Nonclassical and Postnonclassical epistemology in Lev Vygotsky's cultural-historical approach to clinical psychology

• Published in: Psychology in Russia : state of the art Vol. 6; no. 1; pp. 43 - 56
• Main Authors: Zinchenko, Yury P, Pervichko, Elena I
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Moscow Russian Psychological Society 01-01-2013; M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University
• Subjects: Child psychology; Clinical psychology; cultural-historical psychology; higher mental functions; nonclassical epistemology; postnonclassical epistemology; psychological syndrome analysis; Qualitative research; Rationality; Science; self-developing systems; Studies; Theory; Vygotsky-Luria school
• ISSN: 2074-6857; 2307-2202
• DOI: 10.11621/pir.2013.0104

The work presents historiographic and theoretical methodological study of establishment of fundamental theses of L.S. Vygotsky's cultural-historical concept within the field of clinical psychology. We prove potency in application of contemporary philosophical concepts, which help distinguish between the types of scientific rationality (classical, nonclassical, and postnonclassical), for scientific reflection over the development of psychology and designation of paradigmatic status of cultural-historic concept suggested by L.S. Vygotsky and Vygotsky-Luria syndrome approach at the contemporary stage of science. Present study of scientific works of L.S. Vygotsky and his followers demonstrated that fundamentals of cultural-historic conception suggested by L.S. Vygotsky and further developed in methodology of Vygotsky-Luria syndrome approach, these fundamentals presented the origins of not only non-classical, but as well post-nonclassical model of scientific rationality. They are characterized by post-nonclassical understanding of the object and method of psychological study and post-nonclassical mode of thinking of the scientists. As it was showed, in works of L.S. Vygotsky there formulated general methodological requirements to organization of mental studies, which, on the whole, go in tune with the requirements introduced for study of complex self-developing systems. There were produced arguments to prove that the concept of Vygotsky-Luria syndrome approach describes mental syndromes as dynamic structures, which display the features of self-organization, self-determination and adaptive rationality. Hence, they can be regarded as open self-developing systems. We assume and verify the hypothesis that the syndrome analysis, due to the features of post-nonclassic modeling of scientific rationality it reveals, may be regarded as theoretically productive methodological approach at the modern stage of science.