Vygotsky Lev Semenovich biography briefly. "Thinking and Speech"

The outstanding scientist Lev Semenovich Vygotsky, whose main works are included in the golden fund of world psychology, accomplished a lot during his career short life. He laid the foundation for many subsequent trends in pedagogy and psychology; some of his ideas are still awaiting development. Psychologist Lev Vygotsky belonged to a galaxy of outstanding Russian scientists who combined erudition, brilliant rhetorical abilities and deep scientific knowledge.

Family and childhood

Lev Vygotsky, whose biography began in a prosperous Jewish family in the city of Orsha, was born on November 17, 1896. His surname at birth was Vygodsky, he changed the letter in 1923. My father’s name was Simkh, but in the Russian manner they called him Semyon. Leo's parents were educated and wealthy people. Mom worked as a teacher, father was a merchant. In the family, Lev was the second of eight children.

In 1897, the Vygodskys moved to Gomel, where their father became deputy bank manager. Lev's childhood was quite prosperous; his mother devoted all her time to children. The children of brother Vygodsky Sr. also grew up in the house, in particular brother David, who had a strong influence on Lev. The Vygodsky House was a kind of cultural center where the local intelligentsia gathered and discussed cultural news and world events. The father was the founder of the first public library in the city; children got used to reading from childhood good books. Subsequently, several outstanding philologists came from the family, and in order to differ from his cousin, a representative of Russian formalism, Lev changed the letter in his surname.

Studies

For the children, the Vygodsky family invited a private teacher, Solomon Markovich Ashpiz, known for his unusual pedagogical method, based on the "Dialogues" of Socrates. In addition, he adhered to progressive political views and was a member of the Social Democratic Party.

Leo was formed under the influence of his teacher, as well as his brother David. Since childhood, he was interested in literature and philosophy. Benedict Spinoza became his favorite philosopher, and the scientist carried this passion throughout his life. Lev Vygotsky studied at home, but later successfully passed the exam for the fifth grade of the gymnasium as an external student and went to the 6th grade of the Jewish men's gymnasium, where he received his secondary education. Leo studied well, but continued to receive private lessons in Latin, Greek, Hebrew and English languages at home.

In 1913, he successfully passed the entrance exams to the Faculty of Medicine at Moscow University. But pretty soon he is transferred to legal. In 1916, he wrote a lot of reviews of books by contemporary writers, articles on culture and history, and reflections on the “Jewish” question. In 1917, he decides to leave jurisprudence and is transferred to the Faculty of History and Philology of the University. Shanyavsky, who graduates in a year.

Pedagogy

After graduating from university, Lev Vygotsky faced the problem of finding a job. He is with his mother and younger brother first goes to Samara in search of a place, then goes to Kyiv, but in 1918 returns to Gomel. Here he joins the construction new school, in which he begins to teach together with his older brother David. From 1919 to 1923 he worked in several educational institutions Gomel, also heads the department public education. This teaching experience became the basis for his first scientific research in the field of methods of influencing the younger generation.

He organically entered into the pedological direction, which was progressive for that time, which united psychology and pedagogy. Vygotsky creates an experimental laboratory at the Gomel Technical School, in which his educational psychology is formed. Vygotsky Lev Semenovich actively speaks at conferences and becomes a prominent scientist in the new field. After the death of the scientist, works devoted to the problems of developing skills and teaching children will be combined in a book entitled “ Educational psychology" It will contain articles on attention, aesthetic education, forms of studying a child’s personality and teacher psychology.

First steps in science

While still studying at the university, Lev Vygotsky was interested in literary criticism and published several works on poetics. His work on the analysis of "Hamlet" by W. Shakespeare was a new word in literary analysis. However, systematic scientific activity Vygotsky begins to study in a different area - at the intersection of pedagogy and psychology. His experimental laboratory carried out work that became a new word in pedology. Even then Lev Semenovich was occupied mental processes and questions of the influence of psychology on the activities of teachers. His works, presented at several scientific conferences, were bright and original, which allowed Vygotsky to become a psychologist.

Path in psychology

Vygotsky’s first works were related to the problems of teaching abnormal children; these studies not only laid the foundation for the development of defectology, but also became a serious contribution to the study of higher mental functions and mental patterns. In 1923, at a congress on psychoneurology, a fateful meeting took place with the outstanding psychologist A. R. Luria. He was literally captivated by Vygotsky’s report and became the initiator of Lev Semenovich’s move to Moscow. In 1924, Vygotsky received an invitation to work at the Moscow Institute of Psychology. Thus began the brightest, but shortest period of his life.

The scientist's interests were very diverse. He dealt with the problems of reflexology that was relevant at that time, made a significant contribution to the study of higher mental functions, and also did not forget about his first affection - about pedagogy. After the death of the scientist, a book will appear that combines his many years of research - “The Psychology of Human Development.” Vygotsky Lev Semenovich was a methodologist of psychology, and this book contains his fundamental thoughts on the methods of psychology and diagnostics. Particularly important is the part devoted to the psychological crisis; 6 lectures by the scientist are of extreme interest, in which he dwells on the main issues general psychology. Vygotsky did not have time to deeply reveal his ideas, but became the founder of a number of directions in science.

Cultural-historical theory

A special place in Vygotsky’s psychological concept is occupied by the cultural-historical theory of mental development. In 1928, he made a bold statement for those times that the social environment is the main source of personal development. Vygotsky Lev Semenovich, whose works on pedology were distinguished special approach, rightly believed that a child goes through stages of mental development not only as a result of the implementation of biological programs, but also in the process of mastering “psychological tools”: culture, language, counting system. Consciousness develops in cooperation and communication, so the role of culture in the formation of personality cannot be overestimated. Man, according to the psychologist, is an absolutely social being, and many mental functions cannot be formed outside of society.

"Psychology of Art"

Another important, landmark book for which Vygotsky Lev became famous is “The Psychology of Art.” It was published many years after the author’s death, but even then it made a huge impression on the scientific world. Its influence was experienced by researchers from various fields: psychology, linguistics, ethnology, art history, sociology. Main idea Vygotsky’s theory was that art is an important sphere of development of many mental functions, and its emergence is due to the natural course of human evolution. Art is the most important factor in the survival of the human population; it performs many important functions in society and the lives of individuals.

"Thinking and Speech"

Vygotsky Lev Semenovich, whose books are still extremely popular all over the world, did not have time to publish his main work. The book “Thinking and Speech” was a real revolution in the psychology of its time. In it, the scientist was able to express many ideas that were formulated and developed much later in cognitive science, psycholinguistics, social psychology. Vygotsky experimentally proved that human thinking is formed and develops exclusively in speech activity. At the same time, language and speech are also means of stimulating mental activity. He discovered the staged nature of the development of thinking and introduced the concept of “crisis,” which is used everywhere today.

Scientist's contribution to science

Vygotsky Lev Semenovich, whose books today are required reading for every psychologist, during his very short scientific life was able to make a significant contribution to the development of several sciences. His work became, among other studies, the impetus for the formation of psychoneurology, psycholinguistics, and cognitive psychology. His cultural and historical concept of mental development underlies an entire scientific school in psychology, which most actively begins to develop in the 21st century.

It is impossible to understate Vygotsky’s contribution to the development of Russian defectology, developmental and educational psychology. Many of his works are only today receiving their true appreciation and development in history. domestic psychology now a place of honor is occupied by a name such as Lev Vygotsky. The scientist’s books are constantly being republished today, his drafts and sketches are published, the analysis of which shows how powerful and original his ideas and plans were.

Vygotsky’s students are the pride of Russian psychology, fruitfully developing his and their own ideas. In 2002, the scientist’s book “Psychology” was published, which combined his fundamental research in basic sections of science, such as general, social, clinical, developmental psychology, as well as developmental psychology. Today this textbook is basic for all universities in the country.

Personal life

Like any scientist, Lev Semenovich Vygotsky, for whom psychology became his life’s work, devoted most of his time to work. But in Gomel he found a like-minded person, a fiancée, and later a wife, Roza Noevna Smekhova. The couple lived a short life together - only 10 years, but it was a happy marriage. The couple had two daughters: Gita and Asya. Both became scientists, Gita Lvovna is a psychologist and defectologist, Asya Lvovna is a biologist. The psychological dynasty was also continued by the scientist’s granddaughter, Elena Evgenievna Kravtsova, who now heads the Institute of Psychology named after her grandfather.

End of the road

Back in the early 1920s, Lev Vygotsky fell ill with tuberculosis. This was the cause of his death in 1934. The scientist continued to work until the end of his days and on the last day of his life he said: “I’m ready.” The last years of the psychologist's life were complicated by gathering clouds around his work. Repression and persecution were approaching, so death allowed him to avoid arrest, and saved his relatives from reprisals.

The outstanding scientist Lev Semenovich Vygotsky, whose main works are included in the golden fund of world psychology, accomplished a lot in his short life. He laid the foundation for many subsequent trends in pedagogy and psychology; some of his ideas are still awaiting development. Psychologist Lev Vygotsky belonged to a galaxy of outstanding Russian scientists who combined erudition, brilliant rhetorical abilities and deep scientific knowledge.

Family and childhood

In 1897, the Vygodskys moved to Gomel, where their father became deputy bank manager. Lev's childhood was quite prosperous; his mother devoted all her time to children. The children of brother Vygodsky Sr. also grew up in the house, in particular brother David, who had a strong influence on Lev. The Vygodsky House was a kind of cultural center where the local intelligentsia gathered and discussed cultural news and world events. The father was the founder of the first public library in the city; children got used to reading good books from childhood. Subsequently, several outstanding philologists came from the family, and in order to differ from his cousin, a representative of Russian formalism, Lev changed the letter in his surname.

Studies

For the children, the Vygodsky family invited a private teacher, Solomon Markovich Ashpiz, known for his unusual pedagogical method based on the “Dialogues” of Socrates. In addition, he adhered to progressive political views and was a member of the Social Democratic Party.

Pedagogy

After graduating from university, Lev Vygotsky faced the problem of finding a job. He, his mother and younger brother first go to Samara in search of a place, then goes to Kyiv, but in 1918 he returns to Gomel. Here he gets involved in the construction of a new school, where he begins to teach together with his older brother David. From 1919 to 1923, he worked in several educational institutions in Gomel, and also headed the department of public education. This teaching experience became the basis for his first scientific research in the field of methods of influencing

He organically entered into the pedological direction that was progressive for that time, which united Vygotsky and created an experimental laboratory at the Gomel College, in which his educational psychology was formed. Vygotsky Lev Semenovich actively speaks at conferences and becomes a prominent scientist in the new field. After the death of the scientist, works devoted to the problems of developing skills and teaching children will be combined in a book called “Educational Psychology.” It will contain articles on attention, aesthetic education, forms of studying a child’s personality and teacher psychology.

First steps in science

While still studying at the university, Lev Vygotsky was interested in literary criticism and published several works on poetics. His work on the analysis of William Shakespeare's Hamlet was a new word in literary analysis. However, Vygotsky began to engage in systematic scientific activity in a different area - at the intersection of pedagogy and psychology. His experimental laboratory carried out work that became a new word in pedology. Even then, Lev Semenovich was interested in mental processes and questions about the activities of a teacher. His works, presented at several scientific conferences, were bright and original, which allowed Vygotsky to become a psychologist.

Path in psychology

The scientist's interests were very diverse. He dealt with the problems of reflexology that was relevant at that time, made a significant contribution to the study of higher mental functions, and also did not forget about his first affection - about pedagogy. After the death of the scientist, a book will appear that brings together his many years of research - “The Psychology of Human Development.” Vygotsky Lev Semenovich was a methodologist of psychology, and this book contains his fundamental thoughts on the methods of psychology and diagnostics. The part devoted to the psychological crisis is especially important; the scientist’s 6 lectures are of extreme interest, in which he dwells on the main issues of general psychology. Vygotsky did not have time to deeply reveal his ideas, but became the founder of a number of directions in science.

Cultural-historical theory

A special place in Vygotsky’s psychological concept is occupied by the cultural-historical one. In 1928, he made a bold statement for those times that the social environment is the main source of personality development. Vygotsky Lev Semenovich, whose works on pedology were distinguished by a special approach, rightly believed that a child goes through stages of mental development not only as a result of the implementation of biological programs, but also in the process of mastering “psychological tools”: culture, language, counting system. Consciousness develops in cooperation and communication, so the role of culture in the formation of personality cannot be overestimated. Man, according to the psychologist, is an absolutely social being, and many mental functions cannot be formed outside of society.

"Psychology of Art"

Another important, landmark book for which Vygotsky Lev became famous is “The Psychology of Art.” It was published many years after the author’s death, but even then it made a huge impression on the scientific world. Its influence was experienced by researchers from various fields: psychology, linguistics, ethnology, art history, sociology. Vygotsky’s main idea was that art is an important sphere of development of many mental functions, and its emergence is due to the natural course of human evolution. Art is the most important factor in the survival of the human population; it performs many important functions in society and the lives of individuals.

"Thinking and Speech"

Vygotsky Lev Semenovich, whose books are still extremely popular all over the world, did not have time to publish his main work. The book “Thinking and Speech” was a real revolution in the psychology of its time. In it, the scientist was able to express many ideas that were formulated and developed much later in cognitive science, psycholinguistics, and social psychology. Vygotsky experimentally proved that human thinking is formed and developed exclusively in speech activity. At the same time, language and speech are also means of stimulating mental activity. He discovered the staged nature of the development of thinking and introduced the concept of “crisis,” which is used everywhere today.

Scientist's contribution to science

Vygotsky Lev Semenovich, whose books today are required reading for every psychologist, during his very short scientific life was able to make a significant contribution to the development of several sciences. His work became, among other studies, the impetus for the formation of psychoneurology, psycholinguistics, and cognitive psychology. His psyche lies at the basis of an entire scientific school in psychology, which most actively begins to develop in the 21st century.

It is impossible to understate Vygotsky’s contribution to the development of Russian defectology, developmental and educational psychology. Many of his works are only now receiving their true assessment and development; in the history of Russian psychology, a name such as Lev Vygotsky now occupies an honorable place. The scientist’s books are constantly being republished today, his drafts and sketches are published, the analysis of which shows how powerful and original his ideas and plans were.

Vygotsky’s students are the pride of Russian psychology, fruitfully developing his and their own ideas. In 2002, the scientist’s book “Psychology” was published, which combined his fundamental research in basic branches of science, such as general, social, clinical, and developmental psychology. Today this textbook is basic for all universities in the country.

Personal life

Like any scientist, Lev Semenovich Vygotsky, for whom psychology became his life’s work, devoted most of his time to work. But in Gomel he found a like-minded woman, a fiancée, and later a wife, Roza Noevna Smekhova. The couple lived a short life together - only 10 years, but it was a happy marriage. The couple had two daughters: Gita and Asya. Both became scientists, Gita Lvovna is a psychologist and defectologist, Asya Lvovna is a biologist. The scientist’s granddaughter, Elena Evgenievna Kravtsova, who now heads the Institute of Psychology named after her grandfather, continued the psychological dynasty.

End of the road

The biography of Lev Vygotsky, Soviet psychologist, founder of the cultural-historical school, is presented in this article.

Vygotsky Lev Semenovich biography briefly

Lev Vygotsky, whose brief biography begins November 17, 1896. He was born in the city of Orsha into a large family of a bank employee. When the boy was only a year old, his father founded a public library in the city of Gomel and moved his wife and nine children here.

In 1914 he entered the Faculty of Medicine at Moscow University. After studying a little at the faculty, Vygotsky transferred to the Faculty of Law and at the same time studied at the Faculty of History and Philology at the People's University. A. L. Shanyavsky. As a student, he begins to publish his reviews of books by famous symbolist writers - V. I. Ivanov, A. Bely, D. S. Merezhkovsky. At the same time, he wrote his first major work on the topic “The Tragedy of the Danish Hamlet by W. Shakespeare.” Although she saw the light only 50 years later in his collection “Psychology of Art”.

In 1917, Lev Semenovich returned to Gomel and took an active part in the process of creating a new type of school. He begins to conduct research in a specially organized psychological office at the pedagogical college.

In 1924, he was appointed a delegate to the II All-Russian Congress on Psychoneurology in Petrograd. There he read out a report on the reflexological techniques that he used when studying the mechanisms of consciousness. After an enchanting speech at this congress, Vygotsky was invited to work by the director of the Institute of Experimental Psychology in Moscow, N.K. Kornilov. Two years later, under his leadership, a defectological experimental institute was created, which was later renamed the Institute of Correctional Pedagogy of the Russian Academy of Education. Thanks to the efforts of Lev Vygotsky, the foundation of defectology in the USSR was laid.

He proved himself to be a talented scientific psychologist. In 1926, he published the book “Educational Psychology”, in which he defended the individuality of the child. A year later, psychologist Lev Vygotsky begins to publish articles that analyze various areas of world psychology. He also developed a new concept in psychology - cultural-historical. According to the concept, human behavior, regulated by consciousness, is closely related to in different forms culture, art and language.

Lev Vygotsky developed the concept of a sign, a symbol, as a special psychological tool that serves as a means for transforming the psyche from biological to historical. As a result, in 1960, a work entitled “The History of the Development of Higher Mental Functions” was written.

Reading mode

Defectology in the scientific biography of L.S. Vygotsky *

In the activities and creativity of Lev Semenovich, problems of defectology occupied a significant place. The entire Moscow period of his life, all ten years of Lev Semenovich in parallel with psychological research conducted theoretical and experimental work in the field of defectology. Specific gravity The research carried out on this issue is very large...

Lev Semenovich began his scientific and practical activities in the field of defectology back in 1924, when he was appointed head of the department of abnormal childhood at the People's Commissariat for Education. We have already written about his bright and turning-point report for the development of defectology at the II Congress of SPON. I would like to note that interest in this area of knowledge turned out to be persistent and increased in subsequent years. L.S. Vygotsky not only conducted intensive scientific research, but also did a great deal of practical and organizational work in this area.

In 1926, he organized a laboratory on the psychology of abnormal childhood at the Medical-Pedagogical Station (in Moscow, on Pogodinskaya street, building 8). Over the three years of its existence, the employees of this laboratory have accumulated interesting research material and done important pedagogical work. About a year Lev Semenovich was the director of the entire station, and then became her scientific consultant.

In 1929, on the basis of the above-mentioned laboratory, the Experimental Defectology Institute of the People's Commissariat for Education (EDI) was created. I.I. was appointed director of the institute. Danyushevsky. Since the creation of EDI And to last days During his life, L.S. Vygotsky was his scientific supervisor and consultant.

The staff of scientists gradually increased, and the base for research expanded. The institute examined the abnormal child, diagnosed and planned further correctional work with deaf and mentally retarded children.

To this day, many defectologists recall how scientific and practical workers flocked from different parts of Moscow to observe how L.S. Vygotsky examined the children and then analyzed each individual case in detail, revealing the structure of the defect and giving practical recommendations to parents and teachers.

In EDI there was a communal school for children with behavioral problems, a auxiliary school (for mentally retarded children), a school for the deaf, and a clinical diagnostic department. In 1933 L.S. Vygotsky, together with the director of the institute I.I. Danyushevsky decided to study children with speech disorders.

Conducted by L.S. Vygotsky’s research at this institute is still fundamental for the productive development of problems in defectology. Created by L.S. Vygotsky scientific system in this area of knowledge has not only historiographical significance, but also significantly influences the development of the theory and practice of modern defectology.

It's hard to name a job recent years in the field of psychology and pedagogy of the anomalous child, which would not have been influenced by the ideas of Lev Semenovich and would not directly or indirectly address his scientific heritage. His teaching still does not lose its relevance and significance.

In the field of scientific interests L.S. Vygotsky had a wide range of issues related to the study, development, training and education of abnormal children. In our opinion, the most significant problems are those that help to understand the essence and nature of the defect, the possibilities and features of its compensation and proper organization studying, training and raising an abnormal child. Let us briefly describe some of them.

Lev Semenovich's understanding of the nature and essence of abnormal development differed from the widespread biologizing approach to the defect. L.S. Vygotsky viewed the defect as a “social dislocation” caused by a change in the child’s relationship with the environment, which leads to a violation of the social aspects of behavior. He comes to the conclusion that in understanding the essence of abnormal development, it is necessary to identify and take into account the primary defect, secondary, tertiary and subsequent layers above it. Distinguishing primary and subsequent symptoms of L.S. Vygotsky considered it extremely important when studying children with various pathologies. He wrote that elementary functions, being the primary defect arising from the very core of the defect and being directly related to it, are less amenable to correction.

The problem of defect compensation is reflected in most of the works of L.S. Vygotsky, dedicated to the problems of defectology.

The theory of compensation being developed was organically included in the problem of the development and decay of higher mental functions he studied. Already in the 20s. L.S. Vygotsky put forward and substantiated the need for social compensation for the defect as a task of paramount importance: “Probably, humanity will conquer sooner or later blindness, deafness, and dementia, but much sooner it will defeat them socially and pedagogically than medically and biologically.”

In subsequent years, Lev Semenovich deepened and specified the theory of compensation. What was put forward by L.S. was extremely important for improving the theory of compensation and the problem of teaching abnormal children. Vygotsky’s position on the creation of workarounds for the development of a pathologically developing child. In his later works L.S. Vygotsky more than once returned to the question of workarounds for development, noting their great importance for the compensation process. “In the process of cultural development,” he writes, “the child replaces some functions with others, creates workarounds, and this opens up completely new opportunities for us in the development of an abnormal child. If this child cannot achieve something in a direct way, then the development of workarounds becomes the basis of his compensation."

L.S. Vygotsky, in the light of the problem of compensation he developed, pointed out that all defectological teaching practice consists of creating workarounds for the development of an abnormal child. This, in the words of L.S. Vygotsky, “alpha and omega” of special pedagogy.

So, in the works of the 20s. L.S. Vygotsky only in the most general view put forward the idea of replacing biological compensation with social compensation. In his subsequent works, this idea takes on a concrete form: the way to compensate for the defect is to form workarounds for the development of an abnormal child.

Lev Semenovich argued that a normal and abnormal child develop according to the same laws. But along with general patterns, he also noted the uniqueness of the development of an anomalous child. And as the main feature of the abnormal psyche, he singled out the divergence of biological and cultural processes of development.

It is known that in each of the categories of abnormal children, for various reasons and to varying degrees, the accumulation of life experience is delayed, therefore the role of education in their development takes on special significance. A mentally retarded, deaf and blind child needs early, properly organized training and education to a greater extent than a normally developing child who is able to independently draw knowledge from the world around him.

Characterizing defectiveness as a “social dislocation,” Lev Semenovich does not at all deny that organic defects (deafness, blindness, dementia) are biological facts. But since the educator has to deal in practice not so much with the biological facts themselves, but with their social consequences, with the conflicts that arise when an abnormal child “enters life,” L.S. Vygotsky had sufficient grounds to assert that the upbringing of a child with a defect is fundamentally social in nature. Incorrect or late upbringing of an abnormal child leads to aggravation of deviations in the development of his personality, and behavioral disorders appear.

To tear an abnormal child out of a state of isolation, to open before him ample opportunities for genuine human life, to introduce him to socially useful work, to educate him as an active, conscious member of society - these are the tasks that, in the opinion of L.S. Vygotsky, the special school should first of all decide.

Having refuted the false opinion about the reduced “social impulses” of an anomalous child, Lev Semenovich raises the question of the need to raise him not as a disabled dependent or a socially neutral being, but as an active, conscious person.

In progress pedagogical work with children with sensory or intellectual disabilities, L.S. Vygotsky considers it necessary to focus not on the “spools of illness” of the child, but on the “pounds of health” he has.

At that time, the essence of the correctional work of special schools, which boiled down to training the processes of memory, attention, observation, and sensory organs, was a system of formal isolated exercises. L.S. Vygotsky was one of the first to draw attention to the painful nature of these trainings. He did not consider it correct to isolate a system of such exercises into separate classes, to turn them into an end in itself, but advocated for such a principle of correctional educational work, in which the correction of deficiencies in the cognitive activity of abnormal children would be part of the general educational work, would be dissolved in the entire process of teaching and upbringing, and would be carried out during play, learning and work activities.

Developing in child psychology the problem of the relationship between learning and development, L.S. Vygotsky came to the conclusion that learning should precede, run ahead and pull up, lead the development of the child.

This understanding of the relationship between these processes led him to the need to take into account both the current (“current”) level of development of the child and his potential (“zone of proximal development”). Under the “zone of proximal development” L.S. Vygotsky understood the functions “those in the process of maturation, functions that will mature tomorrow, which are now still in their infancy, functions that can be called not the fruits of development, but the buds of development, the flowers of development, i.e. something that is just ripening."

Thus, in the process of developing the concept of “zone of proximal development,” Lev Semenovich put forward an important thesis that when determining the mental development of a child, one cannot focus only on what he has achieved, i.e. into passed and completed stages, but it is necessary to take into account “the dynamic state of its development”, “those processes that are now in a state of formation.”

According to Vygotsky, the “zone of proximal development” is determined as a child solves problems that are difficult for his age with help from an adult. Thus, the assessment of a child’s mental development should be based on two indicators: receptivity to the assistance provided and the ability to solve similar problems independently in the future.

In his daily work, encountering not only normally developing children, but also conducting examinations of children with developmental disabilities, Lev Semenovich became convinced that ideas about developmental zones are very productive when applied to all categories of abnormal children.

The leading method of examining children by pedologists was the use of psychometric tests. In a number of cases, they were interesting in themselves; however, they did not give an idea about the structure of the defect, about real possibilities child. Pedologists believed that abilities could and should be measured quantitatively with the aim of subsequently distributing children to different schools depending on the results of this measurement. Formal assessment of children's abilities through test trials led to errors that resulted in normal children being sent to feeder schools.

In his works L.S. Vygotsky criticized the methodological inconsistency of the quantitative approach to the study of the psyche using test tests. According to the scientist’s figurative expression, during such examinations “kilometers were added up to kilograms.”

After one of Vygotsky’s reports (December 23, 1933) he was asked to give his opinion on the tests. Vygotsky responded to this like this: “At our congresses, the smartest scientists argued about what better method: laboratory or experimental. It's like arguing which is better: a knife or a hammer. A method is always a means, a method is always a way. Can we say that the best route is from Moscow to Leningrad? If you want to go to Leningrad, then, of course, this is so, but if you want to go to Pskov, then this is a bad way. This is not to say that tests are always a good or bad thing, but one thing can be said general rule that the tests themselves are not an objective indicator of mental development. Tests always reveal signs, and signs do not directly indicate the development process, but always need to be supplemented by other signs.”

Answering the question of whether tests can serve as a criterion for current development, L.S. Vygotsky said: “I think the question is which tests and how to use them. This question can be answered in the same way as if I were asked whether a knife could be a good tool for surgery. It depends which one? A knife from Narpit’s canteen, of course, will be a bad tool, but a surgical knife will be good.”

“The study of a difficult child,” wrote L.S. Vygotsky, “more than any other type of child, should be based on long-term observation of him in the process of upbringing, on pedagogical experiment, on the study of the products of creativity, play and all aspects of the child’s behavior.”

“Tests for the study of will, emotional side, fantasy, character, etc. can be used as an auxiliary and indicative tool.”

From the above statements by L.S. Vygotsky is clear: he believed that tests themselves cannot be an objective indicator of mental development. However, he did not deny the admissibility of their limited use along with other methods of studying the child. In essence, Vygotsky’s view of tests is similar to that held in given time psychologists and defectologists.

L.S. pays a lot of attention to his works. Vygotsky focused on the problem of studying abnormal children and their correct selection into special institutions. Modern principles of selection (comprehensive, holistic, dynamic, systematic and integrated study) of children are rooted in the concept of L.S. Vygotsky.

Ideas L.S. Vygotsky about the features mental development of the child, about the zones of current and proximal development, the leading role of teaching and upbringing, the need for a dynamic and systematic approach to the implementation of corrective action taking into account the integrity of personal development, and a number of others were reflected and developed in theoretical and experimental research by domestic scientists, as well as in practice different types schools for abnormal children.

In the early 30s. L.S. Vygotsky worked fruitfully in the field of pathopsychology. One of the leading provisions of this science, which contributes to a correct understanding of the abnormal development of mental activity, according to well-known experts, is the concept of the unity of intellect and affect. L.S. Vygotsky calls it the cornerstone in the development of a child with intact intelligence and a mentally retarded child. The significance of this idea goes far beyond the problems in connection with which it was expressed. Lev Semenovich believed that “the unity of intellect and affect ensures the process of regulation and mediation of our behavior (in Vygotsky’s terminology, “changes our actions”).”

L.S. Vygotsky took a new approach to the experimental study of the basic processes of thinking and to the study of how higher mental functions are formed and how they disintegrate under pathological conditions of the brain. Thanks to the work carried out by Vygotsky and his colleagues, the processes of decay received their new scientific explanation...

The problems of speech pathology that interested Lev Semenovich began to be studied under his leadership at the EDI speech clinic school. In particular, from 1933–1934. One of Lev Semenovich’s students, Roza Evgenievna Levina, dealt with the study of alalik children.

Lev Semenovich attempted a thorough psychological analysis of the changes in speech and thinking that occur with aphasia. (These ideas were subsequently developed and worked out in detail by A.R. Luria).

Theoretical and methodological concept developed by L.S. Vygotsky, ensured the transition of defectology from empirical, descriptive positions to truly scientific foundations, contributing to the formation of defectology as a science.

Such famous defectologists as E.S. Bain, T.A. Vlasova, R.E. Levina, N.G. Morozova, Zh.I. Schiff, who was lucky enough to work with Lev Semenovich, evaluate his contribution to the development of theory and practice: "His works served scientific basis construction of special schools and theoretical basis principles and methods for studying the diagnosis of difficult (abnormal) children. Vygotsky left an enduring legacy scientific significance, included in the treasury of Soviet and world psychology, defectology, psychoneurology and other related sciences.”

Fragments of the book by G.L. Vygodskaya and T.M. Lifanova “Lev Semenovich Vygotsky. Life. Activity. Touches to the portrait." - M.: Smysl, 1996. - P. 114–126 (abbreviated).*

1896-1934) - well-known in world psychology of owls. psychologist. The greatest fame was brought to V. by the cultural and historical concept of the development of higher mental functions he created, the theoretical and empirical potential of which has not yet been exhausted (which can be said about almost all other aspects of V.’s creativity). In the early period of his creativity (before 1925), V. developed the problems of the psychology of art, believing that the objective structure of a work of art evokes in the subject at least two opposing affects, the contradiction between which is resolved in catharsis, which lies at the basis of aesthetic reactions. A little later, V. develops problems of methodology and theory of psychology (“The Historical Meaning of the Psychological Crisis”), outlines a program for constructing a concrete scientific methodology of psychology based on the philosophy of Marxism (see Causal-dynamic analysis). For 10 years, V. was engaged in defectology, creating in Moscow a laboratory for the psychology of abnormal childhood (1925-1926), which later became integral part Experimental Defectological Institute (EDI), and developed a qualitatively new theory of the development of an abnormal child. In the last stage of his work, he took up problems of the relationship between thinking and speech, the development of meanings in ontogenesis, problems of egocentric speech, etc. (“Thinking and Speech”, 1934). In addition, he developed problems of the systemic and semantic structure of consciousness and self-awareness, the unity of affect and intellect, various problems of child psychology (see Zone of proximal development, Learning and development), problems of mental development in phylo- and sociogenesis, the problem of cerebral localization of higher mental functions and many etc.

He had a significant influence on domestic and world psychology and other sciences related to psychology (pedology, pedagogy, defectology, linguistics, art history, philosophy, semiotics, neuroscience, cognitive science, cultural anthropology, systems approach, etc.). V.’s first and closest students were A. R. Luria and A. N. Leontiev (“troika”), later they were joined by L. I. Bozhovich, A. V. Zaporozhets, R. E. Levina, N. G. Morozova, L.S. Slavina ("five"), who created their original psychological concepts. V.'s ideas are developed by his followers in many countries of the world. (E. E. Sokolova.)

Added ed.: Main works of V.: Collection. op. in 6 vols. (1982-1984); "Educational Psychology" (1926); "Sketches on the History of Behavior" (1930; co-authored with Luria); "The Psychology of Art" (1965). The best biographical book about V.: G. L. Vygodskaya, T. M. Lifanova. "Lev Semyonovich Vygotsky" (1996). See also Instrumentalism, Intellectualization, Interiorization, Cultural-historical psychology, Double stimulation method, Functionalism, Experimental genetic method for studying mental development.

VYGOTSKY Lev Semenovich

Lev Semenovich (1896-1934) - Russian psychologist who contributed greatly scientific contribution in the field of general and educational psychology, philosophy and theory of psychology, developmental psychology, psychology of art, defectology. Author of the cultural-historical theory of behavior and development of the human psyche. Professor (1928). Having graduated from the Faculty of Law of the First State Moscow University and at the same time from the Faculty of History and Philology of the People's University A.L. Shanyavsky (1913-1917), taught from 1918 to 1924 at several institutes in Gomel (Belarus). Played an important role in literary and cultural life of this city. Even in the pre-revolutionary period, V. wrote a treatise on Hamlet, which contains existential motifs about the eternal sorrow of existence. Organized psychological laboratory at the Pedagogical School of Gomel and began work on the manuscript of a textbook on psychology for secondary school teachers (Pedagogical Psychology. Short course, 1926). He was an uncompromising supporter of natural science psychology, focused on the teachings of I.M. Sechenov and I.P. Pavlov, which he considered the foundation for building a new system of ideas about the determination of human behavior, including in the perception of works of art. In 1924, V. moved to Moscow and became an employee of the Institute of Psychology of Moscow State University, of which K.I. was appointed director. Kornilov and who was given the task of restructuring psychology on the basis of the philosophy of Marxism. In 1925, V. published the article Consciousness as a problem in the psychology of behavior (Collected Psychology and Marxism, L.-M., 1925) and wrote the book Psychology of Art, in which he summarizes his work of 1915-1922. (published in 1965 and 1968). He subsequently returned to the topic of art only in 1932 in a single article devoted to the actor’s work (and from the standpoint of a socio-historical understanding of the human psyche). From 1928 to 1932 V. worked at the Academy of Communist Education named after. N.K. Krupskaya, where he created a psychological laboratory at the faculty, the dean of which was A.R. Luria. During this period, V.'s interests concentrated around pedology, which he tried to give the status of a separate discipline and conducted research in this direction (Pedology of the Adolescent, 1929-1931). Together with B.E. Warsaw published the first domestic Psychological Dictionary (M., 1931). However, political pressure on Soviet psychology was increasing. The works of V. and other psychologists were subjected to sharp criticism in the press and at conferences from an ideological position, which made it very difficult further development research and their implementation in pedagogical practice. In 1930, the Ukrainian Psychoneurological Academy was founded in Kharkov, where A.N. Leontyev and A.R. Luria. V. often visited them, but did not leave Moscow, because During this period, he established relations with the Leningrad State University. In the last 2-3 years of his life, he began to formulate a theory of child development, creating the theory of the zone of proximal development. During the ten year journey to psychological science V. created something new scientific direction, the basis of which is the doctrine of the socio-historical nature of human consciousness. At the beginning of his scientific career, he believed that new psychology was called upon to integrate with reflexology into a single science. Later, V. condemns reflexology for dualism, since, ignoring consciousness, it took it beyond the limits of the bodily mechanism of behavior. In the article Consciousness as a problem of behavior (1925), he outlined a plan for the study of mental functions, based on their role as indispensable regulators of behavior, which in humans includes speech components. Based on K. Marx’s position on the difference between instinct and consciousness, V. proves that thanks to work, experience is doubled and a person acquires the ability to build twice: first in thoughts, then in deeds. Understanding the word as an action (first a speech complex, then a speech reaction), V. sees in the word a special sociocultural mediator between the individual and the world. He attaches special importance to its sign nature, due to which the structure of a person’s mental life changes qualitatively and his mental functions (perception, memory, attention, thinking) from elementary become higher. Interpreting the signs of language as mental tools, which, unlike tools of labor, do not change physical world , and the consciousness of the subject operating them, V. proposed an experimental program for studying how, thanks to these structures, a system of higher mental functions develops. This program was successfully carried out by him together with a team of employees who formed School B. The center of interests of this school was the cultural development of the child. Along with normal children, V. paid great attention to abnormal ones (suffering from defects of vision, hearing, and mental retardation), becoming the founder of a special science - defectology, in the development of which he defended humanistic ideals. V. outlined the first version of his theoretical generalizations concerning the patterns of development of the psyche in ontogenesis in the work Development of Higher Mental Functions, written by him in 1931. This work presented a scheme for the formation of the human psyche in the process of using signs as a means of regulating mental activity - first in the external interaction of an individual with other people, and then the transition of this process from outside to inside, as a result of which the subject gains the ability to control his own behavior (this process was called interiorization). In subsequent works, V. focuses on the study of the meaning of the sign, that is, on the (mainly intellectual) content associated with it. Thanks to this new approach, he, together with his students, developed an experimentally substantiated theory of child mental development, embodied in his main work Thinking and Speech (1934). He closely connected these studies with the problem of learning and its impact on mental development, covering a wide range of problems of great practical importance. Among the ideas he put forward in this regard, the position on the zone of proximal development gained particular popularity, according to which only that teaching is effective that runs ahead of development, as if pulling it along with it, revealing the child’s ability to solve, with the participation of the teacher, those tasks that he can independently solve. can't cope. V. attached great importance to the crises that a child experiences during the transition from one age level to another in the development of a child. Mental development was interpreted by V. as inseparably linked with motivational (in his terminology, affective), therefore, in his research, he affirmed the principle of the unity of affect and intelligence, but his early death prevented him from implementing a program of research analyzing this principle of development. Only the preparatory work has survived in the form of a large manuscript, The Doctrine of Emotions. A historical and psychological study, the main content of which is the analysis of the Passions of the Soul by R. Descartes - a work that, according to V., determines the ideological appearance of modern psychology of feelings with its dualism of lower and higher emotions. V. believed that the prospect of overcoming dualism was contained in the Ethics of V. Spinoza, but V. did not show how it would be possible to rebuild psychology based on Spinoza’s philosophy. V.'s works were distinguished by a high methodological culture. The presentation of specific experimental and theoretical problems was invariably accompanied by philosophical reflection. This was most clearly reflected both in works on thinking, speech, emotions, and in the analysis of the ways of development of psychology and the causes of its crisis at the beginning of the 20th century. V. believed that the crisis has a historical meaning. His manuscript, which was first published only in 1982, although the work was written in 1927, was called - The historical meaning of the psychological crisis. This meaning, as V. believed, was that the disintegration of psychology into separate directions, each of which presupposes its own, incompatible with the others, understanding of the subject and methods of psychology is natural. Overcoming this tendency towards the disintegration of science into many separate sciences requires the creation of a special discipline of general psychology as a doctrine of fundamental general concepts and explanatory principles that allow this science to maintain its unity. For these purposes, the philosophical principles of psychology must be rebuilt and this science must be freed from spiritualistic influences, from the version according to which the main method in it should be an intuitive understanding of spiritual values, and not an objective analysis of the nature of the individual and his experiences. In this regard, V. outlines (also unrealized, like many of his other plans) a project for developing psychology in terms of drama. He writes that personality dynamics are drama. Drama is expressed in external behavior in that case when there is a collision of people playing different roles on the stage of life. Internally, drama is associated, for example, with a conflict between reason and feeling, when the mind and heart are not in harmony. Although V.’s early death did not allow him to implement many promising programs, his ideas, which revealed the mechanisms and laws of the cultural development of the individual, the development of his mental functions (attention, speech, thinking, affects), outlined a fundamentally new approach to the fundamental issues of the formation of this personality. This has significantly enriched the practice of teaching and raising normal and abnormal children. V.'s ideas received wide resonance in all sciences that study man, including linguistics, psychiatry, ethnography, sociology, etc. They defined an entire stage in the development of humanities in Russia and still retain their heuristic potential. Proceedings.V published in Collected Works in 6 volumes - M, Pedagogy, 1982 - 1984, as well as in the books: Structural Psychology, M., Moscow State University, 1972; Problems of defectology, M., Education, 1995; Lectures on pedology, 1933-1934, Izhevsk, 1996; Psychology, M., 2000. L.A. Karpenko, M.G. Yaroshevsky