The Human as Animal Symbolicum: Origins of Symbolic Function (Social Interaction in Learning and Development)

​This book renews the concept of the symbolic function, exploring human capacity to create and utilize symbols, semiotic systems, and realities. It offers a unique theoretical perspective on the early psychological growth of children, focusing on the symbolic function's role in their development . In this sense, it offer new conception of the emergence of symbolic function and language. It further presents detailed analyses of semiotic function manifestations and their integration around age three, signifying a child's entry into the "symbolic species" and its profound influence on overall mental development. 

Ivan D. Ivić is a Professor of Developmental and Educational Psychology at the University of Belgrade. In his work, he has meaningfully integrated two major theoretical approaches to human development: Piagetian constructivism and Vygotskian socio-constructivism. His contribution to the development of symbolic function, which represents a key milestone in the early child development process, is still innovative and inspiring. It offers an original conception that explains how the symbolic function emerges from a specific interplay of cognitive, emotional, social, and pragmatic aspects.