Approximations between cultural-historical psychology and enactivism: Applications to theories of memory and implications for education
Summary
This paper integrates enactivist memory theories with cultural-historical activity theory, arguing that both reject internalist models of cognition. Instead, they converge on a socially embedded, ecologically grounded understanding of memory as a dynamic, mediated activity rather than a static mental repository. Central is the dialectical interplay of internalization and externalization, where psychological functions emerge through engagement with tools, signs, and social practices. The activity-theoretical concept of functional organs parallels enactivist notions of embodied and extended cognition. Memory is historically constituted and ecologically distributed, emerging from the reciprocal relationship between embodied agents and their socio-material worlds.
Study at a glance
| Design | theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Key finding | Memory is historically constituted and ecologically distributed, emerging from the reciprocal relationship between embodied agents and their socio-material worlds. |
Abstract
This paper aims to foster a conceptual synthesis between enactivist theories of memory and cultural-historical activity theory, exploring their shared rejection of internalist models of cognition. By comparing these frameworks, we argue that both converge on a socially embedded, ecologically grounded understanding of memory as a dynamic, mediated activity rather than a static mental repository. Central to this integration is the dialectical interplay of internalization and externalization, through which psychological functions emerge via engagement with tools, signs, and social practices. We highlight how the activity-theoretical concept of functional organs parallels enactivist notions of embodied and extended cognition, situating memory within historically structured environments and practical activity. Further, we incorporate levels of processing theory to show that cognitive depth arises not from abstract effort alone, but through meaningful, socially mediated interaction. Labor is examined as a paradigmatic form of sense-making, demonstrating how memory becomes sedimented in material culture through cooperative activity and ecological norm development. Ultimately, this cross-theoretical dialogue reveals memory as historically constituted and ecologically distributed, emerging from the reciprocal relationship between embodied agents and their socio-material worlds.