Alexander R. Luria: His Life and Work

Autobiography of Alexander Luria: A Dialogue with the Making of Mind

By Michael Cole, Karl Levitin, and Alexander Luria. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum, 2006. xvi + 276 pp. Paper, $19.95.

This book is the second edition of Alexander Luria's autobiography The Making of Mind, edited by Michael Cole and Sheila Cole, which was initially published in 1979 with an introduction and epilogue by Michael Cole. In the Preface, Michael Cole and Karl Levitin bring up two reasons for publishing the new edition of Luria's autobiography: The 1979 edition has gone out of print, and it did not provide the reader with an objective context of Luria's life and work because it was written when the Communist Party governed the Soviet Union, and the publication had to be made acceptable to Soviet officials. To overcome this shortcoming of the 1979 edition, the 2006 edition of Luria's autobiography does not simply replicate the 1979 edition but supplements it with two concluding essays by Cole and Levitin, "Luria in Social Context" and "Luria in Personal Context," and with a DVD containing interviews with distinguished scholars who personally knew Luria.

Clifford Morris

Remembering the Father of Neuropsychology

Cole, Michael, Levitin, Karl, & Luria, Alexander (Eds.). (2005). The Autobiography of Alexander Luria: A Dialogue with The Making of Mind with an accompanying DVD Archive. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers. xvi + 276 pp. BF109.L87C65 2005 ISBN: 0-8058-5499-1 Paperback

Book reviewed¹by Clifford Morris on May 17, 2006.

The Autobiography of Alexander Luria A Dialogue with The Making of Mind is the title to a recent book dedicated to Alexander Romanovich Luria, one of the most prominent Russian scientists of the 20th century. Alexander Romanovich was born on July 16, 1902, in Kazan, a small town east of Moscow and died on August 14, in Moscow. His Jewish parents, Roman A. Luria and Eugenia Hasskin, were physicians.

For approximately forty years, Alexander Romanovich conducted successful research on the functions of the brain such as analyzing changes in function as a result of local brain lesions, attention, learning and forgetting and perception. As his academic life spanned a significant portion of the last hundred years, this revised autobiography gives the reader another glimpse into the development of neurology and psychology in Russia. Thus, I feel that this revised version will become of great interest to a wide readership.

The autobiography provides a detailed and careful description of the life and academic career of Alexander Romanovich, as edited by Michael Cole, one of the leading psychologist in the social sciences and a distinguished American cross-cultural theoretician and Karl Levitin, a Russian science journalist. This updated text is the second edition of Luria's original 1979 autobiography The Making of Mind: A personal account of Soviet Psychology. That original autobiography "has gone out of print, and is not readily available" (Cole, Levitin & Luria, 2005, p. xi)

Cole, probably the person who best knows Alexander Romanovich's life and work, spent many years during the 1960's and 1970's working closely with Luria at Moscow State University. Shortly after his death, Cole facilitated the publication of his 1979 autobiography.

Alexander Romanovich and other scientists of that terrible time laboured "under the burden of heavy government censorship" (Cole et al., 2005, p. 2). They lived in continuous fear of Josef Stalin and his oppressive measures, from 1935 to 1955. Perhaps the authors best sum up this fear when they state:

It is almost impossible to overstate the sometimes subtle, sometimes terrifying evident, problems of all kinds that faced Soviet citizens during Luria's lifetime. It must be remembered that in the 1970's, when Luria wrote his autobiography and Levitin his autobiography, in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the Communist Party governed the USSR. The party controlled the lives of its citizens with a heavy ideological, and often, physical hand. There were still gulags (concentration camps) for anyone deemed an enemy of the state, places which many people entered, but many fewer lived to walk away from. All publications within the country were subject to censorship, and publications that appeared in translation were even more heavily censored to ensure that their ideological appropriateness, as determined by the organs of the Party. (Cole et al., 2005, p. xii)

For his own safety, Alexander Romanovich's autobiography had to be quite out of the ordinary, excluding "information about the circumstances of Luria's life and how he dealt personally and scientifically with the rapidly shifting, often dangerous, social context in which he worked" (Cole et al., 2005, p. xii). Throughout the 276 pages of my 2006 paperback version, the authors have uncovered much of this personal information since the fall of Stalinism and the demise of the former Soviet Union. In short, they are to be commended for adding this additional information to this latest version.

To sum up these opening comments, Alexander Romanovich continues to be cited and referenced as one of the most significant psychological researchers and theorists of the 20th century. A Marxist writer and noted Russian neuropsychologist of international importance, he was quite well known and respected throughout his adult life. From 1960 until his death, Luria's recognition by his psychological colleagues in the West became widespread. Many of his books and articles were published in English during the last two decades of his life. Two such works were case studies: The Mind of a Mnemonist: A Little Book about a Vast Memory (1968) and The Man With A Shattered World (1972). Taken together, both books represent, as Oliver Sacks once mentioned, "a type of romantic science" in which detailed scientific data about an individual is presented by employing strongly novelistic forms".

* * * * *

After a brief comment about the 1979 version of The Making of Mind: A Personal Account of Soviet Psychology, I will use greater type to comment on the content of three new (2004) chapters, highlight the contents of an attached DVD. Then, I shall tell you why I feel that this is an important book. Finally, I will conclude my book review with a brief summary and a list of references.

The Making of Mind: A Personal Account of Soviet Psychology

The middle (10) chapters of The Making of Mind: A Personal Account of Soviet Psychology was scribed initially in Russian by Luria and later translated by Cole and his colleagues into English. Throughout, Alexander Romanovich looked back over his life and career in psychology, drawing attention to the Soviet scientific establishment and his continuous struggle to formulate a new psychological theory concerning intelligence, language and memory. That is, Alexander Romanovich's outlined his most important contributions to developing a cultural-historical psychology. Michael Cole wrote the opening (Introduction: The historical Context) and final chapter (Epilogue: A portrait of Luria). To read all of the original text, click on the front cover image.

New Chapters

Three new chapters have been added to the original 1979 text, namely a 2004 Preface Putting A Scientific Autobiography Into Its Social and Personal Contexts and two final chapters, Luria In Social Context and Luria in Personal Context: Reconciling Contradictions.

In the Preface, Cole and Levitin well-locate Alexander Romanovich's text in its historical and intellectual context. They set up an ambitious goal of bringing together Alexander Romanovich's own account of his scientific life. Central to the theoretical framework of Alexander Romanovich and his colleagues "was the idea that human psychological process are unique in that the biological functioning of the human brain depends crucially upon immersion in human culture -- the circuits of the human brain develop through their interaction with a culturally organized environment, without which the brain can neither develop nor function normally" (Cole et al., 2005, p. viii). They clearly sum of their goal in writing the revised chapters when they state: "This book represents our effort to deal with the difficult problem of respecting Luria's account of his scientific career while providing the world with a fuller account of the connections between his life and work and the social conditions of that life in the historical context of his country" (Cole et al., 2005, p. xv).

To sum, the authors utilize these chapters to provide a well-rounded picture of Alexander Romanovich as a human being and his intellectual and moral tenacity in managing to sustain his driving interests through the changes in the nature of his professional work ... changes that were forced on him by the political upheavals that took place during the terrible years of Stalinism. These chapters provide a more rounded image ofAlexander Romanovich as a person and of his intellectual and moral tenacity in managing to sustain his driving interests through the changes in the nature of his professional work.

The DVD Archive

The authors have also included a well-orchestrated DVD consisting of a series of six interviews from prominent scholar who knew and worked closely with Alexander Romanovich. Throughout all of the interviews, the reader receives informative glimpses into the Soviet life of Luria, from the 1930's to the 1980's.

Here are a few comments about those interviews.

Introduction by Michael Cole

Cole begins his 2004 California overview by stating that the purpose of the DVD is to understand better the seriousness of Alexander Romanovich's scientific work and perhaps as important, how contemporary his work continues to be, in particular, Luria's cross-cultural work and the importance of literacy in human cognition. Cole then presents the viewer with an quick overview of the subsequent five 2002 personal interviews whereby well-known psychologists from around the world who lived and / or worked closely with Alexander Romanovich reminiscence about their personal and professional experiences with him.

Karl Levitin interviews Jagannath P. Das In this Amsterdam interview, Jagannath P. Das, a University of Alberta education psychology professor comments on his 1975 Russian visit with Alexander Romanovich. Briefly stated for here, about two years before Luria's death, Das was invited by Alexander Romanovich to visit him in his Moscow laboratory ... a visit that Das stated (during the interview) was the most significant and remarkable experience in his academic career. Das uses the rest of the interview to comment on his time with Luria. For example, Das mentions Luria's humour and strait-forwardness, especially Alexander Romanovich's dedication to his scientific work and how he often assisted his post-graduate students with their term papers and articles. Perhaps the best way to sum up his feelings about Luria is to cite Das directly from his 1994 article in Robert J. Sternberg's Encyclopedia of Human Intelligence:

Beyond doubt, Luria is the best known and most frequently cited Russian psychologist in Western psychology. His influence in Europe and in the United States has spread not only through his insightful and extensive publications but also through his many international friends and students. He remained productive under Josef Stalin, did not slow down when removed for a few years from the Neurosurgical Institute to the Institute of Defectology in 1950, retained his optimism, and worked very hard until his death following a heart attack." (Das 1994, p. 681)

Karl Levitin interviews Peter Tulviste

In another Amsterdam interview, Peter Tulviste, a psychologist in the Department of Psychology, at the University of Tartu, Estonia, comments about his time at Moscow University, in the early 1930's, specifically, his experiences working in Luria's laboratory ... "where cultural psychology was born." Tulviste explains how he started working with Alexander Romanovich as one "who would read works about cross-cultural differences in cognitive processes." Finally, he comments that Luria was an extraordinary person, that "sort of individual who combined absolutely brilliant scientific thinking with real common sense".

Michael Cole interviews Jerome Bruner and Oliver Sacks

In this three-way New York city video chat, Michael Cole interviews jointly Jerome Bruner and Oliver Sacks. Throughout the 192 MB video, viewer see and hear the personal accounts of Bruner and Sacks, as both American scientists recall their letter correspondences with Alexander Romanovich. They spend considerable time chatting about Luria, the human being, in particular how accessible and warm he was. As an aside, the more interested reader can download this fascinating movie clip by going to http://luria.ucsd.edu and then by clicking on the "Video / Audio" link.

Karl Levitin interviews Vladmir Zinchenko

Karl Levitin interviews a Russian psychologist, Vladimir Zinchenko who comments in Russian on the difficult and severe times in which Alexander Romanovich worked. Via closed-screen captioning, the viewer can read Zinchenko's comments on how Luria left Moscow due to the oppressive atmosphere, how Luria was scared to stay in Moscow and how Luria was fired ("told to leave") from the Institute of Neurosurgery, where he had been working for numerous years and subsequently assigned to the Institute of Defectology, an institution that had been founded by Vygotsky some twenty years earlier.

Karl Levitin interviewing Vladmir I. Lubovsky In the final DVD interview, Levitin interviews Vladmir Ivanovich Lubovsky. Lubovsky talks about his great memories and fruitful times with Alexander Romanovich, his former teacher. The authors also comment about this interview information when they state that:

At Luria's request, Lubovsky would come to Luria's apartment every morning and accompany him to work. At the end of the day, he would accompany him home ... if he was arrested while on his way to or from work, Lubovsky was to inform his family so that they would not fear that he had been hit by a car and waste their time running around to hospitals to find him. (Cole et al., p. 252)

Lubovsky ends this interview by mentioning how i) Alexander Romanovich passed long hours working most morning in his laboratory, delivering afternoon lectures at the University and working at his home late into the night and throughout numerous weekends, and ii) how Luria would often bring his post-graduate students home, feed them and assist them with their research papers and articles.

Why This Book is Important

I believe that this book is an important source of reference for many reasons. Due to space limitations, I shall only mention four here. First, I believe that this revised version is important as it represents an excellent contribution to documenting Alexander Romanovich's development of ideas in the course of the twentieth century. Today, some 29 years after his death, his numerous works continue to be most popular. Luria worked for most of his life within the field of Neuropsychology, the field which he is considered to have founded, and for which he is most widely known.

Second, I feel that this this book is important because throughout its 276 pages, the authors portray Alexander Romanovich as an extremely energetic person and dynamic scientist, in particular, his long and productive career in Russian psychology. The authors draw close attention to the Soviet scientific establishment and how Luria struggled to formulate a new psychological theory concerning human intelligence, language and memory. They conclude their new (September, 2004) preface, Putting A Scientific Autobiography Into Its Social and Personal Contexts, by inviting readers to consult their website, at http://luria.ucsd.edu, another first-rate enhancement to the original book.

Third, this book is important because throughout, the authors view Luria, the man, to be a great tribute to the field of neuropsychology. The authors well- locate Luria as an interesting and important contribution to our understanding of the development of cognitive and behavioural neuroscience ... especially inside the once powerful Union of Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR).

Finally, and to conclude this section, I feel that The Autobiography of Alexander Luria A Dialogue with The Making of Mind is important because readers, once again, are presented with another outstanding text on the life achievements of Alexander Romanovich Luria, the father of neuropsychology. Rephrased in another way, I believe that this updated biography on Alexander Romanovich should be of great value to i) all newcomers interested in the original development of 'the golden age of cognitive and behavioural neurology', ii) those theorists seeking answers as to how the cognitive sciences developed in spite of astounding rationality amid totalitarian (USSR) conditions, iii) special education practitioners, including speech and language pathologists, iv) educational researchers, psychologists neurologists and neuroscientists and, v) historians of psychology and of Soviet science.

Conclusion

The Autobiography of Alexander Luria A Dialogue with The Making of Mind, provides the reader, including this retired teacher, with a careful and detailed description of the life and academic career of Alexander Romanovich Luria who together with Lev Semyonovich Vygotsky are beyond doubt, the two best known and the two most frequently cited Russian psychologists in Western psychology. Written by a distinguished American psychologist and science journalist, The Autobiography unavoidably bears traces of personal admiration characteristic of Luria's reputation in the Russian academic circles. Since Alexander Romanovich's academic life spans a significant portion of the last century, this autobiography offers a glimpse on the development of neurology and psychology in Russia, in general, thus becoming of interest to a wider readership.

Note

1. To read a series of Amazon.com customer reviews of this book, go to: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-reviews/0805854991/ref=cm_cr_dp_pt/104-7529438-5318356?%5Fencoding=UTF8&n=283155&s=books

References

Cole, M. (August 26, 1997). Alexander Luria, Cultural Psychology and The Resolution of the Crisis in Psychology, Conference presentation presented at The Laboratory of Comparative Human Cognition, Communication Department, University of California, San Diego.

Cole, M., Levitin, K., & Luria, A. L. (2005) The Autobiography of Alexander Luria A Dialogue with The Making of Mind. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers.

Das, J. P. (1994). Luria, A. R. (1902-1977). In Robert J. Sternberg (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Human Intelligence (pp. 678-681). New York: MacMillan Publishing Company.

Luria, A. R. (1979). The making of mind. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Luria movie can be downloaded by going to http://luria.ucsd.edu and then clicking on the "Video/Audio" link