The Nature of the Social for Piaget and Vygotsky

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Abstract
According to the standard interpretation concerning the role of the social in the theories of Vygotsky and Piaget, Piaget is a biological individualist whereas Vygotsky is a sociocultural collectivist. The mental is internal and private for Piaget but external and public for Vygotsky. Although this view appears to be mistaken, it does raise the question of how Piaget and Vygotsky conceive of the nature of the social in relation to the individual. The issue of individualism versus holism, and Piaget’s alternative of relationalism, are discussed, as well as Vygotsky’s much less clearly articulated views of the nature of the social, and it is concluded that these views seem very similar to Piaget’s. The issue of descriptive versus explanatory emergence is introduced, and Piaget’s and Vygotsky’s views on this issue are examined. Piaget seems to deny explanatory emergence, while Vygotsky appears to advocate it. This contrast leads to the question of domain-general versus domain-specific psychological principles and their relation to social principles.

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