96' 6, page 107
Shotter J.
M. M. Bakhtin and L. S. Vygotsky: internalization as a «boundary phenomenon»
(resume)
The author argued that rather than having a
mechanical and systematic character, our «inner
lives» function in essentially the same
communicative terms as our ordinary, everyday
transactions with other people out in the world.
This account is further extended: Making use of M.
M. Bakhtin's writings, it is claimed that instead
of functioning in terms of already well-formed
mental representations at the centre of our being,
awaiting codification in words, our mental
activities are only «given form» at the time of
their expression, in a moment by moment process of
«ethically sensitive negotiation» at the
boundaries of our being. This gives rise to a
nonreferential, responsive view of speech, and
suggests that when we speak of as our selves or as
our ideas, rather than being real origins, or
extralinguistic points of reference «outside» of
our discourses, are created as a part of them.
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