An Introduction to Dewey's Theory of Functional "Trans-Action": An Alternative Paradigm for Activity Theory

Abstract

Engeström and Miettinen in their introduction to their edited book with Punamäki (1999) compared John Dewey with the work of A. N. Leont'ev. The understanding of Dewey's work in this introduction reaches a depth rarely plumbed by those who are not specialized in Deweyan scholarship. By expanding on this comparison and contrast it is possible to develop a Deweyan critique of activity theory, at least as we find it in Leont'ev. My article suggests that activity theory (a) remains captured by a dualism between the external and the internal, (b) sometimes ignores context because it fails to distinguish existence from essence, and (c) sometimes over-intellectualizes the activities it analyzes. It is also possible to develop a Deweyan theory of activity. The article introduces (a) Dewey's theory of "trans-action," (b) his theory of functional coordination, and (c) the notion that we live in a world without a within. The article concludes with a comment on Dewey's theory of the mental, intentionality, and semiotics.