Lev Vygotsky: Philologist and Defectologist, A Sociointellectual Biography1 ANTON YASNITSKY York University Among the pioneers of psychology, Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934) may be the best known of those who are least understood. This is not just a problem of historical scholarship: The misunderstanding of Vygotsky started with his own students and collaborators—during his lifetime—and continued after his death. It is, in other words, integrated into the litera­ ture. And that literature, as a result, appears fractured and inconsistent. Indeed, the larg­ est and the best intellectual biography of Vygotsky is titled Understanding Vygotsky: A Quest for Synthesis (van der Veer & Valsiner, 1991). Yet even this excellent book is far from providing a full and complete story. The dis­ covery of the real Vygotsky is still to come. Figure 7.1 Lev Vygotsky, 1925. There are many reasons for systematic misunderstanding—even misrepresenta­ tion. Among them we can include Vygotsky's changes in theoretical outlook; his premature death at the age of 37, when he was in the middle of the most prolific period of his career; the lack of public access to manuscripts and documents in the Vygotsky archives; problems of posthumous editing; and the censorship of his works published in the Soviet Union, the effects of which were in turn multiplied 109 rui i wn YAsni i br\Y LEV VYGOTSKY 111 by mistakes that accumulated in Western translations (Yasnitsky, 2010; van der conferences" to coordinate their research. This network was instrumental in the Veer & Yasnitsky, in press). These confusions, and many others, have resulted in an development and dissemination of Vygotskian thought during his lifetime, although image of Vygotsky that can be described charitably as having been constructed by especially after his death, both in the Soviet Union and internationally. This huge his students, followers, and admirers. network centers on Lev Vygotsky but includes several dozen associates and col­ The beginning of the cult of Vygotsky dates back to 1978. This was the start of the laborators. Virtually all these individuals were instrumental in the development of present Vygotsky boom (Cole, 2004; Garai & Kocski, 1995). Two inaugural events his scientific thought, the progress of his career, and the later dissemination, and— took place in this year: First, the book Mind in Society came out under Vygotskyi for good or bad—the global popularization of Vygotskian ideas after his death name (Vygotsky, 1978); and second, the well-known British and American philoso­ (Yasnitsky, in press). pher Stephen Toulmin published his programmatic book review titled The Mozart of Psychology (Toulmin, 1978). There, Toulmin compared Lev Vygotsky to Wolfgang Mozart and his right-hand man and coworker, Alexander Romanovich Luria (1902- THE CONTOURS OF THE PORTRAIT: THE 1977), to Ludwig van Beethoven. Whereas the second part of this comparison has TWO PASSIONS OF VYGOTSKY since been largely forgotten, the association of Mozart with Vygotsky as the quintes­ sential creative genius of psychology has survived and prospered. Only two lines are really needed to draw a contour of the portrait of Vygotsky the scholar. These lines span Vygotsky s entire life and career and can be detected in After the publication of: Mind in Society, the celebrated notion of the "zone of virtually anything he wrote, said, and did. Both lines begin in his early life as a proximal development" became synonymous with Vygotsky's name. Interestingly provincial Jewish boy living with his family in the town of Gomel, in Belarus, where enough, however, Vygotsky never actually wrote this book: It is a compilation Vygotsky spent more than half his short life. The first, philological," line is formed and juxtaposition of fragments taken from different works written during differ­ by Vygotsky's affection for "the Word," an affection he developed through his child­ ent periods of his career. This is made clear in the preface: The editors—Michael hood reading and early studies in the humanities. Set within the broad Zeitgeist Cole, Vera John-Steiner, Sylvia Scribner, and Ellen Souberman (1978)—confess of German Romanticism—specifically, the works of the great German scholar that they "constructed" some chapters, whereas others are summarized or "based Wilhelm von Humboldt (1767-1835) and his Russian-Ukrainian follower Alexander on" Vygotsky s actual writings: "We realize that in tampering with the original we Potebnya (1835-1891)—Vygotsky considered the Word (i.e., human speech and lan­ may have distorted history; however, we hope that by stating our procedures and guage) as the highest manifestation of a dialectic unity of human culture and its by adhering as closely as possible to the principles and content of the work, we have products. He also considered it an instrument for shaping human thought and spirit. not distorted Vygotsky's meaning" (Cole et al., 1978, p. x). This understanding of human culture is clearly in line with Vygotsky's Romanticist The multitude and, even more importantly, the diversity of contemporary predecessors. In his last book, Thinking and Speech (1934), Vygotsky unambigu­ interpretations of Vygotsky s theory lead some authors to discuss the "multiple ously refers to and continues Potebnya's earlier work, Thought and Language (1892), readings" (van der Veer, 2008) or even "versions of Vygotsky" (Gillen, 2000). Some as well as his later works on the cultural influence of art and poetry, myth, cultural even question, pessimistically, if anybody ever actually reads Vygotskys own words symbols, verbal understanding, and language. Despite the critical attitude that he these days (Gredler & Schields, 2004). This chapter is therefore an attempt to often expressed toward the legacy of arguably the greatest Russian Humboldtian— do just that: to return to the source and to trace the genesis and development of for instance, in his Psychology of Art (1926/1971)—Vygotsky seems to be in total Vygotsky's works, while providing the means to contextualize new readings. agreement with Potebnya's most essential views about the nature of language. The novelty of the story presented here is due, in part, to recent research in In 1913-1917, Vygotsky's pursued full-time studies at Moscow State University Vygotsky s personal archives (Zavershneva, 2010a, 2010b, 2010c). It also considers in the Law Department and was simultaneously auditing courses in the Historical- the international and interdisciplinary nature of Vygotsky's project. However, our Philosophical Department at Shaniavsky Open University. Little is known about story is also distinct in yet another sense. One of the main achievements of the the law degree that Vygotsky obtained from Moscow State University in 1917. last decade is the realization that the gigantic and ambitious project of Vygotskian In contrast, Vygotsky's philological treatise on Shakespeare's Hamlet, which he psychology cannot be understood if treated as the "single-handed" effort of a "soli­ completed in 1916 at the age of 20, received international acclaim. Vygotsky's tary genius." Instead, when one looks behind the constructed facade, there is a admiration for the beauty of the Word—including the problems of understand­ noticeable shift from Vygotsky as such to Vygotsky as corporate author: the lead­ ing art and masterpieces of world literature, the complexities of language in its ing representative, like Jean Piaget or Kurt Lewin, of a dense personal network of historical development, the intricacies of speech production and their interplay scholars who shared the same research agenda, similar views on methods , and a common understanding of the development of scientific theory. The scholars of this "Vygotsky Circle" worked in parallel in several cities of the Soviet Union in Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, and Georgia—chiefly in Moscow, ° Here, by philology we understand, following Russian scholarly tradition and according to Merriam- Webster Dictionary, the study of literature and of disciplines relevant to literature or to language as Kharkov, and Leningrad—and traveled frequently to take part in "internal used in literature. 112 ANTON YASNITSKY LEV VYGOTSKY 113 with thinking, emotions, personality, and culture—remained at the center of his It is clear that Vygotsky was no traditional ivory-tower academic but was a pro­ interests throughout his life. found thinker driven to participate in an ever-changing world and to contribute to The second line tracing the contour of Vygotsky s portrait is defectological and the improvement of man and society, and overcoming various defects of human it is formed by Vygotsky's concern with freedom and liberation. Social injustice social, cultural, and biological development. This applied, pragmatic orientation of became obvious fairly early in Vygotsky's life, when, in 1913, the quota system for Vygotsky s theorizing is highly reminiscent of the famous saying that "there is nothing accepting Jews to Russian universities was changed from achievement based to more practical than a good theory," the motto of yet another luminary of psychologi­ mere vote casting. Exceptionally well prepared for entrance exams, Vygotsky was cal theory and practice, Kurt Lewin. The similarity between the views of the two is obviously frustrated to learn about this policy change, but, to his great surprise, no mere coincidence and was based on personal acquaintance, familiarity with each he won the ballot and was accepted at Moscow University. It is difficult—per­ other's works,