Dialectical Materialism in the Sociocultural Theory of Human Development

Sage hall G01, Beirut campus.

 The Association for the Study Of Mind (ASOM) is organizing a presentation on “Dialectical Materialism in the Sociocultural Theory of Human Development: The Marxist Roots of
Vygotsky’s Theory.” The presentation will be delivered by Louai Rahal, doctoral candidate in human development, learning and culture, University of British Columbia. Vancouver, Canada.

Abstract:

In Marx’s theory of dialectical materialism, history produces human beings, and by appropriating history, human beings (re)produce themselves. In Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory of human development, thought is constructed through meditational means, and by engaging in collective life, human beings participate in the reproduction of the meditational means through which their thinking is constructed, hence they (re)produce their consciousness. In “The Socialist Alteration of Man,” Vygotsky argued that the goal of socialist pedagogy is the reproduction of mankind, the creation of a mankind that is qualitatively different from its predecessor. In this presentation, Rahal highlights the Marxist roots of Vygotsky’s theory by examining how the concepts of inner speech, meditational means, the zone of proximal development, and other elements of Vygotsky’s theory are grounded in dialectical materialism. He also argues why Vygotsky’s theory can be conceptualized as an application of dialectical materialism to the analysis of psychological phenomena.

Event organizer: Dr. Tamer Amin