November 23, 2015 - 19:06
I'd like to bring this quote into the discusion:
"We need to continually think against the grain of today's formulaic thinking by keeping in mind that the western theorists who identified the analogs that now frame the meaning of such words as progress, individualism, freedom, emancipation, and so forth were not aware of ecological limits. Their analogs reflected the advanced thinking of their era." Bowers, page 52
I identify pretty strongly as a social constructivist. I think pointing out that all these words only mean what someone (the western theorists, probably upper-middle class white men) decided they'd mean. But that's forgotten in the way we regard them now. Beyond the words, the way validity and thoughts are judged is also simply constructed. I think there's the possibility for an interesting intersection with Friere here, in response to banking, implicit education, and codification, espeically regarding these words which are used so often to promote activism. But are they? Or do these words, in their hollow definitions, actually promote passivity and shut down true action?