Culture as a Moving Symbolic Border

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to propose the notion of culture as a symbolic moving border. Departing from both, Boesch's (1991) concept of culture as a symbolic field of action, and Herbst's (1995) co-genetic logic, I will discuss the dynamics of self-other relationships in terms of their potentiality as sources of movement in culture. A brief analysis of an empirical material is given in illustrative character of the ideas here exposed.

The Synthetic and Syncretic Nature of Human Culture

“…By "human" we intend to stress the focus on the subject as meaning-maker, yet we are not bound to any anthropocentric perspective. We do not think that humans have a kind of privileged position with respect to other beings, rather than we cannot help starting from our own epistemic perspective-with all its limits and resources -be aware of the relationship with Otherness (Simão 2016) and open to develop multi-perspectivist epistemology (Guimarães and Simão 2017). Yet, we also acknowledge that the definition of "what" and "who" is "human" is subject to historical changes and it is a matter of study in itself.…”

Towards a Cultural Psychology: Meaning and Social Practice as Key Elements

“…Meaning is not only an expression of oneself, but is inherently shared or, in Valsiner's (2014a) terms, co-constructed. It constitutes and modulates the public space in which we develop our activities and relate to others (Nedergaard, 2016;Simão, 2016).…”

Prefácio

“…É signo tão pervasivo que atra- Pois "o que a vida quer da gente é coragem", como nos conta Guimarães Rosa ao dar voz ao Brasil profundo. A experiência inquietante de viver (Simão, 2016) instiga ao contínuo movimento, é generativa: reconstruímos a existência a cada momento. Restauramos o sentido de self e de continuidade da experiência, com arte e magia, usando recursos insuspeitados.…”