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The Early Theoretical Development of Alexander Romanovich Luria. An THE EARLY THEORETICAL DEVELOPMENT OF ALEXANDER ROMANOVICH LURIA An Exploration of His Work 1921-1936 MICHAEL PAUL GEORGE HAMES THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF LONDON FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY 2002 ProQuest Number: U643248 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest. ProQuest U643248 Published by ProQuest LLC(2016). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 THE EARLY THEORETICAL DEVELOPMENT OF ALEXANDER ROMANOVICH LURIA MICHAEL PAUL GEORGE HAMES ABSTRACT: Alexander Luria (1902-1977) is famous as a founder of neuropsychology, but his early theoretical development has never been seriously investigated at any length. Part I, The Early Years, deals chronologically with Luria's development from 1921-6. It looks at his intellectual background, his early experiments using his combined verbal and motor response method of investigating the structural dynamics of stress. It examines his use of objective approaches to reflexes in Pavlov, and his attempt to combine it with Freud’s psychodynamic approach. Luria’s early collaboration with Lev Vygotsky is explored, together with their joint and individual attempts to resolve the apparent methodological impasse this combination presented to explaining the nature of higher psychological processes. Part II, The Nature o f Human Conflicts, looks at the liberating effects of Gestalt theory on their thinking, together with their criticisms of it. It concentrates on Luria’s series of experiments up to 1930, and how his development of the ‘fimctional systems’ approach resolved many of the problems. Luria thereby provided the neuropsychological basis for much of Vygotsky’s approach. Part III, Cultural-Historical Theory, is short. It looks at some of the origins of the theory and the attacks on it, together with some of the reasoning behind Luria’s expeditions to Central Asia to compare modes of perception and thinking in different forms of society. The overall theme of this thesis is how Luria and Vygotsky struggled to explain the developing role of higher psychological functions on an objective experimental basis, and how in the course of ontogenetic development the neuropsychological organization of cognitive functions and human behaviour is dialectically transformed. This process explained how phylogenetic, ontogenetic, social and historical factors were integrated in the course of development. It therefore also potentially allowed for the methodological integration of psychology into a unified science. Table of Contents Chronology o f major events and publications in Luria’s life 1917-3 7 5 Preface 8 Part I: The Early Years 22 Chapter 1: Kazan I. Family, University Studies, and Early Influences 23 II. Engagement with Psychoanalysis and the Schools of Russian Psychology 32 III. First Major Publication on Psychoanalysis and First Experiments 37 Chapter 2: Moscow: The First Years I. The Psychoanalytic Society, the Institute of Psychology, and the ‘Combined Motor and Verbal Response Method’ 46 II. The Historical Significance Of Luria’s Method and its Application in the 1924 Moscow University ‘Examination’ Experiments 54 III. The Russian Psychoanalytic Society in its Heyday 62 Chapter 3: Problems o f Theory and Methodology I. Vygotsky and the Significance of Speech in the Critique of Reflexology 68 II. Luria’s ‘Psychoanalysis as a System of Monistic Psychology’ 74 III. Vygotsky’s ‘Consciousness as a Problem in Psychology’ 83 Chapter 4: Biology and Metaphysics, Physiology and the Promise o f a Scientific Psychology, and Affect in Murder Suspects I. Freudian Metaphysics and the Search for Alternatives 89 II. A Review of Russian Physiology 101 III. Affect in Murder Suspects 109 Part II: The Nature of Human Conflicts 113 Chapter 5: The Influence o f Gestalt Psychology Introduction 114 I. ‘Questions of Principle in Contemporary Psychology’ 116 II ‘Modem Psychology and Dialectical Materialism’ 123 III. The Influence of Kurt Lewin 127 IV. Moving Beyond Pavlov and Freud 139 Chapter 6: *The Nature of Human Conflicts'- The Book, Experiments and Theoretical Advances I. A Brief Overview and Summary of the Book 148 II. The Introduction 158 III. Parti 168 Chapter 7: *The Nature O f Human Conflicts' Parts II and HI, and the Significance of the Development o f the Concept of Functional Systems fo r Psychology I. Part 11 178 II. Part 111 193 III. The Significance of the Development of the Concept of Functional Systems for Psychology 212 Part III: Cultural-Historical Theory 227 Chapter 8: Cultural-Historical Theory as a Developmental Approach; Epilogue I The Growth of Stalinism 228 II Cultural-Historical Theory as a Developmental Approach 232 III Epilogue 247 Appendix I: The Influence o f Herder's Approach to Language, Human Nature, Dialectics and Cultural-Historical Theory on Marx, A Contribution on their Relevance for the Study o f Psychology and Philosophy, 250 References 269 Alexander Romanovich Luria (1902-1977) Chronology of Major Events and Publications 1917-37 1914-1918 World War I 1917 February and October Revolutions 1918-21 Russia invaded by many foreign armies and counter-revolutionary armies financed by the West Luria studied at the University of Kazan 1920 Beyond the Pleasure Principle (Freud) 1921 Russia introduces the New Economic Pohcy to help recovery The Mentality o f Apes (Koehler) 1922 Luria founded the Kazan Psychoanalytic Society 1923 Luria’s first booklet published Luria moved to Moscow and married Vera Nikolaievna Blagidova Luria became secretary of the Institute of Psychology and head of its experimental laboratory He also became secretary of the All-Russian Psychoanalytic Society Twenty Years ’ Experience in the Objective Study of the Higher Nervous Activity o f Animals (Pavlov) 1924 Lenin died. Stalin moved into a powerful position Trotsky became increasingly marginalized Luria placed in charge of the sub-faculty of psychology and its laboratory at the Communist Academy of Education He began his celebrated series of experiments into affect, conflict and will Vygotsky lectured in Petrograd and joined the Moscow Institute of Psychology The German Ideology Part I (Marx & Engels) 1925 Kurt Goldstein published major articles on neuropsychology The Dialectics of Nature (Engels) Psychoanalysis as a System o f Monistic Psychology (Luria) Consciousness as a Problem for the Psychology ofBehaviour (Vygotsky) 1926 Intention, Will and Need (Lewip) The Methods of Reflexological and Psychological Investigation (Vygotsky) Luria’s writings began to show the influence of the ideas of Goldstein and Lewin 1927 Trotsky sent into ‘internal exile’ Luria resigned as secretary of the Psychoanalytic Society Vygotsky and Luria began to formulate ideas on Cultural-Historical Theory 1928 Luria developed his initial version of the concept of functional systems 1929 Stalin expelled Trotsky from Russia. He started the first Five-Year Plan and began to introduce the system bearing his name, which included the oppression and exploitation of the workers and peasants, the elimination of opposition and independent thinking Luria met members of the Gestalt school in Berlin He then met other leading members of the international psychology community at the international conference in New Haven where he presented two papers He found a publisher for his research in America and handed over the completed part of the text His first marriage was dissolved 1931 Luria led the first expedition to Central Asia to compare the cognitive and perceptual behaviour of culturally and socially different groups He was strongly criticized on his return and increasingly hostile attacks were made on Cultural-Historical Theory Vygotsky’s team was broken up, and several leading members, including Luria, relocated to the Ukraine to work in the Kharkov Psycho-Neurological Institute of Medicine 1932 Luria led the second expedition to Central Asia He was again attacked and banned from organizing a third expedition The Nature of Human Conflicts (Luria) 1933 Hitler gained power in Germany Famine in the Ukraine as a result of Stalin’s agricultural policy Luria was warned to keep a low profile and keep out of Moscow, because of the threat of arrest Luria married Lana Pimenovna Linchina (1904-78) 1934 Luria returned to Moscow full-time and worked with Solomon Le vit at the Medico-Genetic Institute studying twins Death of Vygotsky Thinking and Speech (Vygotsky) 1936 Decree on Pedology in effect makes most of child psychology unacceptable Luria resigns his two posts and becomes a full time medical student 1937 Execution of major psychologists barely noticed among the mass of victims of Stalin’s purges 8 Preface 1 Problems in the Investigation of the Early Work of Alexander Luria There are several monographs devoted to the work of the Russian psychologist and neuropsychologist Alexander Romanovich Luria (1902-1977). Most of them are devoted to various aspects of his work in neuropsychology. There are also collections of papers dedicated to his work, together with biographies and contributions towards a biography together with autobiographical works. There are however no works that attempt to look at the period of his early career in psychology (1921-1936) as a whole, nor does any detailed work exist that attempts to make sense of this period as a whole. This is surprising given that when Stephen Toulmin (1978) dubbed Vygotsky “the Mozart of psychology” he also described Luria as its “Beethoven”. The period of their interaction was important - a view that Luria expressed many times - both for the results of their interaction and the development of Luria’s own ideas. At first this preface looks at some of the problems involved in examining this phase of Luria’s career.
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