ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the relationship between free will and the development of consciousness in the light of the philosophical background to L. S. Vygotsky's work. Vygotsky made a bold claim in relation to free will: the work he was undertaking with colleagues in psychology examined the nature of mind as embodied in activity that sustains and constitutes it. Through this undertaking he was to grapple with the issue of freedom in a way that began to merge psychological research with philosophy, in particular the philosophy of B. Spinoza. Spinoza took issue with the Cartesian conception of will grounded in a separation of the material world from a wilful mind capable of free action in relation to it. In contrast to Descartes, who assumed free will without accounting for the source of its power, Spinoza provided the argument that free will arises in the development of intellect, and Vygotsky benefits from this insight.
