New Hermeneutics of the Davidovian Work: Critical Reading of V. V. Davidov: A Problematic Biography, by Roberto V. Puentes

Abstract

The work V. V. Davidov: A Problematic Biography (2026), by Roberto Valdés Puentes, constitutes a relevant milestone for contemporary studies in Cultural-Historical Psychology and Developmental Didactics by proposing a historiographical and epistemological reconstruction of V. V. Davidov's intellectual trajectory, distancing itself from traditional biographies and expository readings that tend to present his production as a finished conceptual system. This article aims to critically analyze this interpretative proposal, arguing that its main contribution lies in the establishment of a new hermeneutic horizon for understanding the Davidovian work. The adopted methodology was based on a critical review of Valdés Puentes's book, examining its theoretical foundations, its historiographical choices, and the epistemological implications arising from its approach. The results indicate that the originality of the work resides not only in its documentary breadth or the reconstitution of biographical episodes, but above all in the interpretative shift it promotes by conceiving Davidov as a thinker whose theory develops through revisions, internal tensions, and successive reformulations. It is concluded that this perspective inaugurates a new research program for Davidovian studies, offering significant contributions to the historiography of Cultural-Historical Psychology, to the epistemology of Developmental Didactics, and to the advancement of research on learning, the formation of theoretical thinking, and learning activity.