problem of the cultural behaviour of the childAlexander Luria 46
5 The problem of the cultural development of the childLev Vygotsky 57
6 Methods for investigating conceptsLeonid Sakharov 73
7 Tool and symbol in child developmentLev Vygotsky and Alexander Luria 99
8 The socialist alteration of manLev Vygotsky 175
9 The development of thinking and concept formation inadolescenceLev Vygotsky 185
10 Imagination and creativity of the adolescentLev Vygotsky 266
11 The development of voluntary attention in the childAleke} Leont'eu 289
iv CONT E TS
12 Thought in schizophreniaLev Vygotsky 313
13 Fascism in psychoneurologyLev Vygotsky 327
14 The problem of the environmentLev Vygotsky 338
15 The development of academic concepts in school aged childrenLev Vygotsky 355
Name index 371
Subject index 375
Preface
Editing an annotated reader of a sample of Vygorsky's writings is a time-consumingand complicated endeavour and we now well understand why it had not been tr iedbefore. The basic problem we had co solve was that Vygotsky virtually never referredco authors in th e way that has now become common usage in academic circles : bygi ving the exact source, date of publicat ion, page number, etc. As a consequence, wespent our time in many libraries reading countless potentially relevant books writtenby Vygorsky's predecessors and contemporaries and looking for the passages hiscryptic references might refer to . Each reference successfully located in this wayshould be seen against the background of many ini tial failures. However, the publications we were forced co read were often extremely valuable in their own right andwe have often wondered how far psychology would develop if we scopped all new andexperimental research for several years and instead reflected upon and elaborated thetreasures found in psychological arch ives. aturally, we have not been able co locateall of Vygotsky 's references. In such cases we have adm itted our defeat in the notesand we would be grateful co readers for any information that might help us fill inthese annoying gaps. The references which we did find and the strictly explanatorynotes which we added should enable the reader co understand Vygotsky's texts inthemselves - as fascinating attempts to deal with the major psychologies and psychological questions of his time which have their relevance even today - and co see theembeddedness of his thinking in the work of his contemporaries and predecessors inaccordance with the morro of this reader. All information in the text given in squarebrackets was supplied by the editors. All translations from the original Russian weremade by Theresa Prout with the exception of chapter 3 which was translated by Renevan der Veer. All quotes from languages other than Russian were checked against theoriginal sources. No attempts were made to modernize the texts co fit contemporarystandards. The editors express their gratitude co Ellen Bakker who managed tounriddle some puzzling references and who compiled the subject index. For a detailedaccount of Vygotsky's life and work and an elaborate analysis of his basic ideas thereader is referred to the companion volume Understanding VygofSky (Van der Veer and
Valsiner, 1991).
Rene van der Veer
Jaan ValsinerLeiden and Chapel Hill
'One must look at science in a very mechanical and unhiscorical mannernot co understand the role of continuity and tradition at all, even duringa revolution.'
Lev Vygorsky, lstoricbesei] smyslpsikh%gicheJkogo krizisa