Introduction

The interpretations of Vygotsky’s work in both Russian and Western psychology have predominantly focused on his work between 1928 and 1931 (González Rey, 2001, 2008a, 2008b; Leontiev, 1992, 2001), known as cultural-historical theory. In this dominant approach, his contributions concerning emotions and fantasy and his attempt to understand the mind as a complex system have been overlooked. The attempts to identify Vygotsky with American pragmatists have avoided those of Vygotsky’s ideas which do not correspond to the interpreters’ theoretical positions. This fact does not imply any deliberate intention; interpretations always represent new constructions based on the interpreters’ views. But of course, some interpretations are always better supported and more convincing than others.

Until very recent times, those of Vygotsky’s ideas that have been highlighted by most of his Western and Russian interpreters have been taken as an expression of Vygotsky’s mature work. In Western psychology, this one-sided interpretation of Vygotsky’s work has found its most extensive application in the Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT), that has been put forth as a theoretical fusion between Vygotsky and Leontiev, omitting the great differences between them.