The Two Pathways of Vygotsky’s Legacy: The Critical and Noncritical Coexisting Positions in Vygotsky’s Thought

Abstract

This chapter aims to reveal some theoretical questions and concepts developed by Vygotsky that were not included in the dominant representation of his work, neither in Soviet psychology nor in Western psychology, in an attempt to find different possible paths taken by his legacy after his death and their relation to different moments in Vygotsky’s work. An attempt is made to interpret Vygotsky within the legacy of Soviet psychology, bringing to light relations and processes widely overlooked within Western psychology. The chapter discusses in depth Vygotsky’s instrumental-behavioral period between 1927 and 1931, which after his death was identified with his cultural-historical moment. Two different legacies of his work are discussed related to two different Vygotskyian pathways with completely different outcomes in both Soviet and Western psychology. The focus of this chapter therefore aligns with the main goal of this book, namely, the critical and noncritical implications of these two different pathways of Vygotsky’s work for both psychology and social critique. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)