Concept of Will as an Open Problem in Culture-Historical Context

Abstract

Outlines a new approach to the problem of development of will, emanating from the tradition of thought represented by Vygotsky and Bozhovich. The main conceptual de-velopment lies in drawing a distinction between two concepts – will (volya) and goal appropriation, self-regulation, executive cognitive control of behavior (proyzvolnost’). Both concepts emphasize the readiness and ability of an individual to pursue a goal. The distinction lies in the nature of that goal determination. In will, it is self generated and comes from the inner world of the individual while in goal appropriation, it is determined by an external source but is readily appropriated. A such distinction is supported by re-cent findings in neuroscience which describe the actualization of di˙erent brain structures depending on whether an individual acts upon will or willingly submission. Hence, the personality development is considered as a process of will development in which will and goal appropriation inter plays and progresses in specific stages paving the way for subjunctivization or becoming a true subject of that culture.