In "Voices of the Mind," James Wertsch outlines an approach to
mental functioning that stresses its inherent cultural, historical,
and institutional context. A critical aspect of this approach is
the cultural tools or "mediational means" that shape both social
and individual processes. In considering how these mediational
means--in particular, language--emerge in social history and the
role they play in organizing the settings in which human beings are
socialized, Wertsch achieves fresh insights into essential areas of
human mental functioning that are typically unexplored or
misunderstood.
Although Wertsch's discussion draws on the work of a variety of
scholars in the social sciences and the humanities, the writings of
two Soviet theorists, L. S. Vygotsky (1896-1934) and Mikhail
Bakhtin (1895-1975), are of particular significance. "Voices of the
Mind" breaks new ground in reviewing and integrating some of their
major theoretical ideas and in demonstrating how these ideas can be
extended to address a series of contemporary issues in psychology
and related fields.
A case in point is Wertsch's analysis of "voice," which
exemplifies the collaborative nature of his effort. Although some
have viewed abstract linguistic entities, such as isolated words
and sentences, as the mechanism shaping human thought, Wertsch
turns to Bakhtin, who demonstrated the need to analyze speech in
terms of how it "appropriates" the voices of others in concrete
sociocultural settings. These appropriated voices may be those of
specific speakers, such as one's parents, or they may take the form
of "social languages" characteristic of a category of speakers,
such as an ethnic or national community.Speaking and thinking thus
involve the inherent process of "ventriloquating" through the
voices of other socioculturally situated speakers. "Voices of the
Mind" attempts to build upon this theoretical foundation,
persuasively arguing for the essential bond between cognition and
culture.
General
Imprint: |
Harvard University Press
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Release date: |
March 1993 |
First published: |
March 1993 |
Authors: |
James V Wertsch
|
Dimensions: |
235 x 156 x 11mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Paperback
|
Pages: |
182 |
ISBN-13: |
978-0-674-94304-9 |
Categories: |
Books >
Social sciences >
Psychology >
General
|
LSN: |
0-674-94304-X |
Barcode: |
9780674943049 |
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