Programa de Pós-Graduação em Educação em Ciências e Matemática (PPGECM), Universidade Federal do Sul e Sudeste do Pará (Unifesspa), Marabá, PA, Brasil.
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.
Memory is not a static mental storehouse but a dynamic, socially embedded activity shaped by tools, signs, and social practices. This paper synthesizes enactivist theories of memory with 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 emerge through engagement with the environment. The concept of functional organs in activity theory parallels enactivist ideas of embodied and extended cognition. Levels of processing theory is incorporated to show that cognitive depth arises from meaningful, socially mediated interaction.