“Although practical intelligence [tool use] and sign use [language] can operate independently of each other in young children, the dialectical unity of these systems in the human adult is the very essence of complex human behavior [cognition]. Our analysis accords symbolic activity a specific organizing function that penetrates the process of tool use and produces fundamentally new forms of behavior.” (p.24)

In "dialectically mediated cognition", everything is transformed by everything else:

the human agent, tool, language, world, other people, self image, etc. interact to mutually constitute each other; they mediate the social construction and/or historical development of each other.

The seminar readings will delve into the rich history of the concept of "mediation" in philosophy and cognitive science.

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