Inter-Functionality Between Mind, Biology and Culture: Some Epistemological Issues Concerning Human Psychological Development

Abstract

The relationship between biology and culture, how it changes during the course of ontogenetic development, how it manifests itself and how it should be explained has been a persistent topic in developmental psychology. The conceptualization of the dialectical interactions between biology, mind and culture is crucial for psychological theorizing in general and for establishing a reasonable psychological epistemology. On the basis of recent research and empirical findings in cultural, cognitive and neurosciences, this chapter focuses on how higher psychological functions develop from a biological basis and how the mind and brain change owing to mental and physical activity. The higher psychological functions are humanly constructed when individuals participate in social interaction in a specific culture. The development of higher psychological functions as well as the development of the brain (its function and structure), cannot be explained without focusing on human activity and communication in a particular culture.