Experience, Cognition, and Language in Lev S. Vygotsky. A Socio-Cognitive Approach to Meaning and Understanding

The aim of this paper is to reconstruct Lev S. Vygotsky’s contribution to some highly topical issues in cognitive science, in particular the issues related to «social cognition», which should be understood as a key aspect of human cognitive development. We will focus on the biological features of humans that enable the sociocultural activities and experiences typical of our species. These include the cognitive relevance of corporeality (i.e., the human body as a body in action and interaction with physical and social reality), the human mind as being «continuous» to the body, and the role of language in the human cognitive and action space. Human knowledge is therefore to be understood in its performative dimension. Within this theoretical framework and in the context of recent developments in cognitive science, Vygotsky can be seen as an exponent and a pioneer of that branch of studies aiming to place the naturalistic notion of social relationships at the centre of theoretical considerations.