Manolis Dafermos 

RESEARCH OBJECTIVE  

My research interests lie at the intersection of the epistemology and history of psychology, situated within the broader framework of the epistemology and history of the social sciences. A particular focus of my work has been the logic underpinning the development of Vygotsky’s theory—examining its preconditions, initial emergence and formation. Through this inquiry, I have sought to illuminate the philosophical foundations of Vygotsky’s theory by situating it within the wider history of philosophy and science. One of the central findings of this research is the decisive role played by the dialectical method in shaping the theoretical architecture of Vygotsky’s thought.

In recent years, my work has increasingly turned toward dialectics itself—both as a mode of thought and as a method of inquiry. I aim to foreground its historicity and plasticity, tracing its transformations across the long trajectory of human thought. In this context, I argue that dialectics provides a compelling alternative to the forms of empiricism and reductionism which continue to dominate many areas of scientific inquiry. This line of research directly addresses the deepening methodological crises across various disciplines—crises that become especially evident when attempting to grapple with complex, dynamic, and developmental systems.

EDUCATION

• Ph.D in Philosophy, Lomonosov Moscow State University (1995)
• M.A in Philosophy, Lomonosov Moscow State University (1990) 
• B.A in Philosophy, Lomonosov Moscow State University (1990)

ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES

• Member of the Editorial Board of the journal “Theory & Psychology”
• Member of the Editorial Board of the journal “Outlines. Critical Practice Studies” 
• Member of the Editorial Board of the journal “Cultural-historical psychology“
• Member of the Scientific committee of the journal “Human Arenas. An Interdisciplinary Journal of Psychology, Culture, and Meaning” . 
• Member of Editorial Board of Culture and Education: Cultura y Educación 
• Member of the Editorial Board of the journal “Teoría y Crítica de la Psicología” 
• Member of Editorial Board of InScience. Διαδικυακό περιοδικό για την επιστήμη και την τεχνολογία. 
• Member of the Editorial Board of the journal “Homo Virtualis” 
• I have served as a member of the Executive Committee of the “International Society of Cultural-Historical Activity Research”.

Key publications

          Books  & Edited Books 

• M.Dafermos (in press). Dialectics as mode of thought and method in the history. Spinger. 
• Tanzi Neto, F.Liberali, & M. Dafermos (Eds.) (2020). Revisiting Vygotsky for social change: Bringing together theory and practice. New York: Peter Lang.

• M.Dafermos (2018) Rethinking cultural-historical theory: a dialectical perspective to Vygotsky. Singapore: Springer. 
• M.Dafermos (2020). Epistemology of psychology: a critical introduction. Athens: Critique.  (In Greek) 
• M.Dafermos (2010). The historical becoming of psychology. From mythological concepts of the soul to the transformation of psychology into an independent science. Athens: Gutenberg. (In Greek) 

Articles/chapters

• M. Anastasakis & M. Dafermos, (2023). Exploring Paradoxes in the Development of Mathematical Thinking: a Cultural-historical Perspective. Cultural-Historical Psychology, 19, (4), 46—55.
• M. Dafermos (2023). The neoliberal transformation of university and restructuring of academic labour. Journal of Critical Educational Studies, 21(1), 1-37.
• Μ.Dafermos (2022). Discussing the Concept of Crisis in Cultural-historical Activity Research: a Dialectical Perspective. Human Arenas. 
• K. Venianaki, E. Timplalexi & M. Dafermos (2021). The medicalisation of learning difficulties through the prism of Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological approach: the case of the remote and mountainous areas of Chania Prefecture. Outlines. Critical Practice Studies, 22 (01), 138-180). 
• M. Dafermos (2021). Rethinking the relationship between Marx’s Capital and Hegel’s Science of Logic: The tradition of creative Soviet Marxism. Class & Capital
• M. Dafermοs, M. Kontopodis, & A.Chronaki (2020). Cultural-historical Activity Theory Travels to Greece: Actors, Contexts and Politics of Reception and Interpretation. Cultural-Historical Psychology, 16 (2), 33—41. 
• M.Dafermos (2020). The Metaphysics of Psychology and a Dialectical Perspective. Theory & Psychology, 31(3), 355-374.  
• M.Kontopodis, M.Dafermos, & A. Tanzi Neto (2020). “We are on fire”: Crisis as turning point, Vygotsky & Social change. In A. Tanzi Neto, F. Liberali, & M. Dafermos (Eds.), Revisiting Vygotsky for social change: Bringing together theory and practice (pp.281-286). New York: Peter Lang. 
• M.Dafermos (2020). Reconstructing the fundamental ideas of Vygotsky’s theory in the contemporary social and scientific context. In A. Tanzi Neto, F. Liberali, & M. Dafermos (Eds.), Revisiting Vygotsky for social change: Bringing together theory and practice (pp.13-30). New York: Peter Lang.  
• M.Dafermos (2019). Developing a dialectical understanding of generalization: an unfinalized dialogue between Vygotsky and Davydov. In C. Højholt & E. Schraube (Eds.), Subjectivity and Knowledge: Generalization in the Psychological Study of Everyday Life (pp.61-78): New York: Springer.
• M. Dafermos (2016). Critical Reflection on the Reception of Vygotsky’s Theory in the International Academic Communities. Cultural-Historical Psychology, 12 (3), 27–46.  This text has been also published in Μ.Dafermos (2015). Critical reflection on the reception of Vygotsky’s theory in the international academic communities. In B. Selau & R. Fonseca de Castro (Eds.), Cultural-Historical Theory: Educational Research in Different Contexts (pp.19-38). Porto Alegre: EDIPUCRS.  This text has been republished in Μ.Dafermos (2017). A reflexão crítica sobre a recepção da teoria de Vigotski na comunidade acadêmica internacional. In Márcia A. Amador Mascia, Daniela Dias dos Anjos, Ana Luiza B. Smolka (orgs.), Leituras de Vigotski. Debates Internationales (pp.13-44). Sao Paulo: Mercado De Letras.
• M.Dafermos (2018). Relating dialogue and dialectics: a philosophical perspective. Dialogical Pedagogy, 6, 1-18. 
• M.Dafermos, S.Triliva, C.Varvandakis (2017). Youth tubing the Greek crisis:  a cultural-historical perspective. In M. Kontopodis,C.Varvandakis & C.Wulf (Eds.), Global Youth in Digital Trajectories (pp.69-96). London: Routledge.  
• M. Dafermos (2017). Posfácio. Movimentando-se com Vigotski e indo mais além em Tempos de crise social. Márcia A. Amador Mascia, Daniela Dias dos Anjos, Ana Luiza B. Smolka (orgs.), Leituras de Vigotski. Debates Internationales (pp.131-134). Sao Paulo: Mercado De Letras.
• M.Dafermos (2016). Exploring the conduct of everyday life. International Journal of Psychology & Behavior Analysis, 2, 120. 
• M.Dafermos (2015). Reflection on the Relationship between Cultural-historical Theory and Dialectics. Psychological Science & Education, 20 (3), 16–24.
• M. Dafermos (2015). Activity theory. In I. Parker (Eds.), Handbook of Critical psychology (pp.261-270). New York: Routledge. 
• M. Dafermos (2015). Rethinking the Crisis in Social Psychology: A Dialectical Perspective. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 9/8, 394–405. 
• Brailas, K. Koskinas, M. Dafermos, & G. Alexias (2015). Wikipedia in Education: Acculturation and learning in virtual communities. Learning, Culture and Social Interaction, 7, 59-70. 
• M. Dafermos (2014). Vygotsky’s analysis of the crisis in psychology: Diagnosis, treatment, and relevance. Theory & Psychology, 24(2), 147-165.   
• S. Triliva, C. Varvantakis & M. Dafermos (2014). YouTube, young people, and the socioeconomic crises in Greece. Information, Communication & Society, 18 (4), 407-423. 
• M.Dafermos (2014). Reductionism. In T.Teo (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Critical Psychology. Springer. 
• M. Dafermos (2014). Psyche. In T.Teo (ed.), Encyclopedia of Critical Psychology. Springer. 
• M.Dafermos (2014). Soviet Psychology. In T.Teo (ed.), Encyclopedia of Critical Psychology. Springer. 
• M. Barahona, M. Luis de la Mata Benitez, M.Dafermos, & P. Hakkarainen (2014). Moving with and Beyond Vygotsky. The 3rd International ISCAR Summer University for PhD Students. Cultural historical Psychology, 1, 104-106. 
• M. Dafermos, A. Marvakis, M. Mentinis, D. Painter & S. Triliva (2013). This World is not Enough: the Dialectics of Critical Psychology. Special Issue of Annual Review of Critical Psychology.  M.Dafermos (2013).  How has critical psychology changed in a changing world? Editorial Vignette. Annual Review of Critical Psychology, 10, 1-34.   
• M.Dafermos (2013). The social drama of Greece in times of the economic crisis and psychological therapies. European Journal of Psychotherapy and Counseling, 15 (4), 401-411.
• M.Dafermos (2013). Ancient Greek Philosophical Dialogue and Contemporary Psychology.  A.Marvakis, & J.Motzkau, & D. Painter, & R. C.Ruto-Korir, & G. Sullivan, & S.Triliva, & M. Wieser (Eds), Doing psychology under new conditions (pp.289-298). Concord, CA: Captus Press.
• P. Ekkekakis & M. Dafermos (2012). Exercise is a many-splendored thing but for some it does not feel so splendid: Staging a resurgence of hedonistic ideas in the quest to understand exercise behavior. In E.O. Acevedo (Ed.), Oxford Handbook of Exercise Psychology (pp. 295-333). New York: Oxford University Press. 
• M.Dafermos (2012). Cultural-historical psychology and Marxism. Cultural-Historical psychology, 4, 114-121.  This paper has been republished in M. Dafermos (2021). Uma reflexão sobre as relações entre Teoria Histórico-Cultural e Marxismo. In Maria do Rosário Silva Resende, Priscilla Melo Ribeiro de Lima e Sostenes Cezar de Lima (orgs.), Processos psicossociais e educacionais: reflexões teóricas, práticas e políticas da Psicologia. Campinas: Alínea. 
• M.Dafermos, & A.Marvakis (2011). Mediated getting-to-know-the-world- Approaching learning with S.L. Rubinstein. In P. Stenner, J.   Cromby, J. Motzkau, J. Yen & Υ.Haosheng (Eds.), Theoretical Psychology: global transformations and Challenges (pp.94-104). Ontario:  Cactus Press.   
• M.Dafermos & A. Marvakis (2009). Vermitteltes Erkennen der Welt. Lernen nach Sergei L. Rubinstein. Forum Kritische Psychologie, No 53, 71-100. Rudolf Leiprecht, Seddik Bibouche (Hrsg.) (2011). BIS-Verlag der Carl von Ossietzky Universitδt Oldenburg. Nichts ist praktischer alseine gute Theorie“. Theorie, Forschung und Praxis im Kontext von politischer Kultur, Bildungsarbeit und Partizipation in der Migrationsgesellschaft (pp.41-76). Oldenburg: BIS-Verlag der Carl von Ossietzky Universitat Oldenburg. http://oops.uni-oldenburg.de/1185/1/leinic11.pdf
• S. Triliva & M. Dafermos (2007). Philosophical Dialogues as path to a more Positive Psychology.  Journal of Community & Applied Social  Psychology, Vol.18, 17-38.
• M.Dafermos,  A.Marvakis & S. Triliva (2006). De-constructing Psychology in Greece.  Annual Review of Critical Psychology, No. 5, 180-191.
• M. Dafermos, A. Marvakis & S.  Triliva (2006). Critical Psychology in a Changing World”. Special Issue of “Annual Review of Critical Psychology.  M. Dafermos & A. Marvakis (2006). Critiques in Psychology – Critical Psychology. Annual Review of Critical Psychology, 5, 1-20. 
• M.Dafermos & A. Marvakis (2004). Ganzheitspsychologie through the eyes of L. S. Vygotsky. From Past to Future. Clark Papers on the History of Psychology, 5 (1), 54-65.