Brain and history: The relationship between neurophysiology and psychology in Soviet research

By Luciano Mecacci

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• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0876302185
• ISBN13: 9780876302187
• Release Date: January 1979
• Publisher: Brunner/Mazel
• Length: 198 Pages
• Weight: 1.01 lbs.

Customer Reviews

The Russians Knew A Thing Or Two

Mecacci, an Italian psychologist, presents an easily readable survey of Soviet-era psycho-neurobiology up to the late 1970s. Mecacci discusses Pavlov as a central figure--examining his predecessors, colleagues and successors. Mecacci argues that the Marxist philosophy of dialectical materialism provided not only grist for the prevailing orthodoxy and a burden to free inquiry, but also may have given something positive. What? Well, it seemed to help some formulators unburden themselves from 'mind'- 'body' dualism. For some researchers, it provided a more flexible version of materialism that allowed them to more easily remember the connections between brain, behavior, culture, language, and society. Go figure! The works of Vygotsky, Luria, Bernshtein, Anokhin, and others discussed in this book still seem pioneering. This book gives a sharp summary of their contributions.