On Sun, 29 Nov 2009 14:11:15 +0900 CeJ <jann...@gmail.com> writes: > And more on the physiologists--Vvedensky, Bekhterev and Pavlov, > including excerpts from Vygotsky's take on them (which brings me to > the conclusion that Vygotsky actually agrees some with Husserl on > the > 'crisis'). I think Pavlov had the largest impact on American > behaviourists (and remember it was the Americans who helped to get > the > Russians going on behaviourism in the first place) probably because > of > a couple very good translations and the 'generalizability' of his > methods to experimentation in the US. Bekhterev appears to be the > more > expansive thinker. I don't know much about Vvedensky at all. > > V, B and P were all physiologists first, but Vygotsky was a > 'semiotician'. > > CJ > >
In disucssing the fluctuating fortunes of Pavlovian reflexology under the Stalin regime it is interesting to note B.F. Skinner's comments on this (Skinner having been a great admirer of Pavlov). Thus, in *Beyond Freedom & Dignity*, Skinner wrote: "Communist Russia provided and interesting case history in the relation between environmentalism and personal responsibility, as Raymond Bauer has pointed out. Immediately after the revolution the government could argue that if many Russians were uneducated, unproductive, badly behaved, and unhappy, it was because their environment had made them so. The new government would change the environment, making use of Pavlov's work on conditioned reflexes, and all would be well. But by the early thirties the government had its chance, and many Russians were still not conspicuously better informed, more productive, better behaved, or happier. The official line was then changed, and Pavlov went out of favor. A strongly purposive psychology was substituted: it was up to the Russian citizen to get an education, work productively, behave well, and be happy. The Russian educator was to make sure that he would accept this responsibility, but not by conditioning him. The successes of the Second World War restored confidence in the earlier principle, however; the government had been successful after all. It might not yet be completely effective,but it was moving in the right direction. Pavlov came back into favor." Jim Farmelant ____________________________________________________________ Top Psychology Degrees Find schools offering psychology programs online. 3 easy steps! http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL2141/c?cp=2WREmY5EvAXPdWTvbuVmtgAAJ1AP8ttsZd_TbiVxkZxsC3mBAAQAAAAFAAAAAF75XD4AAAMlAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAZmkwAAAAA= _______________________________________________ Marxism-Thaxis mailing list Marxism-Thaxis@lists.econ.utah.edu To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism-thaxis
