The Making of Mind by A. R. Luria

First published: 1979

Type of work: Autobiography

Time of work: The 1920’s to the 1970’s

Locale: The Soviet Union

Principal Personages:

• A. R. Luria, an influential Soviet psychologist who assesses his life and work
• Konstantin Kornilov, a pioneer in the field of psychology
• Lev Vygotsky, a developmental psychologist

Form and Content

A.R. Luria’s narrative of his life and career began as an outline for an American documentary about his work and eventually developed into an autobiography. The title immediately reveals much about the significance of the book itself: “The making of mind” is meant in two senses. Naturally, Luria narrates the genesis of his own theories and outlines a lifetime of intellectual development—the making of his own mind. Yet he also explores the major issues of nineteenth and twentieth century psychology from the perspective of a sixty-year career. According to Luria, the principal issues in the history of psychology have been to define the mind, to explain how individual consciousness comes into being, and to distinguish mind from brain.

The fact that this work by a major Soviet psychologist first appeared in English suggests the passion Luria felt for developing a discipline which reconciled differences and took into account relevant ideas from science and philosophy, clinical and theoretical work, Russian and other Western traditions, Marxist theory, and other lines of thought (such as psychoanalysis). Luria summarizes these various conflicting approaches within his field in the final chapter, which contrasts classical and romantic science. The main thread running through the narrative is Luria’s lifelong attempt to mediate these oppositions. An introduction and epilogue by Michael Cole, who coedited the work with Sheila Cole, clarify this inclusive tendency of Luria’s career and, in addition, provide some personal biographical information to round out Luria’s intellectual autobiography.

Luria’s account consists of ten chapters which fall rather neatly into three divisions. The first division (chapters 1, 2, and 3) narrates his apprenticeship, his early work with pioneer psychologist Konstantin Kornilov in Moscow, and his stimulating association with developmental psychologist Lev Vygotsky. The second division of Luria’s account (chapters 4 through 9) covers the period of his mature work, carried out during the 1930’s, 1940’s, and 1950’s on a wide-ranging series of projects, from cultural differences in thinking to neuropsychological research during World War II. In the last division of the book, chapter 10, Luria summarizes his work during the 1960’s and 1970’s and assesses the successes, failures, and significance of his career.

Because the work is written in a straightforward, jargon-free manner, it is appropriate reading for both specialists in the field of psychology and nonspecialists. It would be of particular interest, too, for anyone wishing to understand how Soviet academic and professional life is seen and understood by a respected figure within the system.

For an autobiography, the book is remarkably self-effacing. It is a beautifully written personal account which somehow transcends the personal. As Luria writes in the final paragraph, “People come and go, but the creative sources of great historical events and the important ideas and deeds remain. That is perhaps the only excuse I had for writing this book.”

Critical Context

Luria’s autobiography emphasizes its own historical, intellectual, and critical context. Most important, throughout his narrative, Luria insists on the continuing influence of the Russian Revolution, and particularly its Marxist underpinnings, in the conception and execution of his work. He also sees his life and his writings as largely determined by his early reading in the fields of philosophy, medicine, psychology, psychoanalysis, and linguistics, and much of his narrative is an acknowledgment of his personal intellectual debts, particularly in reference to his association with Lev Vygotsky.

Clearly, Luria’s contribution to psychology is not only the product of history but also a part of it as well. Since the late 1970’s, when their work became available in the West, both Luria and Vygotsky have had an important and increasing impact in the fields of psychology, linguistics, education, and literary theory. Luria’s appeal in the West arises from both the classical and the romantic aspects of his work. Psychoneurologist Oliver Sacks, for example, considers Luria’s work on memory and brain-damaged patients (examples of romantic, or idiographic, science) a strong influence on his own work in these areas. As European and American scholars and practitioners have become more interested in the interactive nature of human life, and in the methodologies which Soviet psychologists have developed for collecting data, they have turned more readily to the work of their Soviet contemporaries.

In The Making of Mind, Luria attempts to account for his successes, uncover the common themes of his wide-ranging projects, and justify the disruptions in his career caused by political circumstances. Though this autobiography is superficially less personal than might be expected, the reader senses underneath the narrative Luria’s desire to create a higher order and greater consistency within his life as he approaches the end of it. This book is also an important contribution to the literature of psychology and history: It provides insights into the history of psychology, into the Soviet academic and professional milieu, and into the mind of an interesting man.

Bibliography

Connolly, Kevin. “Other Men’s Minds,” in Science. CCLXXXIII (February 21, 1980), p. 797.

Duncan, C.P. Review in American Journal of Psychology. XCIII (June, 1980), p. 373.

Psychology Today. Review. XIV (June, 1980), p. 84.

Qangwill, O.L. Review in The Times Literary Supplement. April 25, 1980, p. 461.

Wertsch, J.W. Review in Science. CCVII (January 11, 1980), p. 172.