Allomorphic development: A major postulate of Vygotskian theory

Abstract

The article stresses the importance of Vygotsky’s postulates on evolution and history for understanding his developmental theory, focusing especially on his thesis on the clear-cut replacement of evolution by history. That thesis shaped the general theoretical plane consisting of several opposing and almost mutually exclusive pairs of solutions, such as biology - culture, individual - collective, animal - human, evolution - history etc. Such general solutions offer too narrow a framework for elaborating a theory of ontogenesis. This is the background on which the true meaning of the postulate of allomorphic development is presented, along with an analysis of several more specific related theses. The article ends with a critical review of Vygotsky’s general postulates, pointing out to the ideological dimension of his developmental psychology.

Keywords

• evolution
• phylogenesis
• history
• Marxism
• learning-development