Vygotsky identifies »the teaching about emotions« as the most backward field of psychology, entir... more Vygotsky identifies »the teaching about emotions« as the most backward field of psychology, entirely permeated by Cartesian dualism. Oriented on Uchtomsky's theory of the dominant as an emotional-cognitive unit of behavioral regulation, he himself follows the path of a Spinozian emotion theory in his late work. However, even here it remains unclear what the emotions themselves are. Based on Leontyev, Simonov, modern physiological and psychological emotion theories as well as on neuropsychological analysis, I propose to consider emotions as (multi-)oscillating processes in the fluent present. Psychologically, they mediate between the subject's given states of experience and the new situations to be mastered. Based on this assumption, a Spinozian, generalizing theory of emotions is possible, which is able to appreciate the existing theories as partial theories with great explanatory power "To go further, one must do that which had always been an unchanging condition of the transition from the metaphysical to the historical study of a phenomenon: one must examine the relationship of intellect and affect, a relationship which forms the focus for all the problems that interest us, and we must examine that relationship not as an object, but as a process." (Vygotsky 1993, 240) In the following, I would like to report on the result of almost 30 years of work on an emotion theory in the traditions of cultural history theory. At the conference itself, I decided to speak freely to bring an extremely difficult topic to an audience and for the lecturer himself the best way to present the topic as simply as possible. 2 The present, thoroughly revised version results from the transcript of this lecture. 3
For a materialistic and monistic theory of emotional processes an overcoming of the Cartesian dua... more For a materialistic and monistic theory of emotional processes an overcoming of the Cartesian dualism is of fundamental importance. Following Vygotsky's analysis in The Teaching of the Emotions the concept of a free will stands in the background of this dualism of higher and lower processes. While Vygotskij is able to solve this dualism in the area of emotions in his late work, starting with the lecture Infancy, a solution to the problem of the will is still due. Here Vygotskij radically rejects the separation of higher and lower emotional functions according to a dualism of psychology and biology. He replaces this separation with a dialectical relationship of rudimentary and ideal form. Vygotskij delivers a most interesting methodological pre-clarification for the problem of the will, supported by empirical work and theoretical considerations, but it is Leont'ev who succeeds in giving an acceptable solution. This was possible by determining the neuropsychological base of the will by means of Bernstein's psychophysiology of movement.
Vygotsky identifies »the teaching about emotions« as the most backward field of psychology, entir... more Vygotsky identifies »the teaching about emotions« as the most backward field of psychology, entirely permeated by Cartesian dualism. Oriented on Uchtomsky's theory of the dominant as an emotional-cognitive unit of behavioral regulation, he himself follows the path of a Spinozian emotion theory in his late work. However, even here it remains unclear what the emotions themselves are. Based on Leontyev, Simonov, modern physiological and psychological emotion theories as well as on neuropsychological analysis, I propose to consider emotions as (multi-)oscillating processes in the fluent present. Psychologically, they mediate between the subject's given states of experience and the new situations to be mastered. Based on this assumption, a Spinozian, generalizing theory of emotions is possible, which is able to appreciate the existing theories as partial theories with great explanatory power "To go further, one must do that which had always been an unchanging condition of the transition from the metaphysical to the historical study of a phenomenon: one must examine the relationship of intellect and affect, a relationship which forms the focus for all the problems that interest us, and we must examine that relationship not as an object, but as a process." (Vygotsky 1993, 240) In the following, I would like to report on the result of almost 30 years of work on an emotion theory in the traditions of cultural history theory. At the conference itself, I decided to speak freely to bring an extremely difficult topic to an audience and for the lecturer himself the best way to present the topic as simply as possible. 2 The present, thoroughly revised version results from the transcript of this lecture. 3
For a materialistic and monistic theory of emotional processes an overcoming of the Cartesian dua... more For a materialistic and monistic theory of emotional processes an overcoming of the Cartesian dualism is of fundamental importance. Following Vygotsky's analysis in The Teaching of the Emotions the concept of a free will stands in the background of this dualism of higher and lower processes. While Vygotskij is able to solve this dualism in the area of emotions in his late work, starting with the lecture Infancy, a solution to the problem of the will is still due. Here Vygotskij radically rejects the separation of higher and lower emotional functions according to a dualism of psychology and biology. He replaces this separation with a dialectical relationship of rudimentary and ideal form. Vygotskij delivers a most interesting methodological pre-clarification for the problem of the will, supported by empirical work and theoretical considerations, but it is Leont'ev who succeeds in giving an acceptable solution. This was possible by determining the neuropsychological base of the will by means of Bernstein's psychophysiology of movement.
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