ABSTRACT
Vygotsky is well known for a wide range of ideas, expressed in all too many words. Some of these words and phrases have become the core of the slang associated with “Vygotskian theory”. This is an introductory chapter to the book that discusses the traditional and still open question: What is it that constitutes the core of Vygotsky’s theorizing? As an introductory chapter to the book, it also provides a very brief discussion of the topics covered in the rest of the book and provides the links to them, where relevant. The author first provides an overview of the set of the traditional “Vygotskian” buzzwords such as “zone of proximal development”, “mediation”, and “sociogenesis”, i.e. the idea of the origin of human psychology from social life and interaction. Then, the author argues that Vygotsky’s innovative legacy is best understood as the product of his profound belief in the future science of Superman (i.e. the “new man” of the Communist future) and his effort to build such science as a concrete Marxist psychology. The author then puts on trial a few other “Vygotskian” buzzwords that are typically proposed as Vygotsky’s innovative theoretical solutions to the pressing questions of the new psychology in the making. These are “internalization”, “higher” psychic(al) (cognitive, intellectual, psychological) functions, and “cultural-historical” theory (psychology, school). The author concludes the chapter with a discussion of the “archaic”, “conservative” and “futurist”, “critical” trends in contemporary Vygotsky Studies and suggests that tomorrow belongs to the latter of the two trends.
