The Interplay of Negation and Epistemological Strategies in the Development of Agency

ABSTRACT In this paper we look at negation from a developmental perspective. We propose that in the march toward the embodiment of the virtuous “Yes” of agency the “No” of childhood is different from the “No” of adolescence and young adulthood. In the former the “No” of negation reflects an epistemological strategy of obedience/disobedience and in the latter a strategy of wondering. How “No” is negotiated in development reflects an important interplay between the child/adolescent and their caregivers with the existential-relational position occupied most typically by the caregivers as central to whether the “No” can be one of negation or devolve into negativism. To illustrate our ideas we offer four vignettes.