Lev Vygotsky: Who are we? Where do we come from and where are we heading for? (On the question of national and religious identity)

Abstract

The paper presents the text of the article by L. S. Vygotsky "Avodim hoinu" (1917) along with detailed comments to it. This article is the last in what may be called a Vygotskian triptych of early works devoted to the problem of complex relationships between national and religious traditions and contemporary times. The text of the article, along with the comments, provides an insight into personal attitudes of the young Vygotsky in a situation of political uncertainty as well as uncertainty of values and norms. It helps to reconstruct the features of socio-political and national-ethical self-determination of the scientist; to clarify the grounds that determine the value foundation of the cultural-historical approach. The comments to the article highlight the original character of Vygotsky's attitude towards the events of Russia's pre-October period of 1917. We emphasize the philosophical and cultural scale and polyphonic character of the multilevel dialogue that involves Vygotsky as the author of this article. There is a certain connection between the topics raised in the article (experience, the problem of choice, volitional behavior, consciousness) and the topics that would appear in Vygotsky's works in psychology later. A separate line in our comments focuses on the style and composition analysis of the article.