Approximations Between Cultural-historical Psychology and Enactivism: Applications to Theories of Memory and Implications for Education.

Summary

Memory is not a static mental storehouse but a dynamic, mediated activity shaped by social and material contexts. This argument emerges from a synthesis of enactivist theories and cultural-historical activity theory, both of which reject internalist models of cognition. The integration centers on the dialectical interplay of internalization and externalization, where psychological functions develop through engagement with tools, signs, and social practices. The concept of functional organs from activity theory parallels enactivist notions of embodied and extended cognition. Levels of processing theory is incorporated to show that cognitive depth arises from meaningful, socially mediated interaction. Labor exemplifies how memory becomes sedimented in material culture through cooperative activity and ecological norm development.

Study at a glance

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.